Chasing Children & Recipes

Zucchini Pancakes

2011-12-24T15:03:00.000-05:00

2-6 medium zucchini

1 chopped onion

3 cloves or garlic chopped

fresh parsley chopped

2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten

6 to 8 tablespoons flour

1 ts baking powder

1 ts salt

1/2 ts pepper

olive oil for sauting

Grate the zucchini using a box grater or a food processor. Let the zucchini drain in a colander for about 30 minutes. Some folks say to salt it, I never do.

Chop the onions, garlic and parsley. Stir everything together. If the batter gets too thin you can add a few more spoons of flour.

Heat a large (10 to 12-inch) saute pan over medium heat and a spoon or two of olive oil.

Drop heaping soup spoons of batter into the pan. Cook the pancakes about 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Place the pancakes on a sheet pan and keep warm in the oven.

The pancakes can stay warm in the oven for up to 30 minutes. Serve hot with soup and salad.

Enjoy!

Potatoes au Gratin

2011-12-23T07:48:00.000-05:00

4 whole potatoes, scrubbed clean
2 tbs butter, softened for pan
2 tbs broken up to mix in the potatoes
1-1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
2 tbs flour
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, freshly grated

I doubled the above recipe.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Smear softened butter all over the bottom of a baking dish.
Slice potatoes, then cut slices into fourths.

Chop the garlic.

In a separate bowl, whisk together cream, milk, flour, minced garlic, salt, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Toss the potatoes with the softened butter, then dump the milk and cream over the taters. Take a fork and make sure it's evenly throughout the potatoes, then cover with foil and bake for 20- 40 minutes. Time depends on how much you are cooking and the thickness/size/weight of the dish you are using.

Remove foil and bake for 20-40 minutes, or until potatoes are golden brown and really bubbling.

Add grated cheese to the top of the potatoes and bake for 5-10 more minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Allow to stand for a few minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Sheet Cake, Angel Food

2011-12-21T22:30:00.000-05:00

I snagged this recipe offline, (Southern Living 2008 magazine) and even though I made my own adjustments it still turned out way too dense and sweet, I mean way tooooo sweet! (although I have to say, hubby, brother in law, kids and neighbor all thought that it was lovely, it was just I whom didn't like it much) I had thought that it was too much sugar when I was making it, but instead of listening to myself and cutting the sugar in half I only cut out 1/2 cup =/, kinda upset, especially since I know better, but also because I was really looking forward to eating this thing! Oh well, I will have to redo it another day, but with half of the eggs it's called for, and 1/2 of the sugar it calls for. I will also have to sneak into Michael's this weekend to invest in a tube pan with legs. I won't use a 9x13 again for this recipe unless I'm using two, I don't much care for really thick cake.

2 ~~1/2~~ cups sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
~~2 1/2~~ 1 1/2 cups egg whites
1 ts cream of tartar
1 ts vanilla extract
1 ts lemon extract or 1/4 cup lemon juice

Preheat oven to 375°. Line bottom and sides of a 13- x 9-inch pan with aluminum foil, allowing 2 inches to extend over sides of pan. (Do not grease pan or the foil.)
Stir together the flour, salt, and sugar, set them aside. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form.

Gradually fold in sugar mixture, 1/3 at a time. Fold it just until it's blended.

Fold in vanilla and lemon juice or extract.

Spoon batter into prepared pan. (Pan will be very full. The batter will reach almost to the top of the pan.)

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Hmmm, we must be the only household that doesn't keep toothpicks *note the large butterknive marks ;-)*

Invert cake onto a lightly greased wire rack; let cool, with pan over cake, 1 hour or until completely cool.

Remove pan; peel foil off cake.

Transfer cake to a serving platter. Frost with your choice of frosting or use my recipe below.
Lime-Cream Cheese Frosting
2 cups cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup fresh lime or lemon juice
2 ts vanilla extract
3-5 cups powdered sugar, or until it's the thickness you like

Beat the vanilla, cream cheese and butter until creamy.

Add lemon or lime juice, and vanilla. Beat just until blended.

Gradually add powdered sugar, a cup at a time on on low speed until blended and it's the thickness you like for your frosting ;-)

Frost, Cut, & Serve

Enjoy!

Yellow Cake Studded with Sour Cherries

2011-12-16T19:26:00.001-05:00

This is like the best yellow cake recipe ever, and I have tried a few! You can change the fruit, leave it out, add preserves instead, marble it by halving the batter and adding melted chocolate to it. Really this cake recipe is life saver and can be used with buttercream or chocolate frosting, etc. etc. you get the idea, use your imagination! Just use like any other yellow cake recipe and have fun.
Secret; I really don't like boxed cakes, I can tell from the first bite if a cake is homemade or boxed. I know, I'm a cake snob... but seriously, boxed cake? They really taste like a box if you ask me, and no matter how hard you may try to dress it up, it will NEVER take away that box flavor.

I would never say the above in real life to anyone who prepared a cake for me... just so ya know I have manners ;-)

3 cups flour
2 ts baking powder
12 tbs room temp butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 ts vanilla
6 egg yolks
1 cup milk
1 jar of sour cherries or other fruit in juice

Preheat your oven to 350. Spray or butter and flour two 9 inch cake pans or one large 14 inch (a new addition to my kitchen!)

In a medium bowl, separate the eggs, save the whites for a roll cake, frittata, breakfast or a smoothie (if ya like that sorta thing). Add the vanilla and 1/4 cup of the milk to the yolks and set aside. I accidentally (while chasing my soon to be 9 month old out of the kitchen) put the yolks in the mixing bowl, so later you will see I put them in a cereal bowl.

Combine the dry ingredients and stir together.

Add the room temperature soft butter and remaining 3/4 cup of milk and give a good stir.

Slowly add the egg and vanilla mixture to the flour and milk mixture and stir it together until it's a smooth batter, don't beat it, meaning don't overmix; this is cake, it's supposed to be soft and light, not thick and chewy.

Pour into prepared pan(s), spread evenly. Drain your cherries and sprinkle on top. Bake 25-35 minutes, depending on pan size. It will have pulled away from the sides a bit and be browned some.

Cool on a wire rack in pan if you can wait ;-) See the lines from the cherry juice that dropped off of my hand while dropping them? Kinda pretty. You can sift powdered sugar on top, or drizzle with icing if you like.

Since I used one large pan I cut them into squares, instead of classic slices.

Serve for tea, coffee, breakfast, snack or give as a nice holiday gift!

Enjoy!

The Best Chocolate Pudding

2011-12-12T19:03:00.001-05:00

Is there anyone whose Mamma didn't make them chocolate pudding? We ate pudding in my house growing up all the time. We had three kinds of pudding in our home; rice, chocolate and tapioca, although I think tapioca isn't considered a pudding. I was unaware of how good homemade pudding was/is until much later in life, just the same though, I have always loved warm pudding. I honestly have no idea why anyone would buy a box of yucky pudding when all most everyone has all the ingredients to make it yourself sitting in your pantry and fridge.

We use this recipe every winter and my kids love love love it! (& so do I) I have tried a zillion kinds over the years; cream, eggs, egg whites, etc. etc. etc. and this is the easiest chocolate pudding recipe you will ever find, and quite honestly in my opinion the best one too! Simple and whole ingredients I think are what make it so good!

2 1/2 cups cold milk
6 oz semisweet chocolate chips or chopped up good quality chocolate
3 tbs corn starch

Big family = doubling the recipe, so that's why it's so much milk on the pics.
Over ~~medium low heat~~ high heat for those of us who have no time to sit and stir a pot of milk, bring 2 1/4 cups of the milk and chips up to a boil, stirring continuously.

Stir together the corn starch and remaining 1/4 cup cold milk. If you do this before the milk in the pot comes up to boil, to save time, like me, stir it again before you begin to add it to the pot. Otherwise it will stick to the bottom in a big lump and you won't get smooth pudding, but gloppy lumpy pudding.

