Middle Eastern Our Way

Welcome to Middle Eastern Our Way

(A.K.A. MEOW) It’ll Catch On. 🙂

We are Gordon and Julie, and we love food of all kinds from all nations.

Arabic Coffee Beans

Gordon has traveled to many Middle Eastern countries during his time in the Navy. He has experienced many of their foods and spices, and likes to recreate them here at home. We hope you will enjoy what we have to offer. We are very lucky to have access to their spices and foods here in Florida, where we can experience those exotic tastes.

We are debuting this with a pancake idea that Julie came up with, however, we do hope to add to this page in the future.

Shukron,

Gordon and Julie

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Delicious Middle Eastern Treats

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Milton and Sarajane Whann, Gordon’s Parents

In the photo above they are in costume while on a cruise to Egypt, I believe.

They always loved getting into character wherever they traveled.

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Gifts From Abroad (Olive Oil and Honey)

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Arab Store Take-Out

The Hummus you see above, is the best we have ever tasted! All handmade at the Arab Supermarket. Take advantage and enjoy it for yourself. It is much better than anything you will ever buy at the grocery stores.

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Middle Eastern Appetizers

Easy to throw together, I will show you How

You Can Never Go Wrong with Naan and Hummus, and plenty of Olives

These are Toasted Naan Breads with a very Spicy Hummus from the Arab Store.

This is a Moroccan Olive Spread I Found at the local Grocery Store

The cute little rounds are mini-Naan breads that I found at Sprouts.

I simply just filled them with that great Hummus I purchased from the Arab Store.

I also bought some ready made Olive, Peppers, and Cheese Salad.

If you like, you can either make your own Hummus, or use a favorite brand.

You Can Top Them With Some Fresh Herbs is you Like

Perfect Appetizers, Very Healthy and Delicious

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Julie’s Arabic Sea Bass Shatira’s

My Open Face Sea Bass Sandwiches

(Recipe Down Below)

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Olive Naan’s

With Olive Tapenade, and Olive Hummus

(Recipe Down Below)

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Julie’s Middle Eastern Infused Pancakes

Date Syrup

It was when we were doing some shopping at our local Arabic Food Market that I noticed this Date Syrup. I love Dates! I was curious to taste it. So, we bought one. It had no sugar added, which I like. Turns out, it was delicious! And our Arabic Pancakes idea was born!

Our Ingredients:

I tried to think of everything that would taste good inside the pancakes, and outside of the pancakes.

Dates of course, but we also had some leftover Currants.

Also, some Unsalted Pistachio’s

I also wanted some spices that would make it more Middle Eastern.

Here we have Cardamom, and Coriander.

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Also, Pomegranate Seeds are a Must!

Make six thinly cuts in the shape of a hexagon on the top of the pomegranate as shown.

Then remove the cut out portion.

Now, make a vertical slice down the fruit at each corner of the hexagon.

Pull down the edges of the outer skin. Then remove the white membrane holding the fruit together which will release the fruit.

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Bisquick

We just followed the Bisquick ingredients from above, adding all of our extras.

Add about 1 Tbsp. Ground Coriander.

Then open ~9 Cardamom to release the black seeds.

Here you can see the black seeds in the Bisquick.

Add your water as per the Bisquick directions.

Now add ~1 Cup of Currants to the batter.

Then add ~ 1 1/2 Cups cut Dates. These were cut to remove the seeds then sliced into small pieces.

The Date Syrup

Now It’s Time To Cook

This is a non-stick pan so we don’t need at add any oil.

Cook until it bubbles on top, then flip.

Do This Until Finished

Looking so Delicious!

Now, We Are Done! 🙂

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Julie’s Arabic Sea Bass Shatira’s

My Open Face Sea Bass Sandwiches

I Thoroughly Enjoyed Creating These

They are not only Unique Looking, They Taste Wonderful!

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Lemons and Onions, Sliced

Place Aluminum Foil onto a Baking Sheet and Spread out the Lemons and Onions

Drizzle Olive Oil Overtop

Like So….

Place Into a 350F Oven for About 25 Minutes

You Can Check it After 20 Minutes and Stir it Around a Bit

You Want the Lemons and Onions to Look Like This

Very Caramelized

Remove and Place onto a Plate

Sea Bass

(Bake According to the Package Directions.)

Lemon Pepper

(Sprinkle on the Sea Bass to Taste)

I Placed the Sea Bass onto the Same Baking Sheet

(All that Brown on the Foil is Called Fond. It Adds to the Flavor.)

I Just Baked According to the Package Directions

Remove From Oven and Set Aside

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Baguette, Sliced and Buttered, Then Baked for 8 Minutes on 350F, then Broiled Until Browned

Mina Moroccan Olive Spread, Building My Shatira’s

(This is so good! I saw it at a local grocery store and I could just tell by looking at the jar that it would be great. It is!)

