The Mother Archives - Lara Abdulhadi

Ramadan and Freezing Foods

Lara — Sat, 11 Apr 2020 07:31:58 +0000

Ramadan is 12 days away, I cannot believe it’s the time of year again and we happen to be on lock down during this Holy month because of COVID-19. As the case of many people over the course of the last three weeks, being on lock down really throws us off our routine, especially with children around the house; this blog post is no different, whether you’re a family, working from home, or trying to cook up in advance and freeze, here is a list of meals that can be done in advance and frozen without losing texture or taste.

SOUPS

Lentil Soup, Tomato and Basil Soup, Vegetable Soup, Chicken Freekeh Soup – as long as your soup does not include a cream or dairy base you can happily freeze it in advance.

APPETIZERS

This goes without saying as most of us do it already, Sambosek, Cheese Rolls, Kibbeh, Spring Rolls, those are all freezer friendly bites that you can make now, and take out to thaw/bake later.

MAIN COURSES

This might be tricky for some but not many, it just depends on how much freezer space you have to make meals in advance, here is what we like to freeze:
- Poultry: Chicken freezes beautifully and does not lose texture. We make our chicken escalopes with breadcrumbs in advance and freeze them, or you can marinate a chicken and bake it fully before letting it cool down and freeze. Just remember only freeze chicken that is fresh. Do not thaw chicken, coat it and freeze it again.
- Pasta: If you make fresh pasta it’s a great way to freeze it, like stuffed ravioli and tortellini, and even Shushbarak! You can also freeze Spaghetti sauce and your pre-assembled lasagna.
- Meat: Yes you can freeze steaks with their marinade to save time but you can also pre-cook your kufta. So if you wanted to make Kufta bil Seneyeh I pre-bake the Kufta and freeze it, and when I take it out choose to smother it with tahini or with potatoes and tomatoes. So easy.
- Grains: Honestly I do not do this but it’s totally safe, you can freeze your rice with vegetables or without for further use but I feel it takes up lots of space. I cook rice in batches that last three days and keep them in the refrigerator.

BREADS & DOUGH

BREADS: Everyone freezes Arabic bread and pita bread, but you can freeze more than that. With this lock down due to COVID we need to minimize stepping outside so if you get burger buns, dinner rolls, hotdog buns, and toast bread go ahead and freeze it to minimize going out to the bakery.
DOUGH: You can also freeze Pizza dough, roll it out and bake for 2 – 3 minute with sauce. Top with vegetables and freeze without the cheese.

DESSERTS

COOKIES: Whenever we make cookies at home we freeze half the batch. So we end up baking half the dough and freezing the other half for another day. Just shape them with your ice cream scooped and freeze between parchment paper.
Qatayef: Make them, fill them with walnuts or cheese, and freeze them. Take them out a few hours before Iftar and fry and top with Qater. Win-Win for everyone.

OTHERS

I freeze flour so it remains fresh at all times.
I buy cheese in blocks (mozzarella, cheddar, parmesan) and I shred them in my food processor and freeze.
I freeze all kinds of nuts even after they are toasted. Saves time.
I freeze fried pita bread. It doesn’t lose texture and saves a lot of time when making fatteh.

DO NOT FREEZE

Milks or Cooking Creams.
Food cooked with sea food.

I hope this helps. I’ll keep it posted for more.

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The Working Mom’s Guide to Meal Planning

Lara — Sun, 07 Oct 2018 18:56:53 +0000

OK, so let’s get real, you know how hard it is to be a working mom and to cook every single day? Every month, every new year, I say ‘this month is going to be different’, THIS MONTH: I’M GOING TO COOK DAILY and serve fresh, homemade meals every night of the week.

Well, LOL, that barely lasts two consecutive days before I end up ordering in Pizza for dinner simply because I’m spent, and let’s not forget packing lunch boxes for two kids in preschool five days a week.

So I decided to take it up a notch, and just start planning one week at a time, I succeeded and managed 6 consecutive days of no take out, and it just sounded simpler and easier to do it one week at a time, one milestone at a time, and to try to create meals using the same base ingredients.

[1] Plan Ahead.

I cannot do what my mom does, every night she wonders what she is cooking the next time, bless her heart she is a working mom, who thinks of it every single day. Instead I spent a good 30 minutes a week, planning for the week ahead, ideally the night before I go grocery shopping.

[2] Prepare Once, Eat Twice.

No kidding, I did it last week and it was a hit. I marinated some fillet steaks to prepare well steaks for lunch. The next day, the same fillets that sat in my fridge marinating over night, I ended up cutting into thin sliced and cooking with sautéed onions and green peppers, hello Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches. The day after, some more onions and peppers, cooked in a wok with mushrooms and carrots and a simple vegetable noodles. Get my drift? Believe it or not, it works.

[3] Don’t be afraid to freeze.

There are so many items that you can freeze, my go-to that my children love and doesn’t skimp on quality is spinach cooked in onions, homemade spaghetti and pizza sauce, and of course Mlookhiyeh. We have one of the above at least once a week, so while my rice or pasta is cooking, there goes my ready-made meal too.

[4] Grocery List!

I like to shop Friday mornings when the streets are empty and I have nothing to worry about. I take at least one kid with me and one stays behind with my husband. Whatever plan I put together, goes into my list of needed groceries, it helps me stay on budget, and to buy whatever is necessary. More on this later on this week

[5] Involve your family!

My mom never allowed anything on her fridge, me on the contrary, from pictures, to magnets, my weekly plan now has a new home. See the kids can’t read yet, but the hubby and I can, and it helps me stay motivated. Download my blank template and happy meal planning.

Click here to download my Meal Planner

Do you have any plans working mamas (dads are welcome too!), share them in the comments below.

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Hawaiian Birthday Inspiration

Lara — Sun, 23 Sep 2018 19:08:39 +0000

A child’s first birthday is always special, especially the first child! When Hana turned one in 2016 we had a nice Hawaiian themes birthday in our garden. She wasn’t in school at the time, so we wanted to keep it simple, my friends were still in town (thanks for all ditching me and relocating to Dubai by the way), and of course cousins and family members gathered around for the celebration.

It was May and the weather was just right for a tropical themed birthday, and I wanted to take pride in putting together as many items as possible from scratch. I’ve learned a lot after that first birthday, but that’s a story for another day.

The main attraction is always the cake, I mean who doesn’t like a good cake that looks good from the inside out? The struggle though, is what to serve with it, and how do you stick to the theme you have in mind? Here is how it went:

For those with a sweet tooth we served cookies. Called them ‘Sugar Shacks’ and they were served in various shapes, including flipflops, flowers, and luau hula skirts.

Sandwiches were served in three forms, buns (Lava Rocks) and in croissants (Crabwiches), and finally my personal favorite toast cut into star shapes (Star fish). Of course you cannot forget about a variety of salads which are crowd pleasers among the older generation, we served potato salad, tabouleh, and Sweet and Sour lentils with pasta ‘horaa osbao‘ (Surf Turf Salads).

Finally, we served donuts that we called ‘life savers’ cake pops that we called beach balls, and mom was kind enough to make a fruit salad and serve it inside carved pineapples, which we called fruit gems.

Have you done a Hawaiian birthday for one of your kids? Share with us in the comments below.

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