Blueberry Muffins

I had this thought running in my head over and over again since this morning: "I have to make blueberry muffins."
There is something very fascinating about baking with bluberries.I love them :baked,or not baked,with cereals and milk,in cakes,with yogurt or fresh (even better!) possibilities are endless.
But combining them in muffins,I have to admit, sounded very appealing to me.
I've seen arround some recipes for blueberry muffins but this one of simply recipes is a winner.
The secret,to my humble believe,is in the yogurt added that makes those muffins so moist and delicate, and in the lemon zest that adds a wonderful fragrance and engages very well with the blueberries and results in a sweet yet very delicate taste.
I came back home from work yesterday pretty deciceve to bake those muffins.So after putting DD and DH to bed,I started to make them.I crashed right after they were baked.This morning I had one for breakfast,and I brought some to work.I recieved many compliments and am sure you will too if you decide to make them.The only thing I've changed in this recipe is omitting half cup of yogurt and putting half cup of oil instead of butter (original recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups yogurt and 1 cup and 1/4 butter) This makes muffins softer.

Makes 12-16 muffins
Enjoy!

Blueberry Muffins:

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oil (not olive oil)
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 1/2 cups blueberries
1 Tbsp flour (if using defrosted frozen berries)


Put the oven rack in the lower middle part and preheat oven to 170c°.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.

In a larg mixing bowl, put together sugar and eggs, one at a time and mix. Add oil and mix then grated lemon zest.

Beat in one half of the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Beat in one third of the yogurt. Beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients. Beat in a second third of the yogurt. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients and then the remaining yogurt. Again be careful to beat until just incorporated. Do not over beat. Fold in the berries. If you are using frozen berries, defrost them first, drain the excess liquid, and then coat them in a light dusting of flour.

Arrange 12 standard muffin cups in a mufin tray and start to distribute batch equally in the cups, don't fill them until the end , about 2/3 of a cup.Bake until muffins are golden brown, about 25-30 min or until a tooth pick inserted in the middle omes out clean.Put on a rack to cool for about 5 min.

Note: Original recipe uses blueberries, but I think you can use any kind of wild berries, and the result will be as good as this one.

Zucchini beef meatballs

I am getting frustrated from the fact that my daughter is refusing to eat veggies.

I tried everyway possible, nothing. Kids those days are no fool ,they can ditect

veggies even if you try your best in hiding them.

So I thought of grating zucchinies and putting them in the usual beef meat balls I make . They turned out really good ! My daughter ate it and she was quite satisfied ,I was happy because I knew I finally hid veggies so well into food that she didn't even notice!

shhhhhhhhh, our secret ;-)

Zucchini Beef Meat Balls:

500 gr minced beef

2 Meduim zucchini

1 egg

half cup grated parmisan cheese.

half cup bread crumbs

salt and pepper for seasoning.

Preheat oven to 170c°.
Start by washing the zucchinies then grate them finely. In a large bowl , put beef zucchies, egg, parmisan cheese, bread crumbs ,salt and peper.
Mix all ingredients together then start to form small meatballs of 2 cm diameter.
Put all meatballs in a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 min. You will have to turn them over during baking.

Happy eating!

Risotto with zucchini and shrimps

One of the things I love about my husband is his ability to create great dishes from nothing. He likes to cook and experiment with new things (but it is limited to pastas and risotti)This one I love the most it is a great Risotto made with Zucchini and shrimps, even my little two years old picky eater likes this dish.
One important thing to bear in mind while cooking a risotto is that you have to stay close to the pot and add stock to the rise as you mix it constantly, otherwise it would stick to the pot and result in a sticky risotto (God's forbid ! according to my husband :-))

Zucchini and Shrimps Risotto

1 medium zucchini

1/4 of a medium onion

1 cup rise (for risotto)

1 cube chicken stock

2 cups water

1 pack frozen shrimps (no head, no tail)

2 Tablespoons butter

Start by cutting the onions and the zucchini into small cubes. Melt the butter in a heavy pot then add onions. Sautè the onions a bit then add the zucchini and sautè.Add the the Shrimps and Rise and mix(keep mixing to avoid sticking) in a separate pot, put water and let boil then add the cube of chicken stock ( you can use fresh chicken stock, I used the cube) then add stock to cover a bit above rise mixter.Season with salt and keep mixing. When you see that rise is starting to get dry, add stock and mix until rise is cooked.

Enjoy!

food and feelings

Have you ever thought about days that shouldn't have existed.You know, those ones that really start bad and end in nothing worse nor better than lousy? Yes I know,some might say that everyday should be a unique day and the like because it might be the last one we live plus tomorrow will be a new day.It is true , but it's hard to think of it this way when you are really living it, when it's cold and snowy and when you are far away from friends and family.Today for me was one of those days:I woke up home sick,it was terribly cold and snowing outside,and as if it was not enough, I had a bad day at work.So I suddenly started to think of home, my family, my mom and her cooking....
It is amazing how food is strongly related to our childhood memories and to the ones we love and care about. So when I got back from work,freezing and gloomy, I immediately decided to cook something warming that my mother used to cook for us on those cold and rainy days: Mograbeie.
It is a middle eastern dish that it's origin, I believe, comes from Marrocow.
It is made out of semolina pasta (looks like cous cous) and a stew that is prepared with chicken pieces ,chickpeas,onions and spices.
As I cooked this dish and ate it,I immedietly felt better.It warmed my heart and took me back home, at least in my thoughts and heart.

