Tag Archives: food photography

It is becoming to look a lot like Christmas!

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Gingersnaps

Gingersnaps

Don’t we all, at some point of our life, have met someone who, from the first time, was stamped in our memory?

Last June, I flew all the way to Abu Dhabi just to watch Madonna’s concert. It was a huge thing to me. I love her songs, her performance and every bit of her show. Being standing close to the stage in the front row, felt like I was partying with the Queen of Pop and I was really happy to finally see her!!

On my way back home, I watched movies on board and barely gave attention to the girl sleeping in the seat next to me, until just before we landed we started a conversation. Traditionally it started with the where are you from question, and funny enough I found out that she was at the concert too, she lives in Lebanon just a stone’s throw away from my house, her girls are in the same bus with Kaia my daughter, she’s also in the advertising business and loves cooking!! All I can remember is that we kept on answering me too, me too:) It’s true I haven’t seen her since, but we do exchange messages on Whatsapp occasionally and the last time we did she asked me for the Gingersnaps recipes.

Mmm… one of my favorite too! Especially, the traditional Swedish recipe, the cookies are very thin and spicy. The dough is not sticky and very enjoyable to work with. I use black treacle or carob molasses, very popular in the Lebanese kitchen. I like to combine 2 kinds of sugar to have a nice brown color, but if one brown sugar is used it will not make any big change on the outcome. Warming up for Christmas!

This one goes to you Joumana! Enjoy it!

Ingredients

  • ½ cup light brown sugar
  • ½ cup dark brown sugar
  • ¼ cup black treacle
  • ½ cup drinking water
  • 150 g (1 ½ stick) unsalted butter, diced
  • 1 tbsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp ground cloves
  • 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 3 cups all-purpose-flour, sifted
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • Pinch of salt

Preparation

1. In a small saucepan, combine sugar, treacle and water and heat until it starts boiling.

2. Add the butter and stir constantly over low heat until it is completely melted. Turn off the heat and set aside to cool.

3. Blend in the spices.

4. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the mixture a little at a time and mix well to a smooth consistency.

5. Refrigerate overnight.

6. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C.

7. Sprinkle flour on a working surface and roll it thin. Cut into desired shapes and place them on a lined baking sheet or a greased cookie sheet.

8. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Let the gingersnaps cool on the cookie sheet.

Mushroom, Ham and Cheese Pizza

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During the last few years, Milan has been an addictive destination to me! No matter where I wanted to go in Europe, it has to be via Milano. Partly is for the shopping of course but mostly is for the bounties of Italy. I’m in love with this country, the nature, the culture, the traditions, the walks and obviously the food!

Last week I was there with my dear friend Nidal. We had a blast! We enjoyed every bit of our stay.

On our last day, we drove north to the town of Como. We walked around the small streets then went to see one of the top travel destination in Italy, lying between Milan and the border of Switzerland, the Lake Como. Wow! Beautiful! I think my heart has stopped beating for few seconds.

After Como we crossed the Swiss frontiers visiting Lugano, where we had lunch, bought Gruyere cheese and Swiss chocolate and walked the stretch along the Lake Lugano. I was surrounded with breathtaking scenery! I stared at the deep blue water, the mountains and the white peaks in disbelief, thinking this is all I wanna do, everything else can wait!

Zap to reality, to Lebanon, with its never-ending political issues and stressful events bursting every now and then.

Inspired by my trip and all fused with my passion for Italian cooking, I decided today to bake a Pizza.

This recipe uses fresh onions, garlic, mushroom and scented thyme. I sprinkled fresh garden basil over the Mozzarella and the Gruyere cheese, to give it a little extra flavor and fragrant.

Unfortunately, it’s not the best shot I have on my website, next time I make the same recipe, I’ll try to take a better picture.

I would be lying if I say that I make Pizza often. It’s so easy to prepare, but for some reason I always manage to forget about this recipe. And when I do it, I’m always proud of my achievement, which earns me big smiles from my hubby and girls!

