Iraqi Vegan Lentil Soup "Shorbat Adas"

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Rainbow Sprinkle Princess Pancakes!

A month ago, my niece and I couldn't decide on whether we wanted cereal or pancakes for breakfast, so we thought why not both?

Arabic Salad 101

I debated back and fourth in my head about making this post, but since people always compliment me on my Salad making skills, I figured why not? but keep in mind, this isn't a Fattoush salad or Tabouleh salad, this is just a normal everyday (very basic) Arabic salad that Arab families tend to quickly make in 10 minutes before dinner.

First and Foremost, here are your very basic vegetables that you can use and Just as a little disclaimer, there is no "right" or "wrong" way to chop a Salad, these are just some tips I've learned that make my Salad look more uniform and aesthetically pleasing when serving to guests or displaying at a dinner party. 

Also, If you don't know how to cook or if you're just starting out, then it's important that you purchase a variety of knives, they don't have to be fancy and more specifically they don't have to be extremely sharp! You're not a Sous Chef and you're not going to be cutting up Sushi. I'm very careful with using my knives but there are times where I slip up and I cut myself, but the cuts are never serious.

However I can't say the same about people who do have sharp knives...

Start with chopping your more dry vegetables like lettuce and work up to the more wet vegetables, this helps keep your Salad from turning into wet mush. I'm using Romaine lettuce and I know most people really dislike Romaine lettuce, but I've learned that if your Romaine lettuce tends to have a strong bitter taste-- then that's probably because you didn't give it a good wash. 

A good tip for cleaning your lettuce is to completely cut off the core and give your leaves as well as the core a good wash or you could just disregard the core since most of the bitterness and dirt stems from there.

Ha, get it? stems?

The easiest way to chop lettuce is to hold it down with one hand and in a vertical line chop small and slow strokes until you reach the size you want and continue with that same motion until your done chopping the whole lettuce. 

Here a side by side of what is considered a more roughly chopped lettuce and a more evenly chopped lettuce. In my opinion, I like both, I like roughly chopped lettuce in my Cesar salads and I also like the more evenly shredded lettuce for assembling Tacos or having guests over, because no one wants to eat Salad  around others with a huge piece of lettuce hanging  from their mouths.

Cucumbers can be extremely annoying to cut, especially when they're curved, I've learned to always cut them in half and then slice them in thirds and then cut them into what is called "matchsticks" which is basically long straight cuts and then you chop them! Also, a little tip, always cut off the ends of a Cucumber, some people tend to forget and it can be very unpleasant for some people.

Here's a side by side between a roughly chopped cucumber and an evenly chopped cucumber, don't ask me which I like better, I don't like cucumbers.

Not many people love chopping Tomatoes or as my Niece likes to call them "Motatoes" but I really like chopping tomatoes, especially if you use a jagged edged knife.

Here's a close up of what a jagged knife looks like, the jagged edges make it so much easier and faster to cut Tomatoes, it's essential to have a jagged edge knife in your kitchen, seriously.

Chop, chop, chop.

Side by side comparisons between tomatoes chopped with a normal edged knife and tomatoes cut with a jagged edged knife.

This is what's called a "Mini Strainer" you gotta have one of these in your kitchen, I use this strainer so much it's not even funny and after discovering this method, I've never had to worry about pulp or seeds ever again.

pure lemon juice.

Here's my finished Salad! It's a blend of my How to's and How not's, it's an absolute mess, but I freaking love it! Pour lemon, sprinkle some salt, If you don't have any lemon, use Italian dressing, throw in some beets or chickpeas! I started this post completely obsessing over particularity and then I was like what the hell, do what you want!

Just kidding, 

My salad looks better than your salad.

Iraqi Biryani!

Biryani is typically considered a very South Asian dish, however the term "Biryani" is derived from the Persian word "Beryan" and not many people know that the dish itself originated from Persia. I love this dish because I believe that no Biryani dish is ever made the same, every culture has their own rendition and today I'm going to show you how my family typically makes Biryani and what goes into it that makes it tastes so amazing.

I normally don't like to post specific ingredients or certain measurements, unless you're baking you don't need to follow a specific list of instruction. To be a good cook, you must learn to cook with all of your senses and you have to be independent on what YOU choose to put in your food. If you don't like dried lemon, don't put it in there, If you like a lot of pepper, by all means go ahead. After all, you're the one going to be eating this food. 

