Tag Archives: blog

homemade fresh strawberry popsicles – popsicoholic part 1

Posted on May 19, 2014 | Leave a comment

Cool off doha heat! A healthy refreshing homemade dessert! Suitable for kids! 100% natural! Low in calories!…. and i can keep listing many other reasons… Just to say there’s always an excuse to have a popsicle in my mind, am a big fan of popsicles!

Doha summer is already here and the temperature is getting higher and higher to the 40°C and above. Nothing will refresh you like a fruity popsicle.

I would like to share with you my recipes for fresh fruits popsicles and give a piece of my happiness to popsicoholic people like me 🙂

Popsicoholic part1: strawberry flavor

For these delicious popsicles you need to:

In a food processor puree one cup of fresh strawberries with 1 tbsp of sugar.
whisk 1 cup of yogurt and 2 tbsp of sugar

Pour in a mold, alternating between the strawberry puree and the yogurt, make about 3-4 layers. With a skewer or thin-bladed knife, swirl mixtures together in an up-and-down motion. Insert ice-pop sticks and freeze until solid.

You should get 5 to 6 popsicles depending on your mold size. You can freeze up to one week, (but i doubt if they will last more than couple of hours).

To remove the popsicles from the molds, run under warm water until they are easily released. Enjoy!

scrumptious oven roasted chicken with herbs and citrus

Posted on May 15, 2014 | 15 comments

That perfect juicy meat and crispy skin in 40 minutes! You will swear it’s the juiciest flavorful chicken you ever tasted.

The wondrous aroma of coriander and citrus that perfumes the house provokes a feeling of excitement.

You still don’t know what to cook for the weekend? Watch that golden brown and gleaming chicken! Simply elegant and inviting!

To try it you need:

12-14 pieces of chicken (could be thighs, drumsticks or breast)
4 medium potatoes sliced
1/2 cup of olive oil
2 lemons (one juiced and one sliced)
1 sliced orange
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried coriander
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
fresh coriander for garnish

Directions:

In a bowl mix together oil, lemon, garlic, coriander, onion, salt and pepper.

Soak in the chicken for marination and transfer all to a baking plastic bag. Leave it for 3-4 hours or better for an overnight in the fridge.

Take your chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before it goes into the oven.

Preheat your oven to 220°C.

Place chicken in a baking dish and spread them evenly. Arrange slices of lemon, orange and potato around and under the chicken. Sprinkle with fresh coriander and drizzle a bit of olive oil.

Bake uncovered for about 40 to 45 minutes, et voila!!

Serve it with a big salad or with the famous lebanese tabboule. Click here for the recipe.

Enjoy!!!

15 Comments

Posted in main dish

Tagged blog, chicken, citrus, citrus chicken, cooking, coriander, garlic, lemon, marmite et ponpon, recipe, roast, roast chicken

When the craving arises for a luscious creamy shrimp tagliatelle

Posted on May 14, 2014 | 5 comments

Everyone needs a delicious pasta recipe, served in less than 30 minutes, and this shrimp tagliatelle is sure to be a favorite!

For this lovely treat (serving 4 people) you will need:

500g fettucine
800g shrimps peeled and deveined
1 cup of cream
3 cups of milk
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp flour
salt and pepper to taste
parmesan cheese for garnish

In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente (as per packet instructions).

Meantime grill the prawns and set aside.

In a non stick skillet, combine milk, cream, flour and cook on a medium high until it starts to get thick then bring heat to low, add the butter and garlic powder. Keep stirring until viscous.

Toss in the shrimps and allow to simmer for 3 minutes before pouring over the pasta.

Shaving over a little parmesan before serving, goes really well with it.

There’s nothing quite so wonderful as the richness of a hearty, creamy pasta dish. Bon appetit!

5 Comments

Posted in main dish

Tagged al dente, blog, cooking, cream, creamy pasta, creamy shrimp pasta, marmite et ponpon. jaymmy, parmesan, pasta, prawns, recipe, scampi, shrimp, tagliatelle

Water balloons sensory play – bath time fun!

Posted on May 13, 2014 | 4 comments

Next in the sensory play series was the limitless possibilities of water play!

Toddlers love water, not only because of the familiarity of their womb environment, but also because it’s one of the most exciting thing to explore!

Giggle, spray, sprinkle, laugh excitedly, drip, pour, funnel tickle, drizzle… and the most fun one is SPLASH! Think of how rich and delightful water is as a play.

Who doesn’t remember water balloons from childhood? I filled about 20 balloons with water and placed them in the tub to extend the bath time fun.

Nady got so excited, he jumped on the balloons, wanted to grab them all at once, squeezing them, twisting them into other shapes and slipping them through his hands.

Water play, fosters learning in all developmental areas. It encourages the development of eye – hand coordination through squeezing, pouring or stirring.

Water play relieves tension by encouraging children to release their emotions. Nady was enjoying expanding the balloons. I tied the balloon to the tap and he was pulling until it splashes. You can hear a lot of giggles!

Water play is such a meaningful experience to introduce new words to describe the situation such as heavy, pull, splash… for instance.

Sprinkling was hilarious! I was enjoying the play as much as Nady. I loved his reaction!

Water play widens the sensory experience as kids put their hands in different textures and temperatures. Running water was like magic for him, he wanted to catch it, he stayed for a long time trying…

You can’t imagine how open – ended is this activity and how it provides opportunities for extended learning. After we burst all the balloons and wanted to end this play, i needed a transitional game to take him out of the water. I thought his stacking cups could help and he found a way to stay in the game. he started filling the cups with the burst balloons and pouring them from one to the other.

It was so hard to end the play! We really enjoyed it and looking forward for the next time with even more equipments 🙂

4 Comments

Posted in way to play

Tagged balloons, bath, bathtime fun, blog, fun, jaymmy, marmite et ponpon, sensory play, water, water balloons, water play, water sensory play, way to play

sizzling chicken fajitas with homemade guacamole

Posted on May 12, 2014 | 4 comments

Bienvenidos a Mexico in less than half an hour with this homemade fajitas. Very simple and easy recipe.

Ingredients: (serves 4 people)

800g chicken breast
4 small bell peppers (4 different colors)
3 medium red onions
3 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp of ground cumin
1/4 tsp of garlic powder
1/4 tsp of chili
1/4 tsp of paprika
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp lime juice
12 flour tortillas
sour cream for serving
shredded sharp cheddar cheese for serving

Slice your chicken lengthways into long strips roughly the same size. Season it with the ground cumin, garlic powder, chili, paprika and salt (if you find in the supermarket fajita spices, use 1 1/2 tbsp instead). Put the lemon juice and olive oil and transfer to the wok to grill for almost 10 mns.

Slice the 4 colors bell pepper and onions into medium strips and add them to grilled chicken to cook together for another 4-5 minutes.