Shish taouk - Chicken kebab

Shish taouk is a traditional Turkish dish, and it means chicken skewers. Cubes of chicken are skewered and grilled. This dish is popular in Arabic countries too. The variation in flavor from one place to another is due to the type of marination used.

Ingredients:

3 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts cut in pieces for skewers
1.5 tsp salt (sea salt is preferred)
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsp plain yoghurt
1 tbsp tomatoes paste
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp minced garlic

Directions:

• In a big bowl, mix all the ingredients with chicken.
• Cover the bowl and put it in the fridge for at least two hours. You want the chicken to get all the marination flavor, and to have that juicy texture inside.
• Thread the chicken on skewers and grill them. I used my indoor electric grill. It's perfect for winter weather.
• Serve with grilled vegetables, rice, and/or pita bread.
  

Barazek (برازق)

Barazek are middle eastern pistachios sesame cookies. They are popular in some Arabic countries like Jordan, Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon.They are usually served with hot tea or coffee.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup Sesame Seeds
1 tbsp Honey or syrup (qater)
1/2 tbsp Water
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
3/4 cup Sugar
1 cup Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
1/4 cup Water
1/4 cup Pistachios (chopped)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees

• On a baking sheet, spread out the sesame seeds and toast them until they are golden brown

• Mix honey with the 1/2 tablespoon of water and moisten the sesame seeds with the mixture

• In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and sugar.

• Add the butter and the 1/3 cup of water and work out to form smooth dough

• Put the dough in the fridge for 10 minutes

• Form small sized balls from the dough

• Touch one side of each ball into the pistachios, and then press it between the palm of your hands into a cookie shape

• Dip the other side into sesame seeds mixture and try to richly coat it

• Place the cookies on a baking sheet with the sesame side up.

• Bake in the preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until they turn golden brown

Gingerbread cookies

Last week, my daughter asked me to bake her gingerbread cookies. They were talking about them at school and she wanted to try them. I never made these cookies before so I had to do my research on them :)

Gingerbread cookies are fragrant with ground ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. The amount of each can be adjusted to suit your own individual taste. They are also usually made with molasses. Here is the recipe I used to make gingerbread cookies, ofcourse after tweaking it to my own taste. They turned out to be so delicious.

Ingredients:

3

cups all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoons salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup white sugar

1 large egg

2/3 cup molasses

Directions:

• In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, ginger, and cinnamon.
• In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg and molasses and beat until well combined. Gradually add the flour mixture b eating until incorporated.
• Divide the dough in half, and wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven.
  
• On a floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/4 inch.
  
• Use a gingerbread cutter to cut out the cookies. I didn't have the cutters so I used my measuring cups to cut the round ones, and I had to make the man cookies with a knife.
• Move the cookies to the baking sheet, placing the cookies about 1 inch apart.
  
• Bake for about 8 - 12 minutes. They are done when they are firm and the edges are just beginning to brown. If you like your gingerbread cookies on the soft side bake them a little less than the recipe that.
  
• Wait until they are completely cool before decorating them. You can decorate them using frosting, raisins, or candies. I stuffed the round cookies with marshmallow. My girls were so happy to help.
  

Sinan's perfume!

Hello,

It's 7:45 am. Everyday around this time, and just after Sinan and Lina leave to work/school, I fix my morning coffee, check my email, news, and update my to-do-list for the day before starting my daily work on research. But this morning I felt like writing, I'm not sure why. Maybe because of Sinan's perfume that I smell everywhere in the office right now. It's so nice and fresh. It made me feel good and happy regardless of all the work that is waiting for me today.

I was so glad yesterday for the feedback I got on my cooking post. Thank you all! More recipes on the way, I promise!

That's it for now. I have to start working. Yesterday I spent the whole day working on the code that Sinan and I spent the whole Saturday's afternoon working on it, and guess what, it still doesn't give me any make-sense results :(

Take care!

Kushari ( كشري )

Kushari is a popular traditional Egyptian dish. It's a vegetarian dish that consists of rice, brown lentils, pasta, and a topping of spicy tomato sauce and Fried onions. Kushari is one of the most popular and common dishes in Egypt, and it's one of my favorites.

Ingredients:

For the rice:
2 cups rice
1 cup brown lentil
1 small onion chopped
2 tablespoon olive oil (you can use veg. oil or butter)
salt and pepper
water (about 4 cups)

For the sauce:
5 fresh skinned tomatoes
5 garlic cloves minced
1 chili pepper chopped (optional)
2 cups tomatoes sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons vinegar
2 cups short pasta (macaroni)
1 teaspoon cumin
salt
1 cup water

For the onion garnish:
2 onions cut in slices
2 tablespoon olive oil

Cooking instructions:

Rice:

• Soak rice in warm water for 30 minute.
• If you're using Egyptian rice you need to wash it very good.
• Wash the lentil and then boil them in 2 cups of water until they are half cooked.
• Keep the lentil water, you'll need it to cook rice (it will give the rice this nice brownish color).
• In a pot add the olive oil and fry the chopped onion until gold and then add rinsed rice.
• Add the lentil with the water. Add salt and pepper and then cook the rice as you usually do. Add more water if you feel that the lentil water is not enough to cook the rice.
• Boil pasta and rinse it.
  

Sauce:

• Add olive oil to the pan that you will use for making the sauce.
• Cut tomatoes in small pieces.
• Fry minced garlic and chili pepper in the oil until gold.
  
• Add tomatoes and let them them cook.
• Add tomatoe sauce, water, vinegar, salt, and cumin. Let them boil for few minutes.
  

Garnish:

• In a frying pan heat the olive oil
• Add the sliced onions and brown them.
  

Now in a serving plate put a first layer of rice, then another layer of macaroni, and then garnish them with onion. Serve with the sauce. Enjoy it!

7 things about me!!!

I was tagged by my friend Dr. N. I'm not sure what to say about myself, but I will try. Let's start :

1. I'm an early bird.
2. I'm handy; I like to do handcrafts, sewing, and home decorating. I'm also a good cook!
3. I'm addicted to my morning Nescafe, my Mac, my iPhone, and Internet.
4. I adore chic and elegant people.
5. I LOVE shopping.
6. I love hanging out with my girlfriends.
7. I like to blog, but I'm not an active blogger!

That's it. Thanks Nany for the tag :)