Cari's Cravetastic Coffee Cake and the Hostess with the Mostess (plates to serve, that is)

One big benefit to the numerous coffee mornings I go to with friends is the ability to sample new and exciting treats. My friend, Cari, made the most wonderful coffee cake recently and I have been spreading the word about it. It was the most perfect coffee cake in texture in flavor that I have ever had. With a ribbon of fruit filling and a crunchy streusel topping as well as that hint of glaze, you will be craving it as well.

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Let them eat cake!

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I have made it twice already in the week and a half that she gave me the recipe. She made it with apple pie filling, but I could only get my hands on strawberry. It was darn tasty too, but the apples, oh! The second time I made it, I went to recipezaar and found a really easy recipe for apple pie fillingwhich I cooked up just for this cake. The variations are endless. Next time, I am going to make it with my homemade banana marmalade .

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Fruits on a plate

Tea on a tray

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Jordanians tend to go for a less sweet cake and I think this fills the bill quite well. I served it for my in-laws this week . It went along nicely with the coffee, tea, fruits, bizzer (seeds and nuts), and chocolates. But sadly, they all left before the last cup of coffee was served. I love playing hostess, but my timing is always off for my Arab guests. Inshallah, they feel welcome at my house. I shall keep trying!

Cari's Apple Nut Coffee Cake

Cake

1/2 cup butter softened

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

3 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup milk

1 can apple pie filling

2 tsp ground cinnamon

Streusel Topping

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

2 tbs butter melted

Glaze

3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
3/4 tsp vanilla
2-3 tsp water
In large bowl cream butter and sugar. Beat eggs. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Pour half into a greased 13x 9 in. baking dish. Combine pie filling and cinnamon; spoon over batter (She adds a little sugar and dash of nutmeg). Drop remaining batter over filling. Spread gently.
Combine topping ingredients. Sprinkle over batter.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 min. or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on rack.
Drizzle glaze over cooled cake.

People are People Wherever You Go. . .

even when it comes to making a good cup of joe!

This morning, while searching for a chocolate zucchini cake recipe, I came across a list of hints from Heloise that were once copied by my grandmother in her looseleaf binder slash recipe book. Her children and grandchildren each have a copy shop bound 8 1/2 x 11 book of her recipes in her handwriting. My father and brother put it together so that there would be no squabbles among the womenfolk in our family; everyone treasured Gramma's recipes.
The tip that stood out to me today was this:

Secret of Instant Coffee: Bring water to boil. Then put instant coffee into water. Bring water to boil again. Let coffee sit for a minute or two. Then pour.

Interestingly, that is the same way you make Turkish coffee. My mother in law taught me some sixteen years ago in the same manner. Turkish coffee is a finely ground blend of medium and dark roasts mixed with some ground cardamom for flavor. However, it is not instant; you end up with those fine grounds settling like dregs in the bottom of your demitasse cup. In polite society, you can hold your saucer in one hand, cup in the other with your pinky raised to the heavens. Small sips from small cups, big flavor. If you are a smoker, like a large percentage of the population here in Jordan, it is ritual, a moment to be savored.
An interesting fact about coffee is that it is an Arabic invention. According to1001inventions.com:

