Exercising some Self-Control...

So, it's Lent. I was raised Catholic but am not particularly religious these days; however I usually give up something for Lent using it as a good opportunity to test my willpower. It's also convenient as I tend to have a trip of some sort planned in April so I like to give up some sort of food in an attempt to get myself ready for bathing suit weather.

In past years I've given up all sorts of things from ice cream to eating out, fried foods and beer. This year I decided to give up baked treats so all pastries, cookies, cakes and sweet breads are off-limits. I couldn't quite fathom giving up baked goods altogether so this was my compromise (though I may try next year...). Anyway, it hasn't been too bad so far but there have definitely been more than a few temptations especially at work (there was a bake sale on Friday! Torture). Since this also means I am not baking much these days, I thought I would share a recipe I've been meaning to post from a few weeks back.

I'd been wanting to try making whoopie pies for awhile now. I admit, I wasn't really on the whole whoopie pie bandwagon for a long time but then I tried this amazing pumpkin whoopie pie with cream cheese filling and it completely changed my mind! I decided to try these out for an Oscar party I went to (I had to bring a Toy Story 3 themed food...so I went with "Jessie's Yeehaw! pies". Get it??).


Since one of my friends happens to have a severe milk allergy I decided to make these dairy-free. I was a little nervous about it as I have never cooked with lactose-free milk and anyone who's close to me know that I am a hard core butter advocate and NEVER use margarine. But to my surprise they turned out delicious and you couldn't even tell they were dairy free! I used a marshmallow frosting which was really tasty and made the pies much lighter than they appeared. So try them out and enjoy (since I can't!)


Whoopie Pies
adapted from Epicurious

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup soy milk
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup margarine or butter (I used Earth Balance margarine)
1 cup sugar
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 350°F.

1. Mix together vinegar and soy milk in a cup and leave to the side for a few minutes. You can also use buttermilk, or regular milk and vinegar. Stir in the vanilla.

2. Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until everything is combined and the cocoa is well distributed.

3. Cream the margarine and sugar in a large bowl until pale and fluffy. The recipe says to use an electric mixer but I used my immersion blender for a couple of minutes and then a wooden spoon. Add the egg, beating until combined well.

4. Stir in the flour mixture and milk in batches, beginning and ending with flour and mixing until smooth.

5. Spoon 1/8-cup mounds of batter about 2 inches apart onto parchment-lined baking sheets. (Note: I never ever actually use measuring cups with batter, but since I needed these to actually be similar sizes I used a dry measure and scraped out in mounds using a teaspoon). Bake in upper and lower thirds of the oven, switching the sheets halfway through baking, until tops are puffed and cakes spring back when touched, 10 to 12 minutes. I actually only had one baking sheet available at time so I baked these in three batches on the middle rack and they were done in 10 minutes.

6. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

7. Once cool, match up the cakes in twos of similar sizes and fill with marshmallow topping. I think I used about a heaping tablespoon per cake but you can obviously use more or less. The recipe I used for filling made a bit more than I needed but not a ridiculous amount. Let the cakes sit for awhile before storing or packing away so the filling kind of sets (I did not do this and I made a bit of a mess in the tupperware containers!)


Marshmallow Topping

1 1/2 cups sugar (I was running out of sugar so ended up using a combination of white, brown and icing sugar. It didn't seem to affect the final product)
1 tbsp white corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup water
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Place sugar, corn syrup, salt, water, and egg whites in the top of a double boiler or a heatproof bowl on top of a pot of boiling water. Beat with a handheld electric mixer (I used my immersion blender with the whisk attachment) for 1 minute.

2. Place the pan or bowl over the boiling water, making sure that the boiling water does not touch the bottom of the top pan. (If this happens, it could cause your frosting to become grainy). Beat constantly on high speed with electric mixer for 7 minutes or until stiff peaks form (I think mine took closer to 10 minutes).

