New Years in the Desert

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Eat-O-Live

Here are some photos from New Years Eve 2009/2010 in Qatar when we decided to spend New Years Eve in the desert by the Saudi-Qatari border where we went desert camping, dune bashing, sand surfing, and had a camp fire with friends. Our driver decided to go a bit crazy with dune bashing so we lost a tire and had to wait 45 minutes for the other car to arrive, but it was so much fun. Also, that day was when there was a blue moon so i can say, it was once in a blue moon 🙂

What a way to say goodbye to 2009 and welcome the new year!

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Cannelloni

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Eat-O-Live

What about some Italian flavor for dinner tonight!

Ingredients: 

One Cup of Milk

One Cup of Flour

One Egg

1/2 Pound of Ground Beef

Half diced Onion

1/2 Cup of Chopped Mushrooms

Shredded Mozarella Cheese

Tomato Paste

Salt & Pepper 

How to Prepare: 

Melt a tablespoon of butter in a pan then add the diced onion and stir until it gets a little soft.
Add the ground beef and stir until the meat is cooked and brown.
Add a dash of salt, pepper and mushrooms to the meat and stir for a few minutes. Now that the meat is ready, put it off to the side for a few minutes.

Mix the milk, the flour and the egg together until creamy.

Heat a medium teflon saucepan to prepare the wrap.
Use a large cooking spoon to take some of the milk/flour/egg mixture onto the saucepan. You will use one scoop at a time.
After placing one scoop of the mixture on the saucepan, spread it out on the saucepan in a thin circular/tortilla shape. .


After 30 seconds, flip over the wrap to cook the other side.


After it is a little red on both sides, remove it from the saucepan and place it on the side.


Repeat until there is no mixture left.


After finishing the wraps, take a spoonful of the meat and place it on the wrap and roll it.
Place each wrap into a Pyrex oven sheet.
Mix half a cup of warm water with two tablespoons of the tomato paste.


Brush the wraps with the tomato paste.
Put the shredded mozarella on top of the tomato paste.


Place in the oven and heat for about 15 minutes at 425 F/230 C (Until the cheese melts)

Now it is ready to serve. I suggest that you wash it down with a nice white wine or Peroni Beer from the Hills of Tuscany.

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Stuffed whole chicken with rice and ground beef.

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Eat-O-Live

Ingredients:

Whole Chicken (1.5 Lbs)
One cup of Rice
Ground beef
Almonds
Pine Nuts
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

How to Prepare:

Clean the inside of the chicken with salt and water to get rid of the blood. Then place it on a tray to dry.

Soak the almonds in hot water for 15 minutes to peel easily.

To prepare the stuffing, use a medium pot, fry the peeled almonds, the pine nuts, and the ground beef with some vegetable oil or butter until the beef is cooked and then add a dash of salt and pepper and stir for few minutes.

Add to the pot one cup of rice and one cup of water and bring it to a boil. When it starts to boil, lower the flame and cover for about 10 minutes till the water dries.

Put the ground beef and rice on the side until it cools down.

Sew one side of the chicken. Stuff the inside of the chicken with the stuffing. Also, place a small layer of the stuffing under the skin, making sure that the skin stays loose so it does not rip off.

Sew the other side and tie the legs together and cover the chicken a stocking (women’s stockings…yes you read it right – and yeah make sure they are new and clean).

Place the chicken in a large pot with water and boil for an hour to an hour and a half. Place salt, pepper, cinnamon, and bay leaves in the pot. Make sure to skim the froth as it appears.

After it is boiled, take it out of the stocking and place on a baking sheet that has been brushed with olive oil. Lightly brush the chicken also. Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes until it becomes red.

Now it is ready to be served! Enjoy! Happy Holidays…

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Rice and Chicken

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Eat-O-Live

This recipe is a very easy and tasty recipe. I usually make this dish when i have a big gathering or a party.

Ingredients:

– One cup of Rice

– One Chicken Breast

– One cup of  Peas

– One cup of dices Carrots

– Diced Peppers (Sweet Red, Grean,  Orange and Yellow)

– Diced Onions

– Salt

– One cube of Chicken  Buillion

How to Prepare:

Boil the chicken until well cooked  with some salt and ground pepper in the water removing the froth as it appears.  (Save the water to use when cooking the rice)
Using a large pot, melt some butter and stir the onion until soft.
Add the carrots, peppers  and peas to the pot and stir for few minutes.
Add the rice and the  water from the chicken (for one cup of rice add 2 cups of water) with some salt  and the buillion.
Lower the flame as the water starts boiling and  cover the pot.
Once the water dries, turn off the flame and let it  rest for few minutes.
Shred the chicken and add it on top of the  rice.
As desired, you can add some pine nuts on top of the chicken  after sauteeing them with some butter.

Enjoy 🙂

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Cairo, Egypt

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Eat-O-Live

A co-worker of mine invited me to go visit Cairo, Egypt with her. I had a few days off and I’d always wanted to see the pyramids. So I went and I can say that it was a really overwhelming experience and I really enjoyed my time there. You absolutely must try and visit if you can.

The streets are insanely busy, people crossing the high ways while cars are going more than 70mph. (It made me a little nervous.) Also, expect being hassled in tourist areas, however Egyptian people are friendly and respectful so if you say “no thanks” they will leave you alone- but move to target some other tourist!

I had the chance to visit a few places in a short period of time. I visited the pyramids (Al Giza), Cairo Tower, The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, Salah Al Din Citadel, and Khan Al Khalili.
I ate kushari in a shop that definitely wasn’t one of the cleanest in the street, but it was very good. I also had fool wa ta`ameia (beans and flafel) in a restaurant called Felfela, which is inexpensive and delicious.

At night we took a cruise boat on the Nile and they asked my friends and me to drive the boat, as you can see in the photo below. I also was the only person who got to dance with the belly dancer, it was a great night. The next day we went to a bar at the four season hotel and had some drinks and food. It was a fun but small trip. It left me feeling tired though from walking all day long.  I would love to see more of Egypt next time i visit.

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Tabouleh Salad

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Eat-O-Live

Tabbouleh is a famous dish in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. This salad is usually eaten in the Middle East with small lettuce leaves or fresh grape leaves.

Ingredients(Serving for Two):

One Bushel of Parsley
One Large Tomato
One Cucumber
1/4 cup of Bulgur (Wheat)
One squeezed Lemon
One Cooking Spoon of Olive Oil
Salt
Onion

How to Prepare:

Wash the bulgur in a deep cup by filling it with water and gently pouring out the water.
Leave the bulgur to soak in cold water for 30 minutes.
Chop the parsley into very small pieces and clean it with cold water.
Dice the tomato and the cucumber finely and add it to a salad bowl with the parsley.
Squeeze the bulgur between your hands to press out the water and mix with the vegetables.
Chop some onion – as much as desired – and add it to the bowl.
Add a dash of salt, the lemon, and the Olive oil to the bowl and mix all together.

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Chicken/Egg Ball

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Eat-O-Live

I will teach you today how to prepare an easy, tasty meal.

Ingredients (Serving for two):

One Chicken Breast

6 Hard-boiled Eggs

One raw Egg

Salt & Pepper 

Two tablespoons of Bread Crumbs (Kaak)

Vegetable Oil

How to Prepare: 

Using a food processor, blend the chicken breasts until it is blended. Mix the blended chicken with the raw egg, salt, pepper, and bread crumbs.  Wrap the chicken around the hard-boiled eggs after peeling. Make sure that the chicken covers all of the egg. Heat some vegetable oil in a frying pan then fry the chicken/egg rolls until golden brown.

Enjoy!

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Meat Pies (Safeeha)

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Eat-O-Live

Today we will learn how to make “the Pizza of the Middle East”.

Ingredients:

-Half pound of Ground Beef

– One Diced Tomato

– Half Diced Onion

– Salt & Pepper (I use sweet all spice)

– Two cups of Flour

– One cup of warm water

– One tablespoon of Yeast

– Two tablespoons of Vegetable Oil

How to Prepare:

– Put the flour in bowl (preferably plastic).

– Add the vegetable oil and salt to the flour.

– Mix the yeast in the cup of warm water. Do this until the yeast dissolves.

– Add the water and yeast mix into the bowl.

– Using your hand, mix all the ingredients in the bowl together.

– Start kneading the dough until it turns into one piece of sticky dough.

– Warm the dough by covering the bowl towels and/or blanket. The dough must get to 85F. Keep covered for 20 minutes. It is now ready to use.

– Mix the ground beef with the tomato and the onion then add a dash of salt and pepper.

– Squeeze the mixture until all dry so it doesn’t get the dough wet.

– Take a small piece of the dough. Use a rolling pin to flatten the dough (put some flour on the rolling pin and surface so the dough does not stick) and flatten into a circle.

– Add a tablespoon of the mixture over the dough and spread it evenly leaving a quarter inch on the edges.

– Pre-Heat the oven to a 450F/250C.

– Place the pies on a baking sheet after greasing the sheet with some vegetable oil to prevent them from sticking.

– Bake the meat pies for about 15 minutes.

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Eggplant dish, middle eastern style Moussaka, or Sheikh al mahshi.

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Eat-O-Live
So I did this vegetarian dish the other day for dinner and my man said, “no way I’m gonna eat it, it’s eggplant and radishes!”  I just asked him to have one bite for me, so he agreed and he kept on going bite after bite saying it’s not bad- then it’s not bad at all, hhmmmm the radish is so tasty with it….
Ingredients:
– 2 Eggplants
– 1 medium onion cut into strips
– 2 cloves of garlic
– 1 can of diced tomatoes
– Half teaspoon of Allspice
– 1 teaspoon of ground coriander
– Butter or any frying oil you prefer
– Salt
How to prepare:
First method:
Peel the eggplant and cut it into cubes around 2-2.5 inches thick.
Meanwhile, heat some frying oil (your choice) on medium heat in a pan.
Add the eggplant and saute or fry until they are light brown.
Remove the eggplant from the pan and place them over a kitchen towel to absorb the oil.
In a pot, heat about 1 tablespoon of oil on medium heat, then add the onion.
After 2 minutes add the garlic (for an easy way to peel the garlic cloves, put the clove on a flat surface and hit it with the bottom of your palm).  Leave the garlic to cook with the onions for an extra two minutes.
Next add the diced tomatoes, salt, allspice and coriander to the garlic and onions.
Bring the mix to a boil then add the eggplant.  Cover and lower the heat to low and cook until the eggplant is done (around 20 minutes) and the sauce is thick.
Serve cold with radishes.  It tastes great with radish and if you want you can sprinkle some grated cheese.
If you don’t like to fry the eggplant because of all the oil they absorb, you can use this other method to cook which is just as good as the first method:
In a pot heat 2 tablespoons of oil on medium heat.
Add the onion and garlic, cook until they are soft (around 3-4 minutes, oh the smell is amazing!).
Then add the diced tomatoes, salt, coriander, allspice and bring to a boil, then add the eggplants cubes, cover the pot, lower the heat and cook until it’s done.  Enjoy!
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Stuffed Grape Leaves

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Eat-O-Live

Waraq Inab” is Arabic for Grape Leaves. You probably had this tasty treat in a local Lebanese or Greek restaurant. But I guarantee you that it will never taste the same after following my recipe. This is a great, healthy meal that does not disappoint.

Ingredients (Serving for two):

– 1 Cup of White Rice

– 1/4 pound of Ground Beef

– 28 counts of Grape Leaves

– One tablespoon of Butter

– Sweet  All Spice Pepper

–  Salt

–  One cube of Chicken Bullion (or Chicken Stock)

– Lemon

How to Prepare:

– Soak the grape leaves in  cold water for 10 minutes (this gets rid of the salt)

– Meanwhile,  mix the rice and the ground beef with some pepper and salt.

– Melt the butter then pour over the rice and beef, then mix all togather well.

– Take a spoonful of the beef and rice and place on one grape leave. Then, wrap the grape leave, making sure that it fully wraps so that no rice or chop meat will fall out. Do this with each grape leaf.

– Place some plain leaves on  the bottom of a cooking pot. Then, place the stuffed leaves over it . (You should stack each one next to each other, extremely close. There should be no spaces).

– Place a dish above the grape leaves, with a water filled bowl on top of it to help keep the stuffed grape leaves together.

– Add water to the pot till it covers all of the grape leaves and a half inch above it.

– Add a pinch of salt to the pot.

– Turn on the burner to medium heat. When it starts to boil, add the chicken bouillon and lower the flame to low for 60 minutes.

– Once cooked, squeeze the lemon and add to the pot and let it sit for 5 minutes.

You are now ready to eat a great meal!

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