Once Upon A Time..

via ilovelollipop

I love Candy Buffets!

via Project Wedding

loving the cake!

via martha stewart

Sweet Buns

Sweet BUNS

adapted from Kitchen Parade's Hot Cross Buns

Hands-on time: 30 minutes to mix; 15 minutes to shape; unattended time to bake
Total time to complete: 3½ hours Makes 24 large buns

1 cup whole milk
2 packages dry yeast (5 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
Zests from 1 orange and 1 lemon
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups flour, fluffed to aerate before measuring
1 tablespoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon (or cake spice)
1 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons butter, in small bits
Additional flour for kneading
1 egg
2 tablespoons sugar

In a small sauce pan, warm up milk , do not heat it up too much. Gently stir in yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar. Set aside until foamy, about 5 minutes.
In a small bowl, whisk egg and yolk well. Stir in zests. Set aside.
In large bowl, stir together ½ cup sugar, flour, spices and salt.
With fingertips, blend butter into flour until a coarse meal forms.
Make well in center, pour in yeast and zest. Blend thoroughly with hands, then form into ball and transfer to lightly floured counter (dough will be sticky). Knead 10 minutes, adding as little flour as possible to work dough.
Transfer dough to oiled bowl, first rubbing it against bowl to lightly coat with oil. Cover, let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
With a fist, gently deflate dough. Cut into 24 pieces.
Form buns and arrange on two greased baking sheets. Cover with clean towels and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 400F. Whisk egg and 2 tablespoons sugar. Brush tops of buns with egg mixture. Bake until golden, about 12 minutes per baking sheet.

Cookies or Works of Art!?

sugar cookies from Sweet Ambs

seriously! I'd save these on the walls!

via Sweet Ambs

My First Award: From Occasional Sugar

I'm very honored to get a Kreative Blogger Award , I was nominated by Occasional Sugar , a very fun blog that includes creative desserts with fun anecdotes to follow each dessert to satisfy your sweet tooth!

There are rules to follow when accepting this award. They help me get the word out about some of my favorite blogs so I'm happy to oblige:

1) Thank the person who has given you the award.
2) Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3) Link to the person who has nominated you for the award.
4) Name 7 things about myself that people might find interesting.
5) Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.

so here we go , 7 things about myself? hmm where do I start..I think I will stick with 3 , so I won't bore you ! :

1. my life is plain vanilla.. nothing really that exciting.. but I bet you won't find an architect who uses her education and experience to apply and test desserts ! yep , thats me!

2. Inspite all of the desserts I make , I dont give my toddler any. we have a big chance of diabetes in the family and I'm not risking that.

3. I love reading but cant find the books I want in bookstores here.. so I usually always end up begging my husband for his credit cards to use on Amazon. It takes a big budget out of the monthly family budget LOL..

Ok Now I'd like to nominate those Kreative Bloggers.. check their blogs and trust me , it is so worth it! :

1. The Purple Foodie : her brownies are to die for , her blog is full of fresh photographs and wonderful reviews!

2. Passionate About Baking You will love her baking and cooking style.. very professional , yet she makes them casually everday for her family ! filled with beautiful beautiful photography , this blog will surely inspire you to bake something today!

3. m.e this blog is a dream. it is filled with photography that only show up in dreamland! You will love her family stories accompanied by beautiful inspiring glimses of her daily life!

4. Bonjour Romance her motto is : " put a little oh la La in your life" .. you will find great antiques , Paris market photographs , Paris streets and all romance enthusiasts will definetly find something magical in her blog!

5. Love Lives in The Kitchen a dear friend , with a blog so homey you will feel so nostalgic , remembering recipes from your grandma's days , your mom's baking , your whole family gathering , this is a delicious blog filled with vintage charm..

6. BlueBird Notes beautiful treasures and cakes! very whimsical will surely inspire you !

7. Life's a Feast a meal for everyday , stories and memoirs.. I would consider this a BOOK not a Blog.. yes its a good read anytime.. !

