...and I eventually made booza. What is booza? Lebanese ice cream.

This recipe inspired me.

I adapted it; anyway, I still had mastic bought in Lebanon and salep powder from Albania.

In the end, the ingredients used were:

1l goat’s milk

200g sugar

3 pieces of mastic (powdered)

1/2 teaspoon of salep powder

+pistachios (optional)

After powdering the mastic, mix all the ingredients in a pan. 

Continue stirring for 40 minutes on low heat (the texture changes every 10 minutes).  

In the end, pour the contents into a bowl. Cool it in the fridge. Stir again before placing it into the freezer. Repeat three times, every 10 minutes.

You should feel a gummier dessert; let it rest in the freezer for a few hours.

Serve with crushed pistachios; enjoy the booza taste, as it is traditionally made from goat’s milk, similar to (Turkish) dondurma.

I barely managed to make a jar of strawberry preserves! However, I got some magical preserves from the strawberries purchased when we returned from the Delta!

Well, using my Mom’s recipe, I needed:

180g small strawberries

180g sugar

45ml spring water

juice from half an organic lemon

After Marcel cleaned and washed them, I let the strawberries sit with the sugar for one hour. Then, I added the lemon juice and the water. I let everything boil, then simmer for half an hour.

Then, I poured the preserves into the jar.

We still have a small amount of preserves left in the jar. We don’t want it to end; it was that tasty! ♥

We travelled to Naples and its surroundings in March, for Marcel’s birthday. On Procida, an island I had wanted to explore for a long time, we were gifted many lemons. So, when we returned home, Marcel made limoncello.

What did he use?

8-10 organic lemons

1 litre of 96% alcohol

750g sugar

1 and a half litres of water

Carefully peel 10 medium organic lemons (as the Procida kind is large, we peeled 8), not to add the white part (which turns the drink bitter and cloudy). In a three-litre jar, pour the alcohol. Leave to set for at least 2 weeks (preferably 3) in a cool spot (but not the fridge); stir every 2-3 days.

After 2 or 3 weeks, melt the sugar in the water. Let it cool. Then, pour it over the mix in the jar (strained from the lemon skins). Leave another week to set fully.

We had two naughty girls to celebrate; however, I got 3 glasses. This way, we also celebrated Tedy, their brother.

You need—

75g blueberries

15g sugar

+

1 teaspoon of organic lemon zest

100ml whipping cream

15g sugar

Even if we’re talking about cats, our little ones love citrus fruits very much, especially lemons.

Blend the blueberries (I always store some over winter) with the lemon zest and sugar. After the latter dissolves, you’re ready to assemble the dessert.

Beat the whipping cream and the sugar.

Alternate the fruit and cream layers in Turkish tea glasses.

The result was light, fluffy, and spectacular!

As a surprise, Bundi didn’t hide her cravings and started the tasting!

Yesterday (December 17th) was St Barbara, a very important celebration in Georgia. Lobiani is the staple dish.

What is lobiani? It is a pie filled with beans. (I loved it when I tried it in Tbilisi.)
Marcel had the idea to make our version at home, so here's the recipe—

For the dough (makes 2):

80ml water

2g fresh yeast

1 teaspoon of sugar

125g flour

2g salt

Let the yeast and the sugar sit in the water for 5 minutes. Add the flour and the salt. Knead. Let the dough rise for 1 hour.

For the filling (makes 2):

250g boiled beans

4 garlic cloves

salt

Mash the beans and garlic cloves. Add the salt.

Method:

Split the dough in two equal parts. Roll each half out. Spread the beans and garlic mixture over each of them. Make a crescent moon by sticking the ends of the dough. Bake in a pan on low heat until brown. Munch.

It was delicious and filling!

One year ago, right before Christmas, I discovered a recipe for some Italian almond cookies by Nonna Fina. They turned out so great that they became a popular treat in our family. I adapted my ricciarelli recipe; you could try it out these Holidays!

You need:

225g almond flour

150g sugar

2 egg whites (room temperature)

*Vegan ricciarelli are possible, with 6 tbsp of water + 2 tbsp of psyllium or flaxseeds.

a dash of salt

the lemon zest from half a lemon

3 drops of almond extract (optional)

How to bake them?

Beat the egg whites with the salt. Add the almond extract if you decide to use it.

In a separate dish, mix the almond flour, sugar, and lemon zest.

Add the foam to the mix; stir easily. The dough will be slightly sticky.

Split the dough into two parts; shape them into two rolls. Cut the dough slices with a knife. Shape them into diamonds. Then, place them into a baking pan lined with baking parchment. You will get 13-14 ricciarelli from a roll.

Bake them for 15-20 minutes at 180°C. After 10 minutes, supervise them so you don’t burn them. ;-)

Enjoy them! ♥

Shells

170g flour

2 tbsp of sugar

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 tbsp of cocoa powder

1 tbsp of butter

1 small egg

3 tbsp of Port (if you don’t have Marsala)

Filling

325g ricotta

130g sugar

for 8 cannoli

I don’t like the scent of burnt oil in the house; on the other hand, I was craving cannoli. I’m thinking, ’Could I bake them?’.

I had prepared the filling the previous night, draining ricotta and mixing it with the sugar.

To make the cannoli shells, mix the flour, sugar, cinnamon, cocoa, butter, and egg. To give them their typical flavour, add 3 tablespoons of Port if you lack the classical Marsala.

