“…Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest”
Surah Ra’d, ayah 28
“…Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest”
Surah Ra’d, ayah 28
When I’m in a rush, I think of pasta. Spaghetti to be precise. This one here, can be whipped up in a jiffy. All you need are a handful of fresh ingredients (well, not the pasta unless you want to make it yourself :p) and you’ve got a quick meal for a midweek dinner that the family will love. I know my husband would! Here is the recipe for this wonderfully quick pasta dish.
RECIPE FOR CREAMY SPAGHETTI NAPOLITANA WITH PRAWNS
Serves: 4
Prep time: 15mins
Cook time: 20-30minsIngredients
400g spaghetti & some water to boil
16 medium sized prawns
300ml thickened cream
1 cup chicken stock
4 tbsp tomato paste
1 small-medium sized onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 large carrot, sliced
1 large red capsicum, sliced
1 large green capsicum, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp mixed herbs
1 tsp basil, to garnish
salt and pepper, to tasteMethod
1. Bring water to a boil then put spaghetti in with a bit of salt.
2. While pasta is boiling, heat up oil in a saucepan and sautee onions and garlic.
3. Add the prawns and vegetables and cook for a few more minutes before adding tomato paste.
4. Then add the thickened cream and stock, and bring to a boil.
5. Simmer on a low heat and season well with salt, pepper and mixed herbs.
6. Once pasta is cooked, drain well and mix it with the creamy napolitana sauce.
7. Serve onto individual plates and sprinkle with some basil.
Spring rolls make the best appetisers for any gatherings, big or small. What I love about them is that they are so crunchy on the outside and very moist on the inside. One spring roll is definitely not enough, two, three…heck I can even gobble up 5 or more depending on how big they are.
Usually home made spring rolls are larger than store bought ‘cocktail’ spring rolls. Though tedious to make, I still prefer making it myself. I roll them a bit bigger, around 6-8cm long so it saves me time standing up rolling one by one.
For those not familiar with jicama, this vegetable is used in the filling of the spring roll. Its a sweet root vegetable kind of like a turnip.
And this is how you roll a spring roll. Get a big sheet of spring roll pastry and put the filling in the middle towards the end bit.
Then roll the side closest to you, covering the filling.
Roll the left flap in.
Roll the right flap in.
Then roll it once before brushing it with the cornstarch + water mix (acts as a glue).
Roll it closed. Seal tightly. And deep fry for a couple of minutes.
RECIPE FOR VEGETABLE SPRING ROLL
Makes: 15
Filling prep time: 10 mins
Wrapping time: 30-40 mins
Cook time: 1-2 mins eachIngredients
15 sheets large spring roll wrappers
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
3 medium sized prawns tail off, chopped finely
1 large carrot, shredded
1 large jicama, shredded
1/2 cabbage, cut thinly
1 cup bean sprouts
1/2 cup baby green peas
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp black papper
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tsp peanut oil
vegetable oil for deep frying
sweet chilli sauce, for dippingFor gluing the spring rolls
2 tsp corn starch
4 tsp water
Method
1. Heat peanut oil in a pan and sautee the garlic.
2. Add all the vegetables and stir for a few minutes.
3. Season with salt, pepper, sugar and give it a final stir. Do not overcook or it will become soggy.
4. Leave to cool before wrapping them in the spring roll wrappers.
5. See pictures (above) on how to roll spring rolls.
6. Heat up vegetable oil in a wok/deep fryer. When it is hot enough, fry the spring rolls until golden brown.
7. Drain excess oil on a paper towel and serve immediately with some dipping sauces.
Hickory Dickory Dock,
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one,
The mouse ran down!
Hickory Dickory Dock.
This Piro clock was originally bought from Ikea many months ago. They are no longer selling it now, so I was glad that I managed to get one. I knew it had potential rather than just using the default pattern that it came with but it never crossed my mind to use it for my daughters room. As I was reading to my daughter ‘numbers’ one day, it clicked to me that maybe I should design her a clock with huge colourful numbers. And so I did. I’m really pleased with how it turned out, bright, colourful and really child friendly… the opposite to the ‘dull’ black that it originally was. Now, my daughter knows how to point with her finger number 1 (and slowly showing number2) whenever we say 1,2,3 and mashallah she is only 15 months!
To view more on my baby’s nursery in progress, click here.