Abundance ~ A Cookbook by AUB Alumni & Friends

Letter from Wafa Saab - President, WAAAUB

"For over a year now 45 alumni of the American University of Beirut residing in different countries across the world have been working together to assemble a cookbook on Mediterranean cuisine. What makes this cookbook special is that, in addition to the health and dietary benefits, it includes snippets of memories associated with the tastes and smells of the foods.
Who among us does not remember the aroma of a favorite dish their mother prepared? Or the warm fragrance of grandmother’s soup in winter?
The Philadelphia/Delaware Valley Alumni Chapter has deemed these tastes, smells and memories too precious. They have mobilized the culinary talents of 45 alumni world-wide and put together this sumptuous collection of recipes.
And what better occasion to launch such a creative endeavour than the 150th Anniversary of the university we are all celebrating. This is yet another activity that links our history to the future generations that will experience the abundance of being a part of AUB’s life-changing experience.
A case in point is that the cookbook contributors were not previously acquainted. Their main common denominator was their history at the American University of Beirut. It was that connection that they employed when reaching out to over 150 others who submitted more than 200 recipes.
AUB was the connection that bound them together as they cooked, tested, tasted, sampled, wrote, rewrote, edited, styled, arranged and photographed the various dishes. In the midst of all of this, they shared treasured memories of their years at AUB, discovered lost friendships and updated one another on life events.
The volunteers who produced this collection of recipes used their educational and professional backgrounds, their qualifications and their know-how to contribute to the sections on health, lifestyle, and benefits of the Mediterranean cuisine—including substitutions for dietary limitations, and a glossary of terms, techniques, herbs and spices.
I would like to take this opportunity to, not only thank the volunteers who made this work possible, but to point out the enduring connection to our Alma Mater, which continues to bring us together on projects and endeavours of such a diverse and intrepid nature.
Please take time to click on this link and see a preview of this beautiful publication:http://www.alumniconnections.com/olc/filelib/AVB/cpages/44/Library/WAAAUB%20cookbook%20FINAL%20PREVIEW-DEC15.pdf
You may also pre-order your copy of Abundance by going to this link:http://www.alumniconnections.com/olc/pub/AVB/cpages/news.jsp?chapter=44
It is truly inspirational to see our worldwide alumni engaging with each other, with their chapters and with AUB. Our strength continues to lie in your sustained engagement and your contributions to our beloved Alma Mater. "
 

AUB Alumni Launching Mediterranean Cuisine Cookbook

A cookbook that can be treasured and enjoyed for years....

To join in the commemoration of American University of Beirut’s 150th anniversary in 2016, the WAAAUB (World Alumni Association of AUB) Philadelphia/Delaware Valley Chapter is sponsoring the compilation of a WAAAUB Mediterranean Cuisine Cookbook. "cookbook that can be treasured and enjoyed for years."
This project will showcase the leadership, expertise, energy and commitment of AUB Alumni globally!

I am really excited for this cookbook as I am an AUB Alumni and I will be on the committee for content editing!

All AUB Alumni and friends may contribute recipes; colored photos are highly encouraged.
Recipe contributors have to include their name, city and state/country for publication. Along with a short introduction, age-old wisdom, or personal story behind the recipe.

Recipe submission begins ~ mid-January 2015.

For more info: http://www.alumniconnections.com/olc/pub/AVB/cpages/news.jsp?chapter=44

My Graduation Piece

Commencement Exercises in 1930 ( ( Tamir Nassar Albums)

This was my last article submitted to AUB's students official newspaper on campus : AUB OUTLOOK, issue 24, Volume 24.
I had been planning to write this weeks before submissions but couldnt. I wrote it in 30 minutes. So it might not be  a good graduation piece but it does reflect my emotions when I graduated as a Master's candidate in Food Technology, my passion and my career.

“Root and Flow”
Loulwa Kalache, Staff Writer

How could you write about a 6 years life experience in 300 words? I would write a whole book about these life shifting events that I have experienced in AUB.

This article is not for people who graduated but for people who still didn’t .Nothing is more beautiful than fighting for your grades, working hard on your projects and never missing classes. Nothing is more memorable than making Jafet your studying area and “over-nighting” on campus benches when Jafet closes. Or maybe just pretend that you are studying and end up doing crazy things with your friends. Indeed, they always say these days won’t come back, but these are the days that will enable other beautiful days to come.

