Chaldean

Yellow “Turmeric” Rice with Shredded Chicken recipe!🍛

Some cultures enjoy eating “yellow” rice, and I loved to eat it while growing up! Here is the recipe: first, you have to make the chicken in the crock pot. The nice thing about shredded crock pot chicken is it can be frozen and does not need to be thawed when you put it in. Add the 2 chicken breast pieces, dash it with salt and pepper (garlic is optional), add 1-2 tablespoons of butter. Also add 2 cups of water so the chicken does not stick. Here is a pic of step one:

Set it on high for for 2-4 hours. Sometimes two hours is plenty. If your cooking thermometer reads 165 or higher—it’s done! The chicken will be really hott! Give it at least 15 minutes to cool and then you can just start shredding it up! Here I added some more table salt and ground black pepper (just a dash!) and I also included thyme leaves.🌱 See pic below:

After that, you can start on the yellow rice!😃💛 Cook rice just like you would any other day: I am a big proponent of brown rice, but brown rice does not do good with yellow rice. So here I made long grain white rice, I think it is a little better for you than regular white, and I do not use a rice cooker.😅🤣

In case you have never made rice, you need one cup of water for each cup of rice. A little extra. So here I have two cups of rice, and at first I boiled the rice in 2.5 cups of water. As soon as I brought the rice and water to a boil, I reduced the heat to very low— BUT the rice has to boil before you lower it. After I lowered the heat to the lowest I could without turning it off. I covered the rice. It takes a sufficient amount of time, but once the rice sucks up ALL the water, it is done! At times this can happen, and the rice will still not be fully cooked. I taste the rice, if it is a little crunchy I know it’s not finished. So then I add a little more water, 1/2 to 1 cup, and boil it again. Then reduce heat. Same process. Until the rice sucks all the water up!

Now, for yellow rice the timing is important. Just after you’ve turned the heat off and the rice is done, add the other ingredients. 1 tspn turmeric, 1 tspn salt, and 1 tblspn butter. Mix it all together.

Now, LAST BUT NOT LEAST—you have to add the raisin/almond topping! It is simple. You place a pan on the stove and add 1-2 tbspns of extra virgin olive oil to the pan. Heat it up.and then add 2 ‘heaping’ tablespoons of “slivered” almonds and 2 “heaping” tablespoons of raisins. I like to use jumbo mixed raisins! And it only takes a few minutes for them to cook!

Finally, add the topping to the rice, and create your ‘chicken and rice’ plate! All done!😃🍚👩‍🍳🐤

Enjoy!🍛

About Zina

Zina Hermez has authored the best-selling book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. She’s been featured in numerous articles, guest posts, podcasts, websites, newsletters, and magazines. She’s recently been featured on the Intuitive Edge podcast! She’s also been on ESPN’s “Solutions from the Huddle” broadcast and on Grace and Truth Radio World! Zina’s written several hundred articles and has taught thousands of students of all ages from many different backgrounds and cultures. She’s appeared in Christianity Today, the Suite T blog, and the Southern Writers magazine among other places. She writes on faith, science, and overcoming adversity. She also writes on health and diet and loves to help others. Her latest book, Not Without God: Hope In the Storm is live and for sale! You can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Not-Without-God-Hope-Storm-ebook/dp/B09P9T2DLT

Ka’ree recipe and images! #tomatobeefstew #withcurry🥩🍅🥔🧅

Yesterday night I made Ka’ree, a very traditional meal. The best way I can describe Ka’ree is it’s a tomato (beef or chicken) stew to which some spices and veggies are added. When I was younger, my mom made this type of ethnic dish, (beef stew) around once to twice a week. One of my favorites has always been Ka’ree. I love the deliciousness of the curry, the hidden spice in the potato and what it adds to the tomato sauce, as well as the tender beef (or chicken) that shreds into the heated stew.

Ingredients

0.75-1lb chuck roast or chuck beef steak or chicken

4-5 large potatoes

an onion, medium-large sized (chopped)

6oz tomato paste

15oz tomato sauce

4-6 cups of water (for sauce)

2-3 tbsp of curry spice

1 tbsp vinegar

2 tbsns lemon juice

1 tspn dried lime (or Noomi Basra)–this is optional

1 tbsp oil

Kosher salt or table salt (I like to use a little of both!)–1 – 2 teaspoons

Black pepper–1-2 teaspoons is fine

chopped garlic cloves (no more than 2-3 chopped cloves, or it may be too hott)

2-4 cups cooked brown rice or long grain wild rice (I steer clear of white)!

First, you cook the meat: Cut the meat into cubes ( I used beef chuck steak) and you set it aside. I also used extra virgin olive oil (2 tbspns) and dashed the meat with Kosher salt and ground pepper to cook.

