Soft Pretzels.

Hello everybody.

Stayed home today,a relief after busy days and a chance to put away heavy clothes and boots, hoping that no more cold rainy days are coming.

Since I have leftovers for lunch from yesterday which was fresh new baby string beans in olive oil and I had time before lunch I tried this recipe, been searching for the most suitable and light one for a while and did this with slight changes.

I also made a simple cake since the oven is on and hot,been craving it since I made it for my brother’s colleagues last week.

Ingredients and method :
* 1 1/4 cups warm water.
* 2 tablespoons instant yeast.
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 5 cups flour.
* 1 tsp salt.
* 1 tablespoon butter.
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil.
* 1/2 cup baking soda.
* 4 cups boiled water.
* 1 egg yolk.
* some kosher or coarse salt.
* some melted butter.

* mix water, yeast, sugar till bubbly.
* mix flour, salt, butter and oil.
* add water yeast mixture and knead well.
* leave to rise for 40-50 minutes.
* make long ropes from the dough, this quantity makes 10-12.
* shape them into Pretzels.
* mix soda with hot water then dip each pretzel into it for few seconds.
* line them in a floured pan.
* brush with egg yolk then sprinkle with salt.
* leave to rise again then bake in a medium heated oven for 10-15 minutes.
* brush with a bit of butter to keep them shining then roast till golden.

Turned out amazingly delicious, kids loved them.

lovely !

so easy to do dough.

ready to go.

lunch and dessert.

will definitely do them again.

Nicoise Again.

Hello everybody.

Busy day, no time to cook at all so the easiest thing that keeps everybody happy is a rich nicoise salad.

I cut the potatoes before boiling to save time and heated some pasta from yesterday, fair enough.

Turmeric Smoothie and Eggplant Pasta.

Hello everybody.

Was reading an article the other day about how much turmeric is beneficial to humans health, immunity booster, anticancer, metabolism inhacer and much much more and because I don’t use it much thought I’ll add it to a recipe so nobody can notice it,not a favorable spice in my house.

Found this lovely fresh smoothie recipe, blend all together mango, orange juice, pineapple or strawberries with a teaspoon of turmeric and a bit of cinnamon, really refreshing and delicious.

Lunch was a old recipe is have,eggplant with pasta in a mold.You fry eggplants and cook pasta with tomatoes, meat and red sauce then arrange eggplants alongside of a cake mold, pour pasta in between and bake till all holds on together. Result wasn’t that perfect maybe it needed some time to cool down before I flip it or more baking, but taste was great and rich.

mango,strawberries,turmeric and cinnamon.

eggplant pasta mold.

end results of today!

Simple One-Pot Pasta.

Hello again.

Lunch was a first trial, just saw this recipe on Pinterest last night and couldn’t wait till morning comes out to make it, looked so interesting and exactly that’s what it turned out.

You can find lots of versions of this dish but all have the same principle, you simply add whatever you want of veggies,meat,chicken or sausages to raw pasta ,add herbs,salt pepper,oil and water then leave to cook till done !! that’s it.

Ingredients and method:

* chopped courgettes,mushrooms,onions,garlic, cherry tomatoes,chives,basil and black olives.

* 1 pack pasta.

* salt, pepper, oregano and some olive oil.

* 4 1/2 cups water.

* Note: I added a cube of chicken stock also.

* some cream or milk if you like added when pasta is done.

* Parmesan cheese upon serving.

* Put all ingredients together in one pan then add water.

* boil then leave to simmer on low heat for 45-60 minutes or till all done.

* add cream and cheese then serve.

all ingredients.

Absolutely amazing,everyone should try it.

yummy result.

Another Shakshouka.

Hello everybody.

Beautiful weather a real Spring day,going to a gathering this afternoon so my share is Za’tar Puffs amazing how dough rises quickly in warm weather, all process of kneading, cutting and baking took less than an hour.

Lunch was kids’ favorite Shakshuka, great option, easy and everyone love it.

yummy yummy.

Pasta and Couscous Salad.

Hello everybody.
Very long hectic day, usual Saturday I guess, I really wish to have a no work lazy weekend sometimes, never ever had one, maybe a Friday but never actually whole weekend!

Well lunch was all veggies I have in fridge with some minced meat,pesto and tomato sauce with pasta and cheese on top with a bowl of couscous salad. Sorry photos aren’t that good cause I was in a hurry.

Pineapple Roca Salad.

Hello everybody.
Long full day, lots of things to do and places to go, end was a sudden visit from my mother in-law’s cousins, and lovely group but a shame I don’t have any dessert or cakes,but we really had a great time.

Lunch today was a variety of many delicious dishes:
* Asparagus soup.
* Pineapple roca salad with dried cranberries, walnuts and a lemon, oil, salt balsamic vinaigrette.
* Cute Caprese salad.
* Green fava beans with garlic and coriander.

All very fresh and yummy.

colorful table !

lovely easy Caprese.

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!

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.

Stuffed Courgettes and Pulp.

Hello everybody.

Today’s lunch is my oldest son favorite dish ever,stuffed courgettes with tomato sauce.

On the other hand my youngest doesn’t eat it at all so I usually make the pulp with garlic and dry mint cooked in olive oil.

Mash ‘Allah all was wiped out in minutes.

Here’s the method again :

*Wash them from inside with salted water then stuff them with the same filling as cabbages, but be careful to leave an empty inch from top so as rice will fill it when done.
*Make a tomato sauce of fresh tomatoes, paste, small onion, some cloves of garlic and a cube if chicken stock.
*Boil the sauce, dip the courgettes and eggplants,, you can stuff green peppers also by the way.
*Boil for 10-15 minutes then leave to simmer for 1 hour on low heat.
*Add some dried mint powder to the sauce, it’ll give a nice aroma.

What to cook today?

day by day cooking ideas

tomatoes

Soft Pretzels.

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Nicoise Again.

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Turmeric Smoothie and Eggplant Pasta.

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Simple One-Pot Pasta.

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Another Shakshouka.

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Pasta and Couscous Salad.

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Pineapple Roca Salad.

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Spinach Gnocchi.

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Edited Cardamom Cookies.

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Stuffed Courgettes and Pulp.

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