Menu Plan Monday

Hello lovelies, 

I hope you are all well, and had a splendid weekend. here was super hot ( I am not complaining though), water park kinda weather but did we go to the water park, NO. I insisted that we should go blueberry picking,went there even though it was hot I still insisted we should definitely go and pick the blueberries instead of just buying the already picked ones. 

It was super hot that I felt my face was melting, right after the activity of blueberry picking we went to the beach did some BBQ and cooled off there. here is the picture of the beach, it was just so beautiful. might go there again next week. 

This is me, checking the map and repeating "are we there yet" every 30 sec.

and here is the view of the lake, isn't it beautiful :)

Now it is Monday again so let's talk about this week's menu:

Monday :  Roasted sausage and tomato with herbs and garlic

Tuesday : Beef Ravioli Lasagna

Wednesday : Foil-packet Fish 

Thursday :  Chicken Stroganoff

Friday: Tuna spaghetti

This week I am cooking the roasted sausage again, this time with different sausage ( mushroom and cheddar) which we picked up from market Sunday. I  also participate in Laura's Menu Plan Monday post. as the week progresses I will update this post with the pictures and if you like to know more details about any of the recipes please let me know ;)

Have a great week everyone :)
Mania

Monday

Tuesday

L'Oreal Color Infallible Eyeshadow

Hello lovelies,

hope you all enjoying your beautiful summer days. today's post will be on one of my recent purchases which is "La Couleur Infallible" eyeshadow by L'Oreal. 

I 've been noticing the new eye-shadow stand at L'Oreal section for a few months now, each time I pass them I try some of the colors on the back of my hand ( well by time I left my hand looked like it was hit by a glitter bomb) but still did not really see the need to buy these. because 1st of all I am not a big fan of glittery eyeshadows that much (specially at this intense level) and 2nd I honestly don't need any more makeup stuff  in my life at this moment. 

But finally I gave up and got one color which could be one of the most boring ones but I liked it and I think this is the one I could wear the most and it's called Hourglass Beige.

The shadow itself looks like a packed glitter, but the glitters are soft and not chunky at all.  this one is a very light gold-white color (very nice color description by me)  I used my fingers to apply it all over my lid, then in the outer V I used a brown color from a palette by Lancome called La Vie en Rouge (the color is called guess list which is a slight shimmery brown). 

Now let's look at them in action, I used only one layer though since it was a day look but as I said you could build it up as much as you like :)

this is just one layer of Beige eyeshadow and please try to ignore that annoying fallen eyelash ;) 

this is the complete look 

Let's start with the good: it is very smooth, the glitters won't fall off like some powder shadows, very pigmented. I also liked the packaging, it is small and efficient. 

Now to the bad: although it supposed to be long lasting, it is not. I noticed it creasing after about 3hr. as I told you I had another shadow on the outer V, but that color stayed put, the L'Oreal one was creasing from under ( which was looking pretty funny ). I didnot use an eye primer, I rarely use though.Another thing is that I liked to see more colors in that range or maybe some less glittery ones, I don't know maybe that's just me. 

There are some pretty colors there like the green, or navy ones which both looks gorgeous with brown eyes. maybe I get those too, not sure yet, will see.

So this is all for today :) have a great Friday everyone and don't forget to enjoy your weekend;)

Mania

Kabab Koobide

Hello lovelies,

Hope you all having a great day, today's post is kakab koobide recipe which is a Persian dish and my absolute favorite kinda kabab. 

To be honest here, for me it took a while to figure out how to get it right and if you try it you'll see what I mean. so don't worry if you tried and was not satisfied for your first time don't give up,you'll improve it next time. there are 2 main points to keep in mind:
1st: using the right proportion of meat (with the right level of fat) and onions and make them mix all well together so kabab does not fall from the metal skewer on the BBQ. 

2nd: to have a right level of cooking, and avoid getting it too dry.

So now enough with the intro and let's get to the recipe:

Ingredients (makes 4 skewers):

500 gr of ground beef ( I get medium lean, lower level of fat than medium results in dry kabab)

2 medium sized onions grated ( after grating, it is important to separate the water from onions if they become too watery)

1 teaspoon of turmeric 

Salt and pepper

Tomatoes ( as many as you want, I usually consider 1 tomatoes for each person)

Mix everything well together for about 5-8 minutes. so the mixture gets slightly sticky. if you can't mix with your hand just take the half of the mixture and put it in the food processor and just use the pulse bottom 2 times ( that's it you don't need that much). then take it out from there, return it to the bowl and mix with the rest. cover the bowl and pop it into the fridge for at least 2 hours. I usually make it ahead and keep it refrigerated overnight.

