Easter Sugar Cookies

I wanted to make something festive for Easter, I kept thinking, "ok yah I can dye some eggs throw them into a basket and call it done," but I wanted something a little more. So I decided to go with the "Edible Arrangements" theme and make cookies on sticks. It was so much fun to make and it looked so awesome on the table. Not only does it add decor but it was really yummy tasting. It was extremely hard for me not to eat the dough because I was on lent and the dough consists of cream cheese and butter. MMMMMMM....

You can always double or tripple the recipe for the amount of cookies you want. I doubled this recipe.


Ingredients you will need are:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

  Directions are:

• In a bowl, cream butter, cream cheese and sugar. Beat in egg yolk and extracts. Combine the flour, salt and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or until easy to handle.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a 2-1/2-in. cookie cutter dipped in flour. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Using parchment paper helps. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until edges begin to brown. 
• The BBQ sticks need to be inserted as soon as they come out of the oven. Decorate as desired. Yield: 4 dozen.

The remaining dough after I made a whole bunch of cookies, I thought hey I can imitate another cookie called "Subleh" So I used my egg cookie cutter and cut out pairs and with the whiskey cap I cut out a hole on 1 cookie in each pair. You then bake the cookies let them chill fill them with any type of jelly you would like, press them together sprinkle a bit of powdered sugar and wallah you have a different cookie. Now you may also grind up some nuts and throw and knead it in your dough before you do this. It ads awesome texture and flavor. 

Paprika's Vegetable Stew

Alright, so with less than a week left of being vegan for lent I came up with this yummy vegetable stew! I tried to somewhat turn it into a chili but mission failed! It's okay though, Kakod couldn't stop eating it so I believe it is a mission well accomplished!


Okay so here are the things your are going to need for this dish. You don't have to use exactly what I have used, use anything you have in your fridge.

Ingredients:

- 3 Tablespoons Olive oil (to saute the onion and garlic and the veggies) 
- 1/4 Green Cabbage (sliced thin to medium thickness)
- 1/4 Red Cabbage (sliced thin to medium thickness)
- 4 Green Zucchinis (Chopped)
- 2 Yellow Zucchinis (Chopped)
- Bok Choy (I used a whole head)
- 1 Orange Bell Pepper 
- 1 Carrot (G ratted)
- 1 1/2 Cups of Mushrooms sliced
- 1 Can Red Kidney Beans
- 1 Can Garbanzo Beans
- 1 Whole Onion Chopped
- Garlic ( this is really up to you I used about 7 cloves)
- 2 Cans Diced Tomatoes (I used 1 can with chilies and 1 can with garlic and olive oil)
- 1 Tablespoon of Tomato Paste
- 1 Tablespoon of Red Pepper Paste
- 2 Can of water ( fill up the diced tomato cans with water and mix the tomato paste in one and the red pepper paste in the other. If you don't have pepper paste use 2 tablespoons of tomato paste)
- Salt, Red Pepper, 7 Spice, Black pepper and Oregano  (please adjust this too your taste buds ad a little as you go)
-Scallion and Cilantro for topping and to taste 



Start by chopping your onion and mincing your garlic and put aside.
(Please wash all of your vegetables) Start chopping all of your vegetables and put them in a large bowl.
Grab your olive oil and saute' the garlic and onion until the onion has died down a bit, ad in the veggies you have chopped and stir it with the garlic and onion and let the veggies die down a bit, lets say about 5 or 6 minutes. Come and go and stir the veggies in the pot. After the veggies have deflated add in your kidney and garbonzo beans, as well as the diced tomatoes, the water, the pepper and tomato paste. Let it simmer on the stove on high for about half an hour come and go and just stir it a bit. It might look like a soup at first but you need to reduce the water. If at the half hour mark the water hasn't reduced keep it on low and let it simmer for about 20 more minutes.

Let it cool down for a bit, serve warm and top with scallions and cilanto.

Enjoy!!! I hope you all love it as much as kakod and I did! =]

 

Gatnabour (Armenian Rice Pudding)

Again on lent I crave everything I can't have, but I guess that's just the way the world just works. You want everything you can't and/or don't have.

Even though we can't have any animal products that didn't stop me! I substituted the milk for coconut milk and almond milk.
(Pictures to come!)

