RAKASA

HI

HI

Moroccan Cookies - I really really want to learn how to make Moroccan cookies, not just the gazelle horns and feqqas but ALL the kinds of little cookies. Does anyone have any resources online where I can find how to make these??

try here:

http://moroccanfood.about.com/

Many congratulations Staashi! I was checking in *just* for this! Glad to hear all is well and hope your recovery is quick. Sending you lots of healing energy! :star: :star:

I just posted some new Turkish recipes as well as some Indian recipes I learned in my blog tonight. Check it out at: www.moroccanwife.blogspot.com

Ummsqueakster... there's some goodness there for you! I promise I'll post pics as soon as I upload them from my phone.

Olivia, I'd be interested in book club again.

Also, wanted to recommend a book my sister sent me to read. I guess it's kind of a historical fiction, but an interesting & entertaining read however you want to categorize it. Nefertiti by Michelle Moran - check it out.

Twilight? Book is WAAAYYYY better than the movie. And yeah, a lot of it just didn't translate well to the screen. It really only made sense b/c I *had* read the book. Not quite sure how the other books would translate to the theater either.

Happy Monday all...

JAX! How's Lexy doing? What's the latest word on her?

Henna (F) (F)

I feel "clique-less"

Annie, my sweet friend (F)

This pretty much sums it up right here:

yep, that pretty much says it all

Morning all

Olivia - flowers down here have already started to bloom.

* * * * * Question to everyone.

If you found out your SO was on the net like tagged.com

and they were talking other people how would you feel and what would you do?

I'd be pizzed & asking lots of questions! good luck

Yes I was confused....shoulda took a right

Hehehe... luv ya, girl! You can take that right anytime you know...

Happy Anniversary Jax! But I'm curious as to what is this the anniversary for, as your siggy says you were married in February.

nvm - when I looked earlier it said married in Feb, now it says March.... maybe we both were confused?

Noura, read your blog - love it! Have question? What is the difference btwn Chicken or shrimp creole, ettouffe, jambalaya, gumbo, and esplandande? thanks

Thanks Henia - love your blog too! Sorry to hear about your hacker issue, but glad you're back. First off, I have no idea what esplandande is! I'll try to break down the others:

Etouffee (from Wikipedia)- In French, the word "étouffée" means, literally, "smothered" or "suffocated", from the verb "étouffer"

The usual staple of an étouffée is seafood such as crawfish, shrimp, or crabmeat. Other meats, such as chicken, or a combination of chicken and seafood, are also used.

The base of an étouffée is either a dark brown-red roux, a blonde roux (a roux that isn't browned as much) or simply onions cooked down in butter. It is usually seasoned with cayenne pepper, onions, green bell pepper and celery (a.k.a. the holy trinity), garlic, and salt and has a thicker consistency than gumbo. A crawfish étouffée, if made with a roux, usually has a reddish color sometimes attributed to crawfish fat (an important ingredient), which is untrue. Crawfish fat is bright yellow, and will not color the dish red. The red color comes from the dark brown-red roux. Seasonings the crawfish were boiled in could also give the dish a red tint. There is typically no tomato in this dish. However, in some areas it has become popular to add tomatoes or tomato paste to the dish. However, most purists believe that once tomatoes are added, the dish ceases to be a true étouffée, and instead becomes a stew or a creole. In many parts of the country, outside of Louisiana, people make étouffée with cream; however, cream should never be part of a true étouffée. Re: the bolded portion is what we believe - and my family does not add tomatoes to an etouffee. That would make it a "creole" dish around here.

Shrimp Creole (I don't really cook this much, so here's someone else's take on it):

Shrimp Creole and Shrimp Sauce Piquant are pretty much the same dish, with a few differences.

First, Shrimp Creole, or as it was once known, Shrimp a la Creole, is a New Orleans dish. Shrimp Sauce Piquant is Acadian, much spicier (hence the name) and usually, but not always containing a roux. But as I said, they’re pretty darned similar, and like most dishes in New Orleans these days the two cuisines have kind of merged in a lot of different areas. Like any dish that there are a trillion recipes for, it’s all a matter of your personal taste.

Jambalaya:

Jambalaya (pronounced /ˌdʒʌmbəˈlaɪə/ or <jum-buh-LIE-uh>) is a Louisiana Creole dish of Spanish and French influence. The dish is a New World version of the Old World dish paella. A Cajun version, loosely related to paella, was adopted after absorption of white French Creoles into the Cajun population following their fall from power in New Orleans after the Civil War.

Jambalaya is traditionally made in one pot, with meats and vegetables, and is completed by adding stock and rice. There are two primary methods of making jambalaya.

The first and most common is Creole jambalaya (also called "red jambalaya"). First, meat is added, usually chicken and sausage such as andouille or smoked sausage. Next vegetables and tomatoes are added to cook, followed by seafood. Rice and stock are added in equal proportions at the very end. The mixture is brought to a boil and left to simmer for 20 to 60 minutes, depending on the recipe, with infrequent stirring. Towards the end of the cooking process, stirring usually ceases.

The second style, more characteristic of southwestern and south-central Louisiana, is Cajun jambalaya, which contains no tomatoes. The meat is browned in a cast-iron pot. The bits of meat that stick to the bottom of the pot are what give a Cajun jambalaya its brown color. A little vegetable oil is added if there is not enough fat in the pot. The trinity (of onions, celery, and green bell pepper) is added and sautéed until soft. Stock and seasonings are added in the next step, and then the meats are returned to the pot. This mixture is then simmered, covered, for at least one hour. Lastly, the mixture is brought to a boil and rice is added to the pot. It is then covered and left to simmer over very low heat for at least 1/2 hour without stirring. The dish is finished when the rice has cooked. **This is how my family does it (& most of our area)**

A third method is less common. In this version, meat and vegetables are cooked separately from the rice. At the same time, rice is cooked in a savory stock. It is added to the meat and vegetables before serving. This is called "white Jambalaya." This dish is rare in Louisiana as it is seen as a "quick" attempt to make jambalaya, popularized outside the state to shorten cooking time.

