Your Lebanon Chef Feature: Nivin’s Kitchen
You don’t have to be a restaurant chef to cook like one. From my kitchen to yours.
We came across Nivin of Nivin’s Kitchen when we first started Your Lebanon and it was one of the accounts that steered us towards featuring homemade dishes, recipes & presentation inspirations. Nivin’s motto above really shows through her work, as she shows her followers the best ways to make even seemingly difficult dishes. We are also inspired by her selection of beautiful dishes and plating to present her food!
Connect:
- Instagram: Instagram.com/NivinsKitchen
- Website: www.nivskitchen.wordpress.com
Guest Recipe Features:
Q & A with Nivin
Please tell us about yourself:
Food has always brought people together in my life. And my favorite moments are when I see the smiles on my family’s face as they enjoy my food.
Hi! My name is Nivin, I am Palestinian and live in the United States. I am happily married and I am a proud mom of three young men whom are my life. Cooking to me is the universal language of love. Food has always brought people together in my life. And my favorite moments are when I see the smiles on my family’s face as they enjoy my food. It is worth all the time and effort that I spend in the kitchen.
My mom taught me the love, creativity, skills, and knowledge I use in the kitchen. She is the reason I started cooking by teaching me at a young age. I like to learn new things everyday to improve my skills and express myself better in the food world. I have never been to Lebanon before but I wish to visit someday.
What is your favorite Middle Eastern dish to make:
My favorite Palestinian dish is Msakhan, I cook it often at home.
Do you prefer traditional Middle Eastern dishes or Modern/fusion Middle Eastern dishes:
I prefer traditional Middle Eastern dishes because they are the basic, without them we wouldn’t reach to the modern fusion ones.
What do you love most about cooking Middle Eastern cuisine:
It encourages family time and gatherings.
What I like about Middle Eastern cuisine is, it is bursting with flavors, uses spices, herbs, to ensure that no dish is ever boring. In middle eastern cuisine, freshness is a key, it uses a lot of vegetable, wholesome ingredients, preservative-free foods, vegetarian and meat eaters love it, it encourages family time and gatherings.
What is your favorite Middle Eastern restaurant:
My favourite Middle Eastern restaurant is Abu Mazen in Hebron Palestine, authentic and delicious food always.
What is your favorite food blog:
Manal massoud is one of them, I love her dedication to the kitchen and to her family and her recipes are always accurate! [Manal’s Chef Feature page]
What is a must have tool in your kitchen for making Middle Eastern food:
A must have tool in my kitchen is mortar and pestle.
What advice do you have for someone just starting to find their way around the kitchen:
There is an advice that I adore by Vicram and Meeru
“No point in stressing while cooking. The more you relax, the better the food and the better your mental well being at the end of a busy day. The cook’s mood is contagious to those s/he is feeding. Doesn’t matter if recipe doesn’t turn out the way it does in the photo of a cookbook or website. People usually appreciate a home cooked meal and the effort you have made, period.”
What nostalgic candy bar would you grab on walks to the local deken when you were a kid:
Finally, strawberry hard candy was my favourite when I was a little kid