I’ve been spending endless hours surfing food photography websites lately.And most of you know (from my endless food pics and reviews) I almost always eat out. And now with this cold wet weather, I find myself constantly wanting to munch on something. So lately I’ve been experimenting in my boyfriend’s kitchen (which happens to be three times as big as mine), placing different twists on simple classic dishes. His place conveniently happens to be right next to one of the best and biggest grocery stores in the city with the freshest ingredients. So it all works out. Here are some pictures of what I’ve been up to lately, the dishes may seem amateur but I’ve come a long way from my Chop Stix days…Bisoux
Fresh mozzarella that I breaded myself, eggs, flour and breadcrumbs are all it takes. Pop'em in the oven et voila
They actually strangely tasted like Knaffeh. The only thing missing was honey.
I used the same ingredients used to bread the mozzarella to coat thinly sliced strips of chicken breast. On the side, some canned veggies tossed in tartar sauce.
Frankfurter, a resident of Frankfurt. I covered it with diced onions, tiny pickles, ketchup ketchup mustard in baguette. On the side: why coleslaw ofcourse!
Nothing like homemade pizza. The dough was courtesy of the local baker. The tomato sauce I used was jarred and ready to go. Then I placed green and red bell peppers, fresh mushrooms, black olives onions and pepperoni all under a generous coat of mozzarella.
With the leftover frankfurters and some shredded cheddar and feta cheese, I made a second pizza. Added some onions and black olives.
My friend Zeina called the ingredients on this pizza "random" but it was actually everyone's favorite!
Posted in IVY Lebanon-Eats
My girl Noor moved to London from Beirut to do her Masters. She was dating Shadi for 2 years before she decided to make the move. Shadi was supportive but sad when she left. They both insisted they wanna make it work. It worked for 6 months. She would text him every day, and he would call her every other day. He’s even planning on visiting her in February.
There’s just one thing- Noor went out clubbing with her roommate’s friends last weekend and danced all night with one guy she found herself strangely attracted to. They ended up going back to her place for some more drinks, good conversation; next thing she knows, Nour and this guy are swapping saliva.
She woke up the next morning swamped with a mixture of guilt and excitement and a hangover. She knew she had betrayed Shadi, but just the thought of the other guy jolted instant butterflies in her stomach.
Shadi called that day and she was dry. He kept asking her what was wrong but she just said she was having an off day. The next day, she had dinner with the other guy.
Nour called me in utter confusion last night. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing Shadi but this new guy made her feel this excitement she yearned for. A new guy, a new country a new adventure. But she loves Shadi too much to even risk telling him. He would be devastated.
We both agreed the she was betraying Shadi, but Nour somehow convinced me that before she makes any decisions she wants to see what or where this new fling could lead to. And I know many of us have been there…so I didn’t talk her out of it. I know she loves Shadi and this may not be worth losing him over but I also know that it’s downright cheating. So what do you think? Can this experiment ever be justified, especially if it makes her realize Shadi is THE ONE ? Bisoux
I think we’ve had our fair share of articles by foreign press claiming how you can ski and swim in Lebanon during the same day. But this one is a little different, Ask Men.com has ranked 29Top Cities In The World to live In and guess what, Beirut ranked 19th!
I dunno who did the research on this article, but I must say, they make some pretty interesting suggestions of places and things to do, that many of you may or may not agree with, understand, or even know…?
Special shout out to my reader Samer Hamade’ for sending this. Bisoux
An 80.5% eh? Not bad at all! We even beat Vegas!
Posted in Tabloid Trash
As promised, I will be showcasing all your Momma’s food for readers to decide who deserves the Best Momma’s food title in Lebanon.
Yasmine H from Half Eaten Man2ouche loves her Momma’s food so much she decided to snap these mouth-watering pics of Momma Hajjar’s cooking. I must say- Momma Hajjar may give Momma Ivy a run for her money. Either way, you decide. Bisoux.
Jealous? Wanna showcase your Momma’s talents? Send pics to tell.ivy@gmail.com
Here is what Yasmine had to say about her Momma’s food…
Yasmine: "A veggie sweet and sour stir-fry. Chinese noodles were never as addictive. Mom had made this sans chicken, but usually she has baby carrots and chicken breasts in it. Totally drool worthy. My mother's secret ingredient is oranges, especially sweets ones which are very abundant right now in the winter. Mix fresh squeezed orange juice with the soya-sauce before mixing it in with the noodles. And a note, always use egg noodles for this. "
Fattouch
Yasmine: "Moujadara. Different moms make it in different ways, my mother makes it more on the dark side - onions are actually what make this darker than what lentils usually look like."
