Hearth— you just heard the story —
Here's where you save hers.
My grandma passed before I asked her how she made any of it. I built Hearth so other families wouldn't be where I was. Reserve her spot below and we'll take care of the rest.
— what every Hearth book looks like —
Editorial. Personal. Hers.
swipe through →
A Hearth Volume
Teta Mariam's
Recipes
in her own voice
— dedication —
For Teta Mariam, who measured by hand.
And taught us to taste everything before salt.
— table of contents —
Contents
-
IBreakfast her way9
- Sheyera bel'laban9
- Maa'rouk13
- Foul mudammas17
-
IISundays23
- Mahshi23
- Sheikh el mahshi31
- Yakhnet bamia39
-
IIIHolidays47
- Kibbeh47
- Riz a djej55
- Mahshi malfouf63
-
IVSweets & tea71
- Maamoul71
- Awameh79
- Mahalabia85
-
VIn her words93
-
VINotes for your hand109
Sundays · page 23
Mahshi
Ingredients
- 2 cupsrice, rinsed twice
- 1 lbground lamb
- handfulfresh dill, chopped
- 2 tbsptomato paste
- to tastecinnamon, allspice, salt
- at the enda lemon, squeezed over
How she makes it
- Core the vegetables properly — don't rush. "A lazy core makes a lazy meal."
- Mix the rice, lamb, and herbs by hand. By hand, she says.
- Stuff the cores tight, but not too tight — they need to breathe.
- Simmer slow with tomato paste, until the rice gives.
- Squeeze the lemon over the whole pot at the end.
— "and a little more salt than you think."
Holidays · page 47
Kibbeh
Ingredients
- 1 lbfine bulgur, soaked & squeezed dry
- 1 lbground lamb (or beef)
- 1onion, grated — with the juice
- 1 tspseven-spice (baharat)
- to fryoil — "enough to swim, not drown"
- to serveplain yogurt, always
How she makes it
- Soak the bulgur in cold water until soft. Squeeze it really dry, she says — "wring it like a cloth."
- Knead bulgur, meat, onion, and spices by hand until it feels like clay.
- Shape each kibbeh between your palms — pointed at both ends, hollow inside.
- Fill with seasoned meat and pine nuts. Pinch the seams shut.
- Fry in hot oil until the crust is crisp and deep amber.
— "if the shell cracks, the kibbeh remembers."
Sweets & tea · page 71
Maamoul
Ingredients
- 2 cupsfine semolina
- 1 cupunsalted butter, warm
- 1 cuppitted dates, chopped soft
- a pinchmahleb (or rose water — her choice)
- to dustpowdered sugar, generously
- to servemint tea, always
How she makes them
- Mix the semolina and warm butter the night before. Let it rest. "It needs to know itself," she'd say.
- Roll small balls of dough. Press a thumb into each to make a well.
- Spoon the date filling into the well. Pinch closed, smooth the seam.
- Press into a wooden mold if you have one — otherwise shape with your hands.
- Bake low and slow. Dust thick with powdered sugar while still warm.
— "she made these on Eid. always too many. never too many."
— about teta mariam —
Mariam
She came with a suitcase, two pots, and the way her mother made everything. She never wrote a recipe down. She didn't have to. Her hands remembered.
Notes
things she said. things we forgot. things we want to remember.
— blank pages, for your hand —
A real hardcover book — every recipe, in her own words and language.
Who calls her
A patient interviewer, trained for grandmothers.
Our multilingual AI interviewer is built for slow, warm conversations. It greets her in her own language, asks open questions, waits. You're on the line for the first call.
Her language
30+ languages and dialects.
Don't see hers? Email us — we add languages on request.
Most people wait until it's too late. By the time they're ready to ask, there's no one left to answer.
— Yahia, on why I built Hearth
What happens next
five steps. about thirty days.
You reserve her spot today. Takes about a minute.
You tell us about her. Phone, language, dishes she's known for — on the next page.
We call her, in her language. Two short conversations, ~30 min each. She just talks.
We turn it into a real book. You and your family review the draft before it prints.
Her hardcover ships in ~30 days. One for you, one for the family.
Common questions
— the things people ask before they buy —
What if my grandmother has already passed?
You're not alone in asking — this is the most common version of the question we get. Hearth can still build her book from what you already have: voicemails, a few old WhatsApp voice notes, scribbled recipe cards, conversations with siblings about how she made things. Email yahia@hearthbooks.love and we'll set up an interview with you and your family instead.
Will Mom find the call confusing? She's not great with technology.
She doesn't need to be. We call her on her regular phone — landline or mobile — at a time you confirm. There's no app, no link to click, no microphone to plug in. She just answers like any phone call and talks.
The interviewer is trained to be patient with hard-of-hearing, slower pacing, accents, dialect switching, and tangents. Tangents are good — that's where the stories live.
Who actually makes the call?
Our bilingual AI interviewer makes the call — built specifically for slow, gentle conversations with elders. It greets her in her dialect, asks open questions, lets her ramble, and follows where she leads. Nothing scripted, nothing robotic.
You're invited to be on the line for the first call so you hear exactly how she's treated. If you'd rather a human interview, we offer that as an upgrade — just ask.
What if 30 days is too long?
If her health is fragile or she's elderly, email us yahia@hearthbooks.love and we prioritize. We'll get her on the phone this week, not in a month. The shipped book may still take 3-4 weeks to print, but you'll have her voice recorded and the draft within a week.
Can I gift this to someone else's grandmother?
Yes — that's actually how most Hearth books happen. You reserve, fill in her details, and we'll coordinate with whoever you tell us to (you, the parent, the sibling). Her book ships in a gift-ready hardcover with a handwritten note from you, if you'd like.
What if the finished book isn't what I expected?
You see a draft before we print. Layout, recipes, photos, every word — all reviewed by you and your family. If the draft isn't right, we revise. If the printed book ships and you still don't love it, full refund within 30 days of delivery. No restocking fee, no shipping cost on the return.
Where is Hearth based? Who runs it?
Hearth is built in Ottawa, Canada by Yahia (17). I started this after losing my own teta last year. You can email me directly at yahia@hearthbooks.love — I read everything, and I write back.
Yahia · 17 · Ottawa
Founder
My teta passed last year. I never asked her how she made sheyera bel'laban or the way she did mahshi. A few pictures, scattered memories. That's all I have.
Hearth is for the next family. If anything I built here ever feels off, email me directly — yahia@hearthbooks.love. Refund anytime before her first call.