Participants:
Series Code: TDYC
Program Code: TDYC190004A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:19 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words Let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:10 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Today. 01:12 My name is Angela Lomacang 01:15 and I am so excited about today's program. 01:19 And we have Dr. Fay Kazzi from Loma Linda, California. 01:26 And I know our viewers and listeners, 01:28 they always want to know a little more about our guest. 01:31 So tell us about who you are. 01:33 Yeah. Okay. 01:34 Well, first of all, thank you so much for having me 01:36 on this fabulous show. 01:38 So a little bit about me, my name is Fay Kazzi. 01:40 I grew up partly in California, 01:43 and then when I was around 11, 12 01:45 my family decided to do a really big move 01:47 and move to the Middle East. 01:49 And I spent 13 years living in the country of Lebanon, 01:52 which was mentioned 60 times in the Bible, 01:54 which I always like to show off about that. 01:57 And then later on, 01:59 we decided to pursue Higher Education 02:00 and we came back to California 02:02 and I got my masters in nutrition and dietetics 02:05 at Loma Linda University. 02:07 And I also pursued a PhD in Rehabilitation Science. 02:11 And before that, I became a registered dietitian. 02:13 And so a lot of my research 02:15 that I did during my clinical work 02:16 and my doctor had to do with probiotic therapy 02:19 as a form of gut therapy, you know, for individuals, 02:22 and it was a wonderful, wonderful process. 02:25 But I think I'm pretty much done with school right now. 02:27 Of course. 02:28 And then a few other things I like to do 02:29 is food photography and recipe creation. 02:31 Ah, that sounds very interesting. 02:35 And also you are married. Yes. 02:37 I'm very grateful to have found the love of my life. 02:40 And we've been married 02:41 for about a year and a half now. 02:43 All right. 02:44 And what else is happening with you? 02:45 So I am currently pregnant with our first child, 02:50 and five months, so in case you're wondering 02:53 this food doesn't make you large, 02:55 it's just I'm pregnant at this time. 02:57 Well, speaking of food, we have a wonderful recipe. 03:02 We have several recipes 03:03 you would like to share with us today. 03:05 Now let's see what we're going to share with our viewers. 03:09 So I am Mediterranean, obviously I'm Lebanese. 03:12 So I wanted to do a lot of Mediterranean cuisine items. 03:16 So we're going to be doing tabule today, 03:18 a traditional take on tabule 03:20 and we're going to also be creating 03:22 a beautiful hummus dish, authentic. 03:24 I like to really keep on saying it's authentic. 03:26 And babaghanoush, we're going to attempt 03:28 to do it the correct way, 03:30 with all due respect to everyone else who's done it. 03:32 And then we're going to do doulma, stuffed grape leaves, 03:36 which is a very... 03:37 It's kind of like a peasant dish, 03:39 but it's an amazing one. 03:40 And then we have fattoush salad, 03:42 it's like the sister of tabule, 03:43 you can think about it that way. 03:45 And Tzatziki is actually a form... 03:48 It's a non... 03:49 You can do it with real yogurt, 03:51 but we're going to make it without real yogurt. 03:53 We'll be using coconut yogurt today, 03:55 and that's a side dish that goes with the doulma. 03:58 This is a typical Mediterranean Meze, that's what we call it. 04:02 That means that the joining of dishes together. 04:05 And they're usually presented at one dinner. 04:08 There are meat versions of it, 04:10 but of course we won't be using any meat 04:11 with these ingredients. 04:12 And everything is plant based and incredible. 04:15 So I hope that you guys will like it. 04:17 Now tell us what is our first recipe for today. 04:19 The first recipe is tabule. 04:21 Now traditionally, 04:23 it's a very simple dish to make, 04:26 but it is mostly made of parsley. 04:27 And I know parsley sometimes used as a garnish. 04:30 The ingredients are basically... 04:32 Would you like to read them? Sure. 04:33 Go for it. For the salad, it's... 04:51 Yes, and the dressing that goes along with it. 04:53 And here's the dressing... 05:06 Yeah. 05:08 So it's actually a very simple recipe, 05:10 but it's actually one of my favorites. 05:12 Yeah, sounds good. 05:13 And I'm really craving salty lemony things right now. 05:15 Oh, okay. 05:16 So a few tips about some of the ingredients. 05:19 For the parsley, 05:20 we are using a large amount of parsley 05:22 usually, when it's made in this area 05:25 that I've seen in America, 05:26 they usually add a lot more of the bulgur 05:29 and a lot less of the parsley, 05:31 but it's supposed to be inversely. 05:34 It's actually an inverse issue right there. 05:36 Now what is bulgur? What is that made of? 05:37 Bulgur is a type of grain. 05:39 It does contain gluten, but it's a high fiber, 05:41 high mineral grain. 05:43 And basically all you do with it 05:44 is that you soak it in water 05:46 'cause that's what we use the water for. 05:48 You soak in water for about, 05:50 maybe you can do it for overnight 05:52 or you can do it for maybe an hour 05:54 before you're ready to prepare your meal. 05:56 Then that doesn't require any cooking. 05:57 Oh. 05:59 So you just toss all that together. 06:00 It's easy. So let's get this going. 06:02 Yeah, let's do that. 06:03 So we're going to go ahead and start with parsley. 06:05 Just going to toss that right in. 06:07 And we do try to get rid of the stems. 06:09 So we recommend doing that, yeah. 06:12 And then we have an entire white onion. 06:14 Yum. And I... we... 06:15 I'm going to tell you, 06:16 you're going to eat a lot of onion 06:18 and a lot of garlic. 06:19 What about red onions? 06:21 Red, is that okay to use? 06:22 Yeah, you can use red onions, but traditionally, 06:23 it is used with white onions. 06:25 But I guess you can go either way. 06:28 Then we're going to toss in our tomatoes, 06:30 and it's a good amount of tomatoes, 06:31 it's like 2-3 tomatoes in there. 06:34 And then do you want to do the mixing for me? 06:36 I sure will. Glad to mix it up. 06:38 Fantastic. Here we go. 06:40 Now we're going to go ahead 06:41 and toss our bulgur right in there. 06:42 Nice. 06:44 So easy, seems so easy to make. 06:46 Yeah, it's quite simple. 06:47 It's the chopping that takes most of the time, 06:49 but we've already taken care of that for you guys. 06:52 And we're going to throw in our lemon in there. 06:54 And as you can see, it's quite a lot of lemon. 06:56 Yeah. 06:57 A good amount of vitamin C in there. 07:00 Is it okay to use lemon juice 07:02 or is it best to use fresh lemon? 07:05 Just because I'm a dietitian here talking, 07:07 when I think about it, 07:08 but I feel like I like using fresh lemon. 