Eid Al Adha!

As usual when it comes to our family Eid traditions having starbucks after the Eid prayer, two frappachinos here
And a hot mocha espresso with whip for my second youngest sister


Headed over to pick up grandma and to a new Afghani restaurant we tried out this year:

Mango Yogurt drink (lassi, dough) my youngest sister orders every single time!

Delicious beef afghan curry !
Grilled meat platter
More meat!

Salad, and bread, we had rice too of course!

At the very top is a quail south african style biryani we whipped up last weekend after Eid, thanks to my youngest sister Munch n' Crunch for all the great photos covering the holiday.

I'll miss you Apricot Girl

Today I lost my dear companion kitten, eight month old bengal lost to Feline Infectious Peritonitis.
She was sweet, loving, very talkative and a foodie cat, she reminded me of myself in so many ways, we used to prep cook and photograph food together, she always made her way into the shots somehow though she was camera shy compared to her lovely sister.

We lost her sister in August after a month long battle with wet FIP.

I miss you both <3

Stuffing and rolling dolma

If I had a deep freezer I'd freeze ...

I want to make pretezels ... but if I had more room in my freezer I'd freeze them like last time since it's easier to make a big batch. They taste wonderful heated up because their crust gets crispy and the inside stay soft and chewy.. this got me thinking of buying a deep freezer.

Since I LOVE to make lists I thought I'd write out what would go inside it:


Lasagna (made with boil noodles)
Raw meatballs

Cooked meatballs

Homemade pasta sauces

Homemade pizza sauces

Homemade pizza dough

Homemade Pretzels
Homemade bagels

Artisan bakery breads
Pita bread
Homemade tortillas

Garlic bread (assembled from scratch)

Certain cheeses

Leftover slices of layered cream Cakes

Leftover spice cakes
Homemade cupcakes

Homemade whipped meringue buttercream frosting
Ganache

Homemade fresh fruit purees

Freezer jam

Frozen berries and fruit

Ginger (for grating)
Chopped hot peppers

Lemongrass (cleaned and chopped)
Thyme

Lemon juice with zest in it

Lime juice with zest in it

Simple syrup (for all kinds of drinks!)

Spice blends (like my arabic 7 spice blend)

Nuts (hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, pecans..etc)
Seeds (roasted pumpkin and watermelon seeds)
Chestnuts

Vegetable clippings for stock
(Shittaki stems, celery tops..)

Chicken bones for stock

Meats

Sausage

Hotdogs

Pepperoni

Homemade Stocks

Roasted homemade stocks

Soups (for hotpot or pho)

Frozen boiled dry beans

Curry

Stews (like okra or goulash or gravy before thickening)

Homemade pet food

Homemade stock for pet food

Liver pate for pets