Jordan

When I was young we drove through Jordon.   I remember the border crossing between Syria and Jordon as a child where the border guards had to be bribed with a green carpet.  Inspire of that the memories of these countries are quite unique.   There is a certain charm and mystery to these countries that can not be appreciated unless one visits.

Falafel

Every time I make falafel at home it barely lasts.   This relatively simple and easy to make dish just needs a bit of prep and planning ahead if you are making it from scratch.   I choose to bake the falafel this time instead of frying.   I lightly coated the falafel with olive oil before baking and the taste and texture is very similar to actual deep frying,  however much healthier.

Hummus

This is the biggest scam product in the market today.   It is so simple to make at home yet people buy it at outrageous prices.  Making hummus at home is a 10 minute affair if you use canned beans or with a little planning ahead use dry beans like I do.  You get a much better product than the sodium and god knows what else in the beans from the cans.   I once calculated out that a batch of my hummus costs about $2 while the same batch equivalent in the stores is about $40.  So if you like paying 20 times more for something I have an iceberg for sale.

Mansaf


Jordans national dish is made with lamb, yogurt and spices.   Lamb meat is browned and then gently braised.  A special type of yogurt is reduced and cooked separately and then added to the lamb.  I tried making a yogurt similar to the yogurt they would use in Jordan however that was not exactly a win for me.   The dish still turned out delicious with hints of cardamon, coriander and cumin.   This dish was served over rice and topped with toasted buttered almonds and pine nuts.

Kanafeh

Shredded phyllo aka kataif is layered with a sweet cheese and baked.  A simple syrup with orange blossom water is then either poured on top or served on the side of this dessert.  I topped mine with slivered toasted almonds.  As a bit of a twist I decided to add some saffron to the simple syrup.

I had some kataif left and some cheese so I made a second version with apples, walnuts, cinnamon and maple sugar.   This was drizzled with maple syrup at the end.