Vanilla Cupcakes with the best frosting

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Actually I didn't choose the name, it is known as the best frosting you've ever had. I personally loved it. I can't eat a lot of frosting in cakes in general, and I do prefer plain cakes or the simple not too sweet little frosting, but whenever I use this recipe, I can finish my whole cupcake and have another one as well lol..I made the cupcakes with my favourite recipe. I did it specially for a relative and my neighbour who both had baby boys. So I got their newborns an outfit, and thought of making these cakes with a BLUE frosting, but I don't know why did the colour I used which was blue, turned into green :D..Anyway, my relative said she loved it alhamdulilah..I didn't see my neighbour yet so I hope she did like the cupcakes.

Cupcake recipe (yields 30 cupcakes):

200 g butter

1 cup caster sugar

4 eggs

3 cups self-raising flour

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

cupcakes waiting, the ones on the left corner had smarties in them, I didn't frost them

Frosting:

5 Tablespoons flour

1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 cup granulated white sugar (which I like best about this frosting, you don't need icing sugar).

this is the milk and flour waiting to cool to be mixed with vanilla+butter+sugar

yes!!! granulated sugar

Diversity is beautiful, mandazi

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم..

Isn't it,, I mean we have this African (East African) version of doughnuts (doughnuts will be the English translation, I guessed/learnt from googling) and in Oman as one of the popular and very common food known by everybody..

I've been asking many relatives for the perfect recipe, and believe me I have passed though loads of trial and error phase, till I made my favourite recipe/and tips,

Ingredients:

2 full cups of all-purpose flour (and more for kneading)

6-7 tbs granulated sugar

1/2 tsp cardamom powder

2 tbs milk powder

2 tbs oil (you might need extra for kneading)

1 tbs yeast

about 3/4 cup water

Method:

• start by adding the yeast into 1/4 cup water, mix well till it dissolves
• mix the rest of the ingredients together (except water), add the yeast water, knead and add the rest of the water as you knead
• your dough consistency is very important, I have given you the ingredients but as you knead, you have to have a soft dough but not sticky, a too hard dough result in a very heavy mandazi which has no air inside, and a too soft dough will give you an empty inside and quite hard. We want ours to be in between
• knead for 7-10 minutes.
• divide the dough into three balls, roll them but don't make them thin, see picture below..
• cut them with a sharp knife, you will get 18 pieces.

• now flour them and cover them with a cloth for about 30 minutes or till they rise a bit, we don't want them to rise too much
• at this step you can freeze them, arrange them on a try into the freeze, and as they freeze you can put them in one sealed bag. to make them again take them out of the freezer, let them reach the room temperature, but don't let them rise again, and fry them
• put a deep frying pan on a high heat, make sure it is high, start putting your shapes into the oil, keep it really fast here because otherwise you can get a really dark mandazi or even burnt, they take less than a minute/or about a minute to be ready

• they should be covered in oil, when they puff, turn them, let them for few seconds, and turn again, as you get the brown colour and the puffiness, take them out into a sieve which you covered with a tissue for the excess oil

• when they cool, you can also wrap them in a container, and freeze them, they will still taste and feel fresh when you use them later..
• served with tea only, or with honey, or with curries...

I've been doing some reading on food photography, it is amazing, I wish I could be a pro on that..

Chicken Stew

بسم الله الرحمـــن الرحيم

Yes, I managed to get some light to shoot this picture..which makes me feel satisfied..:)

Ok, I've to ramble a bit about the dish I am posting, chicken stew is one of the essential dishes in our immediate family, and by that I mean my house, my parents' house and my in-law's house :)...

It is also one of the main dishes that woman who just gave birth will have..almost everyday,,but with extra pepper in...alone or with rice..

