HeyJaredSumac & Sunshine
A deep dive into Middle Eastern and Mediterranean ingredients, cuisines and recipes with a unique California lens. This newsletter is a companion to the Sumac & Sunshine Facebook group.
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 7
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- Sep 26, 2026
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- Jul 5, 2026
Latest issues
Dried Limes Offer a Fresh Perspective (opens the original)
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When we spy a citrus that’s dried with a black peel, our first thought is to toss it. No questions asked. But dried limes used in Middle Eastern cooking ask us to take a second look. And then a taste.<img alt="Dried lime powder and whole dried limes on a lem
Wake up your Granola (opens the original)
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Welcome to the second installment of putting your pantry to work in your everyday cooking, Sumac & Sunshine style. In our kitchens, homemade granola is a staple. Once we made our own, we couldn’t go back to the taste or price of store-bought.Think of granola like a sketch pad just waiting for its owner’s personal notes, doodles, and perspective to turn it into a piece of art.Our granola formula: At its most basic, homemade granola is rolled oats (not instant), some kind of fat, and a sweetener (
Veggie & Pita Salad = A Love Match (opens the original)
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Where we live, summer’s sweltering temps coincide with peak tomato season, leaving us craving easy, refreshing salads. We dream of recipes that showcase summer produce, have lots of crunch and texture and zero oven or stovetop time. The Middle Eastern salad fattoush is the answer.Meet Fattoush: It’s a rustic vegetable and bread salad with a tangy dressing. Fattoush is said to have originated in Northern Lebanon as a way to use leftover bread. It’s a classic salad there, in Syria and throughout t
Urfa Chile: Aleppo Pepper's Next of Kin (opens the original)
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Last August we brought you the boldly flavored but mildly hot Aleppo pepper. We are back with Aleppo’s next of kin: Urfa chile. Made from the same pepper species (Capsicum annuum) as Aleppo, it diverges in the processing to deliver a different but equally tantalizing result.<a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MwMi!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fim
Mahlab: A Seed of Inspiration (opens the original)
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We often think of pits or seeds as something to discard. Mahlab is here to prove that idea wrong. Mahlab has been on our Sumac & Sunshine radar for a while, and today we are finally giving it the spotlight it deserves. Meet Mahlab: Also called mahalab, mahleb or mahalepi, it’s the seed kernel of a wild cherry called St. Lucie. Think of a coriander seed in size and color. When ground into a powder, mahlab flavors Middle Eastern and Mediterranean baked goods with whisps of mild cherry, almond, and
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