07:10 It has a little bit more of some extra acidity 07:13 that you might not get in bottled lemon. 07:15 But if that's all you have, 07:16 definitely by all means use regular, 07:18 I mean, use bottled lemon if you have to. 07:21 You can go more with the olive oil. 07:23 We're just doing about 2.5 to 3 tablespoons over there. 07:26 You can do the same with the salt as well. 07:28 We have about 1.5 teaspoon. 07:32 And then we have some cayenne pepper as well. 07:35 Oh, that's to give it a little zip. 07:37 Yeah, just a little something, 07:39 you can always add a lot more if that's what you choose. 07:41 But generally, you know, 07:45 you might not want to put too much. 07:46 Now cayenne's good for circulation, isn't it? 07:47 Absolutely. 07:49 It improves the circulation, it dials up the blood vessels 07:51 and helps to lower hypertension. 07:53 Oh. 07:54 Now here's a little thing, 07:55 my grandma likes to use cinnamon 07:57 in her tabule, 07:59 which is kind of like her little trick. 08:02 So but I got that from her. 08:04 Cinnamon surprisingly adds another layer of earthiness 08:07 to this already very earthy salad, 08:10 so it's quite nice. 08:11 We're just going to throw that in there. 08:12 Never had salad with cinnamon before. 08:14 Yeah, yeah. It's just a little... 08:15 You can't really sense it. 08:17 But the more you eat it and think about it, 08:19 you'll kind of feel it, 08:20 but it just adds that perfect layer of earthiness to it. 08:23 So I'll go ahead and just continue mixing it. 08:25 Here we go. 08:26 If you want to grab that, 08:27 we'll just go ahead and style it 08:29 and show you how it's supposed to be presented. 08:30 Yeah. 08:32 Here's something about me, I like to use white dishes. 08:33 That's kind of like a little thing that I have. 08:36 So do I. 08:38 Yeah, I just feel like it helps the food 08:39 pop up so nicely. 08:41 So we're just gonna give that nice mix. 08:42 And this is going to be a wonderful salad 08:45 for a big family. 08:46 Yes. 08:48 It actually smells really good. 08:50 Yeah, it smells quite delicious. 08:52 I'm gonna toss that right in there. 08:54 And... Look how beautiful. 08:56 Yes. 08:57 Oh my! 08:59 Oh. I'll fix that. 09:00 Let me just put this back here. 09:02 Absolutely beautiful. 09:04 Wow. Yeah. 09:05 And then all we do is 09:08 kind of scoop it upwards in the center. 09:10 And you can put that in there and then... 09:12 This is something that we like to do in Lebanon, 09:14 we take a tomato, and we cut it kind of floral. 09:17 Beautiful. Put that right in the center. 09:19 And then you can if you want to throw in 09:22 some radishes on the side. 09:25 I'm just going to try to make 09:26 that look a little bit prettier. 09:28 And then that's pretty much the tabule. 09:30 And as you can see, 09:31 it was very, very simple to make. 09:33 Very, very easy to make. 09:35 And what we also like to do, 09:37 sometimes we serve it within a cabbage leaf, 09:42 within a smaller bowl. 09:43 That's the traditional way of doing it. 09:44 Really? Yeah. 09:46 But just wanted to show you guys 09:47 how it looks in there. 09:49 And then what we do, also we take lettuce 09:52 and we actually break it like bread. 09:54 And we scoop into it. 09:56 Oh, yeah, it's really Mediterranean. 09:58 Yeah, that's a very, very Mediterranean style concept 10:00 that we like to do, 10:02 and so that's pretty much it for the tabule. 10:04 And very simple. 10:05 Very simple. Wow. 10:06 High in antioxidants, high in nutrients, 10:08 high in vitamins. 10:10 And tastes good. And tastes amazing. 10:12 Absolutely delicious. 10:13 We will try this later on. 10:15 Right now, we're going to go into our next recipe. 10:18 Our next recipe is called, what, hummus? 10:21 Hummus, yeah. 10:22 We're going to use... 10:37 For the garnish, it's going to be... 10:41 And what is this? Olive? 10:42 Kalamata olives. Kalamata olives. 10:49 Okay, we're going to try this hummus. 10:52 When I was in the Middle East, 10:54 that's what we had 10:55 and it seems like a staple out there. 10:57 It is. 10:58 It's like chips and dip 10:59 but the Mediterranean version of it. 11:01 And we go hard with a lot of garlic. 11:03 Oh. Love the garlic. 11:04 We hope you love garlic 11:05 'cause there's a lot of that in there. 11:07 I do. Okay, where do we start? 11:08 So we can go ahead and start with our chickpeas, 11:10 so just some canned, rinsed chickpeas. 11:12 And we're only using two cans of that. 11:14 Two cans. 11:15 And, you know, chickpeas are obviously a legume. 11:17 So they're excellent sources of protein. 11:20 That's right. 11:21 And they're also really good in terms of the... 11:23 They release carbohydrates very slowly. 11:25 So they are what you would call slow acting carbs. 11:28 And so that's the complex carbs, 11:30 which is really great, 11:31 and it's even recommended for some diabetics. 11:33 Just make sure you confirm with your doctor 11:35 to be able to have good amounts 11:37 or healthy amounts of legumes in your diet. 11:39 Then we're going to go with the tahini. 11:41 This is the tahini? Tahini, it's basically... 11:43 Now what is tahini? Yeah. 11:44 Yeah, it's basically ground sesame seeds. 11:46 And sesame seeds are packed full of calcium and nutrients. 11:50 A really great source of essential fats as well. 11:53 So I absolutely love tahini. 11:56 And then we're going to put 11:57 a good amount of lemon in there. 11:58 Wow. Fresh lemon. 12:00 Yeah, we're adding that acid, 12:01 it's going to give it a nice kick. 12:02 And here's the best part. 12:05 Garlic. Garlic. 12:06 Now the garlic cloves that I used 12:08 for this particular recipe were very large, 12:10 but essentially, you know, 12:12 you can add as much garlic as you want 12:13 or as little garlic as you want. 12:14 It just depends on what you're interested in. 12:16 But I'm a garlic lover, 12:18 so I'm going to always add more. 12:20 And then last, we're going to add some salt. 12:21 So it's very simple. Yes. 12:24 We're also going to throw in a little bit of water, 12:27 just because we want it to kind of move well 12:30 in the recipe and rotate. 12:31 And then we're just going to put it right on. 12:33 All right. 12:36 And then skip this lid on. 12:37 And we're just going to go ahead and pulse. 13:10 All right, and that is it. Wow. 13:12 That's simple. 13:13 Now you could put this on for at least another three minutes 13:15 if you wanted to, 13:17 but I like it to be somewhat a little bit chunky. 13:19 So I'm just going to use a spatula 13:20 and just get it right on to this... 13:22 Creamy and nice. So creamy and nice. 13:24 And again, I like to remind people that this is legumes. 13:27 So this is a lot of nutrients, a lot of protein, 13:31 a good amount of fiber in there. 