Maya La Chocolaterie

As I said in my previous post yesterday, It is been long time since I blogged. Working in the Food & beverage industry, makes you want to be more delicate while posting about your food adventures.

I always talked about chocolate on my blog. But since moving to Riyadh, and due to the hot and dry weather, it makes you subconsciously avert away from something warm and heat producing!

Yet, visiting Maya chocolaterie, a place solely for having a chocolate experience has proven something else! Chocolate is desirable regardless of the temperature! If it is hot, people will eat chocolate and perhaps even more!!

Maybe the quote from Star Trek actually reflects what goes on people's minds on chocolates :
"I never met a chocolate I didn't like " Deanna Troi -  Star Trek ( The Next Generation)

Munch Bakery: A Local Bakery with International Standards

This photo of Munch Bakery is courtesy of TripAdvisor

I heard rumors about Munch Bakery before I went there that It was a great bakery with good tasty cupcakes and fancy designed cakes. I checked the website before I visited to see their products. I was impressed by the logo, the interactive website, and the list of products in a very neat way that makes you want to order cupcakes even if they were "digital".

When I visited the olay/tahila branch at 10 pm during the week, I was impressed by the number of people there. The bakery was full and everyone was ordering something.

Presentation

Gourmet Popcorn?

Gourmet Popcorn, Packaged and Shipped!

In my recent discoveries throughout the malls here in Riyadh, I found a shop that sells "Gourmet Popcorn".
Called " KukuRuza".
This Seattle family based company, recently opened in  KSA and they ship their well-crafted artisan popcorns to here! Can you imagine that?

The Popcorn flavors of the US version are very exotic, ranging from Hawaiian Salted Caramel and Brown Butter & Sea Salt to Coconut Macaroon. Yet the KSA version is much adapted to the local taste, they have coffee, S'mores, dark chocolate, buffalo spice,cheese, Ranch, caramel, cinnamon...etc

I tasted all those flavors as seen in the photo below...They are good. Surely, some are sweet. But I prefer the original flavor of popcorn. I didnt buy any since I am not a big fan of pop corn.
Would you buy from this gourmet packaged popcorn??? Or would you get them as gifts when you visit other people??

Different Flavors 

Gift Packages

Tea Gschwendner : Ritzy as Its Name!

"Make things happen, explore distant shores, and most of all, drink tea."

With this philosophy,  Albert Gschwendner and his wife Gwendalina turned their dreams of a teashop into a reality in 1978.

And it was this tea shop that I discovered in the middle of a very dull country. Because if there is anything that can bring me joy in Riyadh, is discovering a new cuisine or an exquisite food shop.

Gschwendner was one of them and it is now on my Top list to see and check every time I am in the Kingdom tower doing some shopping.

Gschwendner. Yep, it is German. And I admit that the name is a bit hard to pronounce and actually google later when I wanted to write this post. But this name turned out to be as lavish as the products inside!

The small shop in the kingdom is in the ground floor, and you can see a teapot boiling outside as if greeting you to come inside and explore a new world of Tea leaves. And this is exactly what happened. The teapot was enough to attract me inside and discover this Tea Haven!

Hundreds of Tin drawers with different types of dried  tea leaves from around the world!

And another thing that caught my attention, was a small stand with brochures. There it was the " Book of Tea". I grabbed it. And asked the salesman if I can take it with me. He welcomely acknowledged that and poured some tea for me and my family.

Sunset Sea Dinner at St.Elmo's

St. Elmo's Logo!

"I am the sea. In my depths all treasures dwell. Have they asked the divers about my pearls?" the Egyptian poet Muhammad Hafiz Ibrahim.
I have always had a special fond to the sea, its mystery, and its untold stories..All because my name is pearl.  I had built a myth inside my head since I was a little girl that I was indeed from the sea. Lunatic? Maybe. but such mystical illusions do make the best stories later.Yes, I believed the sea was my  home, and to it I will return someday. Everything that reminds me of the sea makes me live this myth again..

This time it was not the sea itself, nor a ship, nor Corrine's Bailey Rae " The Sea" song, neither the Little mermaid movie, neither the famous sea navigator Jacque Costeau nor a small shell I picked up from the shore. This time the sea experience was from a whole restaurant that embraced the concept of the SEA from the floor to the ceiling , from the plate to the cup!

Zaytouna Bay

Chocolate Bars made from Camel Milk

For those who are living in the United Arabs of Emirate, you have probably tried it.
But for someone who is living in Lebanon , where there are no camels, and no camel milk production, this is something "exotic".

