Happiness on a stick!

My goddaughter just turned 8. As a special surprise I made these adorable Marshmallow Pops. To add a little glitter action I coated the pops with crushed candy: yellow & pink. The end result – pure JOY!  The Marshmallow Pops were welcomed by huge smiles, immediately followed by little (and big) hands tightly wrapped around the pop sticks, followed by “Can I have another one?”. Of course...*wink*

Life is short, so why not make it sweet!

Happy Birthday Kya!

Happy New Year!

2012

Greetings!

Another year has left us and another wonderful year is ahead of us.

Thank you for all of the support and encouragement throughout this past year. I look forward to another great year with you.

I wish each of you and your families Joy, Peace, and Love!


Happy New Year!!

~ Aisha

Sweet for the Holidays

I am always thinking of new ways to create fun family traditions with my girls. Of course there's the usual delights like movies, shopping, tree decorating - all totally cool but not quite the treat I was going for. Naturally, I wanted something sweet! The ideal fun fix that came to mind was sugar cookies. Nestled somewhere between a cake, a cookie and pie dough, these little treats are forgiving to the playful and creative hands of a child. Armed with this little tidbit I set out to bake these darling treats with my daughters using this delightful recipe I found in Woman's Day magazine a few years ago. I modified the recipe ever so slightly. Create your own holiday tradition with these lovely sweets....most importantly get the kids involved and have a jolly time!

1 stick butter (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

Icing:
1 lb. confectioner's sugar (divided in half)
3/4 cup water
almond extract (optional)
food coloring or food coloring gel - your favorite colors of course


Equipment:
Your favorite cookie cutters
wax paper
parchment paper or non-stick foil
cookie sheet
icing bags or pastry bags
Decorating writing tips


Best butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.Beat in egg until blended, add vanilla, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Gradually, add flour and beat until smooth. Shape dough into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick foil. Roll out dough between 2 sheets wax paper to 3/8 in thickness. Cut out shapes.
Tip: Remove excess dough from around shapes leaving the cut out cookies on wax paper. To maintain cookie shape, place the cut shapes on wax paper in the freezer for 5 - 10 minutes. Remove from freezer and you'll be able to easily peel the cookies off the wax paper and transfer to the cookie sheet!

Bake 12 to 14 minutes or unit cookies are golden brown at edges. Cool on sheet on wire rack 5 minutes; transfer to wire rack and cook completely. Roll, cut and bake remaining coolies.
Tip: Adjust time based on your oven.

Decorating Icing
Base:
Beat 1/2 confectioners sugar and 1/2 cup water in large on low speed for about 5 minutes until icing is smooth. Should be smooth enough to pour, similar consistency to heavy cream or buttermilk.

Decorations:
Beat 1/2 confectioners sugar and 1/4 cup water in large on low speed for about 5 minutes until icing is thick and white. Divide and add your coloring.

Sugar Cookies - Decorated my daughters Amira & Taren

Set up a wire rack with a sheet of wax paper underneath. Place cookies on wire rack and pour Base icning over the cookies. Allow to dry until firm. Transfer Decorations icing to pastry bags (separated by color) fitted with writing tips. Grab a bag, give the kids a bag and have FUN decorating!

We Scream for...popcorn?

While Hurricane Irene was whipping up a storm outside, I took the opportunity to whip up some goodies in the kitchen. My kids love popcorn and since they're allergic to milk that limits our fun with ice cream, so we often celebrate with sorbet. Not knowing what the weather would bring I didn't want to stock up on too much frozen stuff, so instead we made these adorable popcorn ice cream cones. I think these would add a creative and fun flare to an ice cream social or a kid's party menu. Let me know how you use them.

 

Popcorn Ice Cream Cones

To make these follow the instructions for rice krispies treats and replace the rice krispies with popcorn*. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes and use an ice cream scoop to help shape the popcorn. To get a more rounded shape let them cool few minutes, then using your hands and some parchment paper shape into nicely formed round balls. Place on top of the cones and press to stick to the cone. Roll the cones into your favorite sprinkles. Finito!

You'll need:
*Popcorn Kernels (approx. 1/2 cup)

*Olive Oil

Marshmallows

Butter

Sprinkles

Parchment Paper


*Follow the manufacturer's directions for popping the kernels.


Popcorn Ice Cream Cones



Citrus Infused Glazed Carrots

I think carrots are by far one of the most versatile and yummy vegetables you can eat. You can smash them, braise them, broil them, boil them and stir fry them. However, for some strange reason (at least strange to me) kids don't always seem to find them that tasty. Case in point, my 2 year kindly removes them from her plate and literally places them as far away from her as possible. In an effort to put more carrots in more bellies I decided to share this delightfully simple yet delicous recipe that will please adults and children alike.


I absolutely love the added kick from the clementine, it gave the carrots a nice sweet citrus flavor, not to mention the aroma was splendid.




