From Yeast to Zest

Oven roasted chicken and vegetables....

2012-02-13T12:42:00.003+03:00

This is a delicious and complete meal for a family of four. Serve hot straight out of the oven to keep warm during the Winter months. If you're a fan of side dishes and have more time on hand, serve along with mashed potatoes, stuffing, and biscuits. The neat thing about this dish is the amount of vegetables used, if you have a picky eater like myself, you can simply pick out a few potatoes and serve them with a few slices of chicken breast, and please don't forget the ketchup.

ingredients
(rub)
1kg whole roasting chicken (rinsed and dried)
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves (minced)
zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning plus extra to sprinkle over the chicken
2 teaspoons lemon pepper
2 teaspoons dry thyme
(for the cavity)
1/2 lemon
1 inch piece, peeled fresh ginger
a few springs of fresh thyme
4, 1inch pieces of celery
salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning, to sprinkle
(Roasting pan)
2 large onions
12 garlic cloves, unpeeled
salt, pepper, poultry seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. In 18 inch by 12 inch roasting pan, place onion slices and garlic cloves, drizzle with olive oil and season to taste with salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning. Set aside.

In a small bowl combine the butter, olive oil, poultry seasoning, minced garlic, thyme, poultry seasoning, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Cream the mixture with a fork. Rub the half of the mixture under the skin and the remainder over the exterior of the chicken

Sprinkle the cavity of the chicken with salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, lemon pepper, and place the thyme, lemon, ginger, and celery inside. Tie the legs with baking string. and sprinkle the entire chicken including the back with salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, and lemon pepper to taste.

Place the chicken over the onions and garlic. Roast for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the chicken is golden brown, and the juices run clear. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before carving.

Winter vegetables
1 medium small butternut squash (peeled, seeded, and cut in half cut to 4 inch pieces
3 large carrots (peeled) each cut 2-inch-long pieces
1 large onion cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
2 small turnips, peeled and each cut into 6 wedges
3 medium potatoes (peeled) quartered
2 celery sticks roughly chopped
6 whole garlic cloves
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

For the vegetables: Place the vegetables in a large mixing bowl, and season with the salt and pepper. Drizzle with the olive oil and place in a roasting pan or on a sheet pan. Place in the oven and roast for 30 minutes, turning once midway during cooking to ensure even browning. Serve with the herb roasted chicken.

Banana nut bread...

2012-02-08T23:39:00.003+03:00

This sweet and moist banana bread has made it to the top of my list when it comes to banana bread, and believe me I've tried many recipes. The original recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of sour cream and 1/2 cup of oil, I replaced the sour cream with 3 tablespoons plain yogurt and added 1/2 cup of olive oil plus 2 tablespoons of melted butter, it came out perfect if I may say so myself.

Ingredients
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon mace or nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup olive oil
3 1/2 bananas, very ripe, mashed
3 tablespoons plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

Directions
Set oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of a loaf pan with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Beat sugar and eggs with a whisk until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Drizzle in oil. Add mashed bananas, yugurt, melted butter and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients and nuts. Pour into a lined loaf pan and bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

* Restaurant Recipe

Buttermilk doughnuts...

2012-02-08T11:53:00.001+03:00

No rising required buttermilk donuts are not only easier to make than your ordinary yeasted donuts but taste great as well. So the next time you're tight on time, give them a go. The dough is a little on the sticky side but the results will be well worth it. I topped mine with basic chocolate ganache but the topping is really up to you, cinnamon sugar, powder sugar, white chocolate, dark chocolate, sprinkles or not. The neat thing about my choice of toppings is that the ganache was not overly sweet and complimented the donuts very well, most of the sprinkles are home made. My kids loved them!

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus extra to work the surface
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated mace (or nutmeg)
3/4 cup buttermilk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)
2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
6 cups vegetable shortning (or sunflower oil) for frying

Directions
Mix one cup of the flour, the sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and mace, in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

Mix the buttermilk, butter, and eggs in seperate bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry; beat on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Decrease the speed to low, add the remaining 2 1/2 cups flour, and mix until just combined, about 30 seconds. Stir the batter once or twice with a wooden spoon to ensure that all the liquid is incorporated. The dough should moist and sticky, like a cross between cake batter and cookie dough.

Heat the oil/shorting to 375* F. Meanwhile turn the dough onto a floured work surface and roll with a floured heavy rolling pin to 1/2 inch thick. Stamp out the dough rounds with a floured donut cutter, reflouring between cuts. Transfer the dough rounds onto a non stick baking sheet.

Carefully drop the dough rings into the hot oil 4 at a time, as they rise to the surface, turn the donuts with tongs. Fry the donuts until golder brown, about 50 seconds per side. Drain on a paper towel lined wire rack. Repeat frying, returning the oil to 375*f between batches.

Cover with chocolate glaze, ganache, or roll in sugar.

Mississippi mud, brownies.

2012-02-03T21:24:00.001+03:00

These brownies were outrageous! My brother would describe them as "Being so good, you want to cry". I had planned on having a special photo shoot with these babies but they didn't last long, I think they even made my husband eyes roll back when he took the first bite. I usually add at least 1/4 cup of cocoa powder into the dry ingredients but today I chose to add an extra ounce of semisweet chocolate morsels to see if it made a difference and in my opinion, they tasted much better. You can add as much or as little to the topping or replace some of the chocolate chips with toasted chopped walnuts.

Ingredients
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for pan
1 cup all purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
9 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Topping
1 cup milk chocolate morsels
1 cup mini marshmallows or 10 large marshmallows chopped into pieces.

Directions
Preheat oven to 350*. Brush a 10 inch baking pan with butter and line with parchment paper, leaving a 2inch overhang on the two sides. Combine the topping ingredients into a small bowl and set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk your flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a double boiler heat your butter and chocolate until it becomes completely melted and smooth (approx 2-3min) remove glass bowl from pan and stir in your sugar and vanilla.

Allow the mix to cool down for 2 minutes and with and electric mixer beat in the eggs on medium speed one at a time. Beat the mix for approximately 5 minutes or until it becomes fluffy and lighter in color.

fold the dry ingredients into the chocolate mix just until combined. Pour the batter into prepared pan; smooth top with a rubber spatula. Bake until a cake tester inserted into brownies (avoid center and edges) comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet, about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with the prepared chocolate chips and marshmallow topping. Place back into the over for an extra 3 to 5 minutes or until the marshmallows begin to turn golden in color and the chocolate chips have slightly melted.

Let cool slightly in pan, about 15 minutes. Lift out brownies; let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares.

Cake pops!

2012-01-31T13:43:00.000+03:00

I'm crazy about cake pops and so are my kids, cute little sweetness on a stick. What more can one ask for? This weekend I'm planning on making a variaty of pops for a kids gathering, I just pray I don't eat most of them before they make it to the party. I don't think I'll be taking my time to make owl pops this time, seeing the kids just bite their heads off makes me want to scream "do you know how long it took me to decorate those?". I'm kepping it simple yet cute with some semi homemade and others made from scratch. The day is cloudy and windy making it hard for me to photograph the first batch of pops, but let me tell you. Chocolate chip cookies on a stick? Wow!

Kitchen "Confessions" Sunday...

2012-01-29T14:24:00.000+03:00

I know I've been away for quite some time but life and it's crazyness took a toll on me. So many things have been going on these past few months, but why bore you with my "Life". From now on I plan on being a little more active in the Blog world but for now I thought this would be a neat (non recipe) way to make a come back. I often read and/or participate in Tuesday this, Friday that, so I thought I would make Sunday, "Kitchen confessions" Sunday.

I must confess on this beautiful Sunday afternoon that I have never successfully melted white chocolate, something always goes wrong and the few times I have the chocolate was just like melted butter that wouldn't dry enough after cooling.

Image, via flickr.

Tuesday 10...

2011-10-25T20:07:00.001+03:00

Here's a few items I love, items you will most likely always find in my pantry. I figured adding a Tuesday 10 wouldn't take up much of my time, I have been pretty busy these days with my family and haven't been able to snap any pictures of my food. No pictures sadly means no recipes for my Blog. :( I hope to soon get my Foodtography mOjO back, but for now here's my Tuesday 10. I have also been working on a Pantry list to someday add to my blog, so stay tuned.

Sasso olive oil, this is the first olive oil I have ever tried that trully taste freshly pressed. I strongly recomend it, especially if you like most Mediterranean people enjoy olive oil for breakfast with a nice loaf of bread, olives, and jam. It's the best.

Green peppercorns in brine, love to add them to pasta sauces, they go very well with farro cooked with tuna, olives, and tomatoes. You must try them.

Fig newtons, my boys and I just love them. My son wont touch a fig with a 10 yard stick, but he sure will shove a dozen of these in to time.

Pure vanilla paste, it's the best "and" it's alcohol free.

Italian Farro, also known as spelt. Who needs pasta, this stuff is amazing using any of your favorite pasta sauce.

Mexican oregano, the most fragrant herb I have ever smelled.

Mini weetabix, my absolute favorite cereal EVER.

Felchlin cocoa powder and chocolate morsels, the very best.

Spanish saffron, the gold of all spices.

Spinach!, of course these wont be found in my pantry but I love me some spinach. Toss them into biryani or pasta for a healthy very yummy twist to your ordinary meal.

Apple pie baklava

2011-10-08T22:07:00.001+03:00

I don't know why I've been having this recipe sitting around gathering cobwebs but it's rather selfish of me. I sat here enjoying my apple baklava sensation thinking only of myself, shame shame shame on me. This dessert is not as sweet as your ordinary baklava but rather tart with a hint of sweetness like Apple pie. Serve it as is or with a scoop of French vanilla icecream, I'm telling you all. It's to die for! And I don't just go dying around over nothing. lol

Ingredients
4 large granny smith apples cut into small cubes
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/3 teaspoon nutmeg
1oz bittersweet orange preserve
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
*step 2 ingredients*
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 cups mixed toasted nuts
2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1 pack Phillo dough
1 cup melted butter

Syrup
1/4 cup reserved apple juices
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 inch piece cinnamon
2 cloves
2 inch lemon rind

Directions
Place the all the first ingredients on the list in a heavy saucepan over medium low heat and cook for approximately 5 minutes or just until the apples take in all the spices, make sure NOT to cook the apples until they become soft, they should still have a crunch to them. Remove the filling from the pan and strain the juices. Set the reserved juices aside.

In a food processor, finely pulse the toasted nuts into very small pieces, the bigger pieces of nuts will add texture to the filling while the powderized nuts will obsorb some of the juices from the apples.

Mix the nuts and apples, add the step 2 ingredients and fold to combine.

Preheat the oven to 325* F.

Place the syrup ingredients and reserved apple juices into a saucepan and a stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved, Bring to the boil, then boil for a further 10 minutes or until the mixture has thickened slightly.

Brush the base of a 12 x 8in pan with butter. Using the pan as a guide cut the sheets of filo dough to fit the pan exactly. Place one sheet of pastry into the pan and brush with melted butter then repeat until you have used half of the pastry sheets. Cover the remaining pastry with a clean dish towel and set aside. Spread half of the filling over the pastry and cover with 3 to 4 layers of filo, brushing with butter as you go. Spread the remaining filling over the pastry, finish by using the remaining sheets of filo brushing with melted butter as you go. Finally brush the top of the pastry liberally with butter, ensuring that you cover the whole surface.

Using a sharp knife, carefully mark the pastry into squares, almost cutting through the filling. Bake in a preheated oven for 45 to 60 minutes or until crisp and golden brown.

Once the baklava is baked, pour 1/3 to 1/2 of the strained syrup over the baklava and leave to soak for a few hours. Cut the baklava into squares and serve with some of the reserved syrup and top with chopped toasted nuts.

Tuesday 10

2011-10-04T20:34:00.000+03:00

I'm a bit late in the Middle East for my Tuesday 10 but just on time for my friends and family in AmeriKa. Here's a few very random things I like, love, or want.

A beautiful disposable cupcake stand, I never knew they even made them until a friend of mine posted pictures of one today. Love love LOVE it.

My very big California King bed, I can stay in it all day. Too bad I can't!

Dexter! OMG, I'm waiting to watch the new episode until Friday that way I wont have to wait and entire week in suspense for episode 2.

Long curly dark hair, just beautiful.

I'm in desperate need of good photography lighting, I stopped by this past weekend to check some out and well it's going to cost 1,999 Saudi Riyals which is about $500 bucks! Holly smokes...

I need a Maid, life would just be so much brighter. lol

A hot peppermint mocha and a long walk down Tempe town lake. :( I trully miss the USA in the winter months.

To see our new home in Ifran Morocco, a beautiful city you would never think existed in Morocco.

I love pancakes and I'm happy to say my recipe will be used at French bakery in Dammam Saudi Arabia. What can I say I'm a pancake pro, then again I'm American and what American isn't right? lol

Last but NOT least, Positive people. I hate people that walk with a black cloud over them playing victim to everything and everyone. Cheer up, DUDE!

Kitchen gadget review...

2011-10-02T21:54:00.000+03:00

I recently bought this "Mini kitchen prep" food processor by "Cuisinart" and it has made life in my very busy kitchen so much easier. A lot of Moroccan dishes start with finely chopped or grated onions, garlic, parsley, and cilantro and let me just say there's no more onion tears running down my face, no more cilantro and pasley stuck to my food cutter all I have to do is pop all the ingredients in my mini food processor and ta'da the great started for my meal is done in no time. So, if your starter is a Spanish "Sofrito" a Latin "Refogado" or a New Orleans "Trinity" this little gadget gets a "A" from me.

Sopa de fideo (Mexican noodle soup)

2011-09-28T18:20:00.002+03:00

Sopa de fideo is an extremely easy to make soup packed with warm Mexican flavors. Serve hot with a splash of lime juice and a cheesecrisp and you have yourself and stress free meal. The fresh ingredients used for this soup really make all the difference, sure you can make it with canned tomatoes, garlic powder, etc. but the taste wont be the same. Trust me on this one.

Ingredients
1 medium onion (roughly chopped)
1 large tomato (roughly chopped)
1 large garlic clove
1 small bunch of cilantro
1/2 pack goya seasoning
1/3 teaspoon cumin powder
1 cup vermicelli pasta
1.5 liters chicken broth/stock
1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
1 to 2 tablespoons oil
limes to serve

Place the tomato, onion, garlic, and cilantro into your food processor and pulse until fine. In a large pan over medium heat add the oil and saute the vermicelli until light golden brown. Add the prepared tomato sauce and cook for 2 minutes, add 1 heaping tablespoon of tomato paste, cumin powder, salt, pepper, and goya seasoning cook for an additional 2 minutes before adding the chicken broth. Once the chicken broth has been added cook the soup for approximately 20 minutes or until the pasta is cooked. Serve hot with lime juice.

Cake pops!

2011-09-28T17:52:00.002+03:00

Cake pops and cake balls are so up my alley I can't believe I had never made them before. You can almost make cute cake pops out of any cake and bind the mixture with a frosting of your choice. I found that 4 to 5 heaping tablespoons of frosting was enough to bind the crumbs of one large cake made from a "Super moist" store bought cake mix. If you've made anything that requires rolling such as meatballs then you already know how to make cake balls/pops. I chose to dip the pops in semisweet chocolate since boxed cake mix and store bought frosting are already on the sweet side for me. After looking at pictures online I couldn't make up my mind as to how to decorate my pops, so I made sheep, owls, cat's, and regular sprinkled pops. Please come back and see me and I will show you how to make "Owl" cake pops on a seperate post.

Ingredients
1 box cake mix
1 can frosting (I used chocolate)
1 bag semisweet chocolate chips
Assorment sprinkles to decorate

Step 1. Bake the cake per box directions.

Step 2. In a large bowl crumble the cake into fine crumbs.

Step 3. Add enough frosting to hold the crumbs together, I used approximately 1/2 cup frosting.

Step 4. Measure the crumbs into a small icecream scooper and roll into smooth balls. Place each rolled cake ball onto a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Step 5. Refrigerate the cake balls for approximately 1 hour before inserting the sticks.

Step 6. In a double broiler melt the semisweet chocolate. Dip the icecream stick about half inch into the melted chocolate and insert into the cake ball half way through. Place each ready made pop back on the baking sheet and refrigerate for an additional hour.

Step 7. Return the chocolate onto the double broiler and heat until melted.
Dip each cake pop into the chocolate, shake on any excess chocolate my lightly tapping the popcicle stick against the rim of the chocolate pan.

Step 8. Once dipped insert each pop into a styrofoam block until all pops have been dipped.

Step 9. Decorate each pop with sprinkles and cool for a few hours before eating.

Here's a beautiful way to display the pops or a neat gift to give to friends. Simply place a styrofoam block in a gift bag and insert the pops. I decorated the popcicle sticks because I'm simply cool like that. :P

Color splash my Pops please!

Pictures are driving me Mad....

2011-09-24T20:48:00.001+03:00

That's right! I have so many recipes I want to share with you all but Photoshop is driving me crazy these days and to top it off I don't have much time on my hands. My son started school last week and that means "I" have to get up at 5:45am, get ready and get him ready and fed by 6:45am! Because of the hot summers and prayer times school here starts at 7am, I know right. Agh! Anyhoo, if I'm in better spirits I will add my recipes in the coming days. The picture above was taken in the City of Mecca here in Saudi Arabia, since taking pictures is prohibited I was only able to take pictures of the pillars.

Nutty butter, banana bread.

2011-09-17T23:34:00.002+03:00

After 2 days of hearing my husband say "Do something with those bananas before they go bad" I decided to bake a banana bread, not that I know anything else to do with overly riped bananas but yeah. The bananas had been placed in the refrigerator the night before therefore I had to allow them to come down to room temperature, afraid they would go beyond the "riped" point I decided to cook the bananas with a bit of evaporated milk. The browned butter really kicks this recipe up a notch or two, if you've never tried it you really should.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup fne wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar (not packed)
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
3 large very riped bananas mashed (1 cup plus 2tblsp)
1 stick butter (113grams)
4 tablespoons full cream evaporated milk
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 teaspoon plus 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/3 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon good vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts (toasted and finely chopped)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Directions
Heat a thick-bottomed skillet on medium heat. Add 113 grams of butter cut into pieces(sliced so that the butter melts more evenly) whisking frequently. Continue to cook the butter. Once the butter begins to foam up a bit, then subside, watch carefully as lightly browned specks begin to form at the bottom of the pan. Smell the butter; it should have a nutty aroma. Remove from heat and place on a cool surface to help stop the butter from cooking further and perhaps burning. I strained my butter to get rid of the small milk solids but you can skip this step. Set aside to cool.

Preheat your oven to 350* F. Butter and flour a 9x9 square cake pan or a pan of your choice. If you're baking this in a traditional loaf pan give it at least 15 extra minutes to bake. I will add a baking pan chart below.

Mash the bananas and heat in a seperate pan with 1 tablespoon of butter, condensed milk, and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon powder. Whisk to combine and cook until it reaches a light boil. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl sift the flours, 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a bowl whisk the sugars, eggs, and vanilla until they become light, fluffy, and pale in color. Stream in the cooled nutty butter and whisk to combine.

Gently with a wooden spoon add the dry ingredients alternately with the banana mixture into the egg mix in 3 seperate edditions, starting and ending with the flour. Toss the chocolate chips, and chopped walnuts in your now empty dry ingredients bowl and carefully fold in to your batter. Be very careful not to overmix or you will end up with a rubbery banana bread.

Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for approximately 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Gulf style, green coffee (Qahwa).

2011-09-17T01:28:00.001+03:00

The first time I ever had Gulf style coffee I thought "Eeww, what the heck is this funky water" then I had the first sip and I was hooked. The coffee is unsweetened and goes perfectly with Arabic sweets that are usually drenched in syrup. The tiny handle free cups are just beautiful and for some reason they make me feel beautiful as well when I have one in hand. Very classy cups I must say.

ingredients
3 cups of water
3 tbsp. cardamom (coarsely ground)
2 tbsp. of Arabic coffee
1/4 teaspoon saffron (optional)
1 teaspoon of rosewater (optional)

Directions
Boil the water in a pot.
Add the coffee to the water and bring to a boil over low heat.
Remove from the heat for five minutes to allow the coffee to settle.
Put the cardamom in the pot, strain the coffee into it and add the saffron or rosewater.Bring back to boil once and serve.

adapted from, Grouprecipes.com

Tuesday 10...

2011-09-12T23:55:00.000+03:00

Tuesday Ten features 10 beautiful things I love, as you see food is my passion, my poor POOR jeans.

Cool cafes, I love to sit down drinking my machiato and people watch. I really miss my old times at "Coffee rush" in Arizona with my beautiful cousin Dalia.

Waling bare feet! My mother use to hate it and so does my husband but I can't help it. I'm cool like that... :P

Wood fire ovens, love the flavors they bring to food and best of all BREAD. My dream is to own a farm with a huge huge huge wood fire oven.

The color green, pastel green.

Iced coffee drink, not blended. So! Get that right next time Mr. Coffee Man.

Anything Japanese because maybe I should have been Japanese. lol

Moroccan decor, lovely vibrant colors.

Cupcakes! Do I really need to say why?

Awesome jeans make me feel young again, jeans and boots (not cowboy, Mmk) were the two things I didn't mind spending a fortune on in my younger skinnier days.

