Happy Valentine’s Day with Red Donuts

donuts

Hi everyone,

I would like to wish you all a very Happy Valentine’s Day. Today is a day to remember those you love and to show them your appreciation; what better way to do that than by making them something sweet to eat!

My youngest son just finished his undergraduate studies a couple of weeks ago, and today he went to collect some papers from university. I wanted to surprise him with something he’d enjoy, and since its Valentine’s day and everything is red, I made some donuts and added some red food coloring to the glazing to mark the occasion though I don’t really think that donuts are romantic. I think I might have put a few drops more of food coloring than I should have because the glaze looks blood red 😛 The important thing is that it put a smile on his face.

So today remember to show your loved ones a little affection. If they’re fans of donuts, make them some of these: smiles guaranteed!

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup warm milk
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 egg
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon dried instant yeast
  • oil for frying

Preparation:

  • In a bowl, sift the flour with instant yeast
  • In another bowl, whisk the milk, egg, sugar, salt and oil then add the mixture to the flour, mix together until you have a soft dough
  • Cover the bowl in a cling film and leave the dough to rise and double in volume, for about one hour
  • Cover the surface you are working on with flour and roll the dough with a rolling pin to about 2 cm thickness then cut into a donut shape; leave it to rest for 15 minutes
  • Heat the frying oil (enough for deep frying) and fry the donuts from both sides for about 3 minutes on each side, until they turn golden color. Place on a kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil and allow to cool before glazing them with your choice of chocolate or red glaze

donuts1

For the chocolate glaze:

  • Boil one cup of cream with 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons corn syrup then pour over one cup of sweet chocolate chip and stir until the chocolate melts, then add one teaspoon of vanilla

For colored glaze:

  • Mix one cup of icing sugar with one tablespoon of water or milk and add few drops of food coloring

ET VOILA… C’EST TOUT! BON APPETIT!

Meghli (Flavored Rice pudding)

Meghli is a kind of sweet traditionally prepared to celebrate a new born baby in the family. The word “Meghli” means boiled, probably named such because it is boiled for a very long time. It is said to be very good for the baby and mother especially during breast feeding as it supposedly promotes breast milk production. In some villages, they make it on Christmas to celebrate the birth of Jesus. It has a refreshing taste of cinnamon and with coconut added on top, is a perfect treat to cool you off in the summer heat.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of rice powder
  • 7 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tablespoon ground caraway
  • 2 cups sugar
  • for decoration: almond, pistachios, whole nut, shredded coconut, pine seeds and raisins

Preparation:

  • In a pot, mix the rice powder with cinnamon, caraway then the water. Mix and keep stirring until it boils
  • When it starts boiling, add the sugar and continue stirring until the mixture thickens
  • Pour in small individual bowls and allow to cool
  • Cover each bowl with cling film and place in the fridge
  • When serving, decorate each bowl with shredded coconut, bleached and halved almonds, whole nuts, pistachios, pine seeds and raisins (according to your preference; my son likes it with just some shredded coconut)

ET VOILA..C’EST TOUT! HAVE A NICE WEEK END 🙂