Got Rooh Afza?

It’s official in most countries, Ramadan started on Saturday, Aug 22. Every family has a different way of preparing for the month- both spiritually and physically.

One unique part of Ramadan is the food preparation that is done for the evening meal, iftar. In the Middle East and many parts of Asia there is a HUGE rush to grocery stores and mass purchasing of various staples for breakfast and dinner. Sales of dates and Vimto soar!

For me, Ramadan preparation means the purchase of Rooh Afza- the sickly  sweet flower/fruit flavored drink that I never drink any other time of the year. In fact, it’s the drink that I can barely have a few times in Ramadan and the rest of the bottle drags out for the year. But no Ramadan is complete without it!

What’s your nostalgic Ramadan iftar treat?

Simple Pesto Sauce

Makes about 1 cup sauce

Ingredients:

• 3 cups fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2/3 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup walnuts (or pine nuts or almonds)
• 2 tablespoon crushed garlic
• salt to taste

Method:

1. Blend everything together until a fine paste.
2. Bon appetit!

Notes:

• This is the perfect consistency for mixing with pasta
• If you want a creamy pesto sauce, just mix with 1-2 cups white sauce
• Go easy on the salt as the parmesan is salty
• If you want a thicker pesto for serving on top of bread, reduce oil to 3/4 cup
• Pesto is usually made with pine nuts but walnuts and almonds work well if you do not have any handy

Man vs. Tree Rodents Part Deux

We have an ongoing battle against the squirrels in the garden that eat bird food from the feeder. Not only do they finish all the bird feed within a day they also chase the birds away. 

Chasing them away, making noise, squirting with water guns, tossing twigs at them- we tried it all and nothing worked.

After a little internet research it seemed that greasing the feeder pole so the persistent tree- rodents could not climb up would work. We tried WD40 but it only lasted a day. Next attempt was Vaseline but the location of the feeder was too close to a tree. They used the weeping cherry tree to jump onto the pole, do a flip worthy of Olympic gold and land on the feeder (cayenne pepper powder didn’t help much as they squirrels came back the next day).

Next we changed the location of the pole from which the bird feeder was hanging, away from the tree. The squirrels then started using the flower pots on the deck as a spring board to jump up and grab the feeder.

The flower pots have now been removed far enough that they cannot be used as a prop. The tree is too far for jumping. And the Vaseline is BACK!! A nice thick coating all over the pole. The squirrels try jumping up and swoooshhhhhhhh, they slip right back down.

The bird seed is safe for now…

Red Cardinal

The red cardinal is the state bird of Virginia- if you put out bird seed they come in droves!

The male of the species is bright red and the female is a dull brown with a red undercoat.

Oh, and to stop squirrels from eating all the seed we greased the pole that the bird feeder is hanging from- the squirrels hate it and have not gone up since then.

 

Lily

This year we finally got around to planting perennial flowers in our backyard (this is after we cut back the creeping juniper on the slope and discovered an extra 10 feet of backyard!). Here is a lily from our new flower bed.

 

Dinner menu: Parmesan- encrusted Broiled Tilapia

This works wells with a side of mashed potatoes and some Caesar salad. The parmesan cheese browns to a very flavorful crunchy topping, without using any oil.

Menu: Tuna Melt on Homemade Focaccia Bread

A quick and filling snack option

Suburban farming

Mary, Mary quite contrary,

How does your garden grow?

With silver bells and cockle shells,

And pretty maids all in a row

In our case we don’t have any of the above mentioned items, but we do have (or are in the process of planting):

• Apple
• Peach
• Apricot 
• Cherry
• Hazelnut
• Fig
• Raspberry
• Blueberry
• Blackberry
• Tomatoes
• Eggplant
• Bell pepper
• Beetroots
• Cucumber
• Squash
• Basil
• Parsley
• Chives
• Mint
• Cilantro
• Chamomile

Hungry yet?

