Lebanese Lubbe

comfort food for me, without a doubt is lebanese food.

my grandma was lebanese and growing up we would travel across the state to whidbey island and we would always be greeted with a huge lebanese meal, homemade by my sittee (sit-tey). kibbe, hummus, nusli, lubbe, bhaba ganoush, fatosh and so much more yumminess. (side note: i'm sure i've spelled most of those wrong, but spelling doesn't count here...taste totally does ;0)

my mom has continued the tradition of serving delicious lebanese food during holiday meals. we have a huge thanksgiving dinner full of both american and lebanese food, and it's probably one of my favorite times of year. this year, i made her send me each and every lebanese recipe she has so i can master cooking these recipes as well.

the best part about it, is that most of the dishes are super easy. they just take a little time, like most comfort foods do. the first recipe i made on my own is probably my absolute favorite lebanese comfort food ever...lubbe served over rice.

this is so easy and so delicious and is made with a single pot! how easy is that?

Lebanese Lubbe

2 lbs lamb shanks
2 lbs french string beans
2 large white onions, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 28 oz cans of tomato sauce
2 28 oz cans of diced tomatoes
1/2 c water
salt and pepper to taste
cinnamon to taste
2 tbsp olive oil

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Place the lamb shanks into the pot and brown on all sides. About 10 minutes. Add the garlic, onions, salt, pepper and cinnamon and saute for another 5 minutes (or until the onions are translucent). Add the 1/2 c water and cook for about 10 minutes.

Add the diced tomatoes and stir well. Add the green beans and tomato sauce and cover the pot with a lid. Let cook for 2-3 hours or until the meat falls off the bone.

Serve over rice pilaf.

Enjoy!

Pork Chops with Apples & Garlic Mashed Potatoes

so i'm not sure if anyone noticed, but i had sort of become a major slacker in the whole cooking department. seems that with our busy schedules of late, finding new and exciting (and sometimes healthy) dinners to put on the table on any given night can get rather difficult. at least for me.

but i've changed my ways! and my poor husband is so happy that i'm once again cooking up a storm in the kitchen. first up is a yummy (and healthy!) recipe from the food network that also is a perfect fall meal. pork chops with granny smith apples and red onions in an apple cider sauce with a side of garlic mashed potatoes.

what sounds better than that? and did i mention that it's healthy too! there's no cream or butter in this bad boy...only a little bit of heart healthy olive oil.

and the best part is that it all comes together in about 40 minutes (cooking time included!) so you'll have time to hit the gym after too :)

check out the recipe over at foodnetwork.com

Smitten Kitchen's Carrot Cake Cupcakes

i am learning that when it comes to desserts, my husband likes two things...no LOVES two things. cookies and carrot cake. if i can find a way to turn carrot cake into a cookie, i think he might marry me all over again. i'm working on it ;0)

i had some spare time on my hands this past weekend (read: it was Sunday, which meant husband was watching football) and we had all the ingredients on hand for carrot cake (thanks CSA basket and your never ending supply of carrots) so i whipped up a batch of carrot cake cupcakes for husband to take to work with him (so i didn't eat them all myself).

they were delicious. but of course they were because i used the recipe from smitten kitchen, and well everything i make from her is mouth wateringly good. i skipped out on the nuts and raisins (i'm not a big fan of nuts or dried fruit in my desserts) and made a simple cream cheese frosting instead of the maple cream cheese frosting (only because i think cream cheese frosting is sweet enough on its own).

husband came home with rave reviews from his co-workers (score one for the home team!) and i may or may not have scored a back massage out of the deal. :)

head on over to smitten kitchen for the recipe!

Acorn Squash Gnocchi with Thyme Brown Butter Sauce

i got the bright idea to make homemade gnocchi on a friday evening after work. i started making said gnocchi before reading the entire recipe. you know the part that would have told me this was going to turn into a 4 hour process. lesson learned.

that being said, i'm so glad that i finished what i started because it was pretty damn good. they weren't pretty mind you. i don't know how all those fancy pasta chef's can make the their pasta so pretty because mine looked a little beat up, but who care what they look like if they taste good, right?

i don't. husband didn't mind it either. so it was a win win situation :)

i took the recipe from Bon Appetite for their butternut squash gnocchi with sage browned butter, and changed it up just slight. i had an acorn squash, so i used that...and i wasn't about to run to the store for some sage when i was already eating dinner at 10:30 at night, so i used some fresh thyme i had on hand instead.

it was pretty darn good.

head over to Bon Appetite for the recipe! happy monday folks!