Knead until you have a compact dough (insist until all the ingredients are fully incorporated!). Let it sit in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Divide the dough into 8 balls. Then, crush them and roll them out. Draw circles using a 12cm-diametre bowl. Cut them out. Wrap them around the cannoli tubes. Use a few drops of water to stick the ends.

Place the cannoli tubes into a baking pan. Then, bake in the preheated oven at 180°C for 15 minutes.

By using a piping bag, fill the shells with the ricotta and sugar mixture.

Tip: I prefer filling the shells every time we have cannoli, keeping the piping bag in a mug in the fridge.

Something fast and sweet, Marcel’s idea, as summer should taste—

You’ll need—

1.5 kg watermelon flesh

6 teaspoons of sugar

1 lemon

How to make it?

Add the watermelon flesh pieces into the blender with the sugar and lemon juice.

Blend.

Savour.

makes 130 bezele

4 egg whites

200g sugar

1 tbsp of vinegar

a pinch of salt

When I have more egg whites than needed, my thought flies to my Mom’s bezele recipe.

Here it is!

Take the egg whites out of the fridge. When they sit at room temperature, their foam will be richer.

Mix them with the sugar, adding it bit by bit. Then, mix in the vinegar [it will make the foam ’sit’ and the bezele feel glossy] and the salt.

Fill a pastry bag with the foam and draw bezele. Make a circle, letting the foam flow, then lift the pastry bag.

I got 2 large baking pans and a small one.

Bake in the preheated oven at 110°C for 30 minutes.

They’ll be crunchy for 2-3 days in closed bowls or bags.

That is, if you don’t eat them in the meantime. 😊

I remember the torrid July in southern Bulgaria. It wasn’t one of my best days, but when the gentleman whose family restaurant we were having lunch at brought me the cup of fig ice cream, telling me it was their recipe for generations, I fell in love.

About a year and a half ago, on a hot day in Brasov this time around, I tried to recreate the dessert. And it worked!

Here’s the recipe.

You’ll need—

350ml whipping cream

20g sugar

100ml condensed milk

10 medium figs (200-215g)

Mix the sugar and the whipping cream.

Slowly add the condensed milk. Then, add the pieces of fresh figs.

Transfer the ’result’ into a large dish; freeze it overnight.

I fell in love with this cake in Lebanon (I have a special relationship with ’ashta’, the cream used everywhere in Phoenicia, anyway). I baked it for the first time on my birthday in 2023, adapting it (it’s not easy to bake with semolina!); I kept preparing it. This is what happens when a result is tasty!

For the cream:

In a large baking pan, mix and boil (low heat)

530ml whipping cream

420ml milk

67g flour

5 tbsp of sugar + 135g sugar

Before removing it from the heat, add a drop of

orange blossom water

rose water

You’ve made ashta.

Continue with the dough. 

In a bowl, mix

330g semolina

100g coconut or date sugar

3g baking powder

a pinch of salt

4 tbsp of sour cream

150g (melted and slightly cooled) butter

Divide the (sticky) dough into two equal parts; place the first part on the baking parchment by pressing fragments of the dough into the 34x24cm baking pan. (Don’t worry; it will all get homogenous through baking.) 

Sprinkle as many crushed pistachios as you like. 

Pour the ashta. 

Add another layer of crushed pistachios. 

Then, spread pieces of the remaining layer on top of the cake.

Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven at 180°C.

Cool in the fridge for at least 3 hours.

Savour it. It is a creamy and delicious cake, one of my favourite desserts ever! ♥

I’ve been thinking... what cake should I make for the kittens on their birthday? They love whipped cream. And I had one butternut squash left. Wait a minute, this can actually work!

Ingredients used:

130-150g butternut squash

30g butter

5 tbsp brown sugar

50g biscuits

20g walnuts

150g whipping cream

20g sugar

Marcel cleaned the butternut squash, cut it into slices, and let it sit in the oven for about one hour in a baking pan lined with baking parchment, at 180-200⁰C.

Then, add three butternut squash slices to a pan (about 130-150g), together with the butter and the brown sugar, stirring until you get a homogenised mix.

Separately, crush 50g of biscuits in a blender, grind the walnuts, and whip the whipping cream and the sugar.

Use a big bowl (and 2 smaller ones) to set up your dessert: the butternut squash mix as your base, a ground walnut layer, a whipped cream layer, a crushed biscuit layer, another whipped cream layer, and the final crushed biscuit layer.

Who, in your opinion, licked the bowl where I whipped the cream? :D

 

What to use?

5g dry yeast

350ml water

a teaspoon of sugar

500g Graham flour

7g sea salt

2 tbsp of olive oil

Mix the water, dry yeast, and sugar; let them sit for 5 minutes.

Add the sea salt to the Graham flour; then, pour the olive oil and the mix of yeast and water mentioned above over the flour.

The mixture will be quite liquid. Use a wooden spoon to homogenise it; let it rise for one hour.

Line a pound cake tin with baking parchment; pour the batter into it.

Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven at 200⁰C.

Ingredients:

60g butter

120g yoghurt

120g whole-wheat flour

5g baking powder

a pinch of salt

4 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon powder

for 25 cookies

Method:

Melt the butter.

Meanwhile, mix the flour, baking powder, pinch of salt, sugar, and cinnamon.  

Add the melted butter and the yoghurt.  

In a large baking pan lined with baking parchment, shape the dough as cookies.

Then, bake in the (preheated) oven for 15 minutes at 180⁰C.

How are they? J