A month ago I talked about localization of food products and how it is crucial that Food industries focus on what the consumers in their markets need rather on what it is more likely to import . A an example I tweeted was a new product : the "Camel Milk Icecream". Here is a business review from the dairy products website about Al-ain wanting to launch icecream from camel milk.

So, a week ago, my friend wanted me to try the chocolate bars made from Camel Milk . The chocolate bars were produced by  "Nasma" company.

Why I Dont Like Ready Mixes

Homemade cakes are my favorite. I hate those from some bakeries: full of cream, sugar, the sugar coat and the intoxicating fake flavor and color. Even worst: I dont eat wedding cakes. I'd just take a bite perhaps ( for social reasons). They lack the freshness and flavor of a true cake.

The best cakes I like are homemade, fresh from the oven, hot , fluffy, and chocolate flavored.

Don't we all love our mother's or grandmother's cakes? They do their own secret mixes, inspired from the TV show host, some advise from their neighbors, and from they book they read 10 years ago, and Voila the perfect mix to make us happy!

But this exquisite mixes were replaced with  industrial, ready mixes. Mixes made on a large scale to ensure there is no time wasted, no error done, no defect made, no haphazard effect that can occur  when we are in the kitchen baking. 
This is not what I want in my cake. I dont want Betty Crocker. I dont want to use it.
Why do I want to use something that will let me forget the joy of baking ? Let me forget how to err in the recipe? How to ruin my cake? How to make it taste bad or good? Isn't the whole purpose of baking to enjoy it and make something from your own hands (taken from the lebanese , men 2eedaykeh?)

I can only say about Betty or any other mixes: they are like the  botux for baking.; filled artificially with ingredients that make desserts taste more delicious and look more tastier!


To get more proves than why is better to prepare your own mix for baking , I went to the supermarket to compare a ready mix for pancakes and buying the ingredients from scratch.

Here are the points that I compared:

The Red Velvet Cake Dilemma

The Red velvet cake has lately been prominent. Everytime I am around my friends , the Red velvet cake should be either mentioned or devoured in their mouths.One can’t deny that its feathery texture, the striking red color, and the overwhelming vanilla taste, that contribute to its fame. It is indeed a magical cake, and just looking at it reminds me of cartoon, and all the Disney movies we all grew up watching.

Picture from the web

However, beauty is not pure. And as everything in life have their pros and cons. The red velvet cake is not an exception to this rule, sadly.

Normally nutritionists scare you off from these high caloric cakes, but as I am a food scientist I’d rather take another angle.  So, this post  is not to scare you away from the calories; rather, it’s the “red” you should worry about.

Let’s take Martha Stewart’s online recipe of the cake. Martha uses around 1/4 to 1/2 cup of a red food coloring to make one cake. She clearly states to put 2 one-ounce bottles liquid red food coloring to achieve the desired shade!Consider a normal diet; you are having one piece of the red velvet cake every month, along with other colorants in food from the halloween candies, to the Eid Mlabbas, to the Christmas colored cookies, to potato chips, fruit loop cereals, the guacamole dip, to the hotdog and the  frozen vegetables…etc The list goes one because everyone is increasingly relying on  processed foods.
 The question is whether all these colorants will cause any health implications.

Let us start why is there color in my food? 
Remarkably, sensory scientists found that color is always associated with flavor. Consumers may refuse to have a green chocolate drink or a brown strawberry juice. Therefore, industries rush in adding colorants to make their product look fresh, nutritious, and thus appealing to consumers. That’s because consumers love everything that resembles nature. ( more on how color affects the sense of tastes of food & drinks by Washington University)

Nothing is more memorable than smell

"Nothing is more memorable than a smell.  One scent can be unexpected, momentary and fleeting, yet conjure up a childhood summer beside a lake in the mountains; another, a moonlit beach; a third, a family dinner of pot roast and sweet potatoes during a myrtle-mad August in a Midwestern town.  Smells detonate softly in our memory like poignant land mines hidden under the weedy mass of years.  Hit a tripwire of smell and memories explode all at once.  A complex vision leaps out of the undergrowth."  ~Diane Ackerman, A Natural History of the Senses.

For me , entering a restaurant is not just a meal occasion, it's a sensual ritual for exciting all my senses, then my nerve buds, up to my neurons , then encrypting this stimulation into my memory storage area.
And if this ritual didn't happen, then the restaurant failed in making me a memory.
And if it failed in making this memory, this simply means : " the food wasn't great". And, although I am a food scientist ,  where one would assume that would be easy  for me talking about a restaurant , its menu and its food. But it is not. Because I tend to talk about almost all the factors that affect eating.  You will notice that as you read below.