13:34 And that is it. See how simple it is? 13:36 It is so simple and easy to make. 13:38 Anyone can make it. 13:40 A lot of people think that plant based foods 13:41 are really difficult, complex. 13:43 But really, if you have a good food processor 13:45 and a place where you can get good quality legumes in cans, 13:49 you don't even have to cook it, 13:50 I mean, that's how wonderful it is. 13:52 Let's put this right here. 13:53 Once again, it smells so good. 13:54 Smells so good. And the way you want to... 13:57 The way you want to style it is really very simple. 14:00 You want to kind of just make it 14:01 so that it has like a... 14:03 Oh, I like that. Like edges on the sides. 14:06 And then you want to make a little dip in the middle 14:08 because that's where you put the olive oil. 14:10 But I personally like... 14:11 I prefer to use a spoon. Yes. 14:13 So I'm just gonna get a spoon and do that with it. 14:16 And of course you can style it however you like. 14:19 But I do... Like a sombrero. 14:20 Yeah, but because I do food photography 14:22 and I do a lot of styling, 14:24 I like to always make sure that my food looks really good. 14:28 Yes. 14:29 And I think that's something 14:30 that we should all take time to do 14:32 because the first thing you're going to do 14:33 is you're going to eat with your eyes first. 14:34 Exactly. 14:36 So that's something important. 14:37 So that's that. 14:39 And then for garnishing, 14:40 I always love to add Kalamata olives 14:42 because they're absolutely delicious 14:44 and they have a really good type of bitterness to it. 14:46 Oh, really? Yeah. 14:48 Kalamata. Kalamata. 14:50 And they're a typical type of Italian Mediterranean olive. 14:54 And then we take a little bit of parsley. 14:55 Oh, yeah. 14:57 And you can see I'm taking some time in doing this. 14:59 I'm not just throwing it together. 15:00 No, you're not. 15:01 It is important, like I said, 15:03 to spend a little bit of time with garnishing. 15:05 And here is a little bit of cayenne pepper or paprika. 15:09 If you're a little... Ooh. 15:10 If you're a little sensitive, 15:11 you might want to just go with... 15:13 Nice color. Paprika. 15:14 And it's a pretty color, exactly. 15:16 And that's what I like about it. 15:17 Oh, look at that. 15:19 Oh. 15:21 And then we have a little space left 15:22 for our olive oil right there in the center 15:25 so that when you're dipping... 15:27 You're dipping, yeah. 15:28 You can get some right from there. 15:29 And if you prefer to go without olive oil, 15:31 you can do that as well. 15:33 Now just add a little bit more detail. 15:35 Oh, how beautiful. And there you have it. 15:37 And you want to always have your... 15:39 What kind of bread is this? 15:41 This is a very simple type of pita bread. 15:44 It's only made out of flour, yeast, and water. 15:46 That's it. Very simple. 15:47 No oil, no salt. 15:49 You can have this with that, you can dip it, 15:50 you can kind of design it 15:52 like you put all around the dish if you want. 15:54 It's really your decision of how you want to present it. 15:56 I also recommend having it with lavash bread 15:59 and/or with pita bread. 16:01 You know, it's the wonderful... It's the best way to eat it. 16:03 And that's pretty much it. 16:04 Wow. 16:06 All right, it looks good and we'll try it later. 16:08 So right now, we're going to go on to our next recipe. 16:12 Our next recipe is... 16:13 You better say this one. 16:15 So the Arabic way of saying it is babaghanoush. 16:18 But the way we'll say here is babaghanoush. 16:20 Baba... Babaghanoush. 16:22 Babaghanoush. Okay. 16:23 Go for it. And it's a dip, huh? 16:24 It is a dip. Okay. 16:26 We're going to use... 16:44 Now for the garnish, it's... 16:55 Okay, let's do this. Yeah. 16:57 I'm very excited about babaghanoush. 16:59 So normally, what you would do, the authentic way... 17:02 Yeah, we want authentic. 17:03 Of presenting or getting babaghanoush ready 17:06 is that you take a readymade egg... 17:07 A fresh eggplant. Excuse me. 17:09 And you put it on an open flame. 17:11 And that's the right way of doing it. 17:13 Really? 17:14 You take it right on the open flame, 17:16 you place it and you literally let it cook on an open flame... 17:18 What? 17:20 Until the skin has completely charred. 17:22 Yeah. 17:24 Now don't worry about carcinogens. 17:25 What you're going to do is that 17:27 you're going to peel that part off 17:28 but that smoky flavor will be in there 17:30 and you just keep on rotating it, 17:31 keep on rotating it. 17:33 It takes about 15 to 20 minutes 17:34 for the insides to cook in this method. 17:37 But if this is a little too daunting 17:39 for some of our viewers at home, 17:41 what we recommend is also placing it in an oven 17:43 on broil. 17:45 It could take up to 30-40 minutes to get it 17:47 to where you really want it to be. 17:49 But that broiling will help 17:51 the outside of the eggplant to char. 17:54 You can peel that part right off 17:55 and then scoop out the inside 17:56 and use that for the babaghanoush. 17:58 But I'm showing you again 17:59 I wanted to promise the viewers that we're going to show them 18:01 authentic Lebanese Arab cuisine. 18:03 I like that. 18:04 And so that's the correct way of doing that. 18:05 But we're not going to set this place on fire just yet. 18:08 So we're going to close that off right now. 18:10 I've already prepared some 18:11 and we actually did do this in the oven. 18:14 So we did broil them, I already feel part of it off 18:17 so you can see. 18:18 So you can see we're exposing the inside of the eggplant. 18:21 You can see it's a little bit charred but not too much. 18:24 And we're just going to need to take that 18:25 and we're going to pull out the inside. 18:27 And you can do this with a... Yeah, go on. 18:29 How long do you bake it in the oven for? 18:30 It really depends on the temperature 18:32 and on your oven. 18:33 But essentially it shouldn't take more than half an hour 18:35 if you have it on a high temperature. 18:37 But it scoops out really nicely. 18:38 It does. Very nice. 18:40 And you can just forget about the skin. 18:41 This is not as charred as I would like it to be. 18:43 Normally it's like black 18:45 and you can peel it off really nicely. 18:47 And then all you're going to need 18:48 is two eggplants for that. 18:50 Just two. Just two. 18:51 These ones did get a bit dehydrated, 18:53 you normally want a little bit more juice in there, 18:55 but that's totally fine. 18:57 And just take off the head and then you can just... 18:59 You can use your hands. Oh, look at that. 19:01 Yeah, it comes off really nicely. 19:02 Yeah. 19:03 And then you just grab your spoon 19:05 and then you just scoop it out. 19:07 This is loaded with vitamins, isn't it? 19:08 Loaded with vitamins and nutrients, it's high in fiber. 19:10 And the thing I love about eggplants 19:11 is they're very versatile. 19:13 You can make eggplants lasagna. 