Gourmet Yoghurt for the Foodies

As you might know, I love all things gourmet. Gourmet food is known to be posh and therefore, pricey :( , but it doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg to satisfy your cravings... At the end of the day, gourmet is, paradoxically, defined by simplicity with a twist and a state of mind. 

Yesterday I bought four tiny jars of bio vanilla-flavoured and blackcurrant yoghurt. As I was relishing the last spoonfuls of vanilla yoghurt with great gusto, I thought that, maybe I can make my very own flavoured yoghurt at home and with the zest and the aromas that I love the most: lavender, rose water, pistachios, orange blossom water, almond & coconut flakes, crushed pulped fruit. 

And I did it! :) No sooner had the thought crossed my mind, than I found myself in the kitchen, as busy as a bee. As you can imagine, I kept the small jars (full, they weigh approx 150 gr), as they were as cute as a button; I love them because they have a vintage feel as well. Unfortunately, our whole society is too obsessed with plastic these days...

 To fill a small jar I used 4 big tablespoons of full-fat plain yoghurt.

The first flavour was -

 Yoghurt with Rose Water, Toasted Sesame & Crushed Pistachios

4 tbs plain yoghurt

1 tsp condensed milk (or honey)

2 tsp rosewater

1 tsp of toasted sesame seeds

1 tsp juice from raspberries (to colour the yoghurt naturally)

crushed pistachios, petal roses on top (to decorate)

In a small bowl, mix the yoghurt , condensed milk & rose water. Add the toasted sesame seeds and the raspberry juice to colour the flavoured yoghurt naturally. 

Pour the yoghurt in the small jar and decorate with crushed pistachios and edible rose petals. 

My second creation was -

Citrus Yoghurt with Orange Blossom Water and Crushed Digestive Biscuits

 4 tbs of plain yoghurt

1 tsp of honey

1 tsp of condensed milk

orange rind from 1 orange

2 tsp of preserved lemon rind 

2 tsp orange blossom water

1 digestive biscuit packed with sultanas (crushed)

Mix the plain yoghurt with honey, condensed milk, preserved lemon rind, orange rind and orange blossom water.

Crush the digestive biscuit and transfer it to the bottom of the jar. Pour the yoghurt on top and decorate with extra preserved lemon rind.

Last but not the least, I made this delicious -

Pink Yoghurt with Crushed Raspberries & Toasted Almond Flakes

 4 tbs of plain yoghurt

1 tsp of condensed milk

2  tsb of crushed raspberries (frozen and thawed)

+

1 tsp of honey

1 exta tsb of crushed raspberries to mix with the yoghurt

2 tsp of toasted almond flakes

preserved dried raspberries (for decoration)

Mix the yoghurt with the condensed milk and the crushed fruit so that the yoghurt turns pink. 

In a separate bowl mix the crushed raspberries with honey (otherwise the raspberries will be sour).

Pour the sweet raspberries at the bottom of the jar. Add the toasted almonds and top with the pink yoghurt.

Decorate with almond flakes and dried preserved raspberries.  

I can't pick one favourite flavour as I loved them all. I loved the smooth & crunchy texture, I loved the taste, the smell and the look of my tiny jars. To take two spoons out of the drawer, damage the decor for the "photo-shoot" broke my heart. Because I must confess without too much pride, they looked so much better than gourmet-supermarket yoghurt jars. And they tasted even better. ;p Yummy. 

supermarket vanilla flavoured yoghurt (nice, but not blog-worthy)

The last two photos were taken outside on the terrace. Today it was sunny and rainy at the same time (don't worry, I have a canopy) with sudden gusts of wind. It was chilly, but it felt springlike.

After a long winter, let's paint our life in beautiful soft colours and enjoy it to the fullest.

Frozen Yoghurt (& my heart is melting)

Frozen yoghurt, who would have thought I would actually make it myself??? I used to buy this cooling healthy dessert in the middle of the Arabian desert, in Riyadh, as an alternative to fatty ice-creams, from the flagship store in Tahlia Street or the mall. I used to love going to FreshBerry and Yogen Fruz and it's such a pity these brands are not in Romania. :( You could go to the shop, choose from different flavours and the toppings made me feel like I was a child in a chocolate factory: nuts, almonds, dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, cherries, pomegranates, the sky is the limit.