Jambalaya is considered by most Louisianians to be a simple to prepare, yet filling, rice dish; gumbos, étouffées, and creoles are considered more difficult to perfect. Most often a long grain white rice is used in making jambalaya.

Jambalaya is differentiated from other traditional ethnic Louisiana dishes, such as gumbo and étouffée, by the way in which the rice is included. In the latter dishes, the rice is cooked separately and is served as a bed which the main dish is served on. In the usual method of preparing Jambalaya, a rich stock is created from vegetables, meat, and seafood. Raw rice is then added to the broth and the flavor is absorbed by the grains as the rice cooks.

And finally, Gumbo:

Gumbo is a stew or soup originating in Louisiana, and found across the Gulf Coast of the United States and into the U.S. South. It consists primarily of a strong stock, meat and/or shellfish, a thickener, and the vegetable "holy trinity" of celery, bell peppers and onion. The soup is traditionally served over rice. A traditional lenten variety called gumbo z'herbes (from the French gumbo aux herbes), essentially a gumbo of smothered greens thickened with roux, also exists.

Having originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, created by the French, but enhanced by additions from other cultures, gumbo is the result of the melting of cultures in Louisianan history. For example, the dish itself is based on the French soup bouillabaisse, along with the "Holy Trinity," which is of Spanish origin and the use of filé powder (ground sassafras leaves) which is Native American. But the dish got its name from the French interpretation of the West African vegetable okra. Currently, the dish is very common in Louisiana, Southeast Texas, southern Mississippi and Alabama, and the Lowcountry around Charleston, South Carolina, near Brunswick, Georgia and among native Louisianians throughout the country. It is eaten year-round, but is usually prepared during the colder months.

A typical gumbo contains one or more kinds of poultry, shellfish, and smoked pork. Poultry used is typically chicken, duck, or quail. Local shellfish such as the freshwater crawfish and crab and shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico are frequently used. Tasso and andouille provide a smoky flavor to the dish.

Gumbos can be broadly divided between the use of okra as a thickener, and recipes using filé powder in that role. Roux may be added to either.

Another division in types of gumbo is between Creole and Cajun styles. Creole gumbos generally use a lighter (but still medium-brown) roux and include tomatoes, while Cajun gumbos are made with a darker roux and never contain tomatoes. Tomatoes are used in Creole gumbo due to the influence of Italian immigrants that flocked to the city.

An interesting twist - many people serve gumbo w/ potato salad and often actually dish the gumbo (stew) on top of potato salad (instead of or in addition to the rice). It's pretty tasty to serve gumbo on top of potato salad.

I hope that was helpful - even though it was a lot of copy/paste from mostly wikipedia and a New Orleans food blog.

our illustrious governor........

article can be seen here:

http://www.redshtickmagazine.com/article1236.html

Noura-I made the tahini cake last night...delicious! The mister loved it. It reminded me of coffee cake or like you said, pound cake. I would definitely make it again. I also found that I had to bake it longer than the recipe stated. I think it baked for 30-35 mins total.

Thanks for posting the recipe!

Oh and btw...the recipes on your blog look great...I'll have to try some of them.

Ooohhh... glad you both liked it. I might try to make it tonight so I can leave a little w/ the mister here and take some w/ me on a road trip w/ some of my students tomorrow afternoon!

Yo my MENA peeps! Hope you all are doing well. Less than two weeks to go to deliver this little bundle of joy. :dance:

Awwwwwwww, my sister is being induced on March 25th Staashi. What's the date for you? Are you going to be induced, c-section or try and go on your own?

This is my niece's birthday too - she'll be 17 this year!

My blog is finally up. I'll keep posting recipes there as I can. Enjoy!

http://moroccanwife.blogspot.com/

Noura

I *could* be in if it's drive-able (or could get a rock bottom flight price). I'm in Louisiana. New Orleans is a great tourist area w/ lots to do, *but* it is hot in the summer if you're not used to it. Make it Sept/Oct and y'all come for a hurrication!

Credits are only purchaseable by real money via paypayl, etc. The amount shown on your farm when harvesting is your farm CASH. EIther way - you will probably be able to use the funds you make on your farm (myFarm cash) in a few weeks to buy the houses, etc.

gotcha! thanks. I realized after going back to look again, that it was indeed "cash", not credits, that I had. Oh well, guess I'll be sleeping in the strawberry patches til I can afford a house on what I harvest!

how *do* you buy stuff anyway? I mean w/o spending your actual dough... Isn't there some way you can turn myFarm credits into moulah so you can buy houses, chicken coops, etc? I've harvested everything there is to harvest right now and I don't know how to transfer credits to "cash" - HELP!

they have released items in the past under myFram credit only - but after awhile switched it over to cash shop, so just wait a bit and it most likely will switch over. I think it was 2 weeks and the white house went from credit to cash.

i just saw a notice that you can get the yellow house now for cash too.

problem is, I *only* have credits, and I'm wondering how to turn credits into cash. FB has lost their minds if they think I'd actually plunk down a credit/debit card # and pay *real* money for any of that!

Good morning MENA, hope everyone is doing well. Today I really have to get some house cleaning done, ugh.

Oh yeah, I like Folgers, there is nothing wrong with it

Yeah, I guess I'm thinking instant coffee. I have a good friend here who drinks it too, but it's hard to believe when we have some of the best coffee grown in America right here in LA!