Chemistry Lecture Hall ( Notice no women in the class! Great Improvement 80 years later in the sciences' field
( Tamir Nassar Albums)

 If I would advise those are still in AUB, I’d tell them not to miss their chances in participating in all the wonderful events. So, plant a tree, become an active member of a club that represents you or maybe that doesn’t, have fun in Outdoors, write in Outlook,  volunteer in the commencement exercises and sign up for the yoga classes in Hostler. Remember though don’t make your interests absolute. Twist them to bring winds of change in your life.

West Hall in 1933, Still the same 80 years later!( Tamir Nassar Albums)

Even your goals are not immutable. You will realize that the dreams you will achieve are not actually the ones that you dreamt of or planned for.

I wanted to do my graduate studies in USA but I ended up I spending three  extra  years in AUB for my masters, and I worked in two different departments .If I were in USA, I would not have become so fond of AUB, or Beirut, or even of my own country Lebanon.

AUB taught me how to be lenient, to be open, and at the same time to be determined of the values that I was raised on. AUB didn’t make me lose my identity but rather built it up and allowed me express it freely. It was on this campus that I got inspiration, chose the proper guidance and built my passion list. It was on this campus; I wore my hijab and found peace with God.

American University of Beirut Chapel, now Assembly Hall ( Tamir Nassar Albums)

The world has to know that AUB nurtures our diverse identities to make them blossom beautifully so that the whole world can see them.

“ I root but I flow” is the motto that I will associate to AUB , just like those 100 years aged trees on the campus, they are rooted but are flowing with their current surroundings, events and people. And this how an AUB graduates is “we root, but we flow”.

The Famous Banyan Tree on West Hall (  Tamir Nassar Albums)

 **Tamir Nassar Albums from American University of Beirut  website,  SAAB Medical Library Archives 

The albums contain photographs from anthropological field trips in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan by faculty and staff from the American University of Beirut in the 1920's and 30's. They were collected by Tamir Nassar who participated on the trips and who also added a few personal photographs over the years.

Sushi Safety In Beirut

( Guest post by Food Scientist Rawan Hammoud) 

One of the sushi samples taken for testing

Sushi Popularity in Lebanon:

Sushi as a food product has grown and evolved to create an entire industry of Sushi bars which has found its way to the Lebanese market. Sushi was first introduced in Lebanon upon the opening of “Le Sushi Bar” in 1997. A decade ago there were only two Sushi bars in Lebanon, but now this number has had a fifteen fold increase amounting to about 35 Sushi restaurants in Beirut.  The manager of “Le Sushi Bar” considered the consumption of raw fish not unusual in Lebanon. He maintained that in some areas the consumption of raw meat is normal like in the Lebanese staple “Kebbeh Nayye”.

Mommy Made: A factory that needs your votes

Food Security and Hunger is something I have always tackled in my blog. Stabilizing Food Prices and Misconceptions about the Hunger Crisis) . When it comes to achieving food security, food processing comes as the immediate solution.  And the best way is by building simple factories that can use the available resources in the area.

That's what students from the American University of Beirut are doing. The team have designed a full plan that will tackle almost all issues in an impoverished area.  How? By designing a food factory called
“Mommy Made”: and it needs your votes to win in the campaign ( Ripples of Happiness)

Photo from the FACEBOOK PAGE

• HEALTHY MEALS It is a food manufacture that provides socially responsi
  ble production efforts yielding healthy meals for everyone. 

• SELF SUFFICIENCY Mommy Made recruits, trains and employs mothers suffering from financial or physical challenges to transform them into self sufficient persons and have better lives for their families.
• EDUCATION for FREE: In addition, since the manufacture will be located in the basement of St. Vincent de Paul School in Borj Hammoud-Nabaa, the employees children will be able to go the school for free, which will improve the lives of these families on the long term, and take them definitely out of poverty for better lives for their families. In addition, the employees children will be able to go to school for free, what will improve the lives of these families on the long term.

So you will see how it is just any voting campaign. It is for a good cause!

WHAT TO DO?

