Category Archives: marmite

DIY fridge magnet for a birthday daily note surprise

Posted on October 2, 2014 | 7 comments

Antoun’s Bday is in less than a week! Nady’s is so excited about it, especially he loves birthdays and singing “to you” (happy birthday to you). We decided to make for him a daily small drawing with a cute message till the big day comes (tuesday, october 7). Happiness and love are in small details, and it’s so important to teach your kids how small gestures can bring happiness to someone and show care and love. Our motto is “we don’t do big things, we do small things with big love”- mother teresa

To post them, there was no better than the fridge to serve us as a message board, therefore we needed magnets. It was so quick and super easy to craft them, we just glued small magnets on colored buttons and that’s it! I told you it’s super easy 🙂

Nady took care of the drawing part and i did the writings. It was so fun thinking that Antoun will love it and wait for his daily dose of love from us!

That was our first note on the fridge. Aren’t these buttons so cute?! But nady didn’t like the fridge so plain, he wanted to draw on it as well. Why not?! this is a cool idea, now the fridge is a mini gallery! With beeswax crayons (safe and so easy to clean) he did a really good work and concretized his dream of drawing everywhere with no restrictions… Everything is permitted, it’s “papa to you” (daddy’s bday) surprise.

Yesterday we posted our second note with more drawings! Now I am sure Antoun is waiting impatiently for his daily note!

Today we posted our third note. Antoun didn’t see it yet, he will now as he is reading the post.

There will be 4 more notes until the birthday. It’s an ongoing post, come back everyday to check the new images updated for the daily notes. See how the fridge will look on the day of Antoun’s birthday 🙂

As promised this is today’s fourth note.

and today’s fifth note is:

The sixth note, the one before the last! yessss papa to you is so soon 🙂

And here is the final note before papa’s bday!

Happy birthday Antoun ❤

7 Comments

Posted in DIY, special occasions, way to play

Tagged birthday, blog, buttons, craft, creative, cute idea, DIY, fridge, how to do, jaymmy, magnets, marmite et ponpon, note

chicken fricassée with spaghetti

Posted on October 1, 2014 | 5 comments

“Fricassée” is a method of cooking, when the chicken is sautéed in butter and oil then simmered. It’s an old fashion dish in france and with many variations. It’s a true classic french comfort food. Usually presented with french baguette bread, rice or mashed potatoes. My mum’s recipe is served with spaghetti. When i first made it, my husband fell in love with it. Whenever he craves it he asks me: when are you going to do “your chicken pasta with the yummy sauce”?

For 6 persons recipe you need:

12 pieces of chicken (thighs, drumsticks and breasts)
750g spaghetti
3 1/2 tbsp butter devided
1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 medium carrots diced
1 big onion finely chopped
125g mushroom sliced
1 tbsp nutmeg
1tbsp pepper
1 1/2 tbsp salt
3 tbsp flour
4 cups water

Season chicken on both sides with the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Preheat a large pot and add the vegetable oil and 1 tbsp butter. Fry the chicken until golden brown on both sides, and transfer to a plate. Don’t over crowd the pot, fry the chicken in several batches.

Wipe the pot with a paper towel and add 1 tbsp butter to sautee the onion, carrots and mushroom for 3-4 minutes over medium heat and transfer to a plate.

Again add to the pot the final 1 1/2 tbsp of butter with 3 tbsp of flour and stir until combined and golden, add the water slowly and keep stirring until liquid just thickens (one minute) as if you are doing a roux. if you like silky sauce, you can replace one of the water cups with 1 cup cream. Return the vegetables and chicken to the pot and simmer for 30 minutes.

If you are fan of rice or potatoes, just replace the spaghetti. This dish pairs perfectly with all. Personally i love it like mum used to serve it with spaghetti!

I loved this dish as a child and still consider it one of the most delicious meals my mum used to prepare. Try it, and am sure it will be a staple dish on your menu. Enjoy!!

