Buttercream Icing

Finally, an icing recipe that worked for me! Though I'm sure my prior mess ups were due to my own errors, this time I was sure to carefully watch my measurements.

Thinking back to the last time I tried to make icing, I realize what an importance icing sugar (as opposed to granulated sugar) can make!

The recipe I followed is by Wilton and can be found here.

• 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
• 1 teaspoon of Vanilla
  
• 2 tablespoons milk

Instructions

(Medium Consistency)

In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.

For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.

For thin (spreading) consistency icing, add 2 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk.

For Pure White Icing (stiff consistency), omit butter; substitute an additional 1/2 cup shortening for butter and add 1/2 teaspoon No-Color Butter Flavor. Add up to 4 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk to thin for icing cakes.

NOTE: Changes in Wilton's traditional recipes have been made due to Trans Fat Free Shortening replacing Hydrogenated Shortening.

Enjoy!

Eid Cookies Part II

In deciding which cookie recipes to try for Eid from my new cookbook, I had decided off the bat that I would try home made chocolate chip cookies. Not the pre made Pillsbury cookie dough I've been making my whole life, this time I'd try from scratch.

These unfortunately didn't last until the morning of Eid! They kept disappearing, one by one.

I present the 2nd of 3 recipes, Chocolate Chip Cookies. This recipe is slightly different from this one.


3/4 cups butter, softened
1/4 cup shortening
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 12-ounce package (2 cups) semisweet chocolate pieces or miniature candy-coated semisweet chocolate pieces
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans (optional) - [I skipped this part]

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl beat butter and shortening with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt. Beat until mixture is combined, scraping sides of bowl. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour. Stir in chocolate pieces and, if desired, walnuts.

2. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes or until edges are light brown. Transfer to a wire rack; cool.

* Don't try to mix the chocolate chips into the dough using a blender! Stir them in using spatula

Eid Cookies Part I

Having prepared a large iftar yesterday, I was in no condition to cook again today. Instead, we went and enjoyed Somali cuisine at Hamdi Restaurant here in Toronto.

I did manage to bake some Eid cookies though. I figured since I've never made cookies from scratch, I thought I'd give it a try. I was also really excited to use my new cookie cutters :D. I picked 3 recipes that appealed to me from my new cookbook and started on them last night.

I present the first of three recipes, Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies. I was in quite the rush so please excuse my low quality pics! (There's one cookie without glittery sugar... I have no idea why!)

The recipe is as follows:

1 cup of butter, softened

1.5 cups of sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoon cream of tartar (I skipped this... didn't have it, not even sure what it is!)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour

1. In a large mixing bowl beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the 1.5 cups of sugar, beat until combined. Beat the eggs, cream of tartar, baking soda, vanilla, and salt until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour. Cover and chill for 2-3 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Shape dough into 1-inch balls.

3. Bake for 9 to 12 minutes or until light brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

* I sprinkled some glittery sugar on them that I had lying around.

Enjoy!

Good Company for Eid

I thought I was going to lay off cooking for a while, but as it turns out, I had picked the wrong time to do so as Eid was just around the corner. Apparently (as I've come to realize a few days ago), we, the Aal Hamzah, have somewhat established our biannual Eid Open Houses in the past years, such that when I didn't email the sisters about it for this Eid, I received questions. Not in email, but on the forums!

Here is some of the exchange:

"I'm also wondering, are we coming over yaa UmmSakinah?" asks my dear K.

"Why don't you girls just call if you can come over? I don't have anything prepared though...got really fed up with cooking," I respond.

"You don't have to cook UmmSakinah... we just like chillin' with you and the family on Eid though..." she replies back.

"Then you all are very welcome to come over, but call first just to make sure,"I write back.

And somehow, it all percolates into,

"Fantastic...the time sounds great..see you girls tomorrow inshaallah!!"

And here I am, with renewed vigor, after having cooked up a 13 x 9 oval casserole dish of stir- fried Farfalle, replete with accurate measurements (an effort to train myself to write proper recipes) and of course with photos (which I truly enjoyed taking).

After spending days of tension headaches and crazy mood swings, I really look forward to having some good company.

Eid Al Adha Stir Fried Farfalle

You will need:

1 lb. box Farfalle (or any kind of pasta), cooked al dente
3 Tablespoons Canola oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 yellow onion, minced
1/2 Tablespoon chili paste*
3 Cups ground beef
1 Tablespoon oyster sauce (I used the Lee Kum Kee brand)
2 Tablespoons light salty soy sauce (I used the ABC brand)
5 Tablespoons tomato ketchup
1 Maggi cube
1 Cup sliced carrots
1 Cup bean sprouts
2 Cups thinly sliced bok choy/nappa cabbage/cabbage
1 Tablespoon lemon juice


You will have to:

1. Heat the canola oil in an open wok or wide saucepan, and toss in the minced onion and garlic
2. Saute for about 1 minute before dumping in the chilli paste. You can add more if you wish to kick up the spicometer
3. Saute for 1 minute more before adding the ground beef. Keep stirring.
4. Add in the oyster sauce, Maggi cube, tomato ketchup, soy sauce, and sliced carrots, and stir until carrots are soft and ground beef are cooked
5. Add the bean sprouts, bok choy, and Farfalle
6. Stir well, making sure to turn the mixture over several times such that the pasta are evenly coated in the ground beef sauce, and the bok choy and beansprouts are slightly cooked (not too cooked).
7. Sprinkle evenly with lemon juice and enjoy it with some good company.

Serves 8 - 10


Cook's Notes:

• You can omit the chilli paste if you wish
• You can omit the beansprouts and substitute with other vegetables if you wish
• It's best to use a flat metal spatula to cook this with as it's easier to shovel the pasta and flip it over in the last step
• * You can make the chilli paste by soaking some dried chillies in hot water to rehydrate them, and then blending them with just enough water until they come together as a wet paste. Refer to this post.
  
• I mix the smaller dried chilli peppers with the larger sweet ones so as not to make a chilli paste that is too pungent. (Rule of thumb: the smaller the chilli pepper, the hotter it is)
• You can keep this in the fridge for other uses, though be careful not to let it sit in the fridge too long without using it, as it can get moldy. If you don't use it a lot, either keep it in the freezer, make only enough for the dish that you are going to cook (but it's more energy efficient to make a big batch).
• You can also buy the ready made chilli paste called Sambal Oelek at Asian grocery stores.
• More information about dried chilli peppers on Cook's Thesaurus.

And, mashaallah, such good company it was too! Having these sisters over for Eid really made my Eid extra special. Jazakillah khair K, for asking me,

"Are we coming over, yaa Ummsakinah?"

Eid Mubarak!

No recipes this time. My kitchen's not as bustling as it usually is around Eid time. Let's just say I've had quite enough of cooking, and will take a much needed and deserved break for a while. Nevertheless, to all those who have honored Joy Luck Kitchen by dropping by, who are Muslims, no matter where you are,

Eid Mubarak!

Taqabbal Allah minna wa minkum

May Allah accept it from us and from you.
Ameen.