A hearty salad

Ingredients:

Tomato

Carrot

Arugula 

Cucumber

Kidney beans

Dressing:

Salt, squeeze of lime, 2 tbsp olive oil.

Dice up the vegetables into small cubes and just tear up the arugula. Add kidney beans, and drizzle on the dressing.. simple yet very tasty and healthy.

-------

Za'atar rolls

I was inspired by a blog post that i seen a while back, and i thought that's such a good idea! za'atar rolls..but with my own twist, I added some feta cheese to give it an extra kick and I love how they turned out, and so did my family who demolished them all..lol

for those of you who don't know what za'atar is, its a mix of middle eastern herbs such as oregano, thyme and savory mixed together with seseame seeds and sumac.I would describe the taste as herbal/tangy/nutty/toasty all at the same time.. its a wonderful blend.

Ingredients:

Dough: same as my pizza dough, check that out.

Filling: olive oil, Za'atar and feta cheese 

That's all for the ingredients!

Method:

1. roll out the dough in a rectangle about 1/2 inch thickness.

2.spread some olive oil on dough and then sprinkle za'atar on top generously.

3. crumble feta cheese on top.

4. Roll dough.

5. cut into about 1 1/2 inch pieces.

6. place on oiled and floured baking tray and bake for 20-25 mins at 180 C/ 350 F.

7.Enjoy!

------

Brownies!

I love brownies! so I was really excited when we were having guests for tea today just so I can make them.. lol. I think this recipe makes the perfect brownies, they turn out soft and moist. and best of all its super easy.

Ingredients:

1 cup of butter

1 1/4 cup of sugar

1/2 cup of coco powder (unsweetened) 

3 eggs

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1/2 cup of flour

pinch of salt

Method: 

1. prepare your baking pan by lining it with foil and spreding a little bit of oil so it wont stick, leave aside.

2. melt your butter.

3. mix the sugar and coco powder and add to melted butter.

4. whisk the eggs and add vanilla, then add to mixture.

5. add flour and salt and mix well.

6. pour into baking pan and cook for 30 min/middle rack at 180 C/ 350 F

7. Enjoy!

--------

Mini pizzas!

 Before

Before 

After 

After

Delicious!

Ingredients:

Dough Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups of flour

1 tablespoon of active dry yeast

1 1/2 cups of warm water

1 tablespoon olive oil

pinch of salt

1/2 tablespoon sugar

Tomato topping ingredients:

tomato puree

minced garlic

chopped green chili

salt

black pepper

cumin powder

Shredded chicken:

I used some left over backed chicken and just shredded it into little pieces

Mozzarella

Method:

1. To prepare the dough add the yeast and sugar to warm water,mix and set aside for 5 min.

2. add the mix to the flour then add the rest of the ingredients and mix till dough forms.

3. kneed the dough and keep adding flour and kneeding till the dough no longer sticks. to your hands.

4. put a little bit of olive oil to cover the dough and place in a bowl and cover for about 1 1/2 hour.

5. spread the dough about 1/2 inch thick or to your desired thickness and cut out circles ( I used a cup to do that).

6. add your tomato topping on top of the dough

7. add the shredded chicken or any other topping of your choice.

8. add shredded mozzarella cheese on top.

7. cook in oven for 20-25 mins at 260 C/ 500 F.

8. Enjoy!

--------

Best Date cookies! / Ma'moul/ معمول التمر

So today I decided to make some date cookies, or as they're known in Arabic Ma'moul. Its definitely one of the best things I've ever baked! the cookies turned out so soft they just melt in your mouth.. and the date filling is just perfect. here are some pictures followed by the ingredients. 

 Before the oven

 After they came out..

 Some powdered sugar for garnishing..

So good!

Ingredients:

2 cups of soft butter

1 cup corn oil

1/2 cup of heavy cream

2 eggs

1 cup of powdered sugar 

1 tbs vanilla

6  to 6 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tbs of dry instant yeast

2 tbs of baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 cup of dried milk powder

Method:

1. Combine butter, oil and cream and whisk until smooth. 

2. Add the 2 eggs one at a time and whisk again until completely combined.

3. Add all the rest of the dry ingredients making sure to add the flour 2 cups at a time and mixing gently with a    spatula until a soft dough that holds together forms.

4. Let the dough rest for about an hour.

take small bits of the dough around the size of a golf ball and stuff with some date paste ( you can buy ready made date paste or you can make your own by just soaking some dates in hot water and mashing them up and add some cinnamon, works just as well..) 

5. Shape into the desired form. In my case I used this wooden ma'moul mold: 

 but you can shape them into any shape you like..

6. Place in preheated oven at 200 C/ 392 F for 15-20 mins.

7. Garnish with some powdered sugar and...Enjoy!

This recipe makes around 40 cookies.

------