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5 Comments

Posted in main dish

Tagged bog, braise, chicken fricassee, chicken pasta, classic, comfort food, cooking, fry, how to do, jaymmy, marmite et ponpon, old, recipe, roux, simmer, spaghetti

la crème pâtissière – the easiest no fail recipe

Posted on September 25, 2014 | 4 comments

Crème pâtissière is a velvety smooth pudding that’s quite quick and easy to make. It’s known as pastry cream, used as a filling for eclairs, choux, boston cream pie, napoleons (mille-feuille), tartes, cupcakes and lots of dessert pastries.

I learned it the easy way from my mom who is a great cook. When i say easy, i mean it’s really easy, with few ingredients and less than 10 minutes to be ready!

It’s a pleasure to make this cream and there is no chance to fail or get any lumps! Follow the instructions and you will be licking the saucepan and spoon.

You will need:

3 cups milk
3 tbsp flour
4 tbsp sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp rum

In your sauce pan mix all except the eggs and whisk until sugar is completely dissolved and all ingredients are well incorporated.

Add the eggs one by one and mix.

Now bring your sauce pan to medium heat and stir continuously, when you see the first bubble forming (after almost 4-5 minutes), put the heat to low and keep whisking until you get the desired consistency. Am talking about 1-2 minutes.

Spoon the hot crème pâtissière into a bowl and place plastic wrap directly onto it to cover. This will prevent a skin from forming as it cools. Let it rest, until it comes to room temperature and then place it into the fridge to chill for several hours.

I have pâte a choux that i will fill in with this delicious cream!

You can sprinkle on top some icing sugar, or drizzle chocolate sauce or caramel. They all match heavenly with it. Ready to serve!

Even kids enjoy the taste, it’s nutritious as well! My husband loves it so much he can eat it alone.

Enjoy!

4 Comments

Posted in dessert

Tagged crème pâtissière, cream filling, easy fast recipe, eggs, flour, how to do, jaymmy, lemon zest, marmite et ponpon, milk, pastry, pastry cream, pate a choux, rum, sugar, vanilla

honey ginger glazed chicken

Posted on September 24, 2014 | 8 comments

The most delicious oven roasted chicken you will ever eat! Honey, soy, ginger and garlic combined to make this succulent glaze.

It only takes few minutes to prepare the marinade. Pour it over the chicken and let it rest in the fridge for couple of hours to absorb more moisture and the result is a sweet glazed oven-roasted chicken that is incredibly tender.

Such a luscious and savory lacquered chicken pairs perfect with potatoes, rice or noodles. I had some leftover of sesame ginger rice, it went great together, with the extra glaze i did.

For that you need:

10 pieces of chicken (you can use breasts, thighs, full legs or just drumsticks)
3/4 cup soy
1/2 cup honey
5 garlic cloves minced
1/2 cup freshly grated ginger
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil

Combine together all ingredients and pour over the chicken. Keep it in the fridge to marinate at least 2 hours to overnight until time of baking.

Preheat oven 240°C and bake for 45 minutes. Keep an eye on the chicken and be careful not to overcook it.

The sweet smell was filling the house, I was preparing the table to take some pictures (for this post) when Antoun came in from work to have lunch. This is the most challenging part, not letting him dig in before i take the pictures. I only had 3 minutes, I don’t blame him actually, i was in a hurry too, they looked so delicious, they made my mouth water!

This meal is so rich in flavors, it caters all tastes. Try it!

8 Comments

Posted in main dish

Tagged balsamic vinegar, blog, chicken, garlic, ginger, honey glaze, how to do, jaymmy, marmite et ponpon, olive oil, recipe, roast chicken, soy

DIY crab apple snack for kids

Posted on September 19, 2014 | 2 comments

Apples and crabs are Nady’s most liked when it comes to fruits or shower. What a combo to wow Nady! He was really fascinated with this fun snack. Is this real?

Very easy and simple to do. You only need a red apple to create this cool crab:

Cut two sides of the apple half centimeter from the center. Slice one side in 8 wedges to create the legs. Cut the two sides of the center, disregarding the seeds.