Yasmine: "Not many people actually eat it WITH a salad (preferably fatouch or cabbage salad)"
We are constantly being hammered by the recent political escalations in Lebanon, no matter what we do or how little we care, we are still getting bombarded with the he/said she/said of it all.
So I came up with some tips on how to behave completely oblivious to your unfortunate surroundings. Ignorance sure is bliss. Bisoux
(if you belong to the remaining 50% of the population who were born political analysts then this post is not for you, but rather, for the people who wanna get away from you)
1) Go to Armin Only Mirage On Saturday the 22nd, decked out in a super ridiculous, flashy rave outfit with a bunch of friends and party like its 1999.
2) When the clock hits 5pm after work, head straight to a Happy Hour at your nearest neighborhood bar; make sure all the TV and radio channels are turned OFF at all times. Buy shots for everyone, like you have a reason to celebrate. 
3) Go shopping; nothing gets your mind off Lebanese politics like a good shopping spree. Draining your bank account at this point in time only proves to everyone that you simply 1) do not give a damn about the 
“tensions” b) can’t possibly believe that we are stupid enough to go to war with ourselves.
4) Do not under any circumstance turn on the radio to any Arabic –speaking channel at any point in time, instead focus on new hits such as “Heartbeat”, “Like a G6”, “Only girl” “We R Who We R.”
5) You can spot the frustrated ones right away. If you must walk into a grocery store, do not ask the dikanjy, who is prolly glued to his tiny 1970’s TV why he looks frustrated, just grab what you need and pay him, if he asks you “ keef sheyif il wade3 bilbalad” drop whatever is in your hands and RUN! Plenty of other groceries around.
6) See no evil; speak no evil, and most importantly HEAR NO EVIL. If one of your political analyst friends attempts to ruin your lazy loungy wine-guzzling afternoon with politics, make up a family emergency excuse and bounce. Don’t forget to unfriend them on Facebook and unfollow them on Twitter. It’s the only way my friend.
Posted in Diary Of A Single Girl In Beirut
Back to Basics: There’s nothing like a good old plate of traditional home-made “Loubyeh bil Zeit.”
This one had a real nice kick to it, with some cayenne pepper and sweet paprika. Merci Mamma! Bisoux
Posted in Mon Obsession du Jour
The unexpected surprise of the night. Julia Stiles showed us how it's done with this black one shoulder Romona Keveza mermaid gown , and Stuart Weitzman shoes.
Gossip Girl starlet Leighton Meester dazzled in this long-puffy sleeved Burberry Prorsum gown. And take a look at those embellishedstrappy sandals! Fab!!
Another long-sleever for the night.I'm compelled to say this Atelier Versace dress is gorgeous simply because Angelina Jolie is undeniably beautiful- but put this dress on anyone else and it might turm out a total mess. Think about it..really
Although Nude tulle and lace are all IN this season, where do I begin to explain the hideousness that is Christina Aguilera in this Zuhair Murad gown. Her hair makes me wanna cringe. Christina GO HOME!
January Jones is the definition of sexy in this custom made red hot Versace.
Jennifer Lopez can make even a Zuhair Murad creation look tacky. Why does she always try so damn hard? That cape just makes me wanna gag! So 90's. FAIL
Look let's face the facts here.. Halle Berry has one of the hottest bodies in Hollywood. You can glue cotton balls on her and she'll still look hot. But that Nina Ricci is uninspirational. It's a corset mini-dress with a long tulle- blah...
Again, not anyone can pull of this statement. Sequined, long sleeved and backless, a big risk- but with very high returns. Anne Hathaway stuns in this Giorgio Armani Privé gown.
I'm turning green with envy just looking at Mila Kunis in this one-shoulder Vera Wang also custom-made just for her. Hair and makeup are also picture perfect.
Whether you know her or not, Sofia Vergara is one hot momma! This Vera Wang number hugs her in all the right places.
When I first saw Megan in this custom-made Armani Privé gown I thought wow. but then when the camera zoomed down to her waist I was REALLY dissapointed. Imagine if the crystal-encrusted bodice were to be continued all the way to the bottom- now that would have been a hit! Take notes Armani 
Bisoux
Posted in Fashion-ME-Up, Tabloid Trash
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