M. Lucia

last night: Broccoli and green beans served over basmatic rice with fennel and lime. Topped with nori strips (my new love affair: seaweed). Chocolate covered hazelnuts for dessert. tonight (I think): Cucumber salad with black olives (a la Behemoth/Wolfert) Panko-crusted fried tofu strips almond croissant for dessert

Wonderful pictures and brilliant idea! I always wondered about serving large crowds. I only wish I could contribute, but I hope other people will and help inspire us others!

Oh a pastry blog! I am so excited and I want to see everything! As for the eating habits- I sympathize. It is especially hard when you have an unusual schedule to get in proper meals and vegetables. I went through a period where because of my hours/job I was living off constant nibbles of sweets, etc. So don't be afraid to share, we've been there. Along those lines, here's my question: What is the one item you make that you most look forward to tasting?

I really enjoyed this article, especially since I grew up in the post-Cuisinart era. Any chance of being able to share some of the recipes mentioned?

These are the teas currently in my cabinet: Simplicitea Cha-cha Chai Marriage a Freres Jasmine Tea Twinings Lemon and Ginger Adagio Caramel Tea Matcha powder from Itoen in New York I also enjoy green tea, yerba mate and flavored teas...

Thanks for the responses. I went to the camera store this morning (Alkit in New York) and got a lot of good advice. I basically came to the same conclusion, I need a macro lens. The diopters aren't worth it for quality. I also did a lot of reading on how lenses work and learned enough to know that I need a lens that can go from 1:1 to infinity. I'm looking at getting a 100 mm macro lens (and if I get a good deal maybe I'll buy a digital point and shoot also). I'm hoping I will be able to use this lens on more than just food photography, hopefully when traveling. Thanks for all the good advice, it really helped. I'm thinking I need to take a photography class.

^Really beautiful photo. Yesterday I made southern style collards, Italian-style roasted tomatoes, and Iranian jeweled rice (chelow/polow) for dinner. I had also made some with iced tea earlier in the week (thai style but without milk). I was thinking about all the people who have shared these recipes with me and how this range of dishes have become part of my usual repertoire. And I was really pleased my polow came out of the pan in one beautiful cake! oh yes, and just some dried pineapple for dessert...

This is basically a magnifying glass over your lens? Does anyone else have any experience with these? Or other advice on lenses/cameras?

I am learning so much from your blog, and I really want one of those matcha KitKats. I love those pictures of the ballet class. I'm a dancer, and those pictures just have to make you smile- it's great to be reminded of the pure joy of dancing. I was wondering if iced coffee is common there? Or the matcha latte? I don't know, iced coffee just seems so New York to me. But then again I think of those iced bubble teas and such...

I've been following this thread with interest and I'm looking for some advice. Naturally, being on eG got me interested in food photography. I have an old school (35 mm) Canon AE-1 and a Nikon F2. I love both of these cameras and they take wonderful pictures (I have 55 mm and 80mm lenses). Let's start by saying my budget is very limited. For a while I contemplated getting a digital camera, and I had admired several people's pictures who just use Canon Powershots (Bill, Lucy, Patrick). However, I don't think I can switch from an SLR camera, and digital SLR's seem to be way out of my price range. Besides, I don't have any desire to switch to digital, I am mainly taking these photos for myself (and the place where I get pictures developped puts them on a cd if you want for little charge). So, I concluded the best way to improve my photos would be just to get a new lens for my camera. My main problem is not being able to get in close enough in my photos (is there such thing as a macro lens?) So I am wondering if a 28 mm lens would give me the close-ups I want? Do you all have advice on lenses for SLR camera for food photography? I really admire Heidi's photos and I know she uses film SLR cameras, so if she's out there and can offer advice on lenses that would be much appreciated. Or, if you have a really compelling reason why I should switch to a cheap digital let me know. Thanks!

Just saw Epicurious has a feature on Iranian cuisine with Ms. Batmanglij. Here is their article on Chelow.

oh, I do know how to spell definitely (too late to edit above post) Dragon carrots are a recipe (not a type of carrot): Shave carrots. Mix about 3 tbl soy sauce, 3 tbl sake or mirin, and pinch of sugar. Saute carrots over high heat until they curl up and just begin to color. Holding pan off heat, add sauce mixture. Stir until sauce is thickened and carrots coated. Serve sprinkled with cayenne pepper. I like the way the shaved carrots make curly ribbons.

