![Orzo Soup with Greens and Wholesome Chicken Broth]()
by Yvonne Maffei | Aug 5, 2016 | American, Greek, Halal-Certified Products, Italian, Mediterranean, Recipes, Soups
Over the early part of the summer when Ramadan was in full swing, I took advantage of the somewhat cooler weather and made soups for Iftar (meal that breaks the fast). The main reason for that was not only the fact that I love how soups really acclimate my stomach to food after fasting, but more motivation actually came from the beautiful fresh greens I began finding at a local farm stand run by Loyola University called the Loyola University Retreat Campus in Woodstock, IL. There’s a very nice farmer named Emily who runs the greenhouses, gardens and Friday farmsteads and I’ve come to familiarize myself with what’s there every week and try to plan my meals around what’s being sold, if I’m in town at the time. What has been constantly abundant and beautiful has been the Tuscan kale and the beets, which I actually buy more for the greens than the beet itself, although I do use both.
I use these greens the same or the next day, usually. To keep them fresh and crisp I wrap them in paper towels and put them in a brown paper bag and don’t wash them until just before cooking. Once I do wash them, it’s always in cool water, leaving them in the water for a few minutes which really freshens them up even more.
I love all the beautiful and bright colors, and the other thing about this soup is that you don’t have to strictly use the kale and the beet greens, but instead you can use just one. Also, you can add some fresh broccoli into it, too. It’s that versatile and so rather than just follow the recipe strictly use what you have or what is fresh and local and appealing and I’m sure it’ll come out tasting fabulous. Just take a look at this color- isn’t it simply inspiring?
And the key ingredient, the key to making any soup nice and rich and healthy- is the broth. If you can, don’t just use water. Water is great and all, but in order to give your body the minerals and vitamins it may be craving to be healthy and strong, real beef, chicken or lamb broth is a wonderful ingredient to include. My go-to convenient, halal and healthy option if I haven’t had time to make my own is the Saffron Road variety. It’s spoiled me a lot (in a good way) to be able to grab a box at the store, know and trust that it’s completely halal, and wholesome.
I used the Artisan Roasted Chicken broth variety but you could also use their Culinary Classic Chicken Broth variety.
Now that Ramadan is way over, I’m still making soups over the summer, but I’ve also got a taste for trying new things- have you seen the new Fish Bowls from Saffron Road? How cool do those look? I have yet to try them, so let’s do it together!
I’m giving away one week’s worth of Saffron Road coupons so that you can try something new every day of the week– they have so many cool, convenient halal, gluten-free and Non-GMO products like frozen entrees, lentil crackers, lamb broth (trying finding another brand that makes that), and even desserts!
Here’s how this fun giveaway works:
- U.S. participants only. I know, bummer. Sorry, guys and gals, but products are only available in the U.S., but anyone in the world can watch our Instagram feed once the giveaway is over and food pics are shared :)
- Entrants must have an Instagram account that they will use to share pics with the Saffron Road products they buy from the coupons received.
- To enter, go to the PRODUCTS section of Saffron Road and see the types of items they have.
- Leave a comment about which one(s) you’d love to be able to try with your FREE coupons for FREE Saffron Road products.
- Check back here and on my Instagram account for the winner, which will be announced on August 12, 2016. No more entries will be accepted after August 8, 2016. As a winner, you agree to post pics of the products (i.e. shopping, packages, your dish, etc.) using the hashtag #mhksaffronroadfoodpics and tagging both @saffronroadfood and @myhalalkitchen on Instagram. Once that’s happening, anyone can follow the food pics using the hashtag #mhksaffronroadfoodpics!
Have fun exploring some of those really great halal global cuisine products and share this with all the foodies you know!
[yumprint-recipe id=’99’]
![Creamy Herb Dip with Crudités]()
by Yvonne Maffei | Jun 17, 2016 | Appetizers & Snacks, Entertaining
I love a good party dip- and a good party! No matter where you are in the world, it seems, you need a good snack/appetizer/pre-meal munchie to go with the food and warm up the guests as they arrive. During Ramadan, however, the schedule is a little bit different. Do you really think about party foods, dips with chips or crackers or are you really just trying to get actual food on the table?
I think if you’re having guests over who will stay a little longer than just for the main Iftar meal, you’ll want to give people something to munch on with drinks, especially if they stay into the night.
Since it’s summer, why not pick the freshest herbs from your grocer, farmers market or your own garden and add lots of them to a cream-based dip and serve it up with some wonderful, light oven baked lentil crackers and raw veggies, or crudités?
I use herbs like fresh chives, cilantro, basil, parsley, dill, oregano- whatever I have that is growing nicely and super fresh and beautiful- it’s going into this dip! It’s best to pick in the morning, by the way, when plants are nice and fresh with morning dew.
