shain

@Anna N And now I ask myself have I been wasting all those years eating pasta with a fork? (albeit usually a tiny dessert fork, because that was my utensil of choice for anything not eaten with sticks) For dinner I actually haven't had much use for utensils. We had lachouch flatbread and spreads. From left to right - Ghee, leben with cumin, bottle of store bought red schug, chilies; tomatoes blended with mint, schug and spices; warm red lentil spread with turmeric, fenugreek and cumin; tahini with parsley, green chilies and fenugreek. .

Toasted pasta, in walnut cream (toasted walnuts + milk + nutmeg + blender), with peppered ricotta, lemon thyme, drizzle of honey, Parmesan, toasted walnuts.

@kayb Yes, very tasty. I'm looking of recpies to use it where it will really shine through, hopefully I won't eat it all by then. @Anna N I did had a pleasant conversation, so not much more. Now I wish to get some sleep and not to let myself work too hard this coming week

Had a long tiring week. Had some cheese, nice bread and wine.

Pizzas, "nona style" this time. First one with motz, cheddar, a little smoked motz, mushrooms. Second without sauce, with motz, caramelized onions, and post bake application of danish blue.

Hungarian vegetable and beans soup, rich in paprika and celery, with a bit if caraway. Served with sour cream, egg noodles and warm crusty bread.

Pasta with carmelized onion, garlic, chives, parm, tarragon, nutmeg and pepper.

I've had the tiramisu loacker and I am not impressed. The coconut and chocolate versions remain my favorite No sign of the berry flavored wafers.

Thanks. You are right. However I am somewhat OK with eating shellfish (as you can tell from my latest post, but even then, I leave most of the shrimp to my dining companions). So oyster sauce (as in this dish) and less often shrimp paste are great for kicking up umami in certain dishes. They don't have the specific aroma of fish sauce, but they do well. I also used yellow bean sauce and a small amount of soy sauce. In most dishes, my go to ingredient is yeast powder, which after finding a good quality brand and learning how to properly cook with, has no unpleasant scent and is most natural in flavor. The smokey flavor (from smoked tofu and smoked dry chillies) is not a replacement for anything (though it adds a meaty quality through association). I mostly think it really compliments this dish. But it is true that vegetarian dishes need to rely on strong flavors.

Thai green curry - tofu, eggplant, mushrooms, coconut cream. Lime and lemongrass scented jasmine rice. Woon sen (bean starch noodles) with shrimps and yellow curry, very little coconut cream, peanut.

Thanks. Baking twice is a technique I used often with baked goods that has a moist interior and that I desire to be crisp on the outside. The idea is to bake until set, then let it chill before baking again at with convection fan. Right after baking, the steam from the inner part will degrade the crispness. So by chilling and re-baking the outer side gets crisp again while the inside does not heat enough to dry out or cause more steam. It works well for muffins, breads etc. There are indeed many types of basbousa, from cakey to halva like.

You can use puff pastry and make spinach burekas, some will say it's even better

Coconut rice with the last mangos. and mixed:

Basbousa, double baked so it's crisp on the rim, but still juicy inside. Flavored with coconut, rose geranium and lemon verbena, lemon juice, orange zest, rose extract. Served with yogurt on the side.

Pad woon sen . Heavy on the vegetables with a lightly smoky sauce.

@Anna N Thanks. It was my first time making tomato jam and it's only OK. I think I over cooked it which resulted in it being more savory and as fresh as I'd wanted. Also had a strange musky flavor when it was fresh, but it was gone after a few weeks in the fridge.

That's a funny coincidence, I also had haloumi this weekend. Had mine pan-grilled with cherry tomato jam and toasts.

Roasted sunchoke and pumpkin soup. With roasted carrot cubes, chickpeas, spinach, fenugreek, chili, rosemary, and a few more spices.

I haven't had savory in years, it's hard to get here, but I only ever had it in cooked dishes. I was just intrigued since it looked different from zaatar and thyme.

It looks similar to savory. Could you please share the local name for it?

Home made pappardelle with mushroom and cream sauce (on the light and mushroomy side of things, I'm not a fan of heavy cream sauces). Garlic, thyme, nutmeg and loads of pepper. Topped with crisp buttery breadcrumbs.

Chelo rice, khoresh bademjan, khoresht sabzi.

@rotuts sure:

Note: this cake is somewhat on the sweet side, this is part of what makes a honey cake in my mind, but you may cut down on some of the plain sugar in the recipe. If your sour cream is higher in fat than specified, replace some butter with milk. 145 g flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (5 g) 3/8 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon dry ground ginger 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves (3-4 sticks) 1/8 teaspoon ground all spice (3-4 grains) 1/4 teaspoon salt It is best to use freshly ground spices. 200 g sour cream 15% fat 3/4 teaspoon instant coffee 1 large egg 110 g Honey 35 g dark brown sugar 80 g white sugar 40 g oil 20 g melted butter 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract Optional: a handful of raisins, soaked in water Optional: 15-17 g almonds sliced (not chopped) For syrup: 2 teaspoons honey 25 g warm water (5 teaspoons) preparation Preheat oven to 170 degrees C. Grease one english cake pan. In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, dry spices and salt. In a large separate bowl, put about a tablespoon of sour cream. Heat the cream in the bowl a little, put in the coffee and mix until it melts. Add the remaining cream and the egg. Add the honey and the two types of sugar, oil and vanilla extract. Add raisins if desired. Mix well. Sift the flour mixture into the bowl with the liquids. Using a spatula, mix lightly and fold the mixture at until you get a smooth, fairly liquid batter. Make sure to collect the flour from the bottom of the bowl. Pour the mixture into a pan. Sprinkle the almonds uniformly. Put in the oven and bake for 37-40 minutes, until the cake is high, dark brown, and an inserted toothpick existing crumbless. (the cake should Crack while raisin) Mix the hot water and the honey to form a syrup. Using a teaspoon, evenly and slowly pour the syrup over the cake while it is warm. Allow to cool completely and store in a tightly sealed container or wrapped in plastic wrap. Serve with tea

@Smithy I'm no expert, but origin wise, I assume that you are right, olives and legumes were grown the levant for thousands of years, so balila is a very old dish. One can assume that msabaha was invented with the import of seaseme. And I guess that hummus originated from msabaha by pounding it smooth. Now days, msabaha is not simply hummus with whole chickpeas. Hummus in Israel is almost always served with whole chickpeas (unless topped with something else). Msabaha has many versions, but all are served warm, are usually more fluid, contains more tahini and may include a small amount of chili (chili is never added to hummus). My version starts with chickpeas cooked very soft, I make tahini sauce with lemon and spices (garlic, chilli, cumin), then mix a portion of the peas using a fork until they break and thicken. Then add the rest of the peas and mix gently. I also mix in parsley, which is usually only added on top.