When the milk and chocolate come up to a boil, whisk while pouring the cornstarch mixture into the boiling milk. Keep whisking for about another minute then spoon into pretty dishes or bowls. Set aside to cool or put them in the icebox until ready to be eaten.

Enjoy!

Onion & Herbed Foccacia

2011-12-11T11:30:00.000-05:00

We eat this during the winter at least 4 times a week. It's quite simple to make and everyone just adores it.

6 cups flour
1 1/2 -2 cups warm water
2 tbs yeast
1 tbs sugar
1 egg
1/8 cup good olive oil
1-2 tbs salt
1-3 tbs Italian dried herb mix
1 ts black pepper
and if you have it on hand, which I buy just for 2 bread recipes we eat often 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, not the good stuff, the cheap stuff in a plastic bottle ;-)
2 large onions sliced

Proof the yeast with the water and sugar. When it gets all bubbly, about 2 minutes, dump in the flour, and follow in any order the rest of the ingredients. If you are using a stand mixer and hook, knead it on medium speed until its well developed, about 5 minutes. If by hand start w/ a wooden spoon and move to your hand after it's come together. Beat it until its shiny and well developed, about 10-15 minutes.
Using a spoon or two of olive oil, grease the bowl you kneaded in and make sure the dough is oiled. Cover with a towel or a shower cap and set aside to double.
Meanwhile saute onions, black pepper and salt to taste in a spoon or two olive oil over medium heat. Set them aside when they are about to brown and let cool.
When the bread has doubled divide it according to what you are cooking them in. I use a 10 & 12 inch cast iron skillet and a 9x11 pyrex dish. Press and pull the dough out and let it double again. . When the dough has doubled, arrange the cooled onions on top. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes. I bake them all at once, but you can half the recipe and bake a half sheet pan sized for only 25-30 minutes. Let cool and serve.

Enjoy!

Eid Mubarak!

2011-11-08T10:41:00.003-05:00

Snickerdoodles

2011-11-01T17:33:00.004-04:00

These are not for the weak hearted or the heavy/wide hipped! These babies have crunchy edges, soft middles and a Cinnamony sugar coating... yum!

2 3/4 cups flour
1/2 ts salt
2 ts baking powder
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 ts vanilla
Coating:
1/3 cup sugar
2-4 ts ground cinnamon, depending on how much cinnamon you like

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or foil.
Mix together the coating and set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder.
In a bowl either by hand or using an electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until smooth.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating just until incorporated, we aren't make bread here, we want a soft cookie. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the vanilla extract.

Add the flour mixture and beat until you have a smooth dough, again don't over mix! ~~If the dough is soft, cover and refrigerate until firm (about one to two hours~~). I never do this. I just dig in a spoon and then roll into round balls after which toss them around in the sugar and Cinnamon coating. I press them out a bit with the heel of my hand after coating them and placing them on the baking sheet. I might even dip them back into the sugar coating because they don't look like they should taste.

These suckers spread out a lot, so make them smaller if you like smaller cookies, or bigger for a more traditional snickerdoodle.

Bake the cookies for about 8 - 10 minutes, or until they are light golden brown and firm around the edges. The centers of the cookies will still be a little soft.
Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool, or dig right in a burn the roof of your mouth.
Store them in a container at room temperature, they should be great for about 10 - 14 days, but they won't last more than a week if you've got kids...or a hubby with a sweet tooth, or it's just you ... =D
Makes about 4-5 dozen cookies.

Enjoy!

Baghrir or Beghrir

2011-10-31T09:51:00.001-04:00

It's been awhile! Wow, with homeschooling, a new addition to the family (he just reached 7 months a few days back) and five other kids running around blogging has been on the back burner. I never forget about this place, I just get tired, and cooking is more of a chore instead of relaxation like it should be. I have cooked up lots of great food, some duds too, and even took a bunch of pics, I just haven't found anytime to blog...
Maybe this will be the starter for regular blogging again, maybe not. ;-)

Lovely North African Crepes. Beghrir means 1000 holes. You will love these!

Crepes:
2 cups warm water + 1/2 cup to proof the yeast
1-2 cups warm milk
2 cups fine semolina
2 cups flour
4 tbs sugar + 1 for proofing the yeast
1 tbs salt
2 ts baking powder
1 tbs yeast
1-2 eggs and some people don't use any at all, some people use 3 =D

Sauce:
1/4 cup butter, adjustable to suit your taste
1/4 cup honey, adjustable to suit your taste
you can also use jam or nutella, but traditionally it's supposed to be butter and honey

I have to say firstly, the more milk you use, the heavier and less holes you will get, but the tastier it will be. So, using that piece of info decide what is important, more holes or more taste?
Add the yeast to a 1/2 cup of water and the sugar, mix it together, set aside to proof while you make the batter. Whisk together the semolina, flour, baking powder, and salt.
Whisk in the milk, egg(s) and water. Stir until no lumps. If you cannot achieve this, put it in the blender or mixer and blend for 30 seconds. Stir in the yeast mixture. I blend it together using my trusty mixer, but by hand works just as well. Cover the mixture and let it sit in a warm place for 30-45 minutes, it should have doubled and be quite frothy.

Warm your pan on medium heat. This is the only recipe I use a non stick pan for, because you are not supposed to butter or oil your pan according to just about every person I have ever watched make Baghrir. Using a ladle spoon the batter into the center of the pan.
Cook the pancake a couple of minutes on one side only. You will see tons of holes forming at the top of the Crepe. Hence the name Baghrir, it means 1000 holes. When it is dry on top, it's done.
Stack them separated, not on top of one another because they will stick together. You can make layers by using wax or parchment paper between them.

Make the sauce by melting the butter in the pan and then adding the honey. Dip the uncooked side, the side with the holes in the sauce. You can also put the sauce in a gravy bowl and let everyone pour how much they like for themselves, adults that is, not the kiddies ;-D

Enjoy!

Eid Mubarak!!

2011-08-29T20:19:00.001-04:00

Fry Bread For Indian Tacos

2011-08-21T21:30:00.000-04:00

4 cups flour

2 tbs yeast

1 tbs sugar

1 tbs salt

3/4 - 1 cup warm milk

3/4 - 1 cup warm water

1/4 cup oil

oil for frying

Add the yeast and sugar to the water, mix it and let it sit for 5 minutes.

Add the milk, flour, salt, and oil and knead until silky. It shouldn't be dry but not sticky.

Set aside to double for an hour. Gently deflate it and break off golf ball of bigger size pieces, flatten them with your hands, tear a small hole in the middle of each piece and fry in hot oil.

Top with taco filling, or for dessert honey or cinnamon and sugar.

Enjoy!

Ramadan & Blogging

2011-08-10T00:15:00.003-04:00

Well this year has been pretty quiet so far with blogging. I was going to participate in some of the blogging events other sisters have been hosting, Masha'allah busy bees those ladies are! But I really haven't felt much like taking the time to snap shots, write posts or the like. Maybe next week? Insha'allah everyone is having a great Ramadan.

Ramadan Mubarak!

2011-07-31T09:48:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to everyone on Ramadan! May we think of this Ramadan as our last so as to do our best and pray that we have many more to come! May God accept our fasting, prayers, charity and hard work!

Mocha Chocolate Marble Sheet Cake

2011-07-28T10:50:00.003-04:00

Today is the kids last day of summer day camp, they had a blast! For my 16 year old I sent this cake and for my 7 year old I sent a banana bread, same one I made yesterday for us.

Cake:
1 cup butter, softened
1-3/4 cups sugar, divided
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2-3/4 cup flour
1 tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup unsweetened natural cocoa
3 tbs hot water

Chocolate Frosting:
2-1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 ts pure vanilla extract
3 tbs coffee

Make the frosting first by whisking the ricotta until there are no lumps. Add the butter and mix it until it's Incorporated.

Add the vanilla and coffee and blend then add the sugar and whisk until it's a smooth frosting.

Scrape it all together with a spatula and set it in the fridge.

Let's make cake! Heat oven to 325 and spray or butter and flour a sheet pan.
Beat the butter and 1-1/2 cups sugar until creamy.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until blended after each. Beat in vanilla extract.

Whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. Starting with the dry add 1/2 to the butter, then add the sour cream, then the rest of the dry.

Spoon 1-1/4 cups batter into a 2-quart bowl, and stir in cocoa, 3 tbs hot water and remaining 1/4 cup sugar until well blended.

Spread remaining vanilla batter into your cake pan. Dollop the chocolate batter onto vanilla batter.
Gently swirl with a knife or small spatula. Bake 20 minutes, or till a toothpick inserted in center returns with just a few crumbs. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack (about 1 hour). Frost, cut and serve.

Enjoy!

Banana Oatmeal Bread

2011-07-27T14:42:00.000-04:00

1 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 ts salt
1 cup oats
1/2-1 cup raisins
1 ts cinnamon
1/2 ts nutmeg
1 cup mashed banana
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 350 and spray or butter and flour a loaf pan.
Mash the bananas, I used mt two most ripe ones.

Combine bananas, sour cream, oil, vanilla, and eggs in a small bowl or measuring cup. Using a fork or whisk combine them well. And guess what? Again something has frozen... the sour cream. Here is a shot of it after defrosting. Maybe my fridge is on the fritz?

I make my own brown sugar now, not sometimes or just when I run out, I do it always. It's cheaper and tastes better even.

Not quite yet, see the lumps?

Done, in under 2 minutes.

Stir together the dry ingredients then add the wet ingredients and stir gently just until the dry ingredients are moistened.

Pour batter into the loaf pan and bake for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. We always cut into it hot/warm but if you wait it won't fall apart as much and actually does taste better. =D

Enjoy!

Fig Jam

2011-07-26T21:55:00.002-04:00

2 cups roughly chopped figs
1/2 to 1 cup sugar, use more or less depending on your taste and the sweetness of the figs
1 1/2 - 2 cups water
1/8 cup orange flower water, optional
1 tbs vanilla, optional
This works great for breakfast in crepes, on pancakes, bagels, english muffins, a broken off piece of a rustic loaf slathered with butter, spoon it onto vanilla ice cream use your imagination! =D
Add the figs, sugar, vanilla if using and water to a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until everything is soft and mushy and you have a nice sauce. Add the orange flower water if you are using it and put into a jar. It should keep for a month or more, but ours has never lasted that long!

Enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie

2011-07-25T22:58:00.020-04:00

This is a favorite dish around these parts, and pretty healthy so nobody feels too bad for eating it. Sometimes we do it vegetarian style and other times with chicken or turkey leftovers. It's really easy to throw together and can make a great lunch or dinner.

3 cups chicken or turkey leftovers or fresh cut into chunks
2 cups peas frozen or fresh
1 cup chopped carrots
3 celery stalks roughly chopped
1 onion roughly chopped
1 head of garlic roughly chopped
2 small potatoes roughly diced
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 ts cumin
1 ts paprika
1 ts coriander
2 tbs dried parsley
3 tbs flour mix with 1/2 cup milk or water
3 cups water or stock
1/8 cup olive oil

Biscuits:
2 cups flour
2 tbs baking powder
2 ts salt or to taste
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup cold butter

Throw all the veggies, meat if using fresh, spices and olive oil in a heated over medium high 12 inch skillet. Cook until it's all browned then add the water/stock and stir it together and cover. Cook on medium until everything is well done and could be eaten as is. In a cup or small bowl using a fork or spoon stir together the flour and water, breaking up all the lumps and add it to the chicken and vegetables. Make sure to stir everything together well and add more water if you like your pot pie soupy, again, taste for salt. Turn it off and make your biscuit dough.

Preheat the oven to 400.
Add the dry ingredients to your food process or a large bowl and mix it together. Cut in the butter or pulse until the butter is small pieces throughout. Add the milk and stir or pulse just until it comes together. Turn it out onto the counter and add a tbs or two of flour if it's too sticky. Knead once or twice and break off baseballs size chunks, round them out and place on top of the chicken. Put the skillet into the oven and bake until the biscuits are browned, 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Stuffed Peppers

2011-07-24T22:19:00.002-04:00

Stuffed Peppers in a garlic mushroom sauce. This is my go to with or without the mushrooms when I have leftover rice. It gets eaten up pretty quick, every adult eats a whole one and the kids usually eat half of one.

5-6 peppers
Stuffing:
1 lb ground beef, lamb, turkey or chicken
1-2 cups cooked brown rice, we don't eat white here and my rice has mixed vegetables in it
5 tbs tomato paste
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1/8 cup dried onions
2 tbs garlic powder
1/8 cup olive oil
1 tbs harrisa if you like it to have some kick

Sauce:
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 large red onion diced
1 head of garlic minced
1 tomato roughly chopped
4 tbs tomato paste
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 ts cumin
1 ts paprika
1 ts coriander
2 tbs harrisa if you like heat in your sauce
3 tbs chopped fresh cilantro for a garnish
olive oil

Make the stuffing while you have the onions, garlic, mushrooms, tomatoes, and spices sauteing. Just toss all the stuffing in a bowl and mix it together, don't get grossed out be tasting a pinch for salt and pepper. I don't add eggs to my filling, but you can if you like it, I find it makes the filling kinda hard which I don't like much. Stuff the cleaned peppers.
Add 2 cups of water, tomato paste and taste for salt/pepper to the onions. Stir it well. Place the stuffed peppers on top. Make little meat balls with ant leftover stuffing and add to the pot. Place in a preheated 375 oven for an hour to a hour in a half. Garnish with cilantro.

Enjoy!

Plum & Almond Cake

2011-07-23T12:11:00.005-04:00

This came out kinda weird this time around. I mean, it was really good to eat, extra yummy! It didn't however rise as much as it should have and I'm pretty sure that is due to making it with frozen plums. The cake ended up with pools of juice/water at the bottom, which didn't make it taste bad but like I said it was kinda flat and a bit juicy. It can't be a bad thing but not what I expected!

You don't have to use olive oil either, you can use any other oil or melted butter and it will be great!

4-5 plums cut in half and pitted
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs

1/3 cup ricotta cheese

1 ts vanilla extract
1 ts almond extract
1 cup flour
1/2 ts baking powder
1 ts salt

Preheat the oven to 350. Spray or butter and flour a cake pan.

Whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder, set aside.

Whisk together the oil, eggs, extracts and cheese.Add the sugar and whisk until well combined.

Add the flour mixture and whisk until well combined. This is a pretty thick batter, it's supposed to be like this so don't add anything else to it.

Spread the batter evenly into your cake pan, arrange plums on top, skin side down. My plums got stuck in the back of the fridge (absented minded husband? delusional brother? attitude riddled 16 yr old son? oblivious 7 yr old?) so they were frozen, no matter I still used them but they were not as pretty on the cake. It was kinda hard to split frozen plums and the skins slide off.

Bake about 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Polenta & Ricotta Fig Cake

2011-07-22T15:46:00.006-04:00

6-8 figs sliced
1 cup polenta also known as cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
1 ts baking powder
1/4 ts salt
1 cup ricotta
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup honey
1 ts lemon extract
1 ts vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs

Preheat your oven to 350. Butter and flour or spray your cake pan.
Whisk together the dry ingredients, set aside.
Beat together the milk, ricotta, honey, extracts, melted butter and eggs.

Add the dry ingredients, don't over-mix. This is just as easily done with a whisk by the way.

Pour into your cake pan. Arrange the figs on top in a pretty pattern or not, they will be covered by the batter when it rising anyway. If you use a 12 inch pie plate they won't be covered by the batter, but if you use a 9 inch it will.

Bake for an hour to an hour in half, a knife stuck in the middle will come out clean, and it will be well browned on top.

Enjoy!

Torta al Vino with Grapes or Grape Cake

2011-07-20T16:28:00.001-04:00

I love this cake! It's easy to make, great for summer desserts and not too sweet. It's also a traditional Italian cake, did I ever mention my mother's mom is from Italy? =D
This is a nice cake to serve during Ramadan after the night prayers when most people drink coffee or tea. Of course, this is the halal/kosher version, you can use any juice you like instead of wine, I have used apple, grape and even sparkling juice which I have to say does work the best.