The earliest cup of coffee was made in Yemen by a group of Sufis, who boiled the beans and drunk it to help them stay awake all night in prayers and remembrance of God (Allah) as early as 9th century. A group of their students took it to Cairo using it in their study circles at the al-Azhar university. From there the habit of drinking coffee took off in most Middle Eastern countries and by 13th century it reached Turkey.
Europe did not taste coffee until the 16th century first landing at Italy imported by Venetian merchants, who traded with Muslims in North Africa, Egypt and the East. The merchants first introduce the drink as a luxurious beverage destined for Venetian rich, charging them a considerable amount of money. This is how coffee first appeared in 1570 in Venetian ports quickly spreading to Venetian markets.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEx-bLgG8Ds]
Now if you go out to a restaurant here and order an American coffee, you better specify that you want it brewed or you might end up with the double the amount of the worst brand of instant which could only be consumed with large amounts of sugar and milk. Don't be fooled by the beautiful cup in which it is most likely to be served. If you like black coffee, you may as well forget it.
The lack of great brewed coffee at ordinary prices is why gatherings among my mostly American friends here in Jordan would not be complete without American coffee. Personally I prefer instant, in my case it truly is. I have a water cooler with constantly hot water available at all times. I have a coffee pot reserved for the special times that my friends come over. This week, though, my friends caught me off guard with an impromptu surprise birthday party at my house. They were forced to drink instant. Yesterday, I also had some friends over, but still no coffee.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_Gtb1kElRk]
If this keeps up, it looks like I will have to use Heloise's tip and force them to take the Folger's challenge. I really need to get to the grocery store more, I can't leave important decisions like coffee up to supermarket delivery. Well, the cake is ready. You better hurry on over if you want a piece. I'll make you a cup of coffee to go with it. It'll be ready in an instant. Really.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup yogurt or sour milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
6 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups grated or pureed zucchini

Beat eggs. Whisk in sugar. Add oil, yogurt and vanilla. Sift dry ingredients together. Add to egg mixture. Fold in zucchini, mixing well. Pour into greased and floured tube pan. (I do not take responsibility if you decide to use a Bundt pan.) Bake for 50-60 minutes in 350 degree oven. Let cool 10 minutes. Remove from tube pan. Enjoy!

Sweet Dreams of Fudge

Today my kids enjoyed the last day of their holiday with friends. This was a first for me and I could really get used to a quiet house. My oldest is fifteen and has never had a babysitter outside of after school care when she was five. My youngest does not start school until next year, which means that I have never had a moment's real peace in all that time.
The twins were invited to go play with their cousins and the oldest took the youngest along with her to play with her friend's sister. The first thing I did when I returned from dropping them off was put on a playlist of MY favorite music. The music streamed through the house as I cleaned the bathrooms and kitchen. The smell of lemon Ajax wafted through the house.
My original plan was to sit down with a mug of coffee and a good book but with the couch all mine and no kids thinking I was the cushiest cushion to sit on, I stretched out my legs and relaxed. The coffee could wait and my eyes were getting heavy on the pages of my novel. I set it aside and curled up under a fuzzy blanket for a nap.
My dreams are often as amusing as any book I've read and today's was no different. I dreamt of making creamy chocolate fudge just like the kind my aunt makes and gives to her loved ones including me! Every year she makes batch after batch of fudge: chocolate, chocolate walnut, chocolate peanut butter, peanut butter and butterscotch. No one makes better fudge. Here is her recipe from the back of the marshmallow creme jar.
Fantasy Fudge
3 cups sugar
2/3 cup (6 oz. can) evaporated milk
1/4 cup margarine (or butter)
2 - 6 oz. packages semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 jar Kraft marshmallow creme
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts
Combine sugar, milk, margarine in a large saucepan. Cook to soft ball stage (238 degrees F), stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in chocolate chips, marshmallow creme, vanilla and nuts. Beat until well blended. Pour into greased 13"x9"x2" pan. Cool and cut.

A Well Seasoned Greeting

One thing about holidays worth looking forward to is the traditional baking and cooking that goes along with it. I married into a family of great cooks, but I was born into a family of great bakers! Certain members of the family perfected certain recipes, and we would all come together during Christmas to share our goodies. Gramma B. made amazing sugar cookies with frosting, decorated by her grandchildren. Gramma C. made rock candy, covered in powdered sugar. Aunt Helen is most famous for her fudge, Aunt Marilyn for her holiday Chex Mix and Mexican wedding cakes, Aunt Bonnie for her pumpkin roll. The cookie creations done under our roof included chocolate crinkles, thumbprints, and other cookies from my mother's recipe file.
My husband is convinced that good cooks are a sign of a generous person. One such person that I know, if the converse of this motto rings true, must be the best baker ever. I've been keeping track of her long list of cookies, cakes and pies by way of her facebook status updates. Here it is in alphabetical order, no less, so as not to favor one sweet over another: Apple pie, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate crinkles, lemonade cookies, magic middles, Mexican Wedding balls, peanut butter, peanut butter chip, pecan swirl cookies, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pie, pumpkin rolls, and sugar cookies. She starts her baking in November right on up to Christmas. She was also generous enough to share her recipe for Magic Middles, a chocolate peanut butter cookie on the outside, and a surprise blast of peanut butter on the inside. I am planning on making these very soon. Here is her recipe:

Magic Peanut Butter Middles
1 1/2 cups flour 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup baking cocoa 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 egg
1/2 cup margarine, softened 3/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup peanut butter 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/s cup sugar

Mix flour, baking cocoa and baking soda in small bowl. Cream margarine, 1/4 cup peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar in large mixer bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and egg. Add dry ingredients; mix well and set aside. Blend 3/4 cup peanut butter and confectioners' sugar in small bowl. Shape into thirty 1-inch balls. Shape reserved dough by tablespoonfuls around balls, enclosing completely. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Press with bottom of glass dipped in additional sugar to flatten. Bake @ 375' until set with slight cracks. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool completely. Yield: 2 1/2 dozen.

**I take about a tablespoon of the chocolate dough and flatten it in the palm of my hand and then put the ball in the center and wrap the dough around it, pinching off any extra dough.

**** And we have found with our Oven that our baking time is 8 minutes.

the more you toot the better you feel . . .

That word toot reminds me of a little ditty we used to sing as children:

Beans, beans, the musical fruit.
The more you eat them, the more you toot.
The more you toot the better you feel,
So let's eat beans for every meal.

So, in honor of this auspicious occasion I am reposting my blog on beans:
A friend of mine passed this along and I am still chuckling when I think about it. I was planning on writing about food today, so today's topic will be baked beans.
Baked Beans - This is hilarious!

One day I met a sweet gentleman and fell in love. When it became apparent that we would marry, I made the supreme sacrifice and gave up beans. Some months later, on my birthday, my car broke down on the way home from work. Since I lived in the countryside I called my husband and told him that I would be late because I had to walk home.
On my way, I passed by a small diner and the odor of baked beans was more than I could stand. With miles to walk, I figured that I would walk off any ill effects by the time I reached home, so I stopped at the diner and before I knew it, I had consumed
three large orders of baked beans. All the way home, I made sure that I released ALL the gas.
Upon my arrival, my husband seemed excited to see me and exclaimed delightedly: "Darling I have a surprise for dinner tonight!" He then blindfolded me and led me to my chair at the dinner table. I took a seat and just as he was about to remove my blindfold, the telephone rang. He made me promise not to touch the blindfold until he returned and went to answer the call. The baked beans I had consumed were still affecting me and the pressure was becoming most unbearable, so while my husband was out of the room I seized the opportunity, shifted my weight to one leg and let one go. It was not only loud, but it smelled like a fertilizer truck running over a skunk in front of a pulpwood mill. I took my napkin from my lap and fanned the air around me vigorously. Then, shifting to the other cheek, I ripped off three more.
The stink was worse than cooked cabbage!!!
Keeping my ears carefully tuned to the conversation in the other room, I went on like this for another few minutes. The pleasure was indescribable. When eventually the telephone farewells signaled the end of my freedom, I quickly fanned the air a few more times with my napkin, placed it on my lap and folded my hands back on it feeling very relieved and pleased with myself. My face must have been the picture of innocence when my husband returned, apologizing for taking so long. He asked me if I had peeked through the blindfold, and I assured him I had not.
At this point, he removed the blindfold, and twelve dinner guests seated around the table chorused: "Happy Birthday!" I fainted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, I still can't stop laughing at the thought. I could never give up beans. Living in Jordan, we eat hummus and falafel constantly. My kids couldn't be happier than the days when lunch is hot dogs and baked beans. Neither could I because it is the easiest to prepare! Never do we eat them just out of the can. Although in the states you can find great canned baked beans, like Bush's vegetarian, if you were to find them here you would pay dearly. Spicing them up is quite easy. Just add a nice spoon of brown sugar, and a squirt of mustard. I always add a small container of tomato paste to to make it saucier. Sopping up fresh bread in the sauce is so tasty. Sometimes I add barbecue sauce or liquid smoke.

