Tag Archives: marmite et ponpon

Reasons to cook with your kids – “Mini chef in the kitchen” 1- Nutella mini tarts recipe

Posted on April 29, 2015 | 4 comments

How many times you let your kids out of the kitchen, having no time to let them be involved, or just being tired and drained out of energy, or simply not in the mood. However i am sure there were many other times you really enjoyed cooking or baking together with so much fun.

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, i encourage you to do it more often. Trust me the benefits to their development justify the extra efforts.

Reasons to cook with your kids:

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” saying : “Nady did this!” 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, follow me this week. I will be writing a series of posts with easy recipes to enjoy cooking with your mini chefs!

Today we baked mini Nutella tarts. You will need:

250g flour (sifted)
125g cold butter diced
3-4 tbsp water
nutella chocolate

Let your kid sieve the flour into a mixing bowl and add the butter cubes.

Rub the flour and butter to become like sand. Add the water one tbsp after the other and watch your genius kneading.

We placed the dough for 15 mins in the fridge before working it. Meanwhile we cleaned the mess around us.

Sprinkle little flour on your working surface and roll out the dough.

and cut circles to fit in the muffin tray.

Nady cut also hearts and stars to decorate the top of each tart.

Put almost one tbsp of the chocolate into the middle of each tart.

Let your kid choose any shape to decorate the top of the tart.

Preheat oven to 200°C and bake for 15 mns or until top is golden brown.

Meanwhile arrange again the mess you did, teaching your kids to be clean and tidy, which is an important and fun part of cooking as well.

Let it cool before your little chef taste the reward of his efforts.

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.

4 Comments

Posted in dessert, kids food, way to play

Tagged beirut, benefits of cooking with kids, blog, Brain development, chocolate, cooking, cooking with kids, easy recipe, food blogger, jaymmy, kids food, little chefs, marmite et ponpon, nutella, qatar, sensory experience, simple recipes, tart

Best Artichoke Spinach dip

Posted on April 28, 2015 | 3 comments

This best ever homemade artichoke spinach dip. It is a huge hit appetizer, merits a standing ovation from your guests.

It’s a pinnacle appetizer for my husband and I, we order it almost at every diner restaurant until the day i made it home. Since then my husband craves this symphony of well blended flavors.

To make this creamy dip you need:

250g spinach chopped (thawed if frozen)
400g artichoke hearts drained and chopped
250ml heavy cream
100g cream cheese
2 cups Emmental cheese (divided)
1 big onion finely diced
2 garlic cloves minced
salt to taste

In a pot cook the onion and garlic with the spinach for 3-4 minutes. Put the heat off and mix in the artichoke, cream, cream cheese, salt and one cup of the Emmental cheese. You can use mozzarella if you wish a milder taste.

Pour the mix in a baking dish, sprinkle over the remaining cup of cheese and bake on 200°C in the oven for 30 mins or until it’s bubbly and the cheese is golden brown.

Serve it with tortilla chips, toasted bread or crackers and dive right in! I am warning you it’s addictive 🙂

The flavors are outstanding! Try it and give me your opinion.

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.

3 Comments

Posted in appetizers & salads

Tagged artichoke, artichoke hearts, artichoke spinach dip, blog, cream, cream cheese, dip, Emmental cheese, food blogger, heavy cream, how to do, jaymmy, lebanon, marmite et ponpon, qatra, recipe, spinach, tortillas

8 Tips and tricks probably you didn’t know before!

Posted on April 26, 2015 | 4 comments

Here are some tips and tricks worth knowing, it will help you and save your time. Some were totally new to me and wished i knew from before!

1- Testing egg freshness

Eggshells have pores that allows air to get in over time. The more air enters the egg the lighter it gets, which explains why it will float. So if it floats, get rid of it!

2- Don’t touch the cheese with your hands

Don’t touch the cheese with your hands while cutting, the bacteria from your fingers promotes mold faster. Either wear gloves or keep your hands over the plastic wrap of the cheese.

3- Store the salsa jars upside down

Store the salsa jars upside down in the fridge, this way it prevents mold from sprouting up.

4- Separate the bananas at the stems to prevent quick ripening

If you want your bananas to last longer, separate them at the stem. The reason bananas ripen more quickly when they’re not separated is because they emit ethylene gas. A bunch of bananas together lasts 5-7 days but when you break them apart they can last up to 14-17 days!

5- Place a wooden spoon to keep water from boiling over pots

A wooden spoon pops the bubbles when they are in contact, plus it can absorb some of the moisture, so water stays down and don’t boil over. Metal spoons don’t have same effect!

