new here

Hi everybody
I just thought I'd introduce myself.

I'm 19 and love cooking. I don't have that in common with anyone around so i thought i'd try and make some friends online.

Hi Manar,

Welcome to the site! We're glad you're here!

I hope you'll find that we're a fun, friendly and interesting group who come from all walks of life, many regions and all levels of cooking experience. We're a diverse crowd who enjoy a pretty tight community here.

Please share more about yourself! Are you a student? Do you work? Do you have enough cooking interest to pursue it as a career- or do you have other interests/gifts where work is concerned? I myself am 41 and worked in kitchens for over 25 years- since I was 14. I was raised in the rural mid-west, ended up traveling to Chicago, New Orleans, Seattle then Alaska for work. Now I'm back home in central Illinois near family again.

All of us here love eating and cooking and we gather here to share and laugh! We look forward to visiting with you often and we're sure you'll find this a warm corner of the web to settle in to! smiles- kevin (chubbyalaskagriz)

Hi Manar ! Boy are you in the right place...jump right in and join the gang...the more the merrier.We have people of all ages and experience here.

Wecome Maner!!!

So glad you stopped by and we hope you'll enjoy it enough to stay!

CCCathy

You guys answer quick
I live in Egypt but i have a dutch mother.I'm studying English lit. because i figured i wouldn't have to study much and i could concentrate on cooking. I specialize in baking cakes but iI'll give any recipe a shot.
I'm definitely thinking about pursuing it as a career.

Wow Menar what an interesting and diverse life, how neat I would love to see some cake recipes if you are willing to post them! What are some of your favorites? I love mid-eastern cusine, it is my favorite and then Moroccan, and Mexican, and......well the list is too long!!

I love Hummus, and pita bread, and Baba-Ganouj, and flafel, and so many foods from around Egypt and the many areas in the middle-east. I love the combinations of olive oil, tahini, and lemon juice used in so many recipes!

How about you?

Manar,

I love baking and decorating cakes too. What are some of your favorites? Are there any cakes unique to your region?

Hi Manar. My name is Janie and I also joined here looking for others who love to cook.
I have made some great friends here and Im sure you will to.

Hi Manar Welcome! Hope you like it here. Cookie

Welcome to our family, Maner.

If you're looking to make cooking friends this is definately the place. Food and cooking is what binds us as a group.

And don't worry about fitting in. We run the gamut from professional chefs to can't boil water, in all age groups. So just start posting. Join in an existing thread, or start a new one.

A place to begin: There are several of us here interested in North African foods. Egypt is sort of a crossroads for that, having both North African and Mid-Eastern influences. So we'd love to hear about some of the regional dishes you enjoy.

To tell you the truth i can't say i find Egyptian cuisine that interesting. It's mostly veggies in tomato sauce, What i do like is the Mahshi which is stuffed cabbage leaves. They're stuffed with rice and spices. The cakes however I don't make at all because they're not good, not even in the Cake shops

That being the case, Maner, what are some foods/cuisines you do enjoy?

I love grape leaves they are so good! I don't know how to make them but have had them in different places. I love all the different kinds of rice dishes yum! Cookie

Hey Cookie, I actually posted a recipe here for my Lebanese Stuffed Grape Leaves, I'll bet you would love them anyone I make them for just loves eating them. Where you live it should not be hard to find grape leaves at like an International Food Market. Private Message me if you have any questions and I will be glad to help you.

Cathy

Thanks Cathy, Sounds good! Cookie

Hi Manar,

The stuffed cabbage you describe sounds delicious. We have many regional rice preparations here in the States that I greatly enjoy- and our diets are inspired by many Latin and Asian rice dishes as well. In fact I am eating such a dish with ground beef, chicken, tomatoes, peppers and onions for my supper tonight!

We gluttonous, sweets-inspired Americans have bountiful opportunity to cure our craving for cakes and pastry here. One need not go far to find a home cook or a shop or bakery that has delicious simple or extravegant desserts. In our grocery stores we even have very inexpensive, easy, and satisfying boxed cake-mixes that have pre-measured ingredients that one simply adds water, eggs and oil to for mixing and baking. And we have pre-made, ready-to-use frostings to spread on them as well in flavors ranging from chocolate & vanilla, to lemon & cherry.

What cakes do you most enjoy?- or think you would most like to experience? Like many, I fancy myself a good baker and a fine cake maker- there are many skills in life I lack, but making cakes is one I'm proud to have! And as a big man who casts an ample shadow- I enjoy eating cakes as much as I do making them!

My current avatar is a shot of my sister and her children enjoying a "German Chocolate Cake", which is baked chocolate layers stacked and filled with a caramel frosting with coconut & pecans. Then the whole thing is wrapped in yet another layer of chocolate- and garnished with yellow sugared marigold-flowers from the garden. I will share more photos in the coming days! We also have many others here who like to bake and who make delicious cakes!

Please continue to share more about the foods from your region. In case you do not know this, we Americans are fascinated with Egypt, and any enlightenment you can share we would welcome and value! -kevin (chubbyalaskagriz)

I'm actually familiar with all the American cakes ...what would i do without the internet?

I really like a classic white cake with old fashioned frosting on top, or any other kind for that matter. I'm not picky as long as the texture and taste is good I'll eat any cake.

As far as Egypt goes. You need to come live here for a few weeks and I think you'll change your mind, It's not that great.
Some things you can't find here, good cooking chocolate is one of them which is why It's so hard to make chocolate desserts unless they have cocoa in them because it is truly the most disgusting taste and iI have actually tried all brands available, I'm still trying to figure out what to do about it. Some recipes i use the substitution with cocoa and shortening but i can't always do that.

The filling of the cabbage leaf recipe is exactly like the grape leaves one but i like the cabbage one more than the grape leaves.

I'm currently obsessed with dutch cookies and pastries. My mother went to Holland a while back and brought back all kinds of things and i just have to make them myself to have them available all year round.

Manar said:

Hi everybody
I just thought I'd introduce myself.

I'm 19 and love cooking. I don't have that in common with anyone around so i thought i'd try and make some friends online.

Click to expand...

Hi, Manar!

Welcome to the forum! I've just joined myself.

Hi Manar,

Sorry to hear about Egypt not being that great! I am wondering couldn't you order your chocolate on-line, or thru mail order, or some such venue?

I bet the things your Mom brought back were terrific! Dutch chocolate is very good, was your Mom able to get you some while she was in Holland?

It is so funny we in America seem to not realize just how good we have it, maybe you posting your complaints with Egypt will make us really be grateful for all we do have here.

I wish you could come to America and attend one of our Culinary Institutes, I imagine you would love it, and never want to leave!

Try looking into on-line purchases for some of those hard to find items you need, and best of luck.

Cathy

Hey, Big Daddy,

Did I miss something? Or is my mind melting down?

Says you've made six posts. All I've seen is two. Hmmmmmm?

How about introducing yourself? Or is that one of the things I missed?

At any rate, a belated (apparently) welcome.