Valentine’s Day has come and gone. And while everyone focuses on their significant others (boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, wives), Valentine’s Day is extra special in our family because it’s Tayta’s Birthday. (more…)
Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs
I love those mornings when I wake up to a text from my brother containing a photo and the words “make this.” Which is exactly what happened a couple days ago. We live in the same house, about two doors apart and yet I haven’t seen him in days – probably because we’re each on a different schedule. But not seeing me regularly doesn’t mean he’s forgotten that I can cook up some good dishes. Enter the random text Monday night at 11:07pm. Where do you suppose he found this photo? From the Food Porn Twitter account, where else? And of course, he expects me to drop everything and have it ready to eat at a moment’s notice.
I let him drool for a couple days before I got to experimenting and then promptly surprising him on a random Wednesday afternoon. (more…)
Hareeseh [Semolina Cake]
You know that moment of excitement and apprehension when you’ve tried to bake something and you go to share it with your grandmother, certain she’s going to be so proud of your work? Well, that happened about three years ago when I first tried to make Hareeseh. I was so excited to bring her a sample of my baking that I could even envision her smiling and telling me what a great job I did. (more…)
Shrimp Fried Rice
I’m not a huge fan of Asian foods [and by Asian, I mean far-east Asian]. I’m extremely picky. Not because I’m not adventurous with food, but everyone has different tastes and mine just happens to not be extremely fond of the sauces. I usually have one or two go-to items when I’m stuck in a situation where I have to have Chinese, or Thai, or Japanese food – usually because I’m the minority. And usually, my go-to items are sauce-free or are pretty bland in flavor. Everyone’s entitled to their prerogative and this is mine. (more…)
French Onion Soup
It’s cold. Actually, it’s beyond cold. We were hit with snow early this week and it was terrible. Fairfax County schools, DC schools and the Federal Government all failed to call – at a minimum – a two-hour delay causing mass chaos during the morning commute.
Since Tuesday’s snowfall, the snow hasn’t melted. We’ve been seeing temperatures no warmer than 30 F with mornings at 8 F and afternoons hovering around 25 F. I’ve probably said this at least 10 times on the blog, but I am not a fan of cold weather. If it were up to me, I would hibernate all winter and come back to life when it’s no colder than 60 F, sometime around late March. The layers: sweaters, coats, socks, leggings, gloves, hats, ear muffs; it’s all too much for me. And to top it all off, the days are cut short when the sun sets at 5pm. (more…)
Hazelnut Biscotti
For as long as I can remember, biscuits for breakfast were a common occurrence in our house. It was never unusual to see cookies served with coffee and tea, and sometimes, even a piece of cake. The cookies, or biscuits, were always referred to as قرشله pronounced “orshelleh.” Some look similar to biscotti, and others just look like rectangular pieces of hardened bread. (more…)