The last post for 2011. Wishing everyone a very happy New Year ;)

As always I get very emotional during this time of the year. Add to that the fact that I gave birth recently and I feel as emotional as a Syrian soap opera so please bare with me here :) I'm in Beirut with the family, enjoying the festive season with the latest addition to our little clan, baby Phares. It's a totally different holiday this time, because it's not just about meeting up with friends and being out and about, it's quite a reflective holiday for me because I'm realizing that time is going by so fast. I still feel like a kid most of the time even though I have the responsibilities of an adult.. To be honest, I didn't realize how much we have all grown up - until the arrival of Baby Phares.

I can't stop thinking about how important it is to spend as much time as possible with your loved ones. Life is too short and time is so precious, but sadly we only notice it when it has run out. 

So having said that, I sometimes fail at showing loved ones how much I care. I don't pick up the phone or call back, don't make it to a planned lunch or dinner, miss a birthday or an important event. Yes, I do let things fall through the cracks even though I shouldn't, so I would like to end the year with this:

Papi, I love you more than you will ever know, you are my rock and always have been. Mami, I hope that one day I will be half the woman you are today, I love you more than life. Maher, I miss my older bro. Joujou, my other half, my heart, my strength, my everything. Fufi, my baby brother, you will and always shall be the love of my life. Phiras, no words can express how right you have felt since day 1 and that's all I'm going to say because you know it all. Auntie Raffa, you have always been there - thank you. Amo Phares & Ronnie, thank you for making me feel like your daughter every single day! Twinkly, you are the most amazing person without even realizing it. Nadine BB, we've gone through thick and thin, and if that doesn't prove the strength of our friendship then I don't know what does! Galva, my partner in crime - life wouldn't be the same without you, my sister from another mother. Alexi, my soul mate, the person who gets me like nobody else does. Bozo, 22 years of consistent friendship & love, always. Adrienne, you know how much you mean to me even though I tend to disappear once in a while. Aicha, my femme fatale, I miss you. Rana, you're far but so close. Mr. Berry, I miss having you around! Nadoun, you know how much I adore you even though I haven't seen you much lately. Rash, you were Ph's friend first but now you're all mine! ;) Soumo, je t'adore my little Frenchie. Cynth, thank God for you in Dubi! :) 

I may have forgotten someone, and if I did I apologize but you know I don't mean it badly. Last but not least in any way, Phares, my baby boy.. It's a completely new kind of love that I'm feeling for you, it's unlike anything I've ever felt before, difficult to describe, growing exponentially every day. In the matter of weeks you have become my life.

Wishing everyone a healthy & happy New Year! See you in 2012 ;)

Loads of love,

D xxxxx

Quick Cucumber Salad

Image by Chris Mejorada for ITP Publishing

It's that time of the year where everyone is running to finish up things before the holidays start.. You can feel the rush everywhere in everyone! I'm running going from last minute meetings to Christmas shopping, to making sure we have everything sorted out before we head to Beirut for the holidays. That's it, the year is almost over and we need to pack up and say goodbye to 2011! As much as I love welcoming a new year, I always get a little sad when the year ends.. Emotional, thoughtful and all that cheezy stuff I tend to get into.. Anyways, let's hope that 2012 is a good one for all of us.. InshAllah!

As there's no time for elaborate cooking these past few days, I'm just going to post my quick, simple but delish cucumber salad which goes beautifully well with the Butter Chicken posted a couple of days ago, or as a side to any dish really. A D's Kitchen express recipe for tonight! 

Serves 6 – 8

Prep & Cook Time: ~ 5 minutes

• 6 large cucumbers, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup rice vinegar
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped

In a bowl, toss the cucumbers, vinegar, salt, sugar, and mint. Place in the fridge to marinate and cool for at least 30 minutes and serve cold.