However today I will be posting my ingredients, but you can choose to add or omit anything you like.

Ingredients! 

Potatoes
Onions
Mushrooms
Canned Peas
Basmati Rice
Orzo Pasta
Vermicelli Noodles
Dried cranberries (or Raisins)
Biryani Spice
Curry

Dried Lemon
Turmeric
Cumin
Salt
Pepper (or Cayenne)

Start by prepping your ingredients, I don't just put everything in bowls because it looks nice, I actually make sure to prep everything before I put my hot pan on the stove, I want to have everything right next to me when I start cooking, that way the onions wont burn as I'm busy chopping the potatoes. 

Speaking of Potatoes just like I showed you in my Eggplant Penne Recipe soaking your Eggplant in warm water and salt ensures that your Eggplant doesn't turn brown or mushy, the same works with Potatoes and it also removes some of the excess starch that really doesn't taste pleasant.

I don't really care too much for Mushrooms, but my Mother loves Mushrooms and so I made sure to roughly chop and add a whole box into the Biryani just for her.

These are the spices I'll be using today, I wont be adding much Cayenne pepper though, maybe just a pinch because Iraqi's tend to hate spicy food (they can't take the heat) and if your planning to use Cardamom make sure you use a coffee grinder to grind the Cardamom into a powder, if you can't grind the Cardamom do NOT use it, nothing is worse than getting a piece of Cardamom in your mouth while your eating and not using it wont make much of a difference in your dish.

Start with sauteing your onions in a large pan, My mother prefers to season her Biryani in the end. But I believe you should take the time to season every element of your dish so that when it all comes together, I start by gradually adding spices to the pan. 

After your Onions are transparent throw your Mushrooms in the pan too and make sure to stir everything in the pan until Mushrooms are golden.

Lastly add your Peas into the pan, they really don't need very much cooking time and so toss them in the pan until their warm and then sprinkle a bit of seasonings on top and throw your mix into a bowl.

Normally I make sure to wash the pan before cooking potatoes, but I was cooking up rice and making other dishes at the same time, so I wasn't thinking properly. If you have the patience to stand there and fry potatoes, then do so.

However I ain't got time for that so I just add water and some spices to my potatoes and let them simmer until they were a bit soft. 

Completely optional, but in a separate pot (or pan) make sure to boil some Orzo, it's shaped like rice but it's more of a pasta, so cook it with a little salt water and olive oil. Do the same with Vermicelli noodles. 

After you've finished cooking everything, add everything to a bowl (or colander) I use a colander with a pot underneath that way any excess oil will drip through the colander and go into the pot and that helps with making your dish less greasy. Then throw in your non-cooked ingredients, for me Raisins are just way too sweet and so I prefer using Cranberries because they're more tart.

This is a layering method that I've learned from my Dad, you add rice first, your Biryani mix, and so on so fourth until you're out of rice and filling. This helps get everything evenly mixed.

This is how it should look at the very end and then make sure to cover the pot and let the Biryani completely cook on low. Afterwards before serving take a spoon and mix the pot all together. 

This is how your dish should look in the end, you could always add shredded chicken or beef, I decided not to use chicken since I made Teshribah to accompany this Biryani!

I hope you try this recipe and as always enjoy!

Juicing Life Hacks!

Everyone knows that the problem with juicing is the mess and the clean up! I bet more people would be motivated to juice daily if they didn't have a million parts to clean after juicing, the solution? Get a Nutribullet... kidding! Jokes aside though, I juice daily and these are just a some tips I make sure to do whenever I juice!

Firstly, I use a Breville Juicer which looks a lot like this, they're a bit on the pricey side, but they're worth every penny and it's always a good idea to invest in your health.

This is what is called a "Filter Basket" it's what catches all the skin, seeds, and stems that come from juicing your Fruits and Veggies, this area is the hardest part to clean on the juicer, because you have to make sure to dump out all the excess into the trash can which can rot and cause a smell and then wash it into the sink which always manages to clog my sink.

Now a way that works for me to get rid of the excess without creating a mess or allowing the excess to rot in the trash can is to reuse a normal everyday plastic grocery bag. Whenever I go grocery shopping I always make sure to save all the plastic bags and use them later.

