EAST LANSING — The dedication written within the first few pages of Maureen Abood’s new cookbook, “Lebanese Baking,” is telling in more ways than one.
“For my mother, Maryalice Abood, the ultimate habibti,” the inscription reads. “I find you again in my heart every time I bake.”
Maryalice, 81, died in 2020. Her mother’s “slow goodbye” as she suffered with dementia took up a huge part of her life, Maureen Abood said.
By the time of her mother’s death, it had been five years since Maureen, a Waverly High School and Michigan State University graduate, had published her first cookbook, “Rose Water & Orange Blossoms” in 2015. She hadn’t been planning to write another one, she said, but the urgency she felt after her mother’s passing changed that.
Maureen’s mind traveled back to memories of her youth as a second-generation Lebanese American, watching her mother, grandmother and aunts making traditional Lebanese baked goods together.
“There would be so much baking in a day,” she said. “They would make tons of dough and make all kinds of things with their dough.”
By the end of it, their kitchen counter would be filled with everything they’d made, Maureen said. “This generation is going, going, gone, and I don’t want to lose it,” she remembers thinking. “I don’t want to lose what they’ve given us.”
“Lebanese Baking,” a cookbook featuring over 100 recipes for sweet-and-savory items ingrained in Maureen’s childhood and culture, is dedicated to her mother. It’s also aimed at maintaining baking traditions she herself treasures.
A cooking background anchored by writing, learning
The colorful, glossy pages of “Lebanese Baking” feature detailed recipes and photos for various types of baklawa, commonly known as baklava, sweet yeast breads, barazek sesame cookies, lemon yogurt cake, pita, manakeesh dough, and other baked goods, as well as breads.
The 283-page book, released on Oct. 7, took Maureen Abood several years to research and write.
A longtime food writer with her own blog and website, MaureenAbood.com, and an online shop that sells cooking tools and ingredients used in Lebanese cooking and baking, Abood knows her way around the kitchen. An East Lansing resident, she went to culinary school in San Francisco and has traveled to Lebanon.
“Rose Water & Orange Blossoms,” which featured both traditional Lebanese recipes and fresh ideas, was honored with a Michigan Notable Book award.
Feedback and research make recipes come to life
Abood admitted settling on items and recipes for a cookbook centered around Lebanese baked goods comes with a certain kind of pressure within the Lebanese community. Every family has its own recipe for the baked goods she included, Abood said.
“Everyone thinks that their way is the right way,” she said. “And they’re going to let you know. They are not holding back.
That’s where her culinary education and professionalism come into play, Abood said.
“I always go into my own zone for taking a recipe all the way to the finish line,” she said. “So I take everything I can get. I visit with people, I take lessons. I asked them to teach me over and over again. I read widely in my extensive library, I do research online, of course, and then from there it’s all me.”
Abood works out the best “how to” for each item in her kitchen, testing and perfecting recipes.
“I become very dedicated to making a recipe the best it could be,” she said. “And so I do.”
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Writing book was cathartic process
The Lebanese are known for their warmth and hospitality, Abood said. At the same time, “Food is the anchor for family, for community, for laughter and fun, and also for healing and sharing love.”
Writing the new cookbook in the wake of her mother’s death was cathartic, she said.
“The process of writing the book functioned for me the same way baking anything can function for anyone, and the way it does work for me, which is to help you work through something. It was certainly part of my grieving process.”
Abood will meet with readers of “Lebanese Baking” from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 8 at Barnes & Noble’s newest area store at 420 Frandor Ave. in Lansing.
Learn more about her cookbooks, blog and background at www.maureenabood.com.
Contact Reporter Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on X @GrecoatLSJ .
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Maureen Abood celebrates Lebanese baking. How her new cookbook shares family traditions
Reporting by Rachel Greco, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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