Blondies

Being a follower of many American blogs, I get introduced to various sweet treats that I would normally never encounter in a British bakery or cafe. One of them is these 7 layer cookies that I got to know through my lovely American friend, which are still requested by various family members. Another one, that I have been making almost as long are these blondies. 

What are blondies? Well, I asked the same question 3 years ago, and did what any normal person would do, and consulted google. The first definition that came up was: A blonde-haired person, typically a woman or a girl. Uhhh, not sure that was the answer I was looking for. Thankfully, the next definition gave me a little more clarity: a small square of dense, pale coloured cake, typically of a butterscotch or vanilla flavour. Now that definition didn't sound too bad. After a little more research I understood that a blondie is very much like a brownie, but instead of the cocoa in a brownie, blondies are about the vanilla, and they get their butterscotch-y flavour from brown sugar, whereas brownies usually call for white sugar. 

Couscous Salad with Chicken Meatballs and Yoghurt Sauce

When I was working, I used to find it very hard to find lunch options that I would look forward to, especially a meal that was both filling and healthy. I would usually have a quick homemade sandwich for lunch, or if I wasn't organised enough, it would be a sandwich from the nearest supermarket (think boring tuna and sweetcorn sandwiches from Tesco). Sometimes it would be a bland soup or dull salad from the canteen, which would have me scavenging for food an hour later, or a heavy jacket potato with beans or tuna, which put me in a state of lethargy once lunch was over. If I was lucky, it would be last nights dinner's leftovers, but I wouldn't always be so lucky to find a microwave to heat it up in, especially seeing as I was always on the move. 

Chicken, Barley and Vegetable Soup

Recently, after spending a few weeks in the beautiful London, I returned with a souvenir for myself; a nasty cold. Or maybe it was the flu. I couldn't tell but either way it wasn't an ideal situation to have it paired with my jet lag. I spent a lot of time in my bed for the next few days questioning my life: how many hours can one actually sleep? will this headache ever leave? has my nose turned into a tap? are there enough tissues for this tap? and why hasn't anyone made me soup yet?!

Banana, Walnut and Date Cake

Here's something that a lot of people don't get about me: I don't like dates. I don't know what it is about the dates that I don't like or what experiences have led me to avoid them, but we just don't get along. In Ramadan I try to get away with breaking my fast on anything but dates, but when faced with someone offering me a date, I usually just take one and eat it, especially if I really don't want to explain to the person that I don't like dates and don't feel like listening to a lecture on the benefit of dates. It's not like I find them repulsive to the point where I will spit them out and wash my mouth out with soap, but they just don't appeal to me. And their appeal didn't get any better when one of my friends resembled a squashed cockroach to a date. Charming, I know. 

Coconut Daal

It has been a really long time. Where did a year and a half go? How did it pass so quickly? What happened? Time really does fly, but now the bitch is back. And she's here to stay (well, lets hope so. we never know with my track record). 1 post in 2014. 0 posts in 2015. 2016 is our year. 

Broccoli Slaw

Hi all.


It's been a while.

Giant Couscous Salad with Roasted Aubergine and Courgette

I should have posted this a few weeks ago when the weather was consistently hot and sunny, and there were barely any clouds in the sky, and it wasn't Ramadan so having your daily ice-cream in the sun was becoming part of your everyday routine. I really miss that routine.