Then when the time comes take it out of the fridge, take your wide steel skewers. take a handful of the meat and press it to the skewer uniformly. if the meat does not stay on the skewer now then you will have problem on the BBQ for sure. 

A trick that you could use here ( to make sure they won't fall on the BBQ): use a thin string and wrap the meat with it loosely ( the turns should not be very close together) and when it is cooked separate the strings from the meat by just unrolling it. 

I always manage the length of the kabab by the BBQ length, so keep that in mind. when all the meat is done, you could pop the skewers into the fridge again and hit up your BBQ.don't forget to divide your tomatoes in half then put the them also on skewers as well. 

I prefer charcoal ones but gas-BBQ also will do. the BBQ job is out of my territory, that's my guy's responsibility. but he told me that BBQ should be very hot and even in temperature. when you transfer the skewers ( meat and tomatoes) to the BBQ, start turning them frequently and cook each side for about 5-7 minutes. when it is done take a thin bread ( like pita bread) put it on the plate and leave the kakab between the bread; this helps them to stay warm and juicy.

when all is done, serve them hot with rice and saffron combo or bread. 

A quick note on how to make saffron: add about 1/2 teaspoon saffron to a cup ( in powder, I buy them in strings, in original form, then powder them myself),add small amount of boiling water and mix it well,so the water becomes a very intense orange color. to get even more intense, you could put the small cup inside your rice pan while you cooking your rice and steam it. then you can mix it with your rice.

Final comments: 

If you don't have the proper skewers, you could shape your meat into long, thin proportions and grill them at high temperatures in the oven.the oven should be preheated and the kabab should be placed as high as possible to the top source heat.   

Hope you try this and enjoy as well. 

Have a great Wednesday everyone,

Mania 

Increase your Body's SPF

source:thundafunda.com 

Hello Lovelies, 

Hope you all having a great day and week so far. today I wanted to share something with you that I came across recently and found it interesting. and that is Lycopene. 

So what is this Lycopene thing : it is a red pigment that is found in red fruits and vegetables such as red carrots, tomatoes, watermelon and papayas, pink grapefruit. 

But the interesting point is: Consuming lycopene-rich stuff may protect against sunburn and sun-induced skin ageing, British researchers ( University of Manchester) have reported. they reported that The tomato-fed group had 33% more protection against sunburn when compared to the control group.

Unlike other fruits and vegetables, where  some nutritional content such as vitamin C is decreased upon cooking, processing of tomatoes increases the concentration of bioavailable lycopene. actually Lycopene in tomato paste is four times more bioavailable than in fresh tomatoes! For this reason, tomato sauce is a preferable source as opposed to raw tomatoes.

Also it is good to know that Lycopene is insoluble in water, so having tomatoes with oil-rich dishes is highly recommended since it helps and enhances Lycopene absorption. 

Other than Lycopene, there are others like beta-carotene. beta-carotene could be found in carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, and cantaloupes.

So you could increase your sun protection from within but don't forget Lycopene and beta-carotene are no substitute for a proper sunscreen sine they could only provide very low protection. so please don't forget to dive into that sunscreen of yours ;)
That is all for today :) have a great Tuesday everyone
Mania

Menu Plan Monday

Hello lovelies,

Hope you all had a great weekend. here was sunny and warm. Saturday we went to a big BBQ with office people which was super fun then Sunday we enjoyed the sun at the beach. It was a good and relaxing weekend. but I am very sad that July is over, everything is moving too fast, it's crazy !

But now back to Mondays' subject and that is what to eat this week.  so let's get down to that:

Monday :  Zucchini pizza

Tuesday : Kabab koobide (Persian dish)

Wednesday : Roasted sausage and tomato with herbs and garlic

Thursday : Calzon

Friday:  Grilled herb crusted salmon

This week I am trying 2 new dishes ( Wed. and Fri. ones) which was both suggested to me by a friend. finger crossed I cook them well ;) I  also participate in Laura's Menu Plan Monday post. as the week progresses I will update this post with the pictures and if you like to know more details about any of the recipes please let me know ;)

Have a great week everyone :)
Mania

Monday

Thursday

P.S. for the rest of the days I forgot to take a picture and as soon as we finished I remembered ( very typical of me ). and Friday dinner is cancelled since we made plans to go out, but maybe I'll cook it on Sunday night.

