Wednesday 30 October 2013

Watermelon Cake





Ingredients

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons miniature semisweet chocolate chips

box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® white cake mix
Water, vegetable oil and egg whites called for on cake mix box

package (0.13 oz) cherry-flavored or other red-colored unsweetened soft drink mix

container Betty Crocker® Whipped fluffy white frosting
Green and red food colors
2/3 cup green jelly beans

Directions
1Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Grease or spray two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans. In small bowl, toss 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips with 1 tablespoon of the cake mix. In large bowl, beat remaining cake mix, the water, oil, egg whites and drink mix with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in the 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Pour into pans.
2Bake and cool as directed on box for 8- or 9-inch rounds.
3In small bowl, stir 1 cup of the frosting with 10 to 12 drops green food color. Stir 10 to 12 drops red food color into remaining frosting. Frost sides of cakes with green frosting; press green jelly beans into frosting. Frost tops of cakes with red frosting; press remaining 2 tablespoons chocolate chips into frosting for seeds. If desired, cut cakes crosswise in half and arrange "slices" randomly on tray. To serve, cut into wedges. Store loosely covered.

Tuesday 29 October 2013

Sambosa



Cute Creative Lunches For Kids

Cute Creative Lunches For Kids Make Stay-At-Home Mommy A Star









Samantha Lee, a stay-at-home mom with no culinary class experience, rocketed to internet fame with a blog highlighting the delightfully creative bento lunches she creates for her young daughters. She creates pop culture and storybook icons for her daughters to eat and, as she continues making them, she keeps getting better at it. And more famous.











Pesto with Deviled Eggs




Monday 28 October 2013

Mujaddara (مجدرة)




Ingredients:

3/4 cup long-grain white rice
1 cup brown lentils, rinsed
3 cups onions, roughly chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper







Method:

Cook rice by sauteeing in a teaspoon of oil, adding a teaspoon of salt, then just covering with boiled water.
Bring to the boil, immediately cover the pot and reduce heat to low and let simmer 20 minutes until cooked.
When rice is done, cover and keep warm until you add it to the lentils.

While the rice is cooking, rinse lentils, then place in heavy pot with a tight fitting lid, cover with three times the volume of water, and let lentils simmer over very low heat uncovered until they are soft about 20-30 minutes.
When lentils are cooked, remove from heat, cover and set aside to let them absorb any leftover water.

While lentils cook, chop onions roughly.
Heat olive oil in heavy frying pan, then add onions, reduce heat to medium-low and start to brown onions, stirring every few minutes.
Continue to cook onions, stirring often, until they are deeply browned and caramelized, about 20-25 minutes.
Don't rush this step; the onions will be bitter if they're cooked at high heat.

When onions are browned, remove half the onions to drain on a paper towel to crisp.
Sprinkle 1/4 tsp cumin into the rest of the onions in the pan and saute 1-2 minutes.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked lentils to the pan with the onions, leaving behind any water that's not absorbed.
Gently mix cooked rice into the lentils and caramelized onions, heating for a minute or two if the rice is not hot.
Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary.
Put Mujadarra on a serving dish, top with crispy caramelized onions, and serve hot or warm.