When We Share Our Bread

When I was a new teacher and on the brink of nervous exhaustion, another more seasoned teacher presented me with a bowl of lentil sausage spinach soup and a hunk of homemade bread to get me through a particularly hard evening (my first back-to-school night).  I remember sitting in the dark, empty classroom eating the warm soup and bread and being brought to tears.  This was a small kindness, perhaps, but it pierced me deeply.  How could someone who was just like me - a teacher, also preparing for her next day's classes - be so generous to share her dinner with me?  She owed me nothing, and yet, she offered me this kindness?  This very busy teacher could have saved that soup for another day.  But she chose to give it way, almost recklessly, without thought for herself.  I ate the soup, humbled and grateful.  And I have not forgotten. 

There is something about breaking off a piece of your bread and giving it to another.  There is something in taking a piece of your allotment, your sustenance, and giving it to another.  Here you go, have mine.  Tomorrow, I have faith, I will find more.  In the meantime, take this.  You need it. 

Middle Eastern Spiced Meat Pies, or Sfiha

 

These Middle Eastern savory meat pies, topped with toasted pine nuts, are a traditional Arabic dish, popular throughout the Levant  (and also in parts of South America, where there is a significant expat Arabic community).  They are small, hand-held "pizzas," made with ground lamb or beef, seasoned with lemony sumac and allspice.  Tahini, pomegranate molasses and lemon juice add a complex flavor and a creamy texture to the meat, and for the more adventurous, a little zing of hot peppers finishes the effect.  Dip the warm pies into plain, sour yogurt, if you want to eat them like an Arab. 

 

A New Lease on Baking Bread: Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

 

If you are ready for a quick and easy overhaul of your bread baking, I have found the book for you!  Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, and its follow-up book, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes A Day, both by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois, will teach you how to make gorgeous, artisanal bread in your house in just minutes.  And if you are not a bread-baker, look out.  This book might just convert you. 

Spotlight on: Palestinian White Cheese, or Jibneh Baida

If you are a cheese lover, I'd love to introduce you to one of my most beloved cheeses, a simple, nourishing white cheese, made in kitchens across the Middle East from antiquity until today.

 

Jibneh baida is a firm white cheese, with a high melting point, a pungent flavor of goat and sheep milk, and a salty tang that will leave you reaching for bread.  Fried and served with eggs, or as part of a mezze, this cheese is hearty enough that it can be served as a side dish.