We all know how  important spices have been over the centuries in improving the taste of food.

Equally important, perhaps, is the role of spices and herbs in folk medicine.  Before chemicals were used in curing and healing, folk medicine was the sole source of curing people’s ills.

One imagines that, by accident or by design, herbs and spices have been used in medicine for several thousands years, the most famous of which is the culture of Chinese folk medicine.  Although doctors in China are known for their expertise, the use of folk medicine still is prevalent there. I would say that, there are few places in the world where folk medicine has been abandoned as a cure.

In fact, many ancient remedies have been the basis for the modern medicine that is used today.  In many societies, when a person goes to a medical doctor and is prescribed a medication for his or her ailment, that person after having the doctor’s prescription filled at a pharmacy quite often stops at an herb medicine shop as a way of hedging the bet, to make certain that one or the other cure will work.

During research for my book “Secrets of Healthy Middle Eastern Cuisine,”I stopped at a spice market in Damascus, and spoke with the owner of the shop. He asked me if I was married.  When I told him that I was, he launched into a lecture about how  to make my husband forever faithful to me.  He advised that I buy his mixture of four spices and have my husband drink form the mixture. He guaranteed that my husband would see me as the most beautiful woman in the world and that all other women would be ugly to him. One supposes that this kind of fold medicine is why some will not take it seriously.

Here is a recipe for mint pesto that make great spread with grilled cheese and boiled or roasted potatoes.

Mint Pesto

makes 1 cup

1        cup chopped fresh mint

1        clove garlic

1/2   walnuts

zest of one lemon

1/4   cup olive oil

salt to taste

-Place all the ingredient in a food processor and process for one minute or until smooth paste.

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 So what is the difference between nuts and seeds? I am glad you have asked. A seed is defined as a “plant structure capable of producing a new plant.” So a seed is anything that can produce a new plant.  A nut is defined partially as a “hard-shelled dry fruit (as a peanut in the shell) or seed (as a Brazil nut) with an inner kernel.”  Or nut are seeds with hard outer shells. So a nut always contains a seed, but seed isn’t necessarily a nut.

One of the great pastime in the East of the Mediterranean is the consumption of all kinds of style and nuts.  Specialty stores roast various seeds and nut during the day, and like the smell fresh popcorn, it is hard to pass up a seed store in Damascus.  Any style of nut is available  from such stores-spicy, Indian style (with curry), old fashioned ( with salt) and blood pressure ( without salt), and even American style (with barbecue sauce).

The last time I went to Damascus, my sister-in-law, who lives in Boston, asked me to bring her a kilo of sun-flower seeds from the local market.  I said, “America is the birthplace of sun-flower seeds. Get them from Boston.”  My brother chimed in sarcastically, “She’s used to the sun-flower seeds that have been sitting in a barrel outside, collecting smog and other pollutants from the air.” That’s her favorite flavor.”

The kind of fat in seeds and nuts are polyunsaturated and some monounsaturated, which is good fat.  Seeds and nuts have no cholesterol and are high in protein, fiber and iron.  They are the best source of vitamin E and phosphorus, minerals that repair damaged skin.

Aside from the pure joy of munching seeds and nuts, the foods can be added to any kind of salad, benefiting its taste as well as texture.  Adding nuts to pilaf and bread improves the taste and nutrition value immensely.  Nuts and seeds are especially good ingredients in vegetarian and vegan diets.

Brown  and Wild  Rice Pilaf

serves 4

1        cup brown rice

1/2   cup wild rice

2       tablespoons lemon juice

Zest of one lemon

2       cloves garlic, mashed

4      tablespoons olive oil

4       scallions, chopped

2       carrots, diced

1/2  cup slivered almonds, toasted

1/2   cup toasted sunflower seeds

1/2   cup toasted pistachio

salt and pepper to taste

-In a bowl, mix 1 tablespoon olive with the lemon juice, 1 clove of garlic and the lemon zest.

-Boil the wild rice and the brown rice separately until soft but not mushy.  Drain and mix together, and then toss in the lemon dressing.  Set aside.

-Heat the remaining olive oil in a pot.  Add the rest of the garlic, the scallionns and the carrots.  Stir and cook over medium heat for a couple of minutes.

-Add the rice mixture and the seasoning.  Stir and continue to cook for another couple of minutes.

-Remove from the heat. Stir in the almonds, the pistachio, and sunflower seeds.  Adjust the seasoning, mix well and serve.

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Eggplant has very little nutritional value, but it does have a lot of fiber, an element that cannot be discounted.  It is good for weight conscious people.  One cup has only 25 calories, and it is filling.  The trick is how to cook it.

Before cooking eggplant, slice it in the shape you want for the dish you are preparing, sprinkle the slices with salt and let them sit for thirty minutes.  That establishes two things; It takes out a lot of bitterness, and when you cook it the oil it absorbs is a great less than if you didn’t salt it.  The versatile eggplant can be used in baking for frying, as an appetizer, in a main dish, or in soups and salads.  Eggplant from the Farmer’s Market is decidedly fresher and are not likely shipped here from across the continent as supermarket eggplants are.

