Tag Archives: qatar

A heart warming broccoli cheese soup

Posted on January 31, 2017 | 1 comment

So full of flavors and warming the heart, exactly what i needed today! The weather is going crazy here (doha), calling for a hearty soup to tame the cold!

It’s an absolutely perfect comfort food, if you like soup, you’ll be rewarded with the best, creamiest and richest one.

-“What’s that amazing smell?”. It’s broccoli and cheddar cheese hun.

It’s an easy soup to make and is ready in half an hour. To serve 4 generous portions you will need:

50g butter
1 medium onion finely diced 0r 1/2 cup
1 large carrot chopped (small pieces) or 2/3 cup
1 tsp garlic salt\ powder
1/4 cup flour
3 cups vegetable broth
1/2 liter or 2 cups milk
1 medium head of broccoli florets chopped
225g or 1 cup of freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese
salt and black pepper to taste

Heat the butter until melted. Add onion and carrots and saute until onion is translucent and fragrant (about 3-4 minutes). Stir in the garlic salt and flour and saute for another minute. Whisk in the vegetable broth, (you can use chicken broth also but i liked to keep it vegetarian) and milk. Combine well before adding the broccoli florets. Don’t cut them too small, keep some as medium chunks. When the soup reaches a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes or until broccoli is cooked. Use salt responsibly as the stock and the cheese will do the job. Stir in the freshly grated cheddar, i said freshly grated because the ready grated ones that comes in bags are coated and doesn’t melt easily. Whisk until cheese is completely melt (2-3 minutes) and serve immediately.

Even people who don’t like broccoli will love it when bathing in a creamy and cheesy broth. It doesn’t just warm your body but your soul too!

There’s a few optional spices, that makes it not taste boring, like paprika or mustard powder, they’re not mandatory if you don’t keep them on hand, but they do add extra depth of flavor. I wanted to serve my children so i kept it mild.

Don’t forget to give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More posts are yet to come.

1 Comment

Posted in appetizers & salads

Tagged broccoli, broth, carrots, cheddar cheese, comfort food, cream, doha, easy, food blog, food blogger, food photography, food porn, hearty soup, jaymmy, lebanon, marmite et ponpon, milk, no fail, qatar, quick, recipe, soup

Turkey and red fruits jam with brie dip

Posted on January 17, 2017 | Leave a comment

Cold weather is the perfect excuse for eating, especially comfort food that warms the body and the heart. At the end of the day and when kids go to bed, all i want is to relax on the couch, enjoy a nice dinner with hubby while watching tv.

By this time i am out of energy, i need a quick dinner served with no preparations. Turkey, red fruits jam, brie and basil olive oil… did i grab your attention? All you need is 5 minutes of preparations, and this is exactly the time you spend to make a sandwich.

How to do?

Roll out a ready puff pastry into 2 circles (almost 8″ or 20cm).
Place the first circle of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Brush the surface lightly with red fruits jam leaving the center, the size of your brie cheese.
place the cheese in the center and lay around turkey slices, i chose turkey with herbs, my favorite.
place the second circle on top, after cutting off the circle, the size of the cheese.
divide the dough into 16 equal parts, starting from the edge till the center, without touching the cheese.
twist each two parts in different directions to meet. Take each pair of twisted slices and press the ends together firmly to seal the dough.
brush the surface with olive oil
make several cuts in the cheese to not burst in the oven
sprinkle some basil
bake on 180°C for 15-20 minutes or until the surface is golden brown

Is your stomach rumbling by now? Don’t wait till the night, you can have it as an appetizer for your lunch, it could also serve as a breakfast too! i hope you get the chance to try it.

Dip in the cheese and savour!

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.

Galette des rois a la frangipane et chocolat

Posted on January 6, 2017 | Leave a comment

Today we are celebrating the Epiphany, Christ’s baptism by John the Baptist (Eastern churches) and the day on which Les Rois Mages (the Magi), the three kings Gaspard, Balthazar and Melchior came to pay their tribute to the world famous baby born Jesus (Western churches).