Road trips, and snacking on junk food during a road trip. :)

A very productive day.

2011-09-11T21:22:00.002+03:00

I sit here with aching feet patting myself "good job" on the back. Today was a very productive day that started at 7am and just now ended at 8:30pm. My son is finally going to start KG2 this year so I had to go meet his teacher and take a tour of the school. When I first seen the building I thought nice school but like most buildings here in the Kingdom it looked very private almost like a kiddie prison. Boy was I ever wrong the building on the outside looks as if the entire school is indoors but it's very lovely built with a huge courtyard in the center with a beautiful playground and everything else you find outside at recess (I haven't said that word in, O' say 20 plus years, GOSH I'm old) time in an American school. The staff was very kind and the entire school appeared to be staffed by locals, even the cleaning crew. The lady I spoke with lived in Canada and the US for quite some time and was so happy to see me there she even asked me to bring my School certificates for a job. I'm still somewhat attached (A LOT) to my son but at least I can put my mind at ease knowing that with God's will he's in good hands.

Time machine*

It's now 10am and my husband tells me we're having guest over for tea time, as my head begins to turn in circles (Exorcist style) the only thing that comes to mind is "It's time to get baking". I made a lovely nutty butter banana bread and an amazing knock your sox off apple baklava. In between baking I cleaned my entire home spotless and managed to put a nice veal and potato stew on the table by 2:30pm. The guest loved all my baked goodies which is always a good thing of course "and" I even made time to sneak out and take my neighbors kids their Eid gifts, FINALLY. The next 3 days will be just as busy with our short trip to a different city here in the Kingdom. If you took a look at the pictures above you're probably thinking to yourself "What the heck does this have to do with Jamie oliver and a Tangia?". Well, my dear Mother in law was so excited to see someone (A white person) making a traditional Tangia (will make a seperate tangia post later) on tv she sat watching my all time favorite chef for an entire hour. The theme was Moroccan and his dishes and recipes look very VERY authentic, this was probably the highlight of my Mother in laws week, so thank you very much Mr. Oliver and please don't get upset at me for placing your picture next to some old Moroccan clay pots.

Moroccan veal tagine with vegetables...

2011-09-09T22:37:00.002+03:00

Earthy and substantial this Moroccan dish is the perfect one pot meal for a family of four. Meat in Morocco is almost never the main attraction in a dish, it's more of the nice surprise hidden beneath a medley of vegetables. Cooking a simple meat and vegetable dinner in an Earthy clay pot really makes all the difference, my favorite part of the meal is when a piece of meat gets slighly browned and stuck on the bottom of the pot. The chilis are placed whole over the vegetables for those who prefer a little spice in their meal. Curry powder is not traditionally Moroccan as most of you may already know but it is a favorite of mine. When buying curry powder try buying an Indian brand such as "Shams", Indian brands really have more of an Authentic taste and the curry is not as powderized as the ones in American brands. The vegetables in this recipe will work well with as much as 1 kilo of meat, adjust the spices accordianly. Another unorthodox Moroccan methon I use is slighly browning the meat on both sides on a seperate pan, it may not be traditional but it will cut the cooking time in half and the end results will still be the same.

Ingredients
1lb veal steaks or chump chops with bone
2 large onions, thinly sliced
2 to 3 large potatoes
2 large carrots
3 zucchinis
4 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
3/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon tumaric powder
3/4 teaspoon ginger powder
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
2 1inch pieces cinnamon bark
2 green chilis (optional)
3 tablespoon oil
1 to 2 cups water as needed

Directions
Place the tagine over a diffuser under medium low heat. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a non stick pan and lightly brown the meat on both sides. Add 1 tablespoon of oil into the tagine and place the meat in the center.

Saute the onions in the oil remaining in the pan until they are translucent. Add the chopped garlic and cilantro and cook for 2 minutes. Add the ginger, tumeric, curry power, salt, and pepper and saute to combine. Add approximately 1/3 cup of water and raise the heat to high, cook the spiced onions for 2 to 4 minutes. Pour the onion mixture over the meat adding an additional 1/3 to 1/2 cup of water. Place 1 piece of cinnamon stick on top of the onions and the other in the broth, sprinkle the saffron over the onions and cover the tagine.

Lower the heat to a low simmer.On a stove from 1 to 10, 10 being the highest cook the tagine in number 4 to 5 heat. Cook the tagine for 30 minutes, then remove the top to check the level of broth and tenderness of the meat. At this point if the meat is not yet tender, add 1/3 cup of water and cook for 20 extra minutes.

Meanwhile peel 2 to 3 large potatoes and cut into 6 to 8 pieces depending on the size of your potatoes. Cut the zucchini in half then cut each piece in 4 (8 piece total per zucchini). Peel the carrots and cut them into small sticks or about the size of small fries. Cut the stems off of the chilis. Set aside.

After 20 minutes remove the top from the tagine and check the meat, the meat should be almost tender. Place the potatoes and zucchinis around the meat. Place the matchstick carrots over the meat and place the chilis on top. Sprinkle the vegetables with a little salt a pinch of curry powder and saffron if desired.

Add 1/3 cup of water around the rim of the tagine and not directly over the meat or vegetables. Cover and cook until the vegetables are tender, approximately 20 minutes. Remove the tagine for the heat and serve with crusty bread.

Note, the tagine method is one that never fails me. It may not be "as" traditional but it works for me.

Pistachio cake with cream cheese frosting...

2011-09-09T18:09:00.001+03:00

I had guest come over for lunch this past Friday and knew I had to make something extra special for dessert the day before since I had a 4 course meal to prepare the day of. This cake turned out "Perfect" just like I hoped it would. The flavors reminded me of my favorite Baskin Robbins pistachio icecream, topped with sweet cream cheese frosting and sprinkled with pistachio powder, it was sweet heaven if I may say so myself. The cake itself was my attempt at a 3 tier wedding cake, the results were flawless I just wish I would have had more time to take a picture of the cake itself and not just a leftover slice, but just know that it was that good. The frosting is "semi" homemade but pairs perfectly with this light green aromatic cake. When buying almond extract make sure to buy "pure" almond extract or almond extract "oil" I find the immitation has an unpleasant chemical aftertaste to it.

Ingredients
2 cups self rising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup fine sugar
1 cup pistachio flour (recipe follows)
3 extra large eggs
3/4 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1 cup oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract oil

Directions
In a large nonstick pan heat approximately 2 cups of peeled pistachion until they're lightly toasted and the aromas become niticible. Allow them to cool for approximately 20 minutes, process the pistachios into a fine meal/powder and sift to remove any lumps. Measure 1 cup of the pistachio meal and set the leftovers aside for later use.

Preheat your oven to 350* F. Butter and flour three 8inch cake pans or a large cake pan of your choice.In a large bowl sift the flour, pistachio meal, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a seperate bowl whisk the eggs, extracts, and sugar until they become light and pale in color. Slowly stream in the oil and whisk to combine. In a seperate bowl whisk the yogurt and milk until creamy and free of any yogurt lumps. Set aside.

Gently mix the dry ingredients alternately with the yogurt mixture into the egg mix in 3 seperate additions starting and ending with the flour. Evenly pour the batter into the prepared pan/pans and bake for approximately 25 to 35 minutes or until a toothpic inserted in the center comes out clean. If you're using a large pan add at least 7 to 10 minutes baking time. Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes before removing. Cool on a cooling rack completely before frosting.

Creamcheese pistachio frosting

Ingredients
200 grams cream cheese (room temperature)
1 vanilla frosting jar (I used Duncan hines, Vanilla frosting)
1/4 cup of your reserved pistachio meal
2 tablespoons powder sugar (sifted)
1/4 teapoon almond extract oil

Directions
In a large bowl with an electric mixer, whisk the creamcheese until it becomes creamy and lump free. Add the entire can of frosting and whisk to combine. Add the almond extract and powder sugar and whisk to combine, at this point taste the frosting for sweetness if you find it still a bit too cheesy add more sifted powder sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Frost the cooled cakes and refrigerate until the frosting is firm to the touch.

Tuesday 10

2011-09-06T20:34:00.001+03:00

Tuesday Ten features 10 beautiful things I love. If you want to play along go ahead and do one for yourself at your blog.

1. Urban Decay eyeshadow primers, love love love them.

2. Tea sets, I love tea sets but more so "CUTE" mugs, the mood I'm in really determines what mug/cup I will be having my coffee in or vise versa, sometimes a coffee served in a pretty cup may just brighten my day.

3. Angry birds, that game is awesome! Touch it, touch it. lol

4. Hello kitty, will anyone notice? I know I will. So cute!

5. A pink DSLR, if only I trusted someone to paint mine I would go for it.

6. Cupcake liners, I have quite the collection yet I find myself baking more cakes than anything.

7. Fossil ceramic watches, love this one.

8. Pant jumper suits, love them with vintage prints.

9. Vtech toys, love them for my boys.

10. Last but not least, Fekkai hair products because sometimes it cost just a little more to be beautiful. <3

Random

2011-09-03T21:21:00.002+03:00

About 2 months ago a Woman contacted me asking if she could use my M'hanncha picture for a website and Iphone app, of course I said yes but with the holidays around the corner I completely forgot about it. Seeing a tiny little picture of my dessert on my phone really made my day. :) I love "Foodtography" and not just taking them myself but most of all I enjoy seeing food pictures by others with the same love for food and photography. May that love we have for food and pictures keep us in touch, always.

http://www.mycitycuisine.org/wiki/M'Hanncha

Eid Ul-Fitr 2011

2011-08-31T23:48:00.001+03:00

Eid Mubarak Saeed, I hope everyone had a great Eid filled with joy, blessings, and great food. Eid really caught me by surprise this year I knew the debate was on whether it would be on Tuesday the the 29th of Ramadan or Wednesday the 30th of Ramadan I was still not prepared for the holiday, when my husband called me to let me know the Eid would be on Tuesday and he would be picking the kids and I up in 1 hour to go stay at the hotel next to Masjid Al Nabawi, I thought he was insane. I was literally mixing royal icing and getting ready to decorate sugar cookies with my boys, I had a batch of hot luqaimat waiting to be dipped in syrup that was to be shared with my neighbors but all that had to quickly be put into containers and the rush was on to get the boys and myself ready for our Holiday celebrations. Thank God everything went smoothly, the drive was pretty hectic but that was expected in a very busy city full of people rushing to get things done as we were. The morning of Eid was very lovely I must say, the kids were well behaved during the morning prayers and throughout the busy day.

Chicken tajine...

2011-08-29T13:31:00.002+03:00

The traditional tajine pot is formed entirely of a heavy clay, which is sometimes painted or glazed. It consists of two parts: a base unit that is flat and circular with low sides, and a large cone or dome-shaped cover that rests inside the base during cooking. The cover is so designed to promote the return of all condensation to the bottom. With the cover removed, the base can be taken to the table for serving. Now a days with Moroccan cuisine being so popular amongst international chefs you see tajine dishes being made on popular tv shows and in well know cookbooks, however most of the time the dish is not exactly made in a "Tajine" but made in regular kitchen pots. A Moroccan would not call this a tajine, since it is not cooked in a tajine. Tajines are slow cooked under low heat, making the meat extremely tender with a light sauce and vegetables cooked to perfection. In a classic Moroccan tagine the meat would only take up 1/4 of the tagine while the rest is made out of a medley of vegetables of your choice or whatever is in season. Making something in a clay pot that takes a few hours to cook may seem like a hard job but it really makes a housewive day a whole lot easier, put the tagine together, cover, and go about your cleaning, after 2 hours (give or take) you will have the best stress free meal on your table ready to be scooped up with crusty wheat bread.

The tajine above consist of whole free range chicken, onions, garlic, coriander, potatoes, carrots, topped with fresh figs. The combination may seem a bit unusual for those not familiar with the the North African cuisine where the mixing of fruit with savory dishes is very common. The spices used in the dish vary but the ones in this particular tajine are curry, ginger, tumaric, pepper, and saffron making the already fragrant dish just that more appealing to your smell senses.

Eid is upon us....

2011-08-28T21:31:00.000+03:00

The holiday of Eid is upon us and I cannot wait to bake and decorate cookies with my two boys and of course share them with friends and neighbors. Our Eid is usually spent near by Masjid Al Nabawi in Madinah, Saudi Arabia. The hotel is absolutely beautiful with the best breakfast buffet in town I may add (My husband paid me to say that). The Eid setting is usually designed by my husband and I just love to walk around and look at it all. Cloths or red Middle Eastern patterns cover the table, and tall glass jars are filled with chocolates. In the early morning a tray of Maamoul and Ka'ak is delivered to each room door, you can hear the kids playing down the halls up until dawn when everyone comes down in their best attire and anxiously await for the morning Eid prayer. Thousands of languages are spoken but all you can hear is,

ALLAHU AKBAR
ALLAHU AKBAR
ALLAHU AKBAR
LA ILLAHA IL ALLAH
ALLAHU AKBAR,
WALILAHIL HAMD
ALLAHU AKBARU KABEERA
WAL-HAMDULILAHI KATHEERA
WA SUBHAN ALLAHI
BUKRATAN WA ASEILA
LA ILLAHA IL ALLAH
SADAQA WA'DAH
WA NASARA ABDAH
WA A'AZZA JUNDAHU
WA HAZAMAL-AHZAABA WAHDAH
LA ILLAHA IL ALLAH
WA LAA NA'BUDU ILLA IYYAH
MUKHLESSENA LAHUD-DEENA
WALAW KAREHAL-KAFEEROON
ALLAHUMMA SALLI ALA
SAYYEDNA MUHAMMAD
WA ALA AALIE SAYYEDNAMUHAMMAD
WA ALA AS-HAABIE SAYYEDNA
MUHAMMAD
WA ALA ANSARI SAYYEDNA MUHAMMAD
WA ALA AZWAJIE SAYYEDN
MUHAMMAD
WA ALA DHURREYATIE SAYYEDNA
MUHAMMAD
WA SALLIM TASLEEMAN KATHEERA

Pistachio sweet buns...

2011-08-28T21:01:00.002+03:00

The recipe below was for traditional Moroccan sweet buns otherwise known as "Krachel" but being that I was going to share them with local neighbors I decided to give them a more Middle Eastern twist by topping them with crushed pistachios. When it comes to baking my mind usually takes different routes as I go along, that's when the idea or a Middle eastern "Esponja" (Mexican sweet buns) came into mind. Note that this was not my intention so stay tunned for a more traditional pistachio "Esponja" recipe but let me tell you these sweet little buns were absolutely amazing and perfect for and afternoon tea or coffee break.

Ingredients
4 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup lukewarm milk
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons oil
2 teaspoons sesame seeds (toasted)
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
Topping
1/2 to 3/4 cups pistachios
4 heaping tablespoons powder sugar
1/4 cup melted butter

Directions
sift the flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Set aside. In a seperate bowl beat your egg, oil, and vanilla. Set aside. In a small bowl or in your stand mixer mix the yeast with the milk and allow it to sit for 5 minutes. Add a few tablespoons of flour to the yeast mixture and beat until a smooth batter is formed. Set the mix aside for 5 more minutes. After 5 minutes whisk the egg mixture into the rested yeast batter until smooth. Slowly add the flour leaving 1/4 cup aside. Add the toasted sesame seeds and fennel seeds, and kneed to combine, add the remainder of the flour until a soft and slightly sticky dough is formed. Make sure to kneed the dough for a few minutes for better results. Place the dough on a lightly oiled bowl cover with plastic and let rise in a warm place, for 1hr or until doubled in size.

After the dough has risen, divide it into 12 to 16 smooth, evenly shaped balls. Place the balls of dough two inches apart on an oiled baking sheet, and slightly flatten the tops of the dough to form a rounded disc.

Cover the baking sheet with a towel and leave the dough to rise another hour or longer, or until the rolls are very light and puffy.

Add the pistachios and powder sugar into your food processor and pulse until a powder is formed. Melt 1/4 cup of butter and set aside.

Meanwhile preheat your oven to 370* F. Brush the rolls with the melted butter and carefully place 2 teaspoons of the sweet pistachio sugar on top of each bun to cover evenly. Press the mixture down and drizzle 1 teaspoon of butter over each pistachio covered bun. Dust again with approximately 1 teaspoon of pistachio mix. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown in color. After 15 minutes of baking test the buns by lifting with a spatula, if the bottom is golden brown and the buns appear to be baked but the tops are not quite golden, set the oven to a low broil and broil until the tops are golden brown.

Remove the baking pan from the oven and cool slightly on a wire rack and dust again with the pistachio powder sugar. Serve warm....

Deeds without sincerity...

2011-08-27T21:09:00.000+03:00

Ibnul Qayyim –(rahimahullaah) – said, "Deeds without sincerity are like a traveler who carries in his water-jug dirt. The carrying of it burdens him and it brings no benefit."

Friday prayer, Ramadan the 26th

2011-08-26T21:04:00.000+03:00

I thought this image was absolutely beautiful, it really says a lot for those who are familiar with the Islamic month of "Ramadan". My Mother in law sits waiting for the Friday prayers to begin in what would usually be a restaurant packed with people trying to rush and eat as much as they can before going downstairs to perforn the Friday prayers. The kitchen is shut, all trays are empty, yet everyone still awaits the prayer in 40 plus degree weather. It's really nice to share the same holiday, hunger, and faith, with Millions around the world. Ramadan Mubarak once again and may the blessings of Allah be upon us on Laylat al Qadr.

Puff pastry, potato samosas.

2011-08-26T04:08:00.001+03:00

These savory pastries always seem to dazzle people and are a favorite in everyones Ramadan dinner table. Some popular fillings are minced meat, vegetable, leaks, and potato, the options for savory filling are endless. The puff pastry in this recipe really takes "Samosas" to another level. Flaky crust on the outside with a warm lightly spicy potato filling in the inside. The puff pastry found here in the Middle East is sold in different size's, the one used in this recipe is approximately 5 by 5 inches.

My apologies for the poor pictures, I was hesitating to post this recipe for that reason but rest asure the recipe itself is worth it.

Ingredients
5 to 6 cups boiled cubed potatoes
1 cup frozen peas
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons, finely chopped cilantro
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons, grated fresh ginger
1 green chili, finely chopped
2 large roma tomatoes, grated
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/3 teaspoon tumaric powder
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon butter
20 to 25, 5x5 squares of puff pastry
Heavy cream or 1 egg to brush the samosas

Directions
Heat the oil and butter in a large non stick pan, over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until light golden brown, add the garlic, ginger, green pepper, spices, and cook for approximately 3 minutes. Add the grated tomatoes and cilantro and cook until most of the tomato juices have evaporated, adding an extra tablespoon of oil if dry. Add 1 tablespoon of tomato paste along with 1/4 cup of water and cook for 2 minutes, add the peas and potatoes and cook until the water in the curry has evaporated. If the potatoes or peas are still a bit undercooked, add 2 to 4 tablespoons of water and cook until that water has evaporated and the potatoes are soft to the touch. Allow the dry curry to cook before filling the puff pastry. Make 4 samosas at a time to prevent the puff pastry from warming up, leave the remainder of puff pastry squares refrigerated at all times. Brush the edge of the pastry with egg wash and place a heaping tablespoon of filling in the center of each square, fold the pastry over to make a triangle, press the edges to seal with your fingers or with a fork. Repeat with the remaining puff pastry squares, but make sure to place each samosa back into the refrigerator to keep the puff pastry cool. Cool the samosas for approximately 15 minutes before baking. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 420* F. Place the samosas 1 inch apart in a non stick pan, brush with egg wash or cream and bake for approximately 15 to 20 minutes or until nicely puffed and golden brown in color.

Nestlé, fat free?

2011-08-24T15:41:00.000+03:00

Nestlé laziz, there's no doubt woman here in the Middle east love baking with sweetened condensed milk, as do I. Rich, milky, and creamy. What's not to love? But lately I have been hearing so much about this "Nestlé fat free sweetened condensed milk" and was wondering what makes it "Fat free"? Do they use the same amount of sugar with fat free milk which in my opinion would not make it fat free at all or is it made with sugar substitutes and fat free milk? Whatever it may be I have been seeing so many recipes that call for this so called "Fat free" sweetened condensed milk that I'm now eager to go out and buy some. The image above is not the one sold here in the Middle East.

Cooking from scratch....

2011-08-20T20:52:00.000+03:00

A simple Roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, and stuffing has always been a favorite of mine, that's until I moved to the KSA. A meal that can easily be put together takes me at least a couple of hours to make, from toasting the bread to prepare the stuffing to turning the chicken drippings into gravy. I must say some things are worth waiting for and this meal sure was.

Third week of Ramadan.

2011-08-18T03:39:00.001+03:00

I cannot believe we're already on our third week of Ramadan, it seems like just yesterday I was counting the days until Ramadan and now it's passing us by so soon. I pray to increase my efforts and devote myself 100% to offering extra prayers and with God's will finish reading the Quran. My Mother in law arrives tomorrow (God willing) the house is spotless, new curtains are up, and the lanters are lit. Ramadan, ramadan, Thank God I'm here to see another Ramadan.

Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah's Apostle said, "Whoever prayed at night the whole month of Ramadan out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven.

White Maizena cookies with coconut and mini chocolate chips.

