Restaurant Style French Fries

(Original recipe makes 3 servings)

 Ingredients:

4 big russet potatoes, peeled and slice to big, thick fries
Salt and pepper to taste
2- 3 cups water, or as needed
Vegetable oil for frying
Paprika to garnish
Fresh parsley to garnish, finely chopped
Parmesan cheese to garnish

Directions:

Pour 2-3 cups of water in a big pot and place it over a high heat. Add salt and pepper to the water just to taste. When water comes to a boil, drop a small batch of fries in the boiling water. Boil the fries between one to one and half minutes. Remove the fries from the pot and place them into a strainer. Add the second batch of fries to the remaining boiling water. Repeat this process until there are no more fries.
Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil gets to its highest point, add some boiled fries and fry them for about 7-8 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. When they are done, remove from the oil and drain on paper towels.
Garnish with paprika, parsley, and parmesan cheese and serve.

Celery Stew

(Original recipe makes 3 servings)

 

Ingredients:

300 g (10 Oz) Beef or lamb meat, washed and cut into cubes
Vegetable oil
1/2 cup beans (either Kidney, Pinto, or small red Beans), soaked
Salt and pepper to taste
350 g (12 Oz) celery, washed, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 1/2 cups fresh leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh mint, finely chopped, or 1 ½ tbsp. dried mint
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin
2-3 cups Water
Lime/lemon juice

Directions:

Add 2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil in a big cooking pot over a medium heat. Saute the chopped onion in the oil and cook for a couple of minutes or until tender. Add the meat and beans to the onion and cook until the meat gets brown. When the meat starts to brown, add garlic, turmeric, cumin, salt and pepper and cook for an additional 2 or 3 minutes until the garlic and all the spices blend with the meat. Then, add the 2-3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and let the meat and beans cook for 50 minutes.

Meanwhile, place a small saucepan over a medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Saute the chopped parsley leaves in the oil for a couple of minutes (3-4 minutes) when getting tender, add the mint leaves, saute for just less than one minute. Turn off the heat and put aside.

When your meat and beans half-cooked, add the celery, and sauteed vegetables (parsley and mint). Simmer a couple of times until celery and sauteed vegetables mix with meat (add more water if needed). Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and let the meat and beans cook completely (12-15 more minutes).
In the end, add the fresh lemon juice and adjust the seasoning (salt and pepper).

My Notes:

• In this recipe, the combination of different vegetables, celery, parsley and mint create an incredible and tasty dish. 
• You can also cook this tasty dish in advance and keep it in the freezer and just warm it up when needed.
• Serve it with rice, and your favorite salad. 
• In my style of cooking, I add beans to this recipe, which many other people omit this ingredient from the list. If you don’t like beans, remove it from the list of the ingredients.
• If you are using canned beans, do not add the beans in the beginning. Add them to the dish in the same time with the celery and sautéed vegetables.

Macaroni Tuna Salad

(Original recipe makes 4 servings)

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups uncooked elbow macaroni
2 (5 OZ or 142 g) cans tuna, drained (keep the water/or oil)
4 green onions, finely chopped
1/2 medium bell peppers (any color), seeded and chopped
4 medium pickles (or 1 cup), chopped
4 small tomatoes, diced to small pieces
¼ cup fresh or canned corn
¼ cup parsley, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil (remove from the list if you are using tuna in olive or vegetable oil)
Salt (to taste)
½ teaspoon ground black pepper (to taste)
3- 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon dry basil

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the elbow macaroni, and cook until tender (about 10 minutes). Drain and put aside.
In a small bowl, whisk garlic, fresh lemon juice, dried basil, olive oil +the water of one tuna can (if you are using tuna in the oil, don’t use olive oil and use the oil of both cans). Season with salt and pepper.
In a big serving bowl, add the macaroni, tuna, bell pepper, green onion, pickles, tomatoes, corn, and parsley. Toss to combine.
Pour the sauce over the salad and toss until well combined. Adjust the seasoning to your taste. Cover and refrigerate one hour before serving.

My Notes:

• If you are using fresh corn, cook corn in a large pot of boiling water for four to five minutes, drain, and rinse with cold water.

