Dark Chocolate Rose Truffles

There is no such a thing as "too much chocolate". Well,  at least in my world. Chocolate is one of those little things that makes me happy and I think my son Lucas agrees with me. Every time I hand him a piece of chocolate he goes "happy!" Making me smile each time.

Speaking of things that make one happy, I just started doing yoga again. I was just getting into it when I got pregnant and even then I did  pregnancy yoga which did wonders for my back.

After my son was born (almost two years ago), I stopped and it wasn't until last week when I decided it was time to pamper my body again.  I'm loving my classes and I have a great teacher who I'm comfortable with. 

Going back to chocolate, for this week's recipe I made chocolate truffles infused with roses. It's the first time I used roses for this purpose and I loved it. The floral after taste against the bittersweet chocolate is fantastic. I liked it so much, I now want to experiment with lavender and suggestions are welcome! 

Ingredients: 

3/4 heavy cream

1 tbsp butter

7oz 70% dark chocolate, 

finely chopped

1/3 cup dried roses (see note)

cocoa powder for dusting

1 tsp rose water

Place the chocolate and butter in a mixing bowl. Combine the cream and roses and bring to a gentle boil. Remove from the heat and let the roses infuse with the cream for 5 minutes. Return the cream to stove and heat it until just starts to simmer. Strain the cream over the chocolate and let it stand for 10 minutes allowing the chocolate to melt. Add the rose water and gently stir until smooth. Pour the mixture into an 6-inch glass baking dish and set aside to cool at room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until set. Using a melon baller, scoop chocolate onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and return to the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Shape truffles and roll them into the cocoa powder to coat.

Note: If you don't have dried roses you can just add an extra tsp of rose water although I think the combination of the 2 are nice.

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A year of Fun and Meatballs with Goat Cheese and Couscous

In a day like today, exactly one year ago, I decided to enter the exciting world of blogging. When I started this journey I had no idea where or how to begin. I didn't even have a clear idea of what blogging really was. However,  I was committed to start and one year later I am absolutely happy the way things have turned out. My blog has brought me the opportunity to meet wonderful people and do things that I

wouldn't have done otherwise. It has been a learning experience and I can't wait to see what else is coming.

Another thing I have to thank blogging is the passion I have discovered for food photography and styling. It truly opened my eyes to a whole new world that I absolutely
love and enjoy and which I can't see myself living without.  

I like to celebrate this day, not with a cake but with a family recipe straight from my Middle Eastern side of the heart. This dish is so delicious and actually very simple, it's meatballs in a tomato sauce that are served with goat cheese which we add (off the heat) while the meatballs are still hot so the goat cheese lightly "melts". This dish is typically served with a warm piece of flat bread but I had a wonderful couscous I got at the market that went fantastic with it. 

I hope you enjoy and thank you so much for all the support! 

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

1 lb. ground beef

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cumin

6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

salt and pepper 

Olive Oil

For the sauce

1 6 oz can tomato paste

2 1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cumin

1 small onion, finely chopped

salt and pepper

To Serve 

4 oz Goat Cheese (depends how much you

like goat cheese) 

chopped parsley

Directions

To make the meatballs, place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, except the olive oil, and combine them well (using your hands is best) Form the mixture into about 1 1/2-inch meatballs. Pour enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a 12 inch skillet. Heat the oil and brown the meatballs on all sides. Remove the meatballs to a plate and cover them. For the sauce, add the onions to the skillet and cook for 5 minutes. While the onions are cooking, place in a bowl the 2 1/2 cups of water and add the tomato paste, stirring well until well blend and smooth. Add the tomato/water mixture to the skillet, add the rest of the ingredients, stir it and bring it to a boil. Add the meatballs, cover and let it cook over medium heat for 25 minutes. Turn off the heat and add chunks of goat cheese and sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately with couscous or bread. 

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Spaghetti with Pesto Sauce

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's day! My husband took me out for dinner. I was not expecting that because we never really celebrate this day but I'm glad we did because we had a fantastic time. We usually have a casual dinner at home, sometimes with friends or just the 3 of us.

Lucas sure enjoyed the chocolates I got for him and now I'm in big trouble because he is  a chocoholic just like his mother.

Today has been a lazy day. The sky is gray, not really raining but cold. In days like these, I really crave either soup (lentil being my soup of choice) or a bowl of pasta. 

As you can see, I went for pasta. It's a light cream basil pesto (I LOVE basil by the way)  with Parmesan cheese. Simple, good. 

I always like to keep pesto on hand. It is the simplest thing to make and, when properly stored, can last a long time. 

Ingredients:

For the pesto:

1 bunch of basil

2 garlic cloves

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup grated 

Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup pine nuts

salt and pepper to taste

Combine the basil, pine nuts and garlic in a food 

processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add 

the oil and process until well combined. Add the 

cheese and pulse a few more times until incorporated.  

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Note: If you don’t have pine nuts, almonds, hazelnut 

or walnuts work great.

For the pasta

1 pound of spaghetti

 (or the pasta of your choice)

1 cup of light creamy (heavy

 cream or half and half works too)

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon butter

In a large skillet, add the cream and butter, season with salt and pepper. Bring it to a boil. Stir Parmesan cheese into cream. Add in the pesto, and cook for one minutes. In a pan, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Add the pesto sauce and toss well. Taste for salt and pepper and serve with more Parmesan cheese. 

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Delicious Valentine's!

Here it is guys! As promised, the second edition of Delicious Shots Magazine post is up! Lots of DIY projects, recipes and contributions from 3 amazing ladies: Sarah, Nicole and Sneh. Happy Valentine's Day :) 

Download Box HERE

Open publication - Free publishing - More desserts

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