1491. Banoofi Pavlova Roll

Banoofi pie is such a favorite dessert with just simply everybody. Incidentally, so is pavlova. I thought I was on to a breakthrough idea when the thought of a banoofi pavlova roll came to be, but lo and behold, Mr. Google was all too ready to prove me wrong.

1490. Nandos Chicken and Rice Meal

Not every single thing we cook needs to be from scratch. Sometimes, it's ok to use a little help from pre-made ingredients, and that is something I need to remind myself too. This is an entire meal in one. You've got the salad, protein, rice, and even the side. It is a veritable quasi-Mexican confetti feast.

1489. Kefir Smoothie

I've been intermittently been going on for a while how on health and the importance of maintaining it. The pharmaceutical business thrives off unhealthiness, creating pills and shots to cure all sorts of dietary- and lifestyle-related ailments. The not-so-secret secret is consistency. Let us together reform our mindset and redefine diets from a two-week deprivation regimen to an entirely new lifestyle based on continuity of awareness and conscious decisions.

Best of MCW 701-800

A three-ingredient Iraqi masterpiece kicks off the Eighth installment of the Best of MCW series. These Iraqi lamb ribs are quite simple sprinkled with salt and pepper before taking on a good roasting in the oven. Peasant food, it may be, but aren't some of the best foods of peasant origins?

1487. Blackberry Pavlova Roll

Fruity pavlova desserts have quickly become a favorite here. Naturally, one experiments with different types for added adventure. This blackberry pavlova roll may seem fancy and laborious, but indeed it is quite intermediately simple to execute.

1486. Lamb Bean Stew

You can take the long way to do this (phased cooking in a pot), or the short way (pressure cooker), and still end up with a comforting, wholesome stew. Sometimes beans are used in place of meat, but in this case, the stew combines two kinds of beans with hefty chunks of lamb.

1485. Potato Bread Buns

Soft yeast breads are not my favorite thing to make, but I sure to appreciate them. This recipe can be made into buns for burgers, or rolls for quick sandwiches. Either way, the extra-softness of the bread comes from mashed potato.

1484. Orange Marmalade Cake

This is one of those cakes where you literally put all the ingredients in a bowl, stir, and bake. A wonderful thing about it is that it utilizes just over half a jar of orange marmalade jam, which for me was just perfect.

1483. Greek Snow Pea Stew

This is an olive oil based Greek stew featuring snow peas as the main ingredient. To add some heft, potatoes were also added. They are accidentally vegan, and you will not miss the meat.

1482. Egg In A Hole

Weekend breakfast, get prepared. This is an absolute simplistic way to have fun with your weekend eggs. Of course, any type of bread can be used, and the soft toast variety is an especially popular choice. We at MCW are having our sourdough bread moment, so we went that route instead.

1481. Cheesy Corn Sambusak

Sambusak come in all colors and flavors of the rainbow. Some may be tradition, but nowadays, most certainly are not. This is an unconventional cheese and corn version born out of the merge of culture and wide availability of western products in the region.

1480. Lebanese Pea Stew

If I were a child, this is the kind of lunch I'd want to come back home to after school. Pea stew is a classic across the Middle East, and we have shared the Iraqi meatball version of the stew here on MCW before. This is a more relaxed version, probably most popular in Lebanon, using straight up minced meat.

1479. Churros

We've had a fair bit of eclairs, gougiers, croquembouche, and profiteroles on MCW, so there was absolutely no reason why not to give churros a go. You see, they share the same father, just have different mothers. 

1478. {Slow Cooker} Roast Lemon Garlic Chicken

Yet another roast chicken recipe may not be exactly what you seek, but if you have a slow cooker, take it out and cook this now.

1477. Cannellini Roast Pepper Salad

A humble can of beans has the potential to be made into a fantastic meal, if you know how to use it to its potential. While it can be tossed into curries and soups, I opted for a flavorful salad, full of fibre and deliciousness, using my new favorite ingredients: roasted red pepper.

1476. Lotus Tiramisu

Tiramisu is adapted very loosely nowadays. Although far from authentic, any layered creamy cookie dessert can be named as a variant of tiramisu. I do prefer the term over dessert lasagne, though; don't you? Here we have a glorious lotus biscoff tiramisu.

1475. Pesto Cream Gnocchi

If you made gnocchi, good for you! Treat yourself to this creamy cheesy pesto gnocchi, using the fruits of your labor. If you just bough gnocchi off the shelve, way to go; treat yourself to this too. My favorite part about the sauce is that you literally put all the sauce ingredients in a pot and simmer.