3. Fold in vanilla. Let cool to room temperature before filling cakes.

Singapore Peanut Pancakes (Mee Jian Kuih), Sourdough-style

Yesterday was National Pancake Day in the UK! I love all these silly pancake days and apple days that I never got in Singapore.

In honour of this special day, all the supermarkets were having sales on things like self-raising flour and maple syrup, but when I think pancakes, the first thing that pops into mind are these peanut pancakes that my mum will buy fresh from the local market for breakfasts. Unlike western pancakes, they are folded over, kind of like a sandwich. There are two versions, thin and crispy, or thicker and spongy, and they will have brittle delicate edges. My favourite filling is the original one-- crushed roasted peanuts (not peanut butter!) with sugar and butter, although it's also very common to find them filled with sweet red bean paste (Chinese/Japanese style), or sweetened coconut flakes, or (tsk.) chocolate/Nutella.

I decided to adapt a recipe for sourdough pancakes to make these. There are some very good sourdough pancakes recipes, like this one by the Nourishing Gourmet, but they mostly needed some planning ahead. This one just made use of my starter, which sounded perfect because I wanted my pancakes NOW. My previous try with this recipe made a pancake that was really crumbly, almost like a biscuit, and really salty, so I made quite a few adaptations, after comparing it with the recipes for the non-sourdough pancakes.

Singapore Peanut Pancakes (Mee Jian Kuih), Sourdough-style

will yield 4 wedges (2 -4 servings)

Ingredients

1 cup sourdough starter

1 egg

1 tbsp melted butter or coconut oil (or evoo, if you don't mind that strong olive note in your pancakes...)

1/2 tsp natural vanilla essence

1 tsp of my make-ahead pancake mix (see below)

My Make-ahead Pancake Mix

You can make a larger mix, and keep it in your pantry for fuss-free pancakes on lazy Sunday mornings.

1 part baking soda

3 parts baking powder

5 parts raw cane sugar Rapadura

Peanut Filling

I made mine a "deluxe" version with added crushed walnuts(:

3/4 cup peanuts, soaked and dehydated to get rid of phytic acids

1/4 cup walnuts, soaked and dehydrated

2-3 tbsp raw cane sugar Rapadura

2 tsps of salted butter

Method

1. Toast the nuts over medium high heat, then grind coarsely or just crush the rustic way. Mix with the sugar and set aside.

2. Heat a 9" flat pan over medium heat. Grease.

3. Whisk all the ingredients together well, making sure that you don't get lumps of pancake mix here and there.

4. Add in the sourdough starter and then whisk again, for no more than 30 seconds, and pour in the batter.

5. Roll the pan around so the batter gets evenly distributed. Some of the batter will just run over the sides of the pan a little, and that's how you get that thin crispy edge! This obviously won't work with a too large pan.

5. When the pancake is almost cooked. sprinkle the peanut filling over half of the top and dot with butter.

6. When pancake is fully cooked, flip the empty side over into a half-moon, leave for 1-2 min more than dish out.

7. Cut into 4 wedges. Or if you do this in batches in a small pan, just serve them as half-moon sandwiches!

Oh, biting into the crisp edges and soft doughiness of these pancake "sandwiches" really bring a sense of nostalgia. The aroma of those roasted nuts, together with the sweet raw cane sugar and the salty butter against the new hint of tanginess introduced by the sourdough, is pure joy. Pure joy also, is having the filling fall out all over your plate and frantically scooping them up with your hands and into your mouth, so do be a bit over-generous with yourself (:

If you don't like the idea of a sourdough mee jian kueh, but want to up the nutrition of your pancakes anyway by using wholegrain flour, you could try going ahead with the original recipe. Minus the eggs and leavening agents and add a small amount of yogurt or vinegar then leave the batter to soak overnight first, like at Heavenly Homemakers. I want to try this out, adding the rice flour as recommended by My Kitchen Snippets, which probably will help the pancake be a bit more chewy and springy. Check for future updates ;)

This is part of Full Plate Thursdays, Simple Lives Thursday, Fightback Friday, and Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays.