Recipe (for 12 bowls or 6 large cups)
   
Ingredients

– 1 cup white rice (round)
– 1 cup water
– 5 cups of almond milk
– 1 can of coconut milk
– 2 cups sugar
– 1 tbsp rose water
– cinnamon to garnish
– crushed or finely ground pistachio to garnish

Procedure

1. Wash the rice and boil in water for about 10 minutes at medium heat, until all the water gets absorbed.
2. Add the 5 cups of almond milk and coconut milk to the boiled rice and continuously stir while still at medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes or until the starch of the rice mixes and thickens the milk.
3. Add 1½ cups of sugar and continue stirring for another 5 minutes.
4. Once the sugar is fully mixed in, remove from heat and add the rose water.
5. Separate into individual bowls and sprinkle with a pinch of cinnamon or pistachio.
6. Let cool and set for about 5 minutes, then enjoy!

Lahana (cabbage) Dolma

My fiance and I decided to give up meat for lent. I had a craving for these puppies so I decided to whip them up vegan style! I hope you guys try to make this dish because it's really delicious when cold and it is a great summertime meal!


Ingredients
Filling

(1 lb ground meat or beef, turkey or ground chicken - of course I left this part out)
2 big onion, chopped finely
1 cup chopped parsley
1 cup chopped dill (optional)
1/2 cup chopped basil ( optional )
1 tablespoon dry mint
1/2 cup rice, washed and drained
2 tomato, diced/1 cup crushed
1 tsp tomato paste
1 tsp pepper paste (optional)
1 tbsp salt to taste
½ tsp black pepper
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp 7 spice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon’s juice






Outer Layer
1 head cabbage

For the liquid in the pot
7 cloves of garlic ( you can adjust this amount to your liking of garlic. WE LOVE GARLIC!)
1 tsp tomato paste
1 tsp pepper paste (optional) 
2 lemons juice
3 cups of water (depending on how deep your pot is. Just have the liquid cover just about the top)

Preparation Method

Mix all the filling ingredients  in a bowl with a tablespoon.

Take out the outer leaves of cabbage. In a large pot place the cabbage and cover it with lightly salted water. Bring it to boil and turn the heat down to medium high. Boil it till the outer leaves start to loosen and get softer (2-3 minutes). Remove the soft leaves from the core and place them on a big plate or tray. Return the cabbage to the pot and repeat the first step until all leaves get soft and removed. Let the leaves cool for 8-10 minutes.Remove the center stalks from the leaves with a knife so you will have 2 slices of the leaf. 

Fill the cabbage leaves with the filling and roll.

Line up all the rolls in a pot. Pour your liquid mixture carefully into the pot. Take a small plate place it over the leaves on the pot and a bowl of hot water on the plate. This prevents the leaves from unraveling. Cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes. After the rolls are cooked squeeze lemon juice all over (your preference).

We love this dish when it's cold and the next day. It is full of way more flavor!

Comment me if you would like the garlic and yogurt topping.

Paprika's style of her declicious egg rolls

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon Coconut oil (olive oil is fine if you don't have)

Quarter of the red cabbage

Quarter of the green cabbage

1/2 green zucchini julienned

1/2 yellow zucchini julienned

Quarter of a red onion sliced really thin

1 stick grated carrot

2-3 table spoons of soy sauce (I use low sodium)

1 pinch of ginger

Add cilantro and basil to your liking

(I also added white wine vinegar for taste)

(Keep in mind you can add any vegetable to your liking: bean sprouts, bell peppers avocados, [avocados do fry well inside of a egg roll], anything really as long as they are julienned)

Directions:

Shred both cabbages really thin, julienne the zucchinis and slice the red onion really thin. Grate your carrot and chop some cilantro and basil to your liking. Then sauté all of the ingredients including the spices in a pan on low heat and let it cook until the veggies are translucent.

Wrap them in your egg roll paper, seal them and flash fry them until the outside of the wrap is golden brown and crispy looking.

I used a Thai Ginger dipping sauce on the side!

Good Luck and Enjoy!!!

Delicious, yummy cheese cake cupcakes

Alright, so I was craving me some cheesecake and I didn't want the store bought kind. I was craving me some homemade delicious cheesecake. It's the weekend, I think I can splurge, haha. Well this cheesecake recipe came from my taste buds. It's fast easy and super delicious! The things you are going to need are:

2 (8 oz. each) pkgs. cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 tbsp. vanilla
1 tsp. lemon juice
3/4 c. sugar
3 eggs
Paper cupcake holders
Graham cracker
1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
Canned blueberry
1 bunch Mint
2 tbsp. butter
1 bunch of mint

Okay so, to start take out your cupcake pan and line it up with the cupcake liners. Then
we are going to make the crust. Take a pack of graham crackers and put it into a large zip-lock bag, add cinnamon, nutmeg and a dash of sugar to change up the flavor a bit. Crush the graham cracker until very fine. In a sauce pan melt the butter because here you are going to brown the crust. Cook the cracker until brown. Take your graham cracker mixture and put in about a tablespoon for each cupcake liner and press down so it's firm.