Thanks for stopping by, here is the recipe:

Mograbie with chicken and chickpeas:
500 Gr Morabeie (or semolina like cous cous)
3 large onions.
2 Tablespoons All spices
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 can of cooked chickpeas
4 pieces of chicken (whatever you prefare)
2 Tablespoons flour
3 Tablespoons olive oil
salt
2 cups hot water

Start out by boiling the chicken in a pot, don't boil it too much ...just a bit before done take chicken off fire and cut it into small pieces.set aside.
Cut onions and sautè them in the olive oil and then add chicken pieces and brown them together.Add 2cups of hot water and let chicken and onions cook together,add chickpeas then add all spices ,salt and cinnamon.Lower the fire and let brew ,then add two tablespoons of flour to chicken stew's liquids.In the meanwhile, in a medium pot bring water to boil, put some salt then add the Mograbeie (cous cous grains) and let cook for nine minutes (or watever said on the package you've got)
Turn off fire under stew, remove Mograbeie from water.
Put mograbeie grains first into plates then add the stew on and mix.

Makes four servings.

Buon apetit.




Notes: *you can use the original Mograbeie which requieres other kind of cooking,I choose the fast cooking one (the one that you cook like pasta) Many people cook the mograbeie with a chicken stew which result in a much tasteier results.

*You can use some Sumack spice in the stew which adds to the falvour.

White Chocolate Balls With Coconut

I was in the mood for preparing a sweet treat this week,something easy,not time consuming nor messy.So I came up with a recipe that I've always wanted to try: white chocolate balls with Dolce de lecche covered with coconut!
The taste of these balls remindes me of the famous Raffaello balls ,after tasting those you'll be amazed of how close they are in taste.The recipe is so easy to follow, It took me longer writing it than making these balls.


WHITE CHOCOLATE BALLS WITH DOLCE DE LECCHE

150gr Petit ber biscuite
3-4 tablespoons dolce de lecche
150 gr white chocolate of a good quality
1 cup coconut (in powder)

Start by breaking biscuits into small pieces then crash them.
Add the 3-4 tablespoons of dolce de lecche and mix well until very well incorporated,
In a small sauce pan,put some water and bring it to boil then place a metal bowl on top of it and melt white chocolate in (ban marie) ,cool aside .
Start to make little balls from the biscuits and dolce de lecche mix, uniform in shape and dip them in the white chocolate then roll them in the coconut powder and place them in small paper cups (for bon bons)makes 20 bon bons.
e violà!

I told you this was easy.
Enjoy

Cous Cous With Vegetables And Chicken Stew

There are many recipes and many variations of the famous Moroccan dish, cous cous.

Some people love to eat meat with it,some like it with poultry and others just

prefare it vagetarian with a vegetable stew. Possibilities are endless with this dish.

Whenever I want to cook a healthy meal that combines meat or chicken with vegetables, I

think of cous cous!

I always use my mother's recipe to cook cous cous, it is a no fail recipe for an

easy going dish that is extremely delicious and nutricious at the same time.

Cous cous with chicken and vegetables


1 medium onion

80 gr cooked chickpeas (from a can)

2 branches of celery

2 big carrots

2 medium zucchini or squash

1 half of a small cabbage

1 Tb spoon olive oil

2 small potatoes

2 cups chicken broth

4 pieces of chicken (of choice)

1 tb spoon turmeric

salt and pepper

For the cous cous:

2 cups fast cooking cous cous

1 Tb spoon chicken stock (in powder or a dice like knor)

1 Tb spoon olive oil

1 and a half cups boiling water.

For the chicken (optional)

2 Tb spoon lemon juice

1 Tb spoon salt

1 Tb spoon sugar

1 Tb spoon vinegar

4 slices of lemon

Wash chiken and put it in a bowl filled with water, 2 Tb spoon lemon juice , 1 Tb

spoon salt, 1 Tb spoon sugar and 1 Tb spoon vinegar.Add the chicken and the 4 slices

of lemon then leave it in for 10 minutes.This will remove the stinky smell of the

chicken and will add a wonderful flavour to it.Boil chicken on medium flame.

In the meanwhile,wash vegetables and cut onions, potatoes and zucchini into big

dices.Cut cabbage into peices then cut carrots and celery into circles.

Take two cups of the chicken broth and pour them into a medium pot, then add the

cut vegetables , add chicken pieces and cook on a medium flame for half an hour.