Oh, I also included the chopped garlic cloves before I started cooking!🧄

Voila! Should take no longer than 15-20 minutes. Make sure meat is tender (heat on high) you can add water.

After you’re done cooking set the meat aside. Now, use the same pan to carmelize the onions. Just cook them in an additional tblspn of extra virgin olive oil (classic olive oil is ok too) until they turn slightly brown. Try not to use vegetable oil; not the healthiest choice by far.

Cooking time to slightly carmelize onions should be no more than 5-10 minutes!

Next you add the curry (2-3 tbspns), salt, pepper, and tomato paste TO THE ONION MIX. Use the same pot (use a big one). The stew will eventually rise. AFTER you add the curry, 6 oz. tomato paste and 1-2 tspns of salt and pepper (each) to the pot, the pot will start to burn a little. The ingredients will brown. That is OK. It’s normal. See below.

You can see that once I added the tomato paste, curry, salt and pepper I mixed them together some (you can just add a dash of salt and pepper). After this you have to add the tblspn of vinegar. Be careful. It will smoke. Also have all ingredients ready to go at this point you have to work fast. As soon as the vinegar makes this mixture bubble, add the TOMATO SAUCE, 15 oz. can. This will stop the splash from the vinegar!🥫

Here I have added the tomato sauce and 4 cups of water. No more splash keep heat on high here.

Finally, add the potatoes and beef to combine all together. Add everything slowly, the water, little by little, gently add beef and potatoes. Combine all together.

You can even add an additional 2-4 cups of water depending on how much stew you want to have. You can use more salt and pepper. Table salt is fine to use at this point. I used kosher salt when I cooked the meat. Spice it how you would like, but don’t make it too salty. Keep in mind if it is under salted you can always add more later. You don’t want to use too much salt and ruin all your hard work!

Keep on high throughout let it come to a boil. Than reduce heat to medium high. Cover with a lid. Let it cook at least twenty minutes. Stir in between. Check on it. Once the potatoes are tender the stew is done. This can take anywhere from 40 min.-1 hr. You have to check on it regularly. Stir. Take a potato out, cut it with a fork, see if it’s tender (cooked), taste it, spice a little! Lol You get the idea. Be safe. And prepared. 🍅🥩🥔🧅🍛🧄

Oops… and I almost forgot—don’t forget to cook the rice! Ka’ree is put over a bed of rice. Here I have cooked 4 cups of brown rice.🍚🌾 And below is also a photo of the finished product! Have fun! There will be lots of leftover!😄

About Zina

Zina Hermez has authored the best-selling book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. She’s been featured in numerous articles, guest posts, podcasts, websites, newsletters, and magazines. She’s recently been featured on the Intuitive Edge podcast! She’s also been on ESPN’s “Solutions from the Huddle” broadcast and on Grace and Truth Radio World! Zina’s written several hundred articles and has taught thousands of students of all ages from many different backgrounds and cultures. She’s appeared in Christianity Today, the Suite T blog, and the Southern Writers magazine among other places. She writes on faith, science, and overcoming adversity. She also writes on health and diet and loves to help others. Her latest book, Not Without God: Hope In the Storm is live and for sale! You can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Not-Without-God-Hope-Storm-ebook/dp/B09P9T2DLT

Chaldean Cultural Center Visit!☦️💒🎥

I had a wonderful visit with two members from the Chaldean Cultural Center on Wednesday of last week. The executive director, Weam Namou, and the videographer, Michael Nafso visited me to talk with mom and I about my books and life story!📚

We had a wonderful time and they took a lot of ‘B-rolls.’🎞🎬🎤

Here are some images I shared at the event below:

Me speaking at Harvard University! Circa 2015.

Martha Stewart and I! #circa 2019 in NY!🎉

Dad (in the far upper right) and the church people!🙏

It’s just me n Ice T (and his wife, CoCo) that’s all! Lol 😂📹 In NY #2019!🌃

My first book! Not Without God: A Story of Survival!♥️

My latest book, “Not Without God: Hope In the Storm!” 🙂

My father when he worked at the US Embassy in the late 60s. Added photo from my book!📖♥️

The one and only Chris Cuomo and I in Detroit! Added photo!

With Jerry of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. I got served a delicious scoop of ice cream.🍦🍨 In NY city!🏙

During their visit, we discussed the accident I had in 1994, how I survived though my faith, and walked again. We discussed my dad’s work in Baghdad and what he did after transitioning to the US. We discussed my experience as growing up chaldean. My mom was also interviewed and spoke in her native language of “sureth.” Here are some more photos from the day below:

Of course I had to serve some ‘tchai,’ walnut cake and ‘teghratha!’🥟☕🥮

“The Chaldean Cultural Center (CCC) was established in February of 2003. A goal of the committee was to build a museum that covered over 5,000 years of history. They wanted to preserve our unique heritage and make it known to future generations of Chaldeans as well as to the public.