I do about half yogurt and half sour cream, a pinch of salt and pepper and all the fresh herbs (about 2-4 heaping tablespoons).
Raw veggies can be anything you like and/or have on hand. I like Persian cucumbers, colorful carrots and even pretty lettuce leaves that are good for scooping the dip.
For a healthy, crunchy cracker, I’m now using the new Lentil Crackers with Sea Salt, Rosemary Herb or Cracked Pepper- all by Saffron Road as a part of their new line of healthy snacks.
As they say, they’re “dense in protein, high in fiber, and low in fat”– and I can taste that. They’re also gluten-free and part of the Non-GMO project, which I’m certainly passionate about supporting in all of our foods.
One last note- if this doesn’t suit your lifestyle needs for Iftar, bookmark this recipe or save it on Pinterest for a great, all-natural and wholesome snack recipe for an Eid party.
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[yumprint-recipe id=’97’] ![Spicy Alaskan Cod with Thai Red Curry Sauce]()
by Yvonne Maffei | May 1, 2016 | Dinner, Fish & Seafood, Halal-Certified Products
Lately I’ve been watching a lot of travel shows that involve copious amounts of eating along the way- think anything and everything Anthony Bourdain is in only because of all the interesting places he visits–but, definitely not what he eats or drinks. Some of the dishes that he tries are, in my opinion, a lesson in what not to eat. At the very least, it’s education about the vast amounts of food people around the world eat that are completely and utterly a figment of our imagination here in the Midwest. I wouldn’t want his job of eating some pretty stomach-churning (and not so halal) things, but I would love his job of traveling, cooking and eating the halal stuff, for sure…
Backing away from Netflix and right back into the kitchen and I am craving some spicy Thai food- or anything spicy, at least somewhat. All the shows with such great seafood dishes reminds me that the world does offer up some incredibly great seafood recipes I just don’t see very often in restaurants around me, but I like to try making them myself. The problem is, I am usually the only one who ends up eating fish dishes because so few people are turned on by seafood. I think it’s ALL in how it’s made- the resulting flavor is the key factor that’s going to attract eaters, so perhaps just make a great dish without discussing all the details of what’s in it and what it looked like prior to cooking it. At least that’s the lesson I’ve learned…
I mean, none of the ingredients below look unappetizing, do they? No. But we’re not cooking with a whole fish that has to be cleaned up. The only somewhat scary ingredient to anyone not used to fish or seafood dishes is the fish sauce- I can just imagine telling someone that it’s an ingredient in a dish without explaining that it’s not so bad- just ground up salty anchovies or something similar–and that means you don’t need to add salt to your dish. Great, isn’t it?
For this recipe, which totally satisfied my craving for something nice and spicy but not too hot, I chose Alaskan cod in pieces as my main seafood ingredient. I like the because it takes the work out of slicing it up yourself and they’re found frozen which typically means the fish is freshly frozen rather than the ‘fresh’ fish at the grocery store that has simply been defrosted after arriving on ice and frozen from the transport trucks.
I found found this particular fish in nice chunks is at Trader Joe’s- next time I make this dish I’d probably cut them even a bit smaller just because I don’t like huge chunks of fish on my plate, but to each his own. You could even get a large piece of cod and put it in without cutting at all and it would be fine, too.
For the vegetables, I chose an Asian Vegetable Stir Fry mix which you can find at most grocery stores or just make it yourself with equal parts of sliced round carrots, broccoli, red and green pepper, red onion, snap peas, mushrooms, baby corn and water chestnuts, if you like. Leave out what you don’t.
After cooking the vegetables then fish in a neutral oil (i.e. sunflower), I add the fish sauce and Saffron Road Thai Red Curry Simmer Sauce. You can find it at many different stores – just take a look at their store locator on their website for a
The Simmer Sauce is gluten free and halal and contains the ethnic Thai flavors you would want in this dish like lemongrass, coconut milk, ginger, and paprika. It also adds a lot of nice moisture to the dish, which is important when you’re not cooking with much fat, as in this case.
To give the dish a nice kick, I added two heaping spoons of fire roasted green chilies. You can find small cans of this stuff in the Mexican aisle of most grocers. In my case, I got these from Trader Joe’s. Of course.
I let this simmer for some time (around 15 minutes) while my wonderfully fragrant Jasmine rice was cooking at the same time. Once they’re both done, it’s a really nice meal on a plate.
Perfect for dinner. Even on a weekday.
I’ll be giving away a packet of another one of Saffron Road’s Simmer Sauces this week, so stay tuned and make sure you’re subscribed to our newsletter to find out about all the new and exciting things we have coming up, insha’Allah.
Enjoy!