2011-08-17T21:02:00.003+03:00

Not an easy name for a cookie to remember right? But let me say the name we give our recipes are extremely important when it comes to traffic or how one searches for a recipe online. One of the recipes that brings me more visitors to my small yet humble blog is "Harcha" and the ingredient would be "Semolina" flour. The idea for this cookie started with one simple ingredients "Maizena" I came across many recipes, some which I have made in the past such as "Melting moments" and the famous brazilian cookie "Biscoitos de Maizena" I wanted a cookie that melts in your mouth like the ones mentioned above but not as buttery and with a twist that would make people go "Wow" at first bite. This for sure will make anyone go "Wow", my husband and I shared a cookie straight out of the oven and both just looked at each other. We both agreed this is so far one of the best cookies we've ever had. The recipe was created by me, the though begun with "Maizena" and the results were simply amazing.

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup pastry flour
1/2 cup ground unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup cornstarch (Maizena)
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons powder sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 stick butter (113 grams)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 eggwhite
2 tablespoons coconut milk
2 tablespoons oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions
In a food processor, add appriximately 1 cup of unsweetened coconut and pulse until finely ground. Sift the coconut (it must go through a sifter) along with the flour, maizena, salt, and baking powder. Set aside. In a seperate bowl beat the butter, eggwhite, oil, and vanilla until well blended and a bit fluffy. If the butter breaks, worry not it will come together with a couple tablespoons of the dry ingredients. Add the coconut milk and whisk to combine. Fold in the dry ingredients to combine, toss the chocolate chips in 1 teaspoon of flour and fold into your batter. Refrigerate the cookie dough for approximately 1 hour or until firm.

Preheat your oven to 350* F. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and flatten with a fork, dipping in powder sugar to prevent from sticking to the cookie. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart. Bake for approximately 10 to 14 minutes or until the edges of the cookies just start to brown. Remove from the baking sheet and place on a wire rack, dust with powder sugar and allow them to cool. Dust again with powder sugar before serving.

Potato soup

2011-08-17T01:24:00.002+03:00

The richness of this potato soup is sure to fill you up, eat it along side some crusty bread or acompanied by a salad. Drizzle with good quality extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with oregano and crushed red pepper flakes.

Ingredients
4 to 5 cups boiled, peeled, and cubed potatoes
1 large carrot peeled and chopped
1 large celery stalk, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves thinly diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon oregano
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
5 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, carrots, and celery, and cook, stirring frequently for 5 minutes or until the onions along with the vegetables have softened. Add 3 cloves of thinly diced garlic, oregano, bay leaf, salt, and pepper and stir to combine. Add the chicken stock and cook for approximately 15 minutes or until the vegetables have softened a bit. In your electric blender combine the chopped boiled potatoes and milk with the minced garlic, salt, and pepper and blend until smooth. Pour the potato mix into the soup and whisk until well combined and the potatoes are lump free. Cook for an additional 10 minutes under medium low heat, turn the heat off and whisk in the cream and butter. Serve hot and drizzle with olive oil or top with grated cheese and chopped scalions.

Black and white, Masjid Al Nabawi.

2011-08-16T23:05:00.002+03:00

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, "The man is upon the way of his friend, so one of you should look carefully at who he befriends."

There's no reason for this post really and I must say I thank Allah Subhana wa taala for every person he has put in my life, Always. All of them have had a good impact on me in one way or the other and for that I am grateful.

The picture was taken outside of "Masjid Al Nabawi" in the Holy city of Madinah. It was I believe the 4th picture taken with my new beloved camera. Not too bad if I may say so myself.

Date stuffed rolls...

2011-08-16T01:12:00.000+03:00

I should start this post by warning you all about my Ramadan pictures. Since our Ramadan meal is usually served in the late hours when all the beautiful sunlight is no longer visible my pictures wont appear as vibrant. The lighting in my home is not the best and whatever pictures I do get to take in the day time will have to be of my leftovers. This dough was suppose to make a Polish buchty bread, so feel free to leave out the date filling. The date paste I make is a bit different than any others I have tasted, I make mine with milk, spices, and a little bit of butter giving it a creamy light taste and not a heavy tamarind like flavor some others tend to have. The date filling is the leftovers used for this recipe, the recipe makes approximately 3 cups date paste, you can either cut the recipe in half or store the paste to use in other recipes such as maamoul. Dusting the rolls with plenty of powder sugar straight out of the oven creates a soft, and buttery sweet topping for the rolls.

Ingredients
4 cups white flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
3 eggs lightly beaten
3 tablespoons butter melted
confectioners sugar for dusting

Directions
Grease am 8inch square pan or pan of choice. Sift the flour and salt together into a large bowl and stir in the suagar. Make a well in the center. Melt 1/4 cup of butter in a small pan then remove from heat and stir in the milk. Let cool until lukewarm. Stir in the yeast into the milk mixture until it has dissolved. Pour into the center of the flour and stir in enough flour to form a thick dough. Sprinkle with a little of the surrounding flour and let sit in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Gradually beat in the eggs to the remaining flour to form a soft dough. This will take about 10 minutes. Cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in bulk.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and punch down. Divide into 16 equal pieces and shape into rounds. Flatten each ball into a disk and fill the center with approximately 1 heaping teaspoon of date paste, fold all sides in and pinch to seal. Roll the filled dough into a ball and continue with the remaining balls of dough.

Melt the remaining butter and roll the rounds in to coat, then place slightly apart in the pan. Cover with slightly oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Meanwhile preheat the oven to 375* F. Spoon in any remaining melted butter evenly over the rolls and bake for approximately 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the pan from the oven and dust the rolls with plenty of powdered sugar. Let cool for 5 minutes then remove onto a wire rack and dust again with sugar.

*Adapted from, Bread (Breads of the world) with some minor changes to the original recipe.

The power of fasting.

2011-08-13T20:20:00.003+03:00

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Everything has a cleansing agent and fasting is the cleansing agent for the body. Fasting is more a matter of patience than of anything else." (Ibn Majah)

Red Chilaquiles

2011-08-12T03:14:00.003+03:00

The sauce used in this recipe is one that I created using some of the most common Mexican chile sauce ingrediets. If you're not familiar with the ingredients, please visit the attachments below. Mexican oregano is one of the most fragrant herbs I have ever came across and a favorite of mine. Frying the onion separately from the sauce really makes all the difference, when I think Mexican food I think of the smoky flavors that linger in your tongue with every bite and this technique really does it for this very simple dish. The type of cheese and amount is entirely up to you, some of my favorites are Manchego, Monster, and Monterey Jack cheese all which go very well with any spicy Mexican dish.

Ingredients
2 large New Mexico dried, Red Chilis
6 dried, Chile Piquin peppers
1 1/2 teaspoons dried "Mexican" oregano
4 garlic cloves
1/4 cup cilantro
1 heaping tablespoon, tomato paste
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 medium onion
1 teaspoon cumin powder
salt and pepper to taste

1 8oz pack white corn tortillas
1 to 2 cups grated cheese of your choice (Manchego, Monterey Jack)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
3/4 cup oil

Directions
Soak the large chilis in hot water and cover for approximately 5 minutes or until they plump up and soften up a bit. Cut a slit in each chili and remove the seeds and stem. In a medium heavy duty pan add your seeded chilis, oregano, chile piquin, tomato paste, garlic, salt, pepper, and chicken stock. Simmer for approximately 15 minutes or until all the ingredients soften up. In a seperate pan fry the chopped onion with 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil until golden brown, add the cumin powder and toss for a few seconds. Remove from heat and set aside. Allow the ingredients to cool down for a few minutes. Combine all of the ingredients in your blender and blend until smooth. Strain the chile sauce into a pan and set aside.

Stack the tortillas and cut into 8 triangles.
Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until it shimmers, then fry tortillas in 6 batches, turning once, until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes per batch. Drain on layers of paper towel.

Bring 1/3 of the sauce to a low simmer in a non stick pan, add the tortillas and give it a light toss. Sprinkle the chilaquiles with cheese and allow it to melt. Top the Chilaquiles with chile sauce to taste on each serving plate, sprinkle cheese, chopped onions, and cilantro to taste. Serve hot with Spanish rice.

Capsicum (chile piquin).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsicum

Types of dried chilis used in Mexican cooking. The small chilis used in this recipe can be replaced with Chile de Arbol, Dried Thai Chilis, or Dried Puya Chilis.
http://www.marxfoods.com/products/Bulk-Dried-Peppers

Abuelita chocolate cake

2011-08-10T23:05:00.001+03:00

This cake is made using "Abuelita chocolate", hence the name. Abuelita is a brand of chocolate tablets, or powder mix in individual packets, made by Nestle and used to make Mexican-style hot chocolate. The name is an affectionate Spanish word for "grandma" (literally translated as "little grandmother" or "granny"). Growing up in the Western part of the United States this hot chocolate could be found just about anywhere, from the local grocery store to gastations (usually ready made). After many talks about this chocolate with friends I made sure to add it to my US haul list, since the weather here in Saudi Arabia is anywhere from 110* PLUS, I decided to skip out on the hot chocolate and incorporate it to some of my very own recipes. This is my take on a Mexican chocolate cake. I must say I've made this cake twice in the past few weeks, the original recipe uses 1/2 almond meal and 1/2 flour, I've made the cake using 100% flour and the results were just as good. The cake itself doesn't rise as much as a regular cake but it's extremely moist and perfect for a layered cake.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups almond meal
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
140 grams "Abuelita chocolate" chopped
3 large eggs (US extra large)
2 cups milk
1 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
40 grams "Abuelita chocolate, finely grated
pinch of salt
Chocolate ganache recipe follows

Preheat your oven to 350* F. Butter two round cake pans and dust with flour. Set aside.
Heat the milk to an low boiling point, blend the milk in your blender with the chopped chocolate and set aside to cool. In a large bowl sift the flour, baking agents, cocoa powder, grated chocolate, and salt. Set aside. In a seperate bowl whisk the the eggs and sugar until light and creamy, slowly stream in the oil and whisk to combine. Bring 1 cup of the abuelita hot chocolate back to a low boil and set aside. Gently mix the dry ingredients alternately with the cooled hot chocolate into the egg and sugar mixture, starting and ending with the flour. Stir in the hot "hot chocolate" and pour the thin batter into your prepared pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for approximately 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire rack and cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate ganache

1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder (optional)

Directions
Place your chocolate chips in a medium size glass or stainless steel bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream over medium heat just until it comes to the boil. Add to your chocolate and allow it to sit for 5 minutes. Stir with a whisk until smooth.

Date cake (Sugarfree)

2011-08-10T00:44:00.003+03:00

During the month of Ramadan there's a very special fruit found in almost every Muslim family home. The date, if you haven't tried baking with them you should give this recipe a try. Since date's are naturally sweet this cake is made with 100% dates as a sweetner and 0% sugar. Many who are not familiar with the month of Ramadan would think Muslims probably loose a ton of weight during this holiday but in most cases it's the other way around. in my case, I gain weight. loads of weight! So this year I'm trying to stay away from my favorite buttery, simple syrup dipped Arabic desserts and creating recipes of my own. This recipe is trully a winner if I may say so myself. I did cheat just a tiny bit and added 1/3 cup of peanut butter morsels in the batter but "hey" I owe every single morsel to myself after my 14 1/2 hour fast. Don't you think?

ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup date paste (recipe follows)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla (I used vanilla bean paste)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup toasted Argan oil (you can use sunflower, olive, or almond oil)
1/3 to 1/2 cup peanut butter morsels (can be replaced with walnuts)

Directions
Preheat your oven to 350* F. Butter a large round tart pan and dust with flour. In a medium bowl sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl whisk the date paste, eggs, and vanilla until light and creamy. Slowly stream in the oil and whisk to combine. In a small bowl whisk the yogurt and milk until creamy and lump free. Gently fold in the flour mixture alternately with the yogurt to the egg and date mixture in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture leaving 1 teaspoon of flour to toss the morsels in. Toss the morsels in the a teaspoon of flour and fold in to your batter, making sure not to overmix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for approximately 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpic inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake on a cooling rack and frost with date frosting. You can decorate the cake with nuts, dates, or even peanutbutter morsels. Serve cool.

Date frosting
ingredients
1 cup date paste
1 heaping tablespoon smooth low sodium peanutbutter
2 tablespoons honey

Directions
In a small saucepan under low heat combine all the ingredients and mix to combine. The honey gives this healthy frosting a really neat gloss.

Date paste
5 to 6 cups of pitted and chopped, Medjool dates
1 1/2 to 2 cups milk
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla (vanilla bean paste is wonderful in this recipe)

Directions
In a medium heavy duty saucepan under low heat add the chopped dates, 1 cup of milk, and butter. Cover and cook for 5 to 7 minutes minutes or until most of the milk has evaporated. Gently press down on the dates with a wooden spoon, if the dates are not soft to the touch, add 1/2 cup of milk, cover and cook for an additional 3 to 5 minutes. Add more milk as needed until the dates are soft. After the dates have softened and the milk has evaporated, in a food processor pulse the dates to a paste. You may have to make this is 2 to 3 seperate additions depending on your food processor. The paste should be smooth but still have some visible date pieces in it. This recipe yields 3 to 4 cups of paste, so make sure to stay tunned for more recipes made with this paste.

Brittish style Naan

2011-08-05T00:02:00.001+03:00

To be honest with you all I'm not sure if this is Brittish style Naan what I do know is that after living in London and now here in the Kindom of Saudi Arabia this Naan is more like Naan you would find at an Indian restaurant in London but nothing like the Naan you would find in an Indian restaurant here in Saudi Arabia. Naan sold in the UK is thick like this one while the one sold here is more like a lavash bread with a softer thicker center.

Ingredients
4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon yeast
10 tablespoons lukewarm milk
2 tablespoons oil
4 tablespoons plain yogurt
2 eggs
5 to 6 tablespoons melted butter or ghee, for brusing

Directions
Sift the flour, salt, and yeast into a large bowl. Set aside. In your stand mixer cream the yeast with the milk, set aside for 5 minutes. In a separate bowl whisk the egg, oil, and yogurt until well combined and lump free. Add ½ cup of your flour mix to the yeasted milk and whisk until smooth. Set aside for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, add the yogurt mix and turn the stand mixer on to medium speed with the hook attachment, beat until combines. Gradually add the dry ingredients into the mixture until a soft dough is formed. You may or may not need the entire amount of flour. Kneed the dough in your stand mixer for approximately 7 to 10 minutes to build up the gluten. Remove the dough from the mixer and kneed by hand over a lightly oiled surface, kneed for an additional 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow it to rise for 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

Preheat the oven to 450* F. Place 2 to 3 large heavy baking sheets in the oven to heat. Turn the dough out to a lightly floured surface and punch down. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces and shape into balls. Cover the dough balls with a towel to prevent them from drying while you work on your first naan. Roll out the first ball of dough into a teardrop shape about 8 to 10 inches long and 5 to 6 inches wide and with a thickness of 1/4 - 1/3 inch. Due the same to the remainder of dough balls. Brush heavily with melted butter on both sides.

Preheat the broiler to high. Place the Naan’s on the hot baking sheets and bake for 3 to 5 minutes or until puffed up and golden in color. If the bottom of the Naan isn’t as golden as the top, flip over brush with more butter and place under the broiler until golden in color. Remove the Naan from the oven, brush with butter or ghee and serve warm.

Basboosa

2011-08-03T15:03:00.001+03:00

This recipe is one that I usually turn to during Ramadan. After a day of fasting who wouldn't want to sink their teeth into something sweet and cocoNUTY. The recipe can be found in an earlier post right here on my blog, this batch is for a bigger quantity of basboosa, perfect for sharing with friends and family during Ramadan. The coconut in the actual basboosa is unsweetened and a bit dry, very different from sweetened flaked coconut so make sure to use unsweetened dried coconut for best results. I do however top the basboosa with sweetened flaked coconut, not only does it look nice but it turns perfectly golden brown after baking.

Ingredients
3 cups Semolina
2 1/4 cups coconut (unsweetened)
3/4 cup of oil (I use sunflower oil)
2 cups of plain yogurt
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup Sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon rose water
1 teaspoon vanilla powder

Topping
1 cup sweetened coconut

Syrup
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
Lemon peel (3 strips)
1 table spoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons spoon honey
1 tablespoon rosewater

Directions
Preheat oven to 360*. Butter a your baking dish and set aside.
Sift the semolina, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda into a large bowl. With your hands mix in the dried coconut into the semolina mix. In a medium bowl whisk the yogurt with the milk until smooth, slowly stream in the oil and whisk to combine. With your hands mix the dry and wet ingrediets together until well combined. Spread the semolina batter into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan and slice into diamond or squares. Bake the basboosa for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. The basboosa must be golden brown all around if the top appears to be lighter in color, place it under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes.

While the basboosa is baking, in a med sauce pan combine sugar, water, lemon juice and lemon peel bring to a boil and cook for at least 5 min or until sugar grains have been dissolved. Remove from heat, add your honey flavored water and mix, set aside. Once the basboosa is out of the oven, pour your syrup *Evenly* over your baked basboosa. Let rest for a couple of hours or until the syrup has been fully absorbed.

Gulf style fava beans...

2011-08-02T00:34:00.001+03:00

This is a favorite of mine here in the Kindom of Saudi Arabia, sold in almost every corner. This recipe was created by me, I ain't no Saudi girl but let me tell you it turned out amazing. The tahina is made using very simple ingredients but it makes all the difference when drizzled over the warm beans. Make the salta as hot or mild as you like, I love the flavor of fresh cilantro in mine, so you can see it's a bit green. Serve with pita bread or naan.

2 cans fava beans (450grams)
1 large tomato (peeled and cut into small pieces)
1 large onion (finely diced)
4 garlic cloves (minced)
1 bunch of cilantro (chopped)
2 teaspoons cumin powder
2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Tahina and Salta recipe follows.

Directions
Heat the olive oil under low heat, add the onion and cook until light and golden in color. Add the minced garlic, cumin powder, and cook for 2 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and cilantro and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Drain and rinse your beans and stir into your sauce, add 1/2 cup ofwater and cook the beans under medium heat until the water has reduced down into a thick sauce. Remove the beans from the heat and cool slightly. Transfer the beans into a food processor or blender and process the beans to your liking. I personally like a creamy texture to my beans. Serve hot, drizzle with tahina sauce, top with salta, olive oil, and cumin powder.

Tahina
2 heaping tablespoons tahini sauce
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/3 cup water
1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Whisk all of the ingredients in a medium bowl until light in color and creamy.

Salta
2 large tomatoes peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove minced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 small onion chopped
3 dried red chilis or 2 fresh jalapeno peppers
2 teaspoons lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Process all of the ingredients in a food processor until a fine salsa like sauce is formed.

Ramadan Mubarak... *)

2011-08-01T22:12:00.001+03:00

Happy Ramadan to all my brothers and sisters in Islam. May this Ramadan brighten our life, soften our hearts, and strengthen our Iman. I thank Allah Subhana Wa Taala for being here in the Holly city of Madinah and for living yet another Ramadan inshAllah. May he forgive us All for our sins and accept our daily fast. Please stop by for my Ramadan dishes, from my daily fasting to a night feasting. I have been having internet problems since my return from our US vacation but rest asure I have loads of recipes waiting to share with you all. Above is a picture I took of Masjid Al Nabawi, the view was from my hotel room. Trully blessed, Alhamdullilah. To liven things up a bit this Ramadan and to make up for my absence I will try to make a post a day, it doesn't have to be a recipe, it can be about anything from sharing a picture of my iftar to sharing a powerful quote I have read that day on the Holly Qur'an.

3 names of Allah a day.

1. Ar-Rahman, The exceedingly Compassionate.
2. Ar-Rahim, The exceedingly Merciful
3. Al-Malik, The King

Mallorcan Ensaimadas

2011-07-28T14:58:00.001+03:00

This wonderful recipe comes from Majorca Spain, very similar to the cinnamon bun you would think but it's far from that. These sweet little coils are crunchy on the outside and soft in the inside. You may want to double up on the recipe, mine were cleared of the table before my oven even went back to normal temperature. The traditional recipe doesn't include vanilla but my vanilla bean twist on these Spanish buns gave them I would say 10 EXTRA points in flavor. Brushing with water is a MUST

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons yeast
6 tablespoons lukewark milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (optional)
1/4 cup butter, melted
confectioners sugar for dusting (vanilla sugar recipe follows)
water for brushing

Directions
sift the flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Set aside. In a seperate bowl beat your egg, oil, and vanilla. Set aside. In a small bowl or in your stand mixer mix the yeast with the milk and allow it to sit for 5 minutes. Add a few tablespoons of flour to the yeast mixture and beat until a smooth batter is formed. Set the mix aside for 5 more minutes. After 5 minutes whisk the egg mixture into the rested yeast batter until smooth. Slowly add the flour until a smooth dough is formed. Make sure to kneed the dough for a few minutes for better results. Place the dough on a lightly oiled bowl cover with plastic and let rise, in a warm place, for 1hr or until doubled in size.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Punch down and cut into 8 to 16 equal size pieces (Use a knife to cut). Shape each piece into a thin rope about 15 inches long. Dip each rope into the melted butter on the baking sheet, curl each rope into a spiral, spacing each roll well apart. Tuck the ends under to seal. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

Meanwhile preheat your oven to 375* F. Brush the rolls with water and dust with powder sugar. Bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool slightly on a wire rack and dust again with powder sugar. Serve warm....

