Here's to trying to get back on the bandwagon, for every aspect of life.

Today marks the end of the first month of the new school year. This have been crazy on this side and we're trying to keep everything under control. New schedules that are still shifting means that we are all still trying to find some balance and fall into a sort of routine.
One of the areas that I have been trying to tame is meals. Ensuring that there is a variety of foods that are ready to eat or prep easily for breakfasts, lunch and dinners makes for less stressful evenings.
To accomplish this lofty goal, a little planning is key. Jotting down a list of meals to be eaten over the coming week means that I don't have to think about "what are we having for dinner" in the morning or worse, on my way home - a little last minute. Cooking a few things on Sunday - some meats, grains, veggies - makes it so that I have things on hand ready to throw into a salad for lunch, tacos for dinner, or even school lunches.
I don't have this down one hundred percent by any means but I am trying to spend some time prepping every weekend to free up my weekdays.
Over the next few posts, I will share what I have been prepping in a bit more detail. Would love to hear what others do to me their daily lives easier!

Change

Lots has happened in the past couple of years in my little corner of the world.
LO is almost five now. How the time flies!

We've moved into a larger patch of land where we are trying our hands at being a little more self-sufficient. I am the first to admit that I have lots to learn. My thumb is still far from being green :)

We have planted three new blueberry and a couple of currant bushes, as well as a few apple, pear, prune, quince, persimmon and  plum. Most are doing well so far.

We have also added chickens to our wanna-be homestead and started a compost pile. While we had been thinking about starting a compost pile for a while now, the exponentially growing amount of our chickens' poo did help expedite the project.

The chickens which we brought  on 4/11 are well-settled in their new home now. We built the chicken coop in about 2 week-ends and opted for a moveable design. They are a little over three months old now, mostly sweet-tempered and are fun to watch.

Amidst the struggle to keep up with the daily life and the added commitment required to keep blackberry brambles from taking over the place among other things, I am enjoying the longer days and the the little bits of sunshine that graces us here and there.
Spring is here and summer is well on its way. Bring it on!

Fresh Fruits Cakes for a Cold Afternoon

Friday was a hectic day. After dropping off the kids at school, I ran to the store to pick-up a few things, such as the buttermilk that was needed to make Fresh Fruit Cakes. One for a friend and one to keep ;)

After getting back home and putting the grocery away, I decided to make couscous. Perfect for this cold weather and for today. After all, it is Friday and growing up, Friday was always Couscous Day. The improvised Souks in the narrow streets would fill with ambulant vendors who displayed in their stalls all the ingredients needed for the quintessential Friday Lunch in Morocco. The colorful etalages exhumed the smells of the sun-ripened tomatoes, huge "Cinderella" pumpkins, cabbage heads, different varieties of turnips, as well as the other essentials such as zucchini, carrots and fava beans. Then of course, one had to stop at the herb lady with her seemingly never-ending bunches of cilantro and parsley, laid on a cloth on the ground where she sat cross-legged. The trip to the butcher came next. Then on to the creamery "Mahlaba" to get "l'ben" or buttermilk.

When mom made couscous at home, she always enough to feed to feed our small family and more. You just never knew who would stop by on their way to the Friday prayer. An uncle, aunt, or both. Whoever stopped by was invited to come back afterwards to share lunch. If they were unable to stay, then a plate would inevitably be prepared and sent over to their home. Our neighbors got a nicely done plate. And so did the "guardien" stationed at the entrance of our cul-de-sac. Basically a security guard/errand boy/handyman that the families living on our small street employed to keep an eye on things and help with everything. Other dishes were plated and saved for another uncle or cousin would might stop by after work. So on Friday at our house everybody got his share.

The big lunch was served with plain buttermilk, and Saikouk. Saikouk - also a Moroccan street food -  is buttermilk served with cooked plain couscous and freshly steamed fava beans. The kids usually sweetened the buttermilk with sugar or honey and ate it as dessert.

Ah, the days...But I digress.

Anyway, the kids came home to warm fruit cakes before heading off to music lessons and the couscous was made and thoroughly enjoyed later for dinner that evening with enough left over to be had for lunch the following day. Couscous recipe to follow in a later post.

The Fresh Fruit cake is one that I have been making for a few years. I first found it in a Food & Wine cookbook. I have been making it with whatever fruits I have on hand. Recipe below.

Peace

Feqqas (Fekkas) otherwise known as Moroccan Biscotti

My mom is visiting for a few weeks and while normally, she would be baking and cooking away different ch’hiwat (goodies) for us, she has to take it easy this time around as she is recovering from hand surgery.

Nonetheless, there is still a lot happening in our kitchen. Today we made Feqqas, the way Mom makes it.