Recipe: Apple Crisp

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

Filling:

• 4 cups sliced apples (tart apples work well)
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/2 cup water

Crumble topping:

• 1 cup sugar (or 1/2 white and 1/2 brown sugar)
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter (4oz)

Method:

Preheat oven to 220C. Grease the base of 8” pie dish with butter. Add apples.
Add cinnamon powder to apples. Toss to coat evenly. Add the water.
For the topping: Mix sugar, flour and cinnamon powder together.
Cut in cold butter.
Crumble butter into flour to make crumb topping. Using your hands is the fastest way to do this.
Evenly spread the topping across the prepared apple dish.
Bake for 35-40min until the topping turns brown. Serve warm apple crisp with vanilla ice cream. Bon appetit!

Tips: If your dish is filled to the top the filling and topping will ooze over the sides while baking so place a dish underneath.

This recipe can easily be doubled.

Dinner Menu: Ostrich Steak with Feta & Caramelized Onion

Entree: Grilled ostrich steak with feta cheese and caramelized onions

Sides: Mashed potatoes and salad

Recipe: Chicken Breast Stuffed with Spinach

Serves: 3

Prep time: 30min

Ingredients:

• 1 small onion
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 2 cups fresh spinach
• 1/4 cup feta cheese
• 1/4 cup mozarella cheese
• 3 chicken breast halves
• 2 Tblsp butter
• Salt & pepper to taste

 

 

 

 

 

Method:

Sautee a small onion and 3-4 cloves garlic in 1 tablespoon butter.
Add ~2 cups fresh chopped spinach and cook for a few minutes until wilted. Add 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste.
Add 1/4 cup feta cheese and 1/4 cup mozarella cheese to cooked spinach mixture and allow to cool for a few minutes.
Flatten 3 half chicken breasts (using the back of a heavy knife or a mallet). Sprinkle with fresh crushed black pepper and salt to taste.
Spread the spinach-cheese mixture on the chicken breasts.
Roll up each chicken breast tightly. Secure with a toothpick if needed.
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a heavy pan and add stuffed chicken breasts.
Brown on each side, using tongs to carefully turn over.
Optional: to ensure the chicken is cooked all the way, bake or microwave the browned chicken breasts. Be careful, the cheese/ spinach will ooze out!
Serve stuffed chicken breast with fettucine alfredo.

Dinner Menu: Thai Chicken with Coconut Curry

Entree: Coconut curry chicken served over steamed rice (Thai)

Brunch Menu: Meat Vol au Vent

Vol au vents are typically smaller in size when served as an appetizer. You can make these slightly bigger (double the size) for brunch or light lunch. Serve with salad (preferably with a vinaigrette dressing).

 

Filling: sauteed beef, carrots, peas, cabbage, spring onions, salt, pepper

Crust: puff pastry

Bon appetit!

Menu: Chicken Stir fry with Spring-rolls

Appetizer: Spring rolls (or egg rolls)

Entree: Chicken stir-fry

Side: Steamed rice

 

Chicken Stir Fry

Serves: 2 large (3 medium) portions

Ingredients:

• 1 chicken breast
• 2 tblsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1″ strip of ginger
• 1 carrot
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 stalk celery
• 2-3 spring onions
• 2 tblsp oil

Method:

1. Cut chicken into 1″ strips.
2. Marinade chicken with soy sauce and black pepper for 15 mins.
3. Julienne the ginger, carrot, bell pepper into 1″ strips. Dice the celery and spring onions.
4. Heat up oil in a wok over medium-hot flame.
5. Add the ginger to the oil and saute for 30 sec until fragrant.
6. Add the chicken and saute for 2-3mins until no longer pink.
7. Move the chicken to the edge of the wok and add the vegetables to the center. Saute for 2-3 min until crisp-tender.
8. Toss everything together and serve over steamed rice.
9. Bon appetit!

Tips: You can add/change/replace any of these vegetables. Other options are shitaki mushrooms and water chestnuts.

Dinner Menu: Pan fried halibut, purslane mashed potatoes and hibiscus sparkler

Entree: Pan fried halibut with lemon-butter drizzle

Side: Purslane mashed potatoes

Drink: Hibiscus sparkler

Purslane Mashed Potatoes

Portions: 3-4

Ingredients:

• 1 lb (500 g) potatoes
• 1 cup purslane leaves (regla), washed and finely chopped
• 1 stalk celery, finely diced
• 1 spring onion, finely chopped
• 2 tblsp mayonnaise
• 2 tblsp yoghurt
• 1/4 tsp salt

 

Instructions:

1. Peel, wash and quarter potatoes; boil in salted water
2. Drain and mash roughly with fork
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well
4. Adjust salt, mayonnaise and yoghurt levels to taste
5. Bon appetit!

