Eggplant with tomatoes, onions and chick peas

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Suad NeJaime’s Eggplant with tomatoes, onions and chick peas…… served cold
Interpreted by my sister-in-law, Portia.

2 egg plants
5 onions (Portia says the secret is lots and lots of onions!)
1 can chick peas
4 tomatoes
olive oil
salt pepper
allspice
oregano
pinenuts

Slice the eggplant into wedges, depending on the size, as if preparing for stuffed eggplant. Sprinkle egg plant with salt and let stand for at least an hour. Pat dry with paper towels and fry in olive oil till golden brown, place on paper towels to drain.
Place in a glass pyrex dish, sprayed with Pam. (you can do this the day before and leave covered  in the fridge.) Tastes better if left in fridge …. According to Suad

Chop the tomatoes finely and place in a bowl.
Add 1 can chick peas.
Add ½ teasp allspice, salt, pepper, , a tablespoon oregano (Suad rubs the oregano in her hands first, she says it bring the flavor out) and a teaspoon of sugar to the chopped tomatoes, mix altogether and then add to eggplant.
Sprinkle a little oil over top

Bake at 350 in oven for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile sauté the onions till carmelized and crispy. After 10 mins. add salt and a little sugar. Stir from time to time. Keep the heat at medium low.
Saute pinenuts.

Just before serving, add onions and pinenuts.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

            Cream of Mushroom Soup

Ingredients

6 tblsps butter (melt in pot)
2 packages baby bel mushrooms chopped
2 celery stalks chopped

3 leeks (white only) chopped
handful of oyster mushroom chopped
1/2 cup flour
6 cups chicken broth/vegetable broth 
1 teaspoon thyme or 1 fresh thyme sprig
1/2 cup heavy cream
juice of 2 lemons
salt and pepper

Directions

Cut off the green parts of the leeks, tear of the outer leaves, split lengthwise once in half, cut into quarter inch slices and soak in water. There is often soil between the layers and this way you can be sure of removing any soil from the leeks. Change the water a couple of times. While the leeks are soaking, slice 2 stalks celery, chop 2 packages of baby bel mushrooms, chop oyster mushrooms. Melt 6 talespoons butter in a pan, and add the mushrooms, leeks and celery.
 Cook stirring until softened …. 10 minutes

In separate bowl, put 1/2 cup of flour, add 5 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth, stirring constantly until the flour has merged with the liquid.

Add 1 fresh thyme sprig (or 1 teasp dried thyme)
Bring to simmer and cook covered for 30 mins.
Allow the soup to cool a little before using the cuisinart.
Puree soup in cuisinart in batches and pour the soup into another pan.
Add 1/2 cup heavy cream
Season with the juice of 2 lemons,  salt and pepper
Heat soup but do not boil.

Mexican Avocado Dip

Mexican Avocado Dip

Serve with corn chips as an appetizer.

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Ingredients

I jar salsa (mild or medium)
2 avocados
1 package dehydrated taco seasoning mix
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
2 tomatoes chopped
1 can Californian large pitted olives chopped (drain liquid)
1 Bunch scallions chopped
grated cheddar cheese


Directions

Peel avocados and spin in blender or food processor until smooth.
Spread this mixture over the bottom of a pyrex dish.
Empty the whole jar of salsa and spread over avocado mix
Mix together taco seasoning mix, mayonnaise and sour cream, spread over salsa.
Add a layer of chopped tomatoes
Add a layer of chopped olives
Add a layer of chopped scallions
Top with grated cheddar cheese.

Greek Yoghurt (Leban)

Yoghurt (Leban)

    
Rawbi is a starter for making leban or yoghurt. It is borrowed from a neighbor or friend in the Middle East as frequently as a cup of sugar is borrowed from a next door neighbor in the West.  You can make yoghurt from commercial plain Greek yoghurt, but it will be sweeter than using the rawbi from yoghurt made at home.

Ingredients
1 gallon whole milk
2 tablespoons plain Greek yoghurt
cheese cloth                                                  

Directions

Pour milk in a heavy pan and heat on low fire until it comes to a      
very low boil. It looks like a skin on top, that gently rolls like a
lake in the breeze and you will notice tiny bubbles forming under
the skin. Have greek starter yoghurt at room temperature in a
small bowl.

Turn the heat off.

Run hot water over a ceramic or glass bowl to warm it up. Dry bowl.

Pour heated milk into bowl and cool to 115 degrees F. (or when the little finger can be immersed in the milk to the count of ten. Fingers have different toleration levels, so using a thermometer is more reliable. It works at a temperature no lower than 115 degrees and no higher than 120 degrees)

Return to the bowl of yoghurt, if you notice some excess liquid, absorb it with a paper towel first.

Remove the skin from the top of the milk with a large spoon and mix
with the yoghurt starter, then add another two tablespoons of the hot
milk. Stir with a slotted spoon. Pour all the yoghurt mixture into the
pan of hot milk and stir a few times.

Cover pan with silver foil and a towel, it helps to wrap a blanket around the pan also to keep it warm.

Let stand overnight or for eight hours. Do not disturb the yoghurt during this time! Don’t move it.

Next day, remove towel, blanket, silver foil and place cheese cloth over entire surface. The cheese cloth will absorb the liquid (whey) and should be rinsed out and squeezed dry daily, then recover the yoghurt with cheese cloth. Over time, the yoghurt becomes thicker, it will be ready to eat after two days. Eventually the yoghurt will be a consistency of cream cheese (labne). This is good to start another batch of yoghurt.

If the yoghurt does not congeal after standing overnight or you forgot about it while cooling down, you can warm the covered bowl over hot water for 45-60 minutes.

Ghiban (basket cheese)

David’s Cheese (Ghiban) or Basket Cheese

Ingredients

2 gallons whole milk (red cap)
1 quart half and half
1 tablet of Marschall (rennet)Marschall is a very strong form of rennet, you can buy this product in Middle Eastern specialty stores.
2 tablespoons salt

Directions

Pour milk and half and half into heavy saucepan, add 2 tablespoons salt and stir so that everything is mixed together. Heat over low heat until milk develops a skim over the top. Turn off heat and let cool until milk measures 95 to 100 degrees fahrenheit.

Take the tablet of Marschall, crush it and add to milk,              
stirring a little bit then leave it to set for 1 hour.



Place a colander inside another large bowl. The curds will drain through the cheese cloth into the bowl.

colander with 2 layers of cheese cloth

Cover a colander with 2 double folded cheese cloths,                     being careful to make sure the two cloths go in opposite warps.


Using a ladle with holes or slots, drain the curds and place in
the cheese cloth. Once all curds are removed, reheat the balance. As it heats, it will create more curds. They will be warm, but put over the first load of curds.

Fold cheese cloth over the top, place a saucer and a weight on top of the saucer, such as a large can of tomatoes. Make sure it can't tip over.

Let drain into sink or pan overnight or for at least 12 hours in a cool place.

Using a ladle with holes

In morning, remove from strainer and open cheese cloth
 -  sprinkle with salt - flip over the cheese and remove balance
of cloth. Sprinkle once again with salt.
Cover and put in fridge to chill.

Rinse cheese cloth multiple times, leave to soak in a bowl. A teaspoon of baking soda in the water helps.

Place a heavy weight on top of a saucer to increase the drainage of the whey.

 When the cheese is on a plate in the fridge, it continues to drain. David places the cheese on a paper towel. Be careful it doesn't dry the cheese out completely. The paper towel should only be used for excess drainage, not recommended to leave it there permanently.