VOTE AND VOTE EVERYDAY 

Ripples of Happiness" is an educational program that is jointly developed by the Coca-Cola Foundation and INJAZ Al-Arab with primary emphasis on social responsibility, entrepreneurial skills, financial literacy, and workplace readiness.

THE AUB STUDENT TEAM is supported by the Center for Civic Engagement and Community Service (CCECS) and is composed of: 

Abdul Khalek Amal	Political Studies
Awada Sara	Business Administration
Batikhi Omar	Public Administration
Bu Jawdeh Samer	Mechanical Engineering
Chams Jana	Architecture
Chehade Hind	Majorless
El Jarrah Rana	Chemistry
El-Dana Reem	Business Administration
Hobeika Vanessa	Mechanical Engineering
Hussein Judy	Architecture
Moussawi Rasha	RA
Najem Yara	Environmental Health
Oumaya Redouane	Freshman
Ramly Sami	Electrical and Computer Engineering
Salame Clara	Nutrition & Dietetics
Saliba Philippe	Chemical Engineering
Sarieddine Marwan	Civil Engineering
Sfeir Samer	Business Administration
Terro Maya	RA
Zahreddine Rayane	Civil Engineering
Zakhia Erik	Mechanical Engineering

Food Against Breast Cancer

Who gets breast cancer?

I had the utmost pleasure in supporting through media the campaign " AUB is going pink" last month.The campaign which was organized by AUB's Red Cross club ( Sponsored by Beesline and Le Gustav), intended to raise awareness among college students about Breast Cancer.

Kashkaval Cheese Production in AREC

"Cheese - milk's leap toward immortality" Clifton Paul Fadiman

I have been always fascinated by cheese. Its hundred varieties, hundred of flavors and odors...Its texture , the way it melts , the way it squeezes between our teeth. 

And I always thought what had occurred to our ancestor's mind to get the rennet from the stomach of the calves and put in milk to do cheese. It was a Magical moment.

And truly as one said “I just don't see the point of not eating cheese. I mean, if God didn't want us to eat cheese, would he have let man invent it?” 

Even Charles de Gaulle , president of France after World War 2:" "How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?”  

Cheeses might be a mystery indeed. But not if one understands them.

Actually , cheeses with their different varieties are due to different processing methods. This post will be about Kashkaval ( Bulgarian) , which is commonly known in Lebanon as "Kashkawen".
Kashkaval is from the "Pasta Filata " style Cheeses . That is it is  basically like Mozarella, Cheddar cheese, ...etc

First, It was the Romans wanted a kind of cheese that can stretch , and the way they did it was through adding hot water to the cheese curd.

Mr. Samson Atamian* organized the workshop in cooperation with Farmer to Farmer (ftf) NGO and the Nutrition and Food sciences department of  Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences and hosted by AREC .  FtF had already invited Mr. Johnathan Metzig** for training other dairy companies . Mr. Atamian was given the chance to invite and host him for one day at the American University of Beirut. 

 The purpose of the workshop was broadening the knowledge of  the food technology graduate students in the field of  cheese making. Thus, to improve their skills and knowledge, inorder to be able to improve the local food industry .

January News & Announcements

Pearl's Powder blogger  was interviewed by  the Gate's Magazine for the January Issue !

 Thanks  to Lana from L' Armoire De Lana for giving me this opportunity. ( If you love fashion ,you might want to check her  glamorous blog! )

Link to Loulwa Kalach's Interview with the Gate Magazine

Also you might also what to check Paty M from PatyMsNutritionWorld to read her post about the " Social Media Changing Lives"  thank you dinner for all those who participated in the Conference.
The dinner was hosted by Amarress and organized by AUB's Online Collaborative.
(Link to the Post)

Is Lebanon Food Secure?

The Economics of Food Security in Lebanon

What comes to your mind when we say " food secure"? Do we mean that all Lebanese people have access to food? The answer is not quite positive.
Lebanese might eat everyday, but they might not quite eat good, or adequate amounts of the food.
Food security includes not just the availability of food but also entails the safety and nutrition of the food we eat.

Jane Harrigan, a political economist, consultant to the World Bank and FAO, and professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London presented a lecture on November 30, 2011 on "The Economics of Food Security" which was sponsored by the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences (FAFS) at AUB.

