Lobster Ravioli with Truffle Oil

I know this is a long due recipe, I have made it a few weeks ago and I even made it another time after before posting (insert ashamed face here :$).

Since I came to the USA, among other things I discovered Costco. I think I can fairly say it is on the list of my favorite stores ever. Especially in the food department; for those of our readers who don’t know Costco (for the simple reason of living across the world), it is a store where you must have a membership to be able to make your purchases because initially it is aimed at small businesses and they sell things in bulk for great prices.

You are probably wondering about this Costco intro, but this is what brings me to my Lobster Ravioli: Costco has the most amazing fresh ravioli… Lobster is one of them, we have bought other flavors since, they were equally amazing. But this is another story…

Lebanese Stuffed Zucchini (Mexican Squash) – Koussa Mehchi

To my surprise, what we call zucchini in Lebanon is called Mexican squash in the USA. The even most surprising part was to see how much veggies eating habits Lebanon shares with Mexico. Tomatoes is an obvious thing, but the most amazing for me was the chickpeas in their pods. It is a snack we eat in Lebanon and it is getting rarer now. It is one of my favorite things to munch on in between meals and you can imagine what a nice surprise it was to see them here.

It is funny how often I see something and tell Clint we eat that in Lebanon and he tells me that it is a food imported by the Mexican community or eaten by them. So you can imagine how funny it was to see that the type of zucchini we eat is called Mexican squash.

Potluck Fatayer

I cannot believe how the weather turned from cold to nice in less than a week. I have been waiting for it for a while now; winter lingered and lingered to the point where I thought it was never going to end.

Fatayer are a Lebanese doughy goodie, perfect for anything. Well, almost anything. They can be great party appetizers, great for lunch and they make an awesome breakfast. In Lebanon they can be sold in the Mana’eesh bakeries in a big size for breakfast or lunch. They are great as holiday food or parties when made at their smallest. As far as the medium size they can be a good variety in any occasion. This is why we chose to make them for Clint’s latest potluck.

A Little Peek-a-Boo…

I know, I know… I have been MIA for a long while, but I have my reasons! I swear I do…

I have been kept busy, really busy… See I had Visa papers to assemble and interviews to attend. Also I had to prepare for a move across the world and a wedding… I still had to go to work among all that too.

All those who have moved before, realize it is no easy task to pack up your life, let alone pack it in a couple of suitcases that you have to carry across the world -literally- and then start afresh.

Dear readers, now I do not live in Lebanon anymore, I moved to Nor-Cal and married my fiancé and co-author Clint. I am far from being done with paperwork though: now after the wedding, starts the paperwork for my change of status and my settling in here. It is a long slow process, in which I am basically home stranded for a few months. Work would not be allowed before an authorization. You might think it is a nice vacation, but you can get claustrophobic running around all day in an apartment, no matter how much you have to do.

I just wanted to let our readers in on the situation, so you guys would not think we abandoned you. But I hope  that when I am properly settled in, I can go back to blogging regularly again.

In the meantime enjoy yourselves and I will be back soon hopefully

Quick Glance at what We Ate over the Holidays

I know, I know… I abandoned things here since a while ago and I have not even posted a thing about the holidays. Things have been a little hectic on one side, on the other I was a bit lazy. I did not do any cooking worth really sharing with you. It was mostly a risotto here or a pasta there, but all in the standard realm.

But I will share the food we ate over the holidays with you still. I took pictures of most if not all.

Mango Lassi

The first time I tried a mango Lassi I was hooked. The simplicity of the composition concentrates the flavors in a wonderful experience.  This is not the only benefit to it either, besides being healthy it is super simple to make.

Sushi at home

Sushi is one of the items that were on my culinary to-do list. Well it is not an actual to-do list, it is not even virtual, it is a series of dishes that always run through my mind as things that I want to make. Sometimes it is because it is a dish that I particularly like, sometimes it is because it contains specific techniques and some other times it is just because that dish is something plain challenging and it will give me a sense of accomplishment for actually being able to cook it right. Somehow they also are the funnest to cook.