Mornin. I have to find another route into work 'cause I'm late again today

People haven't been posting their iftar dinners so I figured I'd jumpstart it again. Tonight I'm making that ragg soup that I love and throwing in a couple of frozen Mystic pizzas. lol. Is it just me or do iftars get less and less extravagant as the month goes on?

LOL,

I've been eating bread and coffee for iftar and that's it . Wadi's been bringing home a meal from local Moroccan restaurants after he finishes work around 11ish.

Definitely not as fun as the first few days, but I have to say it's a whole lot easier....

Harira, harira and harira. And dates and water. And sometimes a cheeseburger.

Spaghetti for us tonite Plus my mom just sent a big package from Germany so we have chocolate!!!!!!

Today we are having leftovers!

for me Suhoor becomes less an less as the month goes by. Today? two bites of a banana and a glass of water...

I had a hard time getting out of bed this morning and actually missed going to the gym

I was thinking this morning that it must be hard during Ramadan for those who are normally big coffee drinkers at work and in the morning.

Happy Tuesday!

I think I am going to make a roasted chicken over croutons with some sauteed veggies for dinner.

I'm thinking about having a vegi sub from subway I'm to tired to cook anything tonight and to depressed If I could have just one touch on my petitions I think I would be able to get my second wind and be able to focus again on the finish line of being reunited with my husband.

Tonight I'm making "slow-sauteed" chicken breasts over watercress, black eyed pea salad, spoon bread (like a corn meal souffle), and a raspberry cobbler. My husband's in Algeria (and already ready to come home!) so I'm having some friends of ours over. I guess it's not technically an iftar meal, since none of us are fasting, but it's a meal!

Today I'm in a cooking mood, but our iftar meals (before my husband went home) were pretty sad.. pizza, leftovers, chinese takeout, california pizza kitchen (or as my husband calls it... california pizza chicken )... meh.

That's funny. Hicham says "Pizza California Kitchen". I don't know why but I don't question it!

So I think today I'll make a big chicken cobb salad - I need some protein as it seems I've really cut out a lot of meat from my diet. I am going to make the parm crusted tenderloin for Youssef tonight as he's been raving about it since Sunday and begging for leftovers! I'm also adding the recipe I used for the coffee/choclate bundts here.

Mini Chocolate Chunk Cake

1/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1/8 cup grated orange zest (2 large oranges)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus 1 tablespoon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
3 ounces buttermilk at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup good semisweet chocolate chunks

For the ganache:
4 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules



Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 6 individual serving baking molds, such as the flexible non stick 100 percent silicone molds.
Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, then the orange zest.

Sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, the baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine the orange juice, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately in thirds to the creamed butter, beginning and ending with the flour. Toss the chocolate chunks with 1 tablespoon flour and add to the batter. Pour into the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 30 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the molds on a wire rack for 10 minutes.


For the ganache, melt the chocolate, heavy cream, and coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally. Drizzle over the top of the cakes.

hi

j

hahah!! what's horrible is that I have started to saying california pizza chicken too...

It's harira for us too. We made the first one together. It will be my 3rd batch...I've become a professional!

Good thing about Ramadan breath is that my boss doesn't hang out in my cubbie as much!

I already can't stand harira again. Or dates.

I think that is grounds for divorce in Morocco.

I'm gonna miss dates....mmmm nature's candy. We have already finished the first 5lb box

Ha! Well we finished two five pound boxes, and Wadi agrees with me!!! LOL

Oh it was just two weeks ago when I was marvelling at the perfection of the date. How quickly things change....

WOW 2 5lb boxes? Definately you guys need to learn to pace yourself. this is a marathon not a sprint

Story of our lives.... Sometimes I didn't eat anything except for like 30 dates - great idea, I know. But they were just so PERFECT I couldn't resist them!

Wadi ate so many steak and cheese subs when he got here that he can't even stand to look at them anymore.

I had a great pic to send to u but for some reason its not letting me insert pix..*cries*


What exactly do we do about Ramadan breath. Working with the public is really embarrasing. I try to not breathe on them but u have to get close when trying to keep patient privacy in a teeny tiny waiting room....

The extent of our meals consists of going to Dimassis coz neither of us get home in time to cook anything. I managed to make a stu on Sunday that we had for supper last night and it was totally awesome!!

I remember last time in Moroco- traveling- the easiest and cheapest fast food were the chicken kabobs on a baggette where they put the french fries inside the sandwich. The first few were sooo tasty, but now I could go my whole life and never eat another one. If I were on my computer I would post a pic. It became such a staple of our travel diet that i even documented it in a photos.

The only dates I can stomach are the hard kind that are chopped up and taste like they're dipped in sugar.

