About Rana’s Mediterranean Recipe

Hey, I'm Rana!

I love everything about Mediterranean cooking— the fresh ingredients, the vibrant flavors, the way good food brings people together. I test every recipe twice and show you each step along the way.

I’m so glad you’re here!

What you’ll find here

Recipes from my mother’s kitchen

(See Traditional Mediterranean Recipes).

Step-by-step photos and clear

Instructions so you never feel lost

Mediterranean inspired creations,

Simple, flavorful, and doable at home (Browse Mediterranean Recipes).

Tested recipes (at least twice)

Before they make it to the blog.

I grew up in Zarqa, Jordan, where food was never just about eating. It was how my mother showed love, how our family connected, how we celebrated every moment worth celebrating.

The kitchen was the heart of our home, filled with the aromas of za’atar, sumac, and fresh bread baking in the oven.

When I was 16, my life took an unexpected turn, and I found myself in the San Francisco Bay Area. Those early years were challenging, a new country, a new culture, new everything. But one thing that made me fall in love with my new home was the food.

The Bay Area’s incredible diversity, the farmers’ markets bursting with fresh produce, and the way people from all over the world brought their food traditions here reminded me that food is a universal language.

Your Introduction to the Mediterranean Lifestyle

Here’s what makes me different from other food bloggers: I bring 30 years of professional food industry experience to every recipe you see here. I’m not just a home cook with a blog; I’m a former café owner, recipe developer, and co-founder of a successful organic gluten-free granola company. I’ve tested recipes at commercial scale and understand what truly works in real kitchens.

Every single recipe on this blog is tested at least twice before I share it with you. I include detailed step-by-step photos for every recipe because I never assume you know a technique. When you follow my recipes, you can trust they’ll work. I’ve done the hard work, so you don’t have to worry.

Finding My Path

In 2001, I did something that felt both terrifying and absolutely right: I opened my own café in Marin County. Every morning, I’d arrive before sunrise to prep, cook, and get ready to feed my community.

Those years taught me so much about what it means to cook for others, to create recipes that must work perfectly every single time, and to listen to what people actually want and need from their food.

Later, my daughter Sandra and I built an organic, gluten-free granola company together. We developed recipes, sourced ingredients, figured out production, the whole journey.

I’ve also worked as a recipe developer and food consultant, helping other businesses bring their food products to life. These experiences gave me a deep understanding of recipe development. Still, more importantly, they taught me that the best recipes are the ones people actually make and come back to again and again.

The Journey That Changed Everything

In 2024, I spent three months traveling through the Mediterranean, 11 countries, 42 cities—immersing myself in the authentic Mediterranean lifestyle. I took cooking classes with top chefs in Morocco, Barcelona, Greece, and Italy. I wandered through farmers’ markets, talked with locals, and learned regional variations of dishes I’d grown up making.

That journey showed me something important: Mediterranean isn’t a diet you go “on,” it’s a lifestyle you live. It’s about valuing fresh, seasonal ingredients. It’s about taking time to cook and share meals with the people you love. It’s about movement, joy, and savoring life, not restriction or rules.