Passing Through This Life

Asalamu Alikum  Yay a new post  In the time i wa away ... i had made a few things and took picture so as to when i had internet again i could blog and post the pics ... then the stupid phone played up and i lost everything so i have had to start off again  my eldest daughter has become a dab hand in baking and really enjoys it more than i do ... so as she does something for the home i will share with you ... the picture above is a spongecake with cinnamon added and she made homemade custard ... this was her second attempt at making custard and she finally got it and was so happy ... i dont help her inthe kitchen she just gets an idea and goes with it  recipe for sponge is here with some cinnamon added  and the custard is made with  3 cups of milk  4 egg yolks 3 tbsp of cornstarch half tsp of salt or none whatever you like  half cup of sugar /100grams 2tbsp of butter pinch of vanilla  

So as you know kids are well and truly back in school and home life has gotten quieter .... in my house this is a change and the biggest change is having the kids come home for their lunch everyday ...as before their were in private school and got fed their I must admit i like it ... it keeps me on my toes and gives me bak the routine i use to have so it`s all good For lunch i do like to give them something lite as i do like the idea of them going back to school and feeling heavy and not giving their full attention to the teacher  So i made these sweetcorn fritters ... these i had last year in my friends house and loved them ... and i had made them a few times and then stopped ...and really forgot about them till just now .... their easy and tasty 1 tin of sweetcorn small onion diced really small some parsely black  pepper and salt 2 eggs take small spoon fulls and drop in to hot oil and dont press them down then once cooked eat as you please ....

I have made these a few times and just from having them once ...... when i first made it i wasnt sure if they would turn out well and maybe my version wasnt like the orignal ....but at that time i had some vistors with us who i knew eat samosa and i tested on them ... their verdit was masha`allah they loved it i know that the filling is not the same as if i was to buy them or have them made by them professionals ... but my family likes them so last night my daughter asked me to make them and alhamdu`lilah i had some mince to do so i used  diol (boreak sheets) for this and my filling was onion ... garlic.... mince....peas.... black pepper...salt...cumin...carfa...cinnamon..... and ginger ...and sometime i put some chilli powder ...but this batch i left it out as i had my soup that was a little hot so that was enough i also add just a tiny bit of egg to help bring it together

        so this pic is from the first real post i made when starting my blog .... it has become a favorite with us and as time goes by i get better and better at making them  so what i use to make them is a recipe i found on line but now cant remember where exactly i got it form .... i think it was a youtube video 2 cups of chickpeas ( i use the ones that we soak over night ) i medium onion 4/5 cloves of garlic black pepper cumin coriander   ( powdered) salt a small handful of parsely small handful of  fresh coriander mix in blender and then place in a container and put in the fridge until ready to use  fry in oil  serve with salad ... and any dip of choice .... we did a mint yoghourt  dip

I`ve never been one for frugal ...... well at least i thought i wasnt ... but as of lately i have had to really watch the pennies .... which is a hard job and i take my hat of to those who have done it or are doing it after living with my dh family for 2 years i did manage to pick up a few tricks of the trade and one of those was a chuchkuka  with veg ...such a simple dish and tasty for this one the ingerdients are 3 peppers 1 big onion 3 tomatoes 1 aubergine 4 big potatoes black pepper and salt slice all veg in long strips then place onion on bottom then tomatoes then peppers the aubergine the slice potaoes like you would if make chips (fries) sprinkle a pinch of black pepper and salt and place a lid of top of saucepan (non stick would be better) leave on a low heat ... their is no need for water unless you find it sticking a little on the bottom ... then just add a few drops it takes about 20/30 mins to cook spinach is also a very frugal dish and...

 So last year i was introduced to these turkish pies and we love them ... especially in ramadan as it`s a nice change to borak all the time ..... now i`m not sure where my friend got her recipe form but masha`allah it is great this can be made many ways and the filling can be different to it can be savory or sweet it`s really up to you POGACA/TURKISH PIES Makes 24 POGACA Ingredients: * white of 1 egg * 3/4 up of vegetable oil * 1 cup of plain yogurt * 1/3 tsp of baking soda * 1 tsp of salt * 3 cups of all purpose flour (approx ) Filling: * feta or cream cheese Glaze: * yolk of 1 egg   Method In a big mixing bowl, take egg white and whisk. Add vegetable oil, yogurt, baking soda, nigella seeds, salt and mix. Add flour slowly and knead. Continue adding flour until the dough reaches soft consistency. Take a small piece of dough ( about the size of a walnut ) and make it flat with your palms. Place 1 tsp of feta cheese or cream cheese in t...

well after a long time of thinking and saying that i would i have finally made a quiche  i got the recipe form my friend nicola  who i think is an amazing cook the only thing i did was i put onion and cheese in my mixture as that is what i had and i didnt have cream so i used just milk but added extra egg to compensate well the verdict ...... yummmmy ..... my kids actually thought i had bought it as it was so good and very like the ones i use to but in the uk .... but here in algeria their are none so now we have a new item to cook in ramadan and my dh should be happy as he love light things like this in ramadan

so it`s the season for betingel (aubergines) .... at first i really didnt like them but as time went on i became fond of  it .... their are may ways to cook them but here it`s either just fried as this my dh like ... or i like the in a chukkuka  with tomato and garlic and spices and cheese and eggs and finished off in the oven ..... so go on give it a try .... we sure ate it all .....