Ingredients:

1 kg chicken (preferably fresh and with some fat in)

2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into four pieces

1 tomato, peeled and cut into small pieces

8 garlic gloves, mashed

1 tbs mashed ginger (by now you'd notice that ginger and garlic are essential in my kitchen:D)

1 spring onion, cut into small pieces

1/2 tsp black pepper (preferably freshly grounded)

1 carrot (you can also add cauliflower, I didn't have it)

salt

chili (optional)

coriander

3 tbs lemon juice

water for cooking

كيلو دجاج

حبتين بطاطا مقطعة مكعبات

حبة طماطم مقشرة ومقطعة لقطع صغيرة

8 فصوص ثوم مهروسة

ملعقة طعام زنجبيل مهروس

بصلة (spring onion) مقطعة قطع صغيرة

نصف ملعقة شاي فلفل اسود

حبة جزر

ملح

فلفل

اوراق كزبرة

عصير ليمون

Method:

• add mashed garlic, ginger, salt, and pepper to the chicken in a pan
• add water to the chicken, an amount that just covers the chicken
• cook over medium heat, and add the potatoes
• cook for around 10 minutes covered, then add tomato, and cover for five minutes
• add carrot/and any other vegetables you like
• add the spring onion, lemon juice, chili and then coriander leaves
• cool and serve

Not happy with my photographs

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

This blog should be my most active blog,, that's because unless I am out for a while or traveling, I cook every single day!!..

However,,,,I am just annoyed about the qualities of my photos...Well my hubby has a good camera and he just bought an extra wonderful lens mashallah...

BUT (a big sighhhh), my kitchen has the worst lightning. Pictures will look like out of this century, In general the windows of our place are small....The other problem is when I cook at night I just can't get any good light to get a good pic...:S...I am not happy at all about this....so Unless I can get some good photos (maybe by moving around with my food to all my place's rooms or even go outside lol),, I will not be posting much recipes..:S

Another problem is our internet connection..we had a new connection and it's turtle slow..I can't spend ages waiting for pictures to upload..*sigh*..

Till then...I will be enjoying cooking, eating..but not much food blogging...

Grilled Chicken Skewers

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

I love this dish, really love it. It is easy to make, takes short preparation time, and it is delicious. Em, maybe I wouldn't be able to convince you till you attempt making it yourself :)..

Ingredients:

1 kg chicken breast, cut into squares

to marinate the chicken you need:

1 garlic, around 8 cloves, mashed

1 tbs ginger mashed

salt+ pepper+ and chili (which is optional)

2-3 tbs lemon juice

2-3 tbs olive oil

Two medium tomatoes cut into four pieces

Two onions cut into four pieces

One sweet pepper cut into medium pieces (I didn't have it this time but I always use it)

short wooden skewers

Method:

• Marinate your chicken, you can let it rest for a couple of hours, but it is up to you

• thread on skewers your chicken pieces and the vegetables

• grill in OVEN on moderate to high degree for around 30-40 minutes, turning them around every often.The method is shown on the picture

• Serve with humus (which am going to share the recipe with you soon inshalla), salad, and Arabic bread

So soft cupcakes with cheese icing

بسم الله الرحمــن الرحيم

I know, I am so bad in choosing a title for my post..It is really hard for me thinking of an attractive title..:D..

I didn't intend to post this cupcakes and their icing, because it was my first time attempt in this icing so I thought it might be a disaster in a hot weather like here, even with all the air-conditioning, well it was quite soft and it didn't stand high and proud..but the result was good..and I loved the taste...:) I didn't take many pictures for the mentioned reason..

Cupcake recipe:

200 g butter

1 cup caster sugar

4 eggs

3 cups self-raising flour

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp orange rind

• preheat oven to 175-180 degrees
• beat butter, sugar until fluffy
• add eggs and vanilla and orange rind and continue beating
• add in milk, flour and beat for a short period or stair with a spoon
• drop batter into cupcake cases, bake for around 20 minutes.
• let them cool totally before adding the icing

Icing ingredients: adapted from here:

1 8oz pkg of cream cheese - room temperature, divided in three parts
2 tablespoons unsalted cold butter
1 tablespoon shortening
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar

(I used less because I did make half of the cupcake ingredients and didn't frost all of them)

• I mixed the butter and sugar till fluffy and light, and added the rest of the ingredients while the original recipe asks you to add the rest alternately, which I didn't notice till I finished :D..

