Menu di oggi (today’s menu):

- Primo: Cannelloni con ricotta e spinaci (Spinach & ricotta cannelloni)
- Secondo: Bistecca e ruccola (Steak on a bed of arugula)

We didn’t actually have a salad, but it was too much to eat already.

The recipes are truly simple.

For the primo: We got a box of cannelloni from the supermarket (250gr). We also found a plastic box of spinach all cleaned, cut and ready. Now that’s convenient
On top of that, a 200gr pack of ricotta cheese actually costs less than Labneh. So put that with the spinach and mix, then stuff it all in the canneloni (do not pre-bake those) Pia: season with salt and pepper to taste, also some extra virgin olive oil here to bring the mix together.

Now for the “hard part”, make some “roux”, mix with milk a bit of mascarpone (we had this laying around) and season with salt and pepper.
All in the oven for about 20-30 minutes. Wow! We had half at lunch and I finished off the rest earlier in the evening.

Pia adds: Abdallah missed the fact that I added some grated Parmigiano Reggiano to both the sauce, and on top of the dish before sending it to the oven. It gives a nice color and a wonderful extra taste.

As for the secondo: well, it’s a piece of steak. Season it with some salt and pepper. Put some extra virgin olive oil in the pan (no idea why!) and put the steak there for a couple of minutes. Done!

Of course, just doing the above may give you the worse meal ever. But with my wife, it tastes and looks great. She makes it sound so easy. Heh!

Check out the pics below. And let me know how lucky I am.

“When it rains, it’s definitely time for soups and stews!” says Abdallah.

Today it rained in the morning,  so I decided to cook something special for my dear husband.
It’s been three weeks now that I am cooking almost everyday. The COOP is near, and I ‘m managing with the ingredients here.
So far we’ve had: Tawouk, Mjaddara, Riz w Fasouliah, Balila, Fasouliah Bzeit and Tabbouleh (without mint & bulgur). But we were still craving for stews with rice, and Abdallah had mentioned earlier craving for ‘Aleb Khodra’ (Lebanese vegetables stew).  I had found earlier in the frozen section of the COOP, a bag of frozen mixed vegetables for Minestrone*, and I thought  I could give this traditional italian dish a Lebanese twist

Meat, onion, tomato sauce and paste, pepper and oregano… and cooked rice.

Minestrone: Thick Italian soup made with vegetables, often with the addition of pasta or rice. Common ingredients include beans, onions, celery, carrots, stock, and tomatoes.

Yippee!…
We finally got the Italian Visa (My husband & I). And to our surprise, we  were granted a 6 months, multiple entries Visa.
And to add to my happiness,  my sister and big brother got the visas too.

We can’t wait to get there, meet all the friends and attend the International Convention by the name:
‘Keep On The Watch!’ (Mt 24:42)

We will spend 7 days in Rome and 2 whole months in Florence.  I will be posting details on this blog everyday and photos too!
Btw, I think my new DSLR, Nikon D90 will be here tonight!! if my big brother Juliano will arrive today from KSA (but we never know exactly when he’s coming, do we????).

Only 6  more days to go! Gotta start packing …

Catch you later guys!

Pia

My Grandmother and mother were coming to have lunch at our place last week.
It all happened the last minute, I was cleaning the house and preparing many things… I was nevertheless  able to make a decent meal.
I cooked a chicken and potato casserole (with wine and mushroom) and even made a delicious banana cake. But what about salad?  Granny loves cabbage! and that’s how the idea of  this combination came out:

Ingredients:

• Cabbage (mixture or green & red cabbage) julienned
• Carrots shredded
• Avocado (cut to cubes)
• Lemon Juice
• Olive oil
• Parmesan shavings
• Walnuts crushed
• Salt & pepper to taste

Preparation:

Mix the cabbage and carrots together and add the lemon juice, salt & pepper and olive oil.
Serve them in a big salad plate, distribute the avocado cubes evenly on top.
Use a potato peeler to make Parmesan shavings to garnish the salad.

Bon appetit!

On Sunday, we had lunch at my aunt’s. I came back home with a lot of goodies, one of which was a pumpkin!

I decided to cook again the recipe that my husband liked a lot last time, Pumpkin pasta with my own twist this time.
This Pumpkin weights about 4kgs. I only used half of it for this recipe.

Pumpkins

Ingredients:

• 2 kgs  Pumpkin  peeled, seeds removed & cut to cubes
• 1 pack of spaghetti pasta
• 2 onions diced
• 1 clove of garlic
• salt & pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon (goes really well with pumpkin)
• 2 cubes of chicken stock (not liquid, the pumpkin contains enough water)
• 1/4 cup of white wine (whatever is available)
• 2 tbsp of pine nuts for garnish
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Preparation:

Heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan, then add the onions on medium heat for 5 mns or until they become translucent.
Add the garlic and stir for one minute, then add the pumpkin, salt, pepper cinnamon and close the lid and let it simmer for 25 minutes or until the pumpkin becomes tender.
At this stage you can prepare the pasta by adding the pasta to the salted boiling water,  and cook it according the package instructions.
Now we can add the wine to the pan and the stock cubes after splitting them to pieces and stir until they dissolve
Taste and adjust seasoning.
Serve the pumpkin and the pasta together and garnish with pine nuts

Hope that you will enjoy this recipe, I promise to post a photo of the dish soon.