Spiced Iced Tea

It is no question now that we now know how the government is dealing with the citizens of the country. After the 4th of August, we, or at least I, have removed the expectations bar all-together as I know we’re gonna find a new low (not to be confused with LAW) with every passing week.

It’s been almost 2 months since the explosion and no results from the investigation, no one detained, none of those who manage the Port are held accountable, NOTHING but a rising number of victims from those dying due to their injuries and complications.

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Sourdough Bread

I recently read an article about how and why most of us resorted to baking during quarantine. Whether is it anxiety baking or procrastibaking, as the article states, it is an activity that we enjoy to let time pass during confinement and have a good delicious product, that is usually more delicious because we made it ourselves.

Sourdough bread recipe Bakalian mills cookin5m2 -EOS 5D Mark IV_1650

I was never really into baking bread. I LOVE eating bread, but when it comes to making it, whether it is our local thin chewy pita bread or a good crusty loaf, my motto was (a literal translation of an Arabic saying) buying it rather than raising it. That was until confinement hit us and I decided to start raising my bacteria pet: Quarant7ino (the 7 reads as the other H sound in Arabic, and t7in/t-hin means flour)
Yes, I started a sourdough starter from scratch.
I did a lot of research and checked out different sources, watched videos, read articles, asked people, got helpful replies and tips on instagram, looked into different flours and methods, and now I am finally able to say
I MADE A GOOD LOAF Continue reading “Sourdough Bread” →

Pickled Wild Thyme

I made this recipe more than a year ago.
I haven’t shared recipes on the blog all the way from July 2019 to May 1st 2020. Things that kept me away ranged from getting sick to full on clown rehearsals followed by the trip and performances in Barcelona as part of a HUGE festival, then getting back home to the major instability starting from October till now.
I made and shot many recipes, prepared them and stored them away on a piece of paper or in my brain or on my hard drive. I know that at some point, I’ll share them, and here is one from the archives that deserves to see the light.

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This post might sound melancholic.
It is.
I want us, through this post, to go back in time when things seemed more “normal” on the surface. Continue reading “Pickled Wild Thyme” →

Plum Jam

I haven’t been cooking and shooting lately, but I have enough stock to allow me to post archive recipes for some time. As long as I have the mindset to write and edit and publish, I’m safe, and you’re getting recipes 😂
So here it goes

I made this last year and I was experimenting with some dark moody photography but it’s such a pity that I kept these photos stored for a year now. I probably shared one photo as part of a trio of dark moody light tests on Instagram, but the rest are now to be shared.

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Strawberry Jam

Let’s move down the spectrum from yellow and orange to RED.

Strawberry season might be over around here, but I have another long lost jars of preserves that I had to look for and unearth from the abyss of lost jars.

I remember making this jam a couple of years ago when I got a few crates of strawberries and sat on the floor with legs crossed washing the strawberries, picking the stems off, and cutting them in half. Just like zesting the whole crate of lemons, this task is kind of relieving for me as it takes my mind off things for a while.

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I asked mom for the recipe she used to use when she made jams. Usually one would use the same weight of fruits in sugar, but it differs depending on the sweetness or tartness of the fruits. I don’t thing there is a problem in adding more sugar, except maybe getting an overly sweet jam overpowering the flavor of the fruits. But adding less sugar will make the jam rot easily. Therefore, for strawberries, I used 800g per 1 kilogram, and some of them have been sitting on the shelf since I made them in 2017 – hides his face Continue reading “Strawberry Jam” →