Tips: Purslane is a slightly tangy/salty green leafy vegetable. It is considered a weed in North America but is eaten as a vegetable in the rest of the world. It is also known by the names pigweed, pusley, regla (arabic), verdolaga (spanish), Ma Chi Xian (China), Sanhti/Punarva/kulfa (India).

It has the most Omega-3 fatty acids of any leafy veggie (excellent for cholesterol), high Vit A levels and anti-oxidant properties.

Pan-fried Halibut with lemon butter drizzle

Portions: 2 large (or 3 small)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb halibut filets
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp regular black pepper
• 1/2 cup flour for dusting
• 4 tblsp butter for frying
• Juice of 1/2 large lemon

Method:

1. Wash fish and pat dry excess water
2. Sprinkle generously with freshly ground black pepper and salt on both sides
3. Mix regular black pepper and pinch of salt into flour
4. Coat fish with seasoned flour on both sides
5. Heat butter in frying pan
6. Fry fish for 3-4 min on each sides until golden brown
7. Pour lemon juice in small bowl; add leftover butter from frying pan into the juice (keep your distance when doing it so nothing spatters on you)
8. Plate the fish and drizzle lemon-butter on top
9. Bon appetit!

Tips: You can use any mild white fish instead: tilapia, perch etc. If you use fresh perch it tastes just like the famous filet de peche at “Le Pavillion de Ruth” (located at the edge of the lake in Geneva, Switzerland some 20 years ago)

Menu: Jalapeno Veggie Chowder and Potato Patties

This is a quick and easy casual meal and quite filling. Chowders tend to be heavy and puff pastry is buttery- yummy

Out of order

I’ll be posting some menus first and the recipes later. As I add the recipes I will be going back and updating the links.  Thanks for your patience!

Dinner menu

We recently had a sit down dinner at home. The menu was the following:

Appetizer:
Welsh Leek and Celery soup with dinner rolls and roasted garlic butter
Entree:
Whole ginger fish with pasta, carrots, peas, corn and hush-puppies
Marinated quail on a bed of sauteed zucchini
Caesar salad
Dessert:
Bread pudding
Fruit: rambutans and custard apples

Roasted Garlic

Roasted garlic is a great addition to many (ANY) dish. The simplest way is to make it yourself.

1. Take as many bulbs of garlic as you need. Chop off the top and drizzle a spoon of olive oil on top of each.
2. Wrap in aluminum foil and bake in the oven for 45-60 min at 425F/200.
3. Remove from oven and allow to cool. The roasted garlic will be wonderfully smooshy and can be used for any recipe e.g. garlic butter, sauteing veggies, alfredo sauces etc. You can store any leftovers in the fridge for several weeks and use as needed.

Welsh Leek and Celery Soup

I came across this recipe on an online recipe group some 8 years ago. It is now a family favorite and has been passed around several times.

Servings: 4-6

Cooking Time: Prep Time: 25 minutes, Cook Time: 90 minutes

• 1 pound Leeks
• 4 Tablespoons Butter
• 2 stalks Celery, diced
• 1 large Onion, diced
• 6 cups Chicken broth
• 2/3 cup cream
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut the root end off of the leeks and then trim the green part off.
2. Split the leeks length-wise and slice thinly across the grain.
3. Soak in water for 20 minutes.
4. Melt the butter in a heavy soup pot.
5. Add the leeks, celery, and onions. Cook until just soft.
6. Add the broth, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer about one hour.
7. Allow to cool slightly.
8. Carefully puree the soup (in small batches) in a food processor.
9. Return to the pot. Whisk in the cream and simmer 10 minutes.
10. Check the seasonings. Serve warm.
11. Bon appetit!

Dinner rolls

I first found this recipe with the instruction manual of our bread-machine. It’s much loved by all every time I have made it. The recipe has been modified for traditional baking.