Mini hazelnut & chocolate cupcakes...

2011-04-24T21:41:00.000+03:00

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Here's a recipe that can make it to your dessert table in no time, small in size but big on chocolate sweetness. I make this recipe for my kids often and it's ashame I had not shared it with you all. Frosted with "Nutella", need I say more?

Ingredients
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup toasted ground hazelnuts
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
6 tablespoons oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Nutella to frost

Set your oven to 350* F (I bake mine in an electric muffin/cupcake maker).
Line a mini cupcake pan with liners, set aside. In a large bowl sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a seperate bowl whisk your egg and sugar until light and creamy, slowly stream in the oil and continue to whisk until well combined. Gently fold in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk to the egg mixture in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Pour 1/2 of the batter into a seperate bowl and whisk in 1 tablespoon of cocoa just until combined. Spoon in the batter into your prepared cupcake pan starting and ending with the white mixture 2/3 full and bake for approximately 10 to 15 minutes or until toothpic inserted in the center comes out clean. Invert cupcakes onto a rack and cool completely. Frost cooled cupcakes with nuttela and eat at room temperature or cold.

Everything cookies (aka garbage cookies)

2011-04-16T19:55:00.000+03:00

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Sorry I have been MIA for a few weeks, I've been busy trying to prepare for our yearly vacation and part of that includes "Starving" myself. lol...Ok all jokes aside, I've just been really busy with my boys these past few weeks and lacking in baking and cooking creativity. Hope these wonderful, anything but diet food COOKIES can make up for lost time.

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour (you can use wheat)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
1/4 cup oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup M&M's candies
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped Mounts or Bounty bars (can be replaced with a chocolate bar of your choice)
1/3 cup chopped hazelnuts or almonds (toasted)

Directions
In a large bowl sift your flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a seperate bowl whisk your butter, sugar, and oil until light and creamy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla and continue to whisk to combine. Mix the dry ingredients into your wet ingredients and fold to combine. Fold in your candies and nuts and refrigerate for 1 hour before baking. Preheat your oven to 350* F. Drop the dough by the tablespoon onto a non stick cookie sheet spacing them 2 inches apart and bake for 7 to 10 minutes or until golden around the edges but the centers still soft to the touch. Cool the cookies for 2 minutes on the baking sheet then tranfer to cool completely on a cooling rack.

Pizza dough...

2011-04-16T19:36:00.003+03:00

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I came up with this pizza dough recipe a few weeks ago and its definitely a keeper, using pastry flour makes the dough very elactic and easy to stretch out by hand without the use of a rolling pin. The topping of choice, sauce, and cheese are entirely up to you. One thing I do recommend is shaping the dough by hand using oiled hands over a lightly floured surface (I use corlmeal). Bake the pizza at 380* F on the lowest rack and bake until golden brown. Because of the amount of olive oil used in the recipe the crust will be golden in color with the perfect crunch yet soft in the inside which is just how I like my pizza. This recipe makes 2 large pizza crust. Enjoy!

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup pastry flour
2 teaspoon fast acting yeast
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup lukewarm water

Directions
Sift your flour, sugar, and salt. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine the yeast, with a pinch of sugar and 3 tablespoons of water and stir gently to dissolve. Let the mixture stand until the yeast comes alive and starts to foam, 3 to 5 minutes.

If you're using a stand mixer combine your water and half of your flour mix and beat until a cake like batter is formed. Add your oil, and yeast mix and beat for 1 minute, gradually add the remainder of your flour.

When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough gathers into a ball. This should take about 2 minutes. Stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook.

Feel the dough as you're making it by squeezing a small amount together between your thumb and fingers. If it's crumbly, add more water, if it's sticky, add more flour, 1tablespoon at a time. Turn the dough out onto a lightly "oiled" surface and fold it over itself a few times, kneading until it's smooth and elastic.

Form the dough into a round and put it into a lightly oiled bowl, turning it over to coat the dough entirely with the oil. Cover the bowl with a towel and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

This dough recipe uses more oil than your basic pizza dough giving it a nice golden crust on the outside when baked. Shape the pizza using oiled hands and bake at 380*F on the lowest rack.

Whipped chocolate ganache covered, Chocolate cupcakes.

2011-03-23T13:06:00.001+03:00

I know the title to this recipe may sound a little confusing but I just had to give the chocolate ganache first place in my recipe. Whipped chocolate ganache is like no other cake topping I have ever tasted, it's fluffy like whip cream, yet so rich like chocolate ganache. The chocolate cupcake recipe is made using both cocoa powder and malted chocolate milk powder. This recipe yields 3 dozen chocolate cupcakes, so be afraid, be very afraid. I've been eating 3 a day.

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup chocolate malted milk powder
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 cup brewed coffee
1 cup oil
3 eggs
1 cup mini chocolate chips (tossed it 2 tablespoons of malted milk)

Directions
Preheat your oven to 350* f. Line two cupcake sheet pans with cupcake liners, set aside. In a large bowl sift your flour, cocoa powder, malted chocolate milk, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside. In a seperate bolw, combine your eggs and sugar and beat with a hand or electric whisk until fluffy and light in color. Stream in the oil and continue to whisk on low speed. Combine the milk and coffee in a large cup.
Gently fold in the flour mixture alternately with the milk to the egg mixture in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Toss the chocolate chips with 2 tablespoons of malted chocolate milk and gently fold into your batter. Make sure as you're spooning the batter into the prepared pan, to get even amounts of chocolate morsels into every cupcake mold. If the morsels beggin to sink to the bottom just give the batter a light fold to bring them back onto the top. Fill your cupcake liners 2/3 up and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until a toothpic inserted in the center comes out clean.

Whipped chocolate ganache
2 cups heavy cream (UK, double cream)
2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels
2 tablespoons icing sugar (powder sugar)

Directions
Place the chocolate morsels in a large heat-proof bolw. Set aside. In a heavy bottom pan over medium heat, bring the cream to a light boil. Pour the cream over the morsels and allow them to melt for 5 minutes before mixing. Stir with a rubber spatula until well combined and lump free. Let chocolate mixture cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Place mixture in the bowl and whip with an electric mixer set to medium speed until the ganache holds it's shape and is lighter in color (it should look like chocolate mousse). Spread or pipe onto your cupcakes after they have completely cooled down.

Queso Fundido (Mexican cheese fondu).

2011-03-17T22:11:00.000+03:00

Ariba! There's no doubt I'm a cheese lover, I love all cheese's but yellow cheese. My grandmother always said "Milk is white, why eat a cheese that's been dyed" so I try to stick to that rule. This Mexican classic is made using none Mexican cheese and that's only because it will be nearly impossible for me to get my hands on Mexican cheese, being that I live in the Middle East.

Ingredients
1 cup whole milk
2 1/2 teaspoons corn starch (can be replaced with flour)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1/2 teaspoon, Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon butter plus 1 teaspoon oil
2 roasted jalapeno peppers, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (grated)
1/4 cup mozarella cheese (grated)
125 grams, brie cheese, skinned removed and choped in 1inch pieces

Directions
Heat your oil and butter in a heavy duty sauce pan over medium low heat. Add your minced garlic and cook for a few seconds to infuse the oil. Add the oregano, salt and pepper to taste. Add your milk and and cook for 2 minutes, add the cornstarch and stir constantly for 5 minutes or until the milk begins to thicken. Once the milk lightly covers the back of a spoon, add the cheese's and stir until melted. Serve hot with crusty bread or corn chips. If you're replacing the cornstarch with flour, add the flour to your oil, butter, and garlic and cook until light golden in color.

M'hanncha (coiled like a snake) two ways...

2011-03-17T21:13:00.001+03:00

This popular Moroccan recipe is simply divine. The name Um'hanncha translate's to "Coiled like a snake" and it will fly off of your dessert table faster than a snake I guarantee. The traditional filling is made of Almond paste scented with orange blossom water and spiced with cinnamon powder. I created my own version of M'hanncha using a traditional baklava filling with turned out amazing I must say. Drizzle or drench with honey and decorate with chopped toasted nuts or slivered almonds. M'hanncha can also be served with powder sugar but prefer to serve mine with honey. Cut the M'hanncha with a sarrated knife and serve warm or at room temperature. The pictures you see on this post is what was left of the M'hanncha I served my guest, it was much bigger before.

Ingredients

9 sheets phillo dough (double the amount if you're making both recipes)
1/2 cup melted butter
Honey
rose water
orange blossom water
Toated chopped nuts to decorate

Almond stuffing
2 cups blanched almonds
1 tablespoon butter (room temperature)
1 tablespoon orange blossom water
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/3 cup icing sugar (powder sugar) or more to taste.

Directions
Add all of your ingredients into a food processor and process until a smooth paste forms. If the mixture is taking a while to form into a paste, uncover the food processor and mix the almonds with a fork and process again until a smooth paste is formed. Roll the paste into 9 equal sized balls and roll into logs, approximately 4 to 5 inches long. Set aside.

Walnut, Almond, and hazelnut stuffing
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoon clear thick honey
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
1 3/4 cups blanched almonds
1 3/4 cups walnuts (toasted)
3/4 cup hazelnuts

Directions
Add 2/3 of your nut mixture into the food processor and process until a fine mixture is formed (it wont be a paste). Pulse the remainder of your nuts until bread crumb size nuts form, mix both together in a large bowl. Set aside. Place the lemon juice, honey, and sugar in a pan and heat gently, stirring continuously until the sugar has completely dissolved. Stir in the cinnamon and nuts and stirr to combine. Remove the mixture from the heat and allow it to come to room temperature.

How to assemble the pastry

Almond filling
Place 1 sheet of phyllo dough on a clean surface and brush with butter, add two more sheets brushing each time with butter. Place 3 logs on the edge of the pastry nearest to you and roll the pastry up tightly, sealing the edges. Repeat the process with the remainder of phyllo dough and almond logs. Coil the first log into a spiral and continue with the 2 rolls until a snake like pastry is formed. If your pastry tears, seal with a piece of leftover phyllo dough and brush with butter. Place on a buttered round baking dish and brush the entire snake with melted butter. Bake in a 350*F preheated oven for approximately 25 minutes or until golden in color. Cool slightly and drizzle with warm honey and scented water mix. If you're making an almond filled M'hanncha mix the honey with orange blossom water to taste and heat over medium heat.

Mixed nut filling
Place 1 sheet of phyllo dough on a clean surface and brush with butter, add two more sheets brushing each time with butter. Hand form a log using 1/3 of your nut mixture 2 inches from the edge of pastry nearest to you and fold over pressing tightly, roll the pastry tightly to form a log. Continue with the remainder of pastry and nut filling. Coil each log around each other closing the edges tightly until a snake like coil spiral is formed. Place onto a buttered round pan and bake for approximately 25 minutes or until golden in color. Cool slightly before you add a honey mixture. Mixed nut M'hanncha goes well with rose water scented honey and sprinkled with chopped nuts.

Note, you can either drizzle the spirals with honey or drench. If you would rather cover with powder sugar, allow the M'hanncha to cool completely before dusting. Adding honey to the M'hanncha with start to lift up the pastry sheets, so if you're not serving on the same day and would like to have a flawless presentation, do not cover with honey until the day you're serving the M'hanncha. Warm the M'hanncha for a couple of minutes under low broil before covering with honey.

~~US phyllo dough VS Middle Eastern phyllo dough.~~

After my experience baking with phyllo dough, I find that Middle Eastern phyllo is much thicker than American Phyllo dough, if you're using Middle Eastern sold dough, you can use 2 sheets of Phyllo per log and cut the dough into a 17 by 12 inch rectangle.

Rose petal and almond cupcakes.

2011-03-16T22:56:00.000+03:00

We had a few guest over this past Saturday afternoon and of course I did the baking and my husband the cooking. I wanted to make a few Moroccan desserts and some new creations of my own. Looking through my ingredients I stumbled across a jar or Rose petal jam my husband brought home from one of his tastings. This jam is simply amazing but I'm not one to eat it on its own or even with toast, it's far too fancy for that. So, I decided to incorporate it into one of my all time favorite desserts and that's simple American "Cupcakes". Why not, right? What can possibly go wrong with a little rose petals in our cupcakes. Well well, these little rose scented cupcakes were a big hit at our lunch in. I chose to top them with basic buttercream but you can stay on the healthy side and top them with slivered almonds but don't dare call them "Cupcakes" they'll be more like a Muffin.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/4 cup rose petal jam
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup melted butter
1 drop red food colorant (just enough to make them pink, not red)

Directions
Preheat your oven to 350*F. In a large bowl, sift your flour, almond meal, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a seperate bowl beat your eggs and sugar until fluffy and light in color (you can add the food coloring at this point). Beat in your melted butter and rose jam. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to the egg mixture in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Pour into your prepare cupcake pan and bake for approximately 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpic inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Turkish yogurt cheesecake with tangy candied lemons.

2011-03-14T18:52:00.001+03:00

When someone mentions cheesecake the first thing that comes to mind is my all American 5inch thick and creamy, New York style cheesecake. If you're looking for that, this is not the cheesecake you want to make but let me just say if you do make it you definitely wont be dissapointed. The tangy lemons are my twist on this Waitross recipe I found while browsing the net. So, next time life gives you lemons? I say, the heck with lemonade! Make this refreshing, not as heavy as your ordinary "Cheesecake".

Ingredients
butter, for greasing
4 large eggs, separated
100g caster sugar
3 tbsp plain flour
400g greek yogurt (or US strained yogurt)
1 unwaxed lemon, juiced and zested
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C, 350*F. Grease a 23cm round springform cake tin with butter. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until thick, pale and creamy. Fold in the flour, then the yogurt, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla until it is thoroughly blended. Whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the yogurt mixture. Pour this into the cake tin and bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes, until the top is brown. The cake will puff up like a soufflé and then subside.

Tangy candied lemons
1/3 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
1/4 cup water
1 large lemon thinly sliced
1 inch piece candied ginger
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions
Cute the lemon into thin wedges but make sure not to cut them too thin or the flesh will fall apart. Set a heavy duty pan over medium low heat. Add 1/4 cup of sugar and evenly place the lemons on top. Pour the water and lemon juice into the pan and sprinkle the lemons with 2 tablespoons of sugar without mixing. Place the ginger into the pan and cook until the lemons appear thin, golden in color and the sauce resembles clear caramel. Approximately 20 minutes. Allow the lemons to cool before serving with your cake. Serve one piece of lemon per cake slice and lightly drizzle with your lemon syrup. Note, My intention was to make candies lemons but next time I will double the amount of sugar and water as it make an amazing lemon syrup.

Lamb meatball and vegetable soup...

2011-03-11T00:18:00.003+03:00

Who say's you can't have a hearty meal out of soup? Serve this delicious soup with your favorite crusty bread and call it a meal. Ground lamb is the number one choice in my home but it can easily be replaced with ground beef, chicken, or turkey. The choice in vegetables is entirely up to you, but the thin lemon slices which give this soup an amazing flavour are a must in my opinion. :)

Ingredients
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, sliced or cut into cubes
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 large potato, cubed
2 garlic cloves (minced)
2 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
1 lemon, sliced
1 bay leaf
2 springs fresh or dry tyme
1 teaspoon oregano
6 to 8 cups meat stock
1 teaspoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons olive oil

for the meatballs
12oz lean ground lamb
1/4 cup short grain rice (I use Uncle Bens)
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons grated onion
salt and pepper to taste
flour to coate the meatballs

In a large heavy pan over medium low heat, add the olive oil, onions, and salt to taste and cook until the onions become translucent. Add the chopped carrots, celery garlic, and cilantro and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Add your bay leaf, tyme, oregano, salt and pepper to taste.

Add the meat stock and 1 tomato paste and bring up the heat to high until the soup comes to the boil. Once the heat comes to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare the meatballs. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl and season well with salt and pepper. lightly knead the meat with your hands to combine (make sure not to overmix). Take out rounded teaspoons of the mixture and roll into a small ball. Toss it in the flour and repeat until you have finished the mixture.

One by one drop the meatballs into the soup and simmer gently, stir from time to time to prevent the meatballs from sticking. Simmer for 15 minutes, add the potatoes and simmer for an extra 10 to 15 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.

Rissoles

2011-03-05T21:23:00.010+03:00

These tasty Greek patties are extremely cheap to make yet they will captivate anyone who tries them. With a slight bit of shame in my heart I can honestly say I have found a replacement to my beloved falafel. Eat them plain with radishes and lettuce or as a sandwich filled with all your favorite veggies. I served mine in pita pockets filled with red onions, cucumber, red, and green tomatoes topped with yogurt and feta sauce.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups chickpeas (soaked overnight in water to cover)
2 large onions (chopped)
2 garlic cloves (crushed)
3 tablespoon cilantro (chopped)
1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley (chopped)
1 large egg, slightly beaten
3 tablespoons, self rising flour
1 tablespoon cumin powder
salt and pepper to taste (be generous with the pepper)
8 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup wheat or all purpose white flour

Directions
After the chickpeas have soaked overnight, drain and rinse them under cold water. Put them in a large pan and cover with plenty of cold water and bring them to the boil. Skim the froth from the surface of the water with a spoon until the liquid is clear.

Cover the pan and cook for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours or until chickpeas are very soft (halfway through the cooking add plenty of salt to taste). A faster way to cook them is in a pressure cooker for 20 to 30 minutes. Once the chickpeas are cooked and soft strain the liquid out, reserving at least 1/4 cup of the water they were cooked in.

You can either mash the chickpeas with a potato masher or in your food processor until mashed but a few lumps of chickpeas still appear in the mix. Add 1 to 3 tablespoons of your reserved liquid, if needed (I only added 1tpsp).

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a nonstick pan, add the onions and saute until light golden. Add the cilantro, garlic, and cumin and stir for a few seconds or until their aroma rises. Set aside to cool slightly.

Scrape the chickpea mash into a large bowl and add the egg, self rising flour, fresh parsley, and onion mix. Add plenty of salt and pepper and mix well.

Take large walnut size pieces and flatten them into mini hamburger like patties. Coat the patties lightly in the flour. Heat the remaining olive oil in a large non stick pan and fry them in batches until they are light golden brown and crisp on both sides. Drain on a kitchen towel and serve hot.

Yogurt and feta sauce

Ingredients
1 cup greek yogurt
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 large garlic clove
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro or parsley
1 to 2 tablespoons soft feta cheese
salt and pepper to taste.

Directions
Add all the ingredients into a bowl and mix with a hand whisk until well combined. Serve over the rissoles or use as a dip.

Moroccan roasted chicken with olives and preserved lemons.

2011-03-05T14:12:00.000+03:00

This is by far one of my favorite Moroccan dishes and one that is often served and dinner parties. The Moroccan way is to cook the chicken whole, serve 1 chicken for every 3 adults, topped with crispy matchstick fries and garnished with boiled quail eggs. Moroccan cuisine had me sold when I tried this amazing chicken. A neat trick I learned from my Mother in law and one I almost "always" use when making a stew is to never add the entire amount of water all at once. Start with 1 cup (or less) of water and cook the meat in it until the water reduces a bit and all the spices go into your meat. Another thing is to never "Ever" pour the water over the meat, this will wash away all the lovely spices from your meat. You can easily serve this chicken as a stew (skinless) and allow it to cook until the sauce is reduced and the meat begins to fall off the bone.

Ingredients
1 whole chicken jointed or cut in 4 pieces (skin on)
1 large onion peeled and finely chopped
6 garlic cloves (minced)
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon tumaric powder
2 teaspoons ginger powder
1/2 cube chicken bouillon
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads (crumbled)
1 2 inch piece cinnamon stick
1 cup green olives
1/2 preserved lemon (seeded)
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons oil (1 sunflower 2 oliveoil)

In a large heavy bottom pan heat your oil over medium heat until hot. Season your chicken on both sides with salt and pepper and place in the hot oil skin side down, sear until golden brown. Turn the chicken pieces (I used 2 small chickens cut in half)over and heat until all sides are seared and golden brown.

Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a plate. Set aside. Reduce the heat to medium low and add your onions into the pot until they become translucent in color. Add the cilantro and garlic and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the tumeric, ginger, chicken bouillon, saffron, cinnamon stick, salt and pepper to taste. Mix to combine. Carefully add 1 cup of water and turn the heat back up to Medium high. Place the chicken skin side down back into the pot and cook for 5 minutes, turn the chicken over and cook for 3 minutes (a neat trick I learned from my Mother in law that makes all the spices go into your meat without having to marinate it).

Add approximately 3 cups of water (the water must only go halfway up the chicken) making sure to pour the water on the side of the pan and not over the chicken. Once the stew comes to the boil, reduce the heat. Cover your pan and cook the chicken, turning frequently, until tender (appromimately 45 minutes).

Remove the chicken from the sauce (making sure not to tear the skin) and place over a roasting pan (skin side up). At this point add the pre-soaked olives, preserved lemon and 1 tablespoon of butter into the sauce and turn the heat up medium low. Remove 1/4 cup of the sauce and place in a small bowl, mixed with 1 tablespoon of butter. Set aside. Broil the chicken until golden and crispy basting occasionally with your 1/4 cup of reserved sauce and butter. Cook the sauce until it has reduced a bit and thickened (approximately 10 to 15 minutes) Serve the chicken immediately with the sauce and olives topped with crispy homemade fries along with crusty bread. You can also place the chicken back into the pan skin side up (never covered) and serve at a later time).