Here, winters are long and horrible, but summers are mercilessly hot.
It snowed last night, hopefully for the last time, but today I had a sudden craving for frozen yoghurt. Yoghurt is a staple in Turkish, Middle Eastern and Indian cuisines and I make the most of it almost daily: raita, tzatziki, cacik, lassi, yoghurt and cucumber soup, labneh, ayran- the list is long and I will never be bored with the variety of choices.

frozen mixed berries

Frozen Yoghurt with Mixed Berries, Crushed Almonds and Honey

a small bag of frozen mixed berries (300 gr)

2 tbs of honey

4-5 tbs of full-fat yoghurt (3.5%) 

2 tbs of single cream

a handful of freshly crushed almonds 

If you don't have an ice-cream machine (like me) :( and if you love ice-cream, but worry about the content of sugar, cream and fat, then frozen yoghurt is the perfect choice: it's healthy and it's insanely delicious!!!!!!!! 

Mix the frozen berries with honey. Use a vertical blender to pulverise the berries with the yoghurt and the cream, and add a handful of freshly crushed almonds, as they will make your treat crunchier and even yummier.

Pour this mixture in a tupperware container, cover, store in the freezer for an hour and enjoy one of the most delicious and healthiest dessert on planet Earth.

vibrant colour, healthy treat

smooth & crunchy

Chocolate Tahini Bars with Puffed Rice & Crushed Almonds

A Spanish proverb says "Ideas should be clear and chocolate thick" (Las cosas claras y el chocolate espeso), which I am inclined to agree with. Chocolat....What else can I add? It's a compulsion and an addiction...but when you work the tahini paste into the smooth chocolate lava, then it's double jeopardy! :)

As I was going though the Taste of Beirut blog, I came across this mind-blowing Chocolate-Tahini Rice Bars  recipe and I went "wow", this is something I absolutely have to try ASAP.

I love anything Middle Eastern & Lebanese and I read Arabian food blogs; I am always searching for the next delicious dish, ingredient, spice or herbs. I find inspiration and I get an insight into a world I'm fascinated with.

The amazing thing about these smooth delicate chocolate bars is the flavour of halva that the tahini paste delicately imparts.

Chocolate Tahini Bars with Puffed Rice & Almonds

Type of cuisine: Middle Eastern/Fusion


Cooking time: 20 minutes/ 2 hours to set


Difficulty: very easy

 

I followed Joumana's recipe, with slight alterations, as you will notice. 

2 bars of good quality dark chocolate (preferably use dark, organic chocolate)

a handful of chopped almonds (soaked in water overnight)

40 grams of unsalted butter

2 tbs of tahini paste

4 tbs powder milk dissolved in hot milk

2 tbs Dutch dark cocoa powder

half a cup of puffed rice

sesame seeds for decoration

Method

Melt the chocolate bars, add the warm butter and blend so that the mixture becomes smooth. Add the tahini paste, the crushed almonds, and the puffed rice. Because the almonds and the puffed rice made the mixture a bit rigid, I kind of panicked, so I decided then and there to heat a little milk and dissolve powder milk and cocoa powder and add to my chocolate mix. My heart was racing, to be honest, but it all turned out fine.

I cut out a big square of wax paper onto which I spread the chocolate, using a flat knife to even out the surface. I folded the paper from the sides, down over the chocolate & I set it to cool and harden on the terrace. The weather was cold and wintry, and for the first time in many months I was glad it was so.

 :) It actually makes me smile to think about it, many years ago when I was seven or eight, my mother made ganache to decorate a cake and let it cool on a table in the garden. It was a cold October day and when she went out to get the ganache, it was all gone! The neighbour's dachshund was happily licking his muzzle after such a random and unexpected treat. My mother was furious (she doesn't take waste and damage in her stride). 

*detail* a beautiful mosaic 

dark chocolate, tahini, fresh mint & sesame

After a couple of hours I unwrapped the chocolate, cut it into chunky bars and I called Mike to come and take a first bite and it was 'wow...surreal'. Thank you, Joumana, this is the taste of ancient and today's beautiful Lebanon: smooth, velvety, rich, intense, yet delicate and sweet.

I have never been to Lebanon, but this beautiful and rich country has been etched in my heart for many years...forever. How could I ever forget this exquisite Song of Salmon from the Bible?

'You are altogether beautiful, O girl companion of mine, and there is no defect in you.