Add one teaspoon of turmeric , salt and pepper then continue to cook until carrots,

chicken and potatoes are done.Towards the end of cooking, add the chickpeas and let

them boil in for additional 5 min. Turn off the fire and cover pot.

Cous cous

In a medium bowl,put two cups of cous cous , add one Tablespoon chicken stock ,1

Tablespoon olive oil and one and a half cups boiling water.

Mix well and cover for 5 min . After 5 min, uncover bowl and start separating cous

cous lumps using a fork.

Put cous cous in a plate, add cous cous stew with vegetables and chicken to your

pleasure.

Makes 4 portions.

Enjoy!

Broccoli Pie

Broccoli is one of the foods that usually people don't know how to cook. Apart from serving boiled or as some kind of cold salad. As a kid I hated broccoli, my mother used to brain wash me about how healthy it was.But I always looked at broccoli as a useless veggie.Growing up and becoming a mother myself , I realized How Healthy this Veggie is.Trying to convince a two years old pre schooler to eat veggies ,I started to think of a new way to cook broccoli so my kid (and I) will eat it.So I discovered the broccoli pie.A friend of mine cooked it once and I was amazed of how good it really taseted.Franckly, when you add grated cheese, anything becomes tasty!
This Broccoli pie is better the day after you prepare it, so don't expect any leftovers!

Ingredients:
1 cup sour cream
150 grm Ricotta cheese
200 grm cottage cheese
2 eggs
150 grm Emmental grated cheese
2 teaspoons mushroom powder
4 Tablespoons milk
1 medium broccoli head
1 Tablespoon of vegitable oil
bread crumbs (for coating pan)

Wash broccoli ,remove stems and cut head into small little pieces.Boil in a pot with hot water for 10 min.
In a medium bowl, combine :sour cream, Ricotta cheese and cottage cheese.Add eggs,mushroom powder and milk.
Remove broccoli from fire and let cool for at least ten minutes.Put broccoli into the cheese mix then add grated Emmental cheese.
Mix well from bottom to top.
Brush a 20cm rectangle pan with one Table spoon of vegitable oil.Sprinkle bread crumbs on the base of pan and boarders.
Pour batter into pan and bake in a preheated oven for 40 min at 180c°.
Pie is ready when it's golden brown.
Makes 4 servings.

Enjoy!

Last scent of summer...

I have to be honest, am not a summer person but the thought of the summer slipping away when cold breez starts to blow in the evenings and when my favourite kind of summer fruite is no longer being sold in supermarkets or markets ;gives me some kind of gloomy mood.There is something about summer that is close to an end that gives people some kind of blues.

Well, I decided to cherish those last days of summer by going to the pool with my two years DD and take advantage of the last chance in finding summer fruites and using them in my bakings.Last week I saw those beautiful red blood cherries and I decided to buy them,though I was taking a chance on buying tastless cherries, I was happy to find they were sweet and tasty just as I hoped them to be!
I searched online for a cake baked with cherries and I came across this recipe from www.sevenspoons.net, I've always liked cakes that contain almond's flour in them but combining almond's flour and cherries is really mouth watering add to this the buttery flavour and how cake is moist when using sour cream in it.
I prepared this cake last sunday for a lunch with my in laws, they were speechless.






Almond butter cake with cherries

Ingredients

360gr butter
300 gr granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2\3 cup sour cream (if you don't have any, you can mix half a cup of greek cream cheese with two Tbs yougurt)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
85 gr ground almonds (or you can use almond's flour)
175 gr all purpose flour
1\2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups fresh cherries,pitted and cut in half
25 gr flaked almonds

Preheat the oven 175 c°, butter well a 22 cm flower shape or rectangle shape pan and flour,put aside.
With an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.Decrease speed then add the eggs one at a time and mix until incorporated,scrape the sides of the bowl with a plastic spatula as you do this.

In a small bowl , mix together sour cream,vanilla extract and lemon zest.

In another bowl,sift together flour,almonds flour ,baking powder and salt.

Add half of flour to the butter mixture and mix until incorporated.Add sour cream

mixture and mix well then add the remaining of flour and mix until incorporated.

Pour mixture into prepared pan using your hands.Sprinkle fresh cherries and flaked almonds

bake for 40 min or until a scewer inserted in cake comes out clean.

Enjoy!


Note: original recipe calls for demrara sugar sprinkled with almonds' flakes before baking.I chose not to add as cake is rich enough as it is.

hello everyone

As someone who loves to cook,bake ,decorate and design festive tables,It was really difficult for me facing one question when I got married and became a mother to an adorable little girl: "what should I cook tonight?" or "what's for lunch?"
All mothers out there knows exactly what I mean. It was like a creativity killing for me,it is stressful and it gets you into a loop of frustration everytime you have to stand infront of the fridge and think where to begin!
So ,this blog was ment to orgnize my cooking and baking thoughts in order to give me back my creativity and my passion for pots and pans.I hope you will find this blog light,interesting and maybe a bit inspiring.
Feel free to write your comments or you can just email me ,if you have some question.

Selma