shain

I'll suggest that you do switch things up. The moisture prevents crust from forming, instead allowing the bread to rise for a longer time, improving volume, and reduced cracks. It also allows the bread outer side to geletanize, which will later let the crust be more thin and crisp. The total baking time shouldn't change much. One thing to note: if you like the crust to soften (as is likely to happen when you cover the formed crust), just wrap the bread after baking, while hot. The acidity and sugars in whey can effect fermentation speed. If you'd like, I can send you a recipe for Jeffrey Hamelman whey bread, which although I haven't tries myself, I had good luck with other recipes in his book.

If you make this "drizzle of tahini" more of a "generous pour", mix it all well and serve hot, you got yourself masabacha

Yesterday I made briami, which is a dish that I really like. A Greek dish, it's simply baked vegetables, but when making it you bake all the regular "rules " for grilling veggies - everything is mixed and baked closely together, so the vegetables are all quite soft, the flavors join together, and the plate is lines with a thin layer of delicious juices and olive oil. The vegetables used are eggplants, tomatoes, peppers, onion, potatoes, okra, green beans, and my nontraditional addition of sweet potato. Everything is flavored, with oregano, cumin, anis seeds, fennel seeds, chili, plenty of dill, parsley and black pepper. Drizzled generously with olive oil, and baked until softened. Then topped with some feta cheese and broiled until it is all browned and charred on top (after taking those photos, I've decided to put it back from further browning). Lemon juice an more fresh herbs to finish, then everything is eaten with a good crusty bread, which you let soak all of the juices.

Thank you Elaina. My lupines are blueish-purple they are all "Lupinus pilosu" (In Hebrew we call them "mountain lupine"), and probably derived from a wild plant many years ago. My olive tree looks older then it really is, he was planted about 25-30 years ago, so give or take, it's about 35 years old. There are also plant's that I'll probably never be able to grow: apples, berries, cherries, to name a few.

Garden update. The peak of summer is behind us, and I'm preparing for fall. There are still many tomatoes to pick up, and I'm keeping seeds from the best vines for next summer. I noticed a caper plant growing near an old building during an evening walk. Iv'e followed it for a couple of months until the fruits had ripen (I was unsuccessful in propagating it from a cutting). The first few seeds had sprouted this weekend. The huge arugula bush is spreading all over the gardens. Iv'e chosen 3 lucky seedlings and transplanted them. Cow peas. A small pineapple plant, grown from the top of a fruit I bought a month ago. It's quite full of vigor. Last year the rain has damaged the olives flowers all over the country, but this year there is plenty of fruit. I'll let them fully ripe with the intention of salt curing the olives. There are also huge amount of carob pods hanging around. I'm going to toast and ground this batch into powder, for later use. A sea daffodil, which is flowering despite being planted by a wall and reviving only the afternoon sun. Iv'e sown this plant many years ago, and it is only flowering for the last few years. I should keep the seeds and spread them to a more sunny place. And talking about keeping seeds, it seems I have a surplus of lupine seeds. The garden is going to be very purple this winter.

This is a cake that is being made in my family for a long time. We simply call it "frozen cake", but I guess it's best described as frozen chocolate pudding. The bottom is vanilla biscuit, dipped in strong coffee, and the top is sweetened whipped cream, flavored with a lot plenty of vanilla. Served straight from the freezer and eaten slowly as it softens on the plate.

A light supper. Girandole pasta in ricotta and herbs. The herbs Iv'e picked from the garden: Sage, thyme, basil, chives, tarragon, rosemary and garlic. Iv'e also added parsley, as well as some more chives and basil. The ricotta is store bought, but very good. Also a little Parmesan, some strong and bitter olive oil, a touch of wine vinegar, and plenty of black pepper. For dessert, we had a wonderful mango from our tree, and some very nice plums from the market, which had a distinct cherry flavor.