6- Roll the lemon before squeezing

Roll the lemon or any citrus fruit applying a bit of pressure before juicing. This way you burst the tiny cells in the lemon flesh to give more juice!

7- Pepper bumps

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating while peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

8- Rub your hands with stainless steel to remove the odor

After working with garlic, onion or fish, rub your hands vigorously on your stainless steel sink for 30 seconds before washing them. If your sink is not made of stainless steel, simply rub a stainless steel spoon, It will remove the odor. Now you can buy a soap like piece of stainless steel from some supermarkets.

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.

4 Comments

Posted in astuces

Tagged blog, cooking, food blogger, hacks, jaymmy, kitchen, lebanon, marmite et ponpon, qatar, tips, tricks

3 fun games to teach your toddler the geometric shapes and colors (free printables)

Posted on April 23, 2015 | Leave a comment

Teaching your child about shapes and colors is greatly important. This knowledge manifests in their daily life. It helps:

Improving the verbal communication: by providing them the exact descriptive vocabulary we are offering an opportunity to communicate more effectively. By that we avoid their frustration of being unable to ask for a specific thing. ex: “i want the blue car not the red”, “i like the square biscuit more than the round one”…
Building up the logic skills: do you know that when your kid is able to build a balanced lego tower, means he is making use of his geometry skills?
Improving pre-reading skills: Children will apply the same skills that they used in recognizing circles and squares to recognizing and naming all of the letters, as letters are just more complicated shapes.
Being creative: the knowledge of shapes and colors will help them to create what they imagine in their minds when drawing or creating shapes with playdough…. Also the use of colors can express feelings and emotions that young children may not have the words to describe. Ex: using the color red to express anger.
Teaching perspective: realizing that shapes not only exist in flat form on paper but as objects in everyday life, will give them a new perspective of their surroundings.

First comes recognizing the shapes and then drawing, tracing or coloring them is a plus. And maybe building 3D shapes in an advanced stage.

I created series of cards for the most common shapes that a child will encounter in his daily life (square, rectangle, circle, oval, triangle, heart, star…..). Total of 12 colorful shapes with animals, to make it more fun. This way we are learning shapes, colors and animals.

Click on french cards or english cards to download a high resolution file.

As Nady loves singing, we were spending time on each animal to sing a related song and name its benefits.

We played 3 games with these cards:

Game 1: Tracing the shapes with colored pencils

A smart way to enhance his motor skills and practice the pre-writing ability by learning how to hold the pen and draw, beside naming the colors and the animals

Game 2: Making the shapes out of playdough

This game couldn’t end without using the cutters! The favorite activity of Nady 🙂 We found a way to make it beneficial, by cutting same animals to make assimilation!

A great way to build fine motor skills while the child rolls out the dough to trace around the shapes while learning the shapes, colors and animals.

Game 3: Coloring inside the lines

A different type of exercise, teaching a tough skill that needs time, drawing inside the lines! My son is a reluctant artist, he doesn’t like to follow rules he wants to be a free! Without forgetting that this exercise aims also to learn shapes, colors and animals.

We had a new experience each time we played with those cards. The sky is the limit. You can create your own games depending on what is your aim from the exercise.

Don’t forget playing and having fun is very educational! Enjoy every moment with your children, they are precious.

This is what i call a way to play! If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the fun. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

Easy pan grilled chicken with mushroom sauce

Posted on April 21, 2015 | Leave a comment

It’s one of those delicious meals for busy moms or even bachelors who wants their food to be served in less than 30 mns. Incredibly flexible dish, can be served with grilled or sauteed vegetables, with mashed potatoes or even pasta.

To create the easiest and quickest mushroom gravy you need:

4 cups of water
one sachet of mushroom soup (50g)
2 cubes chicken stock (20g)
3 tbsp flour
1 cup sliced mushroom
1 tbsp whiskey

Choose your favorite brand of mushroom soup and prepare the creamiest and most tasty gravy for your quick meal. Combine water, mushroom soup, chicken stock and flour in a casserole, mix well and bring to boil. Keep whisking all the time to get the consistency you need, about 3-4 minutes.

Add the mushroom slices and boil for two more minutes. Take off the heat and add the whiskey. It will give it the twist you will enjoy. Eh voila the gravy is ready.

Season around 800g of chicken breast with salt and pepper and pan grill. Do not flip the chicken many times, they will become dry and chewy. Keep each side around 4-5 minutes for tender and juicy result. This quantity will serve 4 people.

Serve it along with what you fancy to eat, personally i like mashed potatoes and sautéed vegetables in salt and butter.

You will probably make it a regular in your home but what I promise for sure you will lick your plate clean, not a single drop will be left at all. Enjoy!

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the love. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More delicious posts are yet to come.