Fig Newtons.

Hello everybody.

Cold rainy day with expected snow this evening, since I have leftovers and only made lentil soup to go along with weather conditions I made this new healthy recipe.

Fig Newtons are traditional Italian cookies made from dried figs, they’re a very good source of fibers and nutrients specially during Winter times.

Ingredients and method :

Dough:

* 3/4 cup butter.
* 1/4 cup sugar.
* 1 egg.
* 1 tablespoon orange zest.
* 1 3/4 to 2 cups flour.
* 1 tsp vanilla.
* 1 tablespoon cold water.
* pinch of salt.

Filing :
* 1 cup dried figs chopped to medium sized chunks.
* 1 cup water.
* 1 cup apple or orange juice.
* 1/2 cup crushed walnuts.

* mix and knead dough ingredients till you get a firm soft ball.
* keep wrapped with nylon in the fridge.
* meanwhile boil figs with water and juice then leave to simmer for one hour, figs will sticky and tender.
* may figs till they’re like a paste then add walnuts.
* cool completely.
* on a floured surface roll dough then cut into similar shaped rectangles.
* fill each piece with the filling then close it all over.
* cut to small pieces then line all cookies on a floured pan.
* bake in a medium heated oven for 20-25 minutes or till golden from sides.

excellent in this weather.

Italian Lentil Soup.

Hello everybody.

Last night my cousin who lives in Rome made this soup,recipe sounded easy and delicious, I even realized from the comments that many people here do it as well,called “Sahiha” meaning lentils stay as is, not mashed.

Ingredients and method :
# 1 cup brown lentils.
# 1 carrot, celery stick, garlic clove and chili pepper.
# 1 tablespoon tomato paste or big chopped tomato.
#olive oil, salt, pepper and Maggi cube or vegetable stock.

# boil lentils in 4 cups of water till done.
# saute garlic, celery stick, carrot and pepper in olive oil.
# when tender add lentils with water on them.
# leave to simmer till done then remove vegetables.
# add tomato paste, salt, pepper and Maggi cube.
# Serve with a slice of lemon.

Authentic Italian Potato Pizza.

Hello everybody.

Couldn’t resist and wait to make this pizza, search for the original recipe was very easy and anyways my cousin living in Rome posted it last night and told me how to make it.

Some recipes add ranch sauce or sour cream but guess this one is more basic and pure Italian.

Well taste and aroma are miraculous, rosemary gives it a real nice twist.

Ingredients and method :
#simple pizza dough (the 10 minutes miracle one)
# 2 large potatoes cut to very thin slices ( don’t peel them)
# fresh or dry rosemary.
# coarse kosher salt.
# crushed pepper.
# olive oil.
# mozzarella cheese.

# coat potatoes with some olive oil,cover and microwave for 2 minutes so as to tenderize.
# spread pizza dough then sprinkle with a bit of the cheese.
# arrange potatoes all over then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
# bake in a medium heated oven for 30 minutes or till bottom and crust are golden.
# add cheese on top and roast till it melts.

easy basic ingredients.

Remaining dough turned into a regular pizza with some kalamata olives. Yummy 😋

Fried Courgette Flowers.

Hello everybody.

Lunch today was mloukhieh from yesterday, fresh from the farm and so yummy with garlic and lemons.

Alongside with it I made these cute fresh courgette flowers that u couldn’t resist not bring cause they were so intact, a waste to throw them away.

Stuffed with cheddar and Parmesan cheese, garlic and oregano then dipped in an egg,milk, flour batter with a pinch of salt and baking powder.

So crunchy and tasty, I even took some for the guy working at grocery store cause he can’t believe or imagine that these can be cooked.

طريقه وردات الكوسا:

تحشى الوردات بمزيج من الاجبان الصفراء مع ثوم واعشاب.

يحمى زيت القلي جيدا ثم تغمس كل قطعه بمزيج متجانس عباره عن كوب طحين, 2 بيض, , نصف ملعقه ملح ونصف باكينغ باودر ويضاف حليب بالتدريج حتى يصبح القوام سلس .

ثقلى بالزيت الغزير لمده 5 دقائق.

stuffed and ready for frying.

mloukhieh with chicken.

Lemon Granita.

Hello everybody.

Another Granita trial today, lemon flavor and I think this is the best one till now.

Ingredients :
# 1 cup sugar.
# 3 cups water.
# juice of two lemons.
# 1 tablespoon lemon zest.
# bunch of fresh mint.