La Galette des rois is a typical french tradition celebrated on the Epiphany, the tradition is to discover who will be the king or the queen for a day by having “la fève” hidden in the galette, historically a dry fava bean (hence the name) but now it became a little porcelain figure. The ritual says; the youngest child of the family hides under the table, an adult divides the galette in even slices, and the child decides which slice goes to whom. Whoever gets the fève in his serving is named King (or Queen) for the day, gets to wear the paper crown and picks who the Queen (or King) will be.

La Galette des rois is a traditional confection consisted of puff pastry pie garnished with butter with infinite options of stuffing. Today’s recipe is the galette à la frangipane et chocolat which is a blend of crème d’amande and crème pâtissière (pastry cream) and chocolate. With kids, chocolate is always a winning option!

You will need:

500g puff pastry (thawed if frozen), divided and rolled out to 2 circles, one is slightly bigger than the other (30cm diameter).

Filling:

1/4 cup unsalted butter softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup almond flour
1 tbsp liquor of your choice (rum, grand marnier, bourbon….)
1/2 cup crème pâtissière
1/3 cup chocolate grated or cocoa powder
1 egg + 1 tbsp water room temperature for eggwash

Accessories:

la fève or porcelain trinket
2 crowns

galette-des-rois-frangipane-au-chocolat-marmite-et-ponpon

Beat the butter until creamy. In a bowl combine sugar and almond flour. Add the butter to it and mix until smooth. Stir in the liquor and eggs one at a time and mix well at each addition. Add the crème pâtissière and finally the chocolate.
Place the smaller of the 2 circles on a piece of parchment paper. Pour the prepared filling in the center and spread it inside the circle leaving a ring by a width of 2.5cm (about 1 inch) around. Using a pastry brush, brush the outer rim with water to serve as glue when you place the second puff pastry circle on top. Place a porcelain trinket of your choice in the crème, not in the center but closer to an edge, or your knife will keep running into it when you divide the galette. Press it down gently to bury it. You can put 2 trinkets to increase the chances if you have more than one kid, ditch the rules and let’s have some fun;)
Lay the second round of dough precisely on top of the first, smooth it out gently over the crème to remove any air pocket, and press it down all around the sides to seal. Using the back of the tip of your knife, draw a decorative pattern on top of the galette. Holding your knife upright, blade down, and using the dull side of the blade, push the dough inward to create a festooned pattern.
Brush the top of the galette lightly with egg wash: Make sure it doesn’t drip over the edges, or the eggwash will seal the layers of the puff pastry and it won’t rise. Let it rest a minute then brush it lightly again with the eggwash. Using the tip of your knife, pierce the top dough through the pattern you’ve drawn to ensure an even rise. Transfer to a baking pan and bake for 30 minutes on 180°C and until puffy and golden brown.
Let it cool to room temperature before serving.

galette-des-rois-frangipane-au-chocolatmarmite-et-ponpon

galette-des-rois-frangipane-au-chocolat-marmite-et-ponpon

Happy Epiphany everyone! دايم دايم

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

Savoury Christmas tree – feta and thyme filling

Posted on December 23, 2016 | 1 comment

I bet on a Lebanese Christmas dinner table you can find 10452 kind of food, it’s not that we eat a lot, but we love and cherish good food. And since it’s a night for family reunion, all tastes should be satisfied!

I am someone who likes entrées, amuse bouches, salads…. and i like to add the festive look on the presentation for this special night that i believe it’s like no other! This year, I will be celebrating with my small family as we are not going home for this Christmas. My tiniest fans who are the most sincere fans and speaking the truth straight forward; it’s either yummy or yaki. So i had to try this feta zaatar (thyme) tree to see how many thumbs up i will get from Nady and Joud to avoid disappointment on Christmas eve! And lucky me I got 6 thumbs up counting in my husband 🙂

It’s very easy to prepare and can be presented in less than 20 minutes, to be eaten in 2 minutes 🙂 Few ingredients are needed, as: puff pastry, zaatar, olive oil, feta cheese crumbled or cut in small cubes, and one egg for the wash.

