Menu Plan Monday

So it's Monday again and  I did our weekly menu with my hubby Sunday morning since we wanted to know if we should go grocery shopping or not and we only need yogurt for this week, so yohoo for that :)
You know that I bought a bread machine few months ago and I make all the dough for pizza and calzone and 2 weeks ago I did find a very good recipe for sandwich rolls and I made it ( we always buy our breads from Costco); we loved the home made sandwich rolls . so it's been 2 weeks now that I make our own sandwich breads and we did not shop for any breads at all; but will see how long this will go :)
So enough of me rambling; let's see this weeks menu, shall we :

Monday :Kabab Koobide ( is a Persian dish made of barbequed minced meat). since this was a long weekend here in Canada we will be off Monday so it would be easy to cook this one. 

Tuesday : stuffed salmon 

Wednesday : Shish Taouk sandwich

Thursday : Cajun Shrimp and Rice 

Friday : Linguine with Tuna Puttanesca 

I also participate in Laura's menu Monday posts :)

Wish you all a nice week 

Mania

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday, we were not hungry at all so we had fruits ;)

Friday 5

Well it's Friday so yaaaaaaaaay for that :) now that I'm sitting behind my computer and thinking what I did these past few days, It made me think "wow this was a fast week but a good one" :)
Here is my this week's Friday Five:

1.Eucerin Aquaphor cream which is like a thicker and less smellier version of Vaseline. I have one of these on my night stand and use it before I go to bed every night. it leaves my lips soft and also could be use in place of lip-gloss in day. when I'm wearing a shoe and it starts to hurt my feet, I also use it and it reduces the friction so it would not hurt anymore. 

2. last week I had a little incident with my feet and all week I needed a comfortable shoes to keep me on running around. for me converse shoes are the best, this is not my actual shoes since I had them for several years and they are little bit worn. but I have the same style and color, I prefer the short ones;love these shoes and they feel so comfortable.

3. I am honestly love every song Pitbull has been in it so far and this by far my most favorite. there is something about his accent and voice that makes every song very catchy. and I have to say I don't care if they are sometimes singing some stupid stuff, I love it anyway and this is going to be my summer song; love it big time :) "so tonight let's enjoy life ..."

4. Flowers, this past week  no matter when or where I saw a flower I stopped and  took a picture. the weather past week was all rainy and gray and these flowers kinda gave me the sense that it would get better. they are everywhere and each have different colors, I enjoy looking  at them and maybe it would be silly to some by they make me happy :)

5. I used to paint a lot then I stopped for some reasons, the again I decided to start them again  last year because they made me relax. recently I got back to my habit; I guess the main reason was my sister who also doing some painting but with chalk pastels and we were discussing it over the phone a lot and she kinda inspired me to take out my stuff and enjoy them all over again :)

Ok that was this week's top 5, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. till next time  :)

Mania

Pear and Almond Tart

This was on my baking list for SO long because it is my favorite pie of all time. I love the taste of almond in anything and it goes very well with pear here. we usually get this pie from "Première Moisson" which I love. I looked for a good ( and by that I mean easy) and I found a few which I will try one by one. 

Here is the first one and the easiest one :

Ingredient for the pastry:

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 icing sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 egg yolks

2 tablespoon chilled water

Ingredients for the tart:

3 firm pears

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1 tablespoon water or rum

4 tablespoon of orange preserve

Ingredient for the almond filling:

3/4 almonds ( I use the original almonds with their skin on)

1/4 cup caster sugar

5 tablespoon butter

1 egg

1 egg white

1/2 teaspoon of almond essence or rose water

First step like always heat up the oven to 350C.

In a bowl mix the flour, salt and sugar together. cut the butter into small cubes and mix the with dry ingredients. the mixture will resembles breadcrumbs.

then mix the egg yolks and water and mix to make a dough. put it in the fridge for about 30 minutes to chill.

When it's time, take out the dough and roll it on the surface with a roller. then spread the layer of pastry on the pie pan and put it back to fridge for  30 more minutes.

Meanwhile, let's make the filling. put the almonds and sugar in the food processor and plus them till they are finely ground but not like powder. add the butter and process until creamy. them mix the egg, egg white and almond essence.

Thinly peel and slice the pears as shown here and sprinkle lemon juice on them. put them cut side down and keep the slices together.

Pour the almond filling into the pastry case. slide a wide knife under the pear half and press them with your fingers to fan out the slices.then transfer them to the tart on top of the filling.

Place the tart into the oven and bake for 50-60 minutes or till the filling is set and lightly browned. 

While tart is getting ready in the oven, heat the rum or water and preserve in a small pan, then brush over the hot tart to glaze ( this step could be ignored, I found it unnecessary !). when tart cooled down, take a slice and enjoy !

If you are a fan of tart, definitely try this one you won't be disappointed, it is easy, as well as delicious :) I think I did well for the my first time  ;)

Have a great Wednesday everyone

Mania

Obsession du jour :Maxi dress

Maxi dresses for summer have been in style for a couple of years now and this year they are even bigger than ever you see them everywhere.  and what not to love: they are very comfortable and also so versatile. I know for some people is love/ hate relationship with maxi dress but I think it's just the matter of finding the right cut and pattern for yourself. 

I have quite a few of those and last weekend I went shopping with one of my friends and we both ended up buying some maxi dresses which we both loved :)

As I mentioned before they are so versatile, you can dress them up for going out in the evening or wear them casually to the beach or at any other summer day activities; it just needs to be accessoriesed accordingly.  

