Category Archives: vegetables and fruits

Zucchini harvest

I had a work-related project and no time to blog so I am posting an image of some zucchini we harvested on Sunday from the orchard; a quick recipe for a traditional salad of just picked Lebanese zucchini, called koossa here. Boil the zucchinis; mash 2 or 3 cloves of garlic with salt into a [...]
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Mulberries

  Got a kilo of these (almost 2 pounds!) and asked the vendor if he had plucked them himself (I know how long it takes!); his reply was “no way, lady, we send 6 or 7 guys to do the job!”. These are my favorite berries; wish they were sold in the US as well. [...]
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Custard apple (Ashta)

Greengrocer’s stalls are filled with these custard apples, called ashta in Lebanon and grown locally in coastal areas. Best to buy them still firm and let them ripen at home; their flesh will yield to gentle pressure and the fruit is the sweetest and creamiest you have ever tasted. Maybe that is why they are [...]
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Myrtle berries (hemblass)

These berries are liked by a lot of folks here. The berries are munched on raw.  Here is the link to find out what they are exactly (thanks Bassem!). Now that the weather is finally cool and the air crisp and clean, hunting season has arrived; this is a predicament because in the Lebanese mountains folks are hunting [...]
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Chayote squash salad

Chayote squash in Dallas is always available in Latino markets; it is very light in taste and cooks in a few minutes; here in Lebanon it is grown and called French squash (koossa frenjeh) for some reason. People like to pickle it as it is nice and crunchy. A good choice to reign-in holiday excesses, [...]
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