Crunchy Cinnamon-Orange Biscotti

Since I was under 10 years old I remember those special days when the house would smell like heaven. The almost enchanting aroma of the mixture of warm orange and cinnamon making its way through every room. It was when I knew I'd be welcomed with a fresh plate of my favorite orange biscotti. The taste is addictive and the bite is so crunchy!! Baked by Purita, practically the caretaker of our house who has been part of our family since I can remember. Purita learned a lot of her recipes from my mom, but was also working at a bakery before living with us, so naturally she had a couple tricks up her sleeve! 

I finally asked Purita to share the biscotti recipe with me and had the guts to try it. I should add that the first time I made it in my apartment, it was a complete flop, and I made what appeared to be bread. Of course I was experimenting and changed the ingredients list entirely. It took my friend Lamya around 3 minutes to swallow 1 bite before she could give me her opinion. By a minute 30 seconds of her chewing I already knew what I needed to know. I realized there's something different about the way Purita makes it: rather than mixing the ingredients to form a dough log which would be placed in the oven, her mixture comes out more like a batter which she bakes in a baking pan. 

So taking advantage of the fact that I'm in Abu Dhabi at my parents house with a kitchen complete with everything I'd need (including Purita), I decided to give the biscotti another go. My best friend also came over for lunch so we decided it would be fun. There aren't many ingredients and the main substitution was using honey instead of sugar. Why do I constantly need to come up with different recipes for foods we love? Because there are hundreds of websites that know how to cook up a storm using butter, sugar and other ingredients that I would prefer to do without. For that reason, I come up with recipes that either use very little or none of those. My desserts or meals have nothing to do with being lower in calories unless I state it, they're merely made with "better quality" ingredients as I like to put it. This view is definitely not understood by my father who dreams of butter; but when even he agrees something tastes good without it, I believe anyone can as well.

Note that I used a baking pan larger than I should have for the quantity I made so the end result came out quite thin (which is actually how I enjoy them). However, for the thicker genuine biscotti, I would use a loaf pan.

Below is the story of my favorite biscotti:

Buy it

mix it

pour it

bake it

flip it

cut it

bake it

eat it.

 For the exact recipe and directions, click below.

Who said cramps don't feel good?

so 'cramp' is what you kids are calling it these days... how refined.

Dearest Dubai, Can you please bring these here?

Some edible treats I crave the most on a regular basis. I've only been able to find the following in organic grocery stores in the US or London so far. What I'd do to find them here though...

Fresh brown rice sushi. Most organic grocery stores have a live sushi bar with all the brown rice you need! I think it's great that they give customers the choice. I actually enjoy the taste much more; it's almost as if they use a moist ingredient to hold the rice together. Yum! I can eat this every day for lunch. I'm surprised the idea of brown rice sushi hasn't hit Dubai yet. I'm sure it would take a bit longer to make it big considering people here mainly live on the simple carbs we should avoid, but there is hope. 

Freshly ground honey roasted peanut butter. I love the one I find here, but nothing compares to it freshly ground. I'm not going to lie, it looks pretty nasty coming out of the grinder, but that's the best time to eat it. It's just got the perfect crunch, warmth and sweetness to it. 

Luna Bars. I've tried nearly every flavor, and I have to say I've narrowed down my favorites to the Chocolate Dipped Coconut and S'mores. One of my suitcases was pretty much stuffed with Luna Bars, which I still have a stash of. Protein bars are a great snack when you don't have proper food around; I take one when I go on a film shoot or if I know I'll have a really long meeting and don't want to be that really loud person munching on the bag of crisps or an apple. Sucks to be that person. 

Okra chips. Who would have thought to make these?! They're sensational. Texture and consistency mean a lot to me and the crunch of these chips is perfection. Even the sound of each crunch is so sharp and satisfying. You'd know what I mean if you tried them. I'm sure the sodium levels are pretty high but whatever, it's Okra right?

I'm hoping one day soon to find these here; otherwise I'll have to do something about it myself!

My Movie Library Update

My mental movie library isn't that great so I try to catch up whenever I can. I usually try to select based on Rotten Tomatoes' reviews. This week I got around to watching State of Play (84%), Orphan (55%), Jane Eyre (85%) and Atonement (83%), In Bruges (81%).

Movie critics just love the most depressing movies don't they!

I was really holding out for Atonement because I wanted to read the book first... guess that's not happening anytime soon. Strangely enough, it's the first time Keira Knightley didn't annoy me. I really do love James McAvoy, I've always got my eyes on him when he's on screen and it's not just his looks, he's really very good at his craft. All in all I really appreciated this movie. No doubt the story was super, I mean come on.. it's Ian McEwan; but also the acting pulled me in. It was also styled perfectly in terms of the set/costume design and the way it was filmed.

Really sucks that one foolish child can break so many hearts; including her own. Don't even want to discuss how disgusting her curly haired cousin was and even more so the guy who "courted" her. Pedo!

Among the many things I was left to think of, was Keira's emerald green dress. I really want it. It embodies that feminine chic and classy look so well. She's a bit too skinny for my liking on screen, but nevertheless stunning throughout.

I don't even WANT to talk about Orphan. K fine I will, but just to say it's been a while since I've gotten so frustrated, scared, and grossed out at the same time. I didn't even select it, it was on TV and I wasn't tired yet. I know the exact structure of this type of film; that newcomer who wants to destroy a family, but deep down just wants love and acceptance, the numerous attempts to kill, the naive family member who usually ends up dying, and ultimately the villain's death. Is it normal that I got satisfied when the father got stabbed? How dare you not consider your wife's intuition you fool!