Easy whole wheat mini cheese pizzas...

2011-03-03T17:55:00.006+03:00

This recipe is extremely easy and one I turn to on a busy day when the last thing I want to do is spend hours in the kitchen. Not only are these healthier than delivery pizza but they can be served hot straight out of the oven in just about the same time it takes you to receive your order in. Give them a go, your kids will love them.

Easy Pizza sauce

Ingredients
1 large tomato (grated)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 to 2 cups shredded mozzarella or triple pizza cheese blend (Topping)

Directions
Cut your tomato in half and grate in a cheese grater by hand, holding the tomato tight and making sure only the flesh goes through the grater. Heat the oil in a pan over medium low heat, add your garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the grated tomato and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the tomato juices have reduced a bit. Add the oregano, bay leaf, salt, pepper, and mix to combine. Add the water and tomato paste and cook for approximately 10 minutes or until the water is reduced and it has the consistency of a thick marinera sauce. Set aside to cool.

Easy wholewheat pizza dough

Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup lukewarm water
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons yeast

Directions
In a large bowl sift your flour, sugar, and salt. Set aside. Add 2 tablespoons of water into a small bowl with a pinch of sugar, sprinkle the yeast on top and allow it to proof for 3 to 5 minutes or until foam appears. In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook add the remainder of your water, olive oil, and 1/2 of your dry ingredients. Set the speed to medium high and mix until the mix appears creamy and lump free. Add the yeast and mix to combine. Slowly add the remainder of your flour until a dough forms. If the dough is still sticking to the bowl, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time until it comes together.

Transfer the dough onto an oiled surface and kneed for 2 minutes. Form the dough into a round and place in an oiled bowl, turn the dough over making sure its all covered in oil to prevent from sticking to the bowl and forming a skin. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and allow it to rise for 30 to 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

Using a fist, deflate the dough in the center and cut it into 6 equal-sized pieces Form the dough pieces into 6 balls and place over a flat surface floured with cornmeal or flour. Roll the balls into 6 equal pizza rounds and cover for 15 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 370* F and place a non stick baking pan on the bottom rack of your oven. Once the oven and pan are preheated. Brush the surface of each pizza with oilive oil and add 1 tablespoon of sauce per pizza sprinkle each pizza with a desired amount of cheese and carefully transfer to your preheated baking sheet. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes or until golden on the bottom. To obtain a golden cheese topping place under the broiler for 2minutes.

Almond date and nut bars...

2011-03-02T17:47:00.007+03:00

Fresh dates are an extremely popular treat in the Middle East and North Africa, loved by adults for their health benefits and by the little ones for their sweetness, making these bars a universal family treat. Packed with protein, yet low on fat and sugar. Eat one of these for breakfast and you're sure to have energy until lunch time.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups almond meal (almond flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs plus 1 egg white
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup argan oil plus 1 tablespoon sunflower oil (can be replaced with 1/4 cup sunflower, canola, olive, or grapeseed oil)
1 cup medjool dates (pitted and chopped)
1 cups toasted and choped walnuts
4 tablespoons almond meal

Directions
Preheat your oven to 350* F. butter and dust a baking dish with flour. Set aside.
In a bowl sift your flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda. Set aside. In a seperate bowl whisk your eggs, honey, and oil until light and creamy (about 3 minutes with an electric whisk). Combine the dry ingredients into your wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Toss the dates and nuts in 2 tablespoons almond flour and fold into your mix. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and dust the top with 2 tablespoon almond flour. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting.

Kiddie stamp of approval! :)

Italian meatball and halloumi cheese kabobs.

2011-02-28T18:29:00.006+03:00

No celebration or mediterranean dinner is complete without kabobs, they're a must on any meze table. Todays dinner was just that, full of meze's (appetizers) such as kabobs, pizza, marinera sauce, and focaccia bread. Italian style meze dinner. These kabobs are far from ordinary and packed with Italian flavours. Serve over focaccia bread and drizzle with marinera sauce. Tonights dinner was amazing to say the least. Lets just say that Tyler Florence fabulous focaccia had a wonderful affair with my Italian style kabobs.

Ingredients
1/2 kilo lean ground beef
1 medium egg
1 slice wheat toast
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon tyme
1/2 teaspoon dry sage
1 medium onion (finely chopped)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
2 tablespoon marinera sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 pack halloumi cheese cut into 1 inch cubes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Tyler Florence fabulous foccacia bread recipe, follows.

Directions
Cut your halloumi cheese into 1 inch cubes. In a small bowl toss your the cheese with 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon oregano, 1/2 teaspoon redpepper flakes and set aside.Toast the slice of bread for 1 minute or just until it hardens up a it but not completely toasted. Add the toast into your food processor with your oregano, sage, and tyme. Pulse for a few seconds or until breadcrumbs are formed. In a nonstick pan over medium low heat saute the onions until they become translucent. Cool for 2 minutes. In a large bowl combine the onions, minced garlic, egg, breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, marinera sauce, and mix with a fork to combine. Add the ground meat and mix by hand just until combined (do not overmix). Take a desired amount of meat and evenly shape the mixture into meatball or sausage shapes. Thread the meat on to your skewers alternating each piece of cheese with meat or vise versa. I used 3 pices of cheese to 2 meatballs on each skewer. Preheat your grill until hot (medium high heat) and brush with oil. Grill the kabobs for approximately 10 minutes to 12 minutes or until no longer pink and throughly cooked. Brush the kabobs with the marinade from your cheese and turn to cook evenly about halfway through.

.....................................................................................

This foccacia bread is simply amazing, the only thing I did was left out the kalamata olives. The sodium in the halloumi cheese was enough for one day.

Ingredients
2 teaspoons rapid-rising dry yeast
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons sugar
3 1/2 to 4 cups flour
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1/4 cup olive oil
Cornmeal, for dusting
Toppings:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
10 Kalamata olives, pitted and quartered
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan
1 tablespoon coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary

Directions
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook, proof the yeast by combining it with the warm water and sugar. Stir gently to dissolve. Let stand 3 minutes until foam appears. Turn mixer on low and slowly add the flour to the bowl. Dissolve salt in 2 tablespoons of water and add it to the mixture. Pour in 1/4 cup olive oil. When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium. Stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook. Mix until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, adding flour as necessary.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface and fold over itself a few times. Form the dough into a round and place in an oiled bowl, turn to coat the entire ball with oil so it doesn't form a skin. Cover with plastic wrap or damp towel and let rise over a gas pilot light on the stovetop or other warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Coat a sheet pan with a little olive oil and corn meal. Once the dough is doubled and domed, turn it out onto the counter. Roll and stretch the dough out to an oblong shape about 1/2-inch thick. Lay the flattened dough on the pan and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest for 15 minutes.

In the meantime, coat a small saute pan with olive oil, add the onion, and cook over low heat for 15 minutes until the onions caramelize. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Uncover the dough and dimple with your fingertips. Brush the surface with more olive oil and then add caramelized onions, garlic, olives, cheese, salt, pepper, and rosemary. Bake on the bottom rack for 15 to 20 minutes.

Shrimp risotto with all the flavors of paella.

2011-02-27T21:35:00.005+03:00

This mouthwatering dish has all the classic flavours of Spanish paella but is made using arborio rice with all the fabulous techniques of risotto. I usually keep arborio rice in hand since it's the closest you can get to paella rice and find here in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Making risotto takes a little bit of patience and you also have to make sure everything that's going into the dish is prepared ahead of time. The last thing you need is to be chopping anything when cooking risotto. Both paella and risotto have a spectacular and delicious creamy consistency, so make sure to always use the proper (starchy) rice when making them.

Ingredients
2 cups arborio rice
9 to 10 cups chicken broth (low sodium)
1 large onion finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large tomato peeled, chopped, and seeded
1/2 small red bell pepper, diced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 cup frozen or fresh peas
2 tablespoons chopped corriander
1 teaspoon Spanish paprika
1/4 teaspoon tumaric powder
1/2 teaspoon Spanish saffron
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Additional ingredients
1/2 kilo shrimp (washed, peeled, and devained)
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon chopped corriander

Directions
Heat your chicken stock over medium high heat until it comes to a boil, lower the heat to low and keep to simmer. Melt your butter with the olive oil in a large non stick pan/skillet. Add your chopped onion and season with salt, cook for 3 minutes then add your chopped bell peppers. Cook until the onions become translucent. Add the tomatoes, garlic, corriander and cook for approximately 3 minutes. Stir in the rice, paprika, tumeric, salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the ends of the rice are transparent, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Stir in 3 cups of chicken stock mixed with your saffron and cook until it is completely absorbed, 4 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently. Once the first 3 cups of broth have been absorbed add 2 cups of broth and cook again stirring frequently until the broth is absorbed and the bottom of the pan is almost dry (7 to 8 minutes. Taste the rice for salt and texture. Add 1 cup of broth and continue cooking using the same method as before. Be careful never to let the bottom of the pan dry out. Continue to add 1 cup of broth at a time, stirring until each addition of broth has been absorbed. Once you get to the 7th cup of broth, stirr in your peas and continue to cook. Meanwhile add 1 tablespoon butter to a non stick skillet and cook your shrimp for approximately 2 to 3 minutes or just until they begin to turn pink. Add the shrimp to the rissoto after the 7th cup of broth has been absorbed. At this point cook the rissoto stirring frequently but adding only 1/2 cup of broth at a time. You may or may not use all the broth. Begin tasting the rice after the 6th cup of broth is obsorbed. Risotto should still have a little bite to it (al dente), and must never be too soft or mushy. Vigorously stir in 1 tablepoon of butter and 1 tablespoon chopped corriander and stir until the butter has melted. Serve hot with lemon wedges.

Peanut butter chocolate chip cupcakes with a thumbprint on top...

2011-02-24T14:18:00.007+03:00

Oh my Goodness! I have to give a great big thanks to my 3yr old son for thinking this recipe through so well. The kid asked me to make cupcakes all day yesterday the only problem was he couldn't make up his mind as to what type of cupcakes he wanted Mommy to make. Chocolate, peanut butter, chocolate chips, stawbeyyi (strawberry)? So, these cupcakes were made as we go, sort of speak. Mommy sifted the flour, measured the sugar, milk, and cracked the egg. Son kept taking things out of the cabinet for me to add into the mix. Peanut butter and chocolate chips are his favorite, so of course he handed those to me. The end resuls? Amazing! I wanted to hide in the closet and eat the entire batch. Since I wasn't too sure he's help would be any good (what an optamistic Mommy you must be thinking) I opted to make a small batch. This recipe yields 10 small cupcakes which was perfect in the end since I filled the 2 leftover cupcake mold 1/4 up the way with water, making these cupcakes so moist and fluffy. The thumbprint peanutbutter and jam on top was my idea, he wasn't too happy about that, so I coated only half the batch.

Ingredients
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons self rising flour
5 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons peanut butter (low fat, low sodium)
1/4 cup chocolate chips

"Thumbprint peanutbutter and jelly recipe follows'

Directions
Line a cupcake pan with 10 cupcake liners and fill the remainding two 1/4 up the way with water. Preheat your oven to 350* F. In a medium bowl sift your flour and baking soda and toss in your chocolate chips. Set aside. In a seperate bowl whisk your egg, peanut butter, sugar, and oil until light and creamy. Add the milk and whisk to combine. Mix in your dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until combined. Fill your prepared cupcake cups 3/4 up and bake for approximately 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Peanutbutter thumbprints
1/2 cup powder sugar
4 tablespoons creamy low sodium and fat peanutbutter
2 teaspoons oil
1 tablespoon milk
3 to 4 tablespoons jam (topping)

Directions
Sift the powder suagar into a bowl and whisk in your ingredients until well combined and a creamy mixture forms. Roll the mix into 10 even sized balls and place in the center of your cupcakes. Press the ball down with your thumb and fill with jam.

Chocolate hazelnut rolls...

2011-02-20T11:03:00.005+03:00

I am not embarrassed to say I ate 2 of these last night straight out of the oven, after all "indulgence" is my middle name. :) Just by reading my short recipe introductions you would think I'm on a diet roller coaster, right? Well, you're right, I am but seriously wouldn't you break your diet for one of these babies? Lightly sweetened soft dough filled with nutella, topped with a milky glaze, sprinkled with toasted hazelnuts. Come on!

Ingredients
5 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons powder milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon yeast
6 tablespoons unsalted butter (room temperature)

Filling and topping
1 1/2 cups nutella
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
20grams dark chocolate (I use lindt 85% cocoa)
1/2 cup toasted chopped hazelnuts

Directions
Sift your flour, sugar,dry milk, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside. Set a small saucepan over low heat and add your milk, heat just until lukewarm. Place the yeast in a small bowl with 3 tablespoons of milk and a pinch of salt and allow it to bloom for 5to 10 minutes. In a stand mixer bowl add your butter and eggs and beat with a hand whisk until combined. Add 1 1/2 cups of milk and beat for approximately 3 minutes using your dough hook attachment under medium high speed. Add your milk and yeast and continue to mix until well combined. Slowly add the remainder of your flour mix and mix until a dough has been formed. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled or floured bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel. Set aside to rise in a warm, draft free place until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

How to assemble the rolls
Butter a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently shape the dough into a rectangle with the long side nearest you. Roll into an 18 by 12-inch rectangle. Spread the dough with nutella (room temperature) leaving a 1/2-inch border along the top edge. Beginning with the long edge nearest you, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Firmly pinch the seam to seal and roll the cylinder seam side down. Very gently squeeze the cylinder to create even thickness. Using a serrated knife, slice the cylinder into 1 1/2-inch to 2 inch rolls; yielding 12 rolls. Arrange the rolls cut side down in the baking dish and cover with a towel until doubled in size. Preheat your oven to 360 degrees F., place the rolls on the middle rack and bake until golden brown, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.

Topping
In a heavy sauce pan over low heat melt the chocolate with 2/3 of your sweetened condensed milk until the chocolate is melted. Mix to combine into and even color. Drizzle over warm buns and sprinkle with hazelnuts. Drizzle the remainder of your plain condensed milk over the buns. Serve warm.

Chocolate pudding ice pops...

2011-02-18T16:45:00.004+03:00

I know for most of you "Winter" is pretty much still lingering around but not in my neck of the woods it's not. The weather here has been absolutely beautiful the past couple of weeks. So, if it's way to cold to enjoy this recipe just give it a month or two and give it a try. You wont regret it....

These icePops remind me of my favorite fudgecicles that I have so many fond memories of. I remember putting my shoes on as fast as I could and running outside with my brothers with a dollar in hand to get our afternoon icecream truck snack. Hey! 1 buck got you a lot back then, unlike now. I was able to buy a soda, 25c bag of chips, and my 25c fudgecicle. :)

Ingredients

2 1/4 cup whole milk

6 tablespoons sugar

4 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

In a small bowl sift your sugar, cocoa, and cornstarch. Add 1/4 cup of milk and whisk until the mix is smooth a free of any lumps. Add 1 cup of milk to a heavy duty pan over medium low heat and heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk in your chocolate mix and stir to combine. Slowly whisk in the remainder of the milk and whisk until the mix begins to thicken. Remember not to allow the mix to turn into a pudding. Remove it from the heat once it begins to slightly thicken. It took me about 5 minutes over medium low heat but do not keep your eyes of or you will end up with a pudding. Once you remove the pan from the heat, stir in your vanilla. Allow the mix to cool down for about 5 minutes before filling you icecream molds.

Pizza de gambas con ajo "bravas".

2011-02-16T15:27:00.007+03:00

One of my all time favorite Spanish tapa's would have to be "Gambas con ajo" or garlic shrimp. Being that I try to make my kids homemade pizza at least once a week yesterday just happened to be pizza day but I on the other hand was craving gambas con ajo. So, I put my brain to work and came up with this Spanish influeced pizza. The dough, sauce, and cheese was anough to make two pizzas. So if you have picky eaters like me you can make a grown up pizza and a plain cheese pizza for your kids.

Dough
2 cups wheat flour
1 cup pastry flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
For the pizza
100 grams motzarella cheese
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Sauce and shrimp recipe follows

Directions
Sift your flour, sugar, and salt. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine the yeast, with a pinch of sugar and 3 tablespoons of water and stir gently to dissolve. Let the mixture stand until the yeast comes alive and starts to foam, 3 to 5 minutes.

If you're using a stand mixer combine your water and half of your flour mix and beat until a cake like batter is formed. Add your oil, and yeast mix and beat for 1 minute, gradually add the remainder of your flour.

When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough gathers into a ball. This should take about 2 minutes. Stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook.

Feel the dough as you're making it by squeezing a small amount together between your thumb and fingers. If it's crumbly, add more water, if it's sticky, add more flour, 1tablespoon at a time. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and fold it over itself a few times, kneading until it's smooth and elastic.

Form the dough into a round and put it into a lightly oiled bowl, turning it over to coat the dough entirely with the oil. Cover the bowl with a towel and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Gambas con ajo
10 large shrimp
10 to 15 large shrimp
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 small onion (grated)
1/2 teaspoon Spanish paprika
1 small green chili finely diced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 zucchini (grated)
2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions
While the dough is rising and before you make your sauce prepare the shimp to give them time to marinate. In a bowl combine your shrimp with your minced garlic, grated onion, paprika, finely chopped chili, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper. Cover and set aside.

Easy pizza sauce
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 large tomatoes
3 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons finely choped onion
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon tyme
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Finely dice your onions and mince your garlic. Set aside. Peel 1 tomato and chop in small pieces. Cut the other 2 tomatoes in half and grate in a cheese grater by hand. Hold the tomato tight, you will see only the flesh going through the grater and the skin will remain in your hand. Heat your olive oil over medium low heat and add your onions. Sprinkle some salt and cook until the onions become translucent. Add your garlic and chopped tomatoes and cook for approximately 2 minutes. Now you can add the oregano, tyme, bay leaf, grated tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste. Add the tomato paste and water and cook until the water has almost evaporated making a thick pizza sauce and all the ingredients are well cooked. Remove the bay leaf before your place the sauce on your pizza.

How to assemble your pizza
Once the dough has risen, and the sauce has slightly cooled down. Place the shrimp with the marinate in a non stick pan and cook on both side (about 2 minutes on each side) until the shrimp turns into light pink. Remember the shrimp will continue to cook in the oven, so don't overcook. Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside. Roll out your pizza dough using cornmeal or flour to prevent from sticking to your working surface. Place the rolled out dough onto your baking pan and cover for 10 to 15 minutes before assembling. Once the pizza has rested add the sauce and spread evenly. Grate your zucchini over the sauce and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Top the pizza with motzarella cheese, place the shrimp over the cheese and sprinkle with parmesan. Bake until the crust is medium golden on the bottom and edges of the pizza. Note, I made two pizzas with this recipe. One plain with cheese using the same sauce and the other with the zucchini and shrimp.

Healthy "Low fat" alfredo sauce.

2011-02-16T03:15:00.005+03:00

Boy do I love anything cheesy but since I'm trying to watch what I eat these days (lol my previous entry wasn't so healthy, now was it.) I've been cooking light for about a month now. This doesn't mean I'm eating food that taste like "Nothing" no sir, not I. I'm just making the same dishes with less calories. This Alfredo sauce is so yummy and guilt free. I ate it over thin zucchni strips and about 10 strands of fettuccine pasta topped with grilled chicken breast.

Ingredients

1 teaspoon butter

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves (minced)

1 1/2 cups low fat or fat free milk

1 tablespoon flour

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Pinch of nutmeg (optional)

Directions

In a heavy duty saucepan over medium low heat combine your oil, butter, and garlic and heat until the butter is melted. Add your flour and and cook, stirring for approximately 1 minute. Whisk in your milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and cook (whisking constantly) until the mix thickens and comes to a light boil. Add your parmesan cheese and whisk to combine. Cook for 3 minutes and remove from heat. Serve over or toss with cooked pasta.

Frosted brownies...

2011-02-15T14:13:00.010+03:00

First of all sorry I haven't made a post in over a week, my poor baby has been sick with a cold and big Mama was busy taking care of him. Thank God he's feeling much better and I'm back with yet another brownie recipe. Brownies are my all time weakness, I will break my diet, your diet, and anyones diet if you place a brownie in front of me any day. :) The trick to these brownies that makes them different from all others is beating the chocolate, sugar, and eggs with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. This makes the brownies be fluffy, fudgy, and almost flourless chocolate cake LIKE. Give them a try, they're outrageous! The homemade frosting is butterFree and nutellaRich. Are you convinced yet?
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Ingredients
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for pan
1 cup self rising flour (spooned and leveled)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate morsels

Icing
3/4 cup powder sugar (sifted)
6 tablespoon nutella
50 oz dark chocolate (I used 85% by lindt)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350*. Brush your baking pan with butter and line with parchment paper, leaving a 2inch overhang on the two sides. You may also butter and dust your pan with a mixture of flour and cocoa powder.

In a small bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, coffee powder, and salt set aside. In a double boiler heat your butter and chocolate until it becomes completely melted and smooth (approx 2-3min) remove glass bowl from pan and stir in your sugar.