so summer holidays are here soon and the kids are just preparing for their exams and once thats done schools out ... so it will be back to cooking lunches and dinners every day ...... while their in school i dont need to do lunches as they stay in school all day and get feed their .... but with them being at home it means having to cook ... but the best thing about summer it is easy cooking .... all light lunches which will make me happy and one of those lunches is this potato and spinach mix such a simple dish fry some chips and place them in bottom of oven dish at the same time chop up spinach (i prefer them chop small ) and place in a  little water and boil ... you can use baby spinach here just place a little butter in a pan and add spinach and allow to wilt then when spinach is cooked drain out water and allow to cool down ... then you need to take the spinach into your hands and squeeze the remainder of water out and place the spinach over your chips the d...

naughty me hasn`t really being posting .... sorry for that ... but as you know life gets busy from time to time espically when my dh is here so today as usual i`m always think what to cook and i get fed up by it .... but my kids decided for me they all wanted matoum which is an algerian dish so as always too i have to make something along side with this as my dh like choice so i also made chlitha matoum is made with chick peas garlic lot of garlic black pepper, salt, cumin, and carwia ,this is for the sauce the mince is mixed with the same spices and an egg and made into ball and added and when everything is nearly cook you add some tomato puree the chlitha is made from blacken peppers and placing in a bag to sweat it out then you chop up tomatoes and garlic and black pepper and salt and plack into a frying pan ... then cook til tomato is soft .... while this is cooking remove the skin from the peppers and slice in long strips and then add to the tomatoes ... now some ppl...

sometimes the kids do have a late breakfast because they cant get up ... especially while on holidays form school .... those are they day where a very light lunch will do so today i sliced up some chicken breast and coated then i flour, egg, and breadcrumbs that i mixed garlic, pepper cumin, carwia, and coriander . salt   i fired in a small amount of oil .... then i made dome yogurt dip .... that natural yogurt, garlic and mint and bought some algerian bread   put it all together and yuuuuummmmmmyyyyyy

so i`m getting use to making these paratha it has taken it`s time but i got their so tonight i decided to try them with a potato stuffing which a good friend made for me the first time i tried them and masha`allah i loved it so i used 4 cups of flour about 4 tbsp of oil salt water  enough to make a soft dough i mixed everything together and then oiled it and left it for 20/30 mins then i made the filling 4 potatoes carrot courgett garlic spices (what ever you choose to do) i boiled the potatoes and once cooked then i let them cool down then i placed them into a frying pan and grated a carrot and courgette  and added garlic and spices and cooked on a low heat while mashed and mixing everything into the potato... once cooked let it cool start with the dough and take a size of a walnut and roll it out thin then brush over it with melted butter and roll it and knot it (look at pic above to see ) once your finished all leave for another 20 mins then go back and each piece roll it out again ...

so the name says it i set out to make paratha and ran out of time as dh arrived home early and couldnt wait to eat so i cut the time in half and this is what i came out with well the pastry was 3 cups of flour a pinch of salt 1/2 tbsps of oil (i added 3 ) water (i just poured until til i had a soft dough filling mince ( as much as you like ) i small onion cut finely three cloves of garlic pepper / salt / cumin / Cinnamon and parsley (a hand ful) once i mixed the ingredients for the pastry i oiled it and placed it to the side for 20 mins normally after this i should roll out into discs. Brush with melted butter and roll into a sausage which you then knot and leave to rest for another 20 minutes but i ran out of time so i just took it from when i oiled it and made small balls and rolled them out i place the filling on one half and then covered with the other half and then roll the rolling pin over it and placed on my hot plate ( tajin)

well i always like to try new things and the most recent is pakoras  i know many ppl who cook them and i have eaten them once and loved them ... so my thought is lets try them ... so i did and masha`allah they were delicious  even my dh like them   and they are very simple to make too   i just sliced some potatoes and onions also i chopped some parsley ... the recipes that i found them from said coriander but i had none and it also said a small chili but i too had none so i added chili  powder instead as well as some pepper and cumin and salt then i added a little water and then a little gram flour and kept doing that until the mixture was wet and once done i fried them and masha`allah i think they turned out great but i will leave that to the experts to say whether it is or not

so as each meal come i`m stumped in what to cook and if it was only one meal but here in algeria  lunch time isnt just a simple sandwich it`s a meal ..... and with growing children and a husband one dish isnt enough so your always thinking what else can i make with it .... so masha`allah i`m always looking for inspiration and flicking through blogs galore  and one recipe i found which is very common here in algeria but is considered  a meal in it`s self is garantita ... but in my house hold it`s a side dish   so masha`allah i found this recipe here jazak`allah khair umm z it is my first time to cook it and i hope it came out well ..... my dd10 loved it and my dh said masha`allah ... so it seems a hit     another side dish is potato cakes which is a very simple dish   i just peeled and wash and cooked 4 big potatoes once cooked i mashed them now sometime i put a little milk and butter and once mashed i let it cool down but this time i didnt then i added 1 small onion...