19:15 Parmesan. You can make parmesan. 19:17 I like to do a really good... 19:20 I like to do a really good Alfredo fettuccine 19:23 and I do eggplant chips, 19:25 where I cut them into thin slices 19:26 and I place them in the oven 19:28 and they crisp up really nicely. 19:30 Yeah, eggplant chips? 19:31 And I add cashew and nutrition leaves to them. 19:33 Like and it literally has... Tasty. 19:35 It tastes like parmesan, a parmesan type dish. 19:38 And then it's quite simple. 19:40 We're just going to go ahead and grab the tahini. 19:44 Okay. 19:45 And pour that right on top. 19:47 And again, I'm showing you the authentic way 19:49 of getting this ready. 19:50 And that's what we want. 19:52 And that's what we need. Yes, the authentic way. 19:56 And then we're going to put in our lemon, 19:57 just right on top, 19:59 and then I'm just gonna start... 20:00 You take a fork. Okay. 20:02 You could do this in a blender or in a food processor, 20:04 but I prefer to do it with a fork 20:07 'cause that's the way the the mamas 20:09 and the aunties and the grandmothers 20:11 in Lebanon would do it. 20:13 They use forks and they just begin to mash it. 20:15 And yeah, it's a really simple dish to do. 20:18 Wow. 20:20 You just keep on mashing it together. 20:21 Now I know I recommend using 1/4 cup of tahini, 20:24 but you can always use more or less. 20:25 You could use more, okay. 20:27 It is essential fat, I mean, it is... 20:29 What is tahini good for? 20:30 Tahini is good... It's high in calcium. 20:32 It's high in essential fats. Yes. 20:34 It does contain omega-3s, which is heart healthy fats. 20:37 Oh, yeah. 20:38 And it's basically a great source of minerals. 20:42 So I mean, to me, 20:43 that's like the most important thing. 20:45 Yes. 20:46 And it's also made straight from plants. 20:49 And it's not necessarily oil 20:51 because it does have a lot of other 20:53 nutritive components to it. 20:56 And so that's basically babaghanoush right here, 20:58 essentially. 20:59 Now do you have this at dinnertime or is it a... 21:02 You can have it as a side. 21:03 I'm just going to add some salt right now. 21:05 You can have it as a side dish. 21:07 We also add quite a bit of garlic to it. 21:09 You could have it along with the Meze dish, 21:11 which is the traditional spread. 21:13 But essentially, you can have it for breakfast. 21:16 Yeah, for lunch or for dinner, it depends. 21:18 But I don't know if you want to have garlic infused breath 21:22 starting from the morning. 21:23 That's true. 21:25 But a lot of the recipes that 21:26 Arabs do is they can eat it in the morning 21:28 or in the evening. 21:30 That's right. Yeah. 21:31 And so that's basically how it's put together. 21:33 Nice. 21:35 And we can go ahead 21:36 and start putting it on the plate. 21:39 If you want to throw a little bit of a kick, 21:41 you can put some cayenne pepper in there. 21:44 Very nice. 21:46 And you just mix it up. 21:47 Just mix it all up. 21:48 You could add the third eggplant 21:50 if you wanted to. 21:51 But I think this is... Oh, yeah. 21:52 This is okay with just two. 21:54 And then you eat this with bread 21:56 or you can eat it with your salad 21:58 or whatever it is that you choose. 22:00 So we can go ahead and grab that. 22:02 All right. 22:04 Let's put that here. 22:05 Very nice. 22:07 When I was in Jordan, I mentioned to you, 22:08 we had food like this 22:11 and the food is delicious in Jordan. 22:13 Yeah. It's amazing. 22:14 It's not too far from Lebanon. 22:17 They may have gotten most of the recipes from Lebanon. 22:19 Who knows, yeah. 22:21 I'm sorry, I'm unapologetically bias for my country, yeah. 22:24 So you're proud. Very good. 22:25 Very proud. 22:27 I was spoiled for the few years I've been there. 22:28 So your mom and dad are from Lebanon? 22:30 Yes. My mother is... 22:32 So the funny thing is my mother is Egyptian, 22:35 but she went to Middle East College in Lebanon 22:37 which is an Adventist University. 22:39 It's the only one out there. 22:41 So but she didn't meet my dad there. 22:43 She met him out here, my father is Lebanese, 22:45 part Lebanese, part Syrian, 22:47 and they met out here at La Sierra. 22:50 So it was quite... 22:51 How nice, they didn't meet out there. 22:52 Yeah, no, it was incredible, and she was there in Lebanon 22:55 'cause, I mean, she's Egyptian, but she went there for school 22:57 but she met him there obviously. 22:59 So I thought that's quite incredible. 23:01 They have an amazing story, but that's another... 23:04 It's another episode. Yes, yes. 23:05 So then we take some pomegranate seeds. 23:07 And we're just going to... 23:08 Have a lot of that in the Middle East. 23:10 Yeah. 23:11 And you would be surprised to think that 23:13 people put pomegranate seeds on their babaghanoush, 23:16 but that's actually the correct way of presenting it. 23:19 And then it's the same thing kind of like with the hummus. 23:21 And then you take the olive oil, 23:23 you put that in the center. 23:25 Olive oil is in a lot of stuff. It is. 23:27 Mediterranean. Yes. 23:28 Because the olive tree is very prominent in the Middle East. 23:30 Yes. Yes. 23:31 And we had several olive trees in our garden. 23:33 Oh, you did. Over there, yeah. 23:35 We have... 23:37 My father built a beautiful home 23:38 out in the Rhodope mountains, which is incredible 23:41 'cause you can see the beautiful hills of Lebanon, 23:44 the mountains, and then you can see the ocean. 23:46 Oh my. Sorry, the Mediterranean Sea. 23:48 Yes. Yeah. 23:49 And so that's basically our babaghanoush dish. 23:52 Look at that. Absolutely delicious. 23:54 I tell you, I look forward to tasting this once again. 23:58 Yes. Mediterranean food. 23:59 So we need to go on to our next recipe. 24:03 And our next recipe is... 24:05 Pronounce it, please. 24:06 It's doulma. 24:08 Doulma. 24:09 Okay. We're going to use... 24:46 And for the cooking broth... 24:58 Okay, now let's... 25:00 Tell me about this doulma. Okay. 25:02 So have you seen a grape leaf before? 25:04 No. Okay. 25:06 So this is a just a regular grape leaf 25:08 that has been soaked in brine. 25:10 And what happens with it is 25:11 that you take it and you make something called 25:13 Warak Enab or doulma, 25:15 that's the Arabic way of saying it. 25:16 Warak Enab, literally translates to grape leaves. 25:20 But we basically going to take these grape leaves 25:22 and use them as the outer version, 25:23 the outer part of a stuffing, 25:25 and then we're going to roll it up. 25:27 So the ingredients are very simple. 25:29 Let's see, let's put it together. 25:30 We already went through them. 25:31 So we're going to start with the rice. 25:33 So this is just some basic white cooked... 25:34 Well, we're going to start with uncooked, 25:36 it's going to cook later. 