Allow the mix to cool down for 2 minutes and with and electric mixer beat in the eggs on medium speed one at a time. Beat the mix for approximately 5 minutes or until it becomes fluffy and lighter in color.

Fold in your dry ingredients into the chocolate mix until combined but making sure not to overmix the batter. Carefully fold in your chocolate morsels.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 35 to 45 minutes, depending on the size of pan you're using. Cool in pan for 30 minutes (frost the brownies after 15 minutes cooling time while in the pan). Using paper overhang, lift brownies out of pan; transfer to a rack to cool completely (still on paper). On a cutting board, using a dampened serrated knife, cut into 16 squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature, up to 2 days.

Dark chocolate nutella frosting
Directions
With a hand or electric whisk beat all your ingredients in a medium bowl until well combined and a creamy frosting is formed. Set the frosting aside until the brownies have cooled in the pan for 15minutes.

World Nutella Day 2011...

2011-02-05T04:46:00.000+03:00

Hazelnut chocolate, pear cake (with nutella)...

This is the first time I participate in "World Nutella Day" but almost certain it wont be the last time. Nutella is the number one spread in my home and a must have in my pantry. I was just taking a look in my cabinets and I have quite the collection of empty nutella jars, that by the way make great cups. I was feeling a bit hesitant at first and wasn't sure I would participate in this "Oh so fabulous" almost my favorite holiday in the world because every recipe that would pop in my head was already out there. But here I am with a fabulous cake recipe made with chocolate morsels, hazelnuts, pears, and best of all Nutella. Pear this cake (haha Pear, get it?) with homemade hazelnut icecream and drizzle with warm nutella.

ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup pastry flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 eggs
6 tablespoons browned butter
3 tablespoons hazelnut, argan, or almond oil
2 large pears peeled and diced small
3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate morsels
1/4 to 1/3 cup nutella
3/4 to 1 cup toasted hazelnuts
3 tablespoon almond flour

Directions
Preheat your oven to 350*. Butter a 9inch springform pan and dust with 3 tablespoon almond or hazelnut flour (you can dust the pan with regular flour).

(How to brown your butter)
Heat a thick-bottomed skillet on medium heat. Add 6 tablespoons of sliced butter (sliced so that the butter melts more evenly) whisking frequently. Continue to cook the butter. Once the butter begins to foam up a bit, then subside, watch carefully as lightly browned specks begin to form at the bottom of the pan. Smell the butter; it should have a nutty aroma. Remove from heat and place on a cool surface to help stop the butter from cooking further and perhaps burning. I strained my butter to get rid of the small milk solids but you can skip this step. Add your 3 tablespoon of oil. Set aside in a warm place (you can place the cup with your butter on top of the warm stove).

In a large bowl sift you flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside. In a seperate bowl with and electric whisk or home mixer (kitchen aid, kenwood etc.) whisk your eggs on medium high speed for approximately 5 to 7 minutes or until they become very thick and pale in color.

Once the eggs have thickened, gradually add your sugar and continue to whisk until well combined. With a hand whisk or spatula gently fold in your flour mix alternately with the brown butter and nut oil to your egg and sugar mix. Mix until combined (Do not overmix).

Add 2/3 of your batter into the prepared pan and dot the top with nutella (I used and oiled teaspoon). Add the remainder of your batter over the nutella and top with chopped hazelnuts, chocolate morsels, and chopped pear. Bake the cake for approximately 45 to 55 minutes of until golden in color and tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

A neat trick to making sure the cake is done and ready to be taken out of the oven is to give your oven a shimmy shake (come on, we've all done that to vending machines.) if the center of the cakes wabbles (is that even a word?) continue baking the cake. It took my cake about 55 minutes to bake evenly.

Allow your cake to cool in the pan for 5 to 7 minutes before removing the rim.

NutellaLicious!!

nutella boy

World Nutella Day 2011

Sara from Ms. Adventures in Italy and Michelle from Bleeding Espresso solemnly declare Saturday, February 5th “World Nutella Day 2011″ – a day to celebrate, to get creative with, and most importantly, to EAT Nutella.

World Nutella Day

2011-01-27T12:09:00.004+03:00

Sara from Ms. Adventures in Italy and Michelle from Bleeding Espresso solemnly declare Saturday, February 5th “World Nutella Day 2011″ – a day to celebrate, to get creative with, and most importantly, to EAT Nutella.

It’s Easy!

Make a recipe using Nutella. Eat Nutella with a spoon. A big one. Make art with Nutella. Wax poetic about Nutella. Cuddle with Nutella. Strike a pose with Nutella. Re-live your first experience eating Nutella. Offer Nutella as a sacrifice. Have a Nutella-eating contest or a Nutella party!

Do something, anything with Nutella. Make a recipe, take a picture of yourself eating it with a BIG spoon, make art, wax poetic, re-live your first experience eating Nutella. Have a Nutella-eating contest or even a Nutella party!

Take pictures and/or upload a video then blog about it ON February 5th, 2011. In your blog post, include links to Ms Adventures in Italy, Bleeding Espresso, and World Nutella Day as well as the World Nutella Day badge/button (below – right mouse click, Save image…). Please try to post ON FEBRUARY 5 so that we can create a true chocolaty hazelnut wave across the blogosphere on World Nutella Day!

Email nutelladay [at] nutelladay [dot] com with the subject “Nutella Day Entry” and include:

Your Name
Your Blog’s Name
Your Blog’s URL
Your Post URL/Permalink
One 150×150 pixel photo

Pineapple coconut, semolina cakes

2011-01-21T19:59:00.008+03:00

Only I would come up with a recipe for a fabulous dessert out of leftover coconut milk. These babies are Delish to say the least. The dark chocolate ganache compliments the lightly sweetened cakes very well if I may say so my self. The flavours remind me of a tropical fruit chocolate fondue. You can top them with coconut or chopped honey roasted almonds or serve them with tangy strawberry jam. The pictures below sparked an arguement between my husband and I. He apearently doesn't like the dishes I've been using in my pics and suggested I start using colored plates instead. Hmmmm? Excuse me, Mr. Photo pro! So, I suggested he take my next photoshoot, so stay tunned.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup fine semolina
1 cup vanilla scented sugar (or 1 cup sugar plus 1tsp vanilla)
2 whole eggs plus 2 egg whites
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup coconut milk
3/4 cup finely chopped pineapple (canned)
3 tablespoon pineapple juice (from the can)
3/4 cup oil

Bittersweet chocolate, coconut ganache (follows)

Directions
Set your oven to 350*. You can use this batter for cupcakes, muffins, sheet cake, or layered cake. Prepare your pans by lightly greasing and dusting with flour. If you're using the batter for Muffins or cupcakes, line the baking sheet with cupcake/muffin cups before you begin to make the batter.

Sift your flours, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl whisk your eggs with the sugar until they become fluffy and light in color. Slowly stream in your oil until well combined. In a seperate bowl mix the coconut milk and chopped pineapple, whisk lightly. Add the flour mixture and coconut/pineapple mix alternately to the egg, oil and sugar mix, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

Pour the batter into your prepared pans and bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cupcakes-Approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
Muffins- Approximately 20 to 25 minutes.
Cake- Approximately 35 to 45 minutes.

Dark chocolate, coconut ganache
1 cup bittersweet chocolate morsels
1/2 cup coconut milk (creamy)

Directions
Heat your coconut cream until a light boil. Pour over your chocolate morsels and allow to melt for a few minutes. Lightly whisk the chocolate mix until creamy and lump free. Allow your cake/cupcakes to cool for 10 minutes before topping with the chocolate ganache.

This is me getting fancy with my coconut cake! Can you all believe my cake came out this even? Yes sir, there was no cake trimming. Here's a lovely trick you may now want to start doing when baking a leveled cake.

Baking A Level Cake:
* Fill cake pans no more than 1/2 to 2/3 full to allow for even baking and rising.
* Once you’ve poured the batter in the pan, wobble the pan sideways a bit so the batter reaches up along each side (with the middle being slightly lower). As the cake bakes the middle and edges will meet and rise more evenly.

Fiesta hummos

2011-01-20T17:00:00.006+03:00

I was sitting at home last night minding my own diet business when one of my favorite Food Network stars comes on making a Queso fundido recipe. My gosh did my jaw drop as soon as I saw it and today I woke up with a huge crave for cheese and salsa. Being that I'm trying to eat healthy I stayed as far away from the cheese as possible and came up with a very delicious hummos recipe filled with amazing Tex Mex ingrediets. Now don't get me wrong, I'm still craving queso fundido but it will just have to wait until Saturday (diet free day).

Ingredients
250 grams chickpeas (you can use canned but I use soaked beans sold in a glass jar)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons tahini sauce
2 jalapenos (grilled and seeded)
1 medium tomato (grilled)
5 garlic cloves (grilled)
1 small bunch cilantro
1 teaspoon cumin powder
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil

Drain and wash your chickpeas. In a small bowl beat your lemon juice, olive oil, and tahini until smooth. Set aside. Place the chickpeas, tahini mix, salt, pepper,cumin, and garlic in a food processor and process until a smooth paste is formed. Roughly chop your grilled vegetables and cilantro, add them to your hummos, pulse the mix for a few seconds until combined but you can still see pieces of the grilled salsa in your hummos. Serve the hummos at room temperature, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with cumin or paprika.

Brownie lolli pops, and a lovely gift idea.

2011-01-18T18:58:00.010+03:00

Wow! just plain "Wow" brownies on a stick? What's next, iceream soup? If you read my blog you know by now that I'm a huge brownie fan. If you ever wish to bribe me, just bake me some brownies and I'm game. The brownie recipe below was adapted from an old Hershe's cocoa recipe but feel free to use any fudgy brownie recipe of your own. I chose this one because it only requires cocoa powder and not melted chocolate like so many other fudge brownie recipes do. So, make these brownies and save the melted chocolate for the dipping. :)

Ingredients
1 cup chocolate, chopped into small pieces (you can also use hershey's mini morsels) 3/4 cup Cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup butter or margarine, melted and divided
1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the pops
1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate morsels (the brownies are sweet, so I would't use milk chocolate).
20 to 30 lolli pop or popcicle sticks (craft sticks).
1 cup brewed coffee to moisten hands
Colored sprinkles to dip

Directions
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Stir together cocoa and baking soda in large bowl; stir in 1/3 cup butter. Add boiling water; stir until mixture thickens. Stir in sugar, eggs and remaining 1/3 cup butter; stir until smooth. Add flour, vanilla and salt; blend completely. Stir in your chocolate pieces. Spread in prepared pan.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into desired size squares.

How to assemble the pops.

Allow your brownies to cool slightly just until you can manage them by hand make sure to cut off all the rough edges of your brownies.

Moisten your hands with the coffee to prevent the brownies from sticking to your hands.

roll the top of the brownie into the center of your ball. The crackley top has dry edges that make it hard to make your ball nice and round. Go ahead and puch them almost all the way down to the bottom, making an even and tight ball. If necessary moisten your hands to make sure the ball is smooth and free of cracks. stick in the lolli pop sticks and press the ball tightly to make sure it sticks to the stick. I used wooden sticks and found that dipping the tip into the coffee allowed them to stick to the brownie ball better.

Allow the lollies to cool completely before dipping into your melted chocolate. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave but make sure not to overheat or the results will be lumpy and grainy chocolate. If you're melting the chocolate in the microwave make sure to microwave in 10 to 15 second intervals, stirring after each until your chocolate is smooth. Dip the pops into the chocolate until completely covered, allow them to cool in your hands for a few seconds before dipping them into your sprinkles. Place the pops sprinkles side down on a baking pan lined with parchment paper or in a nonstick cookie sheet. You can drizzle your pops with melted chocolate or decorate with colored icing after they're completely cooled. The chocolate has completely cooled when the pops loose the shiny chocolate look and appear more dull in color.

I'm just keeping it real, check out the huge finger print on my "Oh so beautiful" brownie pop, please don't go checking my criminal record. :P

Spiced, honey roasted almonds.

2011-01-18T12:39:00.004+03:00

There's no doubt we love almonds in my home and usually keep a few kilos in hand. Not only are almonds good but they're also good for you. These honey roasted almonds are sweet, crunchy and have a spicy punch you're sure to love I guarantee. For a more classic look and taste, you can toss the almonds in a mixture or sugar, cinnamon, and salt. In my home everyone tries to eat healthy, so I left them as is.

Here are some almond facts you may not know.

The earliest varieties of almonds were found in China carried by traders down the ancient silk road to Greece, Turkey, and the Middle East.

The almond is botanically a stone fruit related to the cherry, the plum, and the peach--The Great Food Almanac, Irena Chalmers.

Distributing sugared almonds wrapped in tulle as a wedding favor is a tradition that dates back to early European history. These almond "bonbonieres" symbolize children, happiness, romance, good health and fortune.

There are 5,639 people in the U.S. listed on whitepages.com with the last name 'Almond'

Chocolate manufacturers use 40% of the worlds almonds (2008).

Almonds are actually stone fruits related to cherries, plums and peaches.

Japanese teenagers enjoy snacking on a mixture of dried sardines and slivered almonds. (ewwww)

It takes 1000 pounds of almonds to make 1 pint of almond oil.

Almonds are the most nutrient-dense tree nut. One ounce of almonds (20-25 almonds) contains 160 calories and only 1 gram of saturated fat and no cholesterol. Almonds are also an excellent source of vitamin E and magnesium, and a good source of protein and potassium.

The protein in almonds is more like the proteins in human breast milk of all the seeds and nuts, which is why it is the choice of the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine as the base for its baby formula.

Ingredients
4 cups large raw almonds
1 cup honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
1/4 teaspoon hot cayanne pepper

Directions
Spread the almonds in a single layer in a shallow ungreased baking pan and place in cold oven. Bake at 350º F, stirring occasionally for approximately 10 minutes or until you can smell the nutty scent of almonds coming from your oven. The almonds will be roasted a second time, so don't over bake them. In a small heavy duty pan over medium low heat place your honey and spices and mix to combine. Stir the honey for 3 to 4 minutes or until warm and spices have blend in. In a large stainless steel or glass bowl, toss your warm almonds with the warm honey until fully coated. Spoon your almonds (in a single layer) onto a non stick baking sheet but make sure not to pour in any excess honey or you will come out with almond brittle. :) Bake the almonds in a 300* oven for approximately 30 to 40 minutes or until darken in color but not burnt. Allow the almonds to cool in the pan for 20 minutes before removing onto a non stick pan. The almonds can be pulled apart evenly or served as clusters. You can also give them a toss in a mixture or sugar, cinnamon, and salt.

All the flavors of the Gulf, stuffed pancakes (katayef).

2011-01-17T22:58:00.009+03:00

I give my self two thumbs up with this recipe, I honestly do. The filling is my very own recipe, one that I created today for the first time and it came out simply amazing. I call it "All the flavors of the Gulf" since dates and cardamom play a big role in Gulf style Arabic sweets. The filling can be eaten straight like you would Greek halvah or used to stuff any flat cake of your choice.

Ingredients for the pancakes (beghrir)

1 cup fine semolina
3/4 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoon yeast
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 cups plus 2 to 4 tablespoons lukewarm water.
2 tablespoons butter plus 2 tablespoons argan oil to brush the katayef
1 cup warm honey, butter, and chopped nuts to serve.

Directions
Sift dry ingredients in a large bowl, add yeast and warm water and mix to combine. Pour the mix into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy for approx 3 min. Pour mix into large bowl and cover with cloth for approx 30 min or until the batter has risen and appears foamy on the surface. After mix has rested add 2 tablespoons of warm water and mix.

Cook in a non stick pan or skillet, over medium heat. laddle in desired amount of batter into the hot skillet Pour carefully and slowly into the center and the batter will spread evenly into a circle. Bubbles should appear on the surface of the beghrir as it cooks. Don't flip the beghrir. It only gets cooked on one side.

Cook for about 3 to 4 minutes, or until the beghrir doesn't appear wet anywhere on the surface. It should feel spongy, but not sticky or gummy, when you touch it lightly with your finger. Place a single layer of pancakes on a large plate or over a long piece of foil placed on your counter top (dont place one on top of the other or they will stick and become doughy). Set your cakes aside until they're ready to
be filled.

Date filling

Ingredients
15 large medjool dates (soft), pitted and cut into pieces (approximately 2 cups)
2 tablespoons semolina
2 tablespoons almond flour
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon argan oil (Can be replaced with almond oil or olive oil)
1 teaspoon cardamom powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup plus 2tbsp milk

Directions
In a medium heavy duty pan over medium heat, add the butter and oil pour in the semolina and almond flour and stir continuosly until it becomes light golden brown.
Once the flour's have browned add your dates, spices, and milk and lower the heat to medium low. Cook until the dates have soften and mash into a thick paste. Cool the filling before assembling your katayef.

How to assemble the katayef

Place a small amount of filling (I used 1 tablespoon for 6 inch beghrir's)in the center of the Katayef piece and fold one side towards the other and stick them together by pressing on the edges. You now have a crescent shaped Katayef. Grease both sides of your katayef with melted butter and oil and bake the katayef in a preheated (350*) oven placed in a non stick pan for approximately 15 minutes or until light golden and slightly cruchy. Pour warm honey over the hot katayef and serve warm with chopped nuts.

Spice blends and a recipe.

2011-01-17T00:27:00.005+03:00

There's no doubt I'm a spice Maniac and probably (no, I do) have every single spice right in my kitchen. Some spices made there way into my home all the way from Morocco. Today I chose 3 very popular spice blends Curry, Masala, and Ras Al Hanout. You're probably thinking Ras Al Hanout is my favorite, right? Well, you're wrong. I still find my self lost as to which one is my favorite. I love them all!

Curry

Curry powder is a mixture of spices of widely varying composition based on South Asian cuisine. Curry powder, and the contemporary English use of the word curry are Western inventions and do not reflect any specific Indian food, though a similar mixture of spices used in north India is called garam masala but curry powder is actually closer to the south Indian sambhar powder. The word curry is widely believed to be a corruption of the Tamil word kari,[1] variously meaning something like sauce, cooked vegetables or meat, but it may instead be derived from the French cuire meaning "to cook".[2]

In the western world, curry powder mixtures tend to have a fairly standardized taste,[citation needed] though a great variety of spice mixtures are used in Indian cuisine.

Curry powder was largely popularized during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries through the mass exportation of the condiment to the western table, throughout Europe and North and South America. Curry powder did not become standardized, as many of the original blends of curry powder were still available throughout the world.[citation needed] The late 1960s and early 1970s saw a large increase of Indian food consumption in the west and internationally. This led to an increase of Indian restaurants throughout the world. The tradition of keeping special blends of curry powder simply became uneconomical, and curry powder became increasingly standardized outside India.[citation needed]

Indian cooks often have readier access to a variety of fresh spices than their foreign counterparts.[citation needed] Some curry cooks will have their own specific mixtures for different recipes. These are often passed down from parent to child.

Garam Masala

There are many versions of Garam Masala, some using hot spices, such as pepper, and others only fragrant spices. Whatever the blend is be sure its made from good quality spices.

The composition of garam masala differs regionally, with wide variety across India. Some common ingredients are black & white peppercorns, cloves, malabar leaves, long pepper (also known as pippali), black cumin (known as shahi jeera), cumin seeds, cinnamon, black, brown, & green cardamom, nutmeg, star anise and coriander seeds. Varying combinations of these and other spices are used in regional variants of garam masala,[1] none of which is considered more authentic than another.[2]

Some recipes call for spices to be blended with herbs, while others grind the spices with water, vinegar or other liquids such as coconut milk to make a paste. In some recipes nuts, onion or garlic may be added. The flavours may be carefully blended to achieve a balanced effect, or in some cases a single flavour may be emphasized for special dishes where this is desired. Usually a masala is roasted before use to release its flavours and aromas

Garam Masala, Recipe.

Ingredients
4tbsp coriander seeds
2tbsp cumin seeds
1tbsp whole black peppercorns
2 teaspoons cardamon seeds (measure after removing pods)
4x 7.5 (3inch)cinnamon sticks
1tsp whole cloves
1 whole nutmeg

Directions
In a small pan roast separately the coriander, cummin, peppercorns, cardamon, cinnamon, and cloves. As each one starts to smell fragrant turn on to plate to cool. After roasting, peel the cardamoms, discard pods and use only the seeds. Put all into electric blender and blend to a fine powder. Finely grate nutmeg and mix in. Store in a glass jar with tight lid.

Ras Al Hanout

Ras Al Hanout is mostly popular in Morocco but can be found and used in neighboring countries like Algeria and Tunisia. This spice blend is easily found in every Moroccan home. The most popular use for it in my inlaws home would have to be when making chicken Rfisa, a Moroccan chicken dish made with lentils, onions, garlic, saffron then served on a bed of bread such as Msemen or leftover bread.

Ras el hanout or Rass el hanout (Arabic: راس الحانوت) is a popular blend of spices that is used across North Africa. The name means "top of the shop" in Arabic and refers to a mixture of the best spices a seller has to offer. There are three types of blends for Ras el Hanout: Lamrouzia, L'msagna and Monuza.

There is no definitive set combination of spices that makes up Ras el hanout. Each shop, company, or person would have their own secret combination containing over a dozen spices. Typically they would include cardamom, clove, cinnamon, ground chili peppers, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, peppercorn, and turmeric.

