I’m so sorry that I didn’t respond sooner but this is the first chance I’ve had to check in since I started traveling. Also, I don’t have the book on hand so I’ll have to go by memory. The recipes that jump to mind are the beets with tehina, the kale, apple, walnut, and sumac with pickled onions version of tabbouli, the Moroccan carrot salad, the 3 versions of chicken kebabs (not the best I’ve ever hadn’t but solid and easy for weeknights when you can’t think of what to make), the chocolate babka, the Yemenite soups (I think there is a chicken and a beef version). Actually, all of the Yemenite recipes I tried were good. His version of schug is wonderful, and is wonderful on eggs for breakfast if you have leftovers. The hummus and whole roast chicken also come to mind as being repeated in my house. Hope this helps!

ETA: Forgot to mention that I boil the beets for the salad with tehina and it works just fine. Also, I’ve subbed toasted pecans for the walnuts in the kale tabbouli with excellent results.

Just received Istanbul & Beyond and found it to be an absolutely beautiful cookbook that I can’t wait to dive in to but will sadly have to as I’ll be traveling exstensively for the next month or so. But when I get back (with fresh spices from my travels), it’s on!!

The cookbook I am am waiting for with baited breath is Michael Solomonov’s Israeli Soul. I. Want. This. Book. Zahav is one of my favorite cookbooks (and I have many) and is well written, well tested, and well edited and I expect nothing less for his next work.

We loved this one, with a few changes. One date rather than 2, 1/2 a banana and half an avocado rather than a whole banana, no honey, about double the amount of tahini, and one peeled, whole (not juiced) mandarin rather than the orange juice called for made for a great smoothie for our tastes. Unfortunately, all of her smoothie recipes are really high in sugars (yes, I know they’re natural sugars, but still...) but that’s probably what makes them taste so good. Just work out afterward to regulate the blood sugars, I guess.

COMFORTING CABBAGE, ONION, AND FARRO SOUP - p.377

I didn't want to go to the store before leaving town for a week so I looked in my fridge and found a napa cabbage and thought I'd use it for this recipe (even though it calls for savoy or green rather than napa). It was a cool, damp evening so soup seemed appropriate and this recipe seemed appropriately hands off for my mood. First, I thinly sliced an onion and cored the cabbage before thinly slicing it as well. These got tossed in a pot with some olive oil, salt and pepper and were sautéed until soft. Meanwhile, some garlic gets smashed and peeled and tossed in the pot, and the rest of the cabbage gets thinly sliced and tossed into the pot along with a sprig of rosemary before the pot gets covered to allow the cabbage to steam until thoroughly softened. (Obviously, this took less time than stated due to the napa substitution.) once soft, vinegar gets added and everything gets mixed together and seasoned to taste. The cabbage was ridiculously good at this point and will definitely get made as a standalone dish just like this in the future. In a separate pot, farro is toasted in olive oil until nutty and added to the cabbage sauté, along with chicken broth. Everything gets gently simmered until the farro is tender. Just before serving, squeeze in lemon juice and top each bowl with a generous pile of shaved Parmesan. This was a nice, homey, comforting dish that was surprisingly good considering the ingredients involved, though nothing to get super excited about or to serve to company.

Again, I will absolutely make the sautéed cabbage with vinegar portion in the future, as it was really very delicious.

PALOMA SLUSHIES - p.248

I've made these just as written, as well as the ALT-CITRUS PALOMA variation. Although it is not a difficult drink to make, I do think she makes it sound a little easier to whip up than it actually is. Or maybe that's just because I don't keep fruit juice on hand and have to squeeze to order, now that I think about it...

Either way, it's worth making and quite refreshing in the heat of summer. Here's how: peel limes and toss in blender with honey, grapefruit juice, tequila and salt. Blend until combined, add ice, and blend again until desired consistency is achieved. Pour into glass, garnish with sliced lime and serve. I'd consider the salt optional. I've also used agave nectar in place of the honey and liked it quite well. The clementine juice variation was really nice too.

ROAST CHICKEN WITH FENNEL, ROSEMARY + LEMON - p. 174

I loved this one and found it incredibly easy to make. I prepped it on Friday evening and roasted it for Sunday supper. To make, prepare the seasoning mix by zesting a lemon and crushing together with fennel seeds, minced rosemary and kosher salt in a mortar with a pestle. Massage the chicken with this seasoning paste and put in fridge for up to two days. Two hours before roasting, pull the chicken out of the fridge and allow to come to room temperature. Roast at 425F until cooked, allow to sit for 10 mins, then carve and serve with the juice from that zested lemon squeezed over it. I forgot to reserve that zested lemon and used it for another purpose, but the chicken was still really good - plenty lemony and a refreshingly different flavor for roast chicken than what we typically eat.

KASHA + MUSHROOMS WITH CRISPY SALAMI - p.134

I bought a package of buckwheat thinking, "I love buckwheat pancakes, so I'll probably love this too." Hah! After the initial try, which was mushy and unappealing, the other half languished in my pantry until I came across this recipe. It sounded like it would either be really good or really weird. After making it, I've gotta say that I'm putting it in the latter category. That said, I really love her technique for cooking non-mushy buckwheat - enough that I may go ahead and buy more buckwheat in the future. Just not for this particular preparation.

There are a few steps to the prep. First, a simple sauce of sour cream, Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, water, dill and salt is stirred together and set aside. Next, buckwheat is coated in a beaten egg before being sautéed in olive oil until the pan is dry and the buckwheat smells nutty. Chicken broth and salt are added and the buckwheat is simmered until tender. Drape a dish towel or paper towel over the pan, top with lid and allow to sit until everything else is ready. In another pan, sauté caraway seeds and salami in olive oil until fragrant and crisp, add mushrooms (I only had mixed mushrooms so I used these rather than the creminis specified) and salt and sauté until browned. Add cooked buckwheat and stir to combine. Serve with sour cream sauce drizzled over it.

