Tag Archives: food

Apple carrot cake

Posted on January 13, 2016 | Leave a comment

Sometimes all you need is a simple and easy cake recipe for everyday. Breakfast or dessert, this is the wholesome cake to adapt. It has fruits (apple and carrots), nuts (walnut), eggs and milk.

It’s a complete meal or snack, made it healthier by replacing the butter with vegetable oil and using low fat milk.

So much flavors in a simple cake to enjoy and indulge.

You will need: (9″ baking dish)

5 eggs
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
zest of one lemon (approx 1 tbsp)
zest of one orange (approx 1 1/2 tbsp)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
1 large carrot grated
1 medium apple grated
1/2 cup milk (low fat)
1 cup dark chocolate chip
a handful walnut

Preheat oven on 180°C. Butter a 9″ dish and dust with flour then put it aside.

Start by mixing eggs, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on high speed until light in color and fluffy. Mix in the lemon and orange zest and the oil and keep mixing for another 5 minutes on low speed.

Fold in the flour, baking powder, grated carrot, grated apple and milk. Mix gently until all ingredients are well incorporated.

Pour in the baking dish and bake for an hour or until a skewer comes out clean.

If you wish to wrap the cake with chocolate, sprinkle 1 cup dark chocolate chip on top when the cake is done and still hot then garnish with a handful walnut. If you don’t want to add chocolate, chop the walnuts and add them to the batter before baking.

It’s so fluffy and rich, beware that one piece could drag another. In other words it’s addictive.

This cake is so versatile, you can add cinnamon if you’re fond of, and if you wish to enjoy a deep flavor, you can add a pinch of nutmeg and clove.

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.

The best homemade mushroom soup

Posted on December 15, 2015 | 2 comments

I heart soups, especially the homemade ones, where you can indulge in a flavorful one without feeling any guilt. This soup is so rich in flavors and low in calories. It is super easy to make plus it takes less than 30 minutes to be ready.

500g mushroom sliced
1 medium onion finely diced
50g butter
2 tbsp flour
4 1/2 cup vegetable broth (less fat, less salt)
salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a casserole and cook the onions until fragrant and tender, about 2-3 minutes. Add the mushroom and cook about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over while still cooking for another 2 minutes. Pour the broth and mix. When u see the first bubble forming, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

Puree in a blender and serve. You can keep aside some mushroom slices if you like chunks in your soup.

If you wish to have a creamier version of this soup, you can add one cup of heavy cream 2 minutes before turning off the heat. You can still enjoy a low calorie soup if you choose low fat cream. Personally i prefer it without cream, i like to enjoy the exclusive taste of mushroom.

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.

2 Comments

Posted in appetizers & salads

Tagged food, food blogger, homemade, jaymmy, lebanon, low calorie, low fat, marmite et ponpon, mushroom soup, qatar, recipe, soup

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

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“Mini chef in the kitchen” 3- Easy and quick as 10 mns cheese bechamel spaghetti

Posted on May 1, 2015 | Leave a comment

Beside preparing a delicious dish, it’s also important to be an easy and quick one to keep your mini chef focused and entertained.

I believe the majority of kids are fan of spaghetti. It’s one of my son’s few favorite dishes because peppa pig loves it! Today’s recipe will not take more than 10 minutes the time of boiling the pasta.

To make this yummy dish you need: (for 2)

150g spaghetti
1 1/4 cup milk
1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup emmental cheese
dash of salt (optional)

Cook the spaghetti as per the pack instructions. Meanwhile, in a casserole mixmilk and flour until it’s well combined then bring to heat.

Keep on whisking until you see the first bubbles (2-3 minutes) add the butter and cheese(optional) and mix all well (less than a minute). Turn off the heat as the cheese is totally melt in and the sauce became thick. Toss in the drained pasta and let your kid enjoy the rewards of his efforts.

If you put emmental, disregard the salt, but if your kid is not fan of cheese, add a dash of salt to flavor it.

As i mention in every “mini chef in the kitchen” post, this activity provides your kids with plenty of opportunities to learn.Click on benefits of cooking with your kids to know more about it.

I hope you have a good time with your kids. Enjoy 🙂

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.

Pretty and practical homemade food ideas for picnic

Posted on November 5, 2014 | 7 comments

It’s now the perfect time for outdoor activities in Doha. Everyone wants to spend as much time as possible and take advantage of the weather especially it won’t be for so long.

I heart picnics! what’s better than throwing a fun picnic with the family and friends, enjoying good homemade food while surrounded by nature. The best thing, we didn’t have to go far to enjoy our picnic, 10 minutes drive and here we are in the beautiful museum park. It was full of people picnicking, but the space was so big that everyone got his private green spot.

I know lot of you find it hard to prepare food for picnic and prefer to buy them ready packed to save the hassle. I will give you great food ideas, so easy and pretty that will make you think twice before having take away.

The aim of this post is not giving detailed recipes but ideas of practical food for picnic and how a small detail makes it look fancy and creative. Yes why not, you can have a casual picnic with beautifully presented food that looks fancy.

1- Grilled Chicken and avocado sandwiches. Very easy to prepare. You can use any type of bread, personally i like beignet bread for its soft texture. Stuff it with the grilled chicken, avocado slices, iceberg lettuce and mayonnaise. You can use any stuffing you like, wrap the sandwich with craft paper and tie it with a twine.

Eh voila the pretty and creative sandwiches yet practical. Now it’s easy to put them in a container or even a zip lock bag.

2- Spinach and Emmental quiche. Any type of flat food prepared in a baking dish and cut in geometric shapes is very easy to be stored, if you don’t like quiche you can have pizza, kibbeh bil sanyeh, tarte….

The best part of lunch is when everyone shares his food. If you are a group of people, no one has too much to prepare, distribute the tasks! This quiche was prepared by my friend Hajar. It was delicious!

3- Pasta, crab and orange salad. Salads are always a hit in picnics. Great as a side or main dish if it has substantial ingredients. Easy to pack in a container and stays fresh up to 4 hours without a fridge.

Salads are colorful and cheerful. Long tubular pasta (casarecce), matching the shape of the crab sticks, orange wedges and corn. Yellow, orange and red go really well with the green backdrop. Serve it with lemon mayo dressing to go with the tangy flavor. There are open ended choices of salads. I am sure everyone has his favorite.

4- Hotdog puff pastry and cheese straws. Very easy and quick especially the puff pastry is ready made. It only takes the time of baking (15 mns almost). You can replace the hotdog with cheese or spinach.

Cutting boards are very practical and beautiful to serve the food. Jamie oliver was a big inspiration in this matter. In previous posts i showed you how to decorate your cutting boards for such presentations.

5- Marbled cake. There should always be at least one dessert to please your sweet tooth especially if you have kids with you. A basic but delicious cake is one option.

It’s so clever to bake them in individual molds for picnic. No need for plates and forks, each can have his part with no mess! One day I will share the detailed recipe (it is Cyril Lignac’s recipe) for this cake because it’s so yummy. Again thank you Hajar for introducing this cake to us.

6- Custard and jello in a jar. This was a fab idea for this type of dessert. You can use any mason jar you have at home, close the lid and here is the most practical dessert ever. It can be any pudding you like.

It was a fun day, we really enjoyed the weather and the green space. It was a great opportunity to play with the kids and unwind after a long busy week.