25:37 Yeah, so it's all going to go in raw. 25:39 So basic white rice, you could use brown rice, 25:42 it just takes a little bit longer. 25:44 Then we're going to toss in an entire onion. 25:47 Put that in there. 25:48 And then we're going to put some fresh parsley. 25:50 This is about half a head of fresh parsley. 25:53 And then we're going to take this tomato paste over here. 25:57 Okay. And pop that in there. 25:59 Is this certain tomato paste that you... 26:02 Just regular tomato paste. Just regular tomato paste. 26:03 Don't have to go to fancy with that. 26:05 Very good. 26:06 And then we're going to put in 26:08 about 2-3 tablespoons of grape seed oil. 26:12 Okay. 26:13 And you can add less or more. 26:15 Traditionally, the Lebanese... Is it more? 26:17 Let me tell you, they like a lot of oil. 26:19 But we're going to try to make this as healthy as possible. 26:21 Yes. There you go. 26:23 Good amount of garlic in there 26:24 'cause now you can see we have a lot of garlic 26:26 and a lot of onion in one place. 26:27 Yeah. We have some salt. 26:30 And then we're going to go ahead 26:31 and put a little bit of... 26:32 What is this here? 26:34 A little bit of cayenne pepper. 26:35 You don't have to, but again, 26:36 I like things a little bit spicy. 26:38 I do too. 26:39 And again, we're going to add a little secret ingredient 26:41 that my grandma likes. 26:42 The cinnamon. A little bit of cinnamon. 26:43 Okay. 26:45 And she always likes to act like no one else knows 26:47 this little secret, but I figured it out. 26:50 And we're just going to go ahead 26:51 and give us a nice mix. 26:53 Very good. Yeah. 26:54 Mix it all up. 26:56 Now you speak another language, don't you? 26:58 Yes. Yes. 26:59 What is this language you speak? 27:00 I speak Lebanese. 27:02 Do you speak it fluently? 27:03 Yes, I speak it fluently, 27:05 and I can write and read Arabic. 27:07 Really? Yeah. 27:08 It's not... I mean, I spent 13 years there. 27:11 So, you know, it is a difficult language 27:13 but I was able to... 27:15 Okay, you need to say something too. 27:16 What would you like me to say? 27:18 Oh, say something about what you're making? 27:20 Okay. 27:24 â | which means this food is really, really delicious. 27:27 Oh my. 27:30 â | which means I'm very happy to be here with you today. 27:33 Wow. 27:34 Was it the Bible? Well, Daniel written in Arabic. 27:37 I'm not sure. 27:38 Probably, might have been Aramaic. 27:40 Aramaic. 27:41 A lot of different parts of the Bible 27:42 were written in Aramaic. 27:44 I don't understand Aramaic. 27:45 Some people believe... So it's different. 27:46 It's different. 27:48 Actually, it's like a more sophisticated dialect. 27:50 If you really tried, you might understand some. 27:53 But I could tell you I can speak Syrian, 27:55 I can speak Egyptian, 27:58 and I can speak a little bit Saudi Arabian. 28:01 But the idea is they're different dialects. 28:03 So if you understand one of those dialects, 28:06 you can kind of understand the others. 28:07 Right. So yeah. 28:09 Wow, that's pretty good. 28:12 Yeah, so what are we gonna do with this right now? 28:13 So right now this is probably a good mix. 28:16 I think it's ready. 28:17 So what we're going to do is that we're going to take 28:21 our little spoons that we have. 28:23 And we're going to take a leaf, 28:24 I'm going to go ahead and give you one. 28:25 Give me a leaf, yeah. Give you a leaf. 28:27 And then you're going to spread it out 28:28 as much as you can. 28:30 So you can see that there's parts 28:31 that are still kind of folded. 28:32 You want to spread it out as much as you can. 28:34 What kind of tree is this grown on? 28:36 It's a grapevine. 28:37 Oh. Yeah. 28:39 It's literally the grapes, the grapes, 28:40 the leaves that grow with the grapes. 28:42 You take those. Really? 28:43 Yeah. 28:44 So you'll never going to look at your grapevine 28:46 in the backyard the same again. 28:47 No. I worked in Napa, California. 28:50 So I have always seen, going to work, 28:52 I always passed through the grapevine. 28:54 That's all food. All food. 28:55 As far as the Lebanese cuisine is concerned. 28:58 Okay, so let's see how you're going to wrap this. 28:59 So here we go. Here we have a leaf right here. 29:01 This is a good size leaf. 29:02 And what we're going to do is take about a spoonful or so. 29:06 Now traditionally, the Lebanese like to put 29:08 very little of this mixture in it, 29:10 but I like it to be a little bit more hefty. 29:13 So I'll put a little bit more. 29:15 That's enough for that one. 29:16 Is that enough? Yeah. 29:18 This is a small one. 29:19 And then what you're going to do 29:21 is that you're going to roll this up 29:22 the same way you would roll up a burrito. 29:23 Okay? Okay. 29:25 The first thing you do, you start out from the sides. 29:26 Oh, yeah. 29:28 Very good. Starting at sides. 29:29 And then you kind of press down... 29:32 You bring this part forward, the back, 29:34 and as you can see, 29:35 it's already beginning to form into that burrito 29:37 I was telling you about. 29:39 And then you just roll it up. 29:41 There you go. Very good. 29:42 Very good for a first one. 29:44 And that's how you can kind of imagine 29:46 how it's going to look like when it's cooked. 29:48 Oh, very nice and cute like a little burrito. 29:51 Yes. So this would take... 29:52 How long do you cook this for? 29:54 This would take probably about half an hour to cook. 29:57 So you want to bring it to a boil. 29:59 Once it boils, you set it to simmer 30:01 for about 25 minutes or so. 30:03 So it doesn't take that long to get together, 30:05 the long part is actually assembling it 30:08 because this is a small amount. 30:09 Normally you go with probably triple this amount of leaves, 30:12 and then you pack that into a pot. 30:14 So what we're going to do over here we have a pot, 30:16 I'm just going to give you an idea what it looks like. 30:17 Go ahead. 30:19 First thing I like to do is take some carrots. 30:20 Okay. 30:21 And I'm just going to put that on the bottom. 30:24 And it just helps to make the whole dish come together, 30:27 gives it some some nice flavor. 30:28 And we're literally going to pack up 30:30 the grape leaves like sardines 30:34 into the inside of this pot. 30:38 So you don't have to put that much 30:39 but just enough to cover the bottom. 30:41 And then you take your grape leaf. 30:42 Right. 30:43 And we place it right inside and just press it down. 30:46 I'm gonna take the one that you made 30:47 and we put it right next to it. 30:49 I see and so on all the way around. 30:50 And so on all the way around. 30:51 You can do with a good amount. 30:53 If you buy a jar of grape leaves 30:55 from your local international store 30:56 or culture store, Arab store, you can... 30:59 One jar should do about three layers 31:02 in a medium sized plot. 31:03 About three layers. About three layers. 