Comments on: recipes of the week: syrian food, smoothie, and pork http://thecalmbeforethestork.com/2007/07/14/recipes-of-the-week-syrian-food-smoothie-and-pork/ Wed, 01 Sep 2010 02:19:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Leila http://thecalmbeforethestork.com/2007/07/14/recipes-of-the-week-syrian-food-smoothie-and-pork/comment-page-1/#comment-270 Leila Tue, 23 Oct 2007 19:10:48 +0000 http://thecalmbeforethestork.com/2007/07/14/recipes-of-the-week-syrian-food-smoothie-and-pork/#comment-270 Re your grandmother's ba'lawa - that's exactly how my people say ba'lawa. The "qaf" is a glottal stop in urban Arabic dialects of the LEvant. There is no V in Arabic - it's a W. The Turks could not say "q" correctly (Ashkenazi Israelis generally can't either) and the Turks also didn't do the glottal stop. They changed q to k and W to V. By the way, that's how Arabic qahweh ('ahweh in dialect) became kaveh which morphed to cafe and then coffee. I got a referral to my blog today from this post which is why I noticed your comments so many months later... Re your grandmother’s ba’lawa – that’s exactly how my people say ba’lawa. The “qaf” is a glottal stop in urban Arabic dialects of the LEvant. There is no V in Arabic – it’s a W. The Turks could not say “q” correctly (Ashkenazi Israelis generally can’t either) and the Turks also didn’t do the glottal stop. They changed q to k and W to V.

By the way, that’s how Arabic qahweh (‘ahweh in dialect) became kaveh which morphed to cafe and then coffee.

I got a referral to my blog today from this post which is why I noticed your comments so many months later…

]]> By: calm mama http://thecalmbeforethestork.com/2007/07/14/recipes-of-the-week-syrian-food-smoothie-and-pork/comment-page-1/#comment-55 calm mama Thu, 19 Jul 2007 14:33:52 +0000 http://thecalmbeforethestork.com/2007/07/14/recipes-of-the-week-syrian-food-smoothie-and-pork/#comment-55 How about this one? My grandma Esther called baklava "BA-la-wa" -- with a kind of accent on and inhale after the "ba" like she was being punched in the stomach... and let's not even get into the chopped walnuts vs. pistachios for the filling debate! ;+) How about this one? My grandma Esther called baklava “BA-la-wa” — with a kind of accent on and inhale after the “ba” like she was being punched in the stomach… and let’s not even get into the chopped walnuts vs. pistachios for the filling debate! ;+)

]]> By: Leila http://thecalmbeforethestork.com/2007/07/14/recipes-of-the-week-syrian-food-smoothie-and-pork/comment-page-1/#comment-53 Leila Thu, 19 Jul 2007 06:29:19 +0000 http://thecalmbeforethestork.com/2007/07/14/recipes-of-the-week-syrian-food-smoothie-and-pork/#comment-53 Oh, transliterating from Arabic - fugedaboutit, everybody knows it's totally a mess. Gebna vs. jibneh - that's definitely Egyptian dialect vs. Lebanese. But there are no universally accepted ways to transliterate the vowels in Arabic. For one thing, they sound different depending upon the country of origin (Palestinians always say jibnah, tabboulah, qahwah, whereas to my ear Lebanese say jibnee, tabboulee, and qahwee --cheese, tabbouli and coffee) So don't worry about how you spell/pronounce Arabic into English, and please don't make me the expert! 'Cause I ain't! Oh, transliterating from Arabic – fugedaboutit, everybody knows it’s totally a mess. Gebna vs. jibneh – that’s definitely Egyptian dialect vs. Lebanese. But there are no universally accepted ways to transliterate the vowels in Arabic. For one thing, they sound different depending upon the country of origin (Palestinians always say jibnah, tabboulah, qahwah, whereas to my ear Lebanese say jibnee, tabboulee, and qahwee –cheese, tabbouli and coffee)

So don’t worry about how you spell/pronounce Arabic into English, and please don’t make me the expert! ‘Cause I ain’t!

]]> By: Nana http://thecalmbeforethestork.com/2007/07/14/recipes-of-the-week-syrian-food-smoothie-and-pork/comment-page-1/#comment-48 Nana Mon, 16 Jul 2007 04:43:48 +0000 http://thecalmbeforethestork.com/2007/07/14/recipes-of-the-week-syrian-food-smoothie-and-pork/#comment-48 Leila's translations are probably more accurate than mine. Although the differences in pronunciations could just be differences in dialect.....my relatives were from east Lebanan and hers were from the west. Who knows? Anyway I never saw the Arabic written out in English. In putting down what I heard.....well I could be mistaken. Anyway it all tastes delicious and that's what is important. Leila’s translations are probably more accurate than mine. Although the differences in pronunciations could just be differences in dialect…..my relatives were from east Lebanan and hers were from the west. Who knows? Anyway I never saw the Arabic written out in English. In putting down what I heard…..well I could be mistaken.