1474. Gnocchi

With fresh gnocchi readily available in the refrigerators of most grocery aisles, home made gnocchi is not something you really need to master to prevent yourself from going hungry. However, seeing how simple it is to conquer, it would be almost criminal to not give it a go as a weekend project.

1473. Hash Brown Eggs

Another weekend egg breakfast to share on a Friday morning with your favorite people. This is a delicious potato rosti or hash brown that is incredibly crispy, served with your preferred eggs right on top.

1472. Simple Endives

As the days and years progress, I find myself favoring simplicity over the elaborate. This may be applied to more ways than one. Food is one such category. Simple and wholesome over fancy and complicated. These endives are one such example.

1471. Roast Quail in Pumpkin

This was a fun entertaining dish made by roasting seasoned quails in mini pumpkins. I got the inspiration from a post on instagram featuring a roast chicken in a pumpkin. While anything mini is generally best avoided in entertaining just because it is so time consuming, cooking for a small gathering makes it more feasible.

1470. Fresh Peach Pie

While 2019 boasted an array of pies (see compilation here), there is always room for one more pie. But this here is no ordinary peach pie. It truly is the best peach pie I've ever made and ever tasted. It is just a bonus that it is no-bake (only the crust is baked). It is made of two slightly merging but completely independent and essential layers of peach: a sliced peach layer topped with a second cooked peach layer. The pie is not the same without those two layers.

1469. Grilled Pizza Sandwich

This is a grilled cheese sandwich, pizza-fied. Layer up your tomato sauce, cheese, salami, and oregano, and grill that sandwich up.

1468. Quick Puffed Mushroom Tart

 

While I am proud of the fact that I can make my own amazing puff pastry that surpasses anything mass-produced you can find in the market, convenience sometimes overcomes means. Who isn't for life being just a bit simpler sometimes? Armed with a packet of ready made (and ready rolled!) puff pastry, this delicious vegetarian yet strangely meaty tart comes to fruition in next to no time.

1467. Potato Cheese Gratin

 

Admittedly, MCW hosts a potato gratin or two. But you see, there are a variety of approaches to a potato gratin, depending on mood or preferences of the day. One of them uses boiled potato. Another, semi-cooks the potato slices in a pot before baking the lot. This approach has become my favorite so far.

1466. Roast Pepper Lentil Salad

 

I created this lentil salad recipe out of the abundance of locally-grown red capsicum peppers in the market. I just love me a freshly-roasted red pepper, and knew it would pair beautifully in a salad like this.

1465. Orange Roast Fish

I always say I wish we ate more fish and seafood. My ideal would be once a week. Unfortunately, the reality is that we have it an average of once to twice a month. With recipes as easy as this one, there is no reason why not to be more inclusive of fish meals at least weekly.

1464. Filo Feta Cigars

There is nothing to deny in this cheesy, crispy, easy, and quick appetizer. In fact, it would be difficult to not eat a plateful. Salty feta is smoothed over with an egg and brightened up with dried mint before being cocooned in delicate olive oil fragranced filo pastry sheets and baked to a crispy golden perfection.

Best Of MCW 601-700

Time for another Best of MCW compilation. This part of the series has some truly bold flavors, highlighting diversity and creativity in cuisine.

1462. Mini Carrot Cakes

Several years ago I posted a  European recipe for carrot cake here. This was the carrot cake I grew up eating, and not the cream cheese frosted American concoction. In fact, it was one of my mother's favorite cakes to make once in a while at home. There is no frosting, but the glaze is warmed up apricot jam brushed on the cake, making it divine.

1461. Tomato Omelette

I like to post egg recipes on Thursdays. It sets an optimistic tone for the weekend, wouldn't you agree? As a bonus, most of these weekend breakfast egg recipes are 5 ingredients or less.

1460. Cheesy Chicken Patties

 

Like nuggets, but cheesier and lemony-er. These breaded chicken patties can be used from cooked chicken you may already have, or you can buy a rotisserie chicken just to make it (we did). The extra hit of lemon and salt is further enhanced by adding grated lemon zest in the batter.

1459. Laban Dressed Fattouche

MCW already boasts a fattouche recipe or three. You see, once you have the basic components down (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, etc), it becomes all about the dressing. There is the basic most traditional dressing of lemon and olive oil. Then I came up with the best-ever, gold-standard, and boldly perfect fattouche using pomegranate molasses in the dressing, and now we find another (albeit untraditional) version using butter milk, or laban drink, in the dressing.

