'ethnic' recipes?

536 Views 10 Replies 9 Participants Last post by melissa17s, Jun 29, 2005

peaceful_mama

Discussion Starter · Jun 21, 2005

OK so I was thinking about this this morning. I know a LOT of people from the Middle East..........and it's *rare* to see an overweight Middle Eastern-er. I actually have yet to see someone who eats mostly traditonal ME who's overweight.

And I was thinking about other cultures too, if you look at the traditional diet, it's produce, grains, some meat, VERY LITTLE dairy.

So I was thinking about how I LOVE pretty much all other countries' foods.... And that maybe I should start cooking more that way...........except for the fact that I have NO recipes for anything.

So does anyone have any good recipes or cookbooks??? TIA!

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alsoSarah

· #2 · Jun 28, 2005

I like Rick Bayless' cookbooks for Mexican recipes, especially "Mexico: One Plate at a Time."

Also, one of my favorite cookbooks is called "Real Thai."

You could probably have you library get them in for you, so that you could see if they suit you before you buy, cookbooks can get a bit spendy.

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captain optimism

· #3 · Jun 28, 2005

Please beware about this though: the reason that people in a lot of other cultures are less likely to be overweight is that they don't drive everywhere. Being a pedestrian can help you be slim even if you eat a croissant and a coffee with cream for breakfast every day.

(Okay I can't believe I said that.)

Recently I got a copy of Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Eastern Food. She was one of the first writers on Middle Eastern food in English in the 1960s, and this is a revision of the book. It's very pretty and she does a lot of fun things with vegetables and beans. It's not one Middle Eastern cuisine, but instead reflects her research. She's an Egyptian Jew and some of the recipes are from her family, but many are from other sources (she has a lot of Iranian rice recipes, for example.)

I also often recommend Julie Sahni's books on Indian food, I have the Indian Vegetarian and Grain Cookery from 1987 and wow it's great! Very reliable, every recipe so delicious.

I agree that starting with the library is a good way to go! I tend to borrow from friends.

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VikingKvinna

· #4 · Jun 28, 2005

I like to look at Recipe Source for ideas and inspiration. There are often many variations of a particular recipe (say, Pad Thai or Dahl) there, so you'll probably spend some time comparing them all and getting sidetracked.

But if you're willing to dig and play, it's a good resource.

HTH!
~Nick

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velochic

· #5 · Jun 28, 2005

My husband is from Turkey. It's really true about people not driving in Europe and the Middle East being the key factor. We just moved back from living in Germany and I can guarantee you that the food is not slimming. But as far as the middle eastern diet being produce and grain-rich, you've got it. They do eat a lot of feta cheeseand kashar cheese for breakfast, but they don't cook with it usually and don't have the creamy sauces and buttery things the American diet has. I don't think they use cheese the same way Americans do. (But they sure do like their sweets!!) Another thing is that in the US, everything is processed food. Over there, they just don't cook processed food. I've never seen my sil or mil cook out of a box. Everything is fresh, fresh, fresh. I don't think I've even really seen a lot of processed foods on the shelf in the grocery there. Really, they just don't have these processed convenience foods, which is a major factor, I think. Another very nice thing is that they have cold mezes (appetizers) at dinner that are olive-oil based, which is heart healthy, instead of things like fried cheese sticks or cheesy artichoke dip.

But the lifestyle is just not the same as in the US which is really the key point. Kids don't have nintendo (unless they're very rich) or watch a lot of TV. People spend their weekends walking along the sea or in the woods instead of watching sports and swilling beer.

So, we eat Turkish food (not all the time) and we have some favorite recipes. My dh has a cookbook his sister wrote for him (it's in Turkish) which is what we use the most for our Turkish cooking. But there are also tons of websites about Middle Eastern cooking. I'd just do a google search and go from there. Good luck and happy cooking!!

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Vito's Mommy

· #6 · Jun 28, 2005

One of my mst favorite cookbooks is "Sunday's at Moosewoods." It's written by the chefs/owners of a restaurant in Ithica NY. Every Sunday is ethnic food day. It has Vegan, Vegetarian and Seafood dishes. It's awesome!

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ChasingPeace

· #7 · Jun 28, 2005

It is really true that walking is key to Middle Easterners (or anyone!) staying slim. My dh and his family are from Lebanon. Without fail, family members who have emigrated here have gained 20-30 pounds within a couple of years, even though they eat the same way as they did back in Lebanon. They are all very healthy, otherwise, with healthy blood pressure, low cholesterol (except my MIL), and normal blood sugar.

It's really true that all their food is fresh and made from scratch. Lots of veggies, bulghur, yogurt (fullfat--yummy!), beans and lentils, and little meat. They even make their own french fries.

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captain optimism

· #8 · Jun 29, 2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vito's Mommy
One of my mst favorite cookbooks is "Sunday's at Moosewoods." It's written by the chefs/owners of a restaurant in Ithica NY. Every Sunday is ethnic food day. It has Vegan, Vegetarian and Seafood dishes. It's awesome!

Yes, this is a great book! I especially like the Italian recipes.

I really like this blogger, a Lebanese peace activist in CA who has a section of her blog on food:

http://bedouina.typepad.com/doves_ey...collected.html

You can get started making some classic Middle Eastern dishes right away.

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ChasingPeace

· #9 · Jun 29, 2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by captain optimism
Yes, this is a great book! I especially like the Italian recipes.

I really like this blogger, a Lebanese peace activist in CA who has a section of her blog on food:

http://bedouina.typepad.com/doves_ey...collected.html

You can get started making some classic Middle Eastern dishes right away.

What a great link! (And not only for the food!) Thanks for sharing it.

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boosmom

· #10 · Jun 29, 2005

Hi everyone- I can't wait to check some of these books out. For asian recipes I like A Taste of Ginger by Nina Simond. I have liked every recipe I have tried so far.

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melissa17s

· #11 · Jun 29, 2005

Recently, I have been over indulgent with coconut milk... My dh grew up eating a variety of Asian foods, so I found a couple of websites that have very traditional Malay, Indian, Chinese, and the combination of the Malay and Chinese, which is called Nonya or Baba Chinese. So, for all you that enjoy coconut milk...

http://www.spicysteve.com/recipes-07-malaysia.html Lemak means coconut, so any recipe with Lemak in the name will have coconut.
http://www.asianrecipesonline.com/re...a/malaysia.php
http://hotelpuri.com/sgmrecipe.html this is a dessert made with tapioca pearls, which are called sago outside of the US.

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