@Anna N @FauxPas @robirdstx Poached it is. I wouldn't recommend cooking meatballs in a pouch, it might be dirty. Bahart is simply "spices" in Arabic, so although it is used to refer to a relatively specific blend, it is prone to variations. I don't always have it all ground and mixed, so I just add some of the common ingredients by feel. I'll rarely include coriander or paprika in it (though I often pair it with paprika). Nutmeg and black pepper I prefer to add at the end of cooking, so I won't blend it together with the rest. I would have preferred to use lamb, or part lamb, but it was all quite improvised, so I didn't have any on hand. As for the recipe, I don't have the amount, but the meatballs were made with ground beef and some turkey that I had frozen, flavored with said spices (but any blend will work), finely chopped onion, minced garlic, some thick yogurt (you can use Greek style or labaneh), egg, salt and breadcrumbs. Pan fried in a shallow layer of oil until the first side is browned and only shortly on the other side. Set aside and clear the oil from any particles (Wipe the pan and replace the oil it's too dirty). Fry onion stripes until deeply browned, add quite plenty of garlic, some cumin, a little fenugreek and chilly to taste. Heat to release the flavors into the oil and add yogurt (I also added a small amount of lebben, which is a light sour cream / thick buttermilk; since had leftover on hand. I guess it can be subbed by more yogurt). Also some salt. Gently heat while stirring. Place meatballs in sauce (I tried to place the browned side on top, so it will look better). Simmer shortly, until the meatballs are cooked through and top with cilantro. Adjust flavors to taste - mine wasn't tart enough, so I sprinkled a little lemon juice.

For a lack of better thread, I think it's close enough of being called a sweet: Granola of oats toasted in a little butter with almonds, pecans, pumpkin seeds, raisins, poppy seeds, millet, a little brown sugar (I don't like overly sweet granola). + egg whites to help it clump together a little. I usually have granola over yogurt with apple cubes, but since the apples are not at their best over this time of year, I guess I'll opt for nectarines, or maybe grapes.

Meatballs with baharat spice mix (all-spice, cumin, cinnamon, black pepper), garlic - pan fried and then pouched(typo) poached in a buttermilk + rich yogurt sauce with a touch of fenugreek, chili and cumin + cilantro. Penne with okra, browned onion, garlic, sumac, sesame, sirene cheese, parsley. This is my meatball-free serving. I left the grated cheese on the counter, and so it melted into those strange looking blobs. Simple tomato-cucumber-onion with tahini sauce on the side.

Thank you. Fetteh is sadly not common here in Israel, and I have only heard of one place that serves it. The range of variations of this dish is quite wide (and worth an image search too see). My version is a mish-mash of recipes, adjusted to my taste.

Thank you! I actually prefer to gently heat the yogurt up to room temperature, so that the dish is quite warm, but that is up to personal taste. I'm quite (too much) fixed on having my food hot.

Fetteh. Yogurt, mixed with hot and creamy chickpeas, toasted pita pieces. Spiced with garlic, cumin, chili and sumac. Topped with juices from a squeezed tomato, mint, parsley, toasted nuts (cashew and almonds), a little peppery olive oil and more sumac. Some of the pita keep crispy and some gets soft, soaking in the juices.

This weekend my brother came over, so I made a dish he likes for supper. A pad-thai inspired stir fry of sorts. Rice noodles, stir-fired semi-soft tofu, some stir fried shrimps plenty of vegetables - charred cabbage, bean sprouts, scallions. Sauce has generous amount of tamarind for acidic kick and a touch of peanut butter (not traditional, but I figure that if a topping of peanuts is good, then the butter will help spread the flavor around).