1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 ts baking powder
1/2 ts salt
6 tbs butter at room temp
~~2 tbsp butter cut into bits to be scattered on the top later~~ I totally omit this step
1/2 cup sugar + 1 tbs for sprinkling on top
2 eggs
1 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1 ts ~~vanilla extract~~ lemon extract
3/4 cup ~~dry white wine~~ apple juice
2 cups ~~small red~~ green seedless grapes, stemmed, rinsed, and patted dry; divided

Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350. Spray or butter and flour a cake pan.

Sift together the dry ingredients, except the sugar and set aside.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar together until light
fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl.

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then beat in the olive oil, and ~~vanilla~~ lemon extract. I love mixing shots! hah! Such a kid!

Starting with the dry ingredients add it to the butter, then add the juice, then the last of the flour.

Don't over mix, just enough to mix it all together.

Scrape the butter into the cake pan, smooth the top with a spatula. Scatter the grapes over the surface of the batter. Do not press on them, they will sink as the batter rises.

Bake for 25 minutes, until the top is set. Carefully slide the cake out of the oven and sprinkle the 1 tbsp sugar. Return the cake back to the oven, and bake for additional 25-30 minutes. The cake is done when a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from the oven to a cooling rack. Cool for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the cake, unmold. Cool completely on the rack.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Shortcake Oh My!

2011-07-19T14:20:00.002-04:00

This is the BEST recipe I have tried yet. It's the one I go back to again and again and once you try it you will know why. =D

Biscuits:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbs baking powder

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 ts salt

1/2 cup butter, chilled

3/4 cup milk
1 egg

Filling:

1 quart strawberries

1/3 cup sugar

Topping:

1- 1 1/2 cups whipping cream

2-3 tbs sugar

1 ts vanilla

Clean and slice the berries; place in a bowl. Take 1/3 of them and mash with a fork, add them back to the rest and sprinkle with the sugar; cover and let stand at room temperature for about 1 hour.

After an hour it will look like this.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

I have found that using a food processor always makes for a soft biscuit, whenever I use my hands I always overwork the dough. Of course you can use your hands or a pastry fork, especially if you aren't as heavy handed as I. In a food processor combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar and pulse to mix. Cut butter into about 8 pieces and add to the mixture. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal, but with few bits of butter left.

With a fork stir together the milk, vanilla and egg. Dump it into the processor and pulse 6-8 times. It won't be a perfect ball of dough, there will be butter and small flour clumps, that's great! Don't do anything else.

Take a spoon and spoon out, according to the size you want. Any baking dish can be used, either a muffin tin, pastry cups, cornbread baking pan or a scone pan like what I'm using. You can just scoop out onto a cookie sheet as well. I personally love the rustic look. Take your fingers, dip them into milk and pat them down evenly. Srinkle with sugar. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until risen and golden brown. Cool them on a rack.

While those are baking whip up your cream, add the cream, sugar and vanilla into a chilled mixing bowl and using the whisk whip it until it holds a soft peak. You can use a balloon whip or a hand mixer. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Split each biscuit in half with a serrated knife. Top with the berry mixture, whipped cream and then the sauce. Replace the tops if you like or use both sides.

Enjoy!

Blackberry Cobbler

2011-07-18T14:26:00.000-04:00

1/2 cup butter melted and cooled to room temp1 1/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 ts vanilla
1 ts baking powder
1 ts salt
2 cups blackberries rinsed and patted dry if fresh, frozen works too

Add everything except the blackberries to a big bowl and whisk it together. Butter a baking dish. Pour the batter into the buttered baking dish. Sprinkle blackberries over the top of the batter; distributing evenly. Sprinkle ¼ cup sugar over the top. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until golden and bubbly.

Enjoy!

Pear Cake

2011-07-16T17:38:00.000-04:00

3/4 cup olive oil or regular oil
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons almond extract
1/3 cup ricotta cheese
1-2 pears sliced, or any other fruit you may have on hand like plums, apples, figs or peaches

Preheat oven to 350. Butter or spray a cake pan.
Whisk together the dry ingredients, set aside. Beat together the oil and sugars.
Beat in eggs, one at a time, until incorporated; beat in the extracts.
Beat in 1/2 the flour, then add the ricotta. Add remaining flour mixture; mix until just combined.

Spread batter into pan and smooth top with the back of a spoon or spatula. Arrange the fruit over the batter. Bake until cake is golden, about 60 minutes.

The cake should easily slip right out of the pan and then onto a plate to cool completely before cutting.

Enjoy!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip & Raisin Cookies

2011-07-15T17:41:00.000-04:00

Yummy!

1 cup butter room temp
2 1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 ts vanilla
2 ts baking powder
1 ts salt
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 350
Beat the butter and sugar.
Add the extract.
Add the eggs one at a time.
Add in the flour, oats, salt and baking powder.
Stir on the chips and raisins.
Spoon out onto a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. 8 minutes for chewy and 12 minutes for crunchy.

Enjoy!

Asparagus & Cheese Bake

2011-07-14T00:10:00.000-04:00

2 bundles of asparagus cut into two inch pieces
1 lb of ground beef or lamb (optional)
2 tomatoes sliced
1 large onion sliced
1 head of garlic crushed and roughly chopped
2 cups cheddar cheese
6 eggs
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

Steam the asparagus, salt and pepper them.

Cook the onions and tomatoes with olive oil on medium high heat until caramelized. Add the garlic
last so it doesn't burn. Salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer the onion, tomatoes and garlic to your baking pan, this is another recipe that I use my cast iron with. Brown the meat if using.

Beat the eggs with the milk and half of the cheese.
Layer the veggies and meat then dump on the eggs. Add the rest of the cheese on top.
Bake in a 400 oven for about 35 minutes.

Enjoy!

Ricotta Cheesecake

2011-07-13T18:58:00.002-04:00

This is a go to cheesecake recipe. It's very easy to make, fool proof, and doesn't require ingredients that you don't already have in the fridge on any given day. There isn't a base, just pure cheesecake, and really good! If you don't have access to ricotta you can use either homemade white cheese or homemade ricotta.

4 cups ricotta cheese
5 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 ts lemon extract
1 ts vanilla extract
pinch salt

Preheat the oven to 325. Set rack in the middle of the oven. Butter and flour a 9 1/2 inch springform pan, and tap out any excess flour. I spray my springform pans, but you aren't "supposed" to. LOL I also wrap the bottom with foil.
Place the ricotta in a large mixing bowl,beat it until smooth. Add the extracts

Stir in the eggs one at a time. Mix until combined

Stir together the sugar,salt and flour. Add it to the ricotta, mix well but don't over beat.

Pour batter into the prepared pan, spread it evenly.

Bake in the center of the oven for about an hour, until a light golden color. Make sure the center is fairly firm, still a bit wiggly, but not uncooked. Cool on a wire rack. It will sink slightly as it cools.
Cover, and chill until serving time.

Enjoy!

Raspberry Cake

2011-07-12T16:02:00.002-04:00

2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/3 cup oil or melted butter
1 cup fresh berries
1/2 cup slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350 and spray or flour and butter a cake pan. This can easily be turned into a muffin recipe as well, just use a muffin pan instead and cut the baking time a bit.
Whisk to combine the dry ingredients.
Whisk the wet ingredients and gently stir it into the dry ingredients.

Gently fold in berries, they may bleed some. Spoon the batter into the cake pan, even it out with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle with the almonds.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, a toothpick inserted in the middle will come out clean, except for the berry juice of course. Cook for 25-30 minutes if using a muffin pan. Turn out onto a cooling rack immediately.

Serve warm or cold for breakfast, tea or snacks!

Enjoy!

Spinach & Mushroom Quiche

2011-07-12T15:17:00.002-04:00

I will admit it, I love quiche, I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner and maybe even snacks in between. I love all kinds too, it's quite surprising that I haven't actually posted many quiche recipes since it's such a favorite!