I don't know what to do about the breath but now I'm enjoying being left alone. Yesterday my youngest and I picked up my oldest at field hockey and the second she got in the car she asked, "ewwww what's that smell?", then she *looked* at my youngest like she did something. My youngest just says, "shhhh it's mommy's ramadan breath don't make her feel bad!!!"

Someone needs a fresh Saudi date. Consider Saudi dates like freshly roasted coffee. It'll ruin you.

(you'll never want anything else.)

(btw: NOT STARBUCKS. UGH. I like coffee, but I HATE STARBUCKS. Get some coffee from a real roaster + good coffeemaker = 100X better than starbucks. And, contrary to popular belief, good coffemakers aren't expensive: http://www.lnt.com/product/index.jsp?produ...rentPage=search [Theres a model without the clock & timers in-store for $30 - and it's *just as good!* Yay! I bought an extra one and sent it to Jordan ] )

WOOHOO! My curiosity and wishes pay off!

molokhiya for iftar ... today is good.

You remembered!!!! thank you I was hoping you would tell more. I need one of these really bad. really bad

Hi Everybody

I used to agree with you about the dates, but last year I got my hands on some and they were crap. (and about a billion dollars) Some of you might remember me griping about it then. I've since just accepted that the quality can be hit or miss with each purchase.

I didn't forget Dawn Also I didn't use the orange in this batch - and I liked it better. Plus they were better the second date after they sat - still very moist and yummy. I'm thinking tonight they should still be really tasty!

We're having lamb stew, green salad with lemon juice, and sweet potato souffle for dessert.

I'm having parmesan mashed potato crusted chicken cutlets, garlic bread, and spinach salad

Great thing about living by myself is that I cook whatever I want and no one complains! I normally eat Iftar at the masjid, but I'm craving more american food tonight

The vending machine in the back room. (I'm at work)

Man, I messed up on a $8000 order. I ordered a few feet short and no matching dye lot available and the customer is pissed that now they have to wait a week......days like this I hate work. And on top of that I will lose my commission on this...grrr.


Jackie

were cooking on the grill tonight....which i personally dont have an appetite for, so it may just be a bowl of ramen today!!

My husband keeps cooking and cooking like we have a family of 10 (and it's just the two of us )...

Leftovers in the fridge right now:
Harira (it's endless during Ramadan, but I still love it)
Most of a whole goat leg (not my favorite)
Lots of Couscous (made with goat and veggies0
Baked stuffed tilapia (mmm--with peppers, onions, tomatoes, rice, cilantro and lime)
Chicken with green olives and preserved lemons
Lentils with tomatoes

I'm sure I'd find some other mysterious things, too!

Don't get me wrong, I have NOTHING to complain about, but can't he just eat something twice? And why such large quantities? I know, he grew up in a family of 8 children, but it feels so wasteful! I guess we'll be prepared if anyone stops over around 7:00...

Sarah I never heard of chicken on top of croutons. Salad croutons? Do they get soggy? Is it yummy? I guess so or you wouldnt eat it! Just sounds interesting.

It's really good because the bread soaks up some of the juice from the chicken. I wouldn't say they get soggy- they stay crispy but not hard because of the juice. You should try it sometime! Sometimes I just saute bread in olive oil and butter with salt and pepper and sometimes I just bake some chunks of bread- either way it's delicious! I hope you try it!

big chunks of bread or do you do small salad sized crouton-y pieces?

I am intrigued too, I think I am going to have to try it

Either one works. You can even do store bought croutons if you want.

I prefer to buy a baguette and just tear off little chunks and put a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper on them and either saute it or just bake it on a sheetpan to crisp it up. When I serve it I will put the croutons on the bottom of a platter and after having let the chicken rest I will cut it into 6 pieces or so and lay it on the croutons. Usually there is juice on the cutting board left over so I pour that over the chicken and croutons too. I don't like the bread to be too hard, I like it to be a little bit chewy.

I can'tthink of anything that I like more than crispy chicken skin and chicken juices!

If I make it tonight I'll try to remember to take a picture!

My husbands sister taught me how to make Melwi. Its great with fromage. I make a big batch and stick it in freezer, bringing out only what we need for the night. Its not quite as fresh, but it takes too long to make it after I get off work. I also made katayef once, and it was good, but I filled it with walnuts and he wants it with some sort of creme fresh...not sure where to find that.

did you learn this dish in france? i do it with lemon slices inside the chicken, and it's quite lovely.

It is definitely a French dish!

In France they have rotisserie chickens at markets turning and they put croutons and potatoes under the chickens so they soak up all of the juices. It's soooooo good.