I will say that for me to hate Isabelle Fuhrman so much means she really nailed the role. How did they make her look so unappealing? Her face looks a bit too weirdly shaped. I can just hear her irritating "daddddy." However, the deaf daughter was adorable, and I always love watching Vera Farmiga.

I love movies about hit men, so In Bruges was the perfect dark comedy for me. I have to admit that in the beginning I was so irritated by the Irish accent that I couldn't understand, but eventually I picked it up, somewhat. I really enjoyed this film; it's so different; from the setting, to the story, to the random occurrences and more so the random comments. Colin Farrell was a genuine baby in it; loved it. Ralph Fiennes is just amazing; whether he's Voldemort or any other character he nails it. It was so funny when that fool of a guard wasn't letting them go up the tower and got the shit beaten out of him. He didn't know who he was messing with. I liked seeing Clémence Poésy again after Harry Potter. Ray's parter Harry was such a good guy... his role really touched me. There was something weird about the whole chaos in Bruges, a place that's so whimsical and sweet. All in all, very random movie but just as great. What's with the alcoves?! "


Because at least in prison and at least in death, you know, I wouldn't be in fuckin' Bruges. But then, like a flash, it came to me. And I realized, fuck man, maybe that's what hell is: the entire rest of eternity spent in fuckin' Bruges. And I really really hoped I wouldn't die. I really really hoped I wouldn't die." - Ray

State of Play was alright. I've been getting more into crime/investigation films, but I'm positive I enjoyed it more because I liked the actors in it. These types of films have a pretty predictable storyline to them as well; last person you expect who is probably close to the investigators blah blah blah. I still like you Ben Affleck, but you were quite the fool in it. You always hear how some actors are really irritable or difficult to be around, Russell Crowe is one of those actors.. and I really do believe it. Sorry dude, I'm sure you're great to the people you care about, but your face has such a bad temper a lot of the time.

I enjoyed Jane Eyre. My father found it slow and my mom slept through it, but I just have a love for period films. I'd need to watch it again because the dialogue was a little too intense for me, but I got the gist of it. I know stories are always written a certain way to keep us intrigued, but why couldn't Mr. Rochester make more of an effort to get her back?! If he wasn't so foolish things could have been much different. I know I know, creating such a happy ending wouldn't be that special to share. I just think people shouldn't give up on the ones they love when they know they are still loved back...

On another note, I really enjoyed the styling of it; Jane's hair was interesting but I loved it on her only; I would never go there. Not a fan of the fuzzy, odd-looking excuse for a beard St. John Rivers fashioned.

I really find Mia Wasikowska such a natural beauty. OF COURSE my outspoken father found her ugly, but it's her unconventional beauty and serene, delicate look that makes her stand out. I can see a bit of Claire Danes without that annoying aloofness.

*Sigh* one day I'll act in a period film. If Judi Dench were in it I'd officially be satisfied with my acting career.



Conclusion: There's always a fool.

Good Morning DXB: Sunday Love

I hope you had a great weekend and enjoyed Eid - to those of you celebrating it. I still feel a bit weird eating or drinking in public; but happy it's all back to normal. So so grateful for that. 

Enjoy your Sunday, and look on the bright side; at least you can always expect it to be bright and sunny in Dubai =D

To the virgo in you

Spiritual Thought of the Day

With the paintbrush of your heart, mind and vision create images of beauty for a better world. When I use the subtle spiritual resources of; silence, spiritual eyesight, pure divine feelings and a noble generous attitude as colors, I can paint the world with beauty. Every day I can hold the image of one of these qualities to create a vision of beauty. When I have this vision in my mind I will carry it to the world and create it. Today let me paint a beautiful world.

*Thanks mama*

Choco Milk for the Inner Child's Soul

There's always been something about choco milk that reminds me of my youth. One of my dearest friends who I grew up with was obsessed with it, and since we were always together at each other's houses, it was the main beverage of choice. That and cocktail juice, mmm.

Unfortunately I lost interest in chocolate milk for various reasons. First, when I went to uni. Starbucks was always next door and I got introduced to the White Chocolate Mocha. Then I went through my healthy phase where chocolate milk was not nutritious therefore should not be consumed. Then I just started to dislike milk after thinking I was lactose intolerant for three years only to be told I'm not and just can't digest saturated fats well enough. For some reason, a mental discomfort towards milk stuck. Very strange considering I eat other dairy products. I have problems. ANYWAY, I'm now a soy milk drinker and I'm very happy.

Lucky for me, I discovered Silk's Chocolate Soymilk and I loooove it! I don't think it's one of those weird healthy substitutes, because my friends who hate soy milk like it too. I'm always amused with how young I feel when I drink it... and probably more so by how young I look in this photo. Definitely the pjs, that I've worn only once... just putting that out there.

Relaxing with the Gipsy Kings

Nothing like being lazy on a Friday. I hope you can sit back, relax, and soak up some sun :)

Logos with Hidden Messages

I love witty logos, here are some that I liked mainly because I've seen them before and haven't noticed the "hidden messages."

Ok I haven't seen this one before, which I'm kinda happy about, but found it simple and direct. 

I always figured the logo was of the Swiss Alps but didn't see much creativity in it. Noticing the bear makes me appreciate it so much now.

I never noticed the 'C' either and I'm at Carrefour at least once a week! 

It's so true, I did just think the arrow was a simple line, the last thing I would have thought was 'a to z'

I'm not familiar with the above logo's company, but definitely found it worth adding to this list. 

Never would have pointed out the outline of Australia. Maybe if I saw it on a more regular basis.. 

I see this logo regularly at the mall and never cared much to analyze that what looks like sloppy writing is actually the Eiffel Tower.  

I've had this logo pointed out to me before but was still surprised seeing it again. 

[via Graphic Design Blog]