Harrigan stated that Lebanon's heavy dependence on imported food combined with massive hikes in global food prices between 2007 and 2008 have sparked increases in poverty. She added that the the average Lebanese household spends a large 20 to 30 percent of take-home income on food.


"Yes, domestic wheat production has increased significantly over the last 15 years but so has domestic demand due to population growth, income growth, and changing consumption patterns," warned Harrigan.

In 2009, the World Bank rated Lebanon as vulnerable in food security. The global rise in food prices and the fact that Lebanon is heavily dependent on import had some serious macro-economic effects: it led to inflation, a rising agricultural trade deficit, and a major negative social effect.

Between 2007 and 2008, the agriculture trade deficit as well as the cost of imported food increased 50 percent. Trade data suggests that Lebanon has a very strong revealed comparative advantage in the export of fruit and vegetables as well as wine and tobacco, added Harrigan.

From a purely economic perspective, if Lebanon wants to achieve food security by specializing in those areas where it has an international comparative advantage it should be focusing on exporting fruits vegetables and importing cereals that it doesn't have a comparative advantage in.

One Sentence that caught my attention was when Harrigan affirmed that "The global food crisis is one of the many propellers of the Arab Spring".....

Presentation Abstract

This presentation will look at the economic costs to Lebanon of the sharp rise in global food prices in 2007/08 in light of the country’s heavy dependence on food imports. It will assess the policy response to this in the form of renewed emphasis on domestic food production, particularly of cereals, and will ask whether such a policy is an economically efficient use of scarce domestic resources.

About the speaker

Jane Harrigan is Professor of Economics at SOAS. She has worked and published extensively on the political economy of the MENA region as well as on sub-Saharan Africa. She is currently working on a project looking at food sovereignty in the Middle East funded by Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar. She is the author of eight books and has acted as a consultant to numerous international organizations, including the World Bank and FAO.

Publication of the lecture: http://www.aub.edu.lb/communications/media/Documents/dec-11/food-security-world-bank-EN.pdf

Youtube Video:

AUB Lebanon http://youtu.be/yIUkAr-T77A

Social Media Changing Lives Conference

Social Media Changing Lives

Check out the rest of the posters!

After the success of “Blogging Lebanon” last December, Online Collaborative at the American University of Beirut proudly announces its annual conference for this year “Social Media Changing Lives”.

There is no doubt that social media is expanding drastically in the world, and especially in the Middle East, yet this change is not only related to technology and the internet. Social Media is revolutionizing every aspect of our lives. The aim of this conference is to discuss how social media is changing fields such as education, culture, business, media and journalism, music and art, NGOs, politics, religion, human rights, science, the environment and the personal lives of everyone who is using them.

This conference will be taking place on December 16, 2011 at 12:00 PM at Issam Fares Hall at the American University of Beirut.

Check the schedule and speakers list below and don't forget to join our event on Facebook.

Blogging Lebanon Event

So, I never posted the events I attend . But this time it is different. It is related to Blogging. I am basically a member in the AUB's Online Collaborative and we are organizing this event, check it out guys! :)

After its unfortunate cancellation last May due to student protests at the American University of Beirut, AUB's Online Collaborative is announcing the relaunch of AUB's First Lebanese Bloggers Convention, now renamed to Blogging Lebanon. This event that attracted many bloggers from the Arab and international scene is rescheduled to Friday December 3, 2010 at the American University of Beirut. The aim of this convention is to gather bloggers from around the region under one roof. The event will include several guest speakers from different backgrounds who will share their experiences and discuss different topics related to blogging and social media, such cultural aspects, privacy issues, importance of blogs, political implications, and dangers etc... Below is the list of guest speakers we have so far:

• (Her Majesty) Frances Guy, British Ambassador to the Republic of Lebanon, http://blogs.fco.gov.uk/roller/guy/
• Imad Bazzi, Executive Director of CyberAct and Journalist, http://www.trella.org/
• Diana Nemeh Afif, Business Owner/Writer, http://www.dinbcity.blogspot.com/
• Marc Dfouni, General Manager of Eastline Marketing, www.eastlinemarketing.com/blog
• Farah Abdel Sater, President of the UN Youth Association of Lebanon, farah-has-a-lot-to-say.blogspot.com
• Naeema Zarif, Art Director, http://www.naeemazarif.com/, on behalf of Creative Commons Community in Lebanon and Middle East Region
• Arek Dakessian, Online Content Manager of Shankaboot, http://www.shankaboot.com/
• Johnny El-Hage, Events Coordinator at AUB, http://www.johnnyhage.com/
• Mohamad Shawash, Head of Design, http://www.moeys.net/
• Ayman Itani, Social Entrepreneur, http://www.aymanitani.com/
• Mohammad Hijazi, President of AUB's Online Collaborative, moudz.blogspot.com, on behalf of Arab Social Media Forum http://www.arabsocialmediaforum.com/
• Meedo Taha, Architect & Filmmaker, http://www.meedosite.com/
• Loryne Atoui, Designer and Photoblogger. Currently projects: http://www.onewigstand.com/ and http://www.mosaic-ashrafieh.com/ (with Spreadminds) 
• Representatives from Arab Thought Foundation (Fikr), http://www.fikrconferences.org/
• The list will be updated with more speakers and the exact time of each session will be posted soon
  
  For more information and inquiries, don't hesitate to contact us at: online.collaborative@gmail.com. Meanwhile, join our event page on facebook and help us spread the word by inviting your friends.
  
  If you are a non-AUB guest, please read this very important post about your entry to AUB campus.

The First Annual Lebanese Bloggers Convention at AUB

" In coordination with Outlook, AUB's official newspaper, Mind Soup is hosting the first Lebanese Bloggers Convention at AUB on Wednesday May 19th, 2010 at 5:00 PM in AUB West Hall Auditorium A.

During the convention/workshop, Lebanese guest bloggers will introduce the world of blogging to students and encourage them to express their ideas and opinions using personal blogs.

Also on the agenda is discussing the impact of blogging on the freedom of speech in Lebanon and the effect of blogging on the Lebanese society and culture.

Bloggers from all over Lebanon will be sharing their experiences with each other and the audience. We are expecting a variety of bloggers to attend. These include journalists, comic-artists, poets, and students who write in both Arabic and English language.

Everyone is welcome to attend, so invite your friends (even if they are not bloggers). If you are a non-AUB student and would like to attend, please send an email to moudz.mindsoup@gmail.com so that your access to AUB's closed campus can be facilitated!

If you are a blogger and would like to be featured in this convention, please fill in this form: http://www.jotform.com/form/1200341481 after reading the rules below.

=======================
Rules for applying (as guest speaker):
=======================
- You should be a Lebanese blogger or an Arab blogger operating in Lebanon and can attend the blogger convention in AUB (Beirut)
- You should be 18 years of age or older.
- You should own a self-operated blog.
- Your blog should be at least 6-month old (updated on a weekly basis) or 1 year old (updated on a monthly basis).
- The convention is probably going to be in the English language, so you should understand English. However, you can speak in Arabic for your part if you like.

The " MaL" message:

This was my first angry hopeless message i have written in my life :S
Here it goes:

Dear AUB UNESCO MEMBERS,

I speak not as the " MaL" of AUB's UNESCO CLUB but rather as a human being seeing people suffering with no one to stand by them.. none to cry out their suffering.

Yes you know what i am talking abt.

You might skip this message ,,but i beg you to continue reading...

You might think we cant change a thing in GHAZA....but at least we can make those who are ignorant and dont have a sense about whats goin in this world ..see it..

Yes I am feeling hopeless like everyone else .Yes i feel a hypocrite because i can not do anything and i am just talking.. But i am begging each one of u to have his own demonstration against whats happening:

1) You can Sing for them
2)You can pray with every Kneel you make.
3) You can cry if you want
4)You can light a candle
5) You can pray more and more
6) You can demonstrate through BLOGS, FACEBOOK, send messages, hotmail,msn chat with ur friends abt it ..I dunnoo..
YES YOU HAVE TIME..


7) YOU CAN FORWARD THIS MESSAGE to ur FRIENDS..or just write a shorter one...and send it !!

DO WATEVER u want..!
cose there will come a time where those children and those martyrs...will ask you what did you do?
What will be your answer?

Thanks for taking your time to read this message,

Sincerely,

A Human Being.
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