The couqley bistro- restaurant  experience for brunch, was one of those vivid memories that had successfully been processed and stored. As you enter, you are overwhelmed with the smell of home  made omlettes and pancakes, and so you  evocatively remember the Sunday mornings where you used to wake up late , smell something delicious and enter the kitchen to see  your mother preparing for you,  your favorite breakfast: Pancakes.  Bringing back  this picture is worth it all. 

Taste Spotting

I found an awesome website for all food lovers and food photographers.  A website that shares photos of food but behind every photo is the story/blog/link to it!
So its like a cool display of the recipes , food experiences  and quick access to what you might need!
Here is the link :)  Taste Spotting.

Peasant Cuisine 1 : Stuffed Cabbage Leaves

Let me start by : “ what is Peasant Cuisine? “

 World cuisine is divided into three major types:

1-      Bourgeois: meaning middle class/urban food.

2-      Haute : highly skillful cuisine , elaborate. First introduced by the French.

3-      Peasant: Right just what you thought of ,  the  food of the farmer, hunter, fisherman, any person that is close to his food source. Unlike us the "city" people, who go to a restaurant and eat a meal , or go the supermarket and grab a ready to eat microwaveable meal...And definitely not like  ordering a 50 dollar meal for a piece of salmon , or  5 grams of caviar.

And thus a peasant food perhaps gives a connotation that it is cheap, unsavory and not exquisite. Yet, it is absolutely the most nutritious, organic and healthy food ever.

Hellman Wonders states that Peasant Foods don’t belong to a village or a country. And so Anthropologists couldnt determine the origins of some peasant foods. This is because ethnic groups migrate and frontiers change (1).
Moreover, written records are rare on this subject since peasant cooks seldom, if ever, jotted down recipes, and the ancient scribes in the city almost never chronicled for posterity the dishes that peasants ate.

Farmer's Market-Ithaca

So if we wanted to talk about  stuffed cabbage leaves. I cant say which country it originated from. First, I thought that stuffed cabbage was Lebanese, since my mom used to cook it all the time. And perhaps all Lebanese families do. Then I saw my middternean friends also acknowledging this meal.

But after I did my research, it turned out that this peasant food is actually cosmopolitan .

 The dish has emerged in different regions.Surely, there are different versions of this dish that differ in taste according to the region.(2). So, some of these varieties include include 'golubtsy' in Russia, 'chou farci' in France, 'sarmale' in Romania, 'holubky' in Czech Republic, 'kåldolmar' in Sweden, 'gołąbki' in Poland, 'lahana dolması' in Turkey,”malfouf Mehshi” in Lebanon and other arab countries, and a peurto Rican version  “Repollo Relleno Con Carne”!!!

 Surely, one would say.Cabbage???? This smelly vegetable.??? This dull taste?Why should I eat it  when I can enjoy other appetizing foods???

Let me tell you why :

1.      STORAGE  :They store well and grow in many different areas of the world, which makes them readily available throughout the year.

2.      CANCER FIGHTER : Cabbage is full of phytonutrients, which signal the body to produce enzymes involved in the detoxification of the body. These enzymes help to fight free radicals that can cause a number of different types of cancer, including lung and prostate cancer.

3.      VITAMIN C which is an antioxidant that protects against the cell-damaging effects of oxidation from free radicals.

4.      ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE Not all cabbage is green. In fact, a special kind called red cabbage has special antioxidants called polyphenols. These help protect brain cells from being damaged in a way that relates specifically to Alzheimer's disease.

5.      CHOLESTEROL Cabbage has a certain phytonutrient known as indole-3-carbinol. This helps to lower cholesterol in the body by preventing the liver from secreting an enzyme that helps to carry cholesterol throughout the body.

6.      ULCERS : Cabbage juice has a good concentration of glutamine, a type of amino acid. This protects and strengthens cells in the stomach, which helps prevent ulcers from forming.

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Here is one great recipe  that i would like to share you from : Group Recipes Website

Photo taken from Hub Pages

Ingredients:

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• ·         1 or more large cabbages
• ·         1 cup short grain rice
• ·         1/2 lb. minced or ground beef or lamb
• ·         1/4 cup lemon juice (as desired)
• ·         4 TBSP butter
• ·         1 1/2 tsp salt
• ·         1 cup water
• ·         1 head garlic, cloves separated with loose paper or skin removed (more to taste)
• ·         a dash of ground paprika
• ·         a dash of ground cinnamon
• ·         a dash of ground cumin
• ·         OR
• ·         1/4 - 1/2 tsp allspice or bhar hellou
• ·         1 tbs dry mint

