Hello everybody.
A simple elegant cheese platter with dried fruits and strawberries with crackers or breads can be the best thing for a small gathering specially if done with love to loving friends.
I used a selection of cheeses, white, cheddar, Camembert and kashkaval with healthy dried fruits, some olives and a selection of jams (figs,quince, marmalade)
I also made some sweet light cheese served with mixed berries jam.
Hello everybody.
Did this beautiful cake for my best friend’s son birthday, a traditional American recipe full of flavors and looked elegant as well.
Ingredients and method :
# 3 eggs.
# 1 1/2 cups suger.
# 3-4 ripe bananas.
# 1 can pineapple with syrup.
# 3/4 cup vegetable oil.
# 3/4 cup crushed walnuts, almonds or pecans.
# 1 tsp vanilla.
# 2 tsp baking powder.
# dash of salt.
# 1 tsp cinnamon.
# 3 cups flour.
Cream cheese frosting:
# 1 pack cream cheese.
# 1/4 cup icing sugar.
# 1/4 cup butter.
# some roasted crushed nuts.
# Beat eggs with vanilla, sugar and oil till creamy.
# mash and mix in blender bananas and pineapple can all together.
# add puree to cake mix.
# add rest of ingredients alternatively.
# bake in two small pans or one if you don’t want it layered.
# bake in a medium heated oven for 30-40 minutes or till dry from inside.
# beat frosting ingredients well and cool in fridge till stiff.
Decorate cake with filling inside out.
Hello everybody.
Going to visit my cousin this evening,excited to go see her new baby.
As a usual custom now I made her some biscottis,some with anise seeds and some with almonds and walnuts, though the ones with nuts become so crumbly but taste is good, these will be great with coffee or tea in the morning.
biscottis before cutting.
Lunch was beans from yesterday and some lentils with rice ( mujadara) and a big salad.
Hello everybody.
What did you cook in this weather? all my group members started posting dishes since morning,all locked up in snow and cooking !!
My kitchen was busy doing lots of stuff,a brunch rather than a breakfast cause we ate late, I made a typical English breakfast sunny side ups,scrambled eggs,hot dogs and beans ,a favorite dish for my husband and boys but not me so I baked some ka3ek like last time but today’s batch was much better and more fluffy , ate them with cheese my kind of meal !
hotel style breakfast.
my ka3ek 🙂
yum yum.
Last night I made this new recipe I found,wanted a change from usual hariseh or semolina cake so after searching decided to do this ,turned out nice but as my hubby said it’s not hariseh something totally different guess because it has almonds in it and eggs are separated so it’s a more a cake.
Ingredients and method:
* 4 eggs separated.
*1 cup sugar ( i think 1/2 or 3/4 are enough)
* 3/4 cup melted butter.
* 1 tsp vanilla.
* 2 tsp baking powder.
* 1 tsp lemon zest.
*1 1/2 cups semolina.
* 1 cup ground almonds.
*pinch of salt.
* sugar syrup ( 3 cups sugar,1 1/2 water and 1 tsp lemon juice)
* Separate egg yolks from whites.
* beat butter,sugar,lemon zest and vanilla till creamy.
* add eggs and beat well then add baking powder, semolina and almonds.
* beat egg whites till frothy and stiff.
* fold in whites into mixture slowly with a wooden spoon.
* grease a medium sized pan and pour mixture in.
* bake in a medium heated oven for 30-40 minutes toll golden.
*Note: you can decorate it with almonds or coconut on top as you wish.
* when done add the cold syrup on top.
almond harisseh or semolina cake.
Hello everybody.
My mother in -law invited some of her friends for an early dinner today, main dish will be Eggplant Maqloubeh as requested and I made roasted chicken which will be posted tomorrow.
My part is to make a kind of dessert , was a bit in a dilemma of what to do then the idea just came right to me when my best friend asked me to do a rice or milk pudding for her dear father’s birthday today so I made a big quantity for her and us.
After searching for a new different recipe I decided to do this one from Nestle website,really good and almonds gave it a lovely crunchy taste.
Ingredients and method:
* 1 can sweetened condensed milk.
* 1 liter water.
* 2 big spoons rice flour.( رز مطحون)
* 2 big spoons corn flour.
* 3/4 cup finely crushed almonds.
* 1 tsp cardamon.
* 1 tablespoon rose water.
* 1 tsp crushed gum mastic ( mistika مستكه)
* 4 tablespoons powdered milk.
* some crushed pistachios and cherries for decoration.
* Mix all ingredients except rose water and gum very well with a hand mixer till all are combined.
* Over a high heat keep mixing till it’s bubbly and thick.
* add gum and rose water.
* pour in serving dish or small cups.
* when cooled decorate with pistachios.
* cool in the fridge for 2-3 hours.
NOTE: if mixture wasn’t thick enough when boiled you can dissolve another tablespoon of corn flour and add it to ensure good consistency.
Happy Birthday 3ammo Abu Tareq 🙂
Hello everybody.
Due to weather conditions it’ll be risky to go out and stuck in snow and since the plan was to make msakhan today
so I decided to bake the bread at home,after searching many websites to find a way of baking it in a regular oven I found this good one,very easy and outcome was superb !!
Msakhan is an old traditional dish made from chicken,onions,plenty of summaq and olive oil all placed on special kind of bread with nuts on top.
ingredients and method of bread:
Note : this quantity makes 4-5 bread pieces.
* 2 cups flour.
* 1 tsp salt.
* 1/2 cup warm milk.
* 1 1/2 spoons instant yeast.
* 1 tsp sugar.
* 1 cup warm water.
