Edited Cardamom Cookies.

Hello everybody.
My mother in-law’s lovely old friends were gathered today upstairs,such a lively group of ladies chatting and laughing at old stories and memories.

We ordered some pastries, made spinach tabouleh and got out some Rock Cookies from the freezer,my sister in law made chocolate cake.
Remember the cardamom cookies in made long time ago? Well did some today but added 1/2 tsp baking powder this time and it did make a difference, I’ll write down the recipe again better.

Ingredients and method:
*2 cups flour.
* 4 teaspoons cardamom powder.
* 1/4 tsp salt

*1/2 tsp baking powder.
* 1/2 cup grounded almonds.
* 1/2 cup sugar.
* 3/4 cup melted butter.
For the coating:
* 1 cup confectionary sugar (سكر ناعم ).
* 2 teaspoons powdered cardamom.
* almonds.

* mix flour, cardamom powder, sugar, grounded almonds and salt together. * add butter and mix with your hands till you have a frim dough. You can add a bit of cold water for easy handing.
* form dough into small balls.
* coat with powdered sugar-cardamom mixture. * press balls with a small cup to flatten a bit.
* decorate with almonds.
* bake in a medium heated oven for 10-13 minutes. Till bottom slightly golden then toast surface for 5 minutes.
* store in a well closed jar.

Perfect with black coffee, please try them, they’re really good ♡♥.

luqom a Caucasian kind of sweet.

today’s lunch ..Shakshouka !

amazing cookies.

Rock Cookies Gift

Hello everybody.

Went to a lovely gathering at a newly wed friend’s house, we really had a great time, different generations all together around a delicious elegant variant table. Thank you sweet cheerful Nisreen we really had great time.

Because Friday is usually a long day and afternoon went so slowly I was really bored that I suddenly decided to bake some Rock Cookies last night to take some with me.

I even created a box to fill them in,I wrapped an old Lindt chocolate box with gift’s paper then added a small decorative flower, never throw away these small things on chocolates or giveaways you never know when you’ll use them .

Lunch today is simple basic pasta with minced meat and tomato sauce with some leftovers from yesterday.

rock cookies.

pasta with tomato sauce.

Red Velvet Cake <3

Hello everybody.

As I mentioned yesterday we have a big gathering today,actually our lovely guests just left. Both company and food were awesome,we really had a good time.

I made lots of stuff ,spinach tabouleh,cooked brown lentils ( حراق اصبعه),thyme buns,cheese platter and my sister in-law made chicken pie plus we ordered kibbeh and halouva .

Sweets were Red Velvet Cake, rice pudding and fruits.

Here are ingredients and method of the cake:

* 2 large eggs.

* 1 1/4 cups sugar.

* 1/2 cup oil.

*1/2 cup butter.

* 2/3 cup yogurt.

* 1/3 cup milk.

* 1 tablespoon cocoa powder.

* 1 tablespoon vinegar.

* 1 teaspoon baking soda.

* 1 teaspoon baking powder.

* 1 tsp vanilla.

* 2 teaspoons red food coloring.

* 2 1/2 cups flour.

Icing:

* 2 packs cream cheese.

* 1/2 cup whipping fresh cream.

* 2 cups powdered sugar .

or :

*1 pack cream cheese.

* 2 packs dream whip.

* 1/2 cup powdered sugar.

* some red colored food glitter for decoration.

* beat eggs,vanilla,sugar till frothy and creamy.

* add rest of ingredients consequently.

* bake cake in two round baking pans (same size)

* Beat frosting ingredients well together and leave to cool in fridge.

* when cake is done and cooled assemble the two layers with frosting in between and all over.

* leave in fridge to settle for couple of hours.

* decorate top with sprinkles in any shape you like.

tabouleh,kibbeh,halouva.

yalanji.

turkey pesto sandwiches.

thyme buns and cheese.

حراق اصبعه

Awesome cake,thank you dear Flora for the recipe.

Mjadara.

Hello everybody.

Busy day,preparing for a big gathering tomorrow afternoon for a lovely group of ladies,hope everyone can make it, lots of tasty food I promise 🙂

Most important thing is I bought all groceries and arranged all stuff .After all these years of experience when having a lunch,dinner or any gathering best thing to do so as not to run out of time or have a messy kitchen is to write down a menu that is suitable to number of guests and occasion,of course each occasion has different type of food and different kind of people.

Buying grocery ahead of time is an extremely useful and time saving issue,also try to chose dishes that can be done a day or two before and leave on the spot things till the same day.

So lunch today is mujadara (lentils and rice) plus the spinach from yesterday.

Don’t miss tomorrow’s post ,welcome everybody.

Meat Balls with Vegetables.

Hello everybody.

Had no clue at all what to cook today, problem is I have many errands and invited to a morning gathering as well.

After opening and closing both fridge and freezer hundred times I took out all veggies I found plus some cooked meat balls, sautéed them all together with some onions then added some tomato paste and water, left them to simmer and that’s it. Easy and quick.