(As featured in BBC Good Food ME October 2011)

D's Butter Chicken

Image by Chris Mejorada for CPI Publishing

I love Fridays.. And I love them even more after a good night out! Yesterday was my outing after becoming a mommy and I must admit it felt good to be back out :) We started off with a cozy dinner at Okku, having a good laugh over candlelight and munching on a delish new menu I might add!! I actually woke up dreaming of the spicy crab roll, hehe.. So after lots of good food and many, many glasses of wine, the cozy dinner turned into quite the party and we ended up getting home quite late.. What a fun eve which made me remember the times when I used to go out quite a bit! With my sis all over the place, before she got married and moved to Madrid (my other half, wow we had some amazing times!!), in NYC with Nadine, then with Alex and Aisha doing our girly outings at Cipriani Lounge (just smirking thinking about those nights), or rocking Beirut like crazy with my partner in crime, Racil (probably the best nights out I ever had!!) I realized I was lucky to have such amazing memories across the planet, with such amazing closies.. I really do miss you guys a lot..

And it's also on a night out in Beirut that I met my Phiras. So of course, silly me got all emotional again, realizing how time had gone by and that even though everything seemed the same at Okku last night, something huge had changed in our life.. Phiras and I became parents! And when we came home from the club last night, the first thing we did was go into the baby's room snuggle up with little Phares :)

After a night out like that, there is no way we were going to eat skinny meals today.. As we all know, the last thing you feel like eating after a good night out is a salad! Anyways, I  have decided to postpone "D's Skinny Kitchen" until after the holidays :) January is the perfect detox month, in the mean time I will enjoy the end of 2012 and not think about those extra pounds :) 

Phiras felt like Indian food, (I wasn't up for cooking today to be honest so we ended up ordering in) but it made me realize I had not shared with you my Butter Chicken recipe, so here it is.. So smooth yet fragrant, a little spicy and the most tender chicken.. absolutely delicious - enjoy!

Serves 6 - 8

Prep & Cook Time: ~ 1 hour

• 8 boneless chicken breasts (no skin), cut into pieces
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp grated ginger
• ½ red chili, finely sliced
• 2 tbsp cumin powder
• 2 tbsp garam masala
• 2 tbsp turmeric powder
• 1 pack tomato puree (200ml)
• 1 can coconut milk (400ml)
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 400ml chicken stock
• ½ cup yoghurt
• a handful of almonds
• 1 tomato, chopped
• ½ cup fresh coriander, finely chopped
• salt to taste

In a large pan or wok, heat some nut oil and cook the onions until slightly brown, add the ginger, garlic, chili and all the spices and cook for a few minutes.

Add the chicken and cook until nicely browned, then add the stock, coconut milk and tomato puree. In a blender, liquefy the chopped tomato with almonds and add that to the pan.

Cook for about half an hour on low heat, then add the cream, yoghurt and salt to taste and cook for another 45 minutes or until the chicken is tender.

Add the coriander at the end, check for seasoning and serve with basmati rice. Divine!

(As featured in BBC Good Food ME October 2011)

Tarte aux Tomates

Sunday, is the start of the week in Dubai which means starting my diet. Problem is that I really, really hate diets and don't know anyone who hates them as much as I do! Plus working in the food field, and owning an incredibly yummy bakery doesn't make it any easier. I do have discipline when it comes to other things, but my biggest weakness is food. For example, I stopped smoking from one day to the other 6 years ago and have not had a puff since. Granted my reason for stopping that awful habit was a serious one, but still, I'm a proud non smoker today :)

Anyways, so back to my diet, which I am dreading and don't even know how to start, I don't even remember the last time I went on one. But I have 10kg to loose to get back to my pre-baby weight and 10kg won't go unless I start cutting down on calories.. So maybe I'll switch the blog's name to D's Skinny Kitchen for the coming weeks :) But before starting the skinnier meals, I've been wanting to post my beautiful Tomato Tart recipe which I did a few weeks back.. I remember trying a gorgeous "Tarte aux Tomates" in Provence last summer, and been wanting to do one ever since I got back to my kitchen.. I absolutely love savoury tarts and pies, and this is a particularly delicious one which I won't be munching on for a while as I don't believe tarts are part of any serious diet, unfortunately!

