Moving on from pumpkins to other seasonal produce, I have this amazing Shallot Tarte Tatin that was featured in BBC Good Food magazine's October issue. To avoid whipping out my thesaurus to find a suitable word to describe this Shallot Tarte Tatin with Homemade Puff Pastry, I will just resort to using the favoured acronym of the youth of today; one that all will understand: OMG!! Yes, it was that good. We already know how insanely good caramelised onions are, especially in a tart, but actually in any capacity, they are fabulous. What better than taking small sweet shallots and caramelising them? OMG! Sorry. When I saw this on my iPad edition of the magazine (I can't get hard copies of it here in the US), I knew right away that I would be making this. I have very little time to cook from magazines and cookbooks anymore (maybe that's why Martha is being all pissy, no one is buying her books) but every now and then, I make time. If it turns out well, I share it. This is so worth sharing! The recipe itself is very straightforward and incredibly easy and quick, especially if you use ready made puff pastry. But hey, where's the challenge in that :)? And because I relish the abuse, I ... continue reading...
Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Sage
Having made a big fuss about pumpkin in the last post, here I am with another pumpkiny dish. I really don't mind butternut squash or butternut pumpkin as it's known in other places. I think my issue is with the rather flavourless, orange rind ones. But, I'm going to give it a try, and then maybe move on to giving seafood a try too :) Now, reading all the comments from the last post, I'm glad to say there are quite a few people who don't jump on the pumpkin band wagon as soon as autumn rears its head. I also realise that in the UK and Australia, pumpkin is a term for most winter squash. Here, the pumpkin we consider a "pumpkin" is the big orange, Jack O Lantern type one. All other pumpkiny squash are known, collectively, as winter squash or by their individual names, like butternut squash, delicata squash, kuri squash, acorn squash and so on. Did you know that a pumpkin/squash is a fruit? Or rather a berry, to be more precise. It was also nice to discover that I wasn't off my rocker when I thought back to the fact that I had never seen a pumpkin in my childhood. I really hadn't. Pumpkins, apparently, weren't common back then and are not so popular in the UK still and that could ... continue reading...
Pumpkin Mini Bundt Cakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
I don't really like pumpkin. There, I said it. The most sacrilegious words ever to be uttered by a blogger it seems. I mean it is autumn and there are pumpkins galore, at the farms, the stores and the blogosphere. I look at them, ooh and aaah at the sizes and the shapes and even at how pretty they are, but not one of them ever goes home with me. My introduction to pumpkin was from our Kuwaiti neighbours back in England, the ones who made the delicious goodies and sent them down to us. One of the dishes that used to be sent down regularly was a savoury preparation of pumpkin; where chunks of the amber hued fruit were cooked with lamb in a tomato based curry. It was really good and I enjoyed eating the soft, orange, sweet flesh of the pumpkin. So, what happened? Store bought pumpkin pie is what happened. In England, my mother didn't make pumpkin anything. In fact, I don't ever remember seeing a pumpkin growing up (and I mean all winter squash) at least not in our house. So, on my first trip to the US we happened to be here around Thanksgiving. We were invited to a gathering at my parents' friend's house and that's where I had my first experience with American pumpkin pie. And ... continue reading...
Layli Lubnan | Lebanese Nights
The first ten days of the Islamic month of Dhul-Hajj are quite bittersweet for those of us who are not performing the pilgrimage. We are happy because it is a celebration and time for worship, family and festivities, but we are also very sad that we are not in Mecca experiencing it first hand. To be here going about the daily grind while miles away people are in the most sacred of lands, is a hard thing to forget. We yearn to be there, to stand on the marble floors of the Sacred Mosque, to gaze upon the black cloth of the Kaaba, and to feel the serenity that is ever present even in the frenzy of the crowds of worshippers. I performed Hajj when I was a wee thing and it doesn't count because I was a child; only Hajj as an adult counts. But I have memories of my time there and the experiences, which was very different from what it is now. These days, there is every convenience for the pilgrim; from magnificent, mechanical lily shaped umbrellas that gracefully spring open to shield the courtyards from the sun, to air conditioned tents for the stay in the desert. The water of the well of Zam Zam, flows through modern plumbing providing fresh, sweet water to all the worshippers at the ... continue reading...
Merguez Kebabs
Taking a break from autumn recipes, there's plenty on the web if you need something desperately, I have decided to concentrate on the upcoming Islamic holiday of the pilgrimage to Mecca and its culmination, Eid ul Adha. This year, the pilgrimage starts, most probably tomorrow. The whole new moon and viewing the new moon is always a bit tricky. The pilgrimage to Mecca happens in the 12th month of the lunar Islamic calendar. The pilgrimage lasts 10 days, starting from the first of the month, and these are some of the most important days for a Muslim in his life time. The Pilgrimage, also known as Hajj, is one of the 5 Pillars of Islam and is a duty upon all Muslims providing they can afford to do it. The Hajj involves tracing some of the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad (blessings be upon him) and the footsteps of other revered people in the Old Testament, for example, one ritual we observe is the frantic pacing of Hagar between two hills, looking for water for Ishmael, when they were stranded. On their seventh run, Ishmael struck the ground with his heel and a spring of water appeared. We do the very same thing, we walk back and forth between the two hills seven times. The walk is ... continue reading...
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