Category Archives: j delights

Adas bhamoud (chard and lentil soup)

Posted on February 15, 2016 | 7 comments

Another traditional Lebanese soup, served also as a main dish due to its powerful ingredients; featuring chard, lentil and potato. A hearty soup, full of iron, protein, fibers and vitamins, suitable for vegetarians and people abstaining from eating meat during the lent period.

Chard health benefits:

Chard is one of the most powerful anti-cancer foods due to its combination of traditional nutrients; chlorophyll, other plant pigments, and soluble fiber. It is an excellent source of vitamins C, E, and K (is especially beneficial in the maintenance of bone health), carotene. It is also an excellent source of several minerals including potassium, magnesium, iron, and manganese. Chard is also a good source of many other nutrients including vitamin B6, protein, calcium, thiamine, selenium, zinc, niacin, and folic acid.

You will need:

chard; leaf and stems (coarsely chopped) about 500g
1 cup lentils
2 cups medium cubed potatoes
1 big onion finely diced
3 garlic cloves roughly chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
juice of 2 lemons or so (your choice to taste)
1.5 -2 liters water

Cook the onion and garlic with the olive oil until tender and fragrant. Add the washed lentils and cover with 1 liter of water. Boil for 10 minutes then add potato and chard with another half liter of water (If you want a more watery soup you can add 1 liter).

When it starts to boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Turn off the heat then add salt and lemon as per your taste.

My husband doesn’t like lemon too much, unlike me. To please all taste, you can serve lemon aside, so each of you can season individually.

Serve it warm and enjoy one of my favorite soup.

This quantity serves 4-6 plates. If you are pairing it with another food, it will serve even 8 plates. Sahtein!

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

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Posted in main dish

Tagged adas bhamod, chard, easy, healthy, jaymmy, lebanese cuisine, lemon, lentil and chard soup, lentils, marmite et ponpon, potato, recipe, traditional lebanese food

Chocolate strawberry cake

Posted on February 12, 2016 | 4 comments

Of all valentine’s desserts i believe a decadent chocolate and strawberry cake shouts it better! Nothing says i love you more than a homemade dessert, it holds so much care.

This special cake is not just looking beautiful but it is delicious too. It is love at first bite!

Whether you celebrate valentines day or you don’t, you can bake this cake any day you wish to spread love and joy at home.

You will be surprised from this foolproof cake, how easy and doesn’t require baking skills at all. You will be encouraged to do it more often if you are not really a big fan of baking.

You will need:

1 1/2 cup flour sifted
1/4 cup cocoa powder sifted(of a good quality)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp white vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
1 1/2 cup chopped strawberry

Mix all dry ingredients together then add vanilla, vinegar, oil and water. Combine well before folding in the strawberries.

Grease a 9″ heart pan and bake on 180°C for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Keep aside until completely cool and meanwhile prepare the ganache to wrap it up.

200g chopped chocolate
1 cup heavy cream

Heat the cream until about to boil and dump in the chocolate. Let it rest for 5 minutes before mixing well. The silky ganache will appear gradually while mixing.

Let it rest 15 minutes in the fridge to hold itself before pouring it over the cake.

I told you it’s so easy and could be done in no time! Garnish with strawberries for the festive look. Isn’t it so beautiful?! Wait until you taste it too.

The moist texture is heavenly. It stays up to 3 days outside the fridge, and if you wish to serve it cold, keep it for up to one week in the fridge. This cake doesn’t feature eggs, milk or butter so the life duration is longer. Don’t hesitate to try it and give me your suggestions.

I wish you love 366 days a year. Isn’t 2016 a leap year? An additional day to love and be loved 😉

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

4 Comments

Posted in dessert, special occasions

Tagged blog, chocolate strawberry cake, delicious, easy, jaymmy, marmite et ponpon, recipe, say i love you, strawberries, valentines

Makhlouta (mix grains soup)

Posted on February 11, 2016 | 3 comments

Mixed is the literal translation for the word “makhlouta”. This traditional Lebanese soup consists of a medley of chickpeas, pinto beans (or any bean of your choice), lentils and bulgur. A great source of proteins and iron to serve well for people abstaining from eating meat during the lent period.

If you are vegetarian and this is your first introduction to makhlouta, trust me it will be on your to do list from now on. The ingredients look simple but the outcome is deep in flavor.

You will need:

1 cup chickpeas
1 cup beans (of your choice but usually it’s pinto beans)
1 cup lentils
1/2 cup bulgur
2 big onions finely diced
2 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
cumin powder for seasoning (optional)

Soak chickpeas and beans for overnight or at least 12 hours to double in size.

In a deep pot fry the onions in olive oil until tender and fragrant. When they start turning into golden brown color, drain out chickpeas and beans from water and add them to the onion then the lentils and bulgur. Pour 2 liters of water and cook on medium heat. When it starts boiling, reduce to low heat, cover the pot and let it simmer for an hour. If the water reduces feel free to add some more. The level of water should be always 2-3cm above the grains.

Serve hot with a sprinkle of cumin, it gives a nice deep flavor and helps with the digestion of the grains later. Some people like to add lemon juice for this purpose.

This delicious soup serves 4-6 plates. It’s not an entree like other soups, lebanese people serve it as a main dish as it is so filling! It’s a hearty soup served in old days during winter to supply with the energy needed.

