Forgotten Moments of 2010: Food

Well maybe not forgotten, just not posted.

I hosted another Sweet Exchange earlier this year.  Homemade sweets only.  There were a couple exceptions, but everyone else was a very good sport about it.  I pulled out my infamous pink boxes that I purchased from a restaurant supply store for the first exchange.  Everyone got to take some goodies to go. Can't wait to do this again in 2011.

On Jenin's first trip to the library (it's a long story), she picked up a kids cookbook. Crepes were one of the recipes that she chose to make. She measured and mixed all the ingredients.  We went with sweet and savory versions.  Her love of cooking and helping out in the kitchen remains very strong and something I encourage daily.

When my in-laws came for my brother-in-law's wedding, we hosted our first ever BBQ.  I assembled our little grill in the living room the night before they arrived.  Rami and I have said every single year since we got married that we were going to buy a grill and BBQ.  We thought it was hilarious that when we finally did get one, it was a measly $35. Something we could have done years ago.

With the help of some seedlings from my cousin's wife, we grew our first tomatoes!  Granted I did it wrong and planted all the seedlings into one container, we still got some little guys growing on those vines.  We had mini plum tomatoes and cherry tomatoes.  Next summer I hope to grow more.  The girls loved these.  Jenin would water them everyday with her little watering can.

Rami made dinner! This was exciting stuff.  Having lived in Louisiana for 6 years before moving to California, he made what he knows best: Fish fry.  It tasted really good and I completely appreciated having a night off from making dinner.  He claims the only reason he doesn't cook more often is because my food tastes better than anything he could ever make. Getting his way out of cooking by complementing me will only last him so long. 

Peanut picnic in the backyard. The weather was perfect. We were feeling very laid back and just enjoying the late afternoon.  I laid out a blanket and brought out a big bowl of peanuts.  Me and the girls just peeled peanuts in the quite of our backyard and enjoyed our carefree snack.  When all was done, I shook the blanket on the grass and headed in for their bath.

I'm proud to say that I introduced my sister-in-law to the world of frozen yogurt.  She loved it and I finally had  partner in caloric crime.  We dreamed of opening up a fro-yo shop in Ramallah, Palestine.  We'd call it "traffic" because she liked the sound of the word.  She also liked the words "nasty" and "duvet".  In fact she liked them so much that it's what she wants to name her kids.  I miss her.

Manakeesh in Anaheim.  We stopped at this place for the first time on our way home from our Disney trip in March.  It's handmade Palestinian flat bread stuffed with an olive oil, thyme and sesame seed mixture and crumbled Arabic cheese in another.  These are to die for.  With a cup of mint tea, these are my hands down favorite Palestinian breakfast.  It's usually served with sliced tomatoes and Persian cucumbers on the side.  Since having them in LA, I've recreated them over and over again at home.  It's never tasted nearly as good though.

Olive Garden salad dressing. 

Pioneer Woman's lasagna.

Fish tacos.

My top rated food experiences of 2010 are coming up.