31:05 You just roll it all the way around, 31:07 and then you do another layer right on top of it, 31:09 you build that up. 31:10 Okay. 31:11 Now with the magic of television. 31:13 Magic of television. 31:14 We can just show you what she made. 31:17 Here's one that's already been done. 31:19 You can kind of see how it looks. 31:21 So we have the grape leaves 31:23 that are rolled around the side, 31:24 I like to cook it with a little bit of lemon as well. 31:27 I just put slices of lemon 31:29 and what you're going to do before you start cooking it, 31:31 you're going to add 31:32 probably about two cups to three cups of water 31:34 to your previous, 31:35 I mean, before it's cooked. 31:37 You're also going to add lemon and olive oil, 31:40 and that's going to be kind of the broth 31:41 that it cooks in it. 31:42 So when it's done, 31:44 it's going to have a nice acidic taste to it. 31:45 And it looks very pretty. 31:47 You can put roasted carrots on the top. 31:48 And I'm going to have you taste one... 31:50 Oh, sure. To see what you think. 31:52 So here's one and it is a finger food. 31:54 You said it's a finger food, so I'm going to do it. 31:55 So she's not being disrespectful. 31:57 No, no. 31:59 This is the correct way of eating it. 32:00 Okay. Let's try this. Go for it. 32:01 Here we go. 32:04 Mmm. 32:06 It's delicious, it's healthy. 32:08 And oh my. 32:10 Has a lot of flavor to it. 32:12 So you're getting in some acid, you're getting some saltiness. 32:14 You're getting the garlic 32:16 and the onion, a little bit of heat. 32:17 Bursting with flavor. Yeah. 32:18 I'm eating one more bite, okay? 32:20 Go for it. 32:21 Okay. 32:24 Wow. 32:27 Now we are going to go into our next recipe. 32:31 Our next recipe is fattoush salad. 32:34 Now, Fay, why don't you read the ingredients? 32:36 Sure. So we have... 32:52 And then for the dressing we have... 33:09 And for the pita chips, 33:11 we're going to go with one or two pitas cut into squares 33:13 and you can spray oil them. 33:14 Okay. 33:16 Let's get started with this. 33:17 Okay, fantastic. Where do we start? 33:19 So first thing is let's just go ahead 33:21 and start with the lettuce. 33:22 Okay. Yeah. 33:23 Seems... It's a good amount of lettuce. 33:25 This is a hefty salad. 33:26 And I like to think about fattoush 33:27 as the sister to the tabule, 33:29 usually on our dishes, we put... 33:30 Oh, that's a good amount of lettuce too. 33:32 Nice. 33:34 Usually, we like to add the fattoush 33:36 with the tabule right next to it. 33:37 So you go ahead and toss in the cucumbers. 33:40 Cucumbers, right here. Yeah. 33:41 Here we go. 33:43 And this will wilt, so it's large right now, 33:45 but remember, it's gonna wilt after you add the dressing. 33:46 Oh, yeah. Yeah. 33:47 We can go ahead and throw in the onions. 33:49 There we go. Nice red onions. 33:51 Beautiful red onions. 33:52 One of my favorite onions is red onions. 33:54 They look gorgeous. Yeah. 33:56 It's like regular onions have an upgrade. 33:58 Yeah. 33:59 And then the tomatoes. 34:01 And I love cherry tomatoes because they're extra sweet. 34:03 Yeah. Oh, yeah. They are. 34:05 So it's quite delicious. 34:07 You can throw in the garbanzo beans. 34:08 So again, we're throwing in some protein in there. 34:11 Oh, yeah. Yeah. 34:13 And then radishes. 34:14 What is radish? How is that... 34:16 It's basically a root vegetable. 34:18 It's high in a lot of great components, 34:21 sulfuric components. 34:22 So we have a little bit of heat to it. 34:23 That's heart healthy, 34:25 so we'd recommend radishes for individuals 34:27 who have a history. 34:29 And then we're going to throw in some parsley. 34:30 Again, parsley is just such a great green 34:33 and it's high in nitrates. 34:35 It's also great for helping to dilate 34:37 or widen the blood vessels. 34:38 Really? 34:39 And even helps to decrease hypertension. 34:41 Parsley. Yeah, it's quite incredible. 34:42 I didn't know that. 34:44 So I'm going to let you... 34:45 slightly try as much as possible 34:46 to just go ahead and toss that, 34:48 while I go ahead and prepare the dressing for you guys. 34:50 So we're going to be looking at the lemon. 34:53 You can add as much lemon as you want. 34:55 And then the garlic. Nice. 34:57 Toss that in there. 34:58 Again, garlic and onion everywhere. 35:00 It's a staple. Yep. 35:01 And then we're going to throw in the olive oil, 35:03 you can add as much or as little olive oil 35:05 as you choose. 35:06 And we're also going to add molasses. 35:08 Now traditionally, they like to use... 35:10 We like to use pomegranate molasses, 35:12 but I couldn't find some. 35:14 So you could... I've never heard of that. 35:15 Yeah. It's basically as... 35:17 It's almost like a tartare version 35:19 if I can say that. 35:20 A more tartare version of regular molasses, 35:22 and it has a fruitiness to it. 35:24 This is regular molasses though, 35:25 so you can get away with just doing it with regular. 35:27 But if you can get your hands on the pomegranate molasses, 35:32 I really recommend that. 35:34 And a little bit cayenne pepper. 35:35 Nice. And a little bit of salt. 35:38 You can add more or less. 35:39 Now this is the best ingredient that I want to talk about, 35:41 it's sumac. 35:43 Oh, yeah, I have never heard of sumac. 35:44 Yeah, sumac is a really cool herb. 35:47 It's actually a berry that is dried up. 35:50 And you can get it at... 35:52 It's quite prevalent in the Middle East. 35:53 Okay. 35:55 You dry it up and then you ground it and... 35:56 You grind it and then it turns into this sumac powder. 35:59 It's a very tart sour type of spice if you will. 36:04 And it adds a really wonderful dimension to the salad. 36:07 Usually Arabs will add a lot more sumac 36:10 than I'm adding. 36:12 But I'm just going to not shock everybody here. 36:15 But yeah, they like this dressing to be very tart. 36:18 Yes. And salty and full of flavor. 36:23 And that's basically it for that. 36:26 It's so simple, isn't it? Yeah, very simple. 36:27 We're going to toss that in. 36:29 And this is something that you toss ahead of time. 36:33 Yeah. Okay. 36:34 So you will want it to wilt a little. 36:36 Normally, we don't want our salads to wilt, but this one, 36:38 we want it to wilt just a tiny bit. 36:40 Okay. Oh, that looks so good. 36:42 Yeah, and... 36:44 Delicious and healthy. 36:46 Now traditionally, what we do... 36:48 When I say we, it's not me, it's my people. 36:50 Right, right. 36:52 But on top of the salad or within the salad, 36:54 they will add fried pita bread, 36:57 little bits of fried pita bread, 36:58 deep fried. 37:00 And it's quite fattening. 37:01 So I did a healthier version of that for you. 37:04 And we're not going to add it to the salad itself. 