Chocolate Creme Brulee

Wah asyiknya ternyata kreasiku untuk lomba "Fun with Up Cocoa " yang diselenggarakan dalam acara HMFF NCC yang ke 6 dan bekerja sama dengan CNI membuahkan hasil yang sangat memuaskan.

Jadi teringat pertama kali terima email dari panitia HMFF, langsung memutuskan untuk ikut dalam acara tersebut dan tanpa berpikiran untuk ikut lombanya karena kerjaan dikantor cukup menyita waktu jadi langsung mikir tidak bakal punya waktu cukup untuk olah matematika resep hehehehehheehe........ (males.com). Waktu itu aku juga belum sempat daftar dan hanya daftar lewat Puspita - Komandan NCC Depok, dan setelah hampir 2 minggu baru diingatkan untuk mendaftar. Nah kebetulan pas waktu luang dan sempat membaca email milis ternyata ada email dari mbak Fatmah untuk mengajak member NCC ikut serta dalam acara ini akhirnya setelah talipun dengan beliau akhirnya aku daftar juga dan waktu itu masih bingung mau bikin apa dan akhirnya pilihanku jatuh ke Chocolate Creme Brulee, secara tantangan KBB bulan Januari adalah Creme Brulee nah kenapa tidak aku coba untuk berkreasi dengan Upcocoa untuk kudapan ini.

Kenapa ini yang aku pilih ? lagi lagi cari yang paling mudah cara pembuatan dan ternyata biaya tambahan yang diperkenankan juga tidak boleh lebih dari 30rb alhasil memutar otak kembali bagaimana caranya bisa membuat kudapan ini tapi dengan biaya yang sudah ditetapkan.
Setelah melakukan trial error sebanyak 3 kali akhirnya resep inilah yang aku pilih untuk diikutkan serta.

Chocolate Creme Brulee
By. Nilam Sari


Bahan :
250 ml Whipping cream
200 ml Susu cair
3 butir kuning telur
50 grm Gula pasir
3 sdt Up cocoa Powder
Sejumput garam

Topping :
1 sdm gula pasir/ gula palem

Cara pembuatan :
1. Panaskan oven dengan suhu cukup 150 derajat
2. Panaskan whipping cream, garam dan susu cair lalu sisihkan
3. Kocok kuning telur dan gula dan up cocoa hingga rata
4. Masukan adonan susu cair kedalam adonan telur sedikit demi sedikit dan aduk hingga rata
5. Tuangkan adonan dalam beberapa ramekin dan oven (au bain marie) hingga adonan menjadi set angkat dan dinginkan.

Penyelesaian :
Setelah creme brulee matang dan dingin taburkan gula pasir / gula palem lalu panggang hingga menjadi caramel - jika tidak ada oven api atas bisa menggunakan blowtorch.

Saran penyajian :
Creme brulee sangat enak disajikan dingin jadi sebaiknya dinginkan dalam chiller kurang lebih 3 jam sebelum dihidangkan.


Thanks to NCC semoga sukses terus dan hidup KBB yang telah mengajarkan banyak hal dalam dunia perbakingan dan membuat aku berani terus untuk berkreasi lebih banyak.

Gethuk Kue Keranjang

Hmmmm kudapan yang ini justru lebih mudah lagi dari segi bahan dan cara pembuatan, penasaran ? yuk diintip resepnya :

Gethuk Kue Keranjang
By. Nilamsari

Bahan :
500 gr Kue Keranjang
Kelapa muda parut & garam sedikit - kukus

Cara membuat :

Potong kue keranjang kecil kecil lalu kukus selama 20 menit setelah itu angkat dan langsung gulingkan satu persatu kedalam kelapa muda parut yang sudah dikuku, sajikan hangat hangat.