To preserve fresh eggplants for winter, I usually buy as many as I can carry when I find fresh ones, then the ones I intend to use for salads or soups are cut into cubes.  For eggplant Parmesan and the Greek Dish, Mossaka, I slice it like a salami.  The longer eggplant are sliced lengthwise.  If they are not too large around, they are cut right down the middle.  After salting I squeeze out the excess water and place the round slices (the cubes are placed separately) on a cookie sheet, spray them with olive oil spray.  Broil, don’t fry, the eggplant until they are dark brown, allow to cool, then separate and place into freezer bags.  The amount in each bag should be what you need for one dish.  Then in the winter when fresh eggplants are no longer available you have what you need.  The freezing does not seem to affect the fresh quality.

Upside Down Eggplant Casserole (Maqloobeh)

serves 6-8

2       large eggplants, sliced into 1/2-inch thick slices

2      cups short grain rice, rinsed

1      medium onion, chopped finely

1      16-ounce frozen soy crumbles for meals

4      cups water

salt and pepper to taste

1      teaspoon allspice

1/4  teaspoon nutmeg

1/2  cup toasted pine nuts

-Sprinkle the eggplant slices with salt; then place in a strainer.  Allow to drain for 30 minutes.

-Squeeze the eggplant slices gently.  Place on a cookie sheet, spray with olive oil spray.  Broil until golden brown.  Turn, spray and broil on the other side.

-Heat the oil in a large pot, add the chopped onion and saute for couple of minutes.

-Add the soy protein and all the seasoning.  Stir and saute for couple of minutes.  Remove from the heat, place the eggplant slices over the soy protein.

-Spread the rice evenly over the top and add the boiling water.  Season with more salt and pepper.

-Cover the rice and allow to simmer over low leat until the rice is tender, about 20 minutes.

-Turn off the heat; then allow the rice to finish cooking in its own steam.

-Just before serving, invert large and flat serving platter over the top of the pan.  Hold securely and turn over so that the rice is at the bottom and the meat on the top.  Sprinkle the pine nuts on top of the soy protein and serve hot with tomato salad.

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Most theories hold that eggplant came from India, mostly because there are still some regions in that country where eggplant grows wild.  The vegetable most likely went from India to the Arab world, and from there to Europe carried by the Crusaders nearly a thousand years ago.

Although it is most widely used now in Italy, it was at first distrusted by Italians.  The Italian name for eggplant, melanzana, came from the Latin melum and insanummeaning “unhealthy apple.” The mistrust was over come during the Renaissance and is now one of the most widely used vegetable in the Mediterranean regions.  Its dense and satisfying texture made it a good substitute for meat, which was unaffordable to most people in the Mediterranean.

Although the most common eggplant sold in America is the large, dark purple teardrop shaped variety, there now exists a greater choice of varieties.  The Japanese eggplant is smaller and more elongated.  A small, white eggplant has been developed that is sometimes used in the Middle East.  There is also a dark orange and small Thai eggplant that is sold mainly in Asian produce markets.

One of the funniest folk tales in Lebanon and Syria is about eggplant, which holds that there is a male eggplant and female eggplant.  On the bottom of the so-called male eggplant, there is a small extension that is bitter to taste.  The female eggplant has a depression on the bottom and more round in shape and, of course, is sweeter to taste.

My father, who is a farmer in Syria, does not accept that theory, claims that an eggplant that is dark burgundy in color, is full of seeds which makes it more bitter in taste.  The blacker the eggplant (or the darker purple) means that it is sweeter.  The easiest way for you, if you do not trust the male-female theory, is to make certain that the skin of the eggplant is smooth, shiny and firm. It should feel heavy when you hold it which means there are fewer seeds.

Eggplant Caviar, Baba Ghanouj

makes 3 cups

2      one pound eggplants

1/2  cup green bell pepper, finely chopped

1/2  cup red bell pepper, finely chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped Italian parsley

1     clove garlic, mashed

2    tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

-Pierce the eggplant with a fork in few places.

-To get the best smoked flavor, place on a charcoal grill, turning so tha all sides are charred.  Grill eggplant unti the skin begins to blister and the pulp is soft.  Remove from the heat, cool and peel the skin.  Discard the skin and mash the pulp.

-Mix all ingredients and refrigerate couple hours before serving.

-The spread is usually served in a shallow dish with pita chips.

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In my home tomatoes are one type of vegetable we can’t do without.  We eat them raw, cooked, chopped, sliced, and whatever other way there is to ingest them.  We eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and for snacks when there is no meal on the table.

The food literature I’ve been reading tells me that tomatoes originally came from Peru.  It is believed, although no one is sure, that they went back to Europe on one of Christopher Columbus’ ships during one of his trips following his first landing in the Caribbean.

Tomatoes are high in nutritional value no matter what their color.  They are high in vitamin C, B vitamins, Beta Carotene, and several anti cancer components.  Some scientists give tomatoes credit for the low rate of prostate cancer in Italy.

When you tomatoes, try to buy the vine-ripened tomatoes.  Most supermarket tomatoes are shipped long distance. To compensate for the shipping delays, tomatoes picked green, then zapped with methane gas to turn red, after which they are offered to us in the market.  To paraphrase Billy Crystal, they look marvelous, but they don’t taste very marvelous.  But, as you know the best ones are the one from your garden or at the local Farmers’ Market.

Refrigerating tomatoes takes away the flavor.It’s much better to let them sit on the counter, even if there is a danger of over-ripening.  One other hint: If you are making pasta sauce from from tomatoes, be sure to squeeze out the seeds, as they make the sauce bitter.  Some people like to remove the skin before making tomato sauce. I prefer to leave it on.  If you want to remove the skin, the easiest method is the dump the tomato in boiling water for one or two minutes and it will peel right off.

Before refrigeration was invented, many cultures invented ingenious ways to preserve tomatoes.  In Latin America salsa became the way to preserve.  In the Mediterranean, drying tomato slices in the sun, or making tomato paste was an the way to go.

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This easy appetizer makes a wonderful side dish, take-along for a summer picnic or a party.  Best of all, it can be eaten cold.

Ingredients

2       large eggplants

4       tablespoons olive oil

1       cup crumbled feta cheese

1       cup ricotta cheese

2       cups finely chopped parsley

3       cloves garlic, mashed

2       red bell pepper, or 6 ounce jar of roasted bell pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

black pepper to taste

Instructions:

Cut the eggplant lengthwise into 1/2 thick slices and place them on a cookie sheet. With a pastry or barbecue brush, baste each side of the slices with the olive oil.  Put the slices under the broiler, and broil until golden (about 5-7 minutes).  Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Prepare the stuffing by mixing the Ricotta Cheese with the Feta, Parsley and Garlic. Add Cayenne Pepper and black pepper.  (Note: because Feta Cheese is already salty, it’s not necessary to add salt.)

If you are using fresh bell pepper, you will need to roast them.  Do this by placing the peppers on a cookie sheet and broiling them, turning until each side is charred and “bubbly”.  Remove the peppers from the oven and put them in a paper bag, allowing them to cool.  The steam from the bag allows the skin to be easily removed. When the peppers are cool,  remove them from the bag and remove the skin.  Slice them and remove the stem and seeds.  Then cut the pepper to 1/2 inch lengthwise strips.

To assemble, take a cooled eggplant slice and place 1/2 tsp. of the stuffing mix in the center.  Fold the slice over once to form a roll. Place the role in a shallow serving platter.  Repeat this process for each slice, reserving a small amount of stuffing (approx 1/2 cup) for garnish.

When the slices are stuffed and placed into the serving platter, take the leftover stuffing and put a small dollop of the remaining stuffing  (about the size of an olive)  on each eggplant roll.  Then place the roasted pepper strips on top of the stuffing, to bring life and flavor to the plate.

Serves 6-8 People

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When The Zucchini reach the old world, you can say, it was magic.  The Italian not only gave the squash variety its commonly known name, but they have developed dozen of ways to cook zucchini.  Both the Italian and the French have created so many wonderful ways to eat zucchini it would be impossible to list them all.  My favorite is zucchini flower that is stuffed with fresh ricotta cheese and French truffles, then deep fried.

The further east you travel the more ingenious the recipes become. In the East Mediterranean countries, cooks use a special scoop, which looks very much like an apple corer, but it is longer and narrower, and scoops out the core of the zucchini without piercing the skin.  When I visited my family recently, I was helping my mother by coring the zucchini, and by accident pierced the skin of the squash.  My mother looked at me, shaking her head almost in sorrow, and took the corer away from my.  “And you call yourself a chef, ” she said. 

Once the zucchini is hollowed out, it is filled with meat and rice and onions, then boiled in tomato sauce, with mint, salt and garlic.  Two of these are enough to feed a hungry farm worker.

When buying zucchini, look for  the ones that have a glossy green skin and should feel firm.  Flappy zucchini are a no-no, as these are too old for good cooking.  The smaller and skinnier the zucchini, the better the taste, because, as usual, these have fewer  seeds in them.  There is no need to peel the zucchini, but when you wash it check the skin to see if any grains of sand have grown into the skin.

Zucchini with Bulgur and Lima Beans

serves 4

3        zucchini, diced

1        medium onion, chopped

1        cup forzen lima beans, defrosted

4        tablespoons olive oil

2        cloves garlic, mashed

1/2    cup chopped cilantro

1         cup coarse or #3 bulgur wheat

1  1/2 cup water

salt and pepper to taste

-Heat the olive oil in large sauce pan.

-Add the onion and saute in oil until tender, about 5 minutes.

-Add teh zucchini and saute for couple minutes.  Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes.

-Add lima beans, garlic and cilantro.  Stir and cook for couple of minutes.

-Add water, salt and pepper to taste.  Bring water to boil.

-Add the bulgur, stir and then cook over low heat until bulgur is soft and water is gone, about 10 minutes.

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