The CCC has provided various youth and adult programs such as public forums, lectures and discussions, book and film programs, exhibits, and publications. The Museum didn’t open until May of 2017. The Museum expanded the programs to include in-depth tours for academic intuitions, schools, churches, temples, and summer camps.”

About Zina

Assyrian Chaldean Cake!💟☦️

These cakes were fun to make today! Homemade walnut cakes made with all purpose flour (3 cups), baking soda (2 tspns), vanilla extract (1 tblspn), walnuts (chopped up) 1 cup or more, white granulated sugar (1 1/2 cups), milk (1 cup), three eggs, and a bit of water (the water was my trick to keep it cake like and not in a dough form).

I’ve wanted to make this cake for years. It’s a cake I often had while growing up and visiting relatives houses with my parents or with their friends. This cake is almost always accompanied with ‘Tchai,’ or tea. It’s a social dessert, comforting, and yummy all at the same time!

I found this recipe from a girl in New Jersey who posted it online. She had the accent.😄 Nonetheless, it wasn’t until I was two thirds of the way into making it that I realized something was missing. The mix was not liquid like enough, and then I realized I forgot to add the milk!🥛🥛🥛

Voila! There goes that. I also remembered (by watching mom for so many years making bread), that I could add a little water to increase the amount of cake! I also added a little flour. All of a sudden, I had two cakes!! I tried to make walnut topping designs, as you can see here!

Oh, and here’s a little secret. I didn’t use one of those fancy cake mixers! (Ssshhh!) I never liked those anyway. I used my hand to knead. My hands were clean. I wash throughout cooking and baking multiple times! That is the REAL way to bake. Bakin’ the ol’ school way!🥮😂🥮

I never liked those plug in mixers anyway!👩‍🍳⏲🥧🍮

#traditional #baker #foodie #cake #homemade #connoisseur

About Zina

Zina Hermez has authored the best-selling book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. She’s been featured in numerous articles, guest posts, podcasts, websites, newsletters, and magazines. She’s just been featured on the Intuitive Edge podcast! She’s also been on ESPN’s “Solutions from the Huddle” broadcast and on Grace and Truth Radio World! Zina’s written several hundred articles and has taught thousands of students from all over the world from many different backgrounds and cultures. She’s appeared in Christianity Today, the Suite T blog, and the Southern Writers magazine among other places. She writes on faith, science, and overcoming adversity. She also writes on health and diet and loves to help others. Her latest book, Not Without God: Hope In the Storm is live and for sale! You can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Not-Without-God-Hope-Storm-ebook/dp/B09P9T2DLT

‘Keeping Up With the Chaldeans’ (Not the Kardashians!) Interview

Check it out, everyone! This is my latest candid interview that I did before the stay-at-home orders (over two months ago) with my generous hosts, Anthony Toma, and Junior Binno. Here is the link to the YouTube show: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=keeping+up+with+the+chaldeans Please LIKE and subscribe! It is a MUST watch!

In case you don’t know who the Chaldeans are, they’ve been around since B.C. days and have developed a reputation for learning and knowledge of math, writing, and astronomy. Their greatest king was Nebuchadnezzar, the ruler of the Babylonian empire (from 605-562B.C.), and he was also the creator of one of the Seven Wonders of the World: The Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Babylonia is also referred to as ‘the land of the Chaldeans’ time and time again in the Bible. We originated in southern Mesopotamia, one of the cradles of civilization (along with India, Egypt, and China). I can speak the language, although, I was born in the U.S. I’m second generation.

I talk about my book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival, and recall my accident and other events including a healing work that was performed on my left arm! There is no greater time than now to watch! This should encourage, inspire, and help. I hope you enjoy it!

About Zina

💕🌇💗

Zina Hermez is the author of the best-selling book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. Her stories have been featured in Christianity Today, the Southern Writers Magazine, guest blogs, medical journals, and newsletters, among many other places. She’s written a few hundred articles. She’s had the privilege of working with thousands of students from different backgrounds and parts of the world. She’s taught at automotive corporations like General Motors, Ford, Nissan, Bosch, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, and has worked with people of all ages. Zina began her own teaching services incorporating math and other subjects. Her writing endeavors earned her an invitation to speak at the Harvard Faculty Club’s “Business Expert Forum.” Her goal is to help others overcome adversity. Socializing with friends, taking trips, baking, listening to music, trying new hairstyles, and networking are among her hobbies. You can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter.