veggies

Armenian Freekeh and Pineapple Salad.

Hello everybody.

Interesting and joyful atmosphere at Botma market this morning, been intending to go every Saturday but hadn’t got the time till now.

You can find a wide selection of seasonal veggies and herbs plus many jars of delicacies like jams and spreads,all looks fresh and healthy. Market is open each Saturday from 9-2 don’t miss it.

Well I certainly shopped some things including lettuce and baby spinach immediately made a big bowl of salad with fresh pineapples and walnuts.

Lunch was Armenian Freekeh with onions, mushrooms, cream and cheese with chicken breasts on top.

wpid-dsc_0280.jpg Botma honey.

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wpid-dsc_0271.jpg fresh vine leaves.

wpid-dsc_0273.jpg baked beans.

wpid-dsc_0270.jpg fava beans

wpid-dsc_0276.jpg  yummy spreads and dips.

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Steak Branding.

Hello everybody.
Only me and my youngest son are home today, so we decided to pamper ourselves with the last pieces of the high quality steaks that we have,and chance to use the branding rod I bought last week from the American Stores.

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Well Zaid tried something smart, we have a bottle of red grapes juice that nobody liked, so we soaked steaks in it, as if in red wine :mrgreen:, then seasoned them with all stuff we have and then on the grill alongside veggies ( potatoes, tomatoes, mushroom and asparagus) .

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When done Zaid heated the stamp and branded the hot steaks, though it was upside down but good for a first trial.
I added seasoned butter on top ,really fancy .

wpid-20150417_144217.jpg wpid-20150417_155307.jpg like branding cows !!

 

Made some sweet tea on the grill later with fresh mint and jam cookies,lovely quality time with my precious Zozo ,definitely his kind of food .

 

wpid-20150417_155407.jpg  not so clear but nice ,loved it.

wpid-20150417_164837.jpg dessert and tea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Baked Crispy Asparagus.

Hello everybody.
Went to visit our friends for Easter greetings last night, went home not only with chocolate and colored eggs but with a bunch of freshly cut asparagus as well and yes two jars of homemade jam also.
Looked for something new to do with them, found this easy quick recipe, crispy and tender inside was the result, yummy yummy.

You simply cut rough ends,coat them with seasoned flour ( salt,pepper, oregano, garlic powder, chili) then dip in eggs then coated again with breadcrumbs.
Grease and nonstick pan with oil or butter, add asparagus and sprinkle cheese on top then bake for 20-30 minutes in a well heated oven.

Serve with dip or ketchup as you wish.

wpid-20150416_161443.jpg excellent light appetizer dish.

 

wpid-20150416_153734.jpg  simple basic coating.

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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.

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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.

20150411_153614 all ingredients.

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Absolutely amazing,everyone should try it.

20150411_175703 yummy result.

Beautiful Gathering

Hello everybody.
Such a lovely day, great for sitting outdoors and enjoying the breeze and warm weather with my lovely group of friends.
A visit postponed many times to eat Caraway since my nephew was born, got the caraway powder straight from Nablus this time from my friend,fresh and tasty though unfortunately she couldn’t come today, thank you dear Nadia.
I also made some fresh ka3ek with sesame seeds, cheese platters and spinach tabouleh, all yummy with great company of course.

 

wpid-wp-1428430080346.jpeg Thank you Lulu for the lovely flowers.

wpid-wp-1428430085782.jpeg yummy caraway.

wpid-wp-1428430106573.jpeg wpid-wp-1428430115509.jpeg cheese and tabouleh.

wpid-wp-1428430125065.jpeg wpid-wp-1428430150496.jpeg  yummiest ka3ek ever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

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Chicken in Salt Crust.

Hello everybody.
After a discussion the other day between members of my group about fish in salt crust, I did a quick research and found out that it can be done with chicken as well, so today was my first trial.

I also did a layered veggie pot containing pumpkin, eggplants and potatoes with sweet peppers and tomatoes on top and full of herbs. Only cooked on low heat then drizzled with olive oil and roasted.

Ingredients and method of chicken :
* 1 whole chicken.
* onion,garlic, oregano, cinnamon sticks, cardamom and rosemary for stuffing the chicken.
* butter.
* for the dough you’ll need :
* 1 3/4 cups salt.
* 4  1/2 cups flour.
* tsp of oregano and mixed herbs.
* 1 cup water.
* mix all dough ingredients till easy to handle and stiff, you may need a bit more water.
* clean and dry chicken well then stuff inside with all stuffing mentioned ( you can change or add anything you like)
* rub butter, pepper and all spice all over chicken,or you can put butter in between flesh and skin.

* cover chicken with dough and seal completely very good.
* bake in a medium heated oven for 2 hours.
* crack open the crust and serve.
Note: crust must be discarded not eaten cause it’s too salty.

 

wpid-wp-1427649487898.jpeg peeled crust.

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wpid-wp-1427649444938.jpeg wpid-wp-1427649433991.jpeg chicken all wrapped.

wpid-wp-1427649401565.jpeg final look after baking.

wpid-wp-1427649423439.jpeg layered veggies.

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Black Angus Beef with Blue Cheese Sauce.

Hello everybody.

Been waiting for a day when everyone is home for lunch to do these steaks that our dear cousin brought us cause they must be grilled and eaten right away,so this snowy day is perfect.

The steaks are” black angus beef bone in striploin bone calvetti ” was afreaid they won’t be done cause they’re very thick and I can’t do them outside on the grill but they turned out alright, well done from inside.

I used some BBQ seasoning and salt only and pinched them all over then grilled then on top of a very hot grilling pan, kept turning them with a lid on till done. Side dishes were roasted potatoes and sauteed veggies and sauces were gravy mushroom ( ready mix ) and blue cheese sauce ( only for me cause nobody else like it)

wpid-wp-1424540838700.jpeg Restaurant style dish.

wpid-wp-1424540854105.jpeg roasted potatoes and veggies.

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wpid-wp-1424540868150.jpeg wpid-wp-1424540908644.jpeg blue cheese and gravy sauces.

This morning I recycled some old goodies, processed some old rock cookies, all bran and mashed dates all together and made them balls, great as breakfast right? and I have two old oranges used them for a fresh orange cake and used the remaining of the Nutella cinnamon icing on top of it after adding some lemon juice to give it a tangy flavor.

wpid-wp-1424540925275.jpeg  date cookies balls.

wpid-wp-1424540934614.jpeg basic cake with lemony creamy icing.

Well it was a long day full of work but better than sitting doing nothing cause apparently we can’t go out 🙁

 

 

 

Steak Sandwiches,Chips and Hummus.

Hello everybody.

Nobody answered what they wanted for lunch as always,only request was another plate of hummus cause it was  wiped out yesterday .

Searched through the blog,fridge,freezer and pantry then decided to make steak sandwiches,some potato chips with some veggies. Of course boys love this though I feel it’s a kind of Summer food but it was good as a change.

Was about to bake a cake but everybody objected,we ate too much last week ,enough for now !

20150113_143219  Steak sandwich,chips,hummus and veggies.

 

DSC_0314 Sun is out but still extremely cold 🙁

 

 

 

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