It was 7:58am and I just put the kettle on to make myself a cup of tea. My husband was already on the balcony, listening to Fairuz as he normally does every morning when he drinks his coffee. I was just about to join him when my 8-year-old son walked outside and handed me the …
A Hawaii Mom’s Thoughts on the Threat of Nuclear Attack Read More »
Traveling with kids is an adventure and one my husband and I highly recommend doing. There’s no right age to travel with kids – we started when Lou Lou and Jaf were both babies, taking them along on work trips. It wasn’t until Lou Lou was 4 (and Jaf was 2) that we decided to …
Lebanese food is a staple in our household; with the kid-foodies being half-Lebanese, their dad a chef, and their mom aka me a Middle Eastern food lover, you can only imagine what dinner at our house looks like. While Lebanese food is very popular in, well, the Middle East, it’s not a popular dining option …
Beirut is home to my husband’s side of the family, which is the main reason why we visit Lebanon quite often. When we’re not exploring the city and its outskirts, you’ll find us indoors, stuffing our faces with delicious, elaborate home-cooked Lebanese meals. The kids grandma (or Teta as she’s affectionately known, which means …
Lebanese Street Food Guide: Ka’ak, The Lebanese Bagel Read More »
We don’t always get the best responses when we tell people we’re going to spend part of our holiday in Lebanon. We almost always get asked the question: Is Lebanon currently a safe country to visit? As I sat down to write this post, with a deliciously refreshing glass of Jallab in hand, I can …
The Best Things to do with Kids in Beirut, Lebanon Read More »
We love visiting Beirut in the winter, especially when “Teta,” the kids grandmother makes her homemade pumpkin jam cubes. Known as Mrabba Etta’ Al-Yakteen in Arabic, pumpkin jam cubes have been made for years by many households in villages throughout Lebanon. Leah and Jaf are half-Lebanese, half-Hawaiian; we find it easy to teach them about …
Manakish is a popular Arabic bread topped with cheese, thyme or even ground meat. It’s generally served as a breakfast item in Lebanon, which is how we have it most days, but it’s not uncommon to find it on people’s plates during lunch or even as a quick snack. There are a number of commonly …
There’s only a few more days until the Holy Month of Ramadan ends and the celebration of Eid-Al-Fitr begins. As world-schoolers (and being half-Lebanese) both Lou Lou and Jaf know quite a bit about Ramadan already, why it is celebrated and its importance to over 1 billion Muslims worldwide. For them, the most fascinating thing …
The Holy Month of Ramadan – Explaining Fasting to Children Read More »
At every single restaurant we dined at this year the “kids menu” we received while visiting countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Europe included the same items; Cheese Pizza Pepperoni Pizza Spaghetti Chicken Nuggets Hamburger Cheeseburger Macaroni and Cheese Hot Dog You would expect to find these popular, unhealthy foods from restaurants across …
My husband is Lebanese and we are lucky enough to spend a few months each year in Beirut, his hometown, eating all our favorite Lebanese dishes. This easy Lebanese rice pilaf recipe is passed down from the kids teta (grandmother in Arabic) – she taught them how to make it the last time we were …
