Meeting Yasmeen!

Posted by Correen in Articles, Interviews | 2 comments

Hey, hi all! Today we get the pleasure of meeting Yasmeen from Wandering Spice – a special thank you to Gerry for the introduction! While sticking to her roots of Middle Eastern cooking, Yasmeen has embraced the cuisine, people and places of her new home in Melbourne, Australia. Read on and follow this food lovers dreamy escape to the land down under!

More and more home cooks are using local, seasonal ingredients in their cooking. Talk with us about how this trend plays a part in your cooking and eating.

Sourcing local and ethical ingredients has become a major part of my food philosophy. If I can support local growers and do my part to leave a smaller footprint on the environment, I’m happy. That said, I’m a realist: it’s impossible to do it 100% of the time, so you do the best you can as often as you can. My man’s parents have a 20 acre hobby farm about an hour’s drive from Melbourne, and we’re lucky to get fresh eggs, fruit and veg from them quite often. We also have a little greenhouse on our balcony for fresh herbs (that we had to possum-proof! Apparently they love coriander). I love writing about what we bring home from the farm or have grown ourselves. I hope that by sharing what I’ve learned, I can help others learn, too.

You have recently moved to Melbourne, Australia, a place I would love to visit someday. Tell us three of the coolest things you have discovered so far.

Melbourne is an absolute haven for artists, musicians, food enthusiasts and independent thinking. A few of my favorite things:
1) Laneways. The inner city is full of alleyways that, instead of falling into sketchy disrepair, have been converted into beautiful street art-covered cafe and boutique-filled spaces (Degraves St., Melbourne on Flickr).
2) Coffee snobbery. It almost sounds like a bad thing, but baristas here take coffee very seriously, which equates to absolutely no shortage of delicious brews (and creations, and competitions!) across town.
3) Markets. The markets here are insane. Vast and full of ethnic ingredients from the normal to completely bizarre. There is truly something for everyone.

Open your fridge and pantry, create something for us with 3 to 5 ingredients.

I’m all about quick + easy recipes, especially when they’re inexpensive but look really chic. A few of my favorites that I’ve blogged about are…
- Silken Tofu Chocolate Mousse (3 ingredients, friendly to non-dairy folks)
- Gambas al Ajillo (4 ingredients + spices, will earn you global points)
- Nectarines with Sweet Balsamic Syrup (3 ingredients, easy and elegant).

Many of the recipes you share on your blog have a Middle Eastern flair. Talk to us about your cooking heritage and who inspired you.

I’m Palestinian-American and grew up eating Middle Eastern food at home, but since we travelled so much as a family, I also had the unique chance to taste flavors from around the globe. My mother and father are definite culinary inspirations, my mom for her impeccable hospitality and presentation skills, and my dad for his fearlessness in the kitchen. Food is incredibly personal to me; I suppose it’s no wonder that I’m inspired by recipes that have a cultural story. Mediterranean, Latin and Asian foods appeal to me most, since those cultures so intimately intertwine food with family, sharing, and community much like my Arab heritage does.

What was one decadent pleasure you enjoyed this week? How did it make you feel?

I took the plunge and made Espresso Eclairs for the first time… and it felt great! Historically I’ve put eclairs in the too-hard basket, so to speak. When I realized how easy they were to make (and how indulgent to eat!), I had to share that really anyone could try it. My colleagues also presented me with a baked chocolate cheesecake for my birthday last week, which put me into a food coma that I did not regret

Yasmeen is Middle Eastern native of Washington, DC. Many years of traveling and an inquisitive nature led her to Amsterdam, where she completed her Masters degree in Sociology (with a very saucy thesis in tow) and met a charming Australian Man who wooed her across hemispheres to her new home in Melbourne, Australia. Yasmeen works in Philanthropy and hopes to save the world one day, but also occupies her time with baking, photography, going to shows and gushing over kangaroos. Her blog, Wandering Spice, is a collection of recipes, photos and stories inspired by what she’s seen while exploring her surrounds, local and beyond.

♥ Find me on Twitter: @wanderingspice
♥ Find me on Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/wanderingspice
♥ Find me on Foodbuzz: WanderingSpice’s foodbuzz (I’m still figuring this one out… anyone care to help?)