One hot, sunny day in late June I found myself in a tiny Arab market in Jaffa, Tel Aviv, sifting through a box of cucumbers. I was with Deanna and Danya, the lovely ladies behind the popular Israeli food blog Matkonation, and we were ingredient shopping for an afternoon cooking expedition. On the menu: stuffed grape (or vine) leaves made with spiced lamb, fresh mint, dried currants, and a cooling cucumber-yogurt sauce. May through early July is the best time to harvest grape leaves, which explained why we were able to grab bunches out of an overflowing cardboard box. The season was ripe for the recipe. More

If you don't already know about Zalatimo, you probably won't be able to find it—or so my local tour guide tells me as we walk into this tiny hole-in-a-wall pastry shop. (Literally - the shop is nestled within the ancient Roman walls surrounding the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City.) There are no menus, because Zalatimo only serves one dish: a savory/sweet pastry called mutabak, which is handmade-to-order from a 150-year-old family recipe. More

For the last few days I have been walking, wining, and dining in Israel. I'm here on a 5-day food tour to explore and understand Israel's diverse (and absolutely delicious, as I'm discovering) culinary scene. I'll be sharing plenty of photos, insights, and recipes from my trip over the next few days and weeks, but for now I wanted to get it started with a look at Jerusalem's outstanding Machne Yehuda outdoor market. It is, quite literally, a feast for both the eyes and stomach! More

Q: I had sabzi at an Afghan restaurant and I'd like to replicate it at home. It had chopped spinach, green onions, and garlic spiced with hot red pepper flakes, little seeds (cumin?), and other mysterious spices (dill? mint?). Know a recipe?

Sent by Jen More

Let's get this out of the way: this Trader Joe's-inspired recipe won't save you time. If you're accustomed to running into TJ's and grabbing their prepackaged Spicy Lentil Wrap (with Spicy Tahini Sauce!), then the chopping, boiling, and whisking required to make it at home might seem like more than you care to take on. But it's such a worthy endeavor. Quite frankly, this homemade wrap is so vibrant and flavorful that I don't think I can ever eat the store-bought version again. Luckily, much of it can be prepared ahead of time, so the wraps are still fairly easy to assemble in the end. More

Pita pockets really are the original convenience food. Think about it: pitas are their own edible travel containers and you can eat them with one hand. Not to mention the fact that pita rounds can go on to become anything from crispy chips to an instant pizza. Brilliant! What do you make with pitas? More

In her tricks to help grown-ups eat breakfast, Sarah Rae suggested buying and eating food that you really like. It got me thinking about my most memorable breakfasts, and the fact that they have nothing to do with the oatmeal I usually eat – or forget to eat – each morning. So, this week, I tried something different. More

One of the most pleasurable cups of coffee I've ever sipped wasn't actually made from coffee beans at all – it was Lebanese "white coffee," a soothing tisane made from sweet-scented orange flower water. More

When we want to add luscious, sweet-tart flavor to marinades, salads, soups, desserts, and even drinks, we often reach for the pomegranate molasses. This jewel-toned condiment can be found at Middle Eastern markets, but we usually go the DIY route and make it at home. More

Are you vegetarian? (Or vegan?) Do you ever feel that your dietary choices, while right for you personally, have excluded you in some way from your family's traditions? I read such a good piece at Gilt Taste today on this topic — I just had to share. Allegra Ben-Amotz shares a thoughtful, colorful piece on her experiences growing up as a third-generation Iranian-American, and as a vegetarian who would no longer eat fesenjan, her grandmother's duck stew. More