Mushroom, Ham and Cheese Pizza

Ingredients

 The dough

  • 400g all-purpose flour (strong flour Tipo “00” is recommended)
  • 100g semolina or ferkha
  • 1tsp salt
  • 7g/2 ¼ tsp/1 sachet active dry yeast + 50ml hand-hot water
  • 1tsp sugar
  • 1 cup lukewarm water
  • 2 tbsp extra-virgin oil

Filling

  • 1 small onion, finely sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 cups of tomato sauce or passata
  • 1 tbsp ketchup
  • 200g sliced ham
  • 100f fresh mushrooms, sliced
  • Handful of fresh thyme
  • ½ cup black olives, pitted
  • 1 tbsp pizza seasoning
  • Salt & Pepper
  • 1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
  • 1 cup gruyere cheese, grated

Directions

  1. In a jug, dissolve the yeast and sugar in water and let stand for 10 minutes or until frothy.
  2. In a large bowl, sift flour and semolina together. Add salt.
  3. Make a well in the middle. Add oil to the yeast mixture and pour it in the centre of the well. Start mixing, bringing the flour from the edges to the middle. Add water and keep kneading to form a springy large ball with the dough.
  4. Cover the dough with an oiled sheet of cling film and return to the bowl. Cover it with a kitchen towel and leave the dough to rise about ½ an hour or until it has doubled in size.
  5. To make the topping: In a saucepan heat oil and sauté onions and garlic for 3 minutes. Add tomato sauce, ketchup and mushrooms and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Season with oregano or pizza seasoning and salt and pepper.
  6. Off the heat add the thyme and the olives and mix.
  7. Remove the dough from the bowl and roll out on a floured surface to form a rectangular shape. Place it in the mold pushing out the edges evenly. For thick dough, it should be no more than 1cm.
  8. Brush the dough with the tomato Passata sauce and spread the topping evenly over the pizza base and sprinkle with Gruyere and Mozzarella cheese. Bake in a preheated oven 200°C for 20-25 minutes or until the dough rises and turns slightly golden.

Chinese Noodles with Sesame Seeds and Tahini

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Here comes this time of the year when summer is over and big amounts of money has been spent on vacations and tuition fees and little money is left for my grocery budget. TIME TO CLEAN UP MY PANTRY!

What’s in here? Huge quantities of sauces that I never use, a stock of noodles that I forgot about and some canned vegetables expiring soon.

Concentrating on the noodles, I kind of created the following dish, it’s not one of those secret recipes that have been running in the family from one generation to other, nor a recipe I learned from some celebrity chef I worked with, it’s just a kind of inspired-by-the-moment recipes that turned out to be delicious and got the cheer of the audience*.

A true simple recipe that came together quickly like a magic meal. Hope you try it and enjoy it as much as we did.

*Audience as in Serge, Kaia and Axel

Ingredients

  • 1 pack of soba noodles
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 1 tbsp fresh root ginger, grated
  • 2 sprigs green onions, sliced
  • 1 red bell pepper, sliced
  • 1 can whole sweet corn, drained
  • 1 cup baby carrots
  • 1 cup baby asparagus, each sprig cut in 3
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • ¼ cup castor sugar
  • ¼ cup tahini paste
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • Salt and Pepper, to taste
  • ¼ cup toasted sesame seeds
  • ¼ fresh coriander, chopped
  • ½ cup toasted peanuts
  • ¼ cup cabbage, shredded

Preparation

  1. Cook the noodles according to directions on package. Drain and set aside.
  2. In a wok or a large frying pan, stir-fry the ginger and garlic on a medium heat, for 2-3 minutes then add the green onions.
  3. Increase the heat to high and stir-fry the bell pepper, for 3 minutes.
  4. Add the carrots, the baby corn, and cook for a further 3 minutes.
  5. Finish with the asparagus and stir-fry for a further 2 minutes.
  6. Drizzle with lemon juice and transfer to a large saucepan.
  7. In a measurement jug or a bowl, mix together the soy sauce, sugar, tahini paste and rice vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Pour over the vegetables and add the noodles.
  8.  Toss all together to mix and add the coriander then sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and peanuts and garnish with cabbage. Serve immediately.

