On December 7, 1960 (Pearl Harbor Day), Dad (Leroy Rowe) and his younger brother, Ronald Rowe, enlisted in the U.S. Navy on the Buddy Plan so they could stay together while they were in the service. They were flown to the US Naval Training Center at Great Lakes, Ill, just outside of Chicago, where they went through ... [read more]]]> http://kemalandsheila.com/2012/01/a-tribute-to-my-father-a-veteran-of-the-u-s-navy/

On February 26, 2011, Fedja and Diana pledged their love to each other, uniting together as husband and wife.

We wish them a lifetime of happiness together.

Check out the slide show on You Tube so you can see some of the photos taken that day by me, Kemal, Amir, and Vanja.

Click here to view the embedded ... [read more]]]> http://kemalandsheila.com/2011/08/fedja-and-dianas-wedding/

I’ve been blogging for about two years now, but the time has gone by so fast that it seems like almost yesterday.

It’s been a whole lot of fun!

It’s been wonderful to find your blogs, to learn more about you, and to be inspired every day by what you’re cooking, baking, and ... [read more]]]> http://kemalandsheila.com/2011/08/a-peach-margarita-break/

We’ve been eating so much tabbouleh this summer for breakfast, and while we both really enjoy it, we wanted something a little different this week. So I quickly threw together this 8-layer salad for us this morning, and not only was it incredibly refreshing and delicious, but it was also very fast and easy to ... [read more]]]> http://kemalandsheila.com/2011/07/8-layer-salad-with-homemade-ranch-dressing/

We love gyros…lamb, chicken, beef, or veggie…doesn’t matter. I’ll take one of each please!

Kemal made us some incredibly tasty lamb and beef gyros a few weeks ago.

They totally hit the spot!

Here’s the recipe he used:

Alton Brown at www.foodnetwork.com

He followed that recipe exactly except he also added some extra spices… some fenugreek, ... [read more]]]> http://kemalandsheila.com/2011/07/lamb-and-beef-gyros/

I saw a couple of recipes for chocolate banana cardamom jam, and made it a few weeks ago.

It’s wonderful for spreading on bread or vanilla cookies.

It’s also great to eat it right from the spoon.

But guess what else you can do with it? You can make a batch of it and then combine ... [read more]]]> http://kemalandsheila.com/2011/07/swiss-orange-banana-almond-ice-cream-no-ice-cream-maker-needed-and-chocolate-banana-cardamom-jam/

Raise your hands if you love hot dogs. *raises mine up*

Yep…they’re good stuff, but let’s face it, they’ve been given a bad rap. I remember reading that they’re filled with all kinds of yucky stuff that isn’t good for us so I try not to eat them very often. But when we do eat them, ... [read more]]]> http://kemalandsheila.com/2011/07/whole-wheat-hot-dog-buns/

Summertime salsas is what it’s all about. They’re fresh, flavorful, fun, and fantastic! They’re festive too because make me think of South-of-border fiestas.

I made some peach mango black bean salsa

as a topping for tacos and taco salad. I made the pineapple mango salsa

as a topping for some blackened salmon.

These salsas are also perfect ... [read more]]]> http://kemalandsheila.com/2011/07/peach-mango-black-bean-salsa-and-pineapple-mango-salsa/

Making ice cream without an ice cream maker is very easy to do. I’ll tell you how in a minute so you can do it too. If you can make hot chocolate, you can make your own yummy chocolate ice cream like I did!

I made it the other day for my father who ... [read more]]]> http://kemalandsheila.com/2011/07/ice-cold-hot-chocolate-ice-cream-made-without-using-an-ice-cream-maker/

Kemal and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary this week so I thought it’s a good time to take a look back at pictures of us throughout years.

Some of the pictures we took of ourselves by using a tripod and remote. Most of the other pictures were taken by my father and our friend Vanja.  ... [read more]]]> http://kemalandsheila.com/2011/07/just-us/