Tag Archives: lebanon

Fathers day shirt folding card- DIY – kids activity

Posted on June 18, 2015 | 1 comment

Simple ideas come out the best when made with love. Father’s day is so soon! Like every year, I make sure to let Nady add his personal touch to make it special and memorable. A personal DIY souvenir along with the gift, means so much. This easy yet beautiful card folded as shirt with a message of love, picture or drawing will definitely warm papa’s heart.

All you need is a rectangular double side cardboard and 3 buttons. The one we prepared is one side stripes and plain blue the other. If you want to make the same design, click here to download this card design. It’s within A3 paper and you can resize it.

Fold the two sides to meet in the middle, keeping the stripes on the outside. Bend the top corners to look like a collar, then stick the buttons. Of course with the help of your kids.

Now the card is ready, leave the inside to your kid’s imagination and choice. And this is i guess the most important and meaningful to papa.

I love the look on Nady’s face when he is so proud of what he did!

Nady celebrated early father’s day at the nursery, he came home and was so in the mood so to keep the celebrations we made this card at home. I got the chance to share it, kind of warm up before Sunday 😉

Happy early Fathers day !

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Posted in DIY, special occasions, way to play

Tagged blog, card, card folding shirt, DIY, father's day, jaymmy, kids crafts, lebanon, marmite et ponpon, qatar, way to play

Perfect pot roast beef with vegetables and gravy

Posted on June 16, 2015 | Leave a comment

My favorite dish; roast beef with vegetables and gravy. It makes the ultimate Sunday lunch, but since we live in Doha, Friday is the new Sunday.

It’s not as difficult as you think, but it requires time to get everything ready plus the meat has to be rested after cooking for at least half an hour and sliced really thinly for you to enjoy the tenderness. I am not doing it in the oven, as i adapt my mom’s recipe, for a perfect pot roast beef that makes its own succulent gravy.

I chose a topside beef (1.2kg), this cut comes from the inner muscle of the thigh, it’s reasonably tender and very lean so it makes a good roasting joint. Check the meat cuts guide for useful info about the meat to choose.

You will need: (serving 4-6 persons)

1.2kg topside beef
5 garlic cloves roughly crushed
salt and pepper for seasoning
100g butter
1 1/2 cup red wine good quality
1 cup water
1 1/2 tbsp flour

Take your beef out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking. Make 6-7 small cuts in the meat and stuff them with the crushed garlic. Season all sides with salt and pepper.

In a large pot heat the butter and sear the meat, turning as needed, for about 4-5 minutes on each side (the top and bottom as well), or until the beef is brown. Add the water then wine and bring to boil. When bubbles start to form, cover the pot and lower the heat. Now cook for 75-90 minutes or so depending how well done you want it.

Remove the beef from the pot and let it rest at least half an hour. I recommend 3 hours for better slicing.

Meantime prepare the vegetables you like to serve with the meat, i did carrots and broccoli (steamed then sautéed with butter, salt and pepper), mushroom and corn (out of tins) and sautéed with butter, salt and pepper. and finally potato cubes (fried then sautéed with butter, salt and pepper) you can replace with mashed potato if you like. Some people like to serve it also with peas, green beans and shallots. Choose your veggies to your liking.

To prepare the gravy, take the juices from the pot and add 1 1/2 tbsp of flour to thicken it a bit. (roux style)

Transfer your meat to a cutting board and try to slice it as thin as possible. Serve it with the veggies, potatoes and gravy. I love to have it also with a side salade (green salad with vinaigrette).

I can never get enough of it, i like to have leftovers in a baguette sandwich with dijon mustard, or if i have a remaining gravy i serve it the next day with pasta.

This recipe should go on your cooking list, trust me you will receive lots of compliments and applause for each flavorful bite .

Enjoy xx

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Artichoke stew – easy & quick recipe

Posted on June 11, 2015 | Leave a comment

Lebanese cuisine is one of the ancient cuisine, a result of a blend of many cultures due to the country’s location on the crossroads of three continents, Europe, Asia and Africa. Lebanese cuisine gained its popularity beside the variety and the delicious taste, from being naturally healthy and low in fat. Fresh vegetables and legumes are the staple ingredients in the lebanese dishes especially when we are talking about family cuisine. Specifically stews (yakhné) that are presented with rice vermicelli.

Artichoke stew يخنة آرضي شوكي ورز , is one of my favorite dishes. Very easy to do and so delicious. Knowing the artichoke nutrition facts, you will be making it more often, trust me.

To prepare a meal for 4 persons you will need:

1 kg artichoke hearts, could be frozen or fresh
5 small onion quartered
300g beef cubed (size of a bite)
2 tbsp olive oil
juice of 2 lemons
2 tbsp flour
3 cups of water
salt to taste

Follow this step by step method:

In a pot, bring oil to heat and fry the onion until tender and fragrant (2-3 minutes). Add the cubes of beef and cook until brown (3-4 minutes), then the artichoke hearts (cut them in half or 4 if they are too big), cover with water and bring to boil for 5 minutes. In a separate bowl mix well lemon and flour and stir in to have a thicker sauce. Cover the pot and simmer for 30-40 minutes.

For a complete full meal serve with rice vermicelli. Kids usually love this dish. Don’t hesitate to try this simple and healthy recipe. Alf sahtein!

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La salade niçoise

Posted on June 9, 2015 | 1 comment

After two long hektic weeks, moving to a new house, i am back if you are wondering where i’ve been!

My first post from my new kitchen, eagerly presenting the french “salade Niçoise”, in the style of Nice, France.

Traditionally made with hard boiled eggs, boiled potatoes, olives, green beans, tuna, anchovies, tomato and onion presented on a bed of lettuce. Some sources exclude anchovies, add artichoke hearts or even presented without lettuce.

To serve 4 people you will need:

3 canned tuna drained and flaked
4 hard boiled eggs quartered
8 small potato boiled and quartered
12 cherry tomato halved
150 g green beans steamed
around 24 black olives pitted
1 big onion cut rondelles
1 head romaine lettuce chopped into bite size pieces

Mix all together drizzle with vinaigrette or lemon olive oil dressing and serve!

Usually this salad is served as an entree, but with some french baguette or croutons it can be a wholesome and sustaining dinner.

Happy to be back, miss you 🙂

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Posted in appetizers & salads

Tagged appetizer, black olive, black olives, blog, cherry tomato, food blogger, green beans, hard boiled eggs, jaymmy, lebanon, lemon dressing, marmite et ponpon, olive oil, onion, potato, qatar, recipe, salade nicoise, tuna, vinaigrette

Strawberry jam crumble tart

Posted on May 20, 2015 | Leave a comment

Are you craving a sweet treat that is unfussy? Try this delicious crumble tart with any jam flavor you fancy and reap a bounty of flavors in no time!

It’s been a hektic week, juggling hundred tasks, between work and home, especially we are moving to a new flat. I wanted to prepare something sweet but very easy and effortless. Right now, i am savoring one piece of this strawberry crumble tart while writing this post.

Share with me this pleasure, head to your kitchen right away to prepare this delectable tart, I am sure you have all the ingredients:

2 1/2 cup flour sifted
200g butter cold and cubed
1/2 cup confectioner sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp vanilla
300g jam (flavor of your choice)

Mix all together until it just starts to come together. You need a crumble like dough not a solid ball of dough.

Preheat you oven 200°C. Take 3/4 of the dough and roll it in your pan (10 inches) with a half cm thickness. Bake for 10 minutes before taking out to spread the jam on top of it. Use any jam you favor, i chose strawberry for this time.

Crumble the rest of the dough over the jam and bake again for another 10 minutes.

Let it cool before serving. Personally i like it at room temperature and also cold from the fridge. It’s one of the treats light in efforts but rich in flavors just bake and slice!

Satisfy your sweet tooth and Sahtein!

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