Sample Recipes

1 cup dried lentils
6 cups water or chicken consomme
1 large onion, chopped
½ cup whole grain rice
½ tablespoon each of curry powder and cumin
½ stick butter
½ teaspoon salt
Wash lentils and put in a pot. Add the water or consomme and boil for 40 minutes with the lid halfway open. Saute onion in butter and add curry powder, cumin and salt. When tender, add to the soup and mix well. Simmer on slow heat for 10 minutes.
Serve soup with sprinkled cumin on top. You can also squeeze half a lemon on top (this is optional).

1 pound walnuts
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cardamom or cinnamon
1 pound sweet butter
1 package filo dough
1 cup honey
Chop walnuts, mix with sugar and cardamom and put aside. Melt butter in the microwave. Open the filo dough, brush each sheet with butter, and layer the sheets on a jellyroll tray. Place ten sheets in the bottom. Spread the walnut mixture and top it with ten more layers of filo, buttering each layer. Cut in diamond shapes and bake in a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes.
Drizzle honey over it as soon as you take it out of the oven.
Cut and keep in a tight container or tupperware. You can refrigerate it or freeze it, too.

1 pound lamb stew or neck bones
2 teaspoons oil
1 pound fresh green beans
1 onion, sliced
one 8 ounce can tomato sauce
4 cups water
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon Arabic spice
Cut beans in one inch pieces or in a French cut. (You can use frozen green beans too.) Saute lamb in oil in the pot, add water and cook for 35 minutes. Add the green beans and onions. Cook for ten minutes. Add tomato sauce, salt and spices. Simmer for 15 more minutes. Serve with white rice or noodle rice.
You can cook it without meat for Lent. Just saute onions in olive oil and add the green beans, tomato sauce, salt and spices. Add one cup of water. Simmer for 20 minutes.

1 pound soft dates
1 cup walnuts
1 cup toasted sesame seeds
2 tablespoons tahini
½ teaspoon cardamom or cinnamon
Put dates, ½ cup sesame seeds, and tahini in the food processor. Pulse and add the walnuts; pulse again. Take the mixture out and make small balls and roll them in toasted sesame or shredded coconuts.

2 pounds blanched almonds
1½ cups sugar
1 tablespoon ground cardamom
1 cup egg white
1 teaspoon baking powder (optional)
Put the almonds in the food processor until finely ground. Add the sugar, cardamom and egg white. Mix well by hand for a few minutes. Take a small piece of dough the size of walnut and shape it into stars, triangles and birds. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

1 medium onion chopped
4 large cloves of garlic crushed
3 tbs. olive oil
½ cup of rice
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
1 bunch of swiss chard washed and chopped
5 cups of water
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 tsp. dried mint

Sauté onion & garlic in oil for 3 minutes. Add salt, pepper and water. When it starts to boil, add rice. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add swiss chard, lemon juice and mint. Simmer for 10 minutes.
You can use this recipe with one pound of cooked lamb shoulder or neck bones & just follow the above recipe.

2 cups long grain rice
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon Arabic spice
3 tablespoons oil
1 cup tomato sauce or fresh tomato juice
3 cups water or lamb or chicken consomme

Saute rice in oil; add salt, spices and tomato sauce and water. Cover and boil until water is absorbed. Lower the heat and leave it to cook on low heat until rice is cooked. Fluff with a spoon. If you like, you can add frozen peas while boiling.