Tag Archives: jaymmy

Lace doily Santa claus craft

Posted on December 16, 2017 | Leave a comment

8 days until Santa departs. Yeyyyyy!!!

Dear Santa, our lists are ready and sent. Don’t have high expectations on being good all year long (get real!) but we are counting on your generosity.

Like every year we craft our decoration, after the handprint and footprint keepsake we prepared first, here is our lace doily Santa garland. Very easy craft for tiny hands, and the outcome is so beautiful! Garlands are our favorite item in crafts, they add a festive mood to the house.

You will need:

white lace doily paper medium size
white/beige cardboard
red cardboard
wiggling eyes
red pompoms (small) or simply cut small circles out of the red cardboards
cotton balls
and a black marker to draw moustache and mouth

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. Ho Ho Ho!

Handprints and footprints for Christmas keepsakes

Posted on December 14, 2017 | 5 comments

Before having kids, Christmas was that glamorous night full of festivities and gifts, delicious food and lots of booze, and back home for the family gathering.

Now, with my boys (nady 5 and joud 2) are here, Christmas is not just that night, it is 24 days and 24 nights to it. Beautiful decorations can’t be those expensive intact objects, they are keepsakes done with tiny hands and big love. Red or green are not just ordinary colors. Santa becomes mom’s best friend and chocolate can replace a meal . . . Yes i turn into an elf to be able to communicate with santa and change the letters (toys) many times!

Christmas is more than just this night or day, it’s the anticipation to it that makes you live the season beaming with excitement and joy. Against all odds, my Christmas is not a classic one, the star is not anymore on top of the tree, it fell from the summit to spark in their eyes and Jesus left his crib to be born in their heart. My Christmas is THEM!

Christmas Keepsakes, kids will love doing their footprint and handprint as christmas tree, snowman, santa and rudolph.

Very easy and fun project to keep for the life. We spent a joyful time together doing them. Wish you lots of laughters as much and more than we had. And let the magic of the season start!

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. Ho Ho Ho!

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Posted in design, DIY, way to play

Tagged blog, blogger, christmas, christmas tree, colors, craft, creative kids, creativity, footprint, handmade, handprint, jaymmy, keepsake, kids activity, lebanon, marmite et ponpon, qatar, rudolph, santa, snowman, way to play

Basil, shrimp, avocado and mango fresh rolls

Posted on November 1, 2017 | Leave a comment

These colorful rolls bring sweet memories for me, they remind me of my favorite asian restaurant when i used to live in Bahrain, These rolls were on my to cook list for so long. Usually they are called Vietnamese fresh rolls, but since it’s not the classic recipe, i didn’t dare call them so! This is my own version of fresh rolls using a symphony of ingredients that i found going heavenly together.

These effortless rolls are the freshest, nutrient packed, crunchy and sweet while looking fabulously colorful! Finally, having them ready on my plate, these happy rolls added some brightness to my day!

Usually they are served with a Vietnamese peanut sauce made of peanut butter and hoisin sauce which is thinned out with either milk or water, vinegar for a bit of tang, garlic and a touch of chilli. Personally, i prefer the Thai sweet sauce! It’s all up to your taste at the end.

To prepare 15 rolls (one pack) you will need:

1 pack of rice paper (about 15 papers)
500g shrimps cooked and deveined (you can also broil in the oven)
1 medium mango cut a la julienne
1 avocado sliced
4-5 iceberg leaves
a bunch of fresh mint leaves
a bunch of fresh basil leaves
2 medium carrots finely julienned

Take 1 rice paper and place in a shallow plate filled with warm water. Allow rice paper to soften for about 10 seconds. Remove and lay flat on working table – be gentle so you don’t rip the delicate paper. If this is your first time to use this type of paper, you will rip some in the beginning until u get used to 🙂

Start layering all veggies and fruits in the center of rice paper, Start with the lettuce so it holds the other ingredients. On the top part of the rice paper, place 3 shrimps with a mint leaf in between, or avocado to have the final look as per the photo below. Your rice paper rolls should look pretty with the shrimps and mint leaves or avocado on the smooth side of the roll and the seam on the underside of the roll.

Fold the left and right edges of the rice paper in, then starting from the bottom, roll up to cover the lettuce bundle, keep rolling firmly to reach the shrimps. The rice paper is sticky, it will seal itself.

Serve immediately with the dipping sauce. These rolls are to be eaten fresh and on the spot, with time the rice paper gets dry and chewy.

If you’ve tried this or any other recipe on the blog please let me know the result, I love hearing from you!

And 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.

Parmigiana di melanzane (aubergines parmesan)

Posted on September 28, 2017 | 3 comments

Hello friends, how i miss sharing with you what i love doing the most! I know It’s been more than three months since the last time i posted, all i can say that i had too much on my plate and i was juggling between all my duties…. Bref! I am back 🙂

I am the biggest fan of aubergines, i find it strange how some people, (referring to my husband) don’t fancy and even find it bland. I can even eat the simplest way done, fried or grilled with just a pinch of salt or a drizzle of olive oil!