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

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Posted in main dish

Tagged bulgur, chickpeas, cumin, hearty soup, jaymmy, lebanese traditional food, lentils, makhlouta, marmite et ponpon, mix grains, pinto beans, recipe, soup, vegetarian

Endless ways i love you

Posted on February 10, 2016 | 1 comment

After the success of last year’s wheel of love i found an urge to revisit this activity, to express my endless reasons i love my family especially my family has grown since then.

As said before, telling your children “I love you” more often and expressing it for every occasion develops their secure attachment to you, knowing that they are loved unconditionally. Strong closeness to the family will lead no doubt to positive relationships in adulthood and high self esteem.

I still have faith in celebrating love if done in deep and expressive ways. Lot of you including me, find Valentines day becoming very shallow and commercial. Lets not go this path and teach our children the true meaning of love, the way of Valentinus the patron saint of lovers.

I used an old wood tray; i gave it some festive bright look by painting it with vivid colors.

I prepared our homemade clay dough, and hand it to Nady to cut out heart shapes and color them.

A quick reminder on how to do the dough:

You will need:

1 cup cornstarch (cornflour)
2 cups baking soda
1 1/2 cup water

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to medium heat. Whisk continually until it starts to thicken. It will take couple of minutes to look like mashed potato in consistency, remove it immediately from the heat. Place it in a bowl and cover it with damp cloth until it’s cool. Knead it on a smooth surface by adding cornstarch if it feels a bit sticky. And it’s ready!

Stick the hearts on the tray:

Enjoy writing on the hearts the many and endless reasons why you love your children and husband/wife too 😉 It’s not just for kids! Do it to your significant other and let love flourishes in your hearts and homes!

Hang it on the wall as a frame, and if your children are old enough to write, you can get them involved in the game and stretch it for a longer time. Ask them to write the reasons they love you too and play this mutual love game starting a week ahead, hanging everyday one heart from each, until valentines day when you have filled all the hearts.

My boys are still too small to be able to read, Antoun and I filled all the hearts and read them to Nady. Joud (6months) was enjoying the colors and kisses!

I wasn’t surprised with my Nady who visually memorized them and was telling me each heart is saying what! This is a reason why i love my smart boy.

Don’t forget that love is not only words, it should be followed by actions, and the most important the presence. Be present for your kids, in love, protection and service. Happy love xxx

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

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Posted in design, DIY, special occasions, way to play

Tagged blog, colors, design, DIY, frame of love, hearts, homemade dough, jaymmy, kids activity, love, marmite et ponpon, reasons i love you, St valentines day, valentines, way to play, wood tray

Moghrabyeh (semolina dough grains)

Posted on January 19, 2016 | Leave a comment

Lebanese cuisine gained its reputation for the mezzeh, tabbouleh and raw meat…. But if you are fan of hard core Lebanese food, Moghrabyeh should be one of your favorites.

Moghrabyeh, are grains (shaped like small balls) made of semolina, available as dry or frozen. This dish is deep in flavor due to caraway and cumin seasoning. You can prepare it with chicken (thighs or breast) or beef shank (aka mawzet) or even both. My recipe calls for chicken, the most common one.

For those who thinks it’s hard to prepare this dish, follow me step by step you will change your mind.

Step1: cooking the chicken

Ingredients:

1 1/2 kg chicken (10 pieces approximately), thighs or breast
1tbsp salt
1 tbsp ground caraway
1 tbsp cumin powder
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Season the chicken pieces with salt, caraway and cumin. Fry in butter and oil until golden brown (about 5 minutes each side). The reason to mix butter with oil beside the lovely taste, the oil helps the butter not to get burnt quickly.

Step2: cooking chick peas and onions

Ingredients:

10 small onions
2 cups chick peas canned
1 tbsp butter

Fry onions with butter until tender and fragrant, then add the chick peas and fold together for about 2 minutes.

Step 3: making the broth

Add the onions and chick peas to the chicken. Pour 6 cups of water. Put a small cinnamon stick and simmer for 30 minutes to get a chicken broth.

Step4: Preparing the moghrabyeh grain and the sauce

Ingredients:

1kg of dry moghrabyeh
1 tbsp butter
3 cups of the chicken broth
5 cups of hot water
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground caraway
1/2 tsp cumin powder

Remove the chicken from the broth. In a deep pot put the moghrabyeh grains and cover with 3 cups of the chicken broth already prepared and 5 cups of hot water. Put the butter, salt, caraway and cumin. Cover the pot and put it aside until the moghrabyeh gets tender in texture like pasta.

With the remaining broth, add one tbsp flour and 1/2 tsp of cumin powder, cook on medium low heat to thicken. Keep in it the chick peas and onions.

Serve the moghrabyeh grains with the chicken and sauce.

Astuces:

Put the sauce on individual portions as the moghrabyeh absorb the sauce if it stays long time in it.
If you are cooking frozen moghrabyeh, it’s the same method but requires half of the quantity of broth/water
If you are not willing to use canned chick peas, soak the dry chick peas in water a day before until it doubles in size.

Enjoy this full flavor dish, it’s one of the dishes you can’t enjoy cooked light, make it as it should be done without counting calories. Anyways it’s not an everyday dish.

Recipe courtesy of my mum.

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.