Spinach Gnocchi.

Hello everybody.

Warm sunny day,I just love these days, though chilli at night but at least you can enjoy a beautiful day.
Lunch was Italian style except the rice which was the Iranian recipe, it’s becoming our kind of rice these days.

Did meatballs the way my cousin Rita always do them, with parmesan,breadcrumbs, eggs,nutmeg, salt and pepper then after cooling them in the fridge they’re dipped directly in boiling tomato sauce, really yummy.

Another new side dish was Spinach Gnocchi, and tasty different kind of appetizer. To tell you the truth is did once maybe a couple of years ago but it was a failure then, today I did it with patience and it turned out just perfect.

Ingredients and method :
* 4 cups of spinach, cut washed and squeezed till all excess water is out.
* 1 1/2 cups ricotta or white cheese.
* 1/2 cup parmesan cheese.
* 1 egg.
* 1/2 tsp nutmeg.
* 1 tsp salt and pepper.
* 2 big tablespoons flour.
* some butter and one clove garlic.

* squeeze spinach very well then add all ingredients except butter.
* roll mixture into egg shape.
* roll gnocchi in flour and leave in fridge for a while.
* cook gnocchi in boiling water uncovered till they float on top.
* remove slowly then arrange in an ovenproof pan with butter and garlic then sprinkle with parmesan and mazorella cheese, cook for few minutes till cheese melts.
Buon Apatito as they say in Italian.

perfect end result.

I used our white cheese instead of ricotta.

gnocchi before adding the cheese.

meatballs and Iranian rice.

photo in cook book.

and these are mine!

Homemade Pasta !

Hello everybody.

After a chit chat with my cousin living in Rome last night discussing how fresh homemade pasta is much more tastier than commercial ones and since I do have a pasta making instrument stashed away in my kitchen cabinet,I decided to start rolling it while we’re already stuck indoors in the cold weather.

Basic egg pasta recipes are all similar ,only 2 ingredients but secret to a successful dough is to let it rest and flour surfaces and roller so as pasta won’t stick to each other.

Ingredients and method:

* 2 cups flour.

* 1/2 tsp salt.

* 3 eggs.

* on a clean surface or in a bowl mix flour and salt then make a well in the middle and crack eggs in it.

* start whisking eggs into flour with a fork gradually.

* continue working with your hands or in a food processor till you get a firm dough.

* cover with cling film and leave to rest for 30-50 minutes.

* divide to 4 pieces then roll in the thickest number in roller.

* keep dusting with flour so as layers won’t stick.

* roll again to a thinner layer and so on till you have very thin ones.

* last thing roll in pasta shape and dust them with flour when done ( an extra helping hand during this process is not a bad idea:) )

* cook in salted boiling water for 4-5 minutes only.

* remove and cook the way you want,today I made it with mined meat,mushrooms,onions with herbs and tomato paste .

* sprinkle with cheese when served.

Hope you try it if you have this magical machine ,really worth it, totally different taste !

flour eggs mix.

final result.

Voila !!

Mud Pie ( Lunch and Birthday ).

Hello everybody.

Big day! lunch in the honor of my cousin and birthday of my big bro, all people around the table today are precious to me that’s why we had great time and enjoyed every minute . WELCOME my dear family,love you <3.

Lunch was many dishes, main was Rice with veggies and chicken (رز بنان) ,steaks with mushroom,hot spicy potatoes,mloukhieh,kibbeh,cheese rolls, marinated salmon,green salad and rocca pomegranate salad.

main dish.

steak and potatoes.

mloukhieh,kibbeh and cheese rolls.

marinated salmon.

Dessert was knafeh,strawberries with dips and this new awesome recipe I got from my sis, Mud Pie, it really looks like a plant you can’t tell it’s something edible specially that I inserted a real flower in it 🙂

Oh most important thing I got some beautiful presents ,one of them is a bunch of lovely stuff from my dear cousin living in Rome ,thank you lovely Rita.

Ingredients and method:

* 75 Oreo biscuits.

Mix 1 :

* 1 pack vanilla pudding.

* 2 cups milk.

Mix 2:

* 2 packs cream.

* 3/4 cups milk.

Mix 3 :

* 2 packets cream cheese.

* 1 tablespoon butter.

* 1/2 cup sugar.

*Mix each one alone then add mix 1 and 2 to 3.

* Mash Oreos in food processor.

* In a deep transparent bowl make layers of Oreo then cream but take care not let cream appear on the side so that overall look be all brownish.

* leave in fridge to settle ( I made it yesterday) and decorate with real or artificial plant or flower.

Minestrone Soup.(شوربه ايطاليه)

Hello everybody.

Rainy day and I have a bad flu, a rich hot soup is a blessing in this case.I did this soup once in Ramadan but didn’t post the recipe so it’s a chance to do it again, definitely a rich aromatic tasty one.

Ingredients varied when I searched for the recipe so I consulted my dear cousin living in Rome for the original one that Italians usually do and she gave me the secret ingredient that you won’t find in any recipe but I added it after taking the photo.

Ingredients and method:

* 1 small finely chopped onion.

* 1 clove garlic.

* bunch of chopped basil.

* 1/2 cup chopped celery.

* 1 small chopped zucchini.

* 2 small chopped carrots.

* some sun dried tomatoes.

* 1/2 cup black beans.

* 1/2 cup green beans (optional )

* 2 leaves finely chopped lettuce. (secret ingredient)

* 1 can chopped tomatoes.

* 1 tsp tomato paste.

* 4 cups broth or water and cube of broth.

* 2 bay leaves.

* salt,pepper and oregano.

* 3/4 cup small shaped pasta.

* Parmesan cheese.

* saute onions,garlic,carrots,celery till tender.