Kishik porridge or Kishk

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I came back from the gym to find out my handsome man making breakfast! Isn’t it great to have someone cooking for you! I’m so blessed I know! Not only the pictures he takes for my blog are amazing but he also loves cooking!!

My beautiful girl and petite adorée Kaia is back to school, and this means longer mornings for me to finish all those piled up tasks and to take pictures of food right before I eat it:)

Thursday, September 20, 2012. The Oryans breakfast menu is Kishik soup.

Lebanese Kishik powder is made from wheat (burghul) fermented with yogurt (laban). It’s a 10-days-process, that till now many of the Lebanese, especially living in the village including my mom-in-law Laure, prepare it every year in September as part of their pantry (mouneh) ingredients for winter. It’s cooked in many ways, my favorite is Kishik samosa style or Kishik porridge.

My share of kishik was delivered yesterday and Serge couldn’t wait to cook some. It’s one of his favorite food! It’s another staple in our house. He only makes it for breakfast, but many will eat it for lunch or dinner. I love it without the meat since it has always been a breakfast meal for me. A true delight!

Thankfully, my hubby is finally sharing his recipe!

Much love, Maya xx

Kishik porridge

Ingredients

▪    2 tbsp olive oil
▪    1 tbsp butter
▪    1 medium onion, chopped
▪    2 cloves garlic, crushed
▪    ½ kg lamb, ground (optional)
▪    2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
▪    1 potato, peeled and diced small
▪    1 cup kishik (found at stores who sell Mediterranean food)
▪    4 cups water
▪    Salt to taste
▪    ½ tsp white pepper

 Preparation

  1. In a pan, heat olive oil then melt the butter. Add the onions and sauté until soft and golden. Add chopped garlic and cook for another 3-5mn.
  2. If you’re cooking kishik with meat this is when you have to add it. Add meat to the pan and cook for 10mn. Add pine nuts. Stir. Add potatoes and sauté until tender.
  3. Lower the heat, add Kishik and water and stir well. Season with salt and white pepper.
  4. Stir thoroughly. Cook until the soup is thickened.

Artichoke ragoût with Rice

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I opened my freezer to put some ice cream inside and realized that I can’t because it’s packed with Al Wadi Al Akhdar frozen vegetables. I recently was offered the whole range of their products and worked on more than 60 recipes for the re-launch of their website. I’m lucky I know to work on such a quality and tasty brand, but here’s what I encountered: food jam in my freezer!

I wasn’t planning to cook dinner! I was up at 7am, went to the gym, got back with full energy and worked like a happy busy bee, thinking of finishing my day with a nice warm bath and watching TV series in bed. So I stared at my freezer wondering either I eat the entire ice cream and work out an additional hour the next morning (Nope!) or forget about watching TV and cook something easy using some of those veggies.

It didn’t really take me time to decide, I’ve immediately chosen 2 bags of artichokes bottoms, one bag of baby carrots and some frozen coriander. In my recipe here below, I recommend using fresh vegetables, but if you were like me looking for a simple recipe that can be ready in no time, frozen vegetables are always my choice after fresh, especially on busy evenings.

My mom cooks this yakhne – like we Lebanese call a stew– with meat cubes and no coriander in it. It is also delicious, but since I prefer vegetarian meals, this is my version with an extra squeeze of lemon juice just before removing from heat.

“The food was ready in 45 minutes and Serge enjoyed a homemade dinner when he arrived! It just really can’t get any better than this!”.