#boil sugar and water till all dissolved.
# add lemon zest and mint,leave to simmer for 3 minutes.
# cool a bit then add lemon juice.
# remove mint leaves.
# pour in a metal pan and freeze.
# after one hour start scratching iced parts and continue doing that every 20 minutes till you get a slushy mixture.

# المكونات
3/4 كوب سكر.
3 كوب ماء.
عصير ليمونتين
ملعقه كبيره برش ليمون
بعض اوراق نعنع

يغلى الماء والسكر مع بعض على النار ثم يضاف برش الليمون والنعنع ويترك على نار هادئة لمده ثلاثة دقائق.
نزيل اوراق النعناع ثم يضاف عصير الليمون ويحرك.
يصب في صينيه معدنية ويوضع في الفريزر.
بعد ساعه نبدا بتحريك المزيج بواسطه شوكه ونستمر بعمل نفس العمليه كل 20 دقيقه حتى نحصل على مزيج مثلج او سلاش جامد.ويقدم.

Pina Colada Granita.

Hello again.

Had some fresh pineapples in the fridge that nobody wants to eat so it clicked my mind to make it granitta style and added some coconuts to give it a kick ,how about that?

Result was super refreshing yummy.

Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup sugar.

* 1/2 cup water.

* 2 cups pineapples.

* 1/2 cup coconuts.

* juice of half a lemon.

* 10 ice cubes.

* heat sugar and water till dissolved and leave to simmer for 3 minutes then cool and add ice cubes,

* process pineapples,coconuts together then add syrup.

* pour all in a metal pan and in the freezer.

* start scrapping the mixture after one hour then every once in a while till all is slushy.

Very easy,healthy and delicious.

Watermelon Granitta.

Hello everybody.

As I mentioned and I seriously mean it I’ll try to make as much as I can of granitta flavors this Summer.

Today’s pick is watermelon,upon my son’s advice which turned out a big add up to the recipe I added some cranberry juice, soooo yummy.

Ingredients and method :
# 4 cups of watermelon cubes.
# 1/2 cup of sugar.
# juice of half a lemon.
# 1/2 cup cranberry or berry juice ( optional)
# mix all ingredients in the blender.
# pour in a big metal pan.
# freeze for 1 hour then start scrapping edges every now and then till you get crystals or slushy mixture.

Enjoy this amazing world of iced desserts, I’m so sorry I didn’t know about it long time ago. One really live and learn.

so good please try it.

Melon Granita.

Hello everybody.

Saw this recipe on Fatafeat cooking channel the other night, when I searched the net I found a big variety of recipes of the basic one but with many flavors either fruits or coffee.

First trial was with melons and it turned out really good,refreshing and light I even liked it more than ice cream, definitely a winner!

Ingredients and method :
# 1/2 cup sugar.
# 1/2 cup water.
# 10 ice cubes.
# 1 melon cut to chunks.
# 3 tablespoons lemon juice.

# dissolve sugar with water and boil for 3 minutes then add ice cubes,leave till they melt.
# in a blender mix syrup, melons, lemon juice all together.
# pour mixture in a big metal pan and put in freezer.
# after one hour begun scrapping edges and mix all together.
# keep doing this every now and then till you get a crystal or slushy mixture.
# Serve with fruits or alone.

Note: you can blend mixture a bit if it gets too hard next day.

granita before icing.

Eggplant Salad with Ricotta Cheese.

Hello everybody.

Had a big dinner yesterday so I have too much food left.

A small side dish was the same eggplant salad I did once before but I added some Ricotta Cheese from the ones my cousin brought me from Rome on top, yummy yummy.

I also did fresh mushroom soup from the pack of dried ones, again yummy.

eggplant salad.

typical Mediterranean dish.

Potatoe Cheese Frittata.

Hello everybody.
After a busy morning preparing the final touches for my son’s graduation party I went home with the intention of not cooking anything.

Well my plan didn’t work cause yesterday’s leftovers were not enough so I made a mix of potatoes,cheese, egg and flour with a bit of parsley and baked a delicious frittata, see cooking isn’t hard when you think a bit

a great mix !

What to cook today?

day by day cooking ideas

Italy

Fig Newtons.

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Italian Lentil Soup.

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Authentic Italian Potato Pizza.

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Fried Courgette Flowers.

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Lemon Granita.

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Pina Colada Granita.

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Watermelon Granitta.

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Melon Granita.

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Eggplant Salad with Ricotta Cheese.

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Potatoe Cheese Frittata.

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