Mendhut Kue Keranjang

Setiap perayaan Imlek pasti dirumah selalu ada yang namanya Kue Keranjang dan karena kalau dimakan langsung terasa manis banget biasanya dibikin kudapan yang mudah saja karena memang kue ini dari kecil sering ada juga setiap Imlek.

Kudapan ini aku beri nama Mendhut Kue Keranjang karena bentuknya seperti kue mendhut semarang dan cara bikinnya juga cukup mudah kok.

Mendhut Kue Keranjang
By. Nilamsari

Bahan :

500 gr kue keranjang / dodol china
200 ml santan kental matang
Daun pisang untuk membungkus

Cara membuat :
Potong kue keranjang kecil kecil lalu bungkus dengan daun pisang dan beri 1sdm santan kental lalu sematkan dengan lidi - bentuk tum (cmiiw) lalu kukus kurleb 30 menit.

Kalau aku lebih suka disajikan dingin dari kulkas....hmmm yummy dan tidak terlalu berasa manis banget karena ada campuran santan kental yang gurih.

Baked Apples with Cinnamon Nuts and Raisins

I don't often do desserts because it's hard to avoid all the sugar. When I do make desserts though, I try to make sure the sweetness comes naturally from fruits. This is a very very easy pudding, and one that satisfies both your sweet tooth and conscience!

Baked Apples with Cinnamon Nuts and Raisins

serves 2

Ingredients

2 Bramley apples (both a good eating and cooking apple and will end up sweet, light and fluffy inside)

a handful of chopped almonds, walnuts and pumpkin seeds (soaked and dried please! use any you fancy. pecans would be nice.)

1 tsp of raisins (if you want to jazz it up a bit, soak your raisins in rum or brandy for a couple of hours before)

1-2 tsp of brown sugar (I used raw cane sugar Rapadura)

a generous pinch of cinnamon

few dabs of butter

To serve

Plain Greek yogurt (or some raw cream or homemade custard)

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees celsius.

2. Remove the core of the apples. I did it by cutting a square around the core of the apples, but stabbing my knife in at an angle, but if you have a fancy apple corer use that!

3. Mix the nuts, raisins, sugar and cinnamon together, before stuffing the mixture into the apple holes, and adding a happy dab of butter over.

4. Place the stuffed apples into an ovenproof dish, and pour some water around the apples so they don't dry out.

5. Bake for about 45 min until the apples are soft and oozing, but not collapsing. Serve with a dollop of yogurt and the apple juices spooned over.

6. Dig your spoon into it and have all the warm sweet apple juices flow out, mixed with that buttery toffee-ishness, and the crunch of the toasted caramelised nuts, and then on top of that, you have your creamy tangy yogurt. And then on top of all that, you have the reassuring knowledge that it's not loaded with the things that make a dessert sinful (:

KBB#21 Creme Brulee

KBB # 21 kali ini seru juga dan masih sekitar kudapan yang manis ......dan sangat cocok sekali di jadikan dessert. Sudah lama penasaran akan satu dessert ini dan kini terjawab sudah setelah berhasil membuat ternyata ini "puding caramelnya orang Eropa" hehehehhehehe....tidak percaya ? sok atuh bikin pasti nanti hasil akhir pasti akan berucap " o ini tho namanya creme brulle...."
Creme BruleeSource: Jamie Oliver: The Naked Chef 2

Serves 6

300g fresh rhubarb

3 Tbs caster sugar

2 vanilla pods

300ml double cream

200ml full fat milk

8 egg yolks

80g sugar

Preheat the oven to 140C/275F/Gas 1. Roughly slice up the rhubarb and place it in a pan with the caster sugar and 5 tablespoons of water. Simmer until tender, divide between 6 small serving dishes which your brulee will be cooked in, then set aside.
Score the vanilla pods lengthwise and run the knife up the pod to remove the vanilla seeds. Scrape these into the pan with the pods, cream and milk and slowly bring to the boil. Meanwhile beat together the yolks and the sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy. When the cream and milk are just boiling, remove the vanilla pods and add little by little to the egg mixture, whisking continuously. I like to remove any bubbles or froth from the mixture before dividing it into the serving dishes, on top of the rhubarb. Stand these in an appropriately sized roasting tray filled with water half way up the containers, and bake in the pre-heated oven for around 25 minutes until the custard mixture has set but is still slightly wobbly in the centre.
Allow to cool to room temperature then place in the fridge until ready to serve. Sprinkle with sugar and caramelize under a very hot grill or using a kitchen blowtorch. Lovely.