Now for the delicious batter! Place the first package of cream cheese (make sure it's sort of soft and not right out the fridge) into the mixer including the sour cream, vanilla, lemon juice, sugar and eggs. Add a dash of cinnamon into the mixture. Beat all these ingredients together until the lumps of creams cheese have dissolved.

Pour your batter on top of the graham cracker. Open your can of blueberry topping and with a teaspoon dollop some of the blueberry topping onto your cheesecake batter. With a tooth pick start to mix it, but be careful not to mix the graham cracker on the bottom.

Put it in the oven and bake for about 18 to 20 minutes on 375 degrees.

Remove from the oven and chill for about 20 minutes. Now with your blueberry topping, take a teaspoon and dollop some of it on top of the cheesecakecup cake and add a leaf of mint for decoration.

And there you go! A fast and easy cheesecake, cupcake style!!! If you end up making this recipe I would like to know all about it!

Enjoy!

Spicy Bananna Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I'm back again, with desert this time. These cup cakes are finger licking good. Just in time for memorial day weekend with the red, white and blue. I think the next time I do make these cup cakes I will grind up some walnuts and some chocolate chips and mix it in the batter, just something I thought about on my second batch. The batter had this warm delicious taste to it. You can choose to either make them into cupcakes or in a loaf pan. If you are planning on baking it in a loaf pan, use the cream cheese frosting only grade some orange or some lemon zest for some tang! Have fun with this and get creative!!!

Things you will need for the cupcakes:

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon all spice
2/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup buttermilk
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas

Alright! Let's get to it! Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. If your going to use a cupcake pan go ahead and put in your cup cake liners now. If you are using a loaf pan or a bunt pan go ahead and spray it now with some non-stick spray. Measure all the ingredients into a large electric mixer bowl. Blend for 30 seconds on low speed gradually increasing the speed. As you mix with your spatula scrap down the sides of your bowl. Beat about 3-5 minutes on high speed. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans, or fill cupcake tins about 2/3 of the way full.

The house is going to smell so yummy.

Things you will need for the delicious cream cheese frosting:

1 8-ounce package of regular cream cheese
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Food coloring of your choice

I would leave the stick of butter out to get soften while you are preparing and baking the cake. Start to blend the cream cheese and soften butter with the electric mixer on low speed, as the butter and cream cheese mix gradually start adding the powdered sugar until you have completely incorporated the sugar. Add the vanilla slowly to give it some moisture while you mix the powdered sugar in. You can always add more sugar if you want the consistency to big thicker or you can always add milk if you want your frosting consistency to be thinner.

I hope you enjoy baking these delicious cup cakes! I know I had a blast and my house smells like I had candles lit everywhere.

Have fun! Ciao!

Penne a la Sauce Blance

I started making this dish a couple years ago because it is so delicious! It is inspired by one of my good friends. It's quick, simple and yummy! This is a type of dish that you can whip up in less than 30 minutes, Rachel Ray ain't got nuttin' on me. Just a couple things from your local grocery store a half an hour and wallah you have dinner ready. This is a huge hit with the kids, even the adults. It's cheesy, saucy and full of great flavors.

Things you will need:

1 whole rotisserie chicken (cooked)
2 16 oz boxes of Penne noodles (use only 24 oz)
4 packets of Alfredo Sauce Mix
1 16 oz frozen "California Style" Vegetables
2 cups of shredded mozzarella
1 tsp Herbes de Provence (depending on how seasoned you like your dish)
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of black pepper
1 pinch of all spice

First your going to want to boil the pasta and the frozen vegetables together. Boil it until the pasta is al dente because the rest of the cooking is going to happen in the oven. While you have the pasta and the vegetable boiling together, go ahead and d-bone the rotisserie chicken, shred and move to the side. Now follow the directions on the Alfredo Sauce Mix and add the herbs to the mix. Keep the sauce on a really low heat. After your pasta and vegetables are done cooking, drain them and put it back into the pot, mix in the chicken and the sauce and stir. Let it simmer for 5 minutes. If your sauce came out dry, don't let it simmer because it still has to cook in the over. Spray your lasagna pan with some non-stick spray. So now that you have your pasta mixture all ready to go, put down the first layer of the mix, and with your 2 cups of mozzarella cheese, spread out 1 cup of cheese and the put another layer of your pasta mix on top of the cheese and for the top layer put the other cup of cheese. Cover it with foil and cook in 350 degrees for the next 10 minutes, then uncover and bake for about 2 minutes on broil just to brown the cheese.

