Black seed oil has been catching on in recent years as a health supplement, but proponents of the seeds have been lauding their health virtues for centuries.

In fact, one early proponent was the Prophet Muhammad, who long ago lauded its health virtues. These days, black seed oil is one of the ingredients that make some Middle Eastern food so tasty, according to Heifa Odeh, a chef and author who offered some history along with cooking tips during a recent presentation at the Palos Heights Public Library.

Otherwise known as “Fufu,” an affectionate nickname given by her dad when she was a child, Odeh publishes a food blog, fufuskitchen.com, which features several hundred of her free recipes. She’s also the author of a recipe book, “Dine in Palestine.”

“You’ll surely find something you like there,” she told her Palos Heights library audience, as she dived into her demo.

Odeh, a Palestinian-American, learned to love cooking from her mom and while working in a bakery in New Jersey, where she is from. She lives with her husband and their two small children in Tinley Park.

“I’ve always had a love for the kitchen,” Odeh said as she demonstrated how to make za’atar cake and hummus.

“Za’atar is an herb, a plant, which looks a lot like oregano and grows in the mountains in the Lebanese region and Palestine,” she said. “It’s very resilient … you pick the leaves off the stem, rinse it, dry it and use it for cake. They sell it in Arabic stores, or you can use Greek oregano.”

While people typically think of cake as sweet, this one is savory.

Still, “even my toddler loves it,” she said. “It’s such a great snack.”

The recipe calls for two eggs, a cup of olive oil, two cups of milk, three cups of flour and white cheese, like the queso blanco she used. When done, the mixture went in an 8-9-inch square baking pan.

Throughout Odeh talked in a breezy, relaxed manner, which seemed to match her easy cooking mode.

“I like approachable cooking,” she said. “It will be fine … nothing (bad) is going to happen.”

The recipe is also where the black seed oil came in.

“I like to add some sesame seeds (for flavor) and black seed oil,” said Odeh, describing how she tops the cake with both. “The prophet would use black seed oil so we incorporate it into our diet.

“It has lots of benefits,” she said, explaining its anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties.

Texture was a big emphasis of the hummus demo. The recipe included canned chickpeas, its liquid, or aquafaba, pureed in a food processor, and tahini paste. Also included was cumin, which counteracts inflammation and gas, garlic and optional olive oil on top.

She pointed out hummus can also be used in salad dressings or for veggie platters, and not only with pita bread.

“One thing you should do at the end is taste it,” she said, as she tried the hummus. “Voila, how easy was that?”

Her audience asked questions throughout about cooking techniques and ingredients. At the end, everyone had a chance to line up at the demo table and try the foods.

Deena Eid, who is Palestinian and lives with her husband in Oak Lawn, attended with her mother-in-law, “just to see if we can learn something new about our culture.”

Mary Anne Browne, who lives in Palos Heights and is an avid cook, also hoped to learn something new. Browne worked for the former Midway Airlines, which covered tuition for employees when it folded, and she went to cooking school. She also became friends with a woman from Jordan, whom she met at a travel agency.

“I love different foods from all over the world and found out the best ways to cook them is finding a friend from that region,” said Browne, who learned some tips at the demonstration for improving her hummus.

Librarian Emily Navarro, who helped coordinate the event in Palos Heights, said she was glad it attracted so many people. The library has held other popular cooking events as well.

“We’re definitely showing diverse foods and diverse cultures,” Navarro said. “We want to get everyone interested.”

Janice Neumann is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.