Fasoolya Bayda

Another no fail meal at my house is an Arabic stew called Fasoolya Bayda, or white beans. If you have a pressure cooker, it is a very fast meal to prepare. Here is the recipe:
1 lb. stew beef (you can always adjust this amount to your liking. We have been using 1/2 these days)
2 tablespoons corn oil
1 small can or box of tomato paste
2 teaspoons bharrat (mixed spices, you could simply add cumin, cinnamon, coriander, a tiny bit of cloves)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (more or less to taste, but don't leave it out!)
3 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 large can crushed tomatoes, or about 6 fresh tomatoes, chopped
2 cups water
2 cans your choice of white bean (cannellini, navy, Great Northern beans) I prefer the biggest I can find, they are so creamy and soothing especially on a cold winter day
Heat oil in large pot. Sear beef by cooking a few minutes before stirring. Stir and sear other side. Add tomato paste and spices and stir well. Add chopped tomatoes and water. Simmer for a couple of hours until meat is very tender, or if using a pressure cooker, cook for 10 minutes after the pressure has risen. Drain beans and add to stew. Heat through. Serve over rice.

Makin' The Mansaf Illustrated

Some time ago, I told my sister that my husband asked some people over for mansaf. She asked, "Mansaf? What is that? A dish? A holiday?" I can say a bit of both. It is definitely an occasion when you make or are invited for mansaf. So I thought I would illustrate it through photos.

Skimmin' the scum, as long as there's some - 

a clear broth is a tasty broth!

Simmerin' the meat, four hours on low heat - 

lamb on the bone simmered til mistawee (soft)

Gratin' the jameed, a smooth texture we need - 

Jameed is basically dried yogurt balls.

Losin' count of the steps that it takes for food prep - 

soak the rice, soak the jameed, fry the pine nuts and almonds

Strainin' the broth and cleanin' the lamb will make your guests' 

tastebuds happy as a clam - This is really the difference between 

great mansaf and mansaf.

Two pots for rice should hopefully suffice - there WILL be leftovers, 

on that you can be sure, but presentation is everything, 

less is definitely not more. The short grained rice is cooked 

with salt, a little oil, and turmeric to make them think 

you put that fatty semneh (clarified butter), and the lamb broth.

Layerin' it on a silver platter so your guests can all get fatter! - 

The rice is layered over very thin bread and covered with a smidgen of broth 

that has been cooked with jameed. Next comes the lamb pieces,

the fried pine nuts and almonds and more of the jameed.

After fulfillin' their stomachs' wishes, all that's left is the dishes.

Cleanin' up after mansaf, soap is not enough. 

You need lemons to get out that lamby smellin' stuff.

When it comes to eatin' mansaf, you gotta eat it with your hands. 

It's what separates the womans from the mans. 

- Rod eating his first mensaf when he was just two

Eight Ball Zucchini - How Darling

I came across this recipe for stuffed zucchini (cousa) and was struck by the shape of the squash. I sure wish we could find this in Jordan, maybe I would find myself making this cherished Jordanian dish more often.
I recently posted a recipe for stuffed cousa on recipezaar. I got my first rating on that dish. Sadly, I only got 3 stars out of five because I cooked it in tomato sauce, the only way I eat it. The reviewer left out the turmeric so as not to yellow her fingers, a big mistake, as I imagine a bland stuffed cousa would be like eating a dirty dishrag.
I have been wondering ever since, how do other families prepare their cousa mashi? In tomato sauce? In broth? In jameed? I would love to hear how you eat yours. And if you happen to look at my recipe, and it looks like yours, would you kindly rate it for me? 3 stars just will not do for my mother in law's famous stuffed cousa.