Some Cookery Inspiration

Salamwalikoum,
Long time no blog for me.... My work schedule got all flipped around again and finding time for blogging seems to be getting harder... And the fact that Ramadan seems to be kicking my bum this year isn't helping... fasting in this heat has been tough. But I have to say I am proud of myself for sticking it out.
Anyhoo I thought I would give a sign of life today and share a website that I regularly peruse for my own amusement.It's called Project Gutenberg. Now I know many people probably already know about this site, it's been around for a while, but for those not in the know here is the scoop. This site is a repository of copyright free books from allover the world in several languages.

It's a huge mix of every kind of book out there, but my favorite section that I find the most amusing (weirdo that I am) is the cookery section. This part of the website contains cook books that even date back to the Roman empire. Some of the books that I find the most useful are the ones that were printed around the 1st World War. These books contain tons of recipes that will fill you up on the cheap and keep you going.

So there is my contribution to blogland for the day. Hope you guys find the website as entertaining as I do. Have fun.

Moroccan Recipes...Celeri and Meat tajine

Salamwalikoum,

Today I`m sharing a recipe that my husband really enjoys. I made it on Tuesday night for dinner.
It's pretty straight forward. So let's get to it shall we?

Ingredients:
meat
1 medium potato per person
1 celery stalk per person
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-2 onions
1-2 cloves garlic
dash of pepper
dash turmeric
1/4 pickled lemon
olives
fresh cilantro


Direction:
I forgot to do this... Cook the celery in a bit of water to soften before adding it to the tajine.

So in the tajine or slow cooker put the chopped onions in the bottom with a bit of oil.

In a bowl add all the spices and the put the potato slices with a bit of water and mix until the potatoes are coated with the spices.

Add the potatoes to the tajine. then put the meat in the bowl and coat with the spice mix.
Add the meat to the tajine.

Add some chopped up pickled lemons, the celery and the olives.
Add 1-2 cups of water.

Heat on low to medium heat until well cooked.

So there it is, celery tajine.

Enjoy!

Till next time

Meal plan...resumed

Salamwalikoum,

I have to admit that lately I've been neglecting blogland quite a bit... My work schedule just keeps changing on me. But now my hubby went and bought a new laptop for me to use...Isn't he just the sweetest man ever? So now with my new toy I plan on wallowing in blog land a whole bunch in the weeks to come! I've got plenty of recipe ideas I want to share and some other fun stuff that I've found on the web.

First thing I'm sharing today is my meal plan from last week... I know, I know ... but better late than never!

So here goes:
Monday:
Chicken with carrots and olives
Salad

Tuesday:
Eggs royale
home fries
steamed asparagus with hollandaise sauce


Wednesday:
Lemon-basil spaghetti with vegetables
salmon cakes(like crab cakes only with salmon instead)
Caesar salad

Thursday
Kefta(a.k.a. ground beef) tajine
coleslaw

Friday
Seffa(steamed vermicelli) with chicken

Saturday
Nachos for lunch
African Peanut butter stew on white rice for supper

Sunday is leftovers and cookies day.

So there you have it, that's what we ate last week. And trust me it may look elaborate but most dishes are prepared on my 15 minute breaks from work. So they are do-able even for super busy people.

Pantry staples... spice blend

Salamwalikoum,
It's been a while since I last posted something... Hope everyone is still alive and kicking. It's been crazy for me as usual. I thought I would start off with something way simple: my go to spice blend. I found this spice blend online on a site that shares "secret recipes". So this spice mix was listed as the KFC secret spices. I did omit one or two things to make is a bit more general and also so it appeals a bit more to my husband's taste.

I really like this blend, I've tried it on beef, chicken and lamb and it works great with all of them so far. I also use this to make home-made shake and bake(add bread crumbs) or use it to make a roux(add flour) for gravy. O.K.,so enough gushing about the recipe. Here goes!

Ingredients:
1 tbsp Rosemary
1 tbsp Oregano
1 tbsp Sage
1 tsp Ginger
1 tsp Marjoram
1 1/2 tsp thyme
3 tbsp dried Parsley
1 tsp pepper
1 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp onion salt or powder
2 tbsp or 4 cubes (crushed) either chicken or beef bouillon.

Directions:
Put all the spices in a blender and pulse a few seconds.

To cook a whole chicken you only need about 1 tsp of the spices.
When I make fried chicken I usually put 1 heaping tbsp of spice mix with 1 cup of flour and this is more than enough for a whole chicken.

I usually make up a double batch of this at a time. It keeps really well in a spice jar of plastic container.

So there you have it, Enjoy!

till next time!