Sunday Feast

We have my mother in law fairly settled in after moving her up here from Florida and getting her into Senior Housing.  Nice apartment, quiet and country setting !    Today after church we went up to cook Lebanese food.  My Mother in law, Irene is Irish, her Husband, Libnan was Lebanese, spoke Lebanese and she had to learn to cook Lebanese!

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My job is to cut up the lamb into small pieces, I started with a 3 pound leg of lamb, I have to be    careful not get anything into the meat but I like my "(MALOOF) or *(MISHI) on the moist side.  So I sneak in some small pieces of it into it while   trimming up the bone, I am holding up the bone, all trimmed off but saved.

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My Mother in Law Irene and My Honey Anna Mae making *Maloof or *Mishi,  a large cabbage is boiled and the leaves are peeled off as it boiled and set aside to cool,  a bowl of dry uncooked rice, cinnamon, allspice, cumin, marjoram are mixed and added to the cut up lamb,  next the tomato paste, tomato sauce and diced tomatoes are added, this mixture is rolled up into the cooled cabbage leaf.   Sounds like "Pigs in a Blanket" but my mother in law adds some other spices to it !.

The rolled up leaves are placed in a large kettle which had the lamb bones on the bottom, when full of rolls a can of tomatoes and is added with some more allspice and cinnamon and set on to slowly boil and cook !  It takes about 3 hours to cut meat, boil cabbage and mix and roll,  We used cabbage but in the late spring we get Grape Leaves and use them to make Stuffed Grape Leaves which is the real * MALOOF !

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The finished product,  a side of seasoned green beans and a chunk of *(MAROOK) flat bread the meal is complete!.

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For desert we had Baklava with fresh Honey.   A great meal !!!!   Great Day !

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Don't forget, Veterans Day s fast approachng!   Remember our Vets, Past and Present !

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