Feqqas or as my Grandma used to call them, Nachat - happiness in Moroccan - are double-baked cookies, like Biscotti. The word Feqqas, shares the same root as “feqais” and “faqsa”, “Feqais” being plural for “faqsa” and meaning stress, frustration, or something that causes upset. Grandma, of course never asked for Feqqas as it meant asking for something bad and instead asked for Nachat.
Traditionally, they are made with anise, almonds, sesame seeds and raisins. As kids, we always picked the raisins out as they would get a bit dry during baking. One way to avoid this is to soak them until they get nice and plump. I do admit that for my part, I omit them completely.

The dough is shaped into logs, baked, then after left to cool, is cut crosswise into slices and baked again. I usually freeze some of the logs without slicing them for when I am feeling a bit lazy.

Note that the recipe below makes about 150 cookies as each log when cut thin as I do, makes about 30 cookies. You can choose to add raisins if you would like, use less almonds, less sesame or otherwise play around with what you add to the dough.

I make a chocolate chip/orange but substituting the sesame seeds, fennel seeds, and almond with 1 cup chocolate chips and adding 2 tsp orange zest. Of course, the possibilities are endless when it comes to playing around with different flavors.


Recipe:

Beat the eggs and sugar.
Add the melted butter and oil.
Mix in sesame seeds, fennel seeds, and almonds.
Add flour, baking powder and salt and mix until combined.

Shape into five logs and place on prepared baking sheet.
Be sure to space out the logs as they will spread during baking.
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes or until firm.

Let cool.

Cut the logs diagonally into slices about 1 cm (or thicker if you would like. I like mine a bit thin.)

Place in baking sheet.

Bake until golden, about 5 minutes on each side at 325 degrees F. You may need to adjust cooking time as every oven is different.

Allow to cool – or not – and enjoy!

PS: This is where my kids help with this recipe by drizzling some melted chocolate on their Feqqas and attempting to wait for it dry. Needless to say, by the time the chocolate has seized up, there are only a couple of cookies left ;)

Banana Chocolate Chip Scones

Another goodies from one of my favorite recipe books: Food and Wine.

The method is pretty straightforward and does not require cutting the butter, rather melting in and adding it with the wet ingredients to the dry. It also uses buttermilk - I make my own using milk and vinegar as a substitute if I am out of the real thing - instead of cream. Th original recipe used berries and nuts. I have used it as a base and experimented with different flavors.

The latest we've made - and we make these often as they are one of my kids favorite things to have for breakfast or snack - are banana-chocolate and apple-raisins. They each picked a combination. 

The problem with theses, is that they do not last. I always make double the recipe in hopes of having some left for the freezer... Right :) I am lucky if there are any left the next morning. I could hide them of course, but that would not be nice, would it?

Recipe to come shortly...

Upside Down Apple Cake... or Not

So, I have been craving lots of sweets lately. Make that everyday. Unfortunately, I don't get to bake as much as I used to before LO made his entrance five months ago. In fact, I am lucky if I get dinner on the table without too much stress.
Well yesterday late afternoon, after putting LO down for his catnap, I headed straight to the kitchen to recreate America's Test Kitchen upside down apple cake. I got started on the apples only to find that I was down to a couple of tablespoons butter. Not enough to make the cake!
I can not begin to describe my disappointment, having actually seen myself making the cake and then having a good part of it for dinner - I know, I know... But this cake is kinda healthy, it has lots of apples in it ;)
With the cake no longer part of the plan, I had to think about making some real dinner. With everyone suffering from colds and coughs at home, some hot soup with lots of garlic and ginger sounded perfect.
A quick online search led me to Food and Wine's Asian Vegetable Soup with Noodles.
I upped the garlic and made a few changes such as using spinach instead of bok choy, omitting the cabbage, adding mushrooms, shrimp, lemongrass and some celery,  as well as using soba noodles in lieu of vermicelli. It was wonderfully warming and just what we needed to sooth our sore throats. The best thing is, I have enough leftover for lunch. Mmm, I can smell the ginger and garlic already.
The cake will have to wait until this afternoon. Need to ask DH to pick up some butter. I can not believe I ran out of butter! I always make sure that I have some in the freezer in case of an emergency like this one.
I guess this should be one of my goals for the new year...

A Taste of Greece

Much needed summer memories...

Early November here has brought with it a few unusually sunny, and dare I say "warm", days. The boys have been making a point of playing outside everyday and I've even ventured with the LO for a stroller ride to meet big brothers at school.

Alas, it appears that we are done with the sun for at least a few days as the forecast calls for rain everyday next week. So it is back to reality and I can't help but look back at some cherished summer memories.

This was a wonderful meal. The lamb Souvlaki was not too spicy, just perfect, the tzatziki refreshing and the side of eggplant dip... well let's just say it is Eggplant.

It was a great complement to this:

And this:

Can't wait to go back!