There are so many different models and cuts out there, I personally love the empire waist ( since they have a nice structure and it works with my body type). for the rest of them if they don't have a specific shape to them I just use a proper belt to shape them the way I want; pair them with a casual blazer ( like in jeans fabric) or with a light cardigan.  the fabric is also important; for summer times cotton is the best and I also love jersey since they are so light ,flow-y and comfortable.
Here are some of the images of different runway shows of 2011 which were my picks: 

D&G summer spring 2011 show

Channel Resort 2011

Chloe 2011, specially love the color

Michael Kors spring/summer 2011

The last one which is the most simple one; I bought  the same model but in orange color last week ( from F21 which was about 12 $ and the Michael Kors one is about 130$). by itself I think it's little bit boring and it definitely needs a belt or another really nice  accessories. 

This post really put me in the mood for summer, I am doing my spring-summer closet cleaning this week and can't wait to dig out my last year's dresses and also shop for some new ones :)
So what is your relation with maxi dresses : Love them or Hate them?!?
Till next time :)
Mania

My Hair besties series- E3: MACADAMIA NATURAL OIL Deep Repair Masque

I am a big fan of hair masques in general however some of them works amazing and some of them do nothing and basically are waste of money.

One of my all time favorite is "Macadamia Natural Oil deep repair masque". this line is a rather expensive hair care and I only used their masque ( have no idea about how the rest are). 

Hair masques are mostly for deep conditioning.  after the regular shampoo, you put it all over the hair and wait for a couple of minutes; then rinse it with water.

Macadamia hair mask is really good one out there specially for dry and damaged hair. it is a combination of Macadamia, Argan, chamomile oils with tee tree, aloe and algae extract ( all that good stuff).before I cut my hair short I used it once a week since my hair ends at that point was very dry and damaged ; it made my hair silky, shinny and so soft and it also smells nice. but now I only  use it every 2 weeks or so.

Just keep in mind that it does not repair the hair and solve the breakage or something though, it makes the hair LOOK healthier. it makes the dry ends look softer.so there are still split ends there but less annoying ;)

I personally do not recommend using it more than once a week, it might make hair look hair greasy rather than healthy and shinny. also by using it more frequently, it may cause buildup in the hair which results in "not working anymore". so use a clarifying shampoo to get rid of the build up and then back to use the masque. so the most important point is "do not over use". I noticed the change in my hair right after my first use. you can tell right away that it moisturizes your hair.

Some people think because it says Natural on the name this is a natural product. well, it is not. it is only because the oils are all natural but there is still bunch of other chemicals in there. 

I  LOVE this product and highly recommend it :)

Hope this was helpfull for anyone looking for a good hair masque or hair treatment.

Wish you all a nice Tuesday :)

Mania

Menu Plan Monday

This week will be the start of our BBQ for this year. I know we are little late and most people already started but we are kinda lazy ;)

Monday :Chicken Brochette 

Tuesday : Zucchini calzone

Wednesday : Beef & vegetable Lasagna 

Thursday : Cajun Shrimp and Rice 

Friday : stuffed salmon ( with Shrimp, scallop) and vegetables 

Like last week I will update this post with the pictures and also participate in Laura's Menu Plan Monday post. if you like to know more details about any of the recipes please let me know ;)

Have a great week everyone :)

Mania

P.S. here are the pictures:

Monday: well, we did not do BBQ since it was raining like crazy & it was COLD .. so I just put the chickens in the oven. had it with rice and salad :)

Tuesday :with my favorite side dish  ;) oh I always make the dough myself, usually on Sundays and keep them in the fridge till their day comes ;)

Wednesday

Friday

This week my hubby was away in a business trip so I was all alone, and surprisingly I cooked for myself which is odd ( to me of coarse). but it is hard to adjust the ingredients for one person so I ended up with 1 more lasagna so I did not cook Thursday and just finished my lasagna :)

Parisian Tuna Sandwich

One of my hubby's favorite things ( and mine too)  to eat is tuna and we use them in different meals from time to time, like in salad, in sandwich or mixed with cooked vegetables. this is one of them, in sandwich form. the reason it is called Parisian I have no idea ! if you are not a fan of wine vinegar taste you might want to replace it with another sauce. this is a very healthy, tasty sandwich, full of different ingredients and tastes that all come together in a good way. so now let's get down to cooking :

• Ingredients:
• 3  eggs
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• sandwich rolls
• 2 cups spring salad mix (or 1 medium bunch arugula )
• 1 large tomato, thinly sliced
• 1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup jarred artichoke hearts, drained and sliced

2 6-ounce cans oil-packed tuna ( the ones packed in oil has better tastes than the ones in water)

• 1/2 cup nicoise or kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
• 4 medium radishes, thinly sliced

• First, cook the eggs in a saucepan; cover with water for 8 to 10 minutes. then drain and cool with cold water.

Meanwhile, mix the vinegar, desired amount of salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Whisk in the olive oil. 

Put the rolls cut-side up on a work surface and lightly drizzle with a quarter of the dressing. Place the arugula on the roll bottoms. Top with the sliced tomato, onion and artichokes.drizzle with another quarter of the dressing.

Drain the tuna, but leave lightly coated with oil.put the tuna in the remaining dressing and spread on the sandwich. 

Peel and thinly slice the hard-boiled eggs and layer the slices over the tuna. top with the olives and radishes. Cover with the roll tops, pressing gently but firmly. Wrap the sandwiches in plastic wrap and place a skillet ( or anything heavy) on top to weigh them down; set aside for at least 15-20 minutes so the bread absorbs the flavors.

Voilà, there you have it. hope you make this easy and fast meal and enjoy it

Mania