Um Safia

about me

ABOVE: My eldest, Talha with his 'Zaar Star!

I'm 28 years old and have been cooking since I was old enough to wield a wooden spoon! My Mum is a fantastic cook and both my Grandmas were great cooks too.

I've also had the pleasure of working in two commercial kitchens - one which I ran and the other I was second chef of.

You can find me lurking in the NA*ME (North Africa / Middle East) Forum where I am a host:

http://www.recipezaar.com/bb/viewforum.zsp?f=59

and also in the Cooking for Kids Forum where I am co-host:

http://www.recipezaar.com/bb/viewforum.zsp?f=34





I am fortunate enough to have 2 children of my own now and enjoy cooking with my eldest who is 5 years old. My daughter is too young for all that but she does LOVE to eat......ANYTHING (I've not found anything she doesn't like yet)

We eat food from all over the world but my husband prefers it like 'mama used to make' or in his case ''like yemma makes it'' as he is Algerian! We are currently living in the UK after living in Algeria for a while.

If I had the time and the money, I would spend all day every day trying new recipes! My husband has a 'recipe score' which is this:

1: "Add it to your recipe book - I loved it and wanna eat this again soon!"

2: "Interesting....I will enjoy eating this again."

3: "I cleared my plate but don't expect me to eat this again...ever."

However, I rate 'Zaar recipes the by the 'Zaar standard, so don't worry. Oh and fyi, I have a problem being negative so will probably NEVER give a rating less that 4*!!!




Other than cooking, I love anything arty-crafty and enjoy painting when I get the chance, which is rarely these days. I used to sell a lot of my creations and do things to order but just don't have the time at the moment.

I have a passion for gardening almost as strong as that for cooking. I tend to have 90% of it in pots though as I can't bear to leave it behind when we move - therefore we don't have a lot of stuff that we'd like to have as it wouldn't like being confined to a pot! I take great pride in my garden and love the summer months (the few that we get in the UK) when we can eat outside... and being a typical man, my husband likes any excuse to get the BBQ going - enough said!

By the way; I'm on a mission to re-educate people about soaking cous cous for use in North African recipes.,,just so you all know....it is traditionally STEAMED & not soaked!

Most of the North African recipes I have have been taught to me by my mother in law, sisters in law etc. A few have come from very old cookbooks. It has taken me a long time to get the dishes into some kind of recipe form as basically we "eyeball" the majority of the ingredients. Bear with me whilst I try to get the rest of the recipes in order!...

On a personal note, I abhor the mistreatment of animals and have taken care of many abandoned or injured animals over the years. Similarily, I love to help children and that is why my husband and I are in the process of becoming foster carers.

I have a thing about being polite and having good manners - they don't cost anything after all. Something that bugs me is when you hold a door open for someone and they don't even acknowledge you or if you need to go through a door and they won't hold it for you but let it slap you in the face!

I think we should all smile more - myself included....



2007 Events:







2008 - Events:

Favorite Foods:

Algerian - Chakhchoukha, Svetti, Batata Kucha, Rechta, Tli-tli & Dolma... hard to choose one really.

Moussaka, lasagna and various canneloni. My special aubergines and rice, All kinds of salads, especially nice crunchy ones with fruit and nuts in! Fresh bread - outside crusty, inside fluffy....

Lebekuchen, tiramisu (minus the alchohol!), chocolate ice-cream, any danish pastries, my cherek, and Jaffa cakes

My SIL Nawel's Algerian Spinach dish (I'd pay her air fare just to have her cook it for me sometimes!)

I also love indian food - especially curries and a lot of chinese food.

I reckon I could pretty much eat my own weight in M&Ms (the peanut ones) too.

I am the type of person who will give anything a whirl and relish new taste experiences. In Portugal when I was just 3 years old I wouldn't leave the snails in garlic butter alone (even went as far as to start helping myself to other peoples!)

I am pleased to say that my son seems to have inherited my love for trying new foods and couldn't wait to try the Algerian favourites of sheeps head, feet and stomach - I don't care for them but he seemed to enjoy them!

I don't have a favourite cookbook or chef really but if I had to name the 4 most influential chefs to me so far, then they would have to be:

James Martin
Bill Granger
Anthony Bourdain
Gordon Ramsey

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