• If you are using tuna in water, add the water of one tuna can plus three tablespoons olive oil.

• It is a great option during very warm summer days if you don't like to use your stove or oven for long hours.

  

(Pain d'épice) French Honey Bread

Ingredients:

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp salt

4 tablespoons brown sugar

2/3 cup honey

1 1/3 cups milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, or 175 degrees C.
Grease an 8 by 4-inch baking pan and dust with flour.
In a big bowl, combine all the dry ingredients, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, nutmeg, ground cloves, salt, and brown sugar. Put aside.
In another big bowl, beat together honey and milk until mix very well. Add the mixture to the dry ingredients and stir just to blend. Pour the batter in the prepared baking pan.
Place the pan in the middle of the rack of the oven and back it for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a fork inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool on the rack completely.

My Notes:

• This kind of tea bread has a firm texture and it is really good for the breakfast or an afternoon snack along with cream cheese, butter, and jam.

Rice with Green Peas

(Original recipe makes 3 servings)

Ingredients:

1 cup basmati rice

1/2 cup frozen peas (no need to thaw)

2 tablespoons dried dill or 4-5 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped

2 tablespoons butter

Salt to taste
Water

Directions:

Rinse the rice once with fresh water, and drain. Place a medium deep pan over a high heat. Add the rice to the pot. Pour enough water until it covers one inch over the top of the rice. Add the salt, and adjust the taste of the rice. Cover, and bring the water to a boil. After it starts boiling, place the lid of the pot halfway, reduce the heat a little, and let the rice cook until the extra water evaporates. Stir once or twice. When the water almost evaporates, add all the frozen peas and dill. Mix them with the rice. Cut the butter to medium pieces, and scattered them on the top of the rice. Put the lid on completely, reduce the heat to the lowest setting, and let the rice cook for 25 minutes, or until it’s cooked.

My Notes:

• Although cooking the rice is easy, if you don’t follow the process of cooking property, you will end up with either uncooked or mushy rice.
• If you like to have a very good result with fluffy rice, wrap the lid of the pot with a clean dishcloth (after you add the peas and dill). It helps to capture the stream that rises up from the rice and doesn’t let it go back into the rice.
• The amount of the water that I mentioned above does not apply to all types of rice. It depends on the type of the rice that you’re using in your recipe. If you would like to create a fluffy rice, or you are not professionally cooking, basmati rice is the best option.
• It is very important to add the exact amount of water for each type of the rice. For this recipe (with basmati rice), you need to pour the water to the rice until comes one inch above the rice. You can also easily measure the amount of the water by a simple old fashion way. After pouring the water over the rice, shake the pot very gently to make all the rice even. Gently, place the top of your index finger on the surface of the rice (do not push your finger down). The water has to reach the first joint of your finger.
• If you noticed during the cooking that the amount of the water in the pot is more than the rice is needed, empty the extra water by pouring it in a strainer, and dumping the remaining rice back to the pot.

Banana Coconut Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups all- purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup butter or margarine
¾ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vinegar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, or 175 degrees C.
Grease an 8 by 4-inch baking pan and dust with flour.
First, combine the dry ingredients, flour, salt and baking powder, and put aside.
In a big bowl, beat the sugar and butter together for 2-3 minutes, or until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs and beat for 2 more minutes. Then, beat in vinegar, milk, vanilla, and mashed bananas. Now, gradually add and mix the flour to the mixture with the help of a tablespoon spoon. In the end, stir in coconut.
Pour the mixture into your prepared baking pan. Even the surface of the mixture with the back of a spoon.
Place the pan in the middle of the rack of the oven and bake it for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a fork inserted in center comes out clean. After it bakes, bring out the pan, and cool it for 15 minutes. Then, take out the bread from the pan and cool it on the rack completely. You can serve it right away, or wrap, and store it in the fridge for later.

My Notes

• If you have baked the bread in advance, warm it up in the microwave, or oven the next morning and serve it with butter, cream cheese, honey, or your favorite jam for breakfast. The combination of banana and coconut makes the bread one of the best after school snack for children.