Tuna and Pasta

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Sometimes I wonder if I should post specific dishes, they are too simple maybe to share with you my friends. But then I think this is my space and maybe I should post everything I cook, someone MIGHT like one of my Simple dishes, maybe?

This dish is one of my favourite, of course as long as there is pasta in a dish it is my favourite.

However my favourite pasta is not all favourite for my hubby, he can eat it but doesn't enjoy it as much as I do. He is into authentic dishes, and can resist some changes in our menu :D.. Therefore I often do it when he is not there, it is easy and so fast, it can take you around half an hour to get it ready, you can substitute it with chicken or minced meat..anyway lets start..

Ingredients:

Pasta (around two glasses), any kind you prefer

One tin of tuna (In the gulf, I love al-alali tuna most, they're tasty)

1 medium-sized onion

2 onion gloves (mashed)

3 tbs olive oil

one tomato cut into small dices

1/2 tbs tomato puree

Around half a glass shredded carrot (one small carrot or half medium one)

Half a glass of sweet corn (optional)

Coriander/or parsley

Lemon juice/salt/pepper (the amount you prefer)

Chili sauce/powder (optional)

cheese (cheddar and/or cream) optional

المقادير:

كوبين معكرونة

علبة تونة

بصلة متوسطة

فصين ثوم مهروسين

3 ملاعق طعام زيت زيتون

طماطة مقطعة إلى مربعات

ملعقة او ملعقتين طعام معجون طماطم

نصف كوب جزر مبشور

نصف كوب ذرة

بقدونس او كزبرة

عصير ليمون- ملح-فلفل اسود او حار

جبن كريم او تشيدر

Method:

• Boil the pasta as the way directed on the packet, I prefer boiling them a bit longer, as you boil pasta add a teaspoon of oil to avoid it sticking to each other
• add the olive oil in your frying pan, add garlic and onion to it. fry till onion is soft and tender
• add tomato and the puree and cover for five minutes or till it is almost soft
• now add the carrot, sweet corn and tuna
• cover for another five minutes
• add salt/pepper/chili/coriander leaves
• add lemon and cook for another one minute
• optional, add cream cheese or cheddar at this point and cool to serve

Rolls

بسم الله الرحمــن الرحيم

Recipe adapted from My Kitchen Cafe but with few changes, Million thanks to the lady who has provided the recipe.It is so soft mashallah.

Ingredients:

5-6 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tbs yeast

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1 tsp salt

2/3 cup powdered milk

2 cups water

المقادير:

5-6 أكواب طحين

ملعقة طعام ونصف خميرة

ثلث كوب سكر

ثلث كوب زبدة لينة

بيضة واحدة

ملعقة شاي ملح

ثلثي كوب حليب بودرة

كوبين ماء

Method:

• Mix butter, sugar, salt, powdered milk, egg and two cups flour, knead till you have a smooth texture.
• add remaining flour gradually while you knead, the dough will be very soft.
• I did need for nearly 10 minutes and than covered it
• Let it double, I let it rest for around two hours but you wouldn't need all that time.
• The picture shows what you should do next

• brush your rectangle with melted butter
• Roll each rectangle
• Arrange them on your baking tray and let them rest for about half an hour
• Bake for around 15-20 minutes

My favourite cookies

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

I looooove these cookies, and when I make them, they only last for less than an hour as me and my kids finish them off as soon as they're cooled...:D

Ingredients:

150 g butter

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup caster (white) sugar

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips

المقادير:

150 غم زبدة

كوب ونصف طحين بالخميرة

ربع كوب سكر اسمر

ثلث كوب سكر ابيض مطحون

صفار بيضة

ملعقة شاي فانيلا

كوب حبيبات الشكولاته

Method:

• Using a mixer, beat butter, sugars and yolk until creamy

• add flour and chips, mix with your hand or stir with a spoon

• roll mixture (around one tbs) into ball, press each ball

• Bake for 15 minutes
• tip: as my cookies bake in the oven, I further press them so they are not very thick in the middle.

