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Thursday, December 30, 2021

1623. Almond Latte and Almond Pancakes


A while back, I posted a recipe for almond milk. This almond milk, home made with just raw almonds and water, has an unrivaled taste and no brand found in any store could compete with. The issue lay with the pulp. It would be a shame to discard it, and there is a limit to how many cookie and cakes one can make. Here is the solution. 

Tuesday, December 28, 2021

1622. Express Green Bean Stew


I already have an authentic Iraqi green bean stew recipe here on MCW, which is, quite frankly, unbeatable. But sometimes you just want an express hug-in-a-bowl with green bean stew flavors, cutting down on hours of, well, stewing, ground beef is the way to go. 

Sunday, December 26, 2021

1621. Rocca Turkey Wrap


Rocca, or rocket leaves, wrapped in bread is seriously underrated. Here I made your standard deli sliced turkey and cheese, but with a mountain of rocca leaves. A bit of mayo, a dash of hot sauce, and lunch is served. 

Thursday, December 23, 2021

1620. Victory Shrimp



Without a doubt, some of the best cooking is simple cooking. This is a one-person recipe for a feast of an appetizer, whether you want to treat yourself or make it for a loved one. It is as easily made for one as it is for four.

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

1619. Salted Chocolate Almonds


Shock and horror, my favorite chocolate is milk chocolate, and followed by, even worse, white chocolate. Having said that, dark chocolate sits really well in these salted chocolate almonds, sort of making it an accidentally healthy treat. 

Sunday, December 19, 2021

1618. Express Granola Yogurt


This express granola yogurt formed of two ingredients who deserve to be called the dynamic duo. Theyhave come to the rescue many a times for a quick breakfast or a light dinner. Highly customizable, they are plenty flavorsome on their own, but feel free to add fresh fruit, seeds, honey, or almost anything else. 

Thursday, December 16, 2021

1617. Campfire Um Ali

This campfire um ali is making the rounds in the winter as it is a super easy and super fast and super delicious dessert to make over an open flame (ie, when the Arabs go desert camping in the winter).

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

1616. Mushroom Stroganoff


The original stroganoff is made of beef. This is a vegetarian version with just the mushroom. 

Sunday, December 12, 2021

1615. Zaatar Haloomi


Great for breakfast or a light meal, these zaatar-crusted pan-fried haloomi slices can top an avocado toast for an even better experience. 

Thursday, December 9, 2021

Best of MCW 1301-1400


The braided brioche loaf and the dalgona coffee are dead giveaways that quarantine started during this compilation. How strange it is that a picture can evoke such strong memories of the event or occasion it was taken in.  

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

1613. Baked Lebanese Sausages


This Lebanese sausage bake is an express meal that comes together in minutes and then the oven does all the work. The end result is a medley of grilled vegetables and sausages in a wonderful self-saucing broth without having to add any additional liquid. 

Sunday, December 5, 2021

1612. Sausage Egg Breakfast Burrito


Not too long ago, I made a mushroom egg burrito and