Salad Buah

Untuk yang malas makan buah buahan aku pikir kudapan satu ini bisa dijadikan alternatif dan karena penyajiannya yang beda dari biasanya pastinya sih semua orang akan menyukai .

Salad buah
By. Nilamsari

Bahan :
Aneka buah buahan ( Apel, anggur, nanas, pier dsb sesuai selera )
Sour cream / Younghurt plain
Mayonaise
Susu kental manis
Keju parut secukupnya

Cara membuat :

Potong buah buahan yang sudah dicuci - sisihkan kemudian aduk jadi satu sourcream, mayonaise, susu kental manis jangan lupa dicicipin ya kemudian campur dengan buah buahan potong lalu taburin dengan keju parut secukupnya dan sajikan selagi dingin karena akan lebih nikmat.

Orange Cupcakes with Nutella

I am back with something sweet this time :) Yes, I have decided to improve my baking skills :) This recipe is adapted from 2 different places: Orange cake from the digital magazine Sweet Paul (which I really like!): www.sweetpaulmag-digital.com I used the muffin tins instead of the cake baking pan and the other one is from one of my favorite sites run by a sweet lady called Cherine: Chicho's Kitchen. I took her advice on adding Nutella to cupcakes and muffins and it turned yummy!!! I loved the idea that the cake was made with fresh oranges. The taste was wonderful!

So the main recipe for the cake from Sweet Paul is as follows:
Makes 2 cakes (3x6 pans) according to the original recipe. I got about 20 cupcakes from this batch depending on the size of the tin or paper cups you are using.
6 sweet oranges (I used 5 big ones)
6 large eggs
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup plain flour
1 1/2 cups ground almonds
2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Nutella or any equivalent

Powdered sugar, for dusting (I skipped that)

Wash the oranges and place them whole and unpeeled in a pot filled with water.
Bring to a boil and let simmer for about two hours. Remove the oranges, let cool then cut in half and remove seeds. Place half the amount of oranges in a food processor and purée and set aside. Now, beat the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the orange purée, vanilla then beat all well. Add flour, baking powder, almonds, salt and mix all until smooth.

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Grease the baking pan, pour half the batter, add some Nutella then add the rest. This way the chocolate will be right in the middle. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes. Stick a toothpick and if it comes out clean then it's ready. Transfer to a on a wire rack and let cool off.

Meanwhile for the topping:
Chop the remaining oranges and place in a small saucepan with sugar and water. Let all simmer until liquid transforms into a thick syrup (about 10 to 12 minutes or so). Let it cool. Then serve as the topping of the cupcakes.

Dust with powdered sugar before serving. (I skipped that step) but next time I would love to drizzle some melted chocolate instead.

Enjoy!!!!

Puding Sutera

Ramai sekali di NCC membicarakan kelembutan puding ini akhirnya liburan kemarin di putuskan untuk membuat puding ini dan hasilnya emang lembut sekali....karena ini puding manisnya sangat pas dan saranku penyajiannya enaknya ditambahkan dengan sirup dan buah buahan kaleng atau apa saja tapi yang rasanya manis asem seger dan yang pasti ketika siang hari nan panas akan terlewati begitu saja ketika menyantap puding ini.

