Watch out for those cucumbers ladies!

Every once in a while you'll find a gem of a quote that is just so far fetched, it has to be true. Today is one of those days. Ladies, I'm sure you will enjoy this one as much as I did.

Love me some Cucumber!
Image from Bikya Masr

An unnamed sheikh, ironically enough residing in Europe, has recently warned that women should stay away from fruits such as bananas and cucumbers, in order to avoid any "sexual thoughts." Featured in an article on el-Senousa news, the sheikh has said that these fruits "resemble the male penis," and accordingly could cause arousal in the women or "make them think of sex."

I don't know about you, but I definitely love some sexy fruit!

Added to the list of 'forbidden sexy foods' were carrots and zucchini. When asked by the interviewer what women should do who wish to eat these foods, he advised that a male, preferably husband, father or brother, should cut up the fruit / veg into smaller pieces - out of eye shot of the women lest we start having any inappropriate thoughts.

The interview also questioned the sheikh what should be done for women when out grocery shopping who wish to purchase these items, to which he responded "this is a matter between her and God."

I'm so glad that we have these outrageous statements around to keep us on the right path. At least this will make your next shopping experience that much more entertaining!

And to the 'unnamed sheikh,' I must ask, pray tell - what would you tell women about the fruit from the magnolia tree, pictured below? :-o

For further reading, click here. 

A taste of Egypt: Molokheya, Molokheya, Molokheya!

I know, I know. Those of you who have tried molokheya will either shout out "YES, finally a recipe for it!" and those that don't, will find this repulsive. haha. Molokheya is a traditional Egyptian dish, which falls into either "you love it" category, or "you hate it." Obviously, I love the stuff.

I first tried this with my family while we were on a Bedouin camping trip through the Bahareya Oasis. Our Bedouin guide placed a bowl of green "stuff" in front of us, offered us bread and chicken, and warned not to eat too much because it may cause "stomach issues later." Now, we've all been raised that no matter what is put in front of you, when you are being offered food as a guest, you have to try. Even just one bite. Turns out, my sister, mum and I all loved this "green stuff" whose name we were unable to discern.

I spent the next two years in Egypt trying to describe to people what I had eaten in the desert, and it wasn't until one of my Egyptian friends actually gave me molokheya, that I realised this was the delicious "stuff" we'd had in the desert.

The closest comparison I can draw, is to spinach dip. There's nothing quite like this outside of Egypt, and I am lucky enough to have been "inducted" into the crowd that can actually make molokheya.

So here it is, a step-by-step guide to making molokheya, with pictures so you can easily follow along. Bil hana wa shiva!

What you'll need:

Molokheya (Sold in bunches in the supermarket)
Minced garlic (4 tablespoons)
Butter (2 tablespoons)
Coriander (2 1/2 - 3 teaspoons)
Chicken or vegetable stock
Salt and Pepper

1. Take your bunch of molokheya, and strip the leaves from the stems. Discard the stems, and wash the leaves well under cold water.

2. Begin your stock. You want your stock hot when you add the Molokheya. There's really no definite ruling as to how you should make your stock; if you want to use chicken bones, go ahead! You'll need approximately 2 cups of stock.

3. The fun part :P Crush your molokheya leaves. You want them the consistency of ground spinach, not runny, but more of a paste-consistency. I was advised AGAINST using a blender, as it will make the molokheya watery, and will affect the taste. This is all about old-school cooking.











4. When your stock comes to a boil, add your molokheya leaves. Cover, and let boil.

5. Meanwhile, take your garlic and add to a small frying pan. Cover your garlic with coriander, and add the butter. Cook the garlic until browned, about 5 minutes.











Now here's the trick. Add the garlic sauce to your molokheya soup. It will spit, so you'll want to add the molokheya, and cover again promptly. Let come to a rolling boil, stirring occasionally. Cook for 3 minutes longer, and remove from heat.

Serve your molokheya with rice. Goes great with chicken as a side dish too.

A taste of Egypt - Kebabs!

Many of you know that I am currently in the process of releasing a magazine for the Hurghada Area. As one of the on going sections running in the mag will be traditional Egyptian Recipes, I figured I may as well share them here too!

So here it is, I am proud to present the first edition of "A Taste of Egypt." Any and all comments are welcome!

Welcome to our Taste of Egypt section!

Have you ever walked into an Egyptian home, tasted the unique and wide range of foods available, and wondered how you would be able to re-create that little taste of Egypt in your own kitchen? Look no further! Each edition of Spotlight Hurghada will present a new and unique dish, simplified for even the most inexperienced of Kitchen Chef’s to try out.

Our release of Issue 0 coincides with the Eid al-Addha festival, so what could be more appropriate than a traditional Eid dish for our first recipe. Ask any Egyptian, and they will be quick to tell you that the Eid al-Addha festival is synonymous with meat, lots and lots of meat dishes. Ranging from roasted lamb, to chicken, to barbequed liver, to Kebab! So here, simplified for anyone to try, is a traditional Kebab recipe, cooked in many kitchens throughout Egypt during this special holiday.