* Mix water,yeast and sugar and cover till bubbles are formed.
* add to flour milk and salt.
* knead well by hands for 10 minutes.
* cover and leave to rest and rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
* divide to 4-5 balls.
* roll or spread them into bread shape.
* heat the oven very well with a big oven tray in it.
* when well heated turn on the upper flame .
* place the breads on the tray and bake till surface is golden,bottoms will be done cause tray is already very hot.
* do all breads the same way,make sure the pan is always very hot before each batch.
You can do these not only for msakhan,actually boys ate some as is before lunch. Fresh bread is the best food ever 🙂
final outcome .
Msakhan.
Hello everybody.
Morning gathering at my friend’s house with the loveliest ladies ever ,my old school classmates, great memories and lots of catching up cause it’s been a while since we saw each other.
My friend did many delicious dishes,pastries, tabouleh,cheesecake and chocolate balls , as for me I baked this super easy juicy cake this morning and took it with me.
By the way this cake is flour-less , very convenient for people who has flour sensitivity ( Celiac desease)
Ingredients and method:
* 2 small oranges.
* 1 1/2 cups almonds.
* 1 cup sugar.
* 5 large eggs or 6 small.
* vanilla.
* 1 tsp baking powder.
Syrup:
* 1/2 cup sugar.
* 1/4 cup lemon juice.
* juice and shredded peel of one orange.
* 1/4 cup water.
* cover whole oranges with water and boil for 40-50 minutes or till very soft.
* in a food processor blend sugar and almonds till very fine.
* cut oranges to quarters and remove seeds then process till smooth ( whole orange peel and pulp).
* gradually add eggs while mixer running , add vanilla .
* add almonds sugar mixture and baking powder.
* pour batter in a round or any baking tin then bake in a moderately slow heated oven for 1 hour or till cake is firm.
* combine syrup ingredients and leave to simmer on low heat till syrupy.
* when cake is cooled add syrup and orange peel on top.
Thank you ladies for the lovely time,always a pleasure to see you.
cake photo in cook book.
Hello everybody.
Tonight we’re invited to a BBQ ,but I have to cook for the boys anyway,thought stuffed courgettes and pulp will be a good choice,they both love it !
I think this dish is a favorite in most Jordanian homes,you seldom find anyone who doesn’t like it, I usually stuff eggplants also but not today,I usually cook the pulp with it,everybody loves it, my youngest sometimes hides the remaining amount in the fridge for dinner or the next day.
I also made my traditional Nescafe croquant cake to take with me for our hostess at night.
Hello again.
As I mentioned earlier I also made some cookies and packed a bit as a gift, I think this is a very loving giveaway or gift, I mean when you cook or bake something for someone you love or care about, you can feel that in the taste or look, is this true or do I imagine this??
Rock cookies are very popular,In Irbid you can find them in every house you visit in Eid time, I have this recipe from my auntie who’s very famous in doing them, but I modified a bit by using brown sugar instead of white and added dried cranberries.
Ingredients and method:
* 2 eggs.
* 1 cup sugar or 3/4 brown sugar.
* 3 big spoons butter.
* 1 cup mixed nuts ( walnuts,almonds,pistachios,hazelnuts)
* 1/2 cup raisins.
* 1 tsp cinnamon,pinch of cloves,cardamom and nutmeg.
* vanilla,1 tsp baking powder and a pinch of salt.
* 2 cups flour.
* mix eggs,sugar and butter till creamy.
* toast nuts in the oven for 10 minutes then crush them.
* add nuts and raisins to flour,baking powder and salt then add egg mixture.
* mix very well with wooden spoon till you have a not too soft nor tough dough.
* make spoonfuls of the dough on a baking pan,size of a small ball.
* bake in a medium heated oven for 10-13 minutes or till edges are golden.
* store in a well sealed jar or tin.
Enjoy 🙂
Hello everybody.
No cooking today, still have cauliflower,plus nobody is coming at lunch time, so it’s sweets day 🙂
My neighbor’s ( which is my husband’s auntie at the same time) birthday is today,we’re going for coffee to celebrate with her so thought I’ll bake a cake.I also made some cookies and Tabouleh, might make the gathering at my house better than taking all this food with me,plus it’s a chance to pamper our sweet Auntie Um Rasheed <3
A friend of my niece asked me a while ago for this cake’s recipe and I promised her to make it soon, so today is a good chance,cause I want to make a kind of birthday cake, this will do just great.
This recipe is very old,I remember when I first learned it I used to make it every weekend, it was such a trend that time , a sweet auntie of mine used to call it the glass cake 🙂
Ingredients and method:
* 5 eggs.
* 1 big spoon Nescafe dissolved in 1/2 cup of water.
* 1 tsp vanilla.
* 1 1/2 cups sugar.
* 1 cup vegetable oil.
* 4 tsp baking powder.
* 2 cups flour.
* 1 1/2 cups sugar and 3/4 cup almonds for the croquant.
* whipping cream.
* extra Nescafe in water for the cake when done.
* beat eggs with sugar till creamy then add vanilla,oil,Nescafe,baking powder and flour alternatively.
* bake in a medium heated oven in two small baking tins for 30-35 minutes or till dry from inside.
* when cooled, place one layer in serving plate then add some Nescafe on it.
* cover with cream and croquant then add other layer and repeat.
* decorate cake with anything you have .
*Croquant :
* heat sugar and almonds till it caramelize.
* pour in a well greased pan till cold and stiff.
* crush or use food processor to make fine crumbles. ( it actually resembles glass 🙂 )
* leave in fridge to settle before serving.