Parmigiana di melanzane, or aubergines parmesan, is an italian traditional dish far to be boring or dull! it consists of aubergines and cheese layered in a tomato sauce! Try it and if you were not fan of aubergines, trust me you will change your mind.

500g aubergines about 2 medium aubergines
1 cup mozzarela cut in cubes
1/2 cup parmesan cheese freshly grated
3 cups tomato puree
2 tbsp dry basil or a fresh bunch chopped coarsely
1 medium onion finely diced
3 tbsp olive oil divided
salt to taste

Slice the aubergines (medium thickness) removing the top and bottoms. Sprinkle them lightly with salt and set them aside for 1 hour. This drains out any excess water and helps with frying/oven grilling. Rinse the aubergines under cold water to remove the salt and pat them dry with a kitchen towel. I will not fry the aubergines, instead i will grill in the oven after drizzling on top 2 tbsp of olive oil. The taste won’t change, it is just a healthier recipe!

Meantime to prepare the tomato sauce, sauté the onion in a pan with one tbsp of olive oil until translucent and soft but not browned. Add the tomato puree and basil. Add a pinch of salt, stir then let it simmer gently for 10-15 minutes. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Spoon a small amount of tomato sauce into the bottom of a baking dish and spread it around, this will prevent the aubergines from sticking. Next, add one layer of aubergines to the dish followed by a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, cubes of mozzarella, and little tomato sauce (make sure to save 1/3 of the sauce for the final layer). Continue with the next layer until you have the last top layer to spoon over the remaining tomato sauce, grated parmesan and mozzarella cubes. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 15 minutes, remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes until golden and bubbling.

Let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.

You can serve it with toasted bread or a green salad, and why not both 🙂

If you’ve tried this or any other recipe on the blog please let me know the result, I love hearing from you!

And 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.

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Posted in main dish

Tagged aubergine, blog, cooking, easy recipe, eggplant, food blog, food blogger, italian cuisine, jaymmy, lebanon, marmite et pompom, melanzane, mozzarella cheese, parmesan, parmigiana, qatar, traditional recipe

Spiral butter cookies – mini chefs in the kitchen

Posted on June 24, 2017 | Leave a comment

In previous posts, i mentioned the reasons you should enjoy cooking with your kids, for how much benefits it has. To recapitulate:

Literacy (building vocabulary): cooking with kids gives you the opportunity to introduce new words. You will be talking about the ingredients which gives them food knowledge. They will be observing and talking about the process as well (like creaming, whisking,…). It’s good to mention the new words several times and put them in a sentence they will understand and repeat after you. And when you read for them the recipe (if they can’t read yet) they will learn also that there is a method and instructions to follow. When am with with my son i enjoy mostly the open conversation we have all the time of cooking.
Brain development by exploring their senses: sensory experience is essential for the brain development. Cooking engage all the senses of your kids; seeing, hearing, smelling, touching and tasting (especially smelling and tasting). My son is the curious type he likes to taste everything!
Motor skills: Developing fine and gross motor skills is as important as the sensory experience. They will be training their tiny muscles (fingers, hands, arms and even all body) by stirring, whisking, beating, kneading….. I love watching my son doing all this, i see a small proud man using his beautiful hands magically 🙂
Math and logic: By counting and using the measuring cups or spoons to follow the accurate recipe.
Self esteem: you will experience the look of confidence and pride on your kid’s face when he sees the outcome and especially when he offers it to others. When i bake with my son, he keeps on telling what he did to everyone he sees, and insists on offering some of “his creations” and waiting for the rewards for his efforts.

All these benefits go without neglecting the amount of fun we have and the quality time together which is sacred for me.

The most important thing though is you don’t force the learning to happen, it should flow naturally. The golden rule is to enjoy the time with your kids in the kitchen.

If you like to cook with your kids but you are struggling to find simple recipes to do, here is one easy recipe, Nady shared with his friend Gia mae.

You will need:

3 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
300g butter
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
food coloring

Mix butter, flour and sugar, and rub them until they become like sand. Add the eggs then vanilla. Mix well but don’t over mix. Divide the dough in half. Take one part and divide it as much as colors you want to use. We did 5! Roll the first half in rectangular shape, then the colored ones as strips within a rectangle. Put The colored rectangular dough on top of the first part and roll, following the scheme. Let it rest in the fridge for at least half an hour before cutting it.

Bake on a parchment paper for 8-10 minutes on 180°C. Let it cool before serving.

No doubt, cooking with kids takes more time and effort, but for the many learning experiences you can embrace while your kids are in the kitchen, and the fun you share, i encourage you to do it more often.

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.