BEST RICE PILAF WITH ROASTED RED CABBAGE - p.129

I too made this one and found it incredibly easy to put together. Unfortunately, little B came in with a splinter in his foot near the end of the cabbage roast and by the time I got it out of his foot (he was an unwilling participant!), the cabbage was inedible. The pilaf was still very tasty and, though I added some garlic powder and spinach to make up for the lack of cabbage, I'm looking forward to trying it again with the cabbage. Mr. B and I always fight over the crispy bits of roasted cabbage, so I know this will be a hit when I get it right.

KIMCHI + SCALLION FRITTER SPIN-OFF - p.108

I used my year old kimchi, squeezed well and finely chopped, along with thinly sliced scallions, flour, baking powder, and a beaten egg to form these fritters before frying off in coconut oil, draining on paper towels and serving with a dipping sauce of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and sesame oil. I loved the fritters themselves but think the dipping sauce could be improved upon. Thankfully, the fritters were flavorful enough to be eaten on their own and made a tasty lunch, alongside a simple salad.

It's so simple I don't even have to look it up: fill a pot with lukewarm water to cover your eggs by 1 inch then heat till boiling. Immediately cover the pan, turn off heat, and let sit 10 minutes before dumping out the water and peeling the eggs. Meanwhile, mince parsley to measure 1/2 packed cup, mince 1 small garlic clove, add 1 tsp red or white wine vinegar, a pinch of kosher salt and 1/4 cup olive oil and stir to combine. Taste and adjust with salt and vinegar as you like before spooning over the boiled eggs cut in whatever manner you prefer. Hope you enjoy as much as I did!

BROILED ANYTHING WITH GARLIC + PARSLEY BUTTER - p.202

Can't really go wrong with anything broiled in butter, right? Loved the compound butter but wish I'd used a better piece of fish than the frozen filet from the freezer that was a touch too fishy to really enjoy. I made extra butter and am really looking forward to using it somewhere else - all her ideas look appealing to me. The butter was made by mashing some minced garlic, shallot, parsley, salt, and lemon zest into some softened unsalted butter. This got dolloped generously on said fish, placed in an oiled pan and popped under the broiler til flaky. A squeeze of lemon juice later and the fish was dinner. Nothing earth shattering here, just an easy peasy main dish, and a great compound butter recipe to boot.

AVOCADO + KIMCHI TOAST - p.26

I just finished fermenting a fresh batch of kimchi a week ago so this was an obvious recipe to try. Plus, two vegetables for breakfast means I'm off to a great start on climbing my food pyramid today! The toast took about five minutes to make and involved chopping some kimchi and cilantro, pitting and slicing an avocado, toasting some bread, and stirring some kimchi juice with some mayo. I'm realizing now that I should have toasted my sesame seeds also, but I missed that step when I made these. Next time. Anyway, smear some avocado on some toast, (I omitted the sprinkling of salt because my kimchi is plenty salty,) top with kimchi, drizzle with mayo sauce, sprinkle with sesame seeds and cilantro and serve. I loved these and was surprised to see how good they looked when prepared, as I don't think of kimchi as being particularly attractive in and of itself. These toasts probably won't woo people who don't care for kimchi, but as a devoted kimchi lover I can say that I will be making many more of these in the future.

I went through a phase where I really enjoyed learning new techniques and complicated dishes that took days to assemble and had a lot of fun trying new flavor combinations that really pushed the limits of what my family was willing to eat...and then I got over it and got this book. And fell in love. The recipes are simple but delicious, frequently better tasting and simpler to make than others' recipes for the same dish. There is also enough variety that I don't feel stuck in a rut when I cook from it several times in a week. Some cookbooks I look at with both longing and dread, because the results are great but so time consuming. This book I look forward to (and occasionally caress lovingly while) opening and looking for something to make for dinner that night. I can always find multiple dishes that I want to make that night and that I don't have to make a shopping trip for. But that's just where I am with cooking right now: I'm cooking because my family needs to eat and not because I'm living or loving to cook, though I frequently enjoy it with this book (and a glass of wine). Just my two cents.

SPICE-GRILLED PINEAPPLE - ebook edition

This was a really simple dessert and a crowd-pleaser. Peel, core and slice a pineapple into 8 slices before coating with sugar, lime zest, cinnamon and clove and grilling until caramelized. You're supposed to brush each slice with melted butter before coating but I forgot and it really wasn't necessary anyway. The seasoning sticks very well to the moist pineapple and the flavor was wonderful. It's such an easy dessert that I'll make it again and try it with the butter, just to see if we were missing out, but we sure didn't feel like it this time around. All the seasonings meld together and really enhance the flavor of the pineapple without overwhelming it. So good.

BASIC CHIMICHURRI - ebook edition

This was a really simple sauce to throw together for some kebabs marinated in the Texas-de-Brazil marinade from Churrasco. Parsley, peeled and roughly chopped carrot and peeled garlic are processed until finely chopped before adding olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt, oregano, red pepper flakes and black pepper and processing again until well mixed. You're supposed to add some water too but I forgot and then decided it didn't need it. I don't really care for chimichurri on it's own, but it's really very good with grilled meats and veggies and the carrot in this version was a really nice addition that gently balances the pungent garlic and astringent vinegar with just the right amount of sweetness. Highly recommended!