DIY Piñata Tutorial

My daughter’s 9th birthday was three weeks ago and she wanted a piñata for her birthday. Piñata’s aren’t common in this region, growing up I cannot recall every seeing one; it is something that the new generation picked-up from TV.

A piñata is a colorfully decorated container made from paper, cloth or cardboard; and filled with candy and/or small toys. During birthday celebrations, it is hanged from the ceiling and broken with a stick. Children really enjoy the process of breaking the piniata and then gathering the splattered candy!  Although Piñatas are associated to Mexico, its origins are thought to be China.

As I was preparing for Mariana’s birthday, I searched how to make a piñata and found a few very good on-line tutorials. The one I liked most was by Jennifer Cleaver from the Copycat Crafter and was trilled when Jennifer agreed to guest post her tutorial on my blog. I didn’t get the chance to do this year’s piñata as my daughter got a ready-made one from her aunt, but I am sure going to do it next year. 

Now I leave you with Jennifer’s post:

Tahini Dip - Tahini Sauce Recipe

A while back I was asked by one of the blog’s fans for the recipe of Tahini Dip or Sauce, the Tahini Dip served in Middle Eastern restaurants with other appetizers. It has been on top of my to-do list for quite some time now… and don’t know how it just got delayed and delayed.

It is amazing how the simple and easy stuff get delayed!?! It is as if my subconscious makes me focus on the difficult stuff and the easy ones get pushed back. Anyway, I won’t bore you more with my justification for a late reply for a very easy and simple dish: Tahini Dip!

If you look tahini in the dictionary this is what you get:

tahini /tɑːˈhiːni/ (also tahina /tɑːˈhiːnə/) ▶noun: a Middle Eastern paste or spread made from ground sesame seeds.

Tahini, or sesame paste as it is called in the West, is a common ingredient in Middle Eastern, Persian, Turkish and Indian cuisines. Some sources mention that it is used in Chinese and Japanese cuisines, but I am not definite about that. What I am definite about is the popularity of tahini in Arabic cuisine! We use it in appetizers, salads, main dishes, we even use it in the preparation of sweets.

For preparing the Tahini Dip or Tahini Sauce – the name depends on your preference - I have two recipes. The first recipe is a thicker and denser version of Tahini sauce which I serve with grilled and fried vegetables. This is also the Tahini Sauce that some restaurants serve as a stand-alone appetizer. The second recipe is a lighter, more liquidy tahini sauce that I serve with meat shawerma, or falafel. It can also be added as a condiment to a selection of sandwiches. Following is the recipe for both. 

Before you read the Tahini Sauce recipes remember that you need to shake the tahini jar well before use. Even after shaking, the consistency of the paste may be denser at the bottom of the jar. This makes it very difficult to 100% set the exact measurements for the recipe. Adjust the water depending on whether you are using Tahini for the top of the jar or the bottom.  If you are using a jar that is almost at the bottom you will need to add a bit more water to the recipe than is called for.

Pickled Green Olives Mediterranean Style Recipe

Yesterday, I pickled my first batch of Green Olives!!

Pickled Green Olives are a table staple across the Middle East region. We serve pickled green olives for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Olives and olive oil are part of our tradition and culture. The olive tree is not only valued for it’s beauty and fruit, but is also considered a sacred and blessed tree.

Olive trees have been cultivates in this region for centuries and there is historical evidence that olive oil was traded as early as 3000 B.C. Throughout the hills of Jordan you will see olive groves that are thousands of years old. They were planted by the Romans!!

Most of the olive trees that exist on earth are in the Mediterranean region. Where I live, olive trees are planted on the sidewalks of most roads in the city, and there is hardly a house that doesn’t have at least one olive tree planted in the garden.  I live in an apartment building with no garden, but we have four olive trees planted on the sidewalk in front of the building. 

Usually, olives are not picked from the trees until the first rain comes and washes the trees and quenches their thirst after a long, hot, dry summer.  We had our first big rain this week, so the picking season started and now all the market is filled with green olives ready to be pickled. Later this months, farmers will start taking their fruit to extract pure olive oil.

Green and black olives come from the same tree, The black ones are the ripened fruit that were left on the trees longer. They are softer and filled with more oil.

Both green and black olive fruits are pickled in this region, but the recipe for Pickled Green Olives differs from the recipe for Pickled Black Olives. Today’s recipe is for Pickled green olives which I learned from my friend Rula. She get’s full credit for it, as the recipe was so perfect, I didn’t even bother with trying other variations!!

Rainbow Cupcakes Recipe

My youngest daughter wanted rainbow cupcakes for her birthday party. She has been asking for them every since she saw them on the web… you can say it was love at first sight!!!

Well, I cannot blame her… these bright, colorful, attractive mini delights are a definite kid pleaser. Even us, the older kids, cannot but be magically drawn to them. Although they may appear to be difficult to put together, these delightful cupcakes are quite simple to make.

Many of the recipes I saw online used ready-mix white cake. I am sure these cupcakes will turn well with ready mix cakes, but personally I like to make my cakes from scratch! I like to know exactly what is in them, plus I usually like to reduce the sugar in my cakes... a habit I picked up when I was trying to lose that extra pregnancy weight. LOL… I am sure that the best way to fast lose that weight was to cut all kinds of sweet, but what can I say… I am defenseless when it comes to sweets.

I was divided between using my lemon cake recipe or my vanilla cake recipe. Both are light in color, which would work well when coloring. Plus both cakes are moist and yummy and their batter is not too liquidy so the different colors will hold shape.  I decided to use the vanilla cake batter as I was a little worried that not all 9-year olds might appreciate the refreshing, light flavor of lemon cake. 

These cupcakes look amazing and are guaranteed to brighten your party and bring a smile to the kids’ faces!

Chicken with Onions Recipe

Boiled then baked chicken with lots of onions, served over plain rice, or Freekeh, or Arabic-style rice stuffing is a typical Arabic dish!!!

The traditional serving way for serving Chicken with Onions is to spread the cooked rice, Freekeh or Arabic-style rice stuffing in a large serving tray, then pile the chicken and onions on top. We then sprinkle toasted or fried pine nuts and almonds on top.

It is normally served with cucumber yoghurt salad, or a mixed lemony salad. I love the Freekeh or Arabic-style rice stuffing with the cucumber yogurt salad with its garlicy flavor.  

In addition to it being very tasty, Chicken and Onions is very easy to prepare and probably that is why it is very popular to serve Chicken and Onions with Freekeh or Arabic-style rice stuffing in large gatherings and parties. It is a guaranteed crowd pleaser with minimum effort!

The recipe below is for 1 chicken, increase it depending on the number of servings you want. Also, at home we love it with lots of onions, as you will notice from the recipe. If you don’t fancy the onions you can cut them to half.