Grandma Malake's Meat Pies (Lahm B'aajin)

I was debating what recipe I should post next, then immediatly I decided on one of my Grandma's recipes. I am sorry to say my Grandma  passed last week. She was six month shy from her 100th birthday. She was a terrific person, God fearing, kind and selfless, I am lucky I got to know her, and become her student. She was a terrific cook, and she tought me not only how to cook, but how to become a better person. So its only fair to pay a tribute to my Grandma Malake (Queen) may you rest in peace. I love you.


Ingredients:


1 pound ground beef

3 tomatoes diced and drained from liquid

1 onion grated

2 T vegetable oil

2 T pomegranate’s syrup

1 tsp nutmeg

½ tsp cumin

1 tsp sweet pepper

1 tsp salt


1 pizza dough recipe*

Mix all ingredients and prepare dough. Roll dough on a lightly floured surface and cut 3-inch circles. Place on a oiled baking sheet fill with 1 tablespoon of meat mixture and pinch four corners to make a square and bake in 350F oven until crust turn gold.

For Pizza Dough

¼ C warm water

½ tsp sugar

1 package dry active yeast

3 C all purpose flour

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Tsp salt

¾ C cool water


1. Prepare dough stir water yeast and sugar in a bowl until dissolved let stand in a warm place 10 minutes until foamy.

2. Place flour oil  salt and yeast mixture in food processor with motor running add water in a steady stream, process until mixture forms a ball, if dough is sticky add a little flour.

3. Turn out dough on a floured surface, knead 7 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in lightly greased bowl turning to coat. Cover in damp towel let ret 30 minutes in a warm place.

4. Punch down dough divide and shape into 2 equal balls, place on a lightly greased plate. Turning to coat. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 2 hours or overnight remove one hour before baking.



Serves 6-8

My all time favorite Soup Lentil Soup!!

On those cold winter days when you need something to warm you up, all you need is a good fulfilling soup. My favorite is lentil soup!! It takes very little time to prepare and about half an hour cooking time. The original recipe is made with Swiss chard, but I always substitute it with fresh or frozen Spinach, the reason being is that I always have spinach on hand.
Since its been cold outside, I made a batch today and thought I would share it with you.



Ingredients

1 Cup brown lentils picked over and washed
1 Pack of chopped spinach or 1 pound fresh washed and chopped
1 Potato peeled and cubed
1 Onion chopped
2 Garlic sliced
1 Bunch cilantro washed and chopped
2 Tablespoons Olive oil
1 Tsp Salt
½ Tsp Pepper
2  Lemon juice

Place the chopped onion and garlic in a large pot with a swirl of olive oil and sauté for 4 minutes. Add lentils, spinach and cilantro, potato and seasonings. Add about 5 cups of water and lemon juice, cook for 30 to 40 minutes.


Serves 4-6

Tabboule Salad

Ingredients:

1 bunch of organic Italian parsley rinsed 
½ bunch of mint leaves rinsed
2  medium tomatoes
2-3 scallions rinsed
1 tablespoon of extra fine burgul
2 juiced lemons
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste

 The trick to the tabboule salad is to finely chop it. Now is a good time to use your best paring knife. Chop parsley and place in salad bowl. Chop mint leaves, dice tomatoes, and slice scallions and add to the tabboule.  

In a small bowl, mix the lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, and add salt. Rinse burgul, and squeeze excess water. Mix dressing and burgul with salad and serve.  You have made your first tabboule!

Serves 2

Intro

Hi, After years of wanting to start this blog finally I did!!!! I will start by some intro here. Cooking is a passion for me and it has been for the last 30 something years. It all started by taking notes from my mom and grandma for my handwritten recipe book. I kept updating the book until I realized I had it in three different languages. I started a project last year translating all the recipes I accumulated and put them all on file for my daughter. (wishful thinking!) Anyhow she will have on hand if she decides to make a dish from her Lebanese-Armenian heritage.