Category Archives: Experiments

French onion soup

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Ever since I was a little girl, French onion soup has been a favorite. So when I fell upon the treasure of a cookbook (my mother’s 70’s edition of the Betty Crocker’s Cookbook) when still young and learning to cook, naturally the first soup that I would attempt was the French onion soup. Simple and basic, it’s easy to make and tastes great. Of course, as I learned more about cuisine, I began to add French herbs, some wine (de-alcoholised in our case) and proper gruyere cheese. This weekend, I made it for my visiting sisters that have been craving it for a while. But this time, I added a new ingredient that I learned of from Elizabeth David’s French Provincial Cooking. The addition of egg yolks gave the soup a new dimension and a subtle creaminess that we loved. Thank you Elizabeth! And now for the soup:

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Camel Milk Chocolate

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Yes you read it right, camel milk chocolate! Never did I think that anyone would think of making chocolate using camel milk! So you can imagine my surprise and my hesitation when my friend and colleague handed me a bag of camel milk chocolate bars after her return from a trip to Dubai. Each bar has a different flavor as you can see from the image below.

I took the 70% chocolate bar and broke a small piece and placed it on my tongue. As it melted, the chocolate had an unfamiliar taste. It was strong. I’m not sure if it was the camel milk or because I was thinking too much. But I liked it.

So if you happen to be in Dubai and feel a bit adventurous, then why don’t you try some camel milk chocolate and while you’re at it, how about a camel burger?

Experiment 5: Pumpkin ravioli with butter sage sauce

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Pumpkin + sage = a true marriage in heaven with the inclusion of butter well then you would just reach nirvana!

My cousin who is on her spring break wanted to make ravioli together. My usual filling for ravioli is ricotta cheese mixed with shredded parmesan and dried oregano and I would serve it with  roasted tomato sauce. I love this combination but I wanted to try something new.

My sister as a way of shortcut once made pasta with cubed pumpkin cooked in butter and and sage until very soft and ever since I tried that I had fallen in love with this idea. So I wanted to translate this idea into ravioli…

Well first I had to make the pasta which is honestly the easiest thing. Continue reading →

Celebration cakes and marzipan

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My cousin’s birthday was last weekend and I wanted to be the cake person! I already knew that I was going to have a simple chocolate cake with whipped white chocolate ganache filling and white buttercream as frosting. I have done this combination many times, which is inspired from November’s Jude cake, but little did I know that I would find ready-made marzipan at Sultan. And oh the excitement! I was going to make made-from-scratch marzipan for a certain somebody’s birthday later this month so initially I bought the packets for that project. Continue reading →

The Quest for the Perfect Yogurt

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For the past few months, I have been experimenting with yogurt-making and this is also when I first bought my yogurt machine.

My first experiment failed, miserably. It looked like semi-yogurt when it was still in the fridge but as soon as it was out of the fridge it became liquid, more like laban! For my first attempt, I followed the instructions that came with the machine., which was basically mixing a litre of milk with 1/4 cup yogurt and then adding it to the machine.

On my second attempt, I adjusted it slightly by adding two tablespoons dry milk powder. It turned out fine but it was still very liquidy! And then I tried to adjust the amount of the milk powder and I even used the yogurt that I made as a starter thinking it would work.

I would of course still eat it but it was still not yogurt! I remember once giving up on a batch I made, so my mother took it and made it into labnah. It turned out really good!

It’s been awhile since I last used it. I was lately inspired in the supermarket (Co-Op) the other day and bought milk and activia yogurt to use as my starter. After some research online, I finally used the long-route method.

And this is the result… Continue reading →

oranges, cinnamon, almonds and mint!

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I recently discovered a fabulous, fabulous salad…

A delightfully, refreshing Moroccan orange salad with sugar, cinnamon and mint! And my addition of roasted thin shavings of almonds!

While I was leafing through my copy of Flavours from Arabia, published by Thames and Hudson,  I found this simple orange salad recipe. I got my copy from our al-Maidan Cultural Centre shop in case you want to grab a copy of your own!

