Friday Lunch at Mom’s.

Hello everybody.

Today’s lunch was at mom’s house,a treat from my kind adorable uncle Jeff ,he cooked us leg of lamb with roasted potatoes plus a very tender spiced roast beef and a big bowl of fresh green salad with vinaigrette dressing, everything was well done ,thank you uncle Jeff ,love you <3

After lunch I made banana split ice cream bowls for everyone upon special request a month ago from my beautiful niece,great after the meal and this hot weather. Love you Noudy <3

Hope you’re all enjoying your weekend,next week Ramadan will start Insha’Allah,hope it’ll be a blessed month full of good work and deeds.

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Courgettes in Yogurt ( Ablama).

Hello everybody.

Very very busy morning,my husband brought a big bag of turnip from the farm (لفت ) so I bought extra beets,cauliflower and eggplants and made two large pots of pickles for Ramadan.

I also made a batch of date rolls for my lovely cousin to take with her to Dubai,these rolls are becoming my traditional gift for people I love ,better than anything you buy <3.

After all this work I cleaned all my kitchen in and out then started to cook,I posted this recipe in the early days of my blog,today is a repeat to remind you of it,I know many people cook it first day of Ramadan cause they say you must cook something white !!

Ingredients and method:

* hulled courgettes.

* cooked minced meat spiced and mixed with roasted pine nuts.

* ewe yogurt or jameed and butter milk.

* starch.

 

* cook the yogurt after mixing it with equal amount of water and 2 big spoons starch,add salt,pepper and margarine.

* stuff meat after cooling into the courgettes.

* fry courgettes  or as I prefer roast in the oven with a bit of oil and keep turning them till golden from all sides.

* dip courgettes in boiling yogurt on low heat for 40-50 minutes.

* serve with rice.

I had some courgettes left so I cut them to rings,added salt,garlic,summaq and a bit of oil then roasted them in the oven and made tahini sauce on the side,really good side dish 🙂

Enjoy .

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Lamb Pasties.

Hello everybody.

Last night I remembered this recipe from my Greek cookbook, I always make it in Ramadan,light and easy, since I already have cooked meat cubes in the freezer so it’ll even be a super quick thing to do,suitable for crazy shopping Saturday.

Greeks do it with thin pastry and use lots of butter but I usually use puff pastry and omit butter completely.

Ingredients and method:

* cooked lamb cubes.

* squared puff pastry.

* small chopped onion.

* 2-3 cloves garlic.

* 2-3 cubed potatoes.

* feta cheese.

 

* saute onions,garlic and potatoes with some oil then add salt and pepper till golden and soft.

* spread the puff pastry a bit.

* add a cube of meat then a spoonful of potatoes.

* add a piece of feta cheese on top then close the pastry as a parcel.

* bake for 30-40 minutes in a low heat oven till pastries are puffed and golden.

* serve with sauteed veggies and salad.

See very quick and easy and tastes good as well 🙂

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20140614_160756  this is the book’s photo.

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Sfeeha ( meat on a dough).

Hello everybody.

Upon my Uncle Abu Rashed’s recommendation, I ordered a good amount of Sfeeha today for lunch and to freeze the rest for Ramadan,can be useful as a side dish on the table.

Well after this successful trial I do recommend this place also,Al-Basha butcher and bakery,really tasty, we brought two kinds,with tomatoes and yogurt mix.both really delicious.

Sfeeha or meat on a dough is a very famous kind of pastry in many Middle Eastern countries as well as Turkey and many other places,recipes or mixtures may vary between them but basically it’s a very thin dough with minced meat mixed with either tomatoes and chili or yogurt ,of course many other flavors may be added like tahini or pomegranate sauce,this depends on restaurant or kind you like.

Today’s Sfeeha was great,place called Al Basha,gardens strt,tel 06 5680535.

Enjoy 🙂

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Lamb Cubes with Honey and Saffron.

Hello everybody.