Loaf or roll, what should I call it??

بسم الله الرحمــن الرحيم

I love this loaf, it is soft inside and kind of crispy outside. These ingredients should give you two medium-sized loaf, I've done one and it came out huge, but nonetheless, I really liked it.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tbs olive oil

1 tbs brown sugar (I've seen it used in many bread-baking so I gave it a try)

1 tbs yeast

1 tsp salt

around 1 and 1/4 cups water

Method:

• Mix water and yeast
• Mix flour, sugar and salt. Add water and yeast, and knead
• Add oil and knead for around 10 minutes
• sprinkle flour on the dough and cover for one hour

sorry I don't have a picture before the doubling of size

• After one hour, roll the dough into a long-shaped bread and cover for other 30 minutes
• Now cut the top of the loaf using a knife into three lines
• Bake the dough for around 40 minutes or until it is ready
• leave to cool before serving

I know it is a bit pale, but I am an impatient person.

Pasta & Milk

بسم الله الرحمـن الرحيم..

My boy loves pasta, but only with milk and sweet. It is fast to make, and it can be a breakfast or afternoon meal. I don't know if this dish exist anywhere besides my family's house. Does anyone know?

Ingredients:

1 cup pasta

1 1/2 cup milk

sugar + cardamom powder

معكرونة بالحليب

المقادير:

كوب معكرونة

كوب ونصف حليب

سكر وهيل مطحون

Method:

• Cook the pasta in the usual way, sieve and return it back to the pan.
• Add milk, sugar and cardamom the amount you prefer
• let it boil for few minutes, cool and serve

Cookies

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

I found the original recipe from this blog, I changed it a bit.

Ingredients:

3 cups flour (add more if the dough is too soft to handle)

1 cup butter

1 1/4 cups icing sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp salt

المقادير:

3 اكواب طحين (اضيفي المزيد إذا كانت العجينة لينة وصعبة التقطيع بعد العجن)

كوب زبدة

كوب وربع سكر ناعم مطحون

بيضة واحدة مخفوقة

ملعقة شاي فانيلا

ملعقة شاي ملح

Method:

• Cream butter, add sugar and blend till fluffy
• Add egg and vanilla and blend for 1 minute
• Add flour and salt and mix by hand

• Roll dough on a floured surface
• cut into shapes you like and bake in a preheated oven at 165 degrees for around 10 minutes

Chicken with vegetables

بسم الله الرحمـــن الرحيــم

In our culture, heavy fried spicy food is popular and you get hundreds of recipes which include oil And loads of oil. I remember I had one of my husband's cousin with her family in my place, and she couldn't believe that this dish can be tasty without adding all the spices and frying all the ingredients, but she was convinced afterwards.

Personally I can't cope with really spicy food although occasionally I'd have some.

This is a very easy dish (I like easy dishes) and it is great with rice or bread (who can live without these two= that won't be me).

Ingredients:

1 kg chicken (a whole chicken or any part, I used thighs here)

To marinate the chicken you need: 8 garlic cloves mashed+1 tbs mashed ginger+salt+ pepper

two medium potatoes cut into squares

1 onion

1 carrot

1 tomato diced

1 small sweet pepper

(I always add tomato and potato, the other vegetables go in if I have them)

The juice of two lemon

Coriander

المقادير:

كيلو دجاج

لتتبيلة الدجاج:

8 فصوص ثوم مهروسة+ ملعقة طعام زنجبيل مهروس+ ملح+ فلفل

حبتين بطاطا

حبة بصل

حبة جزر

حبة طماطم

حبة فلفل حلو

عصير ليمونتين

كزبرة

Method

• Marinate the chicken, mix with the potatoes and put it on a pan over a law heat and cover the pan.
  

• keep checking it and if it gets dry, add little bit of water
• when it is nearly done, add tomato, carrot, green pepper and cover
• when it is done, add lemon and coriandar
• if you would prefer it dry, bake it in a preheated oven for 15 minutes or so