Ingredients:

  • 500g frozen artichokes bottoms
  • 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 1 cup of water
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic gloves, minced
  • ½ cup fresh coriander, chopped
  • Salt and Pepper, to taste
  • 1 tsp white pepper
  • Juice of one little lemon

Preparation

  1. In a bowl combine artichokes, potatoes and carrots. Dilute the flour in the water and pour in.
  2. In a large pot, heat the oil and cook the onions, until golden.
  3. Add the garlic and the coriander, stirring frequently.
  4. Stir in the vegetables coated with flour. Season with salt and peppers. Cover with water and simmer on low heat until cooked well.
  5. Drizzle with lemon juice and serve with short grain rice and Lebanese flat bread.

Minted Frozen Lemonade or Limonada

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Every Lebanese knows that the best lemonade recipes are made the old-fashioned way; where lemon wedges are soaked with sugar and then kneaded instead of squeezed. But on this hot sweltering day, I opted for an easier way that is as refreshing and thirst quenching!

The Lebanese favorite lemonade has orange blossom water and served chilled. I love this frozen version, where the fresh lemon juice and the fresh mint leaves are paired to give a beautiful tangy and refreshing taste!

I’m totally into lemonade and love a strong mixture, when I prepare it for me I double the quantity of the lemon juice. It is perfect for hot weather when they are sipped as the crushed ice melts!

It is so addictive!

Ingredients

  • 1/2cup fresh lemon juice (2 to 4 lemons)
  • 4 tbsp sugar
  • 8 mint leaves, minced
  • 1cup ice cubes

Preparation

Blend all ingredients together until ice cubes are finely crushed and mixture looks like a frozen slush. If you like a sweeter taste add sugar. If you like it semi-frozen add water.

Lebanese Classic Rice pudding or Riz Bi Haleeb

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Image

Rice pudding was Kaia’s first favorite food. I used to cook it more when my girls were teething☺ I consider it more of a baby food than a dessert, because it reminds me of them sitting in their high chair enjoying eating Riz bi Haleeb.

It is an easy and simple recipe to prepare for the whole family. Every country around the world has its own version of rice pudding. I find the Lebanese recipe the best I’ve ever tasted. Perhaps, because of the use of the mastic gum that gives it a little of a light chewy feel and the aromatic fragrance of the orange blossom water.

Hope you and your kids enjoy this great old-fashioned dessert!

Ingredients

  • 3 cups full fat milk
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • ½ cup short grain white rice
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/4 tsp mastic powder, pound
  • 1tbsp orange blossom water
  • Unsalted whole pistachios, to decorate
  • Unsalted ground pistachios, to decorate
  • Pine nuts, to decorate

Preparation

  1. Pour milk in a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed saucepan, add sugar and bring to a boil.
  2. Add the rice and water. Stir well.
  3. Cook over medium heat for about 30mn or until the mixture is creamy, stirring constantly, making sure the rice doesn’t stick at the bottom of the pan.
  4. Add the mastic powder and the orange blossom water and cook for another 15mn until thickened.
  5. Remove from heat. Spoon the rice evenly among serving bowls.
  6. Decorate with pistachios and pine nuts. Served chilled.

Maya’s Ingredients turning 1!

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I look back at this past year with a smiling face. What a rewarding feeling! I gained more friends every day, more viewers, more likers.

People are getting in touch with me from all around the world, I never thought that I’d get this much support. My wish now for 2012 is to finish my book:)

Happy Birthday Bloggy!

Another Lebanese Dessert, the Snayniyeh!

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Lebanese are very special when it comes to languages. I, like many Lebanese, speak to my daughter in French, send her to a school where she learns English and Arabic and lives in a country where the spoken language is Lebanese.

Gulf countries have a translation for every foreign word while we Lebanese have our own mishmash of languages, we don’t mind speaking 3 languages in one sentence; if it’s a computer then let’s call it a computer and not “hassoub”, and if French call it Filet, don’t think hard, everybody knows what Filet de boeuf is. I love this! It’s not complicated!

