Brazilian Miniature Savory Pies (Empadinhas)

It’s been another crazy week, starting with me getting really sick and ending with my eldest suffering a fractured ankle. But, as they say, if you have time to whine then you have the time to do something about it.  So I decided to say Alhamdulillah and make some empadinhas!

I am truly thankful for my wonderful children, for my wonderful parents, husband, family, friends and you that come here to check my recipes.

Colombian Empanadas and “Aji”

I picked up my kids at Sunday school and my 7-year-old asks me what is for lunch. I told him I was tired and asked him how pizza or nuggets sounded. He got really upset and told me he wanted real food. My children are like that. Junk, frozen food is not something they really enjoy and I am proud of them for that. But sometimes I wish they did like this because even a Halal mama doesn’t feel like cooking sometimes.

I am still craving Colombian food. These empanadas are a bit different than the most traditional empanadas made in Argentina and Chile as they are made with Precooked Yellow Corn Meal instead of regular flour. Don’t be intimidated as these are so easy to make, even my 4-year-old can do it (see video). These empanadas are usually served with Aji, a Colombian spicy sauce usually made with jalepeno. I didn’t have any so I made a sauce I usually make to eat with steak and added some crushed red pepper flakes.

Colombian Cornmeal Cakes with Cheese (Arepas de Queso)

What I remember best about a trip to Colombia many years back was the arepas, especially those bought from street vendors. In my view, arepa is to Colombia what pão de queijo is to Brazil. Great for breakfast or for a snack, arepas are made of precooked cornmeal and can be eaten plain, with cheese or many other variety of toppings.

Brazilian Cheese Puffs (Pão de Queijo)

If you have ever been to Brazil you know that there is nothing better than a cup of coffee and a pão de queijo in the afternoon.

The other day I was reading the latest Saveur and saw an article on Cassava (we call it Yuca in my house), a root that I really enjoy and use at home. I think it is worth a read and you can find it here. I was a bit disconcerted by the corresponding recipe for the famous Brazilian cheese puffs, pão de queijo. I’ve seen many recipes for pão de queijo and I myself make at home a non-conventional recipe without eggs, as you know one of my twins has egg allergies. However I had never seen a recipe asking for yeast and flour. But, I decided to keep an open mind and give it a try. It was a disaster. The dough was not thick enough to roll and the end result was cheesy cookies as my children called them.

Citrus-berry Terrine

As you know my kids love fruit and eat tons of it for breakfast, snacks and after meals. They also like jello, halal only of course. I don’t make it as frequently as they would like as I am not much of a fan. So it is not hard to imagine why this dessert has become a favorite in my house even with my husband.

Banana Ice Cream

There can never be enough bananas in the house for my boys who love all kinds of fruit. But for some reason this week, either because they overlooked them or my husband bought just far more than they could possibly eat, some bananas got too ripe sitting in the fruit bowl.

Of course using these in cake or muffins are the first thing that came to my mind but then I remembered my recent trip to Brazil and the wonderful ice cream I had there. So I decided to make banana ice-cream. Can you tell I am still thinking wishfully of summer?

Coquilles St. Jacques (Scallops in Creamy Sauce)

This is one of the dishes from my childhood. My mother had a friend who was a fabulous cook and every year our families traveled together and she would make this dish as an appetizer, served in a shell.

At home, I usually serve this as a main dish with a green salad and plain rice. So, I prefer to use large sea scallops. But if you are going to use the scallop shells, then you are better off using the smaller bay scallops. If you still want to serve as an appetizer in individual portions, serve in small ramekins which will hold the sea scallops very well.

Brazilian Shredded Chicken Croquettes (Coxinhas) and Padarias (Bakeries)

As I've mentioned before, Brazilians are very fond of snacking. Perhaps because dinner is traditionally eaten late, people always grab a bite in the afternoon. You can always find a bakery that sells not only breads, pastries and sweets, but which also includes a café selection of sandwiches, snack and good drinks. These are also popular places for breakfast on the go.

These bakeries/cafes also serve traditional savory snacks called “salgadinhos," which are very popular among Brazilians and include pão de queijo (bite-size cheese puffs made with tapioca starch), rissoles, empadinhas (bite-size pies made of buttery crust) and even snacks of Lebanese origin that have become very traditional in Brazilian cuisine, quibes and esfihas (kibbeh abd sfiha).

But the queen of salgadinhos, very popular among Brazilians of all ages is coxinha, shredded chicken enclosed in dough shaped to resemble a chicken drumstick (coxa, and from there coxinhas or small coxa) and deep fried.

Batbout (Moroccan small pita bread)

Batbout is a small, Moroccan pita bread that is great for small sandwiches when entertaining. They are also great for an afternoon snack for your kids - mine love these filled with cream cheese. Unlike other breads this is made on top of the stove instead of baked.

Cranberry Orange Scones

I don’t think I ever seem scones until I was an undergrad at Urbana-Champaign. I honestly don't recall ever having seen scones in Brazil. However, upon stumbling across these delectable treats, I came to really enjoy them. My first encounter with these lovely sweet treats was at a cafe near where my children began attending a preschool co-op in the Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago. Nearby there was a coffee shop that sold delicious orange and cranberry scones which soon became my breakfast of choice accompanied by a latte.

Dreamy Fig Ice Cream

As you certainly must know by now, one of the things I enjoy most when visiting new places is the more unusual food unique to each destination. And, believe me, Morocco has a lot more to offer beyond tagines and couscous.

Walnut Milk Fudge - Camafeu de Nozes

This is the last week of Ramadan so if I don’t have time to post again, Eid Mubarak! InshAllah I hope you and your families were able to reap the great rewards of this past most blessed month of Ramadan.

As our family gears up to celebrate the end-of-Ramadan holiday of Eid-al-Fitr, sweets are on my mind. Because, as we all know, you can't celebrate Eid without some serious dessert on hand. I thought this recipe would make a nice addition to your confection table. Called Camafeu de Nozes, literally translated as walnut cameo brooch, these Brazilian sweets are traditional at weddings and, where I grew up, at birthday parties as well. The inside is a walnut fudge (no chocolate) covered by fondant and decorated with a walnut. Served individually on candy cups (mini-muffin liners), these treats are both elegant and delicious.

Spring Rolls with Sweet and Sour Sauce

I really like Chinese food, but not your average American version of this wonderful cuisine. I love the Chinese food I used to eat in Brazil which I'm sure was adapted to appeal to the local palette. I've tried some Chinese places here in Chicago and suburbs but these days I prefer to avoid the restaurants as three of my kids have food allergies and of course there's always the halal factor to consider.

Rice Pudding

Rizogalo in Greece, Budino di Riso in Italy, Arroz con leche in most Spanish speaking countries, Roz bil Halib in the Arab world - baked or boiled, these are all slight variations of simple, yet delicious rice pudding dessert. In Brazil every family has its own recipe and tricks for turning out this fabulous treat we call Arroz Doce but most always include the following main ingredients: milk, sugar, cinnamon and of course rice.

Fresh Fruit Tart

Recipe Updated!

Sorry for not posting anything in a week. Summer is a busy time for mamas. But stay on the lookout for new and delicious recipes coming this week to Halal Mama’s World Kitchen.

Yesterday I made this fresh fruit tart again but used a new tart shell and changed a bit the cream. The result was a much tastier and egg-free tart. So I have made changes to this recipe to reflect this new version.

One of my favorite things about the warm weather months is how perfect the timing is for fruit desserts! I made a festive fruit tart as one of my dessert options for last weekend's picnic. I love this fresh alternative for a summer dessert because you can top it off with a variety of favorite fruits of the season and it is always visually impressive.

Hearts-of-Palm Pie

A quiche or a savory pie and a side salad make a great meal, especially on a warm summer day when a light lunch such as this is just perfect. I love to serve this when I have girlfriends over for lunch. In Brazil savory pies are quite popular especially with chicken and hearts-of-palm filling but there are countless other combinations just as nice. The possibilities are endless!

Peach and Raspberry Crisp

My fondest food memories from childhood always included fun gatherings with family and friends. Most weekends we went away from São Paulo to the beach house but would still make it back to the city for Sunday lunch back at my grandmother's home. The whole family and many times friends too would gather for some Brazilian-style barbecue or for some of my grandmother’s delicious macarronada (pasta dish).

Orangette

Unbelievable as it seems the end of another school year is less than two weeks away. This is about the time I get to thinking about what to get my childrens' teachers as a gift to express our thanks for all they have done throughout the year.

Perfect Pizza Dough

I’ve eaten pizza in many places, including in Italy. But anyone who has eaten pizza in São Paulo, Brazil, would agree with me that my hometown is at the top of the list for pizza lovers. Sunday evenings are traditionally pizza night for Paulistanos (people from the city of São Paulo) who will gather at one of the more than 6,000 local pizzerias sometimes having to wait for an hour to get a table. Even those who prefer to gather at their grandma’s house or simply have a quiet evening watching “Fantastico”  usually have the “rounded” (as it is lovingly called by Paulistanos) delivered to their homes.

Tuile Cups with Super Lemon Ice Cream

I've mentioned cooking club in earlier posts and promised to reveal more later. So, with this post I'm fulfilling my pledge. I've wanted to form some kind of a cooking club for a very long time. Finally, earlier this year, my vision came to life in the form of the Halal Gourmet Cooking Club. I structured the club in such a way that we meet socially every six weeks to celebrate some kind of unique culinary experience. We meet at a different members' home each time and this person hosting is charged ahead of time with selecting a theme and designing the menu. Participants receive a copy of the complete menu from the hostess a few weeks prior to the actual soiree and each is assigned a course to test, create, and adapt so that it meets strict Islamic halal standards. Not only does this allow each member the fun opportunity to plan an exotic menu but along the way everyone gets a chance to delve into the new cooking experiences that come with each meeting's theme.