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The Weekly Get Together (Istekbal)

Have you ever heard of forced party?. As I get more and more busy with my business and daughter’s activities, I lament the days gone by when my mom had her Istekbal.  Growing up in Syria, I used to tease my mom about her Istekbal. She use to tell me that was a way for her and [...]

Christmas in Siena

A number of years ago we spent Christmas holiday in Florence, Italy.  On Christmas Eve, we took 30 minutes drive to Siena.  Although every Italian city and village has a city plaza, or piazza, Siena’s is different, it is fan shaped, and slopes downward to the base of the fan where a beautiful Catholic church [...]

Christmas Tradition in Provence 3

In the Provence region of France, Christmas Eve dinner quite often ends with thirteen different desserts, symbolizing Jesus and the twelve apostles.  When we hear the phrase, “….and visions of sugar plums danced in their heads,” we are told by food historians that it derives from the custom, originating during Queen Victoria’s reign in the [...]

Christmas Tradition 2

In Eastern Orthodox faith, Christmas is celebrated two weeks later than in most other Christian faiths. And, of course, although Muslims in the Levant do not celebrate this holiday, they participate in the Santa Claus tradition so their children do not fee left out.  In fact, in Damascus, each neighborhood hires someone to play Santa [...]

Christmas Traditions and Gluten Free Desserts From Around The World

Everyday until Christmas, I will post a Christmas tradition from around the world and recipe for a gluten free dessert.
In France, the Christmas tree is put up and decorated on the morning of December 24th, and the day ends with an elaborate dinner.  In Damascus, the same is done, most likely reflecting the fact that [...]

Gluten Free 101

This is the first post in an ongoing series about Gluten Free cooking and a Gluten Free lifestyle.

Before talking about cooking Gluten Free food, you must know what Gluten is. Gluten is a protein that exists mainly in wheat, rye, and barley. Gluten is very common in a standard American diet, but nearly 3.5 million [...]