Some recipes include over one hundred ingredients, some rarely found in Western food, such as ash berries, chufa, Grains of Paradise, orris root, Monk's pepper, cubebs, or dried rosebud. Usually all ingredients are toasted and then ground up together. Individual recipes are often improvised.

Ras el hanout is used in almost every kind of food, sometimes rubbed on meat and stirred into rice. It is often believed to be an aphrodisiac.

Chicken torta

2011-01-16T22:11:00.003+03:00

These appetizing Mexican rolls can be found in just about any Mexican restaurant from Bean to Beef filled you'll love them all. The authentic bread used to make these sandwiches is pan bolillo, unfortunately they're mostly found in Mexican bakeries. You can easily replace these buns with French baguette. I preffer to use grilled chicken in mine but any leftover meat will work just fine. Heat up the meat in small amount of oil and toss with your favorite salsa, top with lettuce, onions, avocados, tomatoes, and jalapenos for a real Mexican experience.

Ingredients
4 crusty rolls such as bolillo or french bread
Melted butter or olive oil for brushing
8oz canned refried beans
1 large avocado (lime juice for tossing)
12oz cooked meat such as chicken or beef
1 ripe tomato sliced
1 small onion (thinly sliced)
2tbsp cilantro
6 tbsp sour cream or 3 tablespoon mayonaise
salsa of your choice
shredded lettuce and jalapenos
Salsa of your choice (I used salsa de arbol)

Cut rolls in half and remove a little of the crumb to make space for the filling.

Brush the outside and inside of the rolls with butter or oil and toast on both sides on a hot griddle or skillet for a few minutes or until crisp.

Meanwhile place the beans with a tiny amount of water and heat through gently.

Cut the avocado in half lengthwise and twist the 2 halves in opposite directions to seperate. Stab the pit with the point of a sharp knife and lift out. Carefully peel off the skin, dice the flesh, and toss with lime juice to prevent discoloration.

When the rolls are heated, spread one half of each roll with beans, then top with a layer of cooked meat. Drizzle the meat with salsa of your choice. Top with tomato, lettuce, avocados, jalapenos, and onions. Generously spread sour cream or mayonaise on the other side of each roll then sandwich the two sides of each roll together.

Tip, You can either toss the meat when warming/cooking with a salsa of your choice or drizzle over the meat when assembling your sandwich.

Salsa de arbol recipe.

http://www.overthehillandonaroll.com/2009/10/salsa-de-chile-de-arbol-recipe.html

All in my pantry lentil soup.

2011-01-16T15:19:00.004+03:00

So, I decided an all sweets blog is just not working for me and my waistline (AkA muffin tops)the first recipe is nothing too fancy but a great and easy start to Zelia's cooking Blog (I'm still keeping my current blog name). This lentil soup is super easy to make and "almost" all of the ingredients are right in your pantry. I love cooking with fresh herbs but in my home grocery day falls on Monday, so by Sunday I'm almost all out of fresh herbs. Serve this soup warm, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle red pepper flakes and tyme/oragano mix and you're good to go.

Ingredients
1 cup orange lentils
1 large onion finely diced
1 medium carrot finely diced
1 celery stalk diced
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 large potato diced in small cubes
2 teaspoons cumin powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon tumeric powder
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon oragano and tyme mix
8 cups chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions
In a large pot over medium heat add your oil, onions, garlic, potatoes, and carrots, add salt to taste and cook until they become translucent. Add your spices, herbs, and lentils and mix to combine. Add the chicken stock and stir to combine. Increase the heat to high and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook at a low simmer until all your ingredients are tender and the lentils have dissolved into the broth, approximately 30 to 40 minutes. Serve with lemon juice...

About "Argan oil" and a recipe.

2011-01-09T19:11:00.008+03:00

A few months ago we took our yearly family vacation to Morocco and were able to get our hands on Argan oil. I must say I'm quite facinated by this oil and find my self reading and researching more and more about it. Below are a few articles I found online. There's a few different types of Argan oil found and sold in Morocco, toasted Argan oil is good for cooking and dipping bread while the raw oil extract is said to be good for hair and skin. Moroccans have many uses for Argan oil, from culinary to healing purposes such as dermatological disorders. Argan oil is an extremely important export of Morocco. It comes from the argan tree, a gnarled tree which flourishes in the arid and difficult conditions of Morocco.

Argan oil is an oil produced from the kernels of the argan tree, endemic to Morocco, that is valued for its nutritive, cosmetic and numerous medicinal properties. The tree, a relict species from the Tertiary age, is extremely well adapted to drought and other environmentally difficult conditions of southwestern Morocco. The species Argania once covered North Africa and is now endangered and under protection of UNESCO.[1] The Argan tree grows wild in semi-desert soil, its deep root system helping to protect against soil erosion and the northern advance of the Sahara.[2] This biosphere reserve, the Arganeraie Biosphere Reserve, covers a vast intramontane plain of more than 2,560,000 hectares, bordered by the High Atlas and Anti-Atlas Mountains and open to the Atlantic in the west. Argan oil remains one of the rarest oils in the world due the small and very specific growing areas.

Argan trees were first reported by the explorer Leo Africanus in 1510. An early specimen was taken to Amsterdam where it was cultivated by Lady Beaufort at Badminton House in 1711.

Traditional method

The production of argan oil by traditional methodsFor modern times, the Berbers (indigenous people of Morocco) of this area would collect undigested argan pits from the waste of goats which climb the trees to eat their fruit. The pits were then ground and pressed to make the nutty oil used in cooking and cosmetics. However, the oil used in cosmetic and culinary products available for sale today has most likely been harvested and processed with machines in a verifiably clean and sanitary way.

The oil was sold in Moroccan markets even before the Phoenicians arrived, yet the hardy argan tree has been slowly disappearing. Overgrazing by goats and a growing, wood-hungry local population have whittled the number of surviving trees down to less than half of what it was 50 years ago.

The tree is a relic of the Earth's Tertiary Period, which ended about 1.6 million years ago, and it grows in only a few other places in the world. It is tenacious, withering and fruitless during extended droughts, and it lives as long as 200 years. So there was alarm that the Argania spinosa, as the tree is properly called, was headed for extinction, along with its precious goat-related oil.

UNESCO, and enthusiasts excited by the oil's reputed anti-aging qualities have helped by creating a global market for the exotic oil, the unlikely alliance hopes to raise awareness about the inherent value of the trees, encouraging more careful grazing and stopping the local population from chopping the trees down for firewood. The people in the area are poor; as they now understand the value of the tree, they are protecting it.

UNESCO declared a 25,900-square-kilometer of land between the Atlantic and the Atlas Mountains a reserve and provided money to manage the trees' preservation. Chefs and society matrons took up the cause, praising the culinary qualities of the oil and its anti-aging effect on the skin. There is also a ban against grazing in the trees from May to August, when the fruit ripens to a bright yellow and eventually the goats climb the trees, eat the fruit and expel the pits, which locals continue to collect.

At the Cooperative in Tiout, Berber women sit on the floor with rough rectangular stones between their knees cracking pits with rounded rocks. Each smooth pit contains one to three kernels, which look like sliced almonds and are rich in oil. The kernels are then removed and gently roasted. This roasting accounts for part of the oil's distinctive, nutty flavour. It takes several days and about 32 kilograms of fruit - roughly one season's produce from a single tree - to make only one liter of oil. The cosmetic oil, rich in vitamin E and essential fatty acids, is used for massage, facials and as an ingredient in anti-aging cream. The edible oil is extracted from roasted kernels.

Most of the oil is bottled pure for cooking, as a dressing on salads, meat or fish or simply as a dip for bread. The Tiout cooperative produces about 5,000 250-milliliter bottles of the edible oil a year. The oil can be purchased at the Cooperative in Tiout but the neighbouring city of Agadir sells the oil for a fair price as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argan_oil

Amlou (Almond, Argan oil dip)

Amlou is a Moroccan dip made of roasted almonds, argan oil, and sometimes honey or sugar. Amlou is usually served for breakfast along with whole wheat bread and tea.
Amlou is popular amongst the Berbers, native to the region of Morocco which produces argan oil, and has been adopted by some surrounding cultures as well. Amlou can be difficult to obtain outside of Morocco. Amlou was traditionally kept in the bedroom of those who could afford it as it was considered an aphrodisiac.
It was also a typical wedding gift for the new couple.

Ingredients
1 cup toasted almonds (I use large organic almonds)
1/2 cup plus 2tablespoons Argan oil
3 tablespoons good quality honey
pinch of salt

Directions
Preheat your oven to 360*.
Place your almonds in a baking pan and roast for approximately 15 minutes or until throughly golden in color (make sure the inside of the almonds is golden). You may want to give your almonds a toss every 4 minutes to prevent them from burning. Not all almonds are the same, some have more oil than others. I used large organic almonds in this recipe. After the almonds have been roasted allow them to cool for 5 minutes, or until warm to the touch. Place your warm almonds in a food processor until a buttery mixture is formed. Add half of your oil, honey, and salt to your almond mix (still in the food processor) and mix to combine. Stir in the remainder of your oil. If you want bits of almonds in your dip, place 2 tablespoons of completely cooled almonds in your food processor and mix until a coarse mix forms. Mix in with your dip.

Amazing...

2010-12-29T22:06:00.002+03:00

I came across this video on Youtube, the creativity of some people is simply "Amazing". Please watch.

Mexican hot chocolate...

2010-12-29T17:59:00.002+03:00

Today was definitely the coldest day so far this winter here in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A perfect day to just sit back and relax with a nice cup of hot chocolate. Since I'm no ordinary girl, my idea of hot chocolate doesn't come in a little pack filled with marshmallow. No sir! I'm talking hot chocolate for the big kids. Mexican "Hot" chocolate. I used Lindt "Red chili" dark chocolate but this can easily be replaced with the same amout of dark or bittersweet chocolate and a pinch of hot cayyene pepper.

Ingredients
2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons sugar
30grams lidnt red chili dark chocolate
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 inch piece whole vanilla bean
3 inch piece orange rind
1 inch piece cinnamon stick

Directions
Place the milk, whole spices, and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer.
Off the heat, stir in the chocolate, cocoa, and cornstarc with a wooden spoon and allow to steep for 3 minutes. Reheat the hot chocolate over low heat until it simmers. Strain the chocolate into a measuring cup and pour into mugs.

Caramel sauce

2010-12-27T02:04:00.004+03:00

This is the very first time I make homemade caramel sauce other than the very easy to make caramel sauce for flans, of course. OMG, let me just say. WOW! This, like many of Ina Garten's recipe's is amazing. I cut the recipe in half, big mistake. Now I want more. :) Drizzle over cakes, pies, or icecream or you can do like me and make apple cut out shapes with your favorite cookie cutters, dip in the sauce and dust with chopped nuts or almond meal.

Ingredients
nocoupons
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup water
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions
Mix the water and sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until the sugar dissolves. Do not stir. Increase the heat to medium and boil uncovered until the sugar turns a warm chestnut brown (about 350 degrees F on a candy thermometer), about 5 to 7 minutes, gently swirling the pan to stir the mixture. Be careful – the mixture is extremely hot! Watch the mixture very carefully at the end, as it will go from caramel to burnt very quickly. Turn off the heat. Stand back to avoid splattering and slowly add the cream and vanilla. Don't worry - the cream will bubble violently and the caramel will solidify.

Simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until the caramel dissolves and the sauce is smooth, about 2 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours. It will thicken as it sits.

Apple, turnover cake.

2010-12-22T22:40:00.006+03:00

This apple cake is simply "Amazing". I've baked plenty of apple cakes in my life but nothing like this one. My husband is very picky when it comes to adding fresh fruit to cakes which is why I decided to pre cook the apples. He also doesn't like overly sweet desserts, so I kept the apple topping light. The finely ground almonds which dust the edges of the pan are a pleasing contrast to this very delicious and moist cake. Serve the cake as is or drizzle with homemade caramel sauce.

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup almond flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt

Topping
2 to 3 large apples such as Granny Smith peeled, cored, thinly sliced
1/4 sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons water

For your pan
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons almond meal

Directions
Preheat your over to 350*. Butter the edge/rim of your cake pan with 1 tablespoon of butter and dust with almond meal. Once the sides of the pan are coated, butter the bottom of the pan with the remainder of your butter, making sure the almond meal only coats the sides of the pan. Set aside.

In a heavy large skillet, melt your butter over medium heat. Add your sugar, apples,and cinnamon. Cook until the apples are caramalized turning frequently, about 15 minutes. Carefully remove your apples from the pan and allow them to cool to room temperature. Arrange decoratively in bottom of pan, pour the juices from the apples over the arranged apples. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift your flour, almond meal, spices, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside. In a large bowl beat your eggs and sugar with a whisk until they become fluffy and light in color, slowly stream in your oil until well combined. In a seperate bowl whisk your yogurt with the milk until lump free. Add the flour mixture and yogurt mix alternately to the egg, oil and sugar mix, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for approximately 40 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean. Allow your cake to cook for approximately 15 minutes before turning over. Serve at room temperature.

You know it's good when I eat up the entire slice after it's photoshoot! :)

Martha's "Chewy Cherry-Oatmeal Cookies"

2010-12-22T12:17:00.003+03:00

I bought a camera a couple days ago and couldn't wait to snap a picture, so last night I made these very delicious cookies and ran to my camera first thing this morning. My kids were yet to be fed, so I only snaped a couple of pictures. Let me just say I'm in love with my new toy and these lovely cookies were the perfect quick snack to make.

Ingredients
Makes about 4 dozen

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, or 1 cup apple butter (a healthier alternative)
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups Quaker Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats
1 cup dried cherries

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with nonstick baking mats or parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt; set aside. Place butter, sugar, and honey in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla, and beat to combine. With the mixer on low, gradually add reserved flour mixture and beat until incorporated. Stir in oats and cherries.

Drop 1 tablespoon of dough at a time about 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake until lightly golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

From The Martha Stewart Show, January 2007

Vanilla bean and rose scented honey "Panna cotta"

2010-12-20T16:07:00.004+03:00

Panna cotta (from Italian cooked cream) is an Italian dessert made by simmering together cream, milk and sugar, mixing this with gelatin, and letting it cool until set. It is generally from the Northern Italian region of Piemonte, although it is eaten all over Italy, where it is served with wild berries, caramel, chocolate sauce or fruit coulis. It is not known exactly how or when this dessert came to be, but some theories suggest that cream, for which mountainous Northern Italy is famous, was historically eaten plain or sweetened with fruit or hazelnuts. Earlier recipes for the dish used boiled fish bones in place of gelatin; sugar, later a main ingredient, would not have been widely available as it was an expensive imported commodity. After years this treat evolved into what is now a gelatin dessert, flavored with vanilla and topped with fruit or spices, and served chilled.

Ingredients
3 cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 gelatin leaves, soaked in cold water for about 4 minutes
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon rosewater
Rose jam to serve (optional)

Directions
Place the cream, vanilla bean, and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat.

Remove the vanilla bean and split lengthwise. Scrape the vanilla beans into the cream.

Squeeze the gelatin leaves to remove any excess water, then add them to the pan, stirring constantly about 30 seconds, or until the gelatin is melted.

In a small bowl mix your honey with 1 teaspoon of rosewater. Drizzle about 2 teaspoons honey into the bottom of 6 (4-ounce) molds. Ladle the cream mixture into each. Refrigerate for several hours, until thoroughly chilled.

To remove from the mold: Dip the bottom of the mold into a pot of hot water to loosen the panna cotta. Slide a knife around the edge, then carefully turn over onto a serving plate. Drizzle with the remaining honey and serve with Rose jam or fresh berries.

http://www.bienmanger.com/2F622_Rose_Petals_Jam.html

Adapted from, Foodnetwork.
Note, the Rosewater in the recipe is my little twist on the original recipe.

"Sophisticated" cocoa muffins with dark chocolate and sour cherries.

2010-12-19T17:10:00.006+03:00

Chocolate and cherries is one of my favorite combinations when it comes to desserts. As a little girl I remember getting so grossed out when my Mother would eat the infamous chocolate covered holiday cherries. My husband absolutely fell in love with these very sophisticated chocolate cherry muffins, so I will for sure be making these again.

Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract "OR" 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 tablespoons butter (melted and cooled)
5 tablespoons oil
1/2 cup sour cherry jam (cut in halves)
1/2 cup dark chocolate or milk chocolate morsels

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Position rack in center of oven. Butter or line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl whisk together the yogurt, lightly beaten egg, oil, butter and vanilla extract. Set aside.

In another large bowl whisk together the flours, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Remove 1 tablespoon of the dry ingredients and toss it with the chocolate morsels.

With a rubber spatula fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are combined. Gently stir in the cherries and chocolate morsels. Do not over mix the batter or tough muffins will result.

Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. Place in the oven and bake for about 15 - 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from pan.

Spiced oatmeal cookies

2010-12-13T10:45:00.003+03:00

There's nothing better in a cold winter day than a nice batch of warm cookies. I'm a huge cookie fan but don't make them very often since most recipes are loaded with butter. The other night I decided to try baking cookies the healthy way by using only 2 tablespoons of butter and cutting back on the amout of sugar used and replacing it with honey. The results were "Oh my Gooooodness" Yes they were that good and did I mentions they were healthy? I say were because "I" ate the entire batch in 2 days. Oops!

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup wheat flour
2 cups oats (quick cooking)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
3 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3 tablespoons choped apricots (in jam) You can also use 2 tablespoons of dry apricots and 1 tablespoon apricot jam.

Directions
Preheat oven to 350*.
In a large bowl mix your (sifted) flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside. In a medium bowl mix your egg and sugar with a hand or electric mixer until light in color and creamy. Add your honey, melted butter, apricots, vanilla and oil. Mix to combine. Mix your wet and dry ingredients until well combined (make sure not to overmix). Fold in your raisins and walnuts. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool 1 minute. Remove to wire rack. Cool completely.

Sweet, sesame and fennel crumpets.

2010-12-01T22:18:00.004+03:00

About a week ago a friend of mine asked what our favorite breakfast flat jack was. The only options that came to my mind were Pancakes, waffles, french toast, and crépes that's until a Brittish sister mentioned "Crumpets". Being that I love to try new things I immediately googled this breakfast delight and I knew it was something I just had to make. I did live in London a couple of years ago but always thought these packed cakes were English muffins. In a way I was right they are a lot like English muffins, with a pancake twist. My recipe is not a traditional British recipe, instead I made them a little sweeter and added my two favorite seeds (Fennel and Sesame) this is something you all really need to make.

Ingredients
1 cup (lukewarm) milk
1/4 cup (lukewarm) water
2 tablespoons melted butter
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons yeast
1 cup white flour (I used pastry flour)
3/4 cup wheat flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon fennel seeds (optional)
1 teaspoon sesame seeds (optional)
Extra butter for your molds.

Directions
Mix all your dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add your wet ingredients and mix vigorously until well combined. Cover with a towel and allow the batter to rest for at least 1 hour. The batter must expand and form bubbles before you begin to make your crumpets.

Butter your muffin pans. Set aside. Meanwhile heat your griddle on medium low. Lightly grease your griddle and place your muffin tins inside. Pour your batter into the tins using a buttered icecream scoop. The batter should go 1/3 up from the muffin tin. Bake for approximately 7 minutes or until bubbles begin to form and the crumpet is easily released when you shake it with a pair of tongs. Remove the rings and cook for an extra 5 minutes on the second side. Repeat the same process with the remaining batter, making sure the muffin rings are cleaned and greased each time they're used. Serve warm with butter, jam, or honey.

Old fashion apple pie

2010-11-30T20:58:00.003+03:00

Fall brings back so many memories, one of them being apple pie. Apple pie is one of my favorite desserts but something I rarely make. This past weekend I had a few friends over for dinner (Thanksgiving style meal) and eventhough I had a couple of cakes my husband ordered from a bakery I wanted to show them a real American meal and what's more American than "Apple pie"? Of course I wanted to stay on the safe side and make sure my pie came out perfect, so I cheated and used a Martha Stewarts recipe without making any changes of my own. Ok, so maybe I omitted the lemon zest but that's only because I think the juice of 1 lemon will make this pie tart enough as it is (I was right).

Makes one 9-inch double crust pie

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream
4 pounds assorted cooking apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-to 1/2-inch-thick slices
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, washed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, ,cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Directions
Turn out 1 piece of dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll into a 13-inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Fit into 9-inch pie plate. Trim edges flush with rim. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.

Roll out remaining dough on parchment paper to a 13-inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer to a baking sheet; refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk egg yolk and cream in a small bowl; set egg wash aside. Put apples, lemon juice, granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl; toss to combine. Fill pie shell with apple mixture, and dot with butter. Lightly brush edge of pie with a wet pastry brush. Place dough round on top of pie. Trim edges flush with rim; press to seal. Crimp edges as desired. Make four 1/2-inch slits in center of pie. Brush top with egg wash; sprinkle with sanding sugar. Freeze 30 minutes.

Place pie on a baking sheet. Bake until crust begins to turn golden brown, about 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling, about 35 minutes. Cover with foil if browning too quickly. Let cool completely on a rack.

