Arnabeet.

I miss many things about Detroit. My dear friends and family is without a doubt first on that list. But, god, I miss the restaurants. Detroiters, be thankful for your middle eastern community because there is some supreme lebanese cuisine happening. Shwarma and falafel just doesn't cut it out here ( sorry, baltimore).

But, the best middle eastern food is at my mama's house. I'm biased, sure, but my mom makes a mean stuffed cabbage and bell pepper dish (ask a vegan). She makes a basic green pea tomato dinner seem...spectacular.

So tonight, I made a comforting homemade dish with thoughts of my mom. Arnabeet ba-al outa or tomatem, translates to Cauliflower with tomatoes. Easy! I've always thought the best dishes have just a few simple ingredients(bruschetta, a simple bean and corn salad,etc) and Egyptian cuisine definitely embodies that theory.

All you need is a can of tomato sauce, one head of cauliflower, one large onion, 2 big cloves of garlic, and salt and pepper. If you wanna spice it up a little more, you can always add a bit of cumin but honestly, it's not necessary (thought we love cumin!). Saute' those veggies in some butter or margarine, add the tomato sauce and finally the cauliflower florets. This is basically how most Egyptian vegetable dishes are prepared(try spinach). Simple ingredients go a long way in our world! This is similar to the indian dish aloo gobi, minus the potatoes.

P.S. These tomato based vegetable dishes are usually paired with rice or the ever present pita bread (it's pretty much a utensil, use them hands kids).

eat up!