1458. Parmesan Corn Cob

I always get excited when I see fresh corn in the market, but to be completely honest, the frozen corn cobs are so much more seamless to eat, am I right? But resist them, I could not, and here they are in their full garlic-parmesan glory.

1457. Date Bread

This "bread" is the depiction of Arabian hospitality and generosity. Laden with saffron, dates, and rosewater, it blows the flour-and-water type of bread out of the park. The surprise doesn't have to end there.

1456. Quick Garlic Shrimp Spaghetti

This shrimp spaghetti is a quick meal ready to be made to serve one as it can be to serve a family. All the essential flavors are there: pasta, garlic, shrimp, parmesan, and of course, the creamy sauce.

1455. Peanut Butter French Toast

So French toast has proven itself to be a weekend favorite. Hence, it was inevitable to play around with variations. This peanut butter and jam version renders it unnecessary to have any toppings, since they are in rather than on the finished product.

1454. Garlic Mint Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

We've got a great cabbage roll recipe on MCW here, but what's wrong with a little variation? This is a classic levant way of mixing lemon juice with plenty of garlic and dry mint then pouring it over the semi-cooked cabbage rolls.

1453. Loaded Chocolate Chunk Cookies

You know how American movies glorify eating raw cookie dough? Well, I was never into that. But these cookies are barely baked to what I expect is similar to that, but with the benefit of being safe to consume and absolutely loaded with melted chocolate.

1452. Iraqi Scrambled Eggs and Dates

I have heard for years and years how this Iraqi date-egg scramble was a revered part of many Iraqis' childhood, but strangely enough it was never a part of mine. I decided to give it a go and give little humans a taste of Iraqi culture that was foreign even to me. The result?

1451. White Coffee

White coffee is a famous Lebanese drink that is not coffee at all! It is simply boiling hot water with a teaspoon or two of rose water. Many add sugar as they like it sweet, but I love it as it. It is so floral and feminine; it is like drinking an elixir that perfumes your blood. So soothing and calming, too.

1450. Creamy Corn

This is one of those trendy recipes out there. You know, the type you have to try then once you've done it you're already over it? Creamy, cheesy corn smothered in pulverized chili-lime corn chips most certainly qualifies as a decadent, carb-laden comfort food.

1449. Cleansing Apple Ginger Juice

I applaud health-conscience people. Taking care of your health before you have to take care of it is a great wisdom many failed at. Most commonly, health degrades as we age, and things don't work as seamlessly as they may have once. Sure, pills solve a lot. But pills were also created to cause other lots, so our best bet lies with Allah's bounty found in nature.

1448. Simple Lasagne

Lasagne has a reputation of being lengthy and complicated to make. This recipe really simplifies the process. You'll find yourself having prepared the red and white sauces within 15 minutes, assembled in under 5 minutes, then popped in the oven for baking and done in 30 minutes. Not bad for 20 minutes hands-on time lasagne.

1447. Fantastic Crispy Roast Potato

If you know, you know. There are some things in life that once you know about them you'll be asking yourself why didn't I know this sooner as it is crazy simple? Everyone is on the lookout for the crispiest roast potatoes on the outside with the fluffiest interior and there has been no lack of caboodle in seeking this quest.

1446. Salisbury Steak

Turns out, the salisbury steak is of American origins, not British. However, like most things with an Americal origin, they have an origin from somewhere else. In this case, it is Germany who has a very similar recipe which got Americanized for the colonizers back in the day.

Best Of MCW 501-600

Good bread and cheese is one of my weaknesses. The worst part of dieting is having to forgo them. Whether it were in the simplest forms, or an elaborate cheese board, they are a pleasure to eat and share. So I kick off Part 6 of the Best of MCW series with just that: bread and cheese.

1444. Roast Red Pepper Pesto

Pesto is traditionally known as the basil-pinenut concoction we stir into cooked pasta. However the concept can be applied liberally to a variety or herb or vegetable, and a variety of nuts. Its uses are multiple as well. This is a roasted red pepper pesto made with cashews.

1443. Scrambled Eggs with Mushroom Gravy

I woke one weekend in the mood for a special breakfast. Some creative thinking and alternate use of available ingredients later, this scrambled egg with mushroom gravy was born.

1442. {Air Fryer} Sweet Chili Salmon

Asian fusion might not be to everyone's taste, but I absolutely devoured this dish. Technically, it is just three ingredients - salmon, sweet chili sauce, and tobasco - but the squeeze of fresh lemon upon serving is absolutely essential and elevates the dish to a delightful complexity way beyond the sum of its parts.