Basic pate brisse recipe

Makes enough for one double-crust or two single crust 9-inch pies
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water
Directions
Pulse flour and salt in a food processor. Add butter, and pulse until mixture forms coarse crumbs with some larger pieces remaining, about 10 seconds.
With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream just until dough holds together without being wet or sticky, no longer than 30 seconds.
Divide dough in half, and shape into disks. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. Dough can be frozen up to 1 month; thaw in the refrigerator overnight before using

Pancakes with wild thyme scented honey

2010-11-18T13:50:00.004+03:00

My recipe for these pancakes is very easy and simple to make, the honey and olive oil syrup is the star in this recipe that's for sure. Moroccans use this honey for almost all their pancake and flaky bread recipes. The first time I ever tried this I fell in love. I can no longer eat pancakes with syrup from a jar.

Pancake ingredients:
1 cup self rising flour
1 cup milk
1 large egg
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
butter for the pan

Honey recipe:
4 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons olive oil (first press taste best)
1 tablespoon time (I used wild thyme in my recipe)
1 teaspoon butter (optional)

Directions:
Sift all your dry pancake ingredients in a large bowl, set aside. In a medium bowl beat your egg, milk, and oil. Pour the wet ingredients into your dry ingredients and gently mix until combined. The mix should still have a few small lumps, if you over beat this batter you will get rubbery pancakes. Heat your pan over medium heat, brush with butter before making each pancake. Using a small ladle or scoop, pour about 1/4 cup of pancake batter onto the pan. When the bottoms of the pancakes are brown and bubbles start to appear on the top surfaces of the pancakes (2-3 minutes), turn over. Cook until lightly browned (about 1-2 minutes).

Syrup directions:
Mix all your syrup ingredients in a small heavy duty pan, whisk until the syrup comes to a gentle boil. Pour your syrup over the warm pancakes while its still hot. Enjoy.

Mille feuille

2010-11-11T13:47:00.006+03:00

Mille-feuille (thousand leaf) is a custard filled French dessert that is not only popular in France but also in Maghrebi countries such as Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria. This pastry is sold in every Moroccan bakery, young kids usually stop to grab a slice on the way home from school. When I showed my pictures to family in Morocco they were really impressed, little do they know I used store bought puff pastry instead of making it my self. Like they do! The American version of this dessert is called "Napoleon" and can be filled with anything from custard to jam. The pastry creme recipe was addapted from "The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking" its by far the best crème pâtissière recipe I have came across. When baking the pastry you can bake the entire sheet at once or cut in 3 pieces like I've done in my recipe.

Ingredients
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups of milk, divided
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise down the middle
1/3 cup sugar
6 large egg yolks
A few cups of cold water
A few cups of ice
6 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup of butter, at room temperature (1/2 a stick)

For the pastry
1 pack puff pastry such as Pepperidge Farm

Directions for your cream

Combine heavy cream with 1 cup of milk in a medium saucepan (reserve the remaining 1/2 cup of milk). Using a butter knife, scrape the tiny seeds out of the vanilla bean and add them to the cream mixture, tossing the scraped pod in as well.

Bring the cream to just a simmer, then remove from heat and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Fish out spent vanilla pod and discard.

Combine sugar and egg yolks in a medium-sized heatproof bowl and whisk vigorously for 30 seconds to ensure the sugar is dissolved.

Halfway fill a large bowl with cold water and add a few handfuls of ice to make sure the water is very cold. Keep more ice handy in case what you’ve added to the bowl melts.

In a cup, combine cornstarch with the remaining 1/2 cup of milk, stirring with a fork until cornstarch is completely dispersed. Make sure there are no lumps along the bottom of the cup, hiding anywhere in the corners, lest you end up with lumps in your pastry cream. In case you were wondering, this is called making a slurry.

Place the saucepan containing the cream mixture over a medium heat. Again bring the cream just to a simmer, making sure not to bring it to a full boil. Once you see bubbles begin to form around the edges of the saucepan and a fair amount of steam beginning to rise from the cream’s surface, remove it from the heat.

Slowly pour the hot cream into the sugar and egg yolks, whisking constantly. The goal here is to add the hot cream slowly enough that the eggs don’t scramble, so pour in a little bit at a time and whisk well before you add some more. If you’ve got another person handy, have them pour the hot cream in a slow, thin stream while you whisk.

Pour the cream and eggs back into the saucepan and stir in the cornstarch slurry, then resume constant stirring over medium heat until the mixture is very thick. Set the base of the saucepan in your bowl of ice cold water (add more ice to the water if you have to) and stir quickly until the cream has cooled somewhat but still retains some heat, about one minute.

Add the butter and stir until the butter is completely mixed in and you’ve got a smooth cream. Scoop into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, making sure to press the wrap against the surface of the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Seal and store in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.

While the pastry creme is cooling, bake your puff pastry in 3 equal rectangular shapes.

*Roll out the puff pastry and pierce it using a fork or a docker.
Place it between 2 greased baking sheets so that it will remain flat and regular during cooking.

*Repeat this step with your other two rolled out pastry and bake at 350* for 25 minutes. When finished, leave them to cool on a cooling rack.

*Cut the edges of your baked pastries so that all 3 rectangles are equal in size using a serrated knife.

*You are now ready to assemble your mille feuille, Spread the custard on the top of your baked pastry using a metal spatula. Place the second layer of baked pastry on top and push to make sure the creme sticks to both sides of the baked pastry. Spread your second half of creme over the pastry and cover ith the last layer of baked pastry, again pushing down to make sure the creme stick to both sides. Cover the top layer with icing or dust with powder sugar. To serve cut with a serrated knife using a sawing motion.

Basic icing recipe

2 cups confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

4 tablespoons milk or cream

Directions
Combine the confectioners sugar and milk and mix until smooth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGQCWuKU7Co

Easy Phyllo dough desserts...

2010-09-14T13:52:00.011+03:00

Here are a couple easy to make fillo dough desserts I made for Eid ul Fitr this past weekend. Since fillo (Phillo) dough is widely used in the Middle East to make pastries, you can find it pre cut into small squares. The sheets I used were 5x5 inches which was the perfect size for making these lovely desserts. I wasn't really in the mood to spend my holiday in the kitchen so the creme and chocolate used to stuff these pastries are really simple to make. You don't really need a recipe in fact just by looking at the pictures you can pretty much figure out how these are made.

Ingredients
Fillo dough cut into 5x5 squares.
1 cup butter (melted and cooled)
Creme stuffing of your choice
Chocolate ganache or nutella spread.

Instruments needed
Creme horns metal cones
4 wooden spoons (soaked in water for 10 minutes and wrapped in foil)
Muffin pan

Directions
Using a pastry brush butter each sheet of fillo before placing one on top of the other. If you're making fillo cups, you will need 3 sheets of fillo. Fillo flutes are best when made with only 2 sheets of fillo but 3 sheets works just fine. Wrap your sheets around the wooden (foiled) spoon leaving at least one inch of fillo from the tip of the spoon, if you wrap the sheets in the center of the spoon it will be hard to slide it off without breaking. Make sure to butter your spoons, muffin pan, and metal cones before wrapping or molding your fillo sheets. When making the cones use 3 sheets of fillo and wrap around the cone, brush the edge with butter and bake edge side down. Bake pastries for approximately 10 to 15 minutes or until golden in color. Allow them to cool completely on a wire rack before stuffing.

Cream and chocolate used in my recipes.

Chocolate cream
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy creme
1/2 cup powder sugar

Place your chocolate chips in a small glass bowl. Heat your cream until it reaches a soft boiling point. Add the cream to your chocolate and mix until melted. Add your powder sugar and whisk to combine. Spoon your chocolate cream into a piping bag and "carefully" fill your flutes until you can see the chocolate cream from both ends of the flute.

Honey creme
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons powder sugar
1 can honey flavored Arabic qashta
2 tablespoons pistachio halvah (for garnish)
candied bitter orange peel for garnish

In a medium bowl whisk your cream until soft peaks form, add the powder sugar and whisk until stiff peaks form. Fold in your qashta until well combined. Cool completely before filling your cones or cups with cream.

Metal horns

Pistachio halvah

Wooden spoons

Harcha (Moroccan semolina bread)

2010-09-02T01:06:00.004+03:00

Harcha is very similar to American cornbread only harcha is usually cooked on the stove top using a cast iron skillet. Some harcha recipes call for butter but this recipe is made with oil and milk to obtain that rich cornbread like taste that I love so much. Since its made using only semolina, do not expect this bread to rise like a cake. I use medium course semolina when making this recipe but fine semolina works just as good. You can very well make this with soymilk and have yourself the perfect Vegan harcha.

Ingredients
2 cups semolina
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons oil (I use a mix of sunflower and olive oil)
1 to 2 tablespoons butter (for your pan)

Directions
Set your over to 360*, butter a glass or cast iron pan with 1 to 2 tablespoons butter and dust with semolina. Sift your semolina, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl. Using your hands work the oil into the semolina mix until the mix is evenly coated. Add your milk and mix to combine. Pour the mixture into your prepared pan and dust the top with more semolina. Eventhough the batter appears to be quite runny, the semolina will stay on top when sprinkled giving you that nice crunch once its baked. Bake your harcha for approximately 20 minutes or until cracks form on the top of your harcha and its golden brown in color. If you feel the harcha is already baked yet the color is not golden, place your harcha under the broiler until the color is obtained.

Monkey bread using my Sweet dough recipe...

2010-08-31T20:56:00.002+03:00

I have been meaning to share my sweet dough recipe with you all and what better way to do it than with Monkey Bread. Monkey bread, also called African coffee cake, golden crown, pinch-me cake and bubbleloaf, is a sticky, gooey pastry served in the United States for breakfast. The origin of the term monkey bread is uncertain. Possible etymologies include that the bread resembles the monkey puzzle tree, or the act of several people pulling at the bread is reminiscent of monkey behavior. Tonight I made this beautiful monkey bread for my neighbors using my all time favorite dough recipe. This dough can be used to make cinnamon buns, sweets rolls, cinnamon cresents, or any other dessert that calls for yeasted sweet dough. The technique for making Monkey bread is fairly simple so don't go getting puzzled by reading recipes that tell you to roll the dough out, cut it in small squares, roll the squares into golf size balls etc etc. All you have to do once the dough has risen the first time is flatten the dough and pinch of pieces as you go, simple as that. Below you will find a picture that shows you how to get the pieces of dough formed into the perfect little ball. Drizzle this bread with icing and top with chopped nuts and you have yourself a beautiful holiday ceterpiece.... The picture above shows you a mini Monkey bread, so expect yours to be much bigger.

Ingredients
5 to 5 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
4 tablespoons butter (melted)
1/4 cup oil
1 tablespoon yeast
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder (optional)

Ingredients for the Monkey bread
1 cup melted butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon powder
1 cup Nuts and Raisins (optional)

Directions
Activate you yeast in 2 tablespoons lukewarm water and a pinch of sugar. Meanwhile sift your flour, sugar, and salt. Set aside. In an electric mixer (if kneeding by hand use a large bowl) add your milk, water, butter, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Mix on low speed until well blended. Add 2 cups of flour and mix on medium speed until a smooth "batter" has formed. Add your yeast and continue to mix. Switch the speed to medium low and slowly add the remainder of your flour until a smooth and sticky dough forms. The dough should still stick a little to the sides of your electric mixer but most of the dough should be sticking to your dough hook attachment. If you feel the dough is too sticky to handle, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time. Wait 3 to 5 minutes before you handle the dough by hand. With oiled hands remove the dough from your mixer and kneed for 3 minutes on a oiled countertop. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a large, oiled bowl. Turn dough over in bowl to coat with the oil from the bowl. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. After the dough has risen, punch down before using.

To make the monkey bread,
Butter a bunt pan or a regular round cake pan, set aside. Mix your sugars and cinnamon in a small bowl. Metl your butter and pour into a seperate bowl. Pinch off pieces of dough to make golf size balls, pass the dough through your fingers like such,

Dip the ball into your melted butter then roll in your sugar mix, place the ball in your prepared pan and continue to do the same until you have used up the entire dough.

If you are using nuts or raisins, place them among the dough pieces as you are layering. Allow your Monkey bread to rise for approximately 45 minutes before baking.

Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until the loaf is golden in color.

Allow the loaf to cool for about 10-15 minutes before turning it over onto a plate. If it doesn’t slide right down onto the plate, give it a few taps until it plops.
It’ll hold.

Here's a picture of tonights Monkey bread made in a sunflower cake pan. I was in a rush so its only a two layer Monkey bread.

Moist Chocolate cake

2010-08-30T23:50:00.002+03:00

This cake is super moist and very easy to make. Woman here is Saudi Arabia love to buy boxed cake mixes, this cake is just as easy if not easier and better in taste than any boxed chocolate cake mix. You can even pre mix all the ingredients, place the mix in a cute jar with a label and give to your friends as a gift or pre mix and keep in your pantry for those times when you're having guest coming over and very little time to bake. I'm telling you the ingredients and method are simple but the taste is far from that. This is probably one of the first cakes I baked for my husband when we first got married, thanks to the back label of my Hershey's cocoa powder. Tonight I simply covered the cake in ganache and attempted to decorate it with a cresent moon and star. (*....

Ingredients
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Directions
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Adapted from, Hersheys...

Fillo wrapped dates...

2010-08-28T21:44:00.003+03:00

This is more of a neat idea than it is a recipe since I don't have the exact amounts. The dates you choose in this recipe is really up to you but just make sure you're using soft dates when making these rolls. The technique is the same used for the baklava rolls. When cutting the strips make sure each strip is approximately 10 inches in length and the width is wide enough to fold in each side to enclose the date. Medjool dates are the most common dates found in the USA and Europe and will work really good in this recipe. The dates I use were Sekkeri dates which are smaller in size than Medjool dates. To fancy these up you can give them a quick dip in simple syrup or clear honey and roll them in chopped toasted nuts.

Ingredients
Fillo dough sheets
Melted butter
Soft dates

Directions
Follow the same direction listed on my Baklava rolls recipe.

Baklava rolls....

2010-08-28T20:17:00.004+03:00

These crisp nut filled rolls are simply delicious, you get all the traditional baklava flavors minus all the extra syrup blaklava tends to soak up. The filling is made a little bit different than any other Baklava cigar recipes you may find online. Most fillings are dry and don't require any wet ingredients in the mix but not mine. I like to add a few tablespoons of honey to really hold the mix together. Who wants to bite into a pastry and have the nut filling fall down all over your shirt. Not I. When using filo pastry it's very important to keep the unused sheets covered so that they don't dry out. Filo sheets vary in size from one country to the other, I'm using Middle Eastern fillo sheets which are a little bigger than those found in the USA. But really the size of the Baklava roll is entirely up to you. The size of strips I used in this recipe were approximately 5x12 inches. The correct technique is to brush each sheet with butter before placing one sheet on top of the other but I found that taking 2 sheets at a time works just as good. All you have to do is brush one side of the 2 sheets, flip it over and brush the other side and voala you just saved you a few seconds in time.

Ingredients
1 pack filo dough (thawed if frozen)
1 cup melted butter
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons thick clear honey
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon powder
4 cups wallnuts toasted and finely chopped(you can use pistachios, almonds, pecans, or hazelnuts)

For the syrup
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 cinnamon stick (optional)
4 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 strips thinly pared lemon rind

Directions
To make the filling place the honey, lemon juice, and sugar in a pan and heat gently stirring continuously until it has completely dissolved. Stir in the nuts and cinnamon until the mix is evenly coated with the honey and sugar mix. Set aside. Meanwhile cut your filo pastry in (5x12 inch strips) Take two strips at a time and lighly brush each side with butter. Place 1 tablespoon of your nut filling at the base of your strips, fold the corners in diagonally to inclose the filling. Roll the pastry up in a cigar shape making sure its tighly closed. Brush the ends with more butter to prevent the cigar from opening. Place join side down on a non stick baking sheet. Repeat the process until you have used up the entire nut filling. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until crisp and golden.

Syrup
Make your syrup either before you begin to make your rolls or while they are in the oven. Combine your sugar and water in a medium pan over medium heat. Bring the mix to a light boil or until the sugar has completely dissolved. Add your lemon rind, honey, and cinnamon stick and turn the heat down to low for 5 to 7 minutes. Once the syrup is ready stir in the lemon juice and set aside. The syrup can be poured over the ciggars once the have lighly cooled down or you can drizzle it over when ready to serve. If you're a fan or soaked pastries cut each ciggar in half and pour the syrup over, leave the ciggars until the syrup has soaked into each ciggar.

Mango lassi

2010-08-25T23:28:00.003+03:00

If you know me your eyes will pop out when you read the recipe to this very easy refreshing Indian shake. I used non fat yogurt, low fat milk, and best of all no sugar. Yes, Zelia is having a drink with NO sugar. But of course the only reason for this is that the Mango's are so sweet adding sugar to this drink would have been a sin. So, I sit here with guilt free mind drinking my lassi.

Ingredients
1 cup plain yogurt (I used non fat)
2 cups milk
1 cup chopped ripe mango (placed in the freezer for 2 hours)

Directions
Combine all your ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and well blended.
You can add 1 cup of ice and 1 tablespoon of sugar for a colder shake like drink.

Banana date and nut bread.

2010-08-25T21:22:00.004+03:00

This bread is an amazing way to start your Ramadan daily fast. It's packed with nuts and dates and will keep your tummy full and energy going throughout the day. Eat it with a tall cup of cold milk and call it Sahoor.

Ingredients
2 cups self rising flour
3/4 teapoon baking soda
1/4 teapoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/2 teapoon ginger powder
1/4 teapoon cardamon powder
1/2 cup butter (melted and cooled)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup mashed banana
3/4 cup chopped medjool dates
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (toasted and cooled)

Directions
Preheat your oven to 350*. Butter and flour (or spray with a non stick vegetable/flour spray) the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan. Set aside. In a large bowl combine your flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and walnuts. Set aside. In a medium bowl whisk your eggs with the butter, vanilla, buttermilk, and banana puree. With a rubber spatula gently fold in half of your wet ingredients into your dry mix. Add your chopped dates and fold twice. Add the remainder of your wet ingredients and fold just until combined. Be carful not to overmix this batter or you will end up with a rubber like loaf of bread. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for approximately 50 minutes or until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out clean (the loaf should be golden brown). Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the bread from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Eye food...

2010-08-25T20:16:00.011+03:00

What is "Eye Food" you may ask. Eye food is pictures of food I take when I travel, visit a new restaurant, or simply try out a new recipe. My husband and I both share a passion for food, I like to eat it and he likes to make it. No but seriously all jokes aside my husband is the Executive chef for a 5***** hotel located in the Gulf Area. He was once the Executive Chef to the hotel were that Russian Spy was poisoned (I know, this is probably the last thing you want to read on a food blog). Food has taken us to so many places around the world, so I would like to share some pictures with you all. Next month we will be taking our yearly vacation to "Morocco" so be expecting pictures and recipes of the wonderful Moroccan cuisine.

A lovely tray filled with Arabic sweets.

2009 food show in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

A birds nest made entirely out of bread.

Designer handbag cake.

Stuffed dried fruits.

I don't know about the heads on these fish but very nice presentation.

Seafood theme night.

Beautiful veggie bouquet.

"Spanish" churros with hot chocolate dunKin sauce.

2010-08-25T19:59:00.002+03:00

We all have said it before "Why does anything fried have to be so good yet so bad for us" well these golden sticks really live up to that quote. They may not be the healthiest but let me tell you something they sit right on top of my food chain, right next to chocolate and icecream. Wiki says: Churros, sometimes referred to as a Spanish doughnut, are fried-dough pastry-based snacks, sometimes made from potato dough, that originated in Spain. They are also popular in Latin America, France, Portugal, Morocco, the United States, Australia, and Spanish-speaking Caribbean islands. There are two types of churros in Spain. One is thin (and usually knotted) and the other, especially popular in Madrid, is long and thick (porra). They both are normally eaten for breakfast dipped in hot chocolate.

Ingredients
Churros:
8 cups vegetable or olive oil
1 cup water
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
Hot Chocolate:
4 ounces dark chocolate
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon cornstarch
4 tablespoons sugar
Directions
Churros: 8 cups vegetable or olive oil 1 cup water 1/2 cup margarine or butter 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup all-purpose flour 3 eggs 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional

Hot Chocolate: 4 ounces dark chocolate 2 cups milk 1 tablespoon cornstarch 4 tablespoons sugar

Heat the oil in a deep frying pan to 360 degrees F.

To make the churro dough, heat the water, margarine, and salt to a rolling boil in a 3-quart saucepan. Add the flour and stir vigorously over low heat until mixture forms a ball, approximately 1 minute and remove from heat. Beat eggs until smooth and add to the saucepan while stirring the mixture.

Spoon the mixture into a piping bag with a star tip. Squeeze 4-inch strips of dough into the hot oil. Fry 3 or 4 strips at a time until golden brown, turning once, about 2 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels. Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and roll the churros in the sugar mixture. Set aside until ready to serve.

To prepare the hot chocolate for dipping, place the chocolate and half the milk in a saucepan over very low heat and cook, stirring, until the chocolate has melted. Dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining milk and whisk into the chocolate with the sugar. Cook on low heat, whisking constantly until the chocolate thickens, approximately 5 minutes. Remove and whisk until smooth. Pour chocolate into cups and serve with churros.

Adapted from, FoodNetwork.com