To prepare this Kebab recipe Egyptian style, you will first need to make a Barbeque (BBQ) Sauce to marinate the meat in. Once the meat has marinated, it’s as easy as throwing it on a skewer and barbequing away.  The recipe below will serve four.

The Ingredients you’ll need:

BBQ MIX:

• 1 Large Onion
• ½ Cup Water
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 Teaspoon Meat Spices (Also known as mixed spices)
• 1 Small Teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1 Small Teaspoon Sugar

For the KEBAB:

1 kg of Meat, preferred meat is Mutton

Assorted Vegetables (Peppers, onions, mushrooms, whatever vegetables you prefer!)

Directions:

Firstly, begin with preparing your meat.

• Cut into medium cubes or oblongs
• Soak meat in a mixture of water and vinegar for approximately one hour. Rinse the meat.

Next, you will prepare the BBQ marinade mix.

• Place all the ingredients for the BBQ mix in a blender.
• Blend together until smooth.
• Add this mix to the meat, and coat well.
• Cover the meat and place in the fridge. Ideally, let the meat sit in the marinade for 2 hours. The longer you marinade, the more taste the meat will absorb!

Prepare the grill by adding the coal and allowing it to warm up.

Finally, get the meat ready for the grill!

• Place the cubes of meat onto Kebab Skewers
• Alternate Meat and Vegetables

When barbequing the Kebab, grill each side of the meat for approximately 2-3 mins, until the meat is cooked to your desired level. 

Hints and Tips to optimize your Kebabs:

• Do not put too much coal in the grill in order to avoid burning the meat.
• Put the rods close together so you can use the benefit of the heat.
• Serve with parsley, as it will absorb any excess fats!

Bon Appétit, or as they would say in Egypt, “Bil Hana wa Shiva!”

Chewy Coconut Cookies! :D

Ok, enough heavy blogs, it's time for a nice and easy, yet delicious, cookie recipe.

I went looking the other day for chocolate chips, in the mind to make chocolate chip cookies.

I went to no less than four supermarkets around me, including Metro, and I could not find chocolate chips anywhere. But a bag of shredded coconut caught my eye, and I figure hey, why not try coconut cookies? I left with the bag of shredded coconut, hoping that the recipes I found wouldn't require any unusual ingredients.

Fortunately it didn't, and this is a great recipe for coconut cookies. I tweaked it after the first batch, and the result was perfectly chewy, delicious coconut cookies.

** Ingredients **

• 1 1/4 cup of flour
• 1 1/3 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 a cup of butter (softened)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt.

I changed this slightly, rather than adding 1 1/3 cup coconut, I added 1/3 cup dark chocolate, shredded, and 1 cup coconut. It's a perfect compliment

** Directions **

• Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit (175 degrees C) I reduced this heat, my oven cooks too quickly from the base, so I dropped it to about 150 Celsius - helps with a chewier cookie
• Mix together flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
• Slowly blend in the flour. The mixture will be quite hard, if you're having troubles stirring it just add a dash of milk.
• Add Coconut (And chocolate if you want ;) )
• Drop mixture of about a teaspoon full of batter onto your baking sheet. (Here's a little hint...have you ever noticed how some people's cookies come out almost perfectly round every time? Like frustratingly perfect looking cookies? I always had that problem, mine were still delicious, but looked "odd." With this batch, I rolled them in my hands once or twice to make little balls of dough. The result? Well...you tell me. :D)

Bake the Cookies for approximately 8 - 10 minutes. (I baked mine a little bit longer as the temperature was lower. About 12 minutes) If your cookies are finished, when inserting a toothpick into the center, it should come out clean.

Enjoy!

One month later and 4.5 kgs heavier!

Time flies by when you're busy. Especially if you're busy trying to settle in and get started with a new environment and everything. One thing you're waking up wondering what to do with the day, next thing you're stressed about what to eat for dinner, something quick! Don't have time to make a huge meal! Rice and stuff it is!

Fortunately, I'm not talking about me. Ahh what it would be like to live the life of a dog. Wake up, eat, sleep, play, sleep, go outside, eat, sleep some more...maybe play a little bit again. Not only that, but if you're like the dogs I've known, you're fed extremely well. :p

Last month, Orien was a mere 8 kg. At 2 months old that is. Now, just a little over a month later, he appears to have lost his puppy chub. Or at least that's what I thought. "Doesn't he look skinny to you Karim? Maybe we're not feeding him enough," I'm sure this conversation has been had in many a dog-home. Lol.

Orien certainly gets fed quite well, kibbles, rice, meats, fresh veggies. He's not lacking (of course this leads to a picky eating dog...Lesson learned CHECK). I was still convinced he was losing weight, until yesterday that is.

Enter vet's office here. Final round of jabs for Orien, make sure he's ready to brave the new world outside. Chuck him on the scale there vet-old buddy old pal. Lets see if he has lost weight. No joke, I was expecting him to have dropped to 7 kgs, or weigh no more than 8.5 kgs at most. I couldn't have been more wrong. 4.5 kgs later, and I now have a 3 month old at 12.5 kg. Goodness, and I thought that he wasn't going to get that big :-p

Fingers crossed he hasn't noticed he's getting bigger yet, he's still convinced he's a lap dog. hehe.