HomeMade Ricotta Cheese

I was once complaing to Deeba ( as usual ) from Passionate about Baking , about not finding ricotta cheese in enough quantities to make desserts and salads that I find all over my cookbooks and over the foodie blogs.. she told me about a treasure.. that I can make ricotta cheese at home with very easy ingredients.. the result : a super creamy sweet ricotta cheese made by me!

Homemade Ricotta CheeseRecipe

posted by David Lebovitz of DavidLebovitz.com , from passionate about baking blog

Ingredients:

2 quarts whole milk

1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt

Optional: 1/2 cup heavy cream

2 teaspoons white vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

Method:

In a large pot, bring the milk, yogurt, heavy cream (if using), vinegar, and salt to a boil. Very gently boil for one to two minutes, until the milk is curdled.Meanwhile, line a strainer with a few layers of cheesecloth and set it over a deep bowl.Pour the milk mixture into the strainer and let drain for 15 minutes. Gather the cheesecloth around the curds and squeeze gently to extract any excess liquid.Storage: Homemade ricotta is best served slightly warm, although it can be refrigerated for up to three days, if desired.Makes 2 cups.

here I mixed the sweet cheese with mint and cherry tomatoes , drizzled with olive oil , salt and pepper for a quick snack! So Aromatic!

Madame's Roasted Tomato Soup

you will LOVE this homemade soup.. so creamy and light..

Madame Sucre's Roasted Tomato Soup

Ingredients

3-4 fresh tomatoes - sliced

1 can diced tomatoes

1 big onion chopped

3 garlic cloves

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp flour

1 tbsp butter

2 tbs cream

2 cups chicken stock

1 tbs basil

olive oil

salt n pepper

1. get a roasting pan , pour some olive oil , add slices of tomatoes , topped with chopped onions , garlic cloves and a drizzle of the balsamic vinegar , salt n pepper .

2. bake for 25 minutes , at 200c .

3. In a sauce pan , melt butter , add flour until a bit browned..

4. add on top of the butter n flour mix , the roasted tomatos and onions , then 1 can of diced tomatoes.

5. add the 2 cups of chicken stock , salt and pepper and boil for 15 minutes.

6. remove from heat ,blend using a hand held blender , until very smooth and creamy .

7. add cream and mix together on very low heat for about 2 minutes.

8. add basil and serve with a baguette or even better? garlic bread!

Baby Shower of Pink & Elegance

I hosted an all Pink babyshower for my friend Shayma who will have her first baby very soon! .. the whole settings were calm and elegant , relaxing for the new mom-to-be , and since she will be very busy with sleepless nights and would barely have time to eat , I surprised her with an All You Can Eat Ice cream sundae buffet filled with other baked goods and desserts ..

as favors for the guests , they each got to fill their own pink bags with any of the candy and desserts also as a thank you , I've baked them apple pies in Jars , wrapped elegantly , as a thank you for coming gift..

our Halloween Party

I know I know.. this is very late but I honestly was finding ways to edit and clarify the photos to a better quality..
I made this little halloween party for the kids in our family.. my little girl Zayona had fun with her cousins and relatives .. we dont celebrate halloween in Kuwait , so this was the first ever halloween inspired party we had.. the kids loved it..
I made brownie cakes from The Purple Foodie 's Baked NYC brownies recipe ..and cheese twists from Ottolenghi cookbook , I also made pumpkin sugar cookies and let the kids decorate their own.. My did they enjoy that!
then the kids took their " bugs" filled box favors , pumpkin marshmallows (store bought) filled sachets with them also as favors.. and many won gifts for best decorated cookie !
the whole party was a blast , especially for a very new concept to us here!
hope you like it :)

the buffet with the Brownie cakes showing

the buffet with the cheese sticks showing

my first attempt at jack-o-lanterns.. next time must be carved lol

cookies ready to be decorated kids enjoying cookie decoration
thats my daughter in her Disney's Ratatoullie chef " homemade" custom , but the hat is bought from DisneyLand Paris