2 cups cooked, strained, and chopped spinach, frozen is ok too
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 large diced red onion
1 garlic head diced
1 cup shredded cheese, tonight I used cheddar cheese
1 cup ricotta cheese
4-6 eggs
1/4- 1/2 cup milk
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of cinnamon
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 tomato thinly sliced
pie crust baked by you or store bought

Preheat the oven to 375. Spray or butter and flour your pie plate. I would love to be able to make those dainty small pie plates, I even own one or two, but it doesn't work well with so many kids and three adults, soon to be four of us. So therefore this is being cooked in a 9x13 Pyrex.

If you are making your own crust, I have this recipe that works well either in two 9" pie plates on in the 9x13 dish. Do the crust first, then start the filling so the dough can rest in the fridge.

Cook, drain and chop the spinach. Chop up the onions and garlic, I love the food processor for dishes like this, multi step, it saves time!

Heat a couple spoons of olive oil in a medium sized pan and saute the onions, garlic and mushrooms until all of the water is gone. Add them to the spinach and mix well. Add the spices.

Beat the eggs and add the ricotta, add the milk to loosen it up, set aside. Push out the dough into your cooking dish.

Add the vegetables on the top of the pie crust, then pour the egg mixture on top. Take the back of a large spoon and spread the egg mixture around a bit, making sure it's even and the eggs and cheese are spread throughout.

Sprinkle with the shredded cheese then add the sliced tomatoes in a pretty pattern.

Bake 60-65 minutes, or until golden brown and set. If you don't let it cool completely you will find that some juice will leak out, it's really good like that, but it won't be dry.

Enjoy!

Pate Brisee or Pie Crust

2011-07-11T12:23:00.003-04:00

Pate Brisee (pronounced paht bree-ZAY) is a great base for any pie, tart or quiche.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 ts salt

1 ts sugar (omit if using for a quiche)

1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter, cut into pieces

1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor, and process for a few seconds to combine. Add the butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, add the ice water in a slow, steady stream, through the feed tube, just until the dough holds together. Do not process for more than 30 seconds.

Turn the dough out onto your counter, lightly floured. If your dough is too stick knead in a tablespoon or two of flour. You can leave it one or divide in two. If you are dividing it place each half on a sheet of plastic wrap. Flatten, and form two discs. Wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour before using.

Enjoy!

Plum Cake

2011-07-10T17:20:00.002-04:00

Summer time is the best time for fruit cakes! Not dried out Christmas fruit cakes that everyone secretly hates but always gives as gifts, but fresh fruits baked into cakes!
3 eggs, separated

1/2 cup butter at room temp

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup all flour

1/2 ts baking powder
1 ts lemon extract
1 ts vanilla extract

4-5 plums sliced in half

Preheat oven to 375. Spray or grease and flour a cake pan, round, square or oblong all work great.

Whisk together the dry ingredients.

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg yolks and extracts.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture.

It's a fairly thick batter, don't worry, it's supposed to be like this.
Gently fold in the egg whites.

Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan using the back of a spoon.
Arrange the plums, skin side up, attractively over the batter.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a butter knife inserted into cake comes out clean (minus the plum juice of course.)
Let the cake cool then slice and serve with tea or coffee. This is also a nice breakfast.

Enjoy!

Black Seed Rolls

2011-07-10T09:50:00.001-04:00

6 cups flour
2 1/2 - 3 cups warm water
1 ts sugar
1 tbs yeast
2 tbs black seeds

Proof the yeast with the sugar and water. Let it foam up for about 10 minutes.
Add the flour, and salt. Knead it until its smooth, about 3 minutes with a mixer and if by hand a good 8-10 minutes.
Lightly grease the bowl and dough, set it aside to double in size. Knead in the seeds.
Divide the dough into 12 or 18 equal sized balls and place in a well buttered baking dish. Reroll them again after the first time, makes for a prettier presentation. Let them double.

Bake in a preheated 400 oven until golden brown, about 40 minutes or until golden and hollow sounding when tapped.
Brush with melted butter or warm milk. I used butter.

Enjoy!

Arabic Calligraphy, Masha'Allah

2011-07-09T22:09:00.003-04:00

I don't know if you remember my last post about how my husband likes to make Arabic Calligraphy. Well, he has started it again Masha'Allah. Here he is doing some free hand artwork, and some airbrushing as well.

Freedom

And they shall be destroyed tomorrow. LOL

Okra Stew

2011-07-08T23:13:00.001-04:00

I have finally found a desire to eat Okra. I hated it for years, but now, I like it. Here is a pretty easy and quite flavorful recipe to make.

1 chicken breast diced
1 bag from baby okra
1 chopped large onion
1 chopped head of garlic
1 chopped tomato
4 potatoes peeled and quartered
handful of chopped cilantro
salt to taste
pepper to taste
hot paprika to taste
1 tbs cumin
1/8 cup olive oil

In a large pot on medium high heat the olive oil. Add the onions and garlic and saute until browned.

Add the chicken and spices. Cook until the chicken is browned. Add the tomatoes and cook them until soft.

Add the okra and potatoes, cover and let it simmer on low heat until everything is soft. The vegetables have lots of water, so don't add anymore. Garnish with cilantro.

Serve with a homemade fresh bread and a green salad!

Enjoy!

Chorba Freek

2011-07-08T22:58:00.000-04:00

Chorba Freek or in English Bulgar Soup

This is a traditional Algerian soup, eaten for Iftar every evening. This is a common soup
throughout all parts of Algeria. It has its roots in Turkish cuisine. In fact the Bourek that’s
eaten with the soup maintained its name, Bourek which is a very popular and tasty Turkish
pastry.
This soup is easy to make, full of delicious sautéed veggies and you can use whatever meat
you like, lamb, beef or chicken. It's even vegan or vegetarian friendly, substitute the meat
with tofu. It's a very forgiving recipe so use whatever vegetables you have on hand, and
leave out whatever you don’t like.

2 pounds lamb, beef, goat or chicken (tofu for vegetarians) with fat trimmed off
1-2 cups diced carrots
1-2 cups diced zucchini
1/2-1 cup potatoes
1 cup diced onion, red onions are great because of their sweetness but any onion will do
1 head of garlic
1 large or 2 small diced tomatoes
1/2 - 1 cup bulgur also known as freek, in Algeria it's green, for being harvested really early. However in the States it's brown.
1/2 cup chickpeas, either from a can or cooked yourself
2-4 tablespoons of tomato paste
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
1 ts coriander
1 cup finely chopped cilantro or mint, some set aside for a garnish
2 hot green chilies, optional
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

You can go about this two different ways. You can brown the meat first or you can brown the vegetables. Tonight I did the vegetables first and scooted them to the side and then browned the meat. Take your pick, the end result is basically the same.

Add water, depending on the size of your pot, and the amount of vegetables you have
decided to use, cover the vegetables and at least a good 1-2 quarts over. Of course it really
does depend on how soupy you like soup, you can add less or more.

Bring it to a boil and turn down, cover and simmer until the meat is done. If you like to
pressure cook like me, this works great for Ramadan. Just bring it up to pressure and cook
for a good 10 to 15 minutes. Otherwise it cooks for about 30-45 minutes using a regular pot. If
your children are fussy about their veggies, you can trick them into enjoying them. Pull out
the meat or tofu and using a hand blender, purée the vegetables and then add the meat/tofu
back in. This creates the illusion of the soup being veggie-less, but the children still receive
all the nutritional value.
Bring everything back up to a boil and add the washed bulgur, the tomato paste, half the cilantro and the hot peppers (whole) and let the bulgur cook.

When the bulgur is cooked, the soup is done. Serve with a freshly sliced lemon, salad and bread. In Algeria of course you need Boureks, otherwise it just wouldn't be Ramadan now would it? Eat the hot peppers too; it gives the soup a nice kick.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Pancakes

2011-07-08T10:53:00.002-04:00

My children love blueberry pancakes, actually they love any kind of pancakes. I like to add whatever fruit may be in season at the time to change up the taste now and again.

