My big love for food and my little announcement. My first cookbook

Image by Sukaina Rajabali

My earliest memories of food are standing on a chair by the kitchen stove trying to make crepes in our cozy, but incredibly beautiful kitchen in Paris. My mom walked in, and startled she immediately yelled at me, as this was obviously an extremely dangerous thing to do for a tiny person like me. 

Another memory I cherish is my sister and I baking tiny cakes in tiny molds and slicing them into even tinier pieces. On another occasion, I was trying to make ice cream with my best friend Racil, using my mother's beautiful crystal glasses, which obviously burst in the freezer! 

As I grew older I started cooking more and more. Influenced by my mother's incredible Middle Eastern cuisine and also by living in the most delicious city in the world- Paris. 

In my college years in New York City, I discovered the beautiful food markets; the gourmet stores like Dean & Deluca and became even more obsessed with food. My brother and I would spend most of our money on expensive olive oils or beautifully oozing French Cheeses.

Basically, food has been my first and biggest love since forever. I never understood people who just ate to nourish themselves, or who would tell me "I was so busy today I forgot to eat!” Forgetting to eat would never, ever, ever happen to me. I already know what I'm having for breakfast tomorrow :)

And if you have been following the blog and know a little about my story, I set up a boutique, cafe & bakery with my best friend seven years ago when we moved to Beirut. Kitsch Bakery now has locations in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, hamdellah.

And finally, over two years ago now, I started this blog, D's Kitchen. Now I am moving to another, a new chapter in my life and am finally writing my first cookbook :) :)

Image by Sukaina Rajabali

The book is inshAllah due for release in Spring 2013 with loads of gorgeous new recipes and images. So due to me having to spend the majority of my time on the cookbook, you may see a little less posting on the blog from me. But it's all for a good, greater and scrumptious cause ;)

I'm very excited, and at the same time also quite anxious about the book. It's a big deal after all, and I can't wait to share it with you all. But most importantly, I hope you will enjoy the book as much as I am enjoying working on it. This truly is a dream come true for me.

I would like to thank those who have supported and been there along my little journey of food, from my loving family, to my amazing friends and to the loveliest readers ever.

I will leave you with some teasing instagram shots (courtesy of the lovely and ever so talented Sukaina). These are only a few of the recipes that will be featured in the book, so definitely stayed tuned for more ;)

Much love,

D xx