World Pasta Day

I have always been mislead into believing that the Italians have had a great influence on Libyan cuisine, but the more I read, the more this conviction fades.  When we do think of Italian cuisine, pasta is one of the first dishes that pop to mind.  This leads many to the assumption that macaroni (generic…

Parcels of Joy

I was doing some food history research online when I came across the curious fact that the first dolma or stuffed vegetable recipe was recorded circa 350 BC! Turkish dolma known to the ancient Greeks as thrion was first made using fig leaves rather than vine leaves.  Fig leaves were pickled and stored in much the…

We Are Food Society

Since the launch of the blog in July, many of you have left comments saying that you would like to learn more about Libyan food and are especially interested in seeing more recipes or taking a cooking class. Well, the time has come, and I would like to establish a food society (or a club…

Quality not Quantity: Obesity in Libya (part 2)

The Libyan diet can be described as being both Mediterranean and North African, although these are very broad terms and regional variations are seen from country to country, and within different regions of a single country. Climatic differences and administrative boundaries have historically segregated Libya into three distinct regions with major culinary differences, simply known…

Bigger not Better: Obesity in Libya (part 1)

I remember a time back in the 80’s when the Mediterranean diet was hailed for being super healthy and Americans were encouraged to adopt some elements of it.  Soon after, a craze for olive oil began but what some people failed to recognize was that even if olive oil is good fat it’s still fat…

Cultural Exchange

Written by Azleena Wan Mohamad Through my work with Look Out Libya, I have come to realize the importance of opening up the Libyan culture to others and vice versa, which is partly why I started We Are Food in English. Many of you who follow me on Facebook will know Azleena from all the wonderful pictures…

Supply and Demand

I asked hubby to go to the market to buy some fresh produce. He came back loaded with bags of vegetables and a watermelon. He was angry and upset. He said that the price of peaches and plums had reached 9 dinars a kilo! What? Yes, 9 dinars a kilo! The grocer told him that…

From the Books

I love okra. I have always eaten it one way, as a stew tabeekhat bamia, and I have previously posted my version on Look Out Libya.  I came across a new recipe (new to me anyways) about a year ago when I first started looking for material for We Are Food at its inception stage….

Life Lessons

I learned much of what I know about cooking very passively, by absentmindedly watching how my mother handled the kitchen.  As a child, I never took much interest in cooking or baking; I was more into arts and crafts.  Being in the kitchen was never part of my chores, and it was easier for my…

Dehydrated

This scorching heat has dried me up.  The lack of water all day doesn’t help.  I water my potted balcony “garden” almost twice a day. My fridge is still defrosting so I’m still in the spirit of being resourceful with food storage.  My tomato plant hasn’t borne any fruit yet (for those of you who…

On Thin Ice

My refrigerator broke down. Hubby went to the shop to ask to get it repaired. They said sorry your warranty just ran out, there’s nothing we can do about it. Hubby said are you serious, do you just want me to throw it away? Can’t someone fix it I can pay for it you know?…

It’s Not Only Soup!

A heated discussion about a previous post titled “It’s Only Soup” ended with a somewhat clearer picture of what Libyan soup consists of, but I am still no closer to revealing the origins of this elusive broth.  A suggestion that tomatoes were around since the time of the Romans proved untrue since tomatoes were first…