Tag Archives: blog

let him create his own outfit with washable colors

Posted on June 18, 2014 | 2 comments

My son is my inspiration! he gives me ideas for the fun games we do together! He is a little artist, in love with colors! Give him a pen and he will draw everywhere except on the paper 🙂

Washable colors are a perfect invention! Let your child enjoy his free drawing and design his own outfit!

When i handed him the colors without a paper, he felt something different this time, he was surprised. I am sure he thought: Mamma went nuts! He didn’t hear me saying “be careful not to draw on your cloth or the wall or… or…

All i had to do is a single dot on this tshirt to make him go crazy!

The space was all his, for a totally free drawing everywhere! Really everywhere! He was beyond happy, expressing his joy with colors.

It’s very important to give your child from time to time a free messy play with no restrictions or rules! Of course a safe one! Messy play is designed with children’s natural curiosity in mind. It unleashes their creativity, builds self-confidence and self-esteem. They develop concentration, problem-solving and planning. Nady was so proud of himself, and i was proud to see him leading the game! he is the boss and I was just talking to him to help boost his language skills and teach him colors!

Love his creation tshirt! he also drew on the shorts to match 🙂

He was really happy and it made me happy as well. I wrote happy on his tshirt.

It’s a brilliant idea, practical, safe and guilt free. Just put it in the washing machine and it will be ready for another piece of art the next day!

Just be happy!

2 Comments

Posted in DIY, way to play

Tagged blog, design, marmite et ponpon, motor activity, painting, washable colors, way to play

tiramisu oh tiramisu! Warning: it’s addictive!

Posted on June 16, 2014 | 6 comments

It’s always thrilling to get involved in food preparation, especially in family gatherings. I believe it adds warmth and fun. Meeting over food is a no fail plan, always!

Tiramisu, an italian bliss suitable for your cravings, so addictive you will be coming for more!

You will need:

500g mascarpone cheese
20 lady finger
half cup confectioner’s sugar
4 tbsp rum
2 tbsp instant coffee
1 1/2 cup of warm water
cocoa for topping
cherry or strawberry for decoration

Mix mascarpone, sugar and 2 tbsp of the rum. Add 1-2 tbsp water to make it more diluted.

In a bowl mix the warm water, coffee and remaining rum.

In a cup put some of the cheese mixture and insert 3-4 lady finger (depending on your cups size) after dipping in the coffee rum mix.

Cover with mascarpone and sprinkle some cocoa. Decorate with cherry or strawberry. This quantity yields 8-10 portions depending on the size of your cups.

Serve it to your loved ones and give them the pleasure to enjoy a dessert and a smile!

Buon appetito!

6 Comments

Posted in dessert

Tagged blog, cherry, cocoa, coffee, desert, jaymmy, lady fingers, marmite et ponpon, mascarpone, recipe, rum, tiramisu

la miche de Nana

Posted on June 12, 2014 | 10 comments

Miche or country bread, is typically a large round loaf made from either natural leavening or bakers yeast. Most traditional versions of this bread are made with a combination of white flour, water, leavening and salt.

La miche de nana (Nadra my mother in law) is the sweet version of this traditional bread, tastes like brioche and even more delicious!

Spending time with the family, cooking together, chatting and laughing is a treasure! Preparing this miche was so fun over 3 stages to get this golden braid!

It’s a very simple recipe made with love. The secret is patience. For 4 braids of 35cm each you need:

1 1/2 cup butter melted
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup milk
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp yeast
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of mahaleb (aka St Lucie cherry or prunus mahaleb)
flour to knead the dough

Mix butter and sugar. Add milk, eggs, vanilla, yeast, baking powder and mahaleb. Add flour little by little and knead the dough until it’s not sticky anymore. Let it rest for at least 6 hours, or overnight for a better leavened dough.

Divide it into four parts and each part to three equal parts to make the braids. You can always reduce the recipe in half if you don’t want to make the whole quantity. But trust me it’s so delicious you will regret not to!

Again you have to keep it to rest for ten hours before baking. That’s why i said patience is the key to a successful miche.

Brush the surface with egg yolk and bake for 20-25 minutes on 200ºC.

The irresistible aroma filling the house will kill your patience. I am sure you will not let it cool to try your first piece that will drag many more!

You can shape it other than braids, for instance teta prepared these small parts for nady! He was so excited and participating in the whole process!

