Cultural Activities in Doha

When we first came to Doha, we were hard-pressed to find any activity at all. A couple of times during the first six months we were here, there were some music concerts, but that was about it. Since then, Qatar has been investing a bit of money on cultural activities.

Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra

The Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra had its inaugural performance in October last year. The orchestra is actually very good and very young. It comprises of musicians from all over the world, including quite a few Hungarians :)

They don't have a permanent conductor yet, so they get a different conductor from a different country everytime.

It's been fun going to their performances.

Doha Jazz Festival























They had a Jazz Festival here in February, and hope to make it an annual event. We went three out of the four nights. It was really fun. Our favorite was the Ronald Baker Quartet from France. I even bought their CD.

Museum of Islamic Art













The Museum opened at the beginning of December last year. The architecture is really amazing! It is said to be I.M. Pei's last project. The location is also very nice (right on water), and the views from the museum are great. More photos here.

Recipe Request: Lemon Bars

I repeatedly get requests for the lemon bars recipe, so here it is!

Crust
1/3 cup unsalted butter (I usually cut it into small pieces so it's easier to mix; do not melt it!)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted

- Preheat oven to 350F
- Mix together all of the above ingredients with your hands. The final mixture should be crumbly (not smooth).
- Press the mixture into the bottom of a 8x8x2 inch (approximately) dish (not greased) - this makes the crust so it should be pressed down so it is hard and smooth
- Bake for 15-18 minutes (the edges will just be turning golden)

Filling
2 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, sifted
2 teaspoons shredded lemon peel
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

- Combine all ingredients
- Beat with electric mixer until well-mixed (it will be a little thick)

Crust + Filling
- Pour filling over baked crust
- Bake for 20 minutes (it will have lightly browned edges & center will be set)
- Cool on cooling rack, cut into squares, and serve

Recipe Request: Pumpkin Soup with Chilli

I love pumpkin soup!

Pumpkin, 1 kg peeled & chopped
~~~ any type of pumpkin is good: classic, butternut squash, japanese, etc.
Olive oil, 4 tbsp
Red chillies, 1-2 seeded & finely chopped
garlic, 1 clove
milk, 375 ml
~~~ i use skim
vegetable stock, 750 ml
~~~ fresh, cube or concentrate
coriander leaves, chopped

Heat oven to 200 Celsius
Put pumpkin in roasting pan & drizzle with olive oil
Roast for 15-20 minutes, until tender & browned on edges

Cook milk & stock together in a pot until it starts to boil
Add roasted pumpkin, chilli & garlic
Reduce heat & simmer for 8-10 minutes
Whiz in a blender until smooth

Garnish with coriander leaves

Enjoy!

Desert Roses

We took a trip out to the desert to dig for desert roses. These are mineral crystals that form under the sand in the desert. Our digging was a great success - we returned home with a few large and several small roses.


The digging was hard work...


... but fun, nonetheless.

The large slabs of the crystals forced some of us to use all body weight:


The final step = refilling the hole we dug up:


On the way to the area with the desert roses, we stopped at a cave. It was fun climbing all the way down and back again. The cave walls had some interesting crystal formations.


And that's a fun-filled day during the wintertime in Qatar!