I also made a nice carrot cake to take with me tonight to Auntie Sahar’s dinner. Full day right? Wait till you see tomorrow’s program

Maltesers Coconut Balls

Hello everybody.

As you may noticed from my daily posts I’ve been either invited or out to parties,lunches,visits since beginning of this week ,thank God all for happy cheerful gatherings !

Yesterday evening we visited our newly wed cousin and his lovely bride, she was so sweet and welcoming and made a great effort in everything, many yummy dishes and pastries,all well done and delicious ,thank you dear Nour and sisters in-law ,we had great time.

Today mom had visitors for lunch, she made fava beans with rice,pasta with veggies,broccoli soup and a big salad, dessert was fruit salad and I made this easy one,Maltesers coconut balls,recipe from my cousin in Irbid the other day.

*ingredients and method:

*2 cups dry milk powder.

* 2 cups coconut.

* 1/2 cup icing sugar.

* 1 pack cream.

* 1 tablespoon butter.

* 3 packs Maltesers.

* Note: I added some orange zest,goes well with it.

* Mix all ingredients together till they’re like a paste then cover each Maltesers ball with it and roll into a ball .

* cover with coconut and leave to cool in the fridge.

That’s it! you can replace sugar and milk with condensed milk also, same taste.

amazing Irbid’s Eid Loaf.

yalanji, all this at Nour’s house.

mom’s lunch.

Citrus Almond Syrup Cake.

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.

What a Weekend !!

Hello everybody.

What a crazy busy full of events weekend, actually events started since Thursday where we had a Mansaf on the honor of our lovely cousin coming back home from Germany and on the occasion of my son’s 20’th birthday the next day, was followed by brownies and ice cream for dessert. Then dinner invitation at my auntie’s house .

Friday morning we all gathered for breakfast, usual Friday menu. Afternoon we went to Irbid for Caraway at my husband’s cousin to congratulate her for the new baby boy, then went to my cousin’s house for a big family gathering as a farewell for those leaving back after the vacation, we had Knafeh and a big cake on the occasions of both my dear twin cousin’s birthday and wife of one of them. It was a very nice party full of love <3

Today I helped my dear friend baking cookies for a party she’s holding,I made her chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies and cupcakes .

Lunch was my son’s favorite burgers with onions and mushrooms, above all this I made fig jam and as usual went grocery shopping !!

Am I right or not that this weekend was crazy??

you can feel the hot weather in this photo !

Morning Gathering .

Hello everybody.

As I mentioned yesterday we have a gathering this morning for a very special group of ladies that I really love so much, my mother in-law’s school mates,really sweet lovable group <3

Last night I made the apple pie and za’tar pastries,this morning I arranged a cheese platter with some fresh figs and grapes,decorated some pastries with labaneh,tomatoes and olives and made spinach tabouleh and my sister in-law made yalanji and got some Halouva .

Turned out a really elegant table,everybody enjoyed the food and company 🙂

Traditional Apple Pie.

Hello everybody.

No cooking today,I still have lots from yesterday,plus I went out with my friends for breakfast to a kind of new place in town Shakespeare & co. really pleasant place,beautiful decor, tasty food and excellent service I might say 🙂

This doesn’t mean no work,my mother in law’s school friends are coming tomorrow morning so I made apple pie and za’tar sticks but as round pastries this time, will be great with a cheese platter and Tabouleh.

You may find various apple pie recipes all over,I usually make this one which is easy and always work.

Ingredients and method of apple pie:

*Crust:

* 1 egg.

* 1 tsp vanilla or lemon zest.

* 1/2 cup sugar.

* 3/4 cup butter.

* 1 3/4 cups flour ( you may need 1/4 more to make a firm dough)

* pinch of salt.

* 2 tablespoons cold water.

Filling:

* 5-6 large apples peeled and cut to slices.

* 1/2 cup walnuts (optional).

* 1/4 cup raisins (optional).

* 1/4 cup brown sugar.

* 1 tsp lemon juice .

* 1 tablespoon cinnamon ( sorry forgot to add it in the photo)

* beat the egg.vanilla,sugar and butter till creamy.

* add flour and salt and knead well till you have a firm round dough ( add more flour if it’s sticky and you can’t handle it)

* leave to cool in the fridge for 30 minutes.

* spread 3/4 dough in pie pan evenly in bottom and sides.

* pinch it with a fork so as it won’t form a bubble.

* mix filling ingredients well and pour them into the pie pan.

* make shapes to decorate top of pie from remaining dough ,sprinkle surface with flour or use plastic bag for easier handling.

* bake in a medium heated oven for 30-40 minutes or till sides and bottom are golden then toast the surface.

You can reheat it and serve it with vanilla ice cream or as is with a sprinkle of icing sugar,depends on how the lovely ladies prefer tomorrow .

What to cook today?

day by day cooking ideas

gathering.

Edited Cardamom Cookies.

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Rock Cookies Gift

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Red Velvet Cake <3

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Mjadara.

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Meat Balls with Vegetables.

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Maltesers Coconut Balls

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Citrus Almond Syrup Cake.

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What a Weekend !!

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Morning Gathering .

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Traditional Apple Pie.

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