First you need to prepare the dressing:

  • Juice of 1 orange
  • 2 tablespoons orange blossom water
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 cinnamon stick

Bring all the ingredients together in a small sauce pan and heat until you reach a simmer. Leave the dressing to simmer for 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat to cool.

Peel 6 oranges using a sharp small knife. I’m in love with my ceramic knives. They do a fantastic job! Then cut the oranges into thin slices and arrange in a deep platter.

Grab a handful of sliced almonds and lightly toast them in the oven for a few minutes.

When the dressing has cooled, spoon it oven the oranges and then add the almonds. Using a sifter or ideally a shaker, sift both cinnamon and icing sugar over the oranges.

Wash and dry a handful of mint leaves and roll them up. Taking a sharp knife, cut into thin strips (julienne). Scatter over the oranges and enjoy it as a starter for your next gathering or have it as an afternoon treat!

pumpkin stew/curry

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Sometimes when I’m hungry (and in the mood), I pop into the kitchen and see what’s available. I usually give up within 5 minutes but when I’m really in the mood, I’ll see what vegetables are available and make up something.

That one day, I saw pumpkins, actually butternut squash, and they were already peeled! It was calling for me. I took them out and starting chopping them into small pieces. I still had no idea what I was doing. Pumpkins and sage is marriage made in heaven so I took a few dried sage leaves. I took out a pan. I also saw an already chopped onion and grated garlic and ginger. I fried about half an onion in olive oil for a few minutes, until browned and then added a pinch of mix of grated garlic and ginger and fried it for one minute.

I crushed the  dried sage leaves and mixed it with a few cumin seeds and fried it with the onion and garlic mixture for about a minute also.

I added the chopped pumpkin and poured some warm water. Keep adding water until you have a thick sauce consistency and the pumpkin is soft.

This took me about 30 minutes.

You can have it with warmed pita bread (خبز لبناني) or brown rice. And there you go! A filling sweet soulful dish!

Mom’s Carrot Cake

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This has become quite the hit wherever my mother takes it. It’s a no-fuss cake that you enjoy with your morning or afternoon tea.

Many people have asked for its recipe so here it is! Of course this will make my dear mother quite happy as she is already excited that her famous shakshouka is on my blog!

Mom’s Carrot cake

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 ¼ cups sugar
  • 1 cup oil
  • 6 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest
  • ¼ cup orange juice
  • 3 cups shredded carrots
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 160 °C
  2. Beat eggs until frothy and then mix in the sugar until thick (ribbon-stage). Add oil and mix.
  3. Sift together flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture gradually.
  4. Mix in the orange zest, cinnamon, walnuts, shredded carrots and orange juice.
  5. Butter and flour a 10 or 12-inch cake pan and then pour the batter.
  6. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden.

Enjoy!

Stuffed Prunes by Guest Blogger

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I am taking a break and allowing my Guest Blogger (who also happens to be my sister) to take over today…


During Ramadan, one of the local TV channels presented a daily show on which celebrities were invited to cook a dish while being interviewed.  It was interesting observing people you would normally see performing their celebrity-yielding professions handling food.  But I could hardly claim any of the dishes that were presented during the month-long show as inspiring.  Only one dish intrigued me.  Stuffed prunes presented by Nabila Al-Anjari.  While watching the show, I wasn’t able to write down the recipe or take note of the cooking method.  Fortunately, a dear friend happens to know the celebrity guest and I asked her to kindly get the recipe.  The request was passed on, and I got a surprise call from Continue reading →

tips and tricks

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Sometimes when I have a sudden urge to bake, I use some shortcuts and tricks to use what I have already (since I can’t be bothered to the run to the co-op to buy any missing ingredients) or have no time or the patience to wait hours for a dough to chill/something to cool, etc. I also realized that when I post recipes here, I never let you know of some of the tricks and substitutions I learned along the way.

I have complied here a list, although short, of my tips and tricks. Continue reading →