[yumprint-recipe id=’94’]
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 pound Asian stir fry vegetable mix (equal amounts of broccoli, carrot, mushrooms, red onion, snap peas, baby corn)
1 1/4 pound Alaskan cod pieces
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/8 cup fish sauce
1 packet Saffron Road Thai Red Curry Simmer Sauce
2 teaspoons fire roasted green chiles
Salute until browned
add 2 teaspoon sesame oil
Add Simmer Sauce packet
Simmer for 15 minutes
Serve with Jasmine rice
![Smoked Salmon Dip]()
by Yvonne Maffei | Feb 3, 2016 | Appetizers & Snacks
I don’t know what it is about winter and salmon but it seems like every cold season I start to crave that flavor of fresh Alaskan Sockeye in parchment with dill and butter or those great smoked Norwegian salmon pieces on toast, with dill, of course. But this winter, I decided to try testing a dip to make for some upcoming parties. I just happen to be watching endless episodes of Barefoot Contessa when I saw Ina Garten making a smoked salmon dip that looked delicious, although I had few tweaks in mind when trying it on my own. I had never really watched Ina cook on her show before, but now I know why everyone loves her!
You only need a few ingredients to make the dip- and you may already have them on hand. Be sure to use fresh dill rather than dried- it makes a huge difference.
You’ll need sour cream, cream cheese, salt, black pepper, smoked salmon and cucumber. I also would add a bit of heavy whipping cream or half and half- just about 1-2 tablespoons- if you want the dip to be slightly thinner.
I just happen to spot these:
However, since writing this post, an update is that the chips are no longer available, so I suggest using the Baked Lentil crackers instead, which are available at local Whole Foods Markets. I must say that I was really, really impressed. The flavor is great and since they’re baked, it’s a healthy option.
They can also hold up to a thick dip like this one, so they’re really nice scoops. I’d say that’s perfect for the upcoming Super Bowl parties many people are planning and who wants chips that crack and break- it’s annoying.
Everything gets mixed up pretty easily. If you have one, use a stand mixer to combine the cream cheese and sour cream then gently fold in the salmon and dill and spices. Add the heavy cream and use a wire whisk to incorporate, if you’re adding this. I like to add diced cucumber (without any seeds) for added crunch and texture, but it’s optional.
Whether you’re serving a crowd or just want to have a snack at home with family, this is definitely a crowd pleaser, even for people who think they wouldn’t like salmon…
[yumprint-recipe id=’89’] ![Cream of Vegetable Soup]()
by Yvonne Maffei | Jan 1, 2016 | American, Soups
I’m such a soup fan that I could eat it for lunch and dinner as a meal, especially when it’s creamy. With some rustic bread on the side, many soups can be quite filling and are a great way to feed a big family, usually by adding more water/cream/broth to easily increase the amount. We’ve just experienced a deep freeze- freezing, snowy rain that makes it hard to get out of a parking lot with anything less than snow tires. Once inside, who wants to leave? All I want to do is cozy up to a nice, creamy and steaming hot cup {or bowl} of soup. That’s why I made this easy cream of vegetable soup that I can make over and over again all winter. The only thing that takes up time is to cut the veggies, but if you’re snowed in, it might be quite therapeutic to do…
I get frozen organic vegetables when available and on sale (Costco has a great variety and large amount that shouldn’t be an issue in the freezer as long as you have the space); otherwise I shop for quality organic and non-GMO veg at places like Trader Joe’s or a local market that offers them. Everything gets rinsed off- even the frozen veg- with water and vinegar to kill off any bacteria that may be on them from handling.
Everything gets diced nice and small. Whatever veg you have on hand is what I would use. Some people prefer mushrooms and peas, for example, which are nice. I just didn’t have them on hand but made use of what I did have without going out for anything additional, new or exotic.
The toughest veg were cooked in oil first since they would take longer to soften. Once softened, I also add the dried herbs like oregano, parsley and thyme. You can add whatever dried or fresh herbs you like.
Then, I made a quick roux {paste to thicken the soup} right in the pan by adding butter…
…and then the flour.
Mix it in well to absorb all the flour.
Next, I add the milk and heavy cream as well as the halal, gluten-free and low-sodium chicken broth by Saffron Road. It’s great because it really gives the soup a rich flavor, but if you want a completely vegetarian version of this soup, use their Classic Culinary Vegetable Broth, which is also low-sodium.
Once that cooks for about 15 minutes on low, add the chopped green beans or peas, if you’re using them, since they’re soft and can get mushy easily. 
Also add the remaining heavy cream.
Let it cook for another 5 minutes on low, uncovered, then serve immediately. If you like, add a bit of grated Parmesan cheese on top.
It’s lovely and really warms the heart, body and soul…
What’s in YOUR cream of vegetable soup?
[yumprint-recipe id=’87’]
