A mini Middle East feast

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This article was published 07/11/2018 (2817 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Movers & Shakers: A mini Middle East feast

If you’ve ever been to Morocco, you might have developed a taste for ghoriba bhala, little round cookies with the dense but flaky texture of shortbread and the snap of sesame seeds.

Now you can enjoy those delicacies — along with other bakery treats such as baklava and fresh pita bread — at Blady Middle Eastern, a new market at 1324 Portage Ave.

The spacious store — run by Issa Qandeel — who came to Winnipeg from Ramallah, Palestine, and his Moroccan-born wife, Imane Ibnoughazala, opened on Oct. 26 and offers all sorts of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean foods, from Turkish soft drinks to Syrian sweets, Mediterranean olive oil and Arabic coffee.

The deli counter features an array of halal meat, including ground lamb and pre-made chicken-and-veggie kebabs. Cheeses on offer include goat feta, halloumi, majdouli (a salted, twisted string cheese originating near Lebanon, lightly spiced with black cumin) and nabulsi (a Palestinian white brined cheese).

There are several varieties of fresh hummus, including one made with walnuts, and confectionery items such as halva, as well as packaged cookies and treats from all over the Middle East.

There’s a small section with fresh produce and a long shelf full of spices, ranging from aniseed to sumac, and blends like za’atar. There are pickled vegetables, olives, dried fruit, pomegranate molasses, rosewater and grains such as bulgur and freekeh.

 

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Since the demise of Mondragon in the Exchange District, Winnipeg has been lagging in the vegan restaurant department. Boon Burger’s got its niche, Delicious Vegetarian has Chinese cuisine covered, Circle Kitchen on Corydon is an option for casual takeout, while Roughage Eatery can cater you a vegan comfort-food feast. But the number of plant-based eateries in the city doesn’t reflect the increasing interest in eating a less meat-heavy diet.

So Winnipeg chef/filmmaker Dana Giesbrecht sees a place where her passion for raw vegan cuisine and the local food scene can meet… she just needs some moolah to finance her dream.

Giesbrecht launched a Kickstarter campaign on Nov. 1 — World Vegan Day — to raise $50,000 to help open I Like it RAW, a raw, vegan fast-food restaurant that will serve a full menu of such items as Buddha bowls, poke bowls, breakfast bowls, burgers, pasta dishes, veggie wraps with spiced zucchini hummus, soups such as curried coconut cauliflower and pumpkin peanut butter soup, smoothies, organic juices and desserts such as carrot cake with vegan “cream cheese” icing, all free of meat, dairy, oil and GMOs.

Giesbrecht became a devotee of veganism after struggling with an eating disorder. Raw veganism excludes any food that is processed or altered from its natural state, and food cooked at a temperature above 48 C (118 F), but I Like It RAW will not be restricted solely to raw vegan dishes. The chef — who made a documentary, I Like It RAW — Raw Veganism in Beef Country in 2016 — earned her raw food certification in Bali, home to the world’s largest raw food community, this year.

Watch her Kickstarter video:

jill.wilson@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @dedaumier