Anyway it all tastes delicious and that’s what is important.

]]> By: Pop Pop http://thecalmbeforethestork.com/2007/07/14/recipes-of-the-week-syrian-food-smoothie-and-pork/comment-page-1/#comment-47 Pop Pop Sun, 15 Jul 2007 20:57:19 +0000 http://thecalmbeforethestork.com/2007/07/14/recipes-of-the-week-syrian-food-smoothie-and-pork/#comment-47 Wow, all these made me drool! The pork looks awesome! Wow, all these made me drool! The pork looks awesome!

]]> By: PapaStork http://thecalmbeforethestork.com/2007/07/14/recipes-of-the-week-syrian-food-smoothie-and-pork/comment-page-1/#comment-46 PapaStork Sun, 15 Jul 2007 15:43:19 +0000 http://thecalmbeforethestork.com/2007/07/14/recipes-of-the-week-syrian-food-smoothie-and-pork/#comment-46 The pork was AMAZING. Life doesn't get any better... The pork was AMAZING. Life doesn’t get any better…

]]> By: calm mama http://thecalmbeforethestork.com/2007/07/14/recipes-of-the-week-syrian-food-smoothie-and-pork/comment-page-1/#comment-45 calm mama Sun, 15 Jul 2007 15:18:04 +0000 http://thecalmbeforethestork.com/2007/07/14/recipes-of-the-week-syrian-food-smoothie-and-pork/#comment-45 Re: Claudia: Yes -- You're right. I'd only looked in her Jewish food book, where she'd used the Spanish name "Kalavassika kon Keso" and suggested feta cheese. In Middle East cookbook she calls it "Kousa bi Gebna" and uses cheddar (???-ick). My Aunt Renee adds cottage cheese to hers, I think, and sometimes mushrooms, and Aunt Elaine likes to include garbanzo beans. I've been known to mix in red onions and yellow squash, for fun and color. I guess it's like the Sephardic version of pizza: As long as you have zucchini and cheese of some kind, it qualifies. Re: Claudia:

Yes — You’re right. I’d only looked in her Jewish food book, where she’d used the Spanish name “Kalavassika kon Keso” and suggested feta cheese. In Middle East cookbook she calls it “Kousa bi Gebna” and uses cheddar (???-ick).

My Aunt Renee adds cottage cheese to hers, I think, and sometimes mushrooms, and Aunt Elaine likes to include garbanzo beans.

I’ve been known to mix in red onions and yellow squash, for fun and color.

I guess it’s like the Sephardic version of pizza: As long as you have zucchini and cheese of some kind, it qualifies.

]]> By: Leila http://thecalmbeforethestork.com/2007/07/14/recipes-of-the-week-syrian-food-smoothie-and-pork/comment-page-1/#comment-43 Leila Sun, 15 Jul 2007 05:27:47 +0000 http://thecalmbeforethestork.com/2007/07/14/recipes-of-the-week-syrian-food-smoothie-and-pork/#comment-43 By the way - I think it's Claudia Roden who calls it Kusa bi Jibneh, which means in Arabic, her first language: squash with cheese. By the way – I think it’s Claudia Roden who calls it Kusa bi Jibneh, which means in Arabic, her first language: squash with cheese.

]]> By: Leila http://thecalmbeforethestork.com/2007/07/14/recipes-of-the-week-syrian-food-smoothie-and-pork/comment-page-1/#comment-42 Leila Sun, 15 Jul 2007 05:24:02 +0000 http://thecalmbeforethestork.com/2007/07/14/recipes-of-the-week-syrian-food-smoothie-and-pork/#comment-42 My God, Woman, you are a turbo-charged wonder in the kitchen! Squash-n-cheese, lentils-n-rice, AND a smoothie? And pork? Wha-a-a? I am so impressed. I love the idea of chiles added to the squash-n-cheese. Now Claudia Roden, my source on foods Arabic, Jewish and Middle Eastern, says that the Jews brought back foods like peppers, tomatoes etc. from the new world to the Mediterranean and traded them around after 1492. So putting chiles (New World) with a Sephardic squash-n-cheese dish seems historically appropriate. Looks great. Love that you got linked to by that other site. My email chopped up the links so I haven't figured it out yet but I will visit. Isn't the internet cool? My God, Woman, you are a turbo-charged wonder in the kitchen! Squash-n-cheese, lentils-n-rice, AND a smoothie? And pork? Wha-a-a? I am so impressed.

I love the idea of chiles added to the squash-n-cheese. Now Claudia Roden, my source on foods Arabic, Jewish and Middle Eastern, says that the Jews brought back foods like peppers, tomatoes etc. from the new world to the Mediterranean and traded them around after 1492. So putting chiles (New World) with a Sephardic squash-n-cheese dish seems historically appropriate.

Looks great. Love that you got linked to by that other site. My email chopped up the links so I haven’t figured it out yet but I will visit. Isn’t the internet cool?

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