Anissa Helou, 74, one of the Middle East's most acclaimed cooks and food writers, prepares awarma, a traditional Lebanese lamb confit, at her late mother's apartment in the Mount Lebanon town of Ballouneh, Thursday. Credit: Hussein Malla/AP Anissa Helou's latest book traces southern Lebanon's regional dishes shaped by years of conflict, weaving food with memory and loss as the acclaimed writer reflects on Middle Eastern cuisine. 'Lebanese cuisine is kind of a little bit more sophisticated, a lot fresher, more vibrant,' she saysBefore becoming one of the Middle East's most acclaimed cooks and food writers, Anissa Helou had no intention of either path. She entered the world of cooking and writing almost by accident when she was in her late 30s.In the NewsEx-presidents of Israel's High Court Say Government Defiance Is End of DemocracyFacing a Constitutional Crisis, Israelis Have One Option LeftAnissa Helou's New Book of Lebanese Recipes Spotlights Villages Scarred by WarShin Bet Chief Reconsiders Agency's Stance on Disqualified Kahanist PartyConstitutional Crisis? Why Israel's Government Just Openly Defied the High CourtRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIIsrael Has Long Ignored Warnings of a 'Diplomatic Tsunami.' Now It Has ArrivedAn Israeli Principal Desegregated a Tel Aviv School. Here's What HappenedDumber Than a 10-year-old: Are Israeli Students Really That Stupid?103 Nails on the Map: How Israel's Government Is Burying the Two-state SolutionRep. Dan Goldman Says Support for Israel Cost Him New York Democratic PrimaryIn His Own Words: Naftali Bennett Is Committed to Annexing the West Bank