How Growing Up Between Two Worlds Taught Me to Cook Like My Grandmother

Hi, I’m Rania Farah.

I grew up with one foot in Lebanon and one foot somewhere else – and the kitchen was always where those two worlds made sense.

My mother and grandmother were the kind of cooks who never used a recipe. Everything was by feel, by smell, by memory passed down through hands that had been making the same dishes for decades. I watched them roll grape leaves, simmer lentil soup until it was just right, pound garlic into toum with a quiet confidence I desperately wanted to inherit.

When I moved away from home, I didn’t expect the thing I’d miss most to be the food. But there it was — that ache for a bowl of something warm and familiar, for the smell of seven-spice filling a kitchen, for flavors that actually tasted like home.

So I did what my mother and grandmother had taught me to do. I cooked.

Why I Started Easy Lebanese Food

Lebanese cuisine is known for its fresh ingredients, bold flavors, and beautiful balance of simplicity and tradition. Yet many recipes online can seem overwhelming, especially for beginners.

That’s why every recipe on Easy Lebanese Food is designed to be:

• Easy to follow
• Made with everyday ingredients
• Authentic and flavorful
• Perfect for home cooks of all experience levels

My mission is simple: to make Lebanese cooking approachable, enjoyable, and accessible to everyone.

This site is where I share my recipes — the real ones, the traditional ones, the ones that come with a story. Not shortcuts, but the dishes that have been on Lebanese tables for generations. Mezze spreads, hearty mains, comforting soups, and sweets that taste like a grandmother made them.

If you’re Lebanese and living far from home, I hope this feels like a little piece of what you’re missing.

And if you’ve never tried Lebanese food before – welcome. You’re in for something special.

Let’s cook together.

Browse the recipes, or start with something classic. Either way, I’m glad you’re here.