So when Kaia, asks me: “Mom what is cheese in Arabic?”, I proudly answer: “Jibneh”, but if she asks: “What is Cheese Cake?”. I answer: “It’s Cheese Cake!” Who knows what Gateau jibin is!

This morning she asked: “What is Snayniyeh in French?” I said: “It’s Snayniyeh!”. “And in English?” I answered: “Also Snayniyeh!”. She smiled and said: “It’s funny!”

Fair enough, no? Italians have Tiramisu and Panna cotta we Lebanese have Snayniyeh and Meghleh. Why try calling it anything else!

Every name hides a little story behind. Snayniyeh is derived from “snan”, which means teeth in Lebanese and this scrumptious dessert is usually prepared to celebrate the appearance of a child’s first tooth. A sure phenomenal event for every mom!

I love our traditions! Meghleh to celebrate the birth of a child, Snayniyeh for teething, Maamoul for Easter and Awwamat for Ghtas (Christ’s baptismal night), isn’t it sweet☺

The name Snayniyeh put a smile on many faces as it brings back sweet memories! It’s simple and healthy and this is how I make it.

Ingredients

  • 1cup hulled wheat, washed and rinsed (in Arabic ameh ma’chour)
  • 1lt water
  • 1 large pomegranate, peeled and seeded
  • 3/4cup icing sugar
  • 1/2cup orange-blossom water
  • 1/2cup pistachios, soaked in water for about 1 hour
  • 1/2cup almonds, soaked in water for about 1 hour
  • 1/2cup walnuts, soaked in water for about 1 hour
  • 1/2cup sugared chick peas

Preparation

  1. Cook the wheat in boiling water for an hour or until tender and all the liquid has been absorbed.
  2. Remove from heat and stir in icing sugar and orange-blossom water.
  3. Mix with the pomegranate seeds.
  4. Scatter the rest of the ingredients on the top and serve hot or cold.

Mama’s Sfouf

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I’m back to my kitchen, to my bed and most importantly to my family. Gosh! I missed my hubby and daughters. Four weeks away from home felt very long and slow. I felt the time freezing, as if the Earth was not rotating, but Thanks God, there’s a bright side for every story, because I was working with a wonderful team, on a very big brand, learning splendid recipes from a gifted chef.

I came back a week ago! I miss cooking so much that we had different menu everyday for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even dessert. My family and I are overwhelmed.

The first item I want to share with you after my return is Sfouf cake.

Sfouf are fun! It’s a Lebanese dessert known for its distinctive yellow color coming from the addition of turmeric. Sfouf can be enjoyed with milk, tea or coffee. It contains no eggs or no butter, mix the ingredients the way you like and make sure you will get a superb cake flavored with aniseed and turmeric spices; two of the healthiest spices available. Like many recipes, the quantities varies from a kitchen to another, but my mom’s recipe is simply the best☺

Sfouf (Sfoof)

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups Semolina Flour
  • 3 cup Flour
  • 1cup Vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp Turmeric (a.k.a Curcuma)
  • 2 tsp Baking powder
  • 2 tsp Aniseed (ground)
  • 1 tsp Vanilla
  • 2 cups Sugar
  • 21/2 cups Milk (or water)
  • 2 tbsp Tahina (sesame paste)
  • Sesame seeds, Slivered almonds or Pine nuts, to garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 180C

2. In a bowl, mix semolina, flour, turmeric, baking powder, aniseed and vanilla. Add oil and stir to make a paste.

3. In a separate bowl, melt sugar in cold milk. Add gradually to the flour and spices paste and mix using an electric cake mixer.

4. Grease the baking dish with Tahina and pour batter. Make sure it’s flat and even. Sprinkle with sesame, pine nuts or decorate with almonds.

5. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until golden-brown. Allow to cool for 15 minutes. Cut in pieces like you do for brownies and serve.

Please note, this same recipe can be done without milk. Just dilute sugar and aniseed in water and add it to the flour and spices mixture.