37:07 We're only going to put it on top. 37:08 And the reason is because we don't want to get soggy 37:10 because, again, the one that we're going to be showing you 37:13 does not have a lot of oil in it. 37:16 That's a nice toss right there. 37:17 Look at that. 37:20 And I like garbanzo beans. 37:21 That's so good how you mix it in the salad. 37:24 Yeah, yeah, it's wonderful. 37:25 And so we're just going to transfer some of this. 37:27 As you can see, this is quite a lot. 37:29 Yes. 37:31 More than we wanted to put in the dish. 37:34 I'm going to ask you probably could carry this over... 37:35 Here we go. So I can get some in there. 37:37 Thank you. 37:38 Here we go. 37:40 Oh, wonderful. Look at this. 37:42 This looks like it will feed a big crowd. 37:44 Yeah, it's a great potluck option, by the way. 37:46 Exactly. 37:47 Yeah, I would really recommend this for potluck. 37:49 You are so right. 37:50 For those of us who, okay, that's good. 37:52 Here we go. Fantastic. 37:53 And then... 37:55 There's your white bowl. 37:56 There's my white bowl as usual, 37:58 and then we're going to just clear that. 38:00 And then I'm going to take... 38:02 These are the pita breads that I was telling you about. 38:04 Oh, yes. And so... 38:05 And you sprayed it with oil. Yeah. 38:07 So you do... 38:08 You cut them into little squares 38:09 and then you take them apart because they're two layered. 38:11 Yes. 38:12 And then you spray it with olive oil. 38:15 I recommend olive oil over cooking oil. 38:16 You can use cooking oil of course. 38:18 You just give a light spray 38:19 and then toast it in the oven on bake 38:21 for about maybe 10 minutes at 350 degrees. 38:25 And it just becomes this really... 38:27 Like chips. You can try one. 38:28 And so they can hear how crunchy it is. 38:30 Yeah. 38:32 And then you take a little bit of that... 38:33 Wow. 38:35 And you just top it right on top. 38:36 And that's going to act like your croutons. 38:38 You can add as much as you want, 38:39 but I'm only going to put that much, 38:40 don't cover the salad. 38:42 And there you have it. 38:43 Your fattoush salad presented in a wonderful way 38:46 that's healthy, heart healthy. 38:48 Heart healthy is important. 38:49 We're not killing people with the amount of oil 38:50 that's in those... 38:52 In those croutons. 38:54 Wow, this is absolutely delicious. 38:56 And well, we're going to go straight 38:58 to our next recipe. 39:00 Our next recipe, what is the name of that? 39:03 Tzatziki. Tzatziki. 39:06 Tzatziki. Wow. 39:07 So the right way of saying it is like... 39:09 So you'd say in Arabic cucumbers and yogurts. 39:12 It's going to be laban bi khyar, 39:15 which literally means yogurt with cucumbers. 39:17 Okay. 39:19 And this is actually what you would describe 39:20 as the side dish to the doulma 39:22 and that you would eat it by dipping the doulma in it. 39:25 Now of course, we're not using any dairy, 39:27 this is going to be coconut yogurt 39:28 that we'll be using today, but it's a really fun recipe. 39:30 Very simple recipe. Okay. 39:32 And what we need is... 39:53 Wow, let's get into this. 39:55 This is interesting. Yeah. 39:57 Tell us about this. It's a very easy recipe. 39:58 It seems easy. 40:00 It's almost so easy that I'm embarrassed to share it. 40:01 But I'm going to share it with you anyway. 40:03 So tzatziki or laban bi khyar is the traditional dish 40:08 that we serve next to the doulma. 40:10 Usually, it's made with full fat regular yogurt. 40:14 But today, we're using coconut milk yogurt. 40:17 I never heard of that. 40:18 Yeah. And it's non-sweetened. 40:20 You can find them at your larger high-end stores. 40:23 So it should be something that you can get, 40:25 especially health food stores will carry them. 40:27 All right. 40:28 The thing that's unique about coconut 40:30 yogurt compared to regular yogurt, 40:32 regular yogurt has a bit more acid in it. 40:35 So we're missing that tartness 40:38 because they're using animal fats and proteins 40:40 to create that, 40:41 so we're losing that tartness with the coconut yogurt 40:43 which is why we're going to be adding 40:44 some lemon to it 40:46 to kind of replace that missing tartness. 40:47 Oh, okay. 40:49 So fresh lemon, we're going to be adding. 40:50 Fresh lemon, normally you would not add lemon to tzatziki. 40:52 But, again, because we're going with a non-dairy, 40:54 so it's recommended. 40:55 Now what kind of dish, is this from Lebanon? 40:58 This is Lebanese. Lebanese. 40:59 And partly Greek. 41:01 I think the Greeks stole it from the Lebanese. 41:02 But... Of course. 41:04 But let's just say that it's a Mediterranean side dish. 41:07 Yeah. Okay, let's mix it up. 41:09 And we could talk about your photography 41:11 because you are into photography. 41:12 Yes, I'm an obsessed food photographer. 41:15 It's my favorite thing to do. 41:17 How did you get into that? 41:18 That's a very interesting story. 41:21 When I was working on my doctorate, 41:23 I was also juggling three jobs at the time 41:25 because I really wanted to, 41:27 I had a goal to graduate debt-free, 41:29 and praise God, He helped us reach that goal. 41:32 And I'm very grateful 41:34 because in the midst of that time, 41:35 it was very stressful and I was burned out. 41:38 And I was really seeking some sort of creative outlet 41:41 'cause I'm a creative person by nature. 41:42 But I was forced to kind of get my mind in the sciences 41:45 and get this clinical trial that I was running down 41:48 and manage the grants 41:49 I was working on for like a school district. 41:52 And it was just so much going on. 41:53 So I prayed with all of my heart 41:55 and I said, "Lord, I really need 41:57 some sort of healthy creative outlet 42:00 that could somehow utilize what I already have learned 42:02 as a dietitian and nutrition all that." 42:05 So I kid you not. 42:06 A few weeks later, it was no surprise 42:08 because I prayed about it. 42:10 A few weeks later, 42:11 I stumbled across this idea of shooting food, 42:13 taking food photography more seriously. 42:16 I had done some portrait photography, 42:18 but it wasn't food photography. 42:20 And then I started and I was like, 42:21 "Wow, I really like this." 42:23 And then as I was continuing to work on it, 42:25 I was like, "Well, 42:26 why don't I shoot healthier foods?" 42:28 I'm a dietitian. 42:29 I shouldn't be shooting cheesecake, 42:31 even though it's very photogenic. 42:33 And then I started to create healthier recipes of the things 42:37 I was shooting, and before I knew it, 42:38 food photography, recipe creation 42:40 became like this side gig. 42:43 And I even told my mom, just jokingly, 42:45 I'm like, "Mom, I love this so much. 42:46 I'm going to get paid to do it one day." 42:48 And praise God, like I began to get clients 42:50 and it just became a huge blessing. 