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How to make it

• ·        Large pot to blanch cabbage leaves, covered casserole, saucepan or stewpot to cook stuffed leaves.
• ·         CHOOSING the cabbage is important, as you have to be able to get enough leaf area to actually hold the stuffing, rolled. Large, loose-leaf cabbages are best; you might need more than one cabbage if the leaves are tightly wrapped, as you will only be able to use the outermost leaves.
• ·         GENTLY peel the leaves from the cabbage. Lay them flat, and cut the largest area you can without large veins.
• ·         WHEN your pot is boiling blanch some leaves for few minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and put in cold water then put in a colander. Repeat same procedure with remaining leaves.
• ·         LINE bottom of cooking pot with bones (if you have bought lamb shoulder and cut the meat from the bone) or with a thick layer of cabbage leaves.
• ·         MIX rice with minced meat, spices and salt. Place cabbage leaf, shiny side down, on a work surface.
• ·         PLACE crosswise about 1 TBS of stuffing (depending on the size of leaf), and fold ends, roll tightly. Place seam down in cooking pot, packing tightly together. Place several cloves of garlic between each layer.
• ·         REPEAT procedure with remaining leaves. You will want about five  'mahshi' per person.(5 pieces per person)
• ·         PLACE 4 TBSP butter in saucepan. Invert a heavy plate on top to keep rolls in shape during cooking.
• ·         COVER leaves with water, bring to a boil then reduce to low simmer and cover. Simmer very gently for two hours or until tender.

·         Add one table spoon dry mint boil it for five minutes .

·         Serve hot.

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To check how much calories and nutrients are  in each cabbage roll :

http://www.fitday.com/webfit/nutrition/all_foods/vegetables/cabbage_stuffed_with_meat_and_rice_syrian_dish_puerto_rican_style_repollo_relleno_con_carne_y_con_arroz_arabe_mihsy_melful_.html

References:

1.http://www.hillmanwonders.com/peasant_dishes/about_p03.htm

2.http://www.buzzle.com/articles/stuffed-cabbage-rolls.html

3.http://www.fitday.com/webfit/nutrition/all_foods/vegetables/cabbage_stuffed_with_meat_and_rice_syrian_dish_puerto_rican_style_repollo_relleno_con_carne_y_con_arroz_arabe_mihsy_melful_.html

Grapefruit, Ugly Duckling , & Gibran

Fruits versus their tastes and their ease of eating them : very self-explanatory .
The most peculiar thing was the grape fruit , observe how it is the most difficult and most untasty.
I guess it is the same story as the " Ugly Duckling". How ?
Well, It is the most bitter fruit , considering fruits should have some sort sweetness or  some sourness atleast.
On the graph, it really looks like the "odd" black duckling, abandoned by its fellow fruits.
But like the ugly duckling which flies eventually and proves that  it is not different than the others, the grapefruit  also proved to be one of the  most precious fruits.


Indeed, grapefruit is the most nutritious fruit. It is an excellent source of many nutrients and phytochemicals that contribute to a healthy diet.As well it is a good source of vitamin C, contains the fiber pectin, and the pink and red hues contain the beneficial antioxidant Lycopene. Studies have shown grapefruit helps lower cholesterol,and there is evidence that the seeds have antioxidant properties. Grapefruit forms a core part of the "grapefruit diet", the theory being that the fruit's low Glycemic index is able to help the body's metabolism burn fat.
Grapefruit seed extract (GSE) has been claimed to have strong antimicrobial properties.
Grapefruit also contains large quantities of a simple Polyamine called Spermidine, which may be related to aging. It is known to be necessary for cell growth and maturation, and as cells age their level of Spermidine is known to fall. Scientists have shown that feeding Spermidine to worms, fruit flies and yeast significantly prolongs their lifespan. In addition, adding Spermidine to the diet of mice decreased molecular markers of aging, and when human immune cells were cultured in a medium containing Spermidine, they also lived longer.

But all of us will fall  afterall, for the most tasty and easy , no matter how much we know about the nutritional aspects  benefits !!


Moral :  Beauty is not everything. And neither taste. It is the things that the eye doesn't see or the mouth doesn't taste that has this magical effect on us.


Or Maybe we will recognize what Gibran Khalil Gibran recognized before us:

"Beauty is not in the face;

                                                           beauty is a light in the heart" :)

Food , Accessories and a Camera!

 Amazing Talent by one of my favorite  photographers!
Italian award winning , Fulvio Bonavia!

It is really all about taste ;)

http://www.fulviobonavia.com/

http://www.fulviobonavia.com/