3 cups flour
2 ts baking powder
2 ts salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups blueberries
2-3 cups milk
2 eggs
2 tbs vanilla

Whisk together the dry ingredients.
Whisk together the wet ingredients.
Add the wet to the dry and whisk until well combined. Some lumps are good!
Add the blueberries and mix until combined.
Cook in a skillet on medium high heat. Add a dab of butter, when it melts spoon the batter on. Let the batter bubble up then flip it over to find a golden pancake.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Buckle or Blueberry Cake

2011-07-07T21:24:00.001-04:00

It's that time again, fresh blueberries. They have to be super sweet to be good eaten raw, for me at least. For some reason it seems that cooking them makes them taste much better! This is a favorite cake around here, great for morning coffee.

Strudel Topping:

1/2 cup flour

2/3 cup sugar

1 ts ground cinnamon

1/3 cup cold butter cut into tbs
pinch of salt

Cake Batter:

2 1/4 cup flour

2 ts baking powder

1/2 ts salt

1/2 cup butter at room temp

3/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 ts vanilla extract

1 cup milk

2 cups fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 375 and butter your cake pan, I used a pyrex.

Make the strudel topping by mixing together the flour, sugar, and ground cinnamon.
Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or fork until it resembles coarse crumbs. Set it aside.

To make the cake batter whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until incorporated.

Add half of the flour mixture, then half of the milk, then the rest of the flour and the remaining milk. Beat only until combined, don't over mix it makes for a tough cake.

Spread the batter onto the bottom of the prepared pan, smoothing the top.

Evenly arrange the blueberries on top of the cake batter and then sprinkle with the strudel topping.

Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Serve warm or at room temperature, or if you are like me, set a plate aside in the fridge, I love this cake cold!

Enjoy!

Garlic & Rosemary Rolls

2011-07-06T13:17:00.000-04:00

Here is a straight forward bread roll recipe. It takes some time for the rising process, but besides that you can have fresh bread in a few hours.

6 cups flour
1 1/2 - 2 cups warm water
4 tbs buttermilk powder
1 tbs yeast
1 ts sugar
2 tbs garlic powder
2 ts ground dried rosemary
2 tbs salt

Proof the yeast with the sugar and water. Let it foam up for about 10 minutes.
Add the flour, buttermilk powder and salt. Knead it until its smooth, about 3 minutes with a mixer and if by hand a good 8-10 minutes. The powdered milk didn't break up while in the mixer so I had to do it by hand and pulled out the clumps of buttermilk.

Lightly grease the bowl and dough, set it aside to double in size. Knead in the garlic powder and rosemary.

Divide the dough into 12 or 16 equal sized balls and place in a well buttered baking dish. Reroll them again after the first time, makes for a prettier presentation. Let them double.

Bake in a preheated 400 oven until golden brown, about 30-40 minutes.
Brush with melted butter or warm milk. I used butter.

Enjoy!

Stovetop Beef Stew

2011-07-05T19:05:00.003-04:00

Kinda nontraditional, but still great! I'm using beef, but not a cut of "roast", instead I'm using cubes, or chunks. I'm also not cooking it all day in the oven, I'm using my best friend in the kitchen, my pressure cooker! The vegetable part however is very traditional! This dish is packed full of veggie goodness! Green beans, mushrooms, celery, potatoes and carrots, all to make happy children and husbands! ;-)

1 package beef chunks
1-2 cups baby carrots
1-2 cups green beans
1-2 cups quartered then halved potatoes, skins left on!
1 cup chopped celery
1-2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 roughly chopped red onion
1 roughly chopped garlic head
Salt to taste
Dried Rosemary to taste
Pepper to taste
1 Bay Leaf
Cumin to taste
Coriander to taste

Pressure cook the beef until it's soft, about 15 minutes.
Add the vegetables and spices and pressure cook another 10 minutes.
Serve with a salad and bread!

Enjoy!

Cherry Clafoutis, My Favorite Summer Brunch!

2011-07-03T15:44:00.003-04:00

Clafoutis {klah-foo-tee}: Clafoutis, sometimes in Anglophone countries spelled clafouti, is a baked French dessert of black cherries arranged in a buttered dish and covered with a thick flan-like batter. The clafoutis is dusted with powdered sugar and served lukewarm.

If you have never tried it, please do so! It will quickly be on your list of weekly eats during the summer when fruits are cheap and delicious. Try apples, peaches, plums, or figs!

3 tbs butter
1 tbs vanilla extract
2 tbs cherry juice (optional)
2 tbs almond extract
6 eggs
6 + 4 tbs sugar separated
1 1⁄4 cups milk
pinch of salt
1 cup flour
3 cups black cherries, not pitted for a more authentic
4 tbs slivered almonds
confectioners' sugar, for serving (optional)
fresh whipped cream, or yoghurt for serving (optional)

Preheat oven to 425°
Melt the butter in a cast iron skillet, dump the cherries in and cook until they have softened some, about 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle with 4 tbs of sugar and cook a bit until you have a nice syrup. Turn it off and start to make the custard.

Combine extracts, eggs, remaining 6 tbs sugar, milk, cherry juice if using and salt an whisk together.

Add flour and whisk until smooth. I always transfer to the blender for a few seconds to get rid of the lumps.

Pour the custard into the skillet. Sprinkle with the slivered almonds.

Bake about 40 to 50 minutes, it will puff up and will no longer be jiggly; it will also be browned. A knife will come out clean from the center. Do not keep opening up the oven door after you have put it in, let it cook until at least 30 minutes is up. It will also be very puffed, but will deflate as it cools off.

Serve warm or chilled, dusted with confectioners' sugar and either whipped cream or yoghurt if you like. I love it standing alone!

Enjoy!

East Meets West Potato Salad

2011-07-02T17:11:00.000-04:00

Or the other way around....

7 large potatoes boiled with skins and set in the fridge to cool
6 boiled eggs set in the fridge to cool
2 cups celery chopped
1 cup green olives chopped
1 can black olives chopped
1 large red onion chopped
salt to taste
pepper to taste
splash of hot sauce
garlic powder to taste
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
mayo to taste

Enjoy!

Oven Baked Brisket

2011-07-02T16:11:00.001-04:00

It's been years, I'm mean since college that I have had a brisket. I don't know how I got the urge for one, but I did. Our local Halal shop cut me one right up, cheaper than Safeway or Shoppers at that!

The Night Before Cooking:
1 brisket, 5 lbs
1 cup of dry rub, I make my own
1/2 cup olive oil

Day of Cooking:
2 large sliced onions
1 head of garlic

Rub on the seasonings and olive oil and place in a ziplock over night.

Pull it out the next day, place the sliced onions and chopped garlic on top and triple wrap it in aluminum foil.

Place on a cookie sheet in a 300 degreee oven for 1 hour per each pound of meat.
Cut into think strips and serve with whatever side you like.

Enjoy!

Herbed Bread

2011-07-01T16:15:00.000-04:00

I know I'm on a cast iron skillet kick these days. I grew up eating on cast iron, my step mom used it, showed me how to care for it and told me it would last my lifetime. The enameled cast iron I have is awesome, so is the plain old fashion ones like these used here. They are better than non stick, last a lifetime, not hard on the heath, easy to clean, easy to store and fairly cheap to buy. In fact cast iron can help with anemia! I totally encourage you to try it!

4-6 cups flour
1 1/2 - 2 cups warm water
2 1/2 ts yeast
1 ts sugar
4 tbs Italian dried herb mix or make your own of course
6 tbs olive oil

Proof the yeast with the water and sugar. Let it bubble up for about 10 minutes.
Add half the flour to the water and knead until it's fairly dry, but not stiff.

Keep adding more flour until it's not too sticky. Add the herbs.

Still sticky as you can see, but not too hydrated.

Oil the bowl and the dough, set aside and let it double.

Gently deflate the dough, split into two and press out into the skillets. Set aside to double again.

Bake in a 350 preheated oven for 30-40 minutes or until it's hollow sounding when tapped and golden brown.

Enjoy!

