So it’s official, I make the best 3arayes EVER! :p

Here’s the recipe and some pics to help you out (u can click on them to get a bigger & better look)… I had to make a big batch, one for the house and another for an aunt’s house… What I needed was:

* Fresh Lebanese bread (I needed around two bags- maybe more)
* Two packets of ground meat (leave it over-night so the ice melts)
* 2 big onions
* 4 big tomatoes
* 2 green peppers
* 1 big spoon of mixed spices (I used the Bahraini kind reserved for meat)
* 1 big spoon of salt
* 1 big spoon Sumaq
* 1 small spoon black pepper
* 4 big spoons dibs el ruman (Pomegranate Syrup- I think?)
* 4 big spoons Olive oil

Then start getting the party started… Get a meat grinder (farama?), and start with just the meat..

While the meat is getting all soft and mushy, cut up all the veggies so they’re easier to cut up in the farama (make sure u squeeze a little of the water out of the tomatoes so the meat doesn’t get watery)..

When the meat gets soft, start by adding all the powder-y stuff first: spices, salt, pepper and sumaq…

Then add the veggies piece by piece and enjoy watching them get chopped up and mix with the meat (only if you’re as sadistic as I am :p)…

When it’s done, just pour it into a big bowl (remember, I was making a pretty big batch) then start mixing the dibs el ruman and olive oil with the meat in the bowl (I don’t know why, I just prefer NOT putting them in the farama)…

Then prepare the bread by cutting it all in halves and have a bowl of olive oil on the side with a brush…

Fill up the bread as much as u like and coat it in olive oil, back and front…

I prefer to put them all in a tray while the grill gets hot… then start placing them in the grill three by three (depending on how big ur grill is lol) and hear that meat sizzle…

I also prefer to put all the done 3arayes in a separate tray with kitchen tissues under them so it suck in all the oil…

When they get warm enough that you’re able to cut them, start cutting the halves in half, making yummy triangles…

Align them in the tray you’re using to serve the food and decorate with lemons, peppermint or parsley (since the maid didn’t tell me that we’d run out of yellow lemons and parsley, I used small greem looomieees and peppermint… still yum ;p)…

…and Taaa Daaaa…

Hani oo 3afya ;p

* No, I’m not going to talk about the show “24″ or Jack Bauer (Sorry, Marzouq!)…

I’m turning 24 on August 12th, and I’ve been planning a birthday party ever since the 12th of July lol

It’s going to be a costume party so all the people I’ve invited have enough time to decide, design and get creative with the costume of their choice… The only rule I have is that nobody should dress anything cat-like…

Nobody knows what I’m going to be since I didn’t specify what cat-like thing I’m going to be, it could be anything.. Catwoman, a black cat, a white cat, a black & white cat, sheraaziya, a tabby, a lion or even a cheetah with spots lol

The only thing that’s bugging me out is that everybody’s away in August.. I love having my birthday on the exact specific date since it’s pointless if it’s a few days before, and I don’t want to stretch it out for a week or two if the party’s waaayyy after the date…

And everybody’s either away already or about to travel around that time.. the only people I understand are the ones away on serious business like Juju (hope your dad feels much better soon :D) but the others are malaaqaaaa *rolls her eyes*

I’ve been getting sms messages from friends asking what to get me and to put together a wishlist so nobody gets me millions of perfumes or something…

I thought that was a great idea since I always wish everybody had a wish list for their birthdays.. I’m not a personal fan of perfumes, I know 100% that that person would want something better… So if you’re coming to my birthday and you want to get me something, I’m a size 14 (UK) and my shoe size is 38 lol and if my old Amazon wish list helps out, then why not, just click on this button…

* I’ve been quite busy with Toastmasters these past few months.. Laialy & I have been running around tweaking some things here and there and I’d just like to use this personal space to thank her.. You’re my TM partner-in-crime and we work great together, so thank you

* Why’s my Mac’s software update freezing up?! It used to freeze up when it reached 80% or 85%… I fixed it after reading Carolyn Samit’s suggestion here and it loaded just fine, no problems.. now it’s updating iTunes and it’s just stuck here…

And it won’t budge!

* I’ve been playing around with StumbleUpon and it’s so much fun!

It’s amazing how the internet is full of these really interesting websites that match my love for photography, crafts, humor, books and movies… I’ve been stumbling for a few days now and that’s all I’d be doing all day, with small breaks here and there to check my e-mail or feeds reader… here’s one of those gems I found:

* I’m preparing for the upcoming semester (yes, I’m that much of a geek).. and I have enough exercises to shut up any complaints from the senior teacher or tawjeeh.. and for the new school year, I have a resolution, ba9eer na7eesa and I won’t share whatever exercises I design since I’ve noticed that some teachers scribble over the names and use the papers as their own.. wela chena ta3bana 3alaihum during the summer.. so no more of that generosity when it comes to people who don’t deserve it…

And that’s about it… what’s new with you guys?

(Warning: A Very Long Picture Post Coming Up)

So I’m back… last night I went out with my girlies and it was a lot of fun.. one of the things that kept the laughs coming was the pics I took of my students’ badliyat.. And that reminded me to share them with you :p

One of the really rare things that kept me amused during corrections is the way the girls wrote specific things.. Here are some of my favourites that I took pics of (yes, i take pics of badliyat on exam papers… who doesn’t!?) with their translations…

Keep in mind that these girls have just graduated high school and are coming to a University/College near you…

more…

Obviously I haven’t been posting that much, and the whole wedding season thing is draining.. plus, I have a minor flu..

So why don’t I just head to bed and I’ll post when I feel up to it again… Toodooloo… *zzzz*

So you want to make some food but not wait for hours and hours, and make it look all tasty at the same time?

Make some garlic bread!

Here’s what u need and how to do it:

Have a stick of butter, a tea-spoon of garlic powder (u can also add a tea-spoon of onion powder to the mix if u want), some french bread, mozzarella cheese and pasta/pizza sauce (or ketchup), an oiled up tray and a hot oven…

Slice the french bread however u like it.. I like to slice it just the way Pizza Hut do it (and my brothers like it) lol and put them in the tray…

Melt the stick of butter and add the tea-spoon of garlic powder, mix it all up…

Use a brush to spread the melted butter/garlic mix on the underside and the top of the slices, then place them back onto the tray…

Using a table-spoon, put some pasta/pizza sauce/ketchup on the tops of the slices…

Then cover with cheese.. and this is what it’ll look like before u put it in the oven…

Put the tray in the oven, turn on the light in the oven and watch the cheese melt (i read somewhere that u can also do this in the microwave, but i haven’t personally tried to guarantee its’ success)

And TaaaDaaaaa… yumminess in a plate!

Bil 3afya ;D