'With me from Leb′a‧non, O bride, with me from Leb′a‧non may you come. May you descend from the top of Anti-Leb′a‧non, from the top of Se′nir, even Her′mon, from the lairs of lions, from the mountains of leopards. 


'You have made my heart beat, O my sister, [my] bride, you have made my heart beat by one of your eyes, by one pendant of your necklace. 


'How beautiful your expressions of endearment are, O my sister, my bride! How much better your expressions of endearment are than wine and the fragrance of your oils than all sorts of perfume! 


'With comb honey your lips keep dripping, O [my] bride. Honey and milk are under your tongue, and the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Leb′a‧non. 


'A garden barred in is my sister, [my] bride, a garden barred in, a spring sealed up. 


'Your skin is a paradise of pomegranates, with the choicest fruits, henna plants along with spikenard plants;  spikenard and saffron, cane and cinnamon, along with all sorts of trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, along with all the finest perfumes; [and] a spring of gardens, a well of fresh water, and trickling streams from Leb′a‧non. 


'Awake, O north wind, and come in, O south wind. Breathe upon my garden. Let its perfumes trickle.

'Let my dear one come into his garden and eat its choicest fruits.'

Philoxenia: Spiced Lebanese Chai with Milk & Roasted Almond Flakes

A quick search on the internet will explain the meaning of the Greek word philoxenia as the equivalent of hospitality or lover of strangers.  

Nowhere like in the Middle East can you experience a deeper sense of hospitality and generosity. In a land where even time stands still, melted under the intensity of the desert sun, people have a passive awareness of the passage of time: Salaam, and a stranger is greeted, with a warm, yet firm shake of hand, a broad smile and the gesture to come in. No matter where you go - a modest bedouin tent, a luxurious weekend 5-star tent, a simple rented city apartment or the villa of a wealthy family, a stranger will be invited into the front room: a large saloon decorated with big Persian rugs in bold colours, cushions, small coffee tables and sofas placed along the walls. Along with the small talk comes the tea accompanied by a tray of sweets: basbossa (semolina cake soaked with rich sugary syrup), baklawa, or gatayef (small pancakes stuffed with nuts).

Tea is strong and served in small cups, then sugar is added and maybe a leaf of mint will be immersed to add some flavour to the black essence. 

*a photo of a photo* Tea in the Desert,  at an art exhibition at DAU, Riyadh

small coffee cup, art exhibition at DAU, Riyadh, May 2010

Time will go in circles in this cool, dark room which has now become a shelter for the thirsty traveller. Time refuses to obey the laws of physics in the Middle East. It expands and contracts, as if it were under a magician's wand. A problem is treated philosophically, yet with a sense of urgency that we cannot penetrate: mafi mushkila (no problem, in Arabic). 

The host and the stranger will easily find mutual interests and topics of conversation, in spite of what could drift them apart.  They mention the family, the weather, the guest's purpose to such a distant and heat-ridden country, the holidays, the job and the working conditions, the host's travels to the West, current affairs, and the world in general. 

Having in mind the stories of old, I will tell you about a wonderful spiced Lebanese tea that I discovered not so long ago. 

Spiced Lebanese Chai with Milk and Roasted Almond Flakes

The Spices

coriander seeds

1 cinnamon stick

1 star anise

2 cloves

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 cardamom pod

The Tea

black loose tea/2 bags of jasmine tea/green loose tea (your choice)

Milk

Honey or Sugar

Almond flakes

Method

Crush the spices (star anise, cardamom, coriander, cloves, cinnamon) in the mortar and pestle.  

Boil the water. Add the loose tea and the crushed spices, the ground ginger, the sugar/the honey. Let it simmer.

Finally, pour the milk and stir.

In a non-stick pan toast the almonds - make sure you won't overdo them. They blacken in no time (learned that by trial and error!)

Serve the tea hot, topped with almonds.

a full cup of the Middle East

Once they fill with water, the almond flakes will sink to the bottom of the mug. They will hold a soft crunchiness that you will spoon when the tea is gone. The honey makes the tea light and imparts a mild sweetness which is sure to make this amazing chai a treat for you and your guests. 

"Do not forget hospitality, for through it some, unknown to themselves, entertained angels" (from the Bible) Hebrews 13/2

"Tell me, Baba", said Joha's son to his father, why do you speak so little and listen so much?"

"Because I have two ears and only one mouth"  (from Tahir Shah's In Arabian Nights)