Green Smoothy For A Snack

2011-06-30T13:53:00.001-04:00

We started off doing smoothies with fruit and yogurt about 8 years back. We loved them but besides carrots we never considered using other veggies. For about 3 years now we are using all kinds! You can add sugar (we don't) or honey (don't do that either) it helps if you or your children are not real veggies lovers.

I prefer to use a blender and don't like using juicers anymore, I think we need all that fiber that they just separate and you end up tossing to the compost, goats or garbage.

Fresh Spinach
Fresh Baby Carrots
Fresh Celery Stalks

Blend up with water and drink!

Enjoy!

Soft Anise Rounds

2011-06-29T13:38:00.000-04:00

My children and husband love love love homemade bread, so I figure out different ways to serve it to them. This is a favorite here!

4 1/2 - 5 cups flour
1-2 cups warm water
1 heaping tbs anise seeds
1 heaping tbs any other seeds
2 tbs yeast
1 ts sugar
1-3 tbs olive oil

Proof the yeast with the sugar and water. Let it froth and get bubbly.
Knead in the flour and seeds until it's smooth and shiny.
Cover and set aside to double in size.

Dump the dough out onto your counter, oiled or floured. Cut it or pull it into two pieces then shape and place them into your cooking pan(s), I used cast iron skillets.

Set aside to double in size.
Preheat the oven to 400.
When doubled drizzle with olive oil.
Bake until golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped.

Enjoy!

Flourless Spinach & Chicken Bake

2011-06-27T20:04:00.000-04:00

I am trying to cut flour out of most of my diet, especially at night. That doesn't mean I don't bake anything anymore, it's just that I try not to eat it; at least no more than one slice. =D

1 entire chicken breast
3 cups fresh spinach
7 eggs beaten
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cup cheese of your choice
1 large chopped onion
4 chopped cloves of garlic
salt to taste
pepper to taste
pinch of paprika for color
cumin to taste
dried parsley

Boil the chicken in enough stock or water to cover it until it's done.

If you still have most of the water when it's finished cooking, don't use it in the quiche. Do however reserve at least 1/2 cup for wilting down the spinach. Pull the chicken apart with two large forks.

Add seasoning and spinach and cook until the spinach is wilted.

Preheat your oven to 400.
Add the chicken mixture to an oiled cast iron skillet, or if you don't have one use a pyrex or corning ware.

Beat the eggs with some salt to taste, then add the milk and cheese and mix well.

Pour the eggs over the chicken and make it even.

Bake in a preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until it's set.

Enjoy!

Anise & Cumin Seed Rounds

2011-06-26T11:58:00.000-04:00

This is really a lovely bread for any occasion. It's great for breakfast, alone or dressed up with jam and butter. It helps with your morning fix of coffee.
yeast
sugar
flour
water
salt
anise seeds
cumin seeds

Proof 2 tbs of yeast with 1 ts of sugar in 3 cups of warm water. Let it bubble up a bit.

Add 3 heaping cups of all purpose flour, 1 tbs of anise seeds, 1 tbs of cumin or commonly known as black seeds, and 2 tbs salt.

Knead until it comes together.

You may need to add more flour, as I did, another 1 1/2 cups.

Knead again, until it's very smooth and satiny looking. Then it's ready to rise.

Add 2 tbs olive oil. I love this little dough scraper, I have had it for years! When I bought it I only paid $1.99 + free shipping, looks like it's gone up a bit since then, however so worth it! It works great when you use a mixer to knead dough, especially high hydrated doughs or even by hand after you washed your hands and need to clean up a bit. Scrape everything down and around, making sure to coat the bowl and the dough.

Cover with a towel, or a plastic bag and set in a warm area to double in size. About an hour.

Lightly oil, olive oil of course, two cast iron skillets. I have an 8 inch and a 12 inch.

Divide the dough into portions that will fit each on of your pans. If you don't have cast iron skillets, don't fret! Use baking sheets! =D

Gently push the dough out to fit each skillet.

Cover again, using your trusty plastic shopping bag and let it double.
Preheat your oven to 375 about 15 minutes before the time to bake.
Beat an egg and brush it ontop, makes for a nice color.

Bake until it sounds hollow when tapped, about 40 minutes.
Turn out onto a cooling rack, eat or wait, whichever comes first I suppose.

Enjoy!

Orange Olive Oil Cake

2011-06-20T17:17:00.001-04:00

I really enjoy this cake, it's simple enough to put together in a pinch, tasty enough for dinner parties but humble enough to go well as an afternoon treat or for a special breakfast.

1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive
2 teaspoon orange extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 325.
Lightly oil cake pan, today I used a bundt pan, but any pan will do.
Whisk together the dry ingredients. Set aside.
Beat the extracts, eggs and sugar in a large bowl until pale and thick.

Add yogurt beat to combine.

Add oil in a quick, steady stream.

Add flour mixture just until blended.

Make sure that all ingredients are incorporated.

Pour batter into oiled pan.

Bake until cake is golden, center springs back to the touch, and edges pull away from pan, 40 to 45 minutes, depending of course on the pan you use and the temperature of your particular oven.

Let cool in pan for a minute or two then turn it out onto a rack.

Let it finish cooling then slice and serve with tea or coffee.

Enjoy!

Cornbread Casserole

2011-06-15T16:41:00.041-04:00

So this should be more along the lines of a winter recipe, again, why not in the summer? =D
Last night was white bean chili and since I had a good bit left over so I decided to make a cornbread casserole for tonight. This is my vegetarian version.

Cornbread:
1/2 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 cup flour
2 ts baking powder
2 tbs salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 can cream of corn
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese for the topping
2-4 cups homemade vegetarian chili, depending on the size of your cooking dish and the amount of chili you like

Preheat the oven to 350

Pour the chili into your baking dish, I used a enameled covered cast iron chicken fryer, a Pyrex dish works just as well too. Sprinkle half of the cheese on the chili.
Make the cornbread by combining the dry ingredients and set aside.
Whisk together the eggs, milk and butter.
Add the wet to the dry and give a good stir.
Pour the batter on top of the chili, it will sink don't worry about it and don't try to move it around, let it be.
Put into your preheated oven for about 30-40 minutes. Then sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
Continue to cook until golden brown and your house smells of cornbread and chili.

Enjoy!

White Bean Chili

2011-06-14T17:15:00.000-04:00

I know it's practically summer, but why not? This is my white vegetarian chili recipe, we all really love it around it.

1 bag of small white beans
2 stalks chopped celery
2 small carrots chopped
1 tomato chopped
1 green pepper chopped
bunch of fresh parsley or cilantro chopped
1 large onion chopped
1 head of garlic chopped
olive oil
pepper to taste
salt to taste
cumin to taste
paprika to taste
hot pepper to taste
1 small can of tomato paste

Saute the veggies in olive oil then add the uncooked dried beans and 6-8 cups of water or broth and the tomato paste.
Bring to a boil and pressure cook for an hour or until the thickness to your liking is achieved.
Garnish with copped herbs.Serve with cornbread or alone. We eat ours with any bread available ;-D

Enjoy!

Basbousa Recipe, Yes, I know, Another One ...

2011-06-11T17:18:00.001-04:00

Here is a really quick and easy basbousa recipe. It's for a smaller version, like a 9 or 10 inch pie plate. It's especially for those of us with smaller families (not I, didn't know? I just gave birth to our 6th!) or those of us who don't want access to large amounts of goodies because we lack total control over our (sweet and salty, salty not related to this post obviously) eating {not I (bashful eye roll)}

Batter:
1 1/4 cup semolina
1/2 cup ground almonds (I *accidently* added more than that in the batter like 3/4 cup, still yummy though!)
2 ts baking powder
1 ts salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbs orange flower water
1 ts vanilla
1 cup milk
1/2 cup melted butter
1 beaten egg

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix the dry ingredients together and set aside.
Combine and mix the wet ingredients.
Combine the dry and wet, pour into sprayed or buttered 9 or 10 inch pie plate.
Bake 30-40, until golden brown and springs back to touch.
Prepare the syrup by combining 2 cups sugar and 2 cups water, bring to a boil and let boil for 10 minutes. Set aside and add 1/8 cup orange blossom water.
Pour syrup on baked cake, cut and serve with coffee or mint tea!