Puding Sutera
Original resep : Widya Hidayat

Bahan :
1 klg SKM
1 bks agar agar bubuk
6 klg air (ukuran menggunakan kaleng skm ya....)
sejumput garam

Topping :
Sirup ABC Squash Orange/Manggo
Buah kaleng / Jeruk /Leci/Nata de coco sesuai selera saja

Cara membuat :
Campur bahan diatas lalu masak dengan api sedang dan aduk hingga mendidih lalu dinginkan dan tambahin dengan topping.

Mudahkan....

Be back posting recipes soon!

Being in Lebanon for the last few weeks has been keeping me from posting recipes. Time just flies here and I am not cooking during my vacation, but I will cook and post some recipes very soon and while I'm still here. Meanwhile, here's a photo of a kind of Lebanese sweet that we were having the other night after dinner with some friends. It's called "KARABEEJ", these are pistachios stuffed cookies like "Maamoul" and you dip them with a specially prepared cream called "NATEF". This kind of dipping cream is not easy to make at home, I would say very difficult to get the main ingredient to prepare it called "soapwart", so everybody here buys this kind of dessert or sweet, or if the cookies are prepared at home, the cream can be bought seperately from the sweet shops or Patisseries. I found a recipe on the net they call it "Karabeej Aleppo" so maybe the origin of this dessert came from Syria. Here's the recipe link just in case anybody would like to give it a try, the site is Discover Lebanon

Meghli (Lebanese Rice pudding) - المغلي

Meghli is a kind of Lebanese rice pudding prepared in special occasions especially when a baby is born. It is a tradition to serve it to guests and friends when they come to offer their congratulations. It is also served on Christmas Eve's dinner along with the Yule Log. Most people nowadays prepare it all the time not only on occasions.

Serves 7-8 (of the same size of the serving bowl shown in the photo)

Ingredients:
1 cup of rice flour
1 cup of sugar
8 cups of water
1 tbsp of ground caraway seeds
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp ground anis seeds

For the topping:
Raw almonds, pistachios, walnuts and coconut flakes.

In the cooking pot, add the cups of water, rice flour, whisk or stirr until desolved, then add the sugar until it desolves too. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium heat. Add the spices: caraway, cinnamon, anis seeds. The pudding can easily stick so you can't leave it. Stirr until it thickens then transfer into the serving bowls and let it cool. Meanwhile, add water to the alomds and pistachios and let them sit until they soften (about half to an hour or so). Before serving the pudding, top it with coconut flakes, then almonds and pistachios then serve. Or you can decorate the bowls and leave them in the refrigerator.

Apricot & Ginger Tarte Tatin

Every month over at the Leftover Queen there is a challenge to create a brand new dish from three specified ingredients. Apart from that one caveat, the imagination is free to run wild. This is my first entry so please be kind!

I had one of those great moments when I first saw the list of three ingredients for this month's Royal Foodie Joust. Usually, when presented with a task like this one I will be wracked with indecision and spend days agonising over the potential dishes, day and night.

If it is something really serious, like when I was auditioning for Masterchef, I cannot sleep and even when I close my eyes my busy mind refuses to stop cooking. It is like a demon chef projectionist is playing a fast moving series of images into my head. Think 'A Clockwork Orange' but with more risotto.

But not this time. Instead of being teased with indecision, the words 'tarte tatin' immediately burst into my head when I read that this months creation should contain apricots, ginger and butter.

My usual take on this classic French dish was inspired by a trip to Midsummer House and involves the addition of cinnamon, star anise and bay leaf. I've done this a couple of times before so I knew that spices worked and managed to cut through the rich sweetness of the pastry and caramel. Why not with apricots too?

These delicious little bites of juicy fruitiness are great on their own and maybe it is because they look a little like the sun but I can't eat one without thinking of a warm summer's evening, no matter what the weather outside. They are also great to cook with...

Apricot and Ginger Tarte Tatin
To serve two. Don't let the simplicity fool you - it belies a warm, summery and strangely complex burst of flavour.

