Category Archives: marmite

Meghleh (floured rice pudding)

Posted on August 7, 2015 | 4 comments

Meghleh, is a traditional Lebanese sweet, served on a special occasion such as the celebration of a child birth or christmas. It’s a floured rice pudding spiced with caraway and cinnamon, and garnished with shredded coconut, assortment of nuts (almonds, pine seeds, walnut, pistachio) and dried raisins.

The word meghleh in arabic means boiled, knowing that this dessert is served cold, after being boiled for almost 45 mns.

If you are expecting a baby or simply you want to enjoy a quick, easy and flavorful dessert, don’t hesitate to give it a try.

You will need:

1/2 cup floured rice
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tbsp ground caraway
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
5 cups water

To garnish you will need shredded coconut, almond, pine seeds, pistachio, walnut and dried raisin. All the garnish is optional and depending on your taste. Personally i like them all, and i soak the nuts in the water before serving to become softer.

In a deep pot add the water, floured rice, sugar, caraway and cinnamon. Stir to combine. Stir over medium heat until the mix comes to a boil (20-30 minutes) Continue to cook the pudding while stirring over medium low heat for 5-7 more minutes, or until the pudding is thick. You know it’s done when it drips from the spoon as a sharp line.

The secret of success of meghleh is in the continuous stirring over medium low heat. Make sure to stir continuously and scrape the bottom of the pot to prevent the pudding from sticking.

Remove the pudding from the heat and pour it into ramekins and set aside to cool completely before garnish.

This pudding should stay put, try not to shake the ramekins so the surface doesn’t get cracks.

It is said that this brown pudding is symbolic of the fertile rich soil, and the nuts on top are like seeds that will sprout and grow on this soil – a perfect symbol for birth. Welcome my baby boy Joud!

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, dessert, food blogger, jaymmy, lebanese traditions, marmite et ponpon, meghleh, newborn, qatar, recipe, rice pudding

Let the world know… (along with a free printable)

Posted on August 6, 2015 | 8 comments

Let the world know my bundle of love is here, welcome my son Joud to our warm nest. My family is growing and so is my heart!

Now i have two boys, Nady and Joud, the eyes i see the world through.

Now i have grown two wings, and i am ready to fly… with you Antoun lets conquer the world!

I wanted to share with you our happiness and a free printable welcome door signage. If you like it, all you need is changing the name or size, i’ve attached to you a high resolution file, (vector) that you can edit easily!

Click here to download the file.

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.

8 Comments

Posted in design, DIY, special occasions

Tagged baby born, design blogger, door signage, lebanese blog, marmite et ponpon, qatar

A recipe to elevate your date cake to the next level

Posted on June 29, 2015 | 41 comments

Living in the gulf, offers abundance in dates. You find it everywhere, specially now it’s ramadan. I’ve been looking for the perfect recipe for a cake, which meets my expectations, not being too sweet.

I’ve been told eating dates leads to a shorter labor. There is no study that proves or negates, but what’s the harm?! I was thinking why i don’t incorporate dates in my daily regime. I would do anything if it leads to easier labor.

This perfect recipe of date walnut cake, enliven your classic recipe and takes it to the next level. It will be your favorite breakfast with a hot cup of coffee or juice, or at anytime of the day, you will love it.

250g dates, pitted and chopped
4 tbs softened butter (almost 60g)
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup hot coffee
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 3/4 cups flour
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 200°C. Combine dates, butter, baking soda, salt, and brown sugar in a mixing bowl. Pour the hot coffee into the bowl and combine. Allow the mixture to cool for 15 minutes before adding the egg, vanilla, baking powder, and flour, mixing gently until smooth. Stir in the walnuts. Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake for 35-45mns or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

The reason we put hot coffee is that its acidity reacts with the baking soda to produce rise. Plus it gives a subtle dimension to the flavors without being identified in the final outcome. You can substitute with just water but it won’t be that moist and a bit more dense.

After it is completely cool, you can slice it and serve it with coffee, juice or topped with cream cheese. Wrap it airtight to store at room temperature for several days or in the fridge for longer storage.

It’s a really wholesome cake i recommend, i am sure if you are dates lover you will be making it more often. You will be addicted to it!

This might be my last post now from qatar, as i am traveling to Beirut to deliver my precious “Joud”. I’ll try my best to post at least once a week. I will miss you 🙂

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.

41 Comments

Posted in dessert

Tagged blog, cake, coffee, dates, food blogger, hot coffee, how to do, jaymmy, lebanon, marmite et ponpon, qatar, recipe, walnut, walnut cake

Baked salmon with avocado salsa

Posted on June 24, 2015 | 3 comments

There is no better reward than this juicy flaky salmon baked to perfection and presented with the co-star avocado sauce.

I am fond of salmon to begin with. This fantastic dish doesn’t require efforts or skills, very easy to do and can be on your quick meals list. Whether you feel lazy or coming back tired after a long day at work, you can serve this dish at your table in less than 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 200°C. Season two salmon fillets with salt (i was preparing a meal for two, you can adjust the ingredients depending on how many persons you are serving). Line your baking dish with a large piece of foil and place them. Squeeze half a lemon to drizzle juice over the fillets and cut the other half in rondelles to place on top as well. Wrap the edges of the foil to keep the salmon moist! Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until flaky and tender.

Meanwile to prepare the sauce you need:

one big avocado
one small onion finely chopped
juice of half a lime
salt to taste
a handful corriander

In a processor pulse the avocado with lime and salt. Once done, fold in the onion and coriander.

Drizzle on top of your pink salmon and enjoy!

For a perfect meal you can serve with mashed potatoes, rice or pasta. I prefer mashed potatoes!

There are so many reasons to get excited about food, salmon and avocado sauce is one of them! It’s a winner for certain 🙂

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.

3 Comments

Posted in main dish

Tagged avocado, avocado sauce, baked salmon, coriander, food blogger, jaymmy, lebanon, lime, marmite et ponpon, qatar, salmon, salmon fillets, sauce

Recommended time for storing food in freezer

Posted on June 22, 2015 | Leave a comment

In general, frozen food has a safety record. Freezing preserves the food by stopping bacteria from multiplying. However, the quality degenerates with time, that’s why there is a time limit to be respected for each type of food.

I prepared printable sheets for every type of food that can be frozen:

What you should never freeze: (they don’t freeze well)

Eggs in shell
Hard boiled eggs
Coffee
Mayonnaise
Sour cream
Buttermilk
Cream cheese
Salads
Apple
Melons
lettuce
potato (other than mashed)

Additional important tips:

Your freezer temperature should be set at -18°C (0°F)
keep food packed tightly, no air should get in
Label your frozen packages properly
Note that liquid expands after freezing, so don’t use glass bottles

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.