Today I had absolutely no idea what to cook at all,nobody gave me a clue what they want, I took out some lamb cubes to defrost and went out for an errand,then on my way back home I remembered this dish.

Since a I have new fresh saffron from Turkey,thought I’ll do this old recipe I have.As I recall this dish is from the Moroccan cuisine,I saw it in TV long time ago during Ramadan cooking programs,they called it “Qumama” or “عسليه” if I’m not wrong. I did search for it today but didn’t find a recipe with this name ,if anybody has an experience in Morroccan food or knowledge or heard about it please inform me.

It’s a very easy basic recipe with little ingredients but saffron and honey are a must.

Ingredients and method:

* lamb cubes.

* 2 large chopped onions.

* 2 chopped garlic cloves.

* 1 tsp saffron.

* 1 tablespoon honey.

* salt,pepper,all spice,cinnamon stick,cardamon seeds,bay leaves,and some cloves.

 

* In the pressure cooker or regular pan,saute meat till brownish then add onions and garlic.

* add all spices including saffron which must be soaked in some water before usage.

* add the honey then enough water to cover.

* cook for 20-30 minutes then transfer to a deep oven pan.

* put it in the oven on low heat till water is lessened and sauce is thick.

* keep stirring it while in the oven so that all meat pieces are well roasted from all sides.

* serve with rice or bread.

Though my family were surprised cause I usually make this dish only in Ramadan,but it was really good,enjoy 🙂

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Chili.

Hello everybody.

Last night when I asked the boys what do they want for lunch,they told me chili like the ones we eat in usual chili restaurants,they even dared me if I can make it similar or close to it,they even searched for the original recipe and sent it to me.

Well then it was a challenge today, I did the recipe exactly as is,nothing more or less, they liked it a lot,proof is they ate it all 🙂

I made chili with hot-dogs and potato chili.really yummy!

Ingredients and method:

For chili sauce:

*1 small onion finely chopped.

* 1 clove garlic finely chopped.

*1 tablespoon oil.

*2 tablespoons tomato paste.

*2 tablespoons chili powder.

*1 tablespoon oregano.

* 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon.

*2 tsp coccoa powder.

* 1 tsp salt.

*1 tsp balck pepper,

*1 tsp all spice.

* 1 tablespoon vinegar.

*1 tablespoon brown sugar.

* 2 cups chicken broth.

* 2 cups tomato sauce or fresh tomatoes.

* 1/2  kg ground beef.

* hot dogs,mustard and finely chopped onions for sandwiches.

* cheddar cheese.

* buns.

 

* saute onions and garlic in oil til golden,then add all other ingredients and stir well,finally add beef ( I sauteed it before but didn’t add anything to it ) and tomato sauce then add chicken broth and leave to simmer till sauce is thick and brownish.

* assemble the cheese cony,by filling buns with onions,mustard,hot dogs then add chili and cheese.

* I also fried some potatoes,added some chili and cheese on top then put them in the oven till cheese melts.

Really good tasty but spicy a bit for me,hubby and boys loved it.

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Artichokes.

Hello everybody.

Didn’t know whether to cook or no today cause I still have courgettes from yesterday but not that much,it needs an appetizer or a small thing with it.

Had to manage something from what I have in fridge or freezer cause my son took my car,so after searching I took out a bag of frozen artichokes,cooked mince meat and some carrots and peas, they’ll do for a stew !

Out of curiosity I searched for benefits of artichokes and usage, turned out to be a very useful plant, actually great for liver and digestive system,read the link for more info if you like.

As always when staying home,I baked something,za’tar sticks but added cheese and coarse sea salt on top and made Rita’s salad ( this is its name from now on )

Ingredients and method of artichoke stew:

* 1 pack frozen artichokes.

* cooked mince meat.

* cubed carrots.

* peas.

* small onion.

* salt,pepper and lemon juice.

 

* saute chopped onions in some oil till tender then add carrots,peas,salt and pepper.

* simmer on low heat till tender.