We had a topic on this before: Polow, Have you had tah dig? I love polow, and it is often made with rice and only butter or oil used to form the crust, though the egg method is good too. See the thread above for more info.

I'll be keeping my eye out from them, but I don't know if it will be the same as buying them on the street in Beirut and then sitting in class munching them with one hand while taking notes with the other.

Behemoth, thanks for the cucumber recipe, I am definately going to try that (always looking for things with zaatar, and I love cucumber salads). Dinner was just dragon carrots atop fragrant basmati rice with fennel, cilantro, and lime.

Do we have a food stylist/photographer in the making? Really, your pictures are so lovely. How is that cucumber salad made? It looks so refreshing. And Chufi, I guess stamppot is similar to colcannon in Ireland?

Oh Hallab! It is too bad. And one day I will have to tell the story about the farmers we befriended and our subsequent hitchhiking/bus trip carrying a huge sack of corn. I thought that was bad, but a sheep! And about every other person I met in Lebanon told me the best food in Lebanon was in Zahle, it is legendary. I certainly loved what I ate there (along the wadi), though I had amazing meals elsewhere too.

Wow, I've never heard of selling uncut ziti, and I can imagine that would be unwieldy. Dinner was a snacking kind of affair- sauteed shaved carrots with raisins, puffy flatbread with herbs, a handful of jellybeans, and then chocolate mousse.

Doing some shopping along Bleeker today, my friends and I were pleased to find August was now open for lunch. I had enjoyed dinner there in the past, where I had a lovely roasted mushroom salad and the mussels (quite good though I'm not one for cream sauces) so I was happy to be able to try it again. Today we had a quiet lunch in the back covered patio, starting with a nibble of crab remoulade. One friend had a burger with fries, which while good, came sandwiched between some sort of flatbread, so he basically took the thing apart and ate it with a knife and fork. The other friend ordered the chicken salad, which was a bunch of greens topped with a chicken breast accompanied by some flatbread and veges. While he said it was very good and flavorful, it was a tiny portion, almost insultingly so. More like a breast of cornish hen. Luckily, my entree was big enough to share. I forget what the dish was called, but it was basically a pizza topped with wonderful roasted cherry tomatoes, basil, and mussels. I devoured it, it was excellent. They had beers and the service was a bit slow. I would still rate August really highly. The space is great, the food is satisfying and a good value in general, with clean flavors and fresh ingredients. The comfort of the food and the great atmosphere will make this place a standby in that area.

wondering if chocolate mousse cake counts as dinner

First things that came to mind were the aforementioned tabbouli and chimichurri. I also make parsley soup, with leeks, a vegetable stock, and a potato as thickener. It really highlights the delicate flavor of the herb, which I find is heightened by a squeeze of lemon.

That's what the above two recipes I posted entail.

First I am so jealous! I have enjoyed 2 trips to Lebanon and lived there all last summer. I still have friends and families of many friends there and I wouldn't worry about your safety at all. Barring major changes, I would expect your trip to go ahead as planned; things always seem a little tenuous from an outsiders perspective but I think you will find things surprisingly safe once you are there. That said, use your best judgement and be flexible about what parts of the country you want to visit (Beittedine should be fine, but Bint Jbeil might be a bit far south). I was hoping to spend this summer in Damascus but I had to change my plans because of work. You will certainly be in time for fresh almonds but unfortunately too early for figs. And oh the ice cream. I will have to think about all the recommendations I can offer, I am too excited for you at the moment to be able to collect my thoughts!

I immeadiately thought of Clotilde's Gateau aux Daims, which is a riff of the Buttercrunch Almond Tea Cake from Baking by Flavor. Basically it is a Bundt cake using toffee bits (like Heath or Skor bars) and ground almonds (or slivered almonds in the original version). A great flavor combination. It has a nice toffee-caramelly chunks and good crumb and could be gussied up with some sort of buterscotch or chocolate glaze.

Rain, rain, rain and the Monday evening off meant I made Ribollita (from Lidia Bastianich). I love this soup when in Tuscany but this is the first time I've made it myself. Cooked beans, onion, celery, garlic, tomatoes, grated carrot, kale, collards, potatoes, stale bread, etc. Topped with the essential drizzle of very good evoo on serving. A surprising amount of of prep for what is known as a soup of leftovers. However, the big comforting bowl was worth it, took my right back to my trips to Italy.