4 apricots, skinned and halved
a small piece of ginger, about the size of the top half of your thumb, peeled
50g of caster sugar
50g of unsalted butter, cubed
200g puff pastry, rolled to about 1cm thickness

Preheat the oven to 200c. To peel the apricots, cut a small cross in the skin at the base of each one. Drop them into boiling water for 10-15 seconds then remove and run them under cold running water - you don't want them to cook, at least not yet. When cool the skins should peel off easily.


Melt the sugar in a heavy based, oven proof frying pan (or tarte tatin pan, if you have one) until it begins to brown. Add the butter and stir to make a caramel. Use a fine grater - a microplane is ideal - to grate the ginger into the mixture. Give it a good stir. The warm, spicy notes of the ginger should hit your nose straight away.

Place the apricot halves into the pan, flat side down and return to a medium heat. Cook them for about 3-4 minutes then turn them over and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Be careful because the caramel is freaking hot and from personal experience I can say that if you get it on your fingers, you know about it.


Remove the pan from the heat and lay the pastry over the top. It should be slightly too large for the pan meaning that the edges can be bunched up and tucked down the sides so that the fruit and caramel is neatly sealed in. Cook it for about 20 minutes until the pastry starts to brown. Turn it out onto an eagerly waiting plate (again, watch out for molten sugar trying to escape and singe your little pinkies) and serve with plain yoghurt if you're feeling healthy, or vanilla ice cream if you're feeling decadent.

To size up the competition or take part, visit the site

Strawberry, Watermelon and Papaya Smoothie

There's nothing better than a simple smoothie after a long hot day!

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:
1 cup of ice
1 cup of frozen watermelon
1 cup of frozen papaya
1 cup of fresh strawberries
1 6oz fat free vanilla yogurt

Put all the ingredients in a smoothie maker or a mixer, once everything is pureed together, pour into glasses and voila!

Rice Pudding (Riz b-Haleeb) - ارز بالحليب

Serves 4-6 (depending on the size of the dessert bowl)

Ingredients:
1/3 cup white rice
3 1/2 cups of milk
1 1/2 cups of water
4 tablespoons of condensed sweetened milk (optional)
5 tablespoons of sugar
4 tablespoons of corn starch
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon rosewater
A pinch of salt
Apricot marmelade for the topping

In a pan, add water, pinch of salt, then add the rice and cook for 30 minutes on low. Drain any water left if not all absorbed. In another pan, add milk, sugar, corn starch, condensed milk, vanilla, rosewater. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to medium. Add the cooked rice and stir. You need to keep an eye on that and keep stirring until it thickens. Also you need to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. When it thickens, pour into the serving bowls and let it completely cool. After that, spread the marmelade on top then refrigerate until time to serve.

Ghraybeh Cookies - غريبة

Serves about 8 people

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup of powdered sugar
1 1/2 cup of shortening
2 1/2 cups of flour
Raw pistachios* (each cookie needs one pistachio)

In the mixer, add shortening then the sugar, mix well until all becomes fluffy, then add the flour gradually until you get the cookie dough ready. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes. To make the shape of the cookies, take a small amount about the size of a small ball, roll it about 1/4 inch and then close it just like making a circle. Right where you attach this circleor where the two ends meet place a pistachio there (the photo shows the shape). Place on a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes into a heated 275 or 300 degrees oven. Do not touch the cookies until they are completely cooled off. Sometimes the cookies might need more minutes depending on the oven's temperature.

* Raw pistachios can be found in Middle Eastern stores, or you can simply use almonds instead.

Easy Apple Dessert

About 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
2 and a half chopped apples
1 cup of sugar
Vanilla
1/4 spoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 egg beaten
1 cup of flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup crushed walnut

Mix apples with sugar and let it sit for half an hour.
Mix the egg, oil, salt, spices, flour, baking soda, few drops of vanilla, nuts, then the apples. I used the regular baking pan that I use for banana bread or any cake. Bake for 30-35 minutes, in a 350 degrees oven. You may serve with powdered sugar on top.
PS: It will stay a bit moist when it comes out of the oven until it completely cools.