The Language of Baklava

I recently finished The Language of Baklava by Diana Abu-Jaber. What a delicious read! In both language and recipes, this book was definitely one to devour. (And oh, how I wish I could write with less-obvious metaphors!)

Diana Abu-Jaber can write. There are several passages in this book that made me stop and read again. It is a memoir, written by a woman who grew up with an Irish-American mother and a Jordanian father, thus spending her childhood in both upstate New York and in Jordan.

Her father was the family cook, living large in the kitchen and keeping his frequent homelandsickness at bay with his Middle-Eastern cuisine.

I know a book is good when I am still thinking about it days later.

I copied several of the recipes from the book. So far I have made the grilled chicken and the hummus. We liked both. Next on my list is the baba ghanouj and the tabbouleh.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in what it might be like to grow up in two different cultures, or in Middle Eastern (specifically Jordan) food and customs, or in expanding your repertoire in the kitchen.