* stuff meat in artichoke hearts and arrange them on top of veggies.

* add lemon juice and a bit of boiled water and leave to simmer for another 30 minutes.

* serve alone or with rice as you like.

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Steak Rolls (stuffed with vegetables)

Hello everybody.

last day of this long weekend,I was intending to do a cake and decorate it like the Jordanian flag on the occasion of Independence Day but I had to make date rolls order so no time left, maybe tomorrow.

I cooked for lunch early in the morning, took out some steak pieces and prepared to do this dish that I used to do a lot long time ago, easy to do but if you’re in a hurry you can do it chopped not rolled.

Ingredients and method:

 

* Steak pieces.

* carrots,peppers,green onions,mushrooms and cabbage. all chopped to thin strips.

* soy sauce,ketchup,salt and pepper.

* sesame oil or vegetable oil.

 

* chop a bit of the carrots,peppers,green onions and mushrooms to small thin strips and saute them in some oil and sprinkle them with soy sauce.

* with a steak hammer make the steaks as thin as you can,salt and pepper them then stuff with veggies and roll.

* close rolls with thread or toothpicks then saute with some oil from all sides till brownish.

* remove from pan then all all veggies and saute till tender adding soy sauce,ketchup a bit salt and pepper ( you can ginger and a bit sugar to give the sauce a sweet and sour taste if you like)

* add the rolls and leave to simmer on low heat till done,some boiled water can be added to keep sauce from drying.

* serve with rice or alone.

Enjoy and Happy Independence Day Jordan <3

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Fava Beans Fatteh ( فته فول).

Hello everybody.

Till late this morning I had absolutely no idea what to cook, I still have some pasta so I needed something with it.

Then,after lots of thinking, decided to do this light fatteh which I learned from my dear friend Reham, people usually make it when they have fava beans with rice leftovers,but you can do it from scratch,very delicious specially if you’re a fava bean fan as I’m.

All Fatteh recipes have basic ingredients,fried or toasted bread, tahini sauce,nuts and minced meat on top. Fillings in the middle are various like hummus,eggplants,fava beans…etc.

* Ingredients and method:

* fava beans boiled till tender then cooked with a little amount of rice ( 1/2 kg needs 1/2 cup of rice), I added maggi cube,pepper,all spice,cinnamon and a bit of cardamon when boiling the beans.

* fried or toasted pitta bread.

* cooked minced meat.

* crushed roasted garlic.

* roasted almonds or pine nuts.

* fresh coriander leaves.

* tahini sauce ( tahini with yogurt and lemon juice) .

 

* put pitta bread in a bowl or wide serving dish then add a layer of beans and rice.

Note: if you have some chicken stock you can a bit on the pittas to soften but it’s an option.

* add tahini sauce on top then garnish with meat,nuts,garlic and chopped coriander.

I usually make it in one big Pyrex or bowl but today we were only two at lunch time so I made 2 small bowls for each so as bread won’t become soggy for late comers.

Very healthy light option,will be good to do in Ramadan,right?

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Cauliflower Stew .

Hello everybody.

Kids asked for cauliflower with rice ( مقلوبه زهره ), personally I don’t  like cauliflower or let’s say it’s not a favorite of mine, I like it more as a stew. Though it’s a very healthy vegetable full of vitamins and minerals, I only eat it for this reason 🙂

This dish is very easy and can be served with rice or  bread with tahini sauce on the side.

Ingredients and method:

* cooked minced meat or cubed veal or lamp as desired.

* boiled and fried cauliflower.

* 2-3 cloves garlic.

* one small onion finely chopped.

* lemon juice.

* salt,pepper,all spice, cumin and dry coriander.

 

* saute meat till dry then add garlic and onions.

* add cauliflower and seasoning,leave to simmer, you may add a bit of water if it’s too dry.

* serve with tahini sauce and summaq on top.

Enjoy 🙂

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20140511_161057   very tasty maqloobeh by the way 🙂

 

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