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Northern Africa

Situated along the Mediterranean Sea and separated from the Sahara Desert by the Atlas Mountains, Northern Africa has received constant traffic for thousands of years, including ancient Phoenicians of the Middle East, who brought wheat, lentils, and olives. The great Egyptian civilization emerged some 5,000 years ago along the Nile Valley. In more recent times, French colonial influence extended into Morocco and Algeria. Portugal and Spain also left their mark. Arab invasions and Islamic influence have contributed enduring cultural flavor, as well. Wheat, once so important to the Romans, lives on in couscous, a North African staple and national dish of Morocco. Stewed dishes often feature chicken or lamb, the regions most popular meat, along with dried fruit and seasonings (harisa or ras el hanut) that reflect Indian influence. Stews are scooped up with bread and eaten without need of utensils. Lamb is often grilled or roasted to fall-off-the-bone tender.

	Featured Cook rebecca Cooking Level: Intermediate Home Town: Houston, Texas, USA
About me: Im a single mom with 6 chilren all uner the age of 12. I make a living selling home made tortillas door to door. We live very well off of our family buisness. My Profile \| Cooks I Like \| Reviews \| Photos Recipes \| Blog Create your own Cook's Profile \| MORE Cooks »

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nooney

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Atlanta, Georgia, USA

About me: im from cairo egypt but now live in atlanta,ga doing clinical rotations (im a 3rd year medical student). i love everything about food. smelling it, eating it, cooking it, reading …
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Orangette

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Cairo, Al-Qahirah, Egypt

About me: I am passionate about web and graphic design. I also love food, cooking it, listening to music, watching movies, and traveling w/ my hubby.

sounsy

Cooking Level: Beginning

About me: I don't usually cook a lot cuz I'm not even 14 yet but I like cooking so I cook whenever I want to I'm also the owner of the www.freewebs.com/sonsona site, visit it if u want, it'…
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Decadent Rum Balls

Reviewed on Dec. 21, 2009 by Sza Sza

No words can describe HOW AMAZING these rum balls are! I made a few changes, since it's very difficult to find wafers in Japanese supermarkets : I simply used 1 box of butter shortbread cookies and a few Sweet Marie cookies. The Sweet Marie cookies gave them a bit of a soft crunch throughout the ball, that went really well with the walnuts. I also added more cocoa powder than recommended ( around 50 grams - rather than 20 grams ), to make it more " chocolatey ". Also, these rum balls are A THOUSAND TIMES BETTER after a few days. The alcohol of the rum is less sharp and it settles in nicely all over the rum balls, thus flavouring it well. These rum balls are definitely a DANGER to keep around the house! So sinfully good!

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Vegan-Friendly Falafel

Reviewed on Dec. 17, 2009 by monjfr

this one is very close to the real falafel that I used to have . I did`t add any potato , used baking powder coz I found the baking soda makes the falafel more greasy, and as my mother used to do I added parsley (which is supposed to be the basic herb ingredient in falafel)+ cilantro + dill and I add more garlic : up to 7 cloves , 1 and some times 2 eggs(to hold the mixture and to make it fluffy), 1 tsb dried mint will make a great flavor ,some times I add green onions and I doubled the amount of cumin . if U have a meat grinder use it , I believe it makes the texture much better than the food processor. in Egypt they use peeled fava beans not garbanzo beans (but it`s hard to find in USA)and they sprinkle the falafel with sesame seeds after forming it in to balls. thanks for sharing this amazing recipe

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Quick Quiche

Reviewed on Dec. 17, 2009 by Orangette

Two words to describe this recipe: EXCELLENT and EASY! This is a great recipe, and so versatile, you could add any fillings you like. I didn't have bacon, so I substituted with something similar to Pastrami (here in Egypt it's called "Basterma"), cooked it in some vegetable oil after cutting it up in small bits. I added chopped onion, like the recipe describes, and added shredded Parmesan cheese instead of the Swiss (didn't have Swiss on me). The batter mixture was super easy to assemble; most of the time was spent baking the quiche in the oven. I think next time I'll be trying it w/ some broccoli and cheese or something. But definitely, you should give this recipe a try. Thank you Myrite! :)

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