Tortilla de Patatas

Hello lovelies,
I just want to say 2 things at the beginning: 1st special HELLO to new subscribers, welcome and thanks for reading my blog, hope you enjoy reading  as much as I enjoy writing them. 2nd thank you to all of YOU who read and take time to write a comment or just say hi. reading them makes me smile all the time, so again thank you :) 

Hope you all having a great week so far, mine is so so. kinda feeling sad for no reason at all and it bothers me a lot, because I am not usually like that. I don't know... 

Ok enough about me now and let's talk about Tortilla de Patatas. this is a Spanish dish and basically it is an omelette with potatoes. I added some eggplants to the original recipe. you could add any other kind of vegetables you are in the mood for. now let's get to the recipe, shall we:

Ingredients:

6 gold potatoes

2 medium size Red onions

5-6 eggs

1 small eggplant diced 

3/4 cup olive oil 

First peel and slice the potatoes into thin rounds, do the same for onions. wash them in cold water and pat dry them.

In a frying pan add the olive oil, let it heat on medium for about a minute. then add the potatoes and onions. stir very gently for about 3 minutes. add the diced eggplants and cook them all for about 5 minutes. they should not get brown, just soften. 

Drain the mixture in a large bowl and keep the oil aside.

In another bowl mix the eggs with salt and pepper. then pour the eggs over the potatoes mixture. they should be covered well, if not add one more beaten egg.

From the olive oil that you kept, take 1 tablespoon and add it to a frying pan over medium heat, add the potatoes-egg mixture.

When the eggs are set, turn the omelet over, add a bit more oil so both sides get golden.

when both sides are done, slide to a plate or slice them and serve them warm.

This is such an easy and yummy meal, we have something similar to that in Persian dishes and is called potato cake (کوکو سیب زمینی‌). hope you try and enjoy it as well :)

Have a great Thursday everyone,

Mania

Summer Besties

Hello lovelies,

Hope you all having a great day wherever you are,I decided to a tag which is been going around in youtube mostly and also in some blogs. it is about some of my favorite summer items in beauty and fashion categories:  

Favorite Summer Items

1. Lip product

2. Blush

3. Nail polish

4. Liquid face product

5. Powder face product

6. Hair product

7. Eye product

8. Self Tanner (or any tanning item)

9. Fashion accessory

10. Clothing piece

1. Lip product my favorite or most used lip product is "Soft Nude" & "Nude Attitude" lipsticks by Revlon usually in weekdays when I go to office; and for the weekend I try to use the other side of spectrum like "In the Red" by Revlon or "Speak louder" by mac.

2. For Blush I intend to wear more cream blushes like "Natural" by NYX which is a very nice creamy pink color with no shimmer. and as powder ones I use more pink-peachy colors like "Orgasm" by Nars.

3. Nail Polish which I did an extended post here, but mostly I've been wearing hot pink or nude tones.

4. For liquid face product the one and only Estee Lauder double wear foundation which I talked about here in details.

5. In powder face product I would say that I rarely set my make up with powder ( because it is unnecessary in my case), and if I use, it would be a translucent powder by Physician Formula.

6. For Hair product is basically nothing, I shampoo everyday ( I know it is not good but since I workout  almost everyday, doing shampoo is inevitable) I use my regular hair stuff nothing special for summer. I usually do not use hair dryer in summer times. let them air dry and the conditioner that I use after shampoo is quite moisturizing enough, so I don't get frizzy dry hair. 

7. My favorite eye product of summer will be Estee Lauder cream shadows which are great, stay put  ( talked in more details here). and also Bobbie Brown gel liners, they stay on all day and are also great for waterline.

8. Self tanner is a big NO for me, I use bronzer on my face all the time if that counts and my favorite is Soleil Tan de Channel.  bronzer posts in more details are here and here.

9. My favorite and most used fashion accessories would be rings, I don't use them a lot in winter times because of gloves and  my habit of losing them. but love me some big chunky colorful rings.they always cheer me up.

10.my Favorite clothing piece would be maxi dresses, I wore them a lot this summer because they are super light and comfortable. here some of my favs and most worn. sometimes I belt them also :)

So that would be all for me, I tag everyone of you, I always enjoy reading other people favorite stuff. 
Have a great Tuesday & splendid summer everyone :)
Mania