I'M POSSIBLE: The Mediterranean Diet Lebanese Cookbook

By Ayoub David Haddad WW Iwo Jima Marine

The Mediterranean diet a.k.a. fountain of youth is brought to you by the author's secrets in Lebanese cuisine, The Mediterranean Cookbook: Good for Your Heart and Soul. The health benefits of Lebanese cuisine are so mind-blowing that this cookbook is a must-have for every individual on this planet! Packed with potent antioxidants, vitamins, proteins, and minerals, Lebanese ingredients come together to bring multiple health benefits that have proven to not only to change your life but to improve it...for the health of it! I'm possible because "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength" (Phil. 4:13). Healthy food, healthy life. You are what you eat.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 31, 2019
• ISBN: 9781645693451

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I'M POSSIBLE

The Mediterranean Diet Lebanese Cookbook

Ayoub David Haddad WWII Iwo Jima Marine

Copyright © 2019 by Ayoub David Haddad WWII Iwo Jima Marine

Credit to The National D Day Museum in New Orleans

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Appetizers

Hummus

Baba Ghanoush

Pickled Turnips

Pita Chips

Laban

Labneh

Laban and Cucumbers

Baked Round Kibbeh Patties

Kafta

Meatballs

Lebanese Meat Pies

Lebanese Spinach Pies

Eggplant and Goat Cheese Dip

Soups

Turkey and Rice Soup

Spinach and Rice Soup

Cooked Laban Soup

Lentil Rice Soup

Basic Vegetable Soup

Cabbage Soup

Onion Soup

Salads

Tabbouleh

Lebanese Salad

Fattoush

Mediterranean Orzo Salad

Pasta Salad

Lebanese Salad Dressing

Entrees

Rowze Yahneh

Meat and Rice Stuffing

Meatless Stuffing

Mujaddara

Mujaddara

Kibbeh

Hushweh El Kibbeh

Hushweh Meat and Rice

Vegetarian Stuffed Green Peppers

Moussaka

Lemon Chicken

Shish Tawook

Spiedie Kabobs

Umo’s Famous Omelet

Umo’s Famous Small Omelet

Sauces and Spices

Frakeh

Middle Eastern Rub

Shish Kabob Steak Rub

Spiedie Marinade

Beef Tenderloin Rub

Beef Tenderloin Marinade

Marinara Sauce

Spaghetti Meat Sauce

Clarified Butter

Shrimp Cocktail Sauce

Za’atar and Olive Oil Bread Dip

Sides

Brown Rice

Hushweh Meat and Rice Stuffing

Spinach and Rice Pilaf

Roasted Potatoes

Roasted Parsnips and Carrots

Desserts

Rice Pudding with Rose Water

Chocolate Cream Pie

Coconut Cream Pie

Pecan Pie

Baklava

Baklava Syrup

WWII Marine Ayoub David Haddad Is a Survivor of Iwo Jima

A young David Haddad left home in 1943. An innocent eighteen-year-old boy, eager to serve his country. He returned home two years later. A man and a proud United States Marine, having witnessed death, horror, and indescribable tragedy up close and personal in a hostile land.

As devastating and dangerous were the circumstances in which he found himself on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima in 1945, Haddad later recognized these personal experiences and miracles on the battlefield as God’s hand of protection, and His way of preparing him for a walk as a believer.

Upon high school graduation in 1943, Haddad quickly enlisted with the Marines, following the footsteps of his older brother, Solomon David Haddad (Sam), a Marine serving his country in the Pacific theater during World War II.

When I enlisted, I did not think I would be coming home. So I gave everything away. Obviously I didn’t know God’s plan for my life, says a quiet, unassuming Haddad.

In November 1943, Haddad received a six-week crash course in basic training in San Diego before being sent to Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, California, for advanced training where he qualified as a sharpshooter with the M1 rifle.

Nine months later, Haddad was deployed to the Central Pacific area; and in early 1945, boarded a ship, the USS Sandoval, bound for the Western Pacific front. Aboard this ship, Haddad and his comrades were schooled about a volcanic island—Iwo Jima.

Detailed information informed the Marines that the island was small, about five miles long, and had been pummeled by United States Air Force bombers for one hundred days.

We were shown pictures and slides of the pillboxes (bunkers) and everything we needed to know about the island, remembers Haddad. We were told we would take the island in three days, that it would be a piece of cake.

Haddad’s company was among the first wave of Marines to hit the Iwo Jima beaches early February 19, 1945 with a three-day supple of K-rations and a canteen of water. Specific orders were given to the men: When the door drops, go out, don’t stop, don’t help anybody. Just keep going. Comrades will be falling all around you, but don’t stop. You must keep going.

Hitting that beach was the most terrifying moment of my life, says Haddad. They were right. Marines were dropping all around us.

The Battle of Iwo Jima was not a seventy-two-hour fight as predicted. It took five weeks to secure the island, which was infiltrated with an elaborate system of tunnels connected to bunkers, information unknown to the Marines at the beginning of the battle.

It was the experiences of these five harrowing weeks that Haddad today credits as miracles for which God could be responsible.

Marine’s lives were in constant peril at night as Japanese would infiltrate US Lines.

One night, while taking shelter in a bomb crater with another Marine, a mortar shell fell between the two men. Usually these shells explode on contact, but this night, Haddad and the other man quickly jumped out of the crater just before the shell exploded.

On another occasion, a Marine with a Doberman dog asked to share a foxhole with Haddad and a comrade. Into the night, the Marine alerted the men and quietly sent the dog out of the foxhole. When the dog later returned, the men relaxed. At daybreak, ten feet from the foxhole, two Japanese lay dead, victims of the Doberman.

The most moving event Haddad experienced came four weeks into the battle.

During a fight, shrapnel damaged Haddad’s gun. The only solution to secure another weapon was to head back to the supply line on foot, a three-mile journey. As he approached the gate of a tent city, posted with Army guards, the sight in front of him was surreal.

There I was—dirty, torn clothing, unshaven, limping, hungry, and thirsty—among clean shaven, healthy, and uniformed Army personnel, recalls Haddad.

He saw Marines marching into camp, and to his surprise, learned it was his brother’s outfit. The brothers quickly found each other for an emotional reunion.

It was a great meeting. I hadn’t seen Sam in three years. He noticed my torn attire, thin frame, and the fact I was injured. He quickly took me to the medical tent, where the doctors worked on me for a few hours, says Haddad.

With a new machine gun in hand, Haddad quickly returned that very day to the front lines to continue the fight until March 27, 1945, when the United States successfully secured the island.

Haddad recounts his later experience of becoming a Christian with tear-glistened eyes and the full realization that God, who walked step-by-step with him in those dangerous five weeks on enemy soil, had further plans for him.

Those plans included living his life as a believer