Building the Sandwich

Toasted Baguette, Moroccan Olive Spread, Onion, Sea Bass, Lemon…

Topped With Garlic Stuffed Olives, Sliced

Shahiat Tayiba!

(Bon Appetite)

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Olive Naan’s

With Olive Tapenade,Olive Hummus, and Olive Bruschetta

This could very easily be an Italian version given some of the ingredients I’m using. But to me, it is more in the
Arabic category. It’s not anything difficult to make, or some grand recipe, it’s just something very satisfying to have for dinner that is easy to make for the family to enjoy.

Ingredients:

Naan

Olive Tapenade Hummus

Green Chili Hummus

Olive Tapenade Bruschetta

Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Olives

Micro-Greens

Garlic Salt, Optional

Ready made Green Salad, Optional

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Most people would just place all the ingredients onto a Naan and then place in the oven to bake.

We like to place the Naan onto the oven rack for about 3-4 minutes on a 350F oven on each side before we place the ingredients onto the Naan.

We pretty much toast it before we assemble the “pizza” part of it.

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Now that my Naan is toasted…

It’s time to apply all of my Hummus and Bruschetta

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Hummus and Bruschetta

I simply placed a nice amount on to each toasted Naan,

My Delicious Italian Olives,

I placed some shredded Mozzarella Cheese on top of the Hummus and Bruschetta, then added the Olives. You could also do a dash or so of Garlic Salt over top. I then baked them in the 350F oven for about 8 minutes or thereabouts. Just to melt the cheese and warm through the Naan.

When done, I added some Micro-Greens over top.

Nice, Easy, Tasty….

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2019

Arab Store Food Catering

Here we are at Al Madina ordering the catering for our ‘Day After Wedding’ Party.

The store owner’s wife served us excellent Turkish Coffee, and Gordon some great Tea.

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The food we sampled for our catered party was excellent! Now we just need to get through the Rehearsal, the Rehearsal Dinner, the Wedding, and the Wedding Reception………

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Click Here for: Mother of the Bride

If you are interested in the wedding then click on the link above.

I am particularly proud of the write up that I did.

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January 19, 2019

Here Gordon and I are at the wedding, outside the church.

And below waiting to get into the reception room.

Gordon and Julie

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Veronica and Brian had a lovely wedding. I was so proud of her that she planned most of it herself. Veronica always had good taste. The foods they chose were also so delicious.

May the Force be With You……Always…..

(I believe I took over 500 photos with my new camera. The day was perfect! Gordon and I were so proud of our little girl and her new husband, our son-in-law Brian. That sounds pretty cool. We have a son-in-law. 🙂

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But, before the wedding there was the Rehearsal, and then the Rehearsal Dinner.

Gordon and Julie at the Rehearsal…….

…..and the Rehearsal Dinner at Grillsmith.

(If you would like to see photos then just click on the Mother of the Bride post.)

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January 20, 2019

(Brodie, Julie and Gordon)

Our Party

Gordon and I don’t entertain that much but when we have family and friends down here in Florida then we do like to take advantage of that and have them over to our house for something nice. So, we asked everyone in advance that they come to our house the day after Veronica and Brian’s wedding for some good food and gifts from abroad. Gordon and I had gone over some gift ideas that I wanted him to buy while he was overseas, and mail to me here at home, in order to pass them out to all of our guests at our party.

Setting Up for our Party

THE Blue Tarp

Although the day of the wedding called for beautiful warm weather and clear sky’s, the day after the wedding originally called for 100% chance of rain and cold weather!!!

Gordon and I decided to place a blue tarp over our lanai extension in order to protect it from the rain. We also set up every outdoor umbrella that we had and even our outdoor canopy in order to protect all of our outdoor things from getting wet for our party. Especially the grill. We knew we would be grilling Chicken Shwarma.

Luckily, it went from 100% chance of rain on the 20th. to 5% chance of rain. Although, it did rain the night before, which was good that we did cover the lanai up so that nothing got wet on the following day, our party, everything was nice and dry on our big day.

Gordon, Brodie and McKenzie picked up our food from Al Madina for our party.

OMG! The food was soo good!

Here you can see everyone helping themselves.

The Baskets Gordon sent home from Abroad.

He also must have sent me about 50 scarves!

I decided to just drape them everywhere to use as tablecloths.

I think we started out in short sleeves but as the day progressed and it got colder and colder, we ended up wearing jackets and sweaters.

Jeff and Gordon

Gordon’s Aunt Susy can really pack away that food! But she works it off. She is very athletic, always has been, and is still very active. She currently takes karate and boxing lessons. She has Parkinson’s and both of those exercises are supposed to help with that.

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The food was so good that people kept coming back for seconds and even thirds.

Justin Enjoying the Food Too

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Arabic Salad

Gordon’s Chicken Shwarma

(Gordon also mailed over to me so many spices that he bought over there.

Now that everyone has eaten the Chicken Shwarma they all want spices!)

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Gordon’s Chicken Shwarma Recipe

To make this very common and well liked Arabic Chicken Recipe, I bought some ready made spice blends from the local supermarket that they had readily on hand loose and in the form of a pyramid. Most all of their loose spices are sold this way, as the smell of all of them is amazing and not overwhelming at all. Here are the typical ingredients to make Shwarma Chicken.

1 Tbsp. Coriander

1 Tbsp. Cumin

1 Tbsp Cardamom

1 Tbsp. Paprika

1/4 tsp. Cayenne or more if you like

1 Tbsp. Garlic Powder

1 Tbsp. Onion Powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

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To make the recipe, simply cut your fresh chicken into skewer sized chunks. Add some olive oil (~1/4 Cup) to a zip lock bag then add your chicken. Now add a good amount of your spice blend to the bag and close it. Move the ingredients around inside the bag ensuring the chicken is well mixed with the seasoning. Open the bag and place it on your counter. With the meat on the bottom of the bag, remove the air near the top of the bag by folding the top down. When the air is removed, seal the bag. When you lift up the bag it should now have a vacuum. This will help to force the seasoning into the chicken. Place the bag into a bowl and place them both into your refrigerator overnight. When ready, preheat your gill to medium high heat. While your grill is heating, place the seasoned chicken onto your skewers. Retain the bag as you will pour any liquid left in the bag onto the skewered meat. Place your skewers onto a tray for easy movement to your grill. Now that you grill is heated, lower the temperature to Medium and place the skewers onto the grill. Let the chicken cook for about 6-8 min. before moving. Then when ready, turn the skewers to the other side and cook them for another 6 min. When done remove the skewers using gloves from the grill and place them on a clean tray, letting the meat rest for about 5 min. Doing this will allow the super-heated juices to return to the center of the meat, cooking it the rest of the way to 165’F. Serve the chicken in Pita bread or Naan with sliced onions and diced tomatoes, and enjoy this great Arabic way to eat chicken!

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Gordon’s Palmier’s

This was my request. I wanted Gordon to make these because I wanted something light and savory that I believe would compliment our meal.

(Recipe Down Below)

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Falafal’s with all the Trimmings

(Hummus in the background)

I think that whenever you will be serving food to people that are not too familiar with it, especially such spicy food as this, I think it’s important to have some of the food to be a bit plain. And by “plain” I mean just not as spicy. Most people do like Falafal’s. Also even just some hummus on plain pita bread can be a safe option for those picky eaters, especially children.

The Rice was Delicious!

And now for the main event………The Lamb!

Look at all the garlic cloves! Everyone loved this lamb!

But you can see it start to congeal, the colder the weather got outside.

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Veronica and Brian (The Newlyweds)

Veronica looking skeptical. (She always looks skeptical.) 🙂

We were happy that they were able to drop by for a little while. They were going to leave on their Honeymoon Cruise the following day but at about 1:30 a.m. a tornado blew through their next door neighbor’s roof ripping it off and causing damage to Veronica and Brian’s fence. So, they had to deal with that before they left. Their next door neighbor’s were renting and all of their stuff got wet and was ruined. We do live in what is called “Florida’s Tornado Alley.”

I think it’s about time for dessert now.

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Kanafeh

This is delicious! It has their particular cheese in it that from what I understand you have to prepare the cheese for the recipe before you can make this dessert. I understand the cheese is very salty so you have to soak it? I think? It has a noodle like pastry and it is topped with pistachio’s. Next to the dessert you see this sugary syrup that you drizzle on top of it. This was a huge hit with everyone as no one had ever eaten anything like it before. It was also a bit expensive. The portion you see above was $25.00. Well worth it though!

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These are the pastries that Gordon brought home with him on the airplane.

Everyone dug into these as well.

Cousins, Kelcy and Veronica

(Veronica showing us photos on her phone of the tornado damage to their neighbor’s roof, and Veronica and Brian’s fence.)

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Looks like it’s time for Corn Hole!!!!!

Brodie and McKenzie playing Kelcy and Heather

(I guess we are officially senior’s in Florida when we own our own Corn Hole game.) 🙂

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Champaign and Sparkling Soda on Ice

Ready to Toast the Newlyweds

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To Veronica and Brian………..

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Jeff Catching his Uber

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Now it’s time for the Gifts

Everyone was enjoying everything from the food, to the atmosphere, to the gifts…….

Looks like Gordon is being Ali Klaus. 🙂

I had ordered a lovely piece of furniture for outside that never arrived in time for our party. I originally had wanted to set all the gifts out on the cabinet, and even hanging all around it while some items were suspended above it, in order for it to look like an Arabic Souvenir Stand. Gordon sent over scarves for everyone, lots of change purses, soaps, backpacks, cookbooks, ceramic bowls…….

But instead, in order to make it easy on me because I was sick, I told him to just leave everything inside the trunk and they can just go through it as if they discovered treasure in the dessert.

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We had a great party even though I was sick and didn’t feel too good. I also didn’t eat much of all that delicious food that day. I ended up getting worse that night. Luckily I had Gordon here to take care of me, and to take care of all of the leftover food. I pretty much did nothing for about a week but lay in the Lazy Boy Chair watching t.v. and video’s. I think my only errand that week was to the doctor.

Sadly we also had to cancel our reservation at Casa Monica in St. Augustine, Florida. A haunted hotel. We were set to go for about 6 days so that we could get away together after all the hustle and bustle of wedding activities. But sadly, I was just too sick to go. But when we saw how much money we would be loosing by not going we went ahead and sent Brodie and McKenzie in our stead. That way someone got to enjoy it. 🙂

It did end up being very cold, wet, and rainy for them. McKenzie said that she was having to blow dry their shoes 3 times a day it was so wet. I am sorry to hear that their stay was not as nice as it should have been, but I am happy for us that I don’t think we really missed out on very much by not going. However, we will get there sometime soon. I am determined to enjoy my haunted vacation. 🙂

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Happy 2019!

I hope it will be a good one for all of us!

Julie

(Why does Brodie look like he’s cringing while kissing me?)

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Palmier Recipe:

Our “Flowers” Palmiers

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Savory Palmiers

Ingredients:

½ Large Vidalia Onion Finely chopped

2 Tbsp Olive Oil – I used the oil from the Sun Dried Tomatoes

3/4 Jar Sun Dried Tomatoes or about 1/2 Cup – Finely chopped

1 Cup Kalamata Olives – Finely Chopped

2 Cloves Garlic – Finely Chopped

2 tsp Fresh Thyme

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 Tbsp flour

2 Puff Pastry sheets – Very chilled but not Frozen

½ Cup Fresh Grated Parmesan cheese

2 Pieces of Parchment Paper

Start by slicing your onion using small cut both vertically and horizontally.

Using the oil from the Sun Dried Tomatoes, pour about 2 Tbsp into a medium sized sauté pan placed on Medium heat.

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When the oil has heated to temp. drop in your sliced onions.

Sauté your onions well for about 8 min. or until translucent, be sure to flip them or stir occasionally for even cooking.

While the onions are cooking chop your Sun Dried Tomatoes.

And place them into a small bowl.

Check on those onions …

as you can see I have just a bit of caramelization going on… this will make the onions even sweeter.

We wanted more Sun Dried Tomatoes, so I had to open another jar…. We love these things.

Here I am chopping them up as well.

Drain your Kalamata Olives in a colander.

Slice your garlic into small pieces.

Drop them in with the onions and mix well. Cook the garlic for about 3 min.

Chop your Kalamata olives as shown Above.

And then place them into the bowl with your chopped Sun Dried Tomatoes.

Once your garlic has cooked, remove the garlic and onion mixture from the heat to cool.

Once cooled, place them in the small bowl.

Remove the Thyme from the stalks an place in the small bowl.

Lastly, add your salt and freshly ground pepper to the mixture and stir well.

Remove your Puff Pastry from the freezer and then out of the box. In about 10 min. they should be pliable enough to unfold as shown. Place them each on their own cookie sheet to help them keep cool if needed.

Evenly throw some flour on a clean cutting board so the pastry won’t stick, and place one sheet on top of the cutting board. Then, take your Sun Dried Tomato mixture and spread it evenly over the puff pastry going out far to both sides of one edge.

Here is a great picture Julie took of what I mean by both sides of one edge.

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Now, grate a small amount of Cheese over the Sun Dried Tomato mixture as shown.

I started with the side that has the mixture all the way to the edge. I did this so the center of the roll would have filling and not just be a bread in the center. Roll one side of the Puff Pastry to the half way point as shown.

Now, roll the other side to evenly match the other as shown.

Slice the pastry in ½ inch sections.

Here you can see the thickness of the slice.

Carefully place the slices on your parchment paper lined cookie sheet and chill them in the refrigerator for about 10 Min. before cooking. Now is a great time to Preheat your oven to 400’F.