Family cast for this yummy yummy miche:

Teta nana: “the loving baker”, who prepared everything
Aunty Salma: “the great observer,” taking notes of the recipe, promising to bake it after her wedding which is so soon yeyyy!!
Uncle Hani: “the miche taster” and Nady’s football buddy
My precious Nady: “The energy sucker”, who made the process longer, we were all running after him, and we ended up by dancing in a circle 🙂
Antoun: “long distance killer” kept updated on whatsapp and facetime until he joins in two weeks
And me behind the cam!

Sahten! God keep your families and happy times to all!

10 Comments

Posted in dessert

Tagged baking, blog, bread, brioche, desert, jaymmy, marmite et ponpon, miche, recipe

15 minutes nutellissimo brownies!

Posted on June 9, 2014 | 5 comments

This easy and fast recipe will make you stand up on your feet now and go to the kitchen to prepare these inviting nutella banana brownies. Am sure you will find the ingredients home:

nutella jar (350g)
3 eggs
15 tbsp flour
2 medium bananas

For the ganache:

200g dark chocolate
200g heavy cream

Mix nutella, eggs and flour and bake in a greased pan for 10 minutes, in the middle rack (180ºC). I used a square pan (18x18cm)

Let it cool before laying the banana slices on top and cover it with the chocolate ganache.

How we make chocolate ganache:

Put 200g of dark chocolate into a large heatproof bowl (must first be chopped into small pieces so that it will melt evenly). Bring 250 ml of cream just to a boil over medium-high heat or put for 3 mns in microwave; pour over chocolate. Let stand 10 minutes.

Stir the mixture very gently, incorporating the cream steadily, without overworking. The mixture should begin to appear glossy.

Let it cool for 20 mns in the fridge before using it.

For a beautiful presentation, decorate the top with edible flowers. I am taking advantage of being in lebanon where i find flowers at my ease.

Personally i find banana pairing beautifully with nutella, but if you are not fond of banana you can replace it with strawberry or pineapple. It tastes also wonderful

These beautiful red flowers created an attractive contrast! Fruits and flowers work like magic. The more colors you have on your plate, the more inviting your dish can be. It’s not a secret that we eat with our eyes first!

Brownies are best served with a perfect round ice cream scoop as Salma, my sister in law says! She is right 🙂

Yesterday, I baked this beautiful cake at my in laws, they are chocolate lovers, and here is the proof!

Am sure this cake will not live longer than couple of hours if you are nutella lovers. Sahtein 🙂

5 Comments

Posted in dessert

Tagged baking, banana, blog, brownies, chocolate, easy, edible flowers, fast, ganache, jaymmy, marmite et ponpon, nutella, recipe

a traditional lebanese dish, kibbeh bil sanyeh (meat kibbeh in a flat oven dish)

Posted on June 5, 2014 | 4 comments

kibbeh bil sanyeh aka flat kibbeh baked in the oven, others call it sandwich kibbeh where ground meat and pine nuts are pressed between two layers of very fine minced beef with bulgur. One of the most popular dishes in lebanon. I can rarely find someone who doesn’t love kibbeh. Everytime i want to invite friends over lunch, they request kibbeh bil sanyeh. What a delicious dish!

Some of non middle easterners only knows the football shape kibbeh, the most served in lebanese restaurants. Let me tell you it’s more than that; there is various ways to cook kibbeh and this flat kibbeh baked in a deep dish is another way. It can also be served raw with fresh mint leaves, olive oil and onion!

Today i am posting the flat one, baked in the oven.

15 inch dish serves 6 to 8 people, for that you need:

For the two layers kibbeh dough:

800g finely minced beef
4 cups bulgur
2 tbsp salt

For the stuffing:

400g ground beef
3 medium onions
80g pine seeds
1/4 cup olive oil
1tsp salt
1/2 tsp sweet pepper

First you start by preparing the stuffing:

Bring the olive oil to heat, add the onion and fry until tender and fragrant.

Add the ground beef and cook until brown then add the pine seeds, salt and pepper and keep cooking until well done. Turn off the heat and keep it aside to prepare the dough.

soak the bulgur in water to become soft (about 10 minutes), then drain and add to the fine minced beef with salt and work it with your hands until it becomes consistent like a dough.

Divide the dough in half. Grease the dish with vegetable oil, take one part and start spreading it evenly in the dish. When it’s all spread, the thickness is approx 8mm.

Bring the stuffing and spread it on the first layer.

Get the second part of the dough to cover the stuffing. Always wet your hands to even out the outer dough.