* add rest of ingredients then broth and pasta and 1 tablespoon of cheese, boil then leave to simmer till done and all ingredients are tender.

* sprinkle with Parmesan cheese when served.

Lasagna and Beetroot Salad.

Hello everybody.

Nice warm sunny day we even had coffee outdoors in the garden, lovely 🙂

Lunch today was lasagna and some garlic bread with a big fresh bowl of salad with beets and linseed topped with vinaigrette.

Love to eat beetroots when in season, both tasty and healthy. Beets have many medicinal uses like reducing blood pressure,for anemic patients, antioxidants, excellent source of vitamins and fibers and many more.

Open the link for more details please.

Broad Green Beans Salad.

Hello everybody.

Grocery day again,ended up buying lots of fruits and vegetables,so fresh and tempting,couldn’t resist the red cherries and seedless grapes, don’t you just love Summer with all its colors and varieties?

I got some broad green beans and cherry tomatoes to make this salad that my cousin who lives in Rome posted in my Facebook group, turned out absolutely delicious,even kids loved it 🙂

As for lunch it was fresh mloukhieh with chicken,really good as always,dessert was a big bowl of fruits !!

Ingredients and method:

* broad green beans cut and boiled in salted water till a tender but not overcooked.

* cherry tomato.

* lemon zest.

* sauteed garlic cloves.

* salt,pepper,lemon juice,pomegranate sauce or balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

* just mix all ingredients and toss with dressing .

very easy healthy dish.

Enjoy <3

Sticky Spicy Chicken.

Hello everybody.

Been searching for a recipe for hot spicy chicken all morning cause upon my son’s request he wants something spicy hot for lunch. Came across this one in BBC food magazine, it’s originally for wings but I did it with a whole chicken.

Ingredients:
* 1 whole chicken.
* 1 big spoon soysauce.
* 2 big spoons ketchup.
* 1 big spoon white or brown sugar.
* Tabasco as desired.
* 2 cloves garlic.
* some olive oil.
* 1 small onion.
* salt.
* baking bag.

Mix all ingredients with chicken, put them in bag, add 1 spoon flour then close and bake for 1 hour.

I also made a new potato recipe called gnocchi with burnt butter and sage.(ميرميه ) This is an Italian dish, though recipe looked easy but to tell you the truth I won’t make it again, it took time and potatoes stayed sticky and not easy to handle. Though they tasted great but final result wasn’t like supposed to. Mashed potatoes would have been as good and easier to make.
But i’ll write the recipe nevertheless.

Ingredients:
* 3 large potatoes.
* 1 clove garlic.
* 2 tsp milk.
* 2 egg yolks.
* 1/3 cup parmesan cheese.
* 1 cup flour.
* 3 spoons butter.
* 12 fresh sage leaves.
Method:
* boil potatoes till tender, peel and mash.
* add garlic, milk, yolks, parmesan and enough flour to make firm dough.
* roll over floured surface and cut to oblong shapes.
* press with floured fork to flatten.
* keep in fridge for 1 hour.
* cook gnocchi in large pan of boiling water until they float.remove.
* heat butter until browned. Add sage then drizzle over potatoes.
* sprinkle with parmesan cheese before serving.

I also made Greek salad, turned out a light healthy lunch after all.
Enjoy♡♥♡♥

This is how gnocchi looked like in the book.

And this is how it looked on my table 🙁

PIZZA.

Hello everybody.

I’m pretty sure all kids won’t say no to pizza.specially if coming right from the oven and topped with each member’s taste

To solve this problem and save time at the same time.I bought large rectangular oven trays,I spread the dough and make 3 kinds of pizza toppings .all will be happy and eat it hot at the same time.

One can find many recipies for pizza dough, I usually stick to this one.
You will need:
*1 big spoon instant yeast.
*1 small spoon sugar.
*1 big spoon powdered milk.
*1 cup flour.
*1 cup warm water.
Mix all together till creamy.cover and leave for 10-15 min or till bubbles are formed.then add:
*1/2 cup vegetable oil.
*1/2 cup olive oil.
*5 cups flour.
*1 spoon salt.
*1-1/2 cup warm water.
Knead well for 10 min.leave in a warm place to rise.
This dough is called the 10 minutes dough، cause it does rise quickly and it’s very easy to handle.

As for pizza sauce. I usually mix canned tomatoes, tomato paste, clove of garlic, oregano, basil..then leave to simmer.cool and use.
Toppings are various according to your family’s choices. Today I have mushrooms.black olives.courgettes.I will make 2 small ones..one with za’tar , the other with labaneh, rocca leaves and tomato slices.
Bake the pizza in a well heated oven.add the cheese when it’s almost done not before.then drizzle a bit of olive oil on top before roasting.makes it extra crispy.

Though I know that many people prefer to order pizza, but I find homemade ones more, I don’t know how to describe it, maybe
loving.hahaha:)
Enjoy♡♥♡♥

PIZZA.

Hello everybody.

I’m pretty sure all kids won’t say no to pizza.specially if coming right from the oven and topped with each member’s taste

To solve this problem and save time .I bought large rectangular oven trays,I spread the dough and make 3 kinds of pizza toppings on the same tray.all will be happy and eat it hot without waiting.

One can find many recipies for pizza dough, I usually stick to this one.
You will need:
*1 big spoon instant yeast.
*1 small spoon sugar.
*1 big spoon powdered milk.
*1 cup flour.
*1 cup warm water.
Mix all together till creamy.cover and leave for 10-15 min or till bubbles are formed.then add:
*1/2 cup vegetable oil.
*1/2 cup olive oil.
*5 cups flour.
*1 spoon salt.
*1-1/2 cup warm water.
Knead well for 10 min.leave in a warm place to rise.
This dough is called the 10 minutes dough cause it does rise quickly and it’s very easy to handle.