Dainty treats

I've always been a fan of middle eastern desserts, no matter how sweet they are, but these are an exception. Ghouraiba is simply a dainty biscuit perfumed with cardamom and rosewater and they were meant to last me through the exam period but it looks like I will be baking again. They are just small enough for you to have two without feeling greedy, the perfect size to serve guests alongside tea or coffee. Additionally, I put crushed walnuts in the mix but if you want to be traditional, use crushed pistachios.

GHOURAIBA

2/3 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup ground almonds
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon rose water
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease cookie sheets and set aside.

Cream butter and sugar.
(Note: I was lazy so I melted the butter and sugar over a low flame and the biscuits still turned out fine.)

Whisk together flour, ground nuts and cardamom. Add flour mixture to butter in thirds, mixing well after each addition. Stir in rose water.

Shape into balls the size of large marbles.

Bake for about 10 minutes. Cool for 2-3 minutes and roll in powdered sugar.

Carrot salad

I was treating mr-embarrassed-about-saying-the-word-tart (osteo rawks) and I'm just used to feeding people who come to the house (standard greeting in Singapore: Hi how are you? Have you eaten?) so I made this carrot salad from Claudia Roden. I really liked it, it's a keeper.

Depending on how many you are cooking for, this serves 2 -3 as a side dish.
half a carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 small apple, matchsticks (her recipe didn't have apple but I just bought a huge bag so am trying to use them. Apple lends a sweetness that is not in the original)
1 teasp ground cumin
2 tiny cloves of garlic minced
mint leaves
salt to taste
a squeeze of lemon juice, like from a quarter or half a lemon (I added this to the apples so they wouldn't change colour)
1 tablespoon of olive oil ( I used sesame cos I already had olive oil in a tabouli type salad)

Fry the garlic in oil till fragrant, then toss in the carrots and cumin. You don't want to cook them fully, sort of half cooked so that they are still crunchy. Turn off the fire and add in the apples, mint leaves, lemon juice and salt. You can serve it warm or cold.