MIDDLE EASTERN WINTER SALAD FOR PEACE
Is it just me, or is the world a total sh*t show right now? I mean who am I kidding, it's been one horror story after the next for YEARS and the situation in the Middle East that's at the forefront of our minds today, as I write these words, has actually been going on for decades! It's A LOT.
Even for those of us privileged enough to live nowhere near a war zone, the distress and trauma, the sleepless nights, the sense of helplessness, all of it, it's REAL.
If you have a ‘platform’, it's so hard to decide whether to say something and risk hurting people on one or both sides, to stay silent and risk being perceived as complicit or to post - business as usual - and risk looking heartless.
Here's what I know. The next right move, the right thing to do, is SO individual.
There have been times where speaking up, regardless of which feathers I might ruffle, felt like the only possible way forward. In those moments it was impossible to relate to people who didn't say anything, but now, after one too many world traumas, I've come to understand that not everyone knows how to find the right words or wants to air their deepest of emotions or political views publicly.
We're all different, and that's ok.
There have been times where my lack of knowledge about the deeper issues at hand have meant that staying silent, in order to listen and learn, whilst giving space to voices that need to be heard, has felt like the best approach. Honestly, I don't always need to add to the noise and sometimes a private and supportive DM to someone who's going through it, I found, can be immensely powerful. The thing is, the WHY behind someone's silence, we don't know and I've learned - the hard way - it's best never to assume.
And there are also moments where posting a salad bowl and expressing myself creatively has been a way to stay sane. It doesn't mean I don't care, it doesn't mean I'm not seeing what's happening, it doesn't mean I'm looking to gain followers and make more money, it’s just my survival method.
No one knows what anyone else does behind the scenes. We don't know what people are feeling and, from where I stand, everyone is feeling all this very, very deeply.
So look after yourself and stay well.
P.S. This week, I’m using creativity and food to channel my emotions and hopefully have some kind of minutely positive impact. A Middle Eastern Peace salad, is what I’m calling it. And you can find the recipe for it below.
Middle Eastern Peace salad
A winter salad full of bright flavours with just the right touch of bitter, sweet and sour.
Preparation time: 5-10 min
Serves: 4-6 as a side salad
INGREDIENTS
2 red chicories (or any other bitter leaves like radicchio or endive), washed and finely chopped or roughly torn
1 fennel, washed and finely chopped or sliced with a mandolin
1 red onion, peeled and finely sliced with a mandolin
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 citrus fruits like oranges, large clementines or pink grapefruit, peeled. One cut into circles, the other segmented. All membranes removed.
Arils of 1/2 a pomegranate
A handful of pine nuts
Fresh mint or parsley leaves
Pepper to taste
Ingredients for the dressing:
2.5 tbs olive oil
1 tbs pomegranate molasses
1 tbs maple syrup
1 tbs lemon juice (roughly juice of 1/2 a lemon)
Pinch of salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Prep all the salad ingredients.
Combine the onion with the juice of 1/2 a lemon in a bowl. Let it sit whilst you prep the dressing.
Combine the dressing ingredients and mix well!
Plate all the salad ingredients, including the onions. Top with the dressing.
Serve with couscous or a grain salad like THIS nourishing quinoa bowl recipe and/or pitta bread, olives and your selection of protein.
Here is this recipe’s Reel with some thoughts on what is happening.
Recipe adapted from one I saw on @sami_tamimi IG page.