P.S. I even got the 2 year old to eat these. YAY!

Citrus Infused Glazed Carrots
5 medium carrots (cut on the slant or coins)
2 tbsp. sugar or honey
2 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup water
peel of 1 clementine (optional)
salt and pepper to taste


Peel and cut carrots. Place all ingredients in saucepan and cook on medium low heat until fork tender. Remove from heat and drain any excess liquid before serving.


Post a comment and share your favorite carrot recipe or story with us; you just might see it featured here on our blog for others to enjoy!

Slow Roasted Garlic-Thyme Lamb Shanks

I've been missing in action for the past few weeks, but as you know with good reason - we welcomed our third little girl into the world a few weeks ago. Mommyhood has been great! To celebrate Easter and honor Caribbean tradition I prepared one of my favorite dishes - LAMB. I'll eat lamb pretty much anyway you give it to me and to my delight the hubby AND the little ones devour it as well. We all cleaned our plates so I knew I just had to share the recipe with you. You need not wait for Easter to make this dish, you can enjoy any day you have some extra time on your hands or for a wonderful Sunday dinner with the family.

You can switch it up a bit and add a good tasting red wine to the pan and baste the lamb throughout the cooking process. In my case with 3 little ones in the house, basting wasn't on the table this time around. Cooking should be fun and omitting the basting gave me hands free time to rumble around with the kids.

Garlic & Thyme Lamb Shanks

Brine

8 Cups Water
1/4 cup + 2tbsp. Salt

Fresh Herb Rub

5 cloves garlic
5 sprigs fresh thyme
1 small onion
1 small pepper
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. olive oil

Lamb Shanks

2 lamb shanks, approx. 3 lbs.
3 stalks celery
3 large carrots
2 small onions
2 - 3 tbsp olive oil

First thing is to brine the lamb shanks overnight. Dissolve salt in the water and place lamb to marinade overnight or for at least 8 hours.

Combine ingredients for the herb spread and puree in a chopper or blender. Remove the lamb from the brine and discard brine, using a paper towel, pat the lamb dry and massage the herb spread all over the lamb and set aside for at least 4 hours.

Now comes the good part, let's down to business!

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a deep sauce pan and brown the lamb shanks on both sides, it will take about 4-5 minutes per side, because of the herb crust they can burn pretty quickly, so be sure to keep an eye on the shanks. Once you have finished browning the meat, remove them the pan and set aside. In the same pan (if the herbs got too brown you'll want to start again with a clean pot) add 1 tbsp of olive oil and saute the vegetables for about 3 minutes, then place the lamb shanks on top of the sauteed vegetables. Place the pot in the oven and bake at 285 degrees for 3 hours, then at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

You can serve this with some roasted potatoes, spinach and sweet corn.

We loved this dish, the kids even asked for second...now that's a meal!

Easy Curry Chicken

Most of my friends know that if they swing by there's bound to be some goodies coming out of the kitchen. Generally, it's the pleasing aromas of some Caribbean dish or some yummy dessert that goes against their diet :-) To help you get throw some of these snowy days, I thought I'd share an old favorite, with a little twist of course. Traditionally, we use chicken legs and thighs for this dish, however, to make dinner easier for all you Dinner Makers out there, I've substituted with boneless chicken thighs.

Here's my easy twist on an old favorite, this also keeps well and will store in the freezer for at least one month.

Easy Curry Chicken

3 lbs. boneless chicken thighs
1 large idaho potato (cut into 1/2 cubes)
1/2 cup diced onions
4 stalks diced scallions
1/4 cup curry powder (divided)
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. paprika
3 tbsp. olive oil (more as needed)
1 1/4 cups water, divided
4 tbsp. water
2 tbsp flour



Clean chicken and cut into 2 inch cubes. Coat well with 1 tbsp olive oil. Next season with black pepper, salt, paprika and 1 tbsp of curry powder. Set aside to marinade for at least 1 hour (if time permits, marinade overnight in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours).

In a medium stockpot heat the oil, add chicken to the pan, be sure not to overccrowd, brown chicken for 2 -3 minutes, set aside; repeat in batches until all the chicken is browned. Add onions to the chicken drippings and saute until translucent. Next add remaining curry powder and 1/4 cup of water and make into a paste, cooking for about 15 seconds. Add chicken to the paste and coat well.

Add scallions, potatoes and remaining water to chicken, bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer, cook until potatoes are fork tender, about 25 minutes.

In a small bowl mix flour with 4 tbsp. water into a smooth paste and add to chicken, simmer for another 5 minutes. Wahlah..you are done...enjoy!

Serve with rice of roti skins (Roti skins can be purchased from most local Caribbean restaurants or frozen from International or Caribbean grocery stores).

Vegetarian Variation: Substitute chicken with potatoes and add 1 can of cooked Chick Peas (about 15 ounces)