Made a favorite of mine - knaffe. It's made out of Kadaif - thin noodles made from a lean and dry dough (much like philo). A pan is buttered generously and layered with the kadaif. Then a layer of a certain cheese, preferably from goat milk, which it is somewhere between fresh mozzarella and feta or hallumi in terms of texture. A second layer of kadaif. The pan is heated until the noodles are crisp, then flipped to crisp the other side. The cheese melts to a slightly elastic and slightly chewy texture. Then a generous drizzle of sugar syrup (often flavored with rose or citrus blossoms). A scatter of pistachios to finish it. It is more common to buy it from vendors. They make a huge plate, and slice a heavy portion - hot, syrupy and greasy (in all the right ways). It's nice, but I more often find it a bit too much. I make mine with much less syrup, so it's more crisp and less sweet (and also free from colors). This time Iv'e added some very nontraditional figs (both on top and inside), and decided to chop the pistachio, instead of grinding it (for some crunch).

Took me a while, but this is from last Saturday. Warm masabacha and tabbouleh salad. Also the necessary pickles and pita bread for the masabacha. Masabacha is a dish closely related to hummus, made with hot chickpeas mixed with tahini, lemon, garlic, and often flavorings such as cumin, parsley and paprika, all served much hotter then the average hummus (which is often served lukewarm). I added chopped onions and sesame seeds for garnish. It one of my favortie dishes, and one I eat very often. Hummus joints ("hummusia") often serve both dishes, since they are made with the same base ingredients. I sometimes make hummus myself, but have never got to making masabacha, and sadly my preparation is not yet up to my standards... I hope to nail it next time.

@FrogPrincesse Looks very tasty! Though I always prefer tahini sauce over yogurt as a topping for it. I've never heard of piperade before, do you add eggs/meat to it? Google left me with no clear answer.

Another summer dish to suit the weather - Caprese pasta salad with fresh mozzarella; basil leaves, some of which pounded thin to better disperse the flavor; olive oil, toasted pine nuts and cherry tomatoes.

Plum tarts. One with crumble topping and the other with a lattice. I felt that my lattice work was somewhat sloppy, so I scattered some almonds that I wanted to use up, to do some distraction. Both made with hot water dough (David Lebovitz recipe)

Cold soba noodles with soft tofu, cucumber, scallion. Sauce of light miso, soy sauce, sesame paste, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, sesame seeds.

Linguini in salsa cruda, with raw tomatoes, ricotta, raw minced garlic, some Parm and a little basil. All mixed into the pasta with super-thick cooking water (I let it reduce to the point of not needing to drain the pasta). Pan seared steaks, with butter and rosemary for the meat eaters. Defiantly not something I cook often. Dry curry of super-sized chickpeas in cumin and coriander + fried egg for us veggies.

@Bhukhhad that's what I though as well. Try searching for 'rat tail radish'.

First mango of the season! Good mangoes just make me so joyful And just in time too, since Iv'e just picked the last few figs yesterday, and the market bought figs taste like water... Iv'e been spoiled. I'm also glad since last year we had little fruits, and even those few where heavily fly damaged. This year they seem plentiful and bug-free.

That's what I usually do: Cut out the stem (stack them and cut through all, it's OK to have some green attached). Dice the stem, add onion and garlic and saute in olive oil. Add cumin, paprika, turmeric. Chop the green part of the leaves and add it in. Cook until softened. Add pre-cooked chickpeas, black eyed peas or fava beans. Cook together for a while, make sure it doe not dry up. Add sumac, lemon and parsley before serving. I sometimes also add a touch of lemon zest. I serve it over bulgur, sometimes rice. I often add fried or poached egg on top, a drizzle of lemony tahini sauce or yogurt. Some more sumac and cumin on top. A sliced tomato on the side. I call it "Mangold be-lubia/hummus/ful" (lubia=cowpeas, humuus-chikpeas, ful=fava). In Arabic it's called "سلق باللوبيا" (Salaq bi al-lubia) I don't have a good picture, but here is one with cow peas, and another with fava beans and added chili pepper, served along a roasted eggplant.

Potato and sweet potato cubes, baked with chili, a little maple, paprika, smokey sesame oil and sesame seeds. Okra and bell peppers, stir fried until lightly charred, then slowly cooked with tomatoes, onion and garlic. Paprika, cumin, a little turmeric. Finished with parley, cilantro and sumac. It's a good okra, very small and it cooks to a buttery texture.