Roasted CherryTomato Soup

our csa basket has been OVERFLOWING with tomatoes. seriously. we get close to 3 lbs (or more) of tomatoes on weekly basis and i've been running out of ideas. i've made endless amounts of caprese, thrown tomatoes in pastas and omellettes, topped my salads and sandwiches with them and everything else you can think of.

so it was sort of a DUH moment when i realized i haven't tried to make my own tomato soup with them. until now. and i'm so glad i did. because if you've never had fresh tomato soup and have only been eating it out of a can. you. are. missing. out.

roasting the tomatoes in the oven until the burst and then simmering with them in a simple vegetable broth and tossing a few fresh herbs (namely thyme) into it, makes this tomato soup so much better than anything you could ever find in a grocery aisle.

and the best part...so easy to make. it just takes a little time (mostly hands off time) while you wait for the tomatoes to roast.

and since we're just barely greeting fall (my absolute favorite time of the year) soup is a good idea. a very good idea.

Roasted Cherry Tomato Soup

2 lbs cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
6 garlic cloves, crushed or finely diced
2 c vegetable broth
1 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tbsp fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss cherry tomatoes with olive oil and garlic and lay out on a cookie sheet. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes or until the tomatoes burst and char slightly.

Meanwhile combine vegetable broth, maple syrup and thyme in a large pan. Remove tomatoes from the oven and add them to the broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes.

Pour the tomatoe broth mixture into a blender and blend until smooth. Top with more thyme, parmesan or eat by itself!

This will store in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

Enjoy!

Blueberry, Peach & Basil Crisp

when i was a kid, i was determined that when i grew up and could "eat whatever i want whenever i wanted" i had dreams of eating giant slices of chocolate cake for breakfast. topped with a heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream of course.

now that i'm an adult, and well, could do just that, it doesn't sound as appealing. well that and of course the fact that they don't tell you when you grow up, you'll no longer have the metabolism of an eleven year old. damn.

but you know what does sound appealing? a perfectly baked and bubbling blueberry peach and basil crisp served with a heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream (hey...some things don't change). and i can justify it for breakfast because (a) it's got fruit in it (b) it's got oatmeal in it and (c) i'm an adult so i can do what i want. ;0)

so when i made this for dessert this past weekend, i knew exactly what i was having for breakfast come monday morning.

blueberry, peach & basil crisp

3 peaches, peeled and chopped into 1 in squares
1 pint blueberries
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp sugar (if you like it sweeter double this)
1 small handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped

1 c oatmeal
1/2 c brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c all purpose flour
1 stick butter, room temp

vanilla ice cream
more basil for topping

preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

in a bowl, toss together your peaches, blueberries, basil, lemon juice and sugar and set aside. lightly butter and flour a 9x9 baking pan. pour your fruit mixture into the baking pan.

in another small bowl, mix together your oatmeal, brown sugar, cinnamon and flour. using your fingers combine the butter with your dry ingredients until the mixture is slightly crumbly. distribute evenly on top of your fruit mixture.

bake in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until the fruit is bubbling and the crisp on top is slightly browned.

serve immediately with vanilla ice cream and a few pieces of basil on top.

enjoy!

Life Lately...

according to my iPhone photos

chicken and waffles. hiking oregon. husband's a superhero (long story). camping prep. redwoods trip. poolside. timbers game. slutty brownies. avocado oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. day date.

Avocado Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

say what?!?!

yup! that's right! i put avocados in my oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. 

but why?!?! why ruin a perfectly good batch of delicious oatmeal chocolate chip cookies by putting avocados in them?!?! 

no i'm not crazy. and no it's not some weird pregnancy craving (and no i'm not pregnant!) 

but apparently putting avocados in everything is a thing. don't believe me? check out my avocado egg salad here,  or this recipe for avocado goat cheese crostini (side note: i'm dying to try this!)

see told you.

it's a thing. 

so when i saw this recipe for avocado oatmeal chocolate chip cookies on eat. live. run i first thought.....gross! who would put avocados in their cookies? but as much as i tried, i couldn't shake it. 

i had to try them myself. 

i'm so glad i did. 

they really make the cookies so light and fluffy and delicious. 

and just plain good.

so go make these, i promise you'll thank me later ;0)

get the recipe here!