Enjoy!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

2011-06-09T22:22:00.000-04:00

Topping:
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/8 cup pineapple juice from the pineapple slices
1 + 1/2 can (20 oz) pineapple slices

Batter:
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup ground almonds
2 ts baking powder
1 ts salt
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup butter @ room temp
4 large eggs @ room temp
1 tbs vanilla
1 cup sour cream

Preheat the oven to 325.
Make the topping by melting the butter and brown sugar together in a medium sized sauce pan.
When it starts to boil turn it off and stir in the pineapple juice.

Pour equally into two 9' pans, sprayed to not stick.
Arrange the sliced pineapple on top.

Make the batter by whisking together the flour, almonds, and baking powder. Set them aside.

Beat the sugar, salt, vanilla and butter until light.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Starting with the flour add dry ingredients alternatively with the sour cream to the eggs and butter.

Pour and spread the batter over the arranged pineapples.

Bake 45-60 minutes. Cool 15 minutes in the pan on a wire rack then turn out onto a plate and serve.

Enjoy!

Okra Stew

2011-06-03T10:04:00.000-04:00

This is a really simple vegetarian dish.

1 chopped medium tomato
1 chopped medium onion
4 grated cloves of garlic
1/8 cup olive oil
1 tbs tomato paste
salt to taste
pepper to taste
2 ts coriander
2 ts paprika
1 small head of cauliflower
2 cups or one small bag of frozen baby okra
3 medium potato cut into chunks

Saute the garlic, onion, tomato and spices until soft and a bit carmalized.

Add two cups of water, okra, cauliflower and potatoes.

Pressure cook it all together for 10 minutes.

Serve hot as a side or main dish.

Enjoy!

Rosemary Lemon Halibut

2011-06-03T09:54:00.002-04:00

I love fish! We all do in this family. Here is a really simple dish to make.

Put your fish steaks in a plastic bag with :

1 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 tbs lemon pepper seasoning
2 tbs dried rosemary

Set them in the fridge until an hour before you want to eat.
This is good for fast meals for those of us who work (at home) or outside.

Preheat your oven to 400.

Place the fish steaks on top of sliced onion and grated garlic cloves.

Bake until flaky, 40 minutes or so, depending on how much fish you have to cook and the size and kind of pan you are using.
Serve with your favorite side.

Enjoy!

Basbousa

2011-06-02T14:45:00.001-04:00

Batter:
1/2 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups fine semolina
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sour cream

Syrup:2 1/3 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups water
1/8 cup orange flower water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, combined the butter, eggs, vanilla and sour cream. Beat with a whisk or fork until well combined.

Combine the semolina, baking powder, and sugar.

Pour the wet on top of the dry. Stir until well combined, but don't overmix!

Spread batter into a greased 8 x 12 inch cake pan. If you are using almonds evenly arrange them on top in rows so that when cake is cut, an almond will be centered on each piece.

Bake until top springs back when pressed, 30 -35 minutes.

Make the syrup by placing the sugar on medium high heat , using a heat resistant spatula stir it around until it is melted and is a golden color. Add the (hot )water, it will boil up so make sure your pan is bigger than the amount of liquid you are adding. Let it boil for 10 minutes then set aside to cool.

Spoon or pour cooled syrup over hot cake.

Cool thoroughly and cut into diamond shapes or squares to serve.

Enjoy!

Cream Cheese Brownies

2011-05-29T14:04:00.002-04:00

One of these sinfully delicious dish is for my friend whom I love very much. I will be joining her tonight.
The other plate is a happy belated, happy welcome back home brownie plate for myself. I was still pregnant with Ibraheem on my birthday, even though my due date was the 12th and my b-day is the 19th, he wasn't born until the 21st. Go figure, another late baby (eye wink). Anyhow, this is my belated birthday "cake". We now have four March babies (including myself) in this family. =D

Brownie Bottom:
1 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup dark cocoa powder
1 cup butter
5 large eggs
1 1/4 c sugar
1 1/2 c firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 tbs vanilla extract
1/8 cup expresso

Cream Cheese Topping:
12 oz cream cheese at room temp
2 tbs vanilla extract
3/4 c sugar
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your cooking plate by either using spray, line with parchment paper or foil or you can butter and dust with flour. This recipe will fit a 9x13 or two smaller plates as I have done.

Melt the butter, set aside.

Sift the dry ingredients and set aside.

I make my own brown sugar these days, but that's my preference. It's so easy, and tastes fresh, no hard lumps and always on hand!
1 cup of sugar + 1-2 tbs unsulfured molasses, depending on how dark you like your brown sugar.

Add the brown sugar to the butter and mix well, then add the eggs one at a time. Carefully stir the dry ingredients into the butter and eggs. Mix until just well combined.

Pour into your pan. Set aside and make the cream cheese topping.
Beat the cream cheese, eggs, vanilla, and sugar until smooth.

Dab the cheese mixture all over the chocolate. Using a butter knife twirl it until it's all chocolaty and cream cheesy pretty.

Bake for about 30 minutes, be careful not to overbake.

Refrigerate overnight, or at least for several hours. It's better to cut them cold, if you can wait that is.

Enjoy!

Sandwich Bread

2011-05-20T16:10:00.000-04:00

3 cups flour

1/2 cup warm milk

1/2 cup warm water

4 tbs vegetable oil or melted butter

2 tbs sugar

1 1/4 ts salt

2 1/2 ts yeast

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir untill the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. If you like to use just milk or just water, that's fine.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased surface, oil your hands, and knead it for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it begins to become smooth and supple. You can use a mixer or food processor if you like.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise till puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 1 to 2 hours, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface, and shape it into an 8" log. Place the log in a lightly greased 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan, cover the pan loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the bread to rise for about 60 minutes, until it’s domed about 1" above the edge of the pan. A finger pressed into the dough should leave a mark that rebounds slowly.

Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until it’s light golden brown. Test it for doneness by removing it from the pan and thumping it on the bottom (it should sound hollow), or by measuring its interior temperature with an instant-read thermometer (it should register 190°F at the center of the loaf). Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a wire rack before slicing. Store the bread in a plastic bag at room temperature. Yield: 1 loaf.

Enjoy!

Walnut Brownies

2011-02-06T09:04:00.003-05:00

2 1/2 sticks or 1 1/2 cups butter or the not so nice margarine straight from your fridge
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups cocoa powder or if you are located in Northern Africa, the cocoa powder is less than chocolaty use a good chocolate bar broken into several pieces

2 1/2 ts vanilla

4 ts milk

4 tbs instant coffee
1 ts salt
4 large eggs

2/3 cup flour plus 2 tbs

1 tbs baking powder
1-2 cups walnuts chopped to the size of your preference

Preheat your oven to 350.
Line a 9x13 baking pan with aluminum foil and butter it.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.

Add the sugar and cook for two minutes, whisking so it doesn't burn.

Add the chocolate and whisk until it's melted.

Add the instant coffee, salt, baking powder and vanilla.

Add in the eggs, one egg at a time, whisking very well after each addition. The mixture should look shiny and thick now. If you like you can switch to a wooden spoon and mix in the flour until well blended.
Don't over mix, brownies shouldn't be tough but soft and gooey.

Stir in the chopped nuts if you are using them.

Pour batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for about 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean. There should still be a few crumbs attached. Set the pan on a rack and let cool completely before lifting out the finished brownies. If you can wait that is. Cut into desired shapes. Give away to the neighbors if they like this sort of thing. ;-D!

Enjoy!

Metlili

2011-02-06T07:49:00.000-05:00

More Ghardaia City

2011-02-06T06:22:00.001-05:00

Trip To Algiers

2011-02-05T10:49:00.002-05:00

Deglet Noor Date Trees

2011-02-05T07:08:00.000-05:00