The Tomato Soup that No One Can Resist

Alya often complains that I don't make her favorite food, which is not true. She is accusing me of neglecting her numerous requests of pizza and tomato soup! "You always make what baba loves!" Needless to say, it is not true. My husband loves everything I make, he even surrendered to my wish to eat more vegetarian dishes. In a nutshell, Alya wants me to make Pizza and tomato soup everyday! I decided last week to make tomato soup and actually make a point that I made it juuuuust for you Alya!

What Happens in Vegas, Doesn't Stay in Vegas

"What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas", that is how the saying goes. Las Vegas, as in Sin City, is known for gambling, smoking, partying, getting wasted and doing things that you will regret later. The good thing is that you don't have to tell anyone. In my case, I don't gamble, don't smoke, don't drink alcohol, don't like loud noises and rarely do things unconsciously and regret them later. The only time I was drugged was when I was doing a medical procedure. (It was the best sleep I ever had in my entire life). Did I mention that my husband hates Vegas? Then why Vegas and what I did?

We had the opportunity of leaving our daughter with my in-laws where she loves to spend time. I have never been to Vegas before and every time I mentioned that I was curious to see it, I got major eye rolling action from my husband. He finally succumbed and I got us a great deal to fly there and stay for 3 nights at the Encore Hotel. So you are still wondering why I wanted to go to Vegas despite that what Vegas is notorious for does not interest me? Come with me, shall you!

Rainbows and Unicorns Invitations: Alya's 5th Birthday

Do you remember when I told you that I will be posting a tutorial on how I made the invitation cards of Alya's 5th birthday party themed "Unicorns and Rainbows"? probably not, I made this promise four months ago but I do intend to keep my word, so here it is. If you want to read about the birthday party, click here.

Cranberry Beans and Sujuk Shakshouka: A Brunch Dish to Impress

I showed you last week how to make cranberry beans in olive oil which is a vegan Middle Eastern dish, I will show you now how to transform your leftovers (if any) into a wonderful comfort food style brunch dish: cranberry beans and sujuk shakshouka! Sujuk will be used with no shame, sorry my fellow vegans and vegetarians. However, you can still make the dish without the sujuk if you consume eggs.

Sujuk is basically a Middle Eastern/Armenian sausage that is heavily spiced with paprika, fenugreek and cumin. The casing is usually from bovine origin. It is fatty and cooks in its own fat, you really don't need to add any additional oil or butter to cook it. Sujuk is very flavorful and is good friends with tomatoes, hence the nice pairing with the cranberry beans in olive oil.

You can find Sujuk sausages at Armenian and Middle Eastern markets. You can substitute Sujuk with any other sausage type you like.

Cranberry Beans in Olive Oil, Borlotti Beans in Olive Oil, Fasulya Bil Zayt

Cranberry beans or Borlotti beans are similar to Pinto beans in shape but taste different. The pod itself is so beautiful, it is like a mad artist's project; strokes of every shade of fuchsia. The pleasure of looking at them makes up for their high price of 3.99 per pound. I was delighted to find them at my local Middle Eastern Market and scooped up 2 pounds with the intention to make this dish as soon as I get home.