This part is pretty self-explanatory because all you really have to do is nestle the bag into the filter basket. 

and then attach the filter basket back on the Juicer making sure that it's perfectly secure before juicing. 

Then get your fruits and veggies ready, I didn't feel like adding very many veggies to my Juice today but on a regular basis I make sure to juice Kale, Parsley, Spinach, Cucumber. I also find that no matter how many veggies you add, when you juice pineapple along with green apple it always sweetens the juice and it makes it so much easier to drink.

After juicing you should see all of the excess has been put into your filter basket and you can just pull out the bag, tie the bag shut, and either throw the bag away or save it in a compost bin like I do, so that I can use the dried up excess for gardening and fertilizing the soil. 

Another tip is that if you have difficulty drinking juice because you feel it's bitter or you have a hard time finishing it, I recommend buying these jumbo straws because it can make downing your juice so much easier and faster. It used to take me a half hour to drink my juice because I couldn't stand some of the bitter tastes, but now I can drink a whole juice in just a few gulps from my straw and BAM! you got all the nutrition in your body.

My brothers tend to make fun of me because I have a habit of recycling jars, but I don't care because I'm constantly making my own jams and jelly's, so having a jar with a lid always comes in handy, especially if you don't feel like finishing your juice, just pop a lid on it and throw it into the fridge for later!

That's all for now, but feel free to comment down below if you have any questions or if you'd like to see my favorite juicing recipes and please make sure to try out some of these life hacks, they make life and juicing so much easier.

 Good Luck and Happy Juicing! 

Eggplant Penne Pasta!

If you ever find yourself needing to quickly cook something for your friends or family, then pasta is the perfect choice because it's cheap, quick, and easy to make! 

The great thing about Pasta is that it's so versatile that you can literally do anything to it, you can add whatever vegetable, any sauce, and it will still taste extremely good. So today I'm choosing to put Eggplant! All you need for this dish is a Pasta of your choice, Sauce of your choice, Garlic, and Eggplant!

You can use any type of Eggplant you want, I'm choosing to use the traditional dark Eggplant that you can find at any market, you can leave the skin on, however I'm choosing to remove some of the skin off and you should also make sure to dice the eggplant evenly.

Before sauteing you're Eggplant, make sure to to soak your Eggplant in salt and water in a bowl, this will remove most of the fluid from the Eggplant and that will ensure that your Eggplant doesn't turn brown or mushy. 

Since this is a meatless dish, I'm choosing to put a 1 clove of Garlic because adding a little Garlic can make your dish taste very meaty even though there is no meat in the dish. So make sure to chop your Garlic very finely because NO ONE wants to bite down on a huge piece of garlic. 

Now get your pan ready by drizzling a bit of Olive Oil and letting it heat up before throwing your Garlic in the pan, it's good to saute your Garlic first since it can flavor the Olive Oil as well as anything you cook in the pan. 

Now add your diced Eggplant into the pan and stir it around until it reaches a golden color. Don't multitask, you'll end up over browning your Eggplant.

In the meantime your water should be coming to a boil and a good tip I learned is to generously salt your water, Pasta doesn't have much of a flavor and whatever you add to the water will flavor your Pasta.

Today I'm choosing to work with a Penne Pasta, it takes awhile to cook since the texture can be a little tough, but it's really good when making dishes especially since it soaks up the sauce and the flavors-- need I say more?

 Pay attention, cause this right here is super important, after I managed to cook my Eggplant, I went into the fridge and realized that we had no Pasta sauce of any kind! But that's okay because if you have Tomato sauce or Tomato paste, then you're good because with a little Paste and a lot of Spices, no one will even tell the difference between the Store bought sauce and Last minute sauce. 

Into the pan, throw in a tbs of Tomato paste and a half (or whole) can of Tomato sauce, then ladle some of that boiling pasta water into the pan and allow the sauce to simmer, to combat the Tomato flavor start adding some of your favorite spices like Oregano, Basil, Black Pepper, and Salt. 

After your Pasta is finished, drain it into a colander and a good trick is to drizzle a bit of Olive Oil into the Pasta to keep it from sticking. 

Then throw your Pasta right into your sauce pan and start mixing until it's very well combined. 

Now serve your pasta and make sure to garnish it with some herbs or some shredded cheese, whatever you like and don't forget to enjoy!