Monday, March 6, 2017

Bright Peppers, Wont You Take A Leap

Frying zucchini, and learning a whole new recipe as well as getting more engrossed into Middle Eastern cooking, joy! I always find it to be fun and make time go by fast, isn't that a pair? This time I made a beef dish with tomatoes and more fun slices added to the mix as well as Zucchini fries!


Unlike the last dish, this one had quite a number of steps, waiting and preparing as well as ingredients. I made two recipes from the same cookbook because I could but had to start much earlier to have enough time but got a delicious meal and an early dinner in return.:)





Here you see beef with all other kinds of ingredients mixed in such as tomatoes, tomato past and tomato sauce (whew lots of tomatoes), peppers (all colors:)), basmatic rice (uncooked), salt, onions, garlic, pine nuts and rosemary.

Oh and I forgot to mention that this recipe I changed a bit because I had to. It's supposed to be stuffed peppers with the above mixture cooked inside of it, however , as you can see I already cut up bits and pieces of peppers in the mixture. I found it to be very delicious just the same, less time consuming as well as easier to make.



Now for the side dish- Zucchini fries! They are super simple to make and eat, not much to them, just more flavor when you spice things up a bit and make them more appealing to the eye.


Having them soak in milk for some time. The recipe advises an hour, but I didn't make time to wait that long but I think they were ready to get out of 'their bath' when they did.



Frying away! With some heated oil, they cook quickly and start to have a nice golden color on them. Can't you just feel the heat and hear the sizzling/:)



I had to take some pictures of the some of the very colorful, exotic and cultural pictures from this bright cookbook...




And this last one, it almost appears to be symbolic. It speaks, where are you going and points to creativity, adventure, the unknown...Something so simple as walking down the stairs at the school campus library can make you think beyond the reality.

I hope you lied this post and wont be afraid to try this amazing dish. I hope to make it again soon for my dear brother-in-law and sister. Happy rainy weather on this first Monday in March!:)

Friday, March 3, 2017

Something Fishy

I've been really into looking at cookbooks and especially of lately, Middle Eastern cooking. I recently checked out 3 that looked fun and interesting! I've been looking through the pages and have instantly become inspired but what I see from the pictures and recipes alone. An extra dose of excitement is linked to the possibilities and what I will decide to cook!





So this past Wednesday, I made a fish dish. Since it is the Lenten season, and it was Ash Wednesday, fish was a likely option. I actually don't mind cooking with fish, I find it to be interesting and almost like a whole new realm that I haven't fully discovered yet. The Persian recipe called for sea bass, but I instead used Talipia, it's still good and soaks in the the flavors well.




I would rate this recipe as super simple. If you like fish or seafood and want something that is fairly quick and not a lot of steps, then this one is a go to! I didn't have a lemon but used a lime instead. Luckily I had some saffron strands and some pinches of sumac- what a great smell and flavor it has!:) I look forward to more seafood dishes in the future, as well as more delicious recipes from these inspiring cookbooks!

The (Dry) Well

 It started with a well. Last summer, I was on a road trip with my parents, and we saw various places and missions, one of them was San Luis...