131. Rice Pudding

Clichés are cliché because they are (mostly) true.
Like: "Live and Learn." So true. Make a mistake, learn from it, avoid making the same mistake again.
"What goes around, comes around." Well, everyone can identify with that one.
"Rice pudding is the essence of comfort."

130. Roast Chicken Stuffed with Cracked Wheat

Adding to the roasted chicken reperatoire (Roast Chicken With Vegetables , Sage Roast Chicken ), is this cracked-wheat stuffed roasted chicken.

129. Tomato Meatball Soup

Tomato soup is comfort food, regardless of the current season.
Add meatballs, and you won't need much else to achieve comfort.

128. Greek Salad

Greek food is heavily influenced by its neighboring Eastern countries than the Western.
This is why we may find many similarities and overlaps in Greek, Turkish, and Arabic cuisine.

127. Fish Parcels

I love the Ramadan special episodes Manal presents especially for this Holy Month!
On the second day of Ramadan, she presented these delicious and healthy stuffed whole fish baked in parchment paper parcels.

126. Shrimp Club Salad

I was actually surprised by how good this salad was!
It's from Everyday Food, and was just perfect as is.
I, however, added some avocado, and thinned the dressing with some water.

125. Honeycomb Bread

I stumbled across the recipe in the wee hours of the morning, and just a few hours later, it was baked and ready! It is called honeycomb (خلايا النحل) because of its resemblance to the little cells of a bee-hive, as well as a tribute to the sugar-honey-saffron glaze it is topped with.

124. Farmer's Salad

There are many countries who have salads similar to this, Iraq and Turkey being just two examples.
It is named farmer's salad, or peasant's salad, because it consists of the most available and basic ingredients: tomato, cucumber, and onion.

123. Mint-Courgette Soup

Soup in July??
Yes, for two reasons. Firstly, it's Ramadan, and a fasting person needs to break their fast with something soothing to the digestive tract after hours of food and drink deprivation.

122. Stuffed Baby Aubergines

Iraqis have nicknamed aubergines (or eggplants) as the monster of the frying pan ( وحش الطاوة).
I don't know why, but one can make assumptions:
1. It is delicious in every shape, form, regardless of cooking method.
2. The ways in which it may be cooked are almost endless, from the simplest to the most complicated.
3. Due to the embargo against Iraq for over a decade and the escalating poverty, aubergines grown locally were plentiful and affordable, so it was basically eaten on a daily basis.

121. Iraqi Crispy Crust Rice

There are some Iraqis who would consider a meal rather incomplete in the absence of rice.
Therefore, out of necessity,  Iraqi cooks have gotten creative with this plain dish, rendering it a delight to look forward to and giving it the right to shine as a star dish on its own.

120. Bamia or Okra Stew

Scorching summer, or cruel winter, Iraqis will have their bamia!!
Arguably one of the most popular Iraqi foods, it might not be a stretch to say some households lunch on Bamia on a weekly basis.

119. Carrot Cupcakes

The holy month of Ramadan is to begin tomorrow inshallah, so I wish you all Ramadan Kareem and may we all be blessed and strive for a better, kinder, and a more humane world.

118. Cherry Tofu Smoothie

I feel the need to sort of de-tox before Ramadan.
This is another perfect smoothie that is filling and may be a substitute for a meal for anyone trying to cut back or maintain their figure.

117. Zebra Cake

I have baked a wonderful marble cake before, but this recipe combines chocolate and vanilla batter in the pan to create "zebra" stripes into a fun and festive cake with a touch of whimsy.

116. Karkaday: Hibiscus Drink/Tea

Hibiscus is a flower of which this infused drink is made.
The dried leaves are seeped in boiled water and sweetened to taste, and may be consumed hot or cold.

115. Vanilla Sheet Cake with Malt-Choc Frosting

If you like chocolate malt balls, you are going to love this cake.
It's shape and frosting add to its appeal, and make it fantastic for large gatherings, be it a birthday party or a summer barbecue get-together.

114. Peach Tofu Smoothie

Making your smoothies can be as healthy or as not-healthy as you like.

The best combinations are those containing fruits. Especially fruits that have kind of lost their appeal to be eaten whole.

113. Mini Deep-Dish Pizza

Hand-sized food is fantastic.
Today we have a deep-dish pizza that fits right into your hand, that take no more than 10 minutes or less of hand-on time. If you use ready-made pizza dough, you will have these ready from beginning to end in no more than 20 minutes, and that includes baking time.

112. Immodest Brownies

These brownies have been all the rage recently, but are known as slutty brownies. I however don't like this attitute towards food, therefore opted to call them immodest brownies, because they have no moderation or modesty and are all-out in their contents: a layer of chocolate chip cookie dough, a tightly-packed layer of oreos, and a fudgy dense layer of brownies... all in one.

111. Grilled Aubergines w/ Spicy Chickpeas & Walnut Sauce

I would call this a warm salad with Moroccan accents that can be eaten as a meal on its own.
Adapted from Good Food magazine, April 2010 via Lebanese Recipes blog, the recipe states that it feeds two people, whereas I was full before I ate a quarter of it. So I can safely say it feeds at least 3, maybe 4 people, depending on appetites.

110. Tuna Niçoise Sandwich

It's great when someone pursues their calling, because they do it well, as opposed to someone who does the same thing but doesn't like doing it.

109. Olive Tapenade

According to wikipedia, tapenade is a Provençal dish consisting of puréed or finely chopped olives, capers, anchovies and olive oil. It is a popular food in the south of France, where it is generally eaten as an hors d’œuvre, spread on bread.

108. Southwestern Steak Salad

I'm loving these daily video recipes presented by Sarah Carey on Everyday Food. They bring to your attention recipes that never crossed your mind to make, and really encourage you to try them because of how simple and delicious they appear.

107. Pomegranate Sorbet

Oh Pomegranate! Such a rich history and so deserving of all the legends and stories!
This is an all-natural pomegranate sorbet recipe, that really should be equivalent to nectar in its exquisite flavor and amazing natural color.

106. Iraqi Iroog Bread

Iroog, or irook, or iroogh (عروق) is typical Iraqi, and exists in many forms by slightly changing the method and ingredients. They can be made into patties and fried, they may be skewered into kebebs, or they may be baked as a bread.

105. Tuna Sandwiches

These delightful tuna sandwiches are made extra special by spreading them in mini-simit, but you may use any bread buns available.

104. Lemon Meringue Pie

Lemon meinge pie is a baked pie, filled with a sweet and tangy lemon curd, topped with a fluffy meringue, which is browned with golden peaks.

103. Kubba Halab

Kubba halab, or kubbat halab, is an Iraqi delight named in homage to the Syrian city of Halab. Halab is famous for its several types of kubbas.

102. Peanut Butter Chocolate Pudding Ice Cream

Chocolate and peanut butter are like the yin and yang, or like salt and pepper... each a perfect entity on its own, but when combined are so complimentary to each other that you will be wondering why you never ate them together before.

101. Roasted Chickpea Snack

Roasted chickpeas make for a light and healthy snack.
Once cooled, they become so crunchy, they can easily rival popcorn.