THAT. WAS. INCREDIBLE! Jacqueline is the best, and I was there for almost 4 hours talking and cooking and meeting a truly special woman. My Traveling Spoon experience enjoying a Middle East feast with Jackie and her family was truly a magical experience. This is a woman who is living with all her stars out- full of adventure and interest in other people and experiences. She has lived everywhere from Amman to Bethlehem to Philadelphia and now LA, and we got to talk about much of her story as I watched her put the finishing touches on a beautiful array of Jordanian and Lebanese dishes. She also told me the stories of some of the dishes themselves, and was continually making connections between the ingredients she was adding to her homemade Baba Ghannouj or Musakhan (a Palestinian chicken dish with sumac and stewed onions) and the history of the countries she has called home. As Jackie dropped bay leaves into a pot, she told me how the bay leaf is a traditional symbol of peace. As I dipped a piece of bread first in a dish of honey-colored olive oil and then rolled it in za'atar, she taught me that because this dish is thought to be "brain food," Jordanian students eat it before exams in hopes it will give them an extra boost. Jackie is also just fun- greeting me with a glass of Arak, donning a belly-dancing skirt instead of an apron, and inviting me to join in the dance as we cooked. Once at the table, we were joined by her husband George and brother Jad, who were just as lively conversation partners as Jackie. Together we dove into a feast of Hummus, Fatoush, herbed Labneh with preserved lemon, and Baba Ghannouj for mezze. The main course was Musakhan with yogurt cucumber salad. As we ate, we talked about life and language, philosophy and career, family and travel, and by the time it was time for tea and Kunafah (a cheese pastry sprinkled with pistachios and drizzled with orange blossom syrup) in the garden, we had become fast friends. Another delightful component of the experience was George's garden, from which much of the produce for the meal was grown. It is a small, suburban garden, but with Jackie the seed procurer (she brought back seeds for most of the plants from the Middle East) and George the master gardener, it is wonderfully diverse. Figs, grapes, cucumbers, zucchini, lemons, and kumquats are just some of its offerings. George, who is perhaps less gregarious than Jackie but just as friendly, is a passionate gardener and showed me his plants with the same pride that he later showed me pictures of his grandsons. Jackie, before I had seen the full scope of her culinary skills, plucked a grape leaf from the vine and showed me how to roll fresh dolmas. By the end of dessert, I felt like a fully-welcomed new member of the family. I also felt full. Like, really really full. Full of life and gratitude for these kind of experiences and...well...I cannot emphasize enough...full of delicious food.

Meal

Cooking Experience