Makes 1 Tart (24cm)

Easy. Prep & Cook Time: ~ 2 hours (with homemade tart base)

For the pastry:

•               1 1/2 cups flour (sifted)

•               1/2 cup of softened butter

•               1 egg yolk 

•               1 tsp salt

•               2 tbsp of cold water

•               (egg yolk for brushing pastry)

For the filling:

•               5 large tomatoes

•               3 packs cherry tomatoes

•               1 tsp brown sugar

•               1/2 tsp dried basil

•               1 tsp Dijon mustard

•               olive oil

•               salt and cracked pepper to taste

•               bunch of fresh basil leaves

Preheat the oven to 200C. In a food processor add all the pastry ingredients and blend until the dough resembles breadcrumbs. Place it on your work surface and combine all ingredients well without over-kneading. Roll out the dough (using a little flour if it sticks) and place it in a tart base. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour then bake for 15 minutes until it turns slightly golden.

To make the filling, chop the tomatoes in large chunks and place them in a baking tray. Drizzle with a generous amount of olive oil, add the basil, sugar, salt and pepper and give it a good toss. Place in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Once ready, remove the juices and let the tomatoes cool down a little.

Spread the mustard on the pre-baked tart base, then add the tomatoes and return to the oven for another 20 minutes. Remove the tart once it's ready, let it cool down, then sprinkle with fresh basil leaves and drizzle some olive oil on top. Serve with a side salad. Delicious!

*Tip: You can add Goat's or Gruyere Cheese to make the it a Tomato & Cheese tart which is also absolutely divine!

Baked Asparagus

Image By Murrindie Frew for ITP Publishing

My apologies for not posting earlier, but I am sure that you would understand if you saw my little life right now.. I'm trying to juggle having a baby and getting back to work.. And let me tell you that it's not easy at all! When I'm with the baby the phone rings off the hook for work, and when I'm away from Phares I feel super guilty that I'm not there so I try to get back as soon as possible. I know it may be a little early to get back to work already, but to be honest, I needed to do that for several reasons. First of all when you own your own business, it's not like you can just take a maternity leave and not really care about what's going on at work (that's the not so rosy side of being your own boss), because the bakeries are somehow my little babies too, and I need to be on top of things as much as possible. Now even though I have a fabulous team at Kitsch Cupcakes I still feel like I can't leave the place for too long :) Another reason for getting back to work was that I'm not really familiar with being home so much.. I used to have such a hectic routine and going from being super busy to being at home all the time was a huge change for me.. So now I'm trying to juggle both, working and being a new mommy.. I don't leave my little angel for too long, and that's when running your own business and being able to manage your own time is just lovely!

Now one major feeling I'm having to deal with is a little bit of guilt.. Am I doing the right thing? Should I not be away from home at all? What if something happens and I'm not there (inshAllah never), what if I'm missing out on things, etc, etc.. But then a few days ago I took a decision, that I will manage my time wisely, be home when he's awake and try to still maintain my working life to a certain extent.. A happy D will make a happy mommy, and thus a happy Baby Phares inshAllah :)

So today is a quite personal post, like I've mentioned many times, this blog has become my little journal, and somehow writing about what I go through makes me realize things.. But since this a food blog after all, I'm going to end this post with a recipe :) I just finished a photo shoot at home, and it's almost time to feed my little munchkin so I will post my Baked Asparagus recipe which was featured in Harper's Bazaar Arabia in the September issue. It's a simple yet delicious dish, which can be munched on as a starter or side dish.. Hope you enjoy it! 

Much love, 

D xx

Serves 4 – 6

Prep & cook time: 25 minutes

• 2 bunches green asparagus
• ½ cup parmesan, grated
• ½ tbsp butter
• salt and cracked pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 200C. In a pan, heat a knob of butter and sauté the asparagus for a few minutes, just until slightly tender.

Place them in a baking dish, sprinkle with Parmesan, season and bake for about 10 – 15 minutes until the parmesan crisps up a little. Serve immediately.