If you decide to make this dish I would love to know all about it. Thanks for reading!

Our Engagement

I know this doesn't have anything to do with my blog and the reason why I made it, but I am very blessed and happy with who I am with, where I am in life and who I have become as a person. I would like to share with all you people out there a little bit of our proposal. Enjoy!

From my fiance - Anto K.

Merry Christmas

I had been thinking about it for months now. Being unconventional by nature, I wanted to make sure the moment was going to be special, unique and most of all, memorable. Some thoughts that had crossed my mind were proposing in the air over the Bay in a Cessna, but I realized that Kakod would surely vomit all over me & the flight instructor and didn't want that memory in our lives for the next 60 years. Another equally brilliant idea was putting the ring inside of a dapkevadz kofte (fried beef meatball) and letting her find it. The reason that didn't make it past the drawing board is I was afraid if she took a big enough bite, ill have to propose whilst on my knees, sifting through her poop biscuits for the ring on the way out. Although now that I think of it, given our nicknames, it would be quite appropriate and definitely memorable.
What to do, what to do. Luckily, timing presented itself around Christmas and I thought what better time than on Christmas Eve, in front of all of out loved ones. The days leading up to it were a little nerve wrecking, and the more I played it over in my head the more nervous I became. The only problem I was having was the creativity part. There's not much you can do at a Christmas dinner with family. My original thought was to hang the ring like an ornament on the tree or attach it to a mistletoe. I realized later that good thing I didn't do that because Sako was trying to get some brotherly man love at the diner table, armed with the very same mistletoe.
After getting anxious about the big moment, I had the Idea of dressing up like Santa, its been a tradition in my family, and I came to find out it was tradition in Kakod's too. Perfect. So its Christmas Eve, 6 PM and I'm satisfied with my plan, playing out the details and ready to execute it with military precision. If only things were actually as simple as I made them out to be in my head.
As I dressed the part in the garage, with two of Santa's lil' helpers Sako & Bedig, and hiding the ring in the Santa bag, Kakod comes running in and almost ruins the surprise. Luckily, My sleight of hand was quick enough to conceal the massive boulder of a ring. What made this whole ordeal a little tricky was that nobody knew this was going to happen so getting cooperation from the fam was a bit difficult. I just remember giving my sister the video camera and telling her to get whats going to happen on camera, and not consume the 12th glass of wine she was working on. Watching the video now, in hindsight, I should have been more specific.
I got dressed, sent Kakod back inside to "get the kids singing" said a quick prayer and started inside. As I heard everyone singing I remember all I could hear was the beat of my own heart. In addition to being nervous about the proposal, I'm absolutely terrified of dancing in front of others. Good thing I said that prayer. I entered the gauntlet of bodies almost dizzy, and hopping around like a drunken, homosexual elf, wondering if the girl I was about to propose to was enjoying this hilarious display of torture & comedy. To make matters harder, the singing was awful. Off beat, out of tune...I mean c'mon my people. I remember standing there, with my Santa bag in one arm, gift wrap core, make shift cane in another, yelling something along the lines of "c'mon guys lemme hear you sing!!" I did a couple more sick ass dance moves, then pulled Kakod in to dance with me. She immediately responded with a "what are you doing!" insisting I don't drag her into the awkward spectacle I was orchestrating. Little did she know how awkward it was about to get.
I asked her if she had been a good girl this year and she said she had, she was right. I checked my list, twice. So I bent over into my bag, reached in and grabbed the little white box that had the rest of our lives together in it, got down and asked Kakod if she would marry me. After what seemed like hours of tears, laughter, and paparazzi-style photography, my Kakod made me whole, and accepted the invitation to spend the rest her life with me. Far more than what I deserve, this year, The Lord gave me the greatest gift of all, and on His own birthday at that. A Merry Christmas indeed.