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 4 cups bread flour
• 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

1. Add yeast, warm water and pinch of sugar to a bowl. Let the yeast dissolve and get frothy (~10 min).
2. Warm the milk and melt the butter in it. Allow to cool until lukewarm.
3. Combine eggs, yeast mixture and milk/butter mixture. Slowly add in flour and salt. Mix everything together and knead well.
4. Leave to rest for 1 hr in a warm place (covered) until the dough has doubled in size.
5. Turn the dough onto lightly floured surface. Divide into 4 parts and then into 6 pieces (24 total)
6. Shape into smooth balls.
7. Place in greased pan. Cover and let rise in warm place until indentation remains after touching side of roll
8. Bake at 375F for 25-35min until golden brown.
9. Bon Appetit!!

Tips:

• Brush with an egg wash for a shiny finish
• Sprinkle top with sesame seeds or poppy seeds
• These are great with Welsh Leek and Celery Soup

Macgyver Egg Roll Wrappers

Q. What happens after surfing through food web sites featuring food from Singapore?

A. You become instantly hungry for egg rolls

Q. What do you do if there are no egg roll wrappers at home?

A. You make them from scratch of course- assuming your arms are in need of MEGA exercise or you want an all-natural meal AND you have lots of time in your hands. Or you could be like me and not realize that walking 25 min to the closest Panda, buying egg roll wrappers and walking back another 25 min would have required less time than actually making them myself

For those of you who have Macgyver tendencies, the deceptively simple recipe is given below.

Macgyver Egg Roll Wrappers

• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt

1. Beat egg and water together
2. Mix flour and salt in medium bowl
3. Make a well in the center and add the egg/water mixture. Combine until a dough forms
4. Knead for a few minutes. Cover with damp cloth and leave to rest for 10 min.
5. Cut dough into 4 pieces using a sharp knife. Cut each quarter into 4 pieces- 16 pieces total. You can also make this into 24 wontons. Work with one piece at a time, keeping the rest covered with a damp cloth/paper towel.
6. Roll out each piece into a 4.5"x4.5" square, on a lightly floured surface (or a cold marble surface) with a lightly floured rolling pin. This is the HARD part. This is a stiff dough and ends up being great upper arm exercise. You need to roll it out quite thin. (Rolling out one big ball of dough and then cutting into squares ends up needing more effort than individually shaping each little piece- believe me, I tried that).
7. As for shaping into squares, remember you cut the dough in the previous steps? The dough pieces should already be in a roughly square shape- just roll them out that way. You can shape them a little using your hands and tuck away the general ugliness when you wrap the egg rolls.
8. Add the filling, wrap and lightly dust with flour or cornstarch as you stack them so they do not stick together. Use in any recipe that calls for egg roll wrappers.

Aloo ki Bujia (Potato Bhujia)

• 1 onion
• 1 tsp whole cumin seed
• 1/2 kg potatoes
• 1/4 tsp tumeric powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp chilli powder
• 1/4 tsp cumin powder
• 1 cup water

1. Fry 1 onion in saucepan until golden brown with 1 tsp whole cumin seed.
2. Peel and cube 1/2 kg (about 1lb) of potatoes.
3. Add potatoes to the onions with 1/4 tsp tumeric powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp chilli powder and 1/4 tsp cumin powder. Add 1 cup water.
4. Leave to cook on low heat until potatoes are tender, and most of the water has evaporated.
5. Serve with bread (naan, chapati).
6. Bon Appetit!

P.S for a spicier version, add 2 tblsp tamarind paste, a pinch of oregano (ajwan) and a pinch of onion seed (kalonji).

Bhindi ki Bhujia (Okra Bhujia)

• 1 onion
• 1/2 tsp whole cumin seed
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 250g okra, chopped
• 1/4 tsp tumeric powder
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ginger paste
• 1/4 tsp garlic paste
• 1/4 tsp cumin powder

1. Brown 1 onion in saucepan with 1/2 tsp whole cumin seed.
2. Add 1 chopped tomato.
3. Add 8 oz /0.5 lb/0.25 kg chopped okra with 1/4 tsp tumeric powder, 1/4 tsp chilli powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp ginger paste, 1/4 tsp garlic paste and 1/4 tsp cumin powder.
4. Leave to cook on low heat until tender.
5. Bon appetit!