Roll out the dough on a parchment paper and cut 2 equal tree shape. Brush one tree with zaatar and olive oil, sprinkle the feta and cover with the second tree. Cut parallel and equal lines on both sides of the tree as the photo shows. Twist each part to do the branches and press it down to the parchment paper. Brush with the egg wash and bake on 200°C for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

There is no accurate amount for the ingredients, as you can make the tree the size you want, and put zaatar and cheese as per your taste! I told you it’s very easy and quick. Try it, i am sure it will add more fun to your Christmas table, and more yummy to your tummy.

Don’t forget to add some decoration on the side. Beauty is in details!

If you really like this post give it many likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More festive posts are yet to come. Ho Ho Ho!

1 Comment

Posted in j delights, special occasions

Tagged christmas food, design, doha, easy cooking, feta cheese, food blog, food blogger, food photography, food porn, how to do, jaymmy, lebanon, marmite et ponpon, puff pastry, qatar, quick recipe, recipe, thyme, tree, zaatar

How to DIY an angry birds birthday party decoration

Posted on December 19, 2016 | 5 comments

19 december 2012, a miracle was born and my world hasn’t been the same since! Today my first son, Nady, turns four.

Four precious years with you my son, gave to love different meaning and to life new dimensions. You are my joy, my best genes, my faith and my eternity. If the earth turns around the sun, then the sun must turn around you or else where he will get his radiance from….

Nady is a big fan of angry birds, lately everything in the house turned to be branded as angry birds star wars, angry birds space, angry birds go…. We are living in an angry bird world, so it wasn’t unexpected to ask for an angry birds birthday. I guess i said angry birds six times in one sentence, so imagine how many times i hear it in one day !

I wanted to surprise him with the decoration, cake design, animation… basically with everything! All i wished for is to see that awesome look on his face when he sees the set up and i believe i succeeded. It was a very nice party, and I would like to share with you some nice decoration ideas that i crafted myself and made all the difference!

Angry birds star wars banner, calling for action!

Click here to download the high resolution file 2×1.3 meters without the typography, to add your personal text!

Angry birds lanterns! All you need is to cutout the faces i prepared for red, chuck and pig.

I prepared vector files, easy to be resized without affecting the resolution. To download them, click on chuck, pig and red. Resize it depending on your lanterns sizes.

Angry birds flags, four colors/birds design. Green for pig, red for red, yellow for chuck and blue for jay, jake and jim!

Click on red, green, yellow and blue to download editable vector files for the buntings!

TNT boxes for more action!

Very simple, just get some brown boxes and stick TNT stickers, pile them and you get a nice decoration element, to add more fun and action! And here is attached a printable tnt-sticker.

Cupcake angry birds star wars toppers! Glue two circles on a wooden stick and insert it in a cupcake to see this beautiful display!

Click cake-topper and cake-topper-2 to download the printable files.

If you are wondering where i got the display boxes from, you can find them in Ikea!

Here is a nice way to display the marshmallows and pop corn!

Stick pig face on a bucket and put a catapult!

To make these TNTs, you need to roll 5 or 6 red cardboard into cylinders and stick them together with black tape. Glue beige thread on top of each to make them look realistic.

M&M bottles as angry birds food!

Click here to download the high resolution file of the bottle tags!

Angry birds nest!

A creative and fun way to present the pretzel sticks and nuts!

Angry birds water! Click here for the printable tag design.

Giveaways bags!

I chose two characters, red and bomb and stick their faces on the corresponding bag color, red for red and black for bomb. (I’ve attached already the faces printable files in flags)

And finally, the t-shirt design as per nady’s request! Click on tshirt to download the high resolution file to be printed on a white tshirt.