From Waleed to Habibi

Two Questions...

1. What one thing can put you in a good mood?
I think everyone has a pretty good idea of what can instantly turn a frown upside down. Personally if I'm stressed at work or just ran out of Diet Sunkist, I turn to a good old home cooked meal to calm my A down!

2. How can you show your support without actually being there?
While I'm not the best person to talk to about things on your mind, I for sure will see what I can do in the kitchen for you!

Today's blog entry is a little special in that normally, my recipes are inspired by something random like a weird holiday or child labor... you know... But today I'm making a classic recipe in my own cookbook simply in support of la meilleur amie! Weiso nicht!? You know how good friends have "their song" or "their dance"... well this recipe is considered "our recipe". It is the one thing we ALWAYS make when we get together and is always a crowd pleaser! Of course since it's a homemade recipe, I can't give accurate measurements but I'll do my best with this legendary recipe we like to call Beef Bread!!

INGREDIENTS: (makes 8)

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• yeast (placed in 1/2 cup warm water for 5 minutes)
• 1 tbsp ricotta cheese
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp chopped basil
• 1 cup chopped spinach
• 1/4 lb ground beef or veal
• 1/4 cup of split mung bean (already soaked in water)
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 1/2 tsp cumin seed
• 6 cardamon seeds
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 3 tsp mirador (I have a hard time finding substitutes for this)
  
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
  
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp fenugreek powder
• 1/2 tsp cardamon powder
• freshly ground cracked pepper
• 1/2 cup freshly chopped parsley

To make the dough, mix all ingredients above in brown. Add flour if necessary to make sure you get the right dough consistency. Place the dough in a warm place (like the microwave) for 30 minutes to allow it to rise to around double the original size. While that doughy mess is doing it's thing, it's time to make the meat mixture! Soooooo meaty.... (for you Talk Soup fans out there) All the ingredients for the meat are above in purple. Below are the steps to prepare the meat.

1. heat up olive oil in frying pan
2. add cardamon seeds and cumin seeds (this gives the oil flavor)
3. once the seeds are brown, add the chopped onion and cook until transparent
4. Add meat, split mung beans, and spices. (hold off on the parsley for now)
5. Cook and mix until the meat is fully cooked and place in separate bowl when done

By now the dough should be ready. Take the dough and split it up into balls the size of eggs. Using a rolling pin, make circular thin discs with each ball of dough. Spoon a good portion of the meat mixture on half of the circle. Finally fold the dough in half over the meat mixture and pinch the edges to close. It will look like an empanada (but will taste waaaay better! Trust me!) Oh and try not to go all crazy with the meat stuffage, as I'm sure many of you like to do, because you will just end up ripping the dough... Why do all my instructions sound so sexual??? ANYWAY.... While you are doing this for the rest of the dough heat your oven to 550 degrees. Seems super hot but you need the heat to get that darn yeast to rise even more! Once all the beef bread is done, place it on a greased pan, brush egg over the bread, and bake for 10 minutes. It should be a nice Egyptian-Pyramid-Hidden-Treasure-Golden brown. Let it cool for a bit and enjoy!!!DPM