42:53 So that's why I am very passionate 42:55 about styling food and making it look pretty 42:58 because a lot of the aesthetics 42:59 about presentation encourages an individual 43:02 to want to adhere 43:04 or commit to a lifestyle change of that nature. 43:07 So it needs to look good. 43:08 That's right. As well as tastes good. 43:10 So let's get into this one. Yeah. 43:11 Let's mix this up. 43:12 So we're just gonna go ahead 43:14 and throw in all these beautiful cucumbers. 43:16 Now these are chopped. 43:17 These are chopped. 43:19 I like to go with Persian cucumbers. 43:20 They're a little bit sweeter. They're a little bit sweeter. 43:22 You can use any type of cucumbers. 43:24 Where do you get these Persian cucumbers? 43:25 They're these smaller cucumbers. 43:27 You can find them at a lot of... 43:28 They're available. They're smaller. 43:30 Yeah. Yeah. 43:32 Yeah, they're smaller and a little sweeter 43:33 than the larger cucumbers. 43:34 Yes. 43:36 And they have grooves on the side. 43:37 So once you see them, you'll recognize them. 43:39 And then we can go ahead 43:41 and throw in the coconut yogurt. 43:42 Now this is the coconut yogurt. 43:44 Wow. Wow. Wow. 43:46 Let's see, it's very creamy. 43:49 It's just like yogurt, but no dairy. 43:52 No dairy. As you mentioned. 43:53 No dairy at all. 43:54 And we're gonna throw in that lemon 43:56 to get that acid in there 43:57 and then we have a good amount of garlic right here. 44:00 Yeah. There's that garlic again. 44:02 So we're gonna toss that as well. 44:04 Oh, yeah. And some salt. 44:06 That's right. 44:08 Salt and the last... 44:11 Oh, look at this. 44:12 Last but not least is our mint. 44:16 The mint. 44:17 Yeah, you could add fresh mint if you like. 44:22 But I prefer the dry mint personally, 44:23 but it doesn't really make that much of a difference. 44:27 You just have to cut them in very fine. 44:29 If you wanted it to be in the tzatziki. 44:31 And that's it, now we can go ahead and... 44:32 This is almost like a dessert. 44:34 Yeah, it's wonderful. 44:36 And as you can see, it's very simple 44:37 and you can also eat it like with pita bread, 44:39 make like falafel sandwiches. 44:41 And you can pour it on top of the falafel sandwiches. 44:44 So it's another fun way to to eat it. 44:47 Pour this in. 44:48 Now go ahead and pour that right in. 44:50 Yeah, look at that. 44:51 Easy, this is. 44:53 And this is a wonderful side dish 44:55 to have with your tzatziki 44:57 on your Mediterranean Meze spread. 44:59 Oh my! 45:01 And then you can take a little bit more of your mint 45:03 and just put that right on top. 45:04 Oh, there you go. 45:05 Always have that little aesthetic touch. 45:07 Beautiful. That's right. 45:09 And there you go. Voila. 45:10 Look at that. 45:12 Now how did you learn to cook like this? 45:17 Where did that desire come from? 45:20 I came from a Mediterranean family, obviously, 45:22 that loves food. 45:23 And so my family really always encouraged 45:27 more plant based recipes at home. 45:29 And so that's something I grew up with. 45:31 But I personally didn't start developing my own recipes. 45:33 Like all the recipes that you saw today 45:34 are my own versions. 45:36 Really? 45:38 I didn't start recipe development 45:39 until this food photography thing came along. 45:40 So my relationship with food didn't really start intimately 45:44 until about two years ago, 45:47 in the midst of my doctoral program, 45:49 among all places. 45:50 But it was my escape, you know, I enjoy it. 45:52 Food to me brings people together. 45:54 It's a wonderful way to show people that you love them, 45:57 you know, and it's the one thing 45:58 that no one has got... 46:00 It's the one thing that I feel you can do with someone 46:03 that just shuts down all the barriers. 46:05 You know, as long as you can break bread together 46:07 and eat something, 46:09 I just feel it's a wonderful way to kind of keep things 46:11 going on a relationship status in a healthy way. 46:15 So yeah, it just developed over that period. 46:18 And I became more inquisitive about creating vegan 46:21 plant based versions... 46:22 I like that, vegan. Of those recipes, right. 46:23 Because I don't like to use any processed meats 46:26 or processed fake cheeses 46:28 or the kind of the substitute ingredients that, 46:32 you know, we've... 46:33 It's a good step in the right direction 46:34 in terms of environmental sustainability 46:36 and health of course, 46:38 but in terms of actual ingredients, 46:40 some of the ingredients can be very saturated 46:43 with a lot of different types of fats 46:45 that are unhealthy, processed fats, 46:49 and also preservatives and chemicals and salts. 46:51 These are all things that are hiding in these 46:53 "vegan" ingredients. 46:54 So a lot of what I do on my website 46:56 with my recipe creation is that 46:58 I use whole food plant based ingredients. 47:00 So like all my creams 47:02 are either made out of coconut milk or cashews, 47:04 a lot of them are nut based. 47:06 I don't like to use packaged. 47:08 And I'm not against anyone who wants to do that, 47:10 that's fine. 47:11 But I feel a need to elevate our palate 47:14 to this area of more whole food plant based sources 47:17 because, I mean, that's what God instructed us to do anyway. 47:20 And I was just talking to my sister-in-law 47:21 about this the other day. 47:23 We were talking about how 47:25 the first book of the Book of Daniel... 47:27 That's right. 47:29 Was actually an instructional diet plan. 47:31 That was completely 100% plant based. 47:33 Yes, it was. 47:34 And it wasn't that the king's food was... 47:36 Okay, we understand it wasn't healthy because of what, 47:39 you know, it was unhealthy meats, 47:40 unclean animals, whatever those things were. 47:43 But nowadays, we eat a lot of foods 47:45 that are douched in chemicals and preservatives. 47:48 I mean, that would be considered unclean as well. 47:50 So I just feel like we have a divine responsibility 47:52 to kind of elevate our palate to more plant based sources. 47:56 Oh, this is so good. And it's easy. 47:58 It's simple. 47:59 And that's what I like. 48:01 You know, these days, people are in a hurry. 48:03 They work and they just don't have time. 48:06 But you could prepare this ahead of time, 48:08 put it in refrigerator 48:09 during the week and you have a nice, 48:12 really nice recipe. 48:14 And so your father, does he cook also? 48:19 My father, he does cook, he does cook also. 48:23 I guess my mother is the queen of the castle 48:24 in that department, 48:26 but my father does surprise us 48:28 every now and then with something 48:29 very authentic and Lebanese. 48:30 Right, right. 48:32 So what we're going to do. 48:33 We are going to come back, we're going to take a break, 48:37 and we're going to show a beautiful display 48:40 of all the food that we just made. 48:42 So stay right here. We'll be right back. |
Revised 2019-09-10