Golden Lobster: review

• Cuisine: Seafood
• Price:***
• Food: *****
• Presentation:***
• Cleanliness: ***
• Location:  Between King Fahd and Olaya streets. Take the exit off King Fahd towards Dr Sulaiman Habib hospital. Turn into the side lane as though you are going to the hospital. Continue down three blocks, the restaurant is on your right, opposite Paris gallery.

This restaurant is considered by some locals as the best seafood restaurant in town though it might be hard to find (the signage is very easy to miss even when looking at it straight on). With fresh seafood being flown in every day, the quality of the food is noticeably good at this business/business-casual eatery (very important since Riyadh is in the middle of the desert).

One selects the uncooked seafood based on the selection available (you literally point to the piece you want) and it is cooked to order.

There is a range of appetizers however the soups are recommended. As the staff will quietly tell you, the bouillabaisse is best, followed by the bisque. The bouillabaisse was not quite authentic (Marseille-style) however it was VERY good. We did not try the salads however one of dinner companions had done so and liked the Caesar salad (made authentically with anchovies!). The oysters Rockefeller were ok.

As the name suggests, this is the place to have lobster in Riyadh. The grilled lobster tail was delicious, served with butter, steamed vegetables and french fries. The jumbo shrimp were also good. The great thing about the food was that it was not drowned in spices – just grilled so the taste really came through.

The interior of the place is not exceptional, with cabins as well as open tables tucked away in nooks. The stained glass seascapes add a nice touch. The service was good: polite and attentive. 

This tucked away restaurant with it’s nondescript exterior is average on presentation and looks however the grilled lobster is worth it. Definitely a place to go back to when in the mood for great seafood!

Mattar Pullao (Rice pilaf with peas)

Serves 3-4 people

prep time: 5 min

cooking time: 20 min

• 1 cup peas (frozen are fine)
• 1 small onion
• 1/2 tsp cumin seed
• 1/4 tsp chilli powder
• 1-2 cloves
• 2-3 peppercorns
• 1 tblsp oil
• 2 cups basmati rice (washed)
• 3 cups water
• salt to taste

1. Dice onion, lightly brown in oil with the cumin, chilli powder, cloves, and peppercorn.
2. Add the peas, salt to taste, and a few spoons water. Cook for a few minutes on medium heat until peas are tender.
3. Add the rice, 3 cups water and salt to taste. Cook on medium-high heat until the water starts bubbling.
4. Cover pot and cook on low heat for exactly 15 min.
5. Remove from heat and fluff rice before serving.

Bon appetit!

Tips:

• You can substitute any sort of mixed vegetables instead of the peas.
• The recipe can easily be doubled (rice to water proportions are always 2 rice:3 water)
• This is the baseline recipe- this can be jazzed up by adding other spices like dillweed, achar etc or by adding meat.
• This goes well with raita and shami kebab

Tokyo- review

• Cuisine: Japanese
• Price:***
• Food: *****
• Presentation:**
• Cleanliness: ***
• Location: Oruba (between King AbdulAziz and Olaya, very close to King AbdulAziz Rd)

This is a GREAT sushi restaurant where one needs reservations to get a table on the weekends.

This is the first sushi I have had in Riyadh that actually used sushi-grade fish. The difference in flavor is noticeable. The sets were good and included miso soup, salad and the entree itself. That being said, the noodles were so-so and the presentation was sadly lacking. Some of the rolls were starting to unravel and the wooden platters were nicked and scarred.

The teppanyaki grills of this 25 year old restaurant are no longer used due to complaints by patrons of their clothes smelling after dinner and by neighbors. They still offer the food but it is no longer cooked in front of you.

The 7 person cabins were large, airy and not completely closed. The walls feature murals of Mt Fuji and mirrors on the ceilings. Overall the restaurant is starting to show its age and lack of carpeting results in sounds not being muffled at all (you can hear everyone talk in the cabins next to you). The service was not consistent (some servers are polite, others will simply barge in during the meal to get stuff from inside the cabin).

Overall the presentation and service notwithstanding, the sushi is worth coming back. This is not a place to take people out to if you are looking for ambiance however definitely  place to visit if you enjoy your raw fish!