الأحد، 28 نوفمبر 2010

An American Dinner عشاء أمريكي


مع زحمة عيد الشكر في الأيام الماضية و الإعلانات المصاحبة له، بدا و كأن الحياة قد دبت في مدينتنا الصغيرة الهادئة. و يبدو بأني قد أصبت بفيروس الإحتفالات و المناسبات حيث إجتاحتني رغبة عارمة بأن أغامر و أعد مائدة أمريكية شعبية تقليدية أجتمع إليها مع أخوات الغربة.. بالطبع إنتظرت يومين بعد عيد الشكر تجنباً للتشبه :)

على غير باقي الموائد العالمية، فإن الوجبة الأمريكية بسيطة و غير معقدة و لا تستهلك مدة طويلة للتحضير. البهار الأساسي هو الملح و الفلفل و بعض الأعشاب و طرق الطبخ المتبعة معظمها قلي أو تحميص / خبز. أما الخضار فقل ما تتطلب الفرم الناعم أو الصغير..

و هنا صورة سريعة لمائدة الطعام....

ديك رومي / بطاطا مهروسة / فاصوليا بالفلفل و الليمون / صلصة اللحم Gravy



تحياتي 

ربة منزل



السبت، 20 نوفمبر 2010

أضاحي العيد !!


إشتريت الشهر الماضي كتاب عنوانه ( كيك بوبس ) "Cake Pops". صاحبة الكتاب هي كاتبة مدونة Bakerella . بدأت مشوارها مع مصاصات الكيك بعد أن حضرت درساً للخبز و تزيين الحلويات. و هذا تطبيقي لاحد أعمالها بمناسبة عيد الأضحى المبارك...




السبت، 13 نوفمبر 2010

A Tea and Coffee Party حفلة قهوة و شاي


I started a new wall quilt. I made a few quilts, table runners, wall quilts and other sewing projects and gave them all to family and friends. I decided it is time to have something for us. This quilt will be for our living room wall. Househusband is waiting  very patiently for this one. After all he is my only investor and it is about time he gets something back :)

I think this is the hardest project I have worked on up to now. Each block is 8x8 inch and needs at least a whole hour of continuous work and 100% full focus on details. It is also my first paper-pieced quilt. I have finished 5 blocks and still have 13 more. 

These are the four main blocks.

What do you think of my cups, mugs and pots?

Housewife

الأربعاء، 10 نوفمبر 2010

Everything Bread خبز كل شئ


Still no Arabic keyboard :(

I have been wanting to make bread at home for a while now. So when I saw this lovely recipe in Taste of Home magazine, I decided it is time to bake. The recipe is by Traci Wynne, and according to her this bread is excellent to be served with any meal, casual or formal. I agree!

Ingredients:

1 tsp yeast dissolved in 3/4 cup of warm water.
1 cup warm milk.
1/4 cup butter, sftened.
1 egg yolk.
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 cups of flour, plus extra for kneeding and rolling.
1 egg white
2 tsp water
1 tsp coarse salt
1 tsp dried minced onion
1 tsp poppy seed
1 tsp caraway seed
1 tsp sesame seed

Start by adding the milk, butter, sugar, egg yolk, salt and 2 cups of flour to the yeast and mix well.
Stir the remaining flour gradually into the mixture to form a firm dough.
On a floured surface, knead the dough for a few minutes until smooth ans elastic.
Place dough in a greased bowl and cover and let rise for 1 hour.
Ms Wynne suggested forming the dough into a braided loaf, however, I formed it into eight buns instead. Cover the dough and let rise for 45 min.
Mix the egg whites with the water and brush the top of the dough. Combine the seeds and salt and onion and sprinkle on the bread. Bake for 22-28 mintues or until golden brown at 375 degrees.
Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool.
Enjoy !!


My home smells like a bakery right now.. mmmmm :)
Housewife..


الأربعاء، 3 نوفمبر 2010

A Not Very Tasty Dish طبق غير لذيذ .....كفاية



I have attempted many many times to cook Chinese dishes. Almost 99.9% of the time the food ends in the disposal. I keep wondering what went wrong. Was the temperature very high? Was the sauce not good? Did I cook the food for too long? I can never figure out what happened. But I do not want to give up either.

I had a napa cabbage head sitting in my fridge for a week. I decided today to try a new dish with the cabbage. I found a Napa Cabbage Rolls recipe on the Internet. I had all the ingredients at home and the instructions were simple. Plus there were picture! 

The result looked exactly like the picture on the website but the taste... well... eehh :( 

I was very disappointed. Should I give up trying Chinese recipes at home ?

Housewife

p.s. I know that the chopsticks are not set properly. But Househusband insisted they should be set this way, so I let him :)

الاثنين، 1 نوفمبر 2010

And Another Bag.. حقيبة أخرى



The past two days I worked on a new Amy Butler bag pattern. This bag "Sophia Carry All" will be for my dear sister... the splendor of my family ;)
The bag is suitable for weekends and activities. There are four pockets on the inside and maybe next time I make this bag, I will add one to the outside. 
I made this bag twice before and it was always a bit tricky. Luckily this time the construction went very smoothly.

Regards...

Housewife.