Meat Lasagna: Italian Comfort Food

Meat Lasagna A La Nadine 

My meat lasagna is a staple in our monthly food rotation. It is one of those dishes that my family and friends often request when I ask them if there is anything I could bring with me. It can feed a family of four for 2 days or the entire extended family. I also have devised a sequence of cooking that would generate the least amount of dishes to wash. Efficiency all the way around. I used to make the tomato sauce from scratch. Click here to read how I make my tomato sauce. I tried one time to use canned tomato sauce, and frankly, it was equally delicious. So now I embrace this shortcut with no guilt. I also grind my own lean meat and freeze it. Click here to see how I do it. 

Book Review: Bakbook, The Peacock that Has No Color

Peacocks everywhere

Marhaba,
My daughter Alya loves peacocks so much and she spends many hours drawing and painting them. I even got her little peacocks ornaments to hang in her room. In fact, the word Peacock "Tawoos" is the first Arabic word she wrote on her own. Peacocks are beautiful birds that are often associated with vanity. This Arabic book "Bakbook: The Peacock that Has No Color" tackles this topic among others.  I "virtually" met May Tartoussy the author of this book by chance via a common friend and when I saw that her book was about a peacock and in Arabic, I just felt that I had to read it and explore the journey of Bakbook. May graciously gave me a copy of the book to read and review and she even signed and addressed it to Alya. I am now on a quest to collect fantastic autographed Arabic children books. 

Dandelions Done Right: Hendbeh

Cooked Dandelion Recipe

Marhaba, yes dandelions are the star of my dish. Cooked Dandelions is on my top 10 favorite dishes list. This dish will surprise you because in your mind, dandelions are weeds, a nuisance and not a dish to savor. Traditional Lebanese food is essentially vegetarian because it is built on making use of the crops in different ways and extending their lives beyond one season. Meat, poultry and fish were consumed sparingly and were considered an expression of wealth. The majority of the Levantine region such as Lebanon, Syria, Palestine share similar cooking habits and traditions.

Writing Arabic with Kids

Marhaba,

Over the past two months, I showed you how to use the Seasons flashcards and Playdough mat. I am going to sound like a broken record, but please do not underestimate the power of play and exposure when learning a language. You can teach your child at any age and today I will show you how you can use the flashcards and play dough mats to teach them how to write.

We reviewed the flashcards, I made sure that we talked about beginning letter and sounds and ending letters sand sounds. Then I showed her the picture of the squirrel and she was able to name it, I showed her the word, she was able to name it in English, which meant that she understood the concept.

Msabaha: Arabic Healthy Vegan Fast Food

Msabaha Arabic Vegan Chickpeas in Tahini

Msabaha! Arabic Healthy Vegan Fast Food Under 10 Minutes! This blog post is not a scam, this blog post is not a click bait where I use a clever title to make you click on the post about Msabaha Arabic Healthy Vegan Fast Food and you discover that the content has nothing to do with the title. This is real folk! As I was working on a special project (shhh, I can not tell you yet); I was thinking about what to make for my daughter for lunch. Contrary to what some of you think, I, just like you, sometimes look for shortcuts when I am busy or when I am just not in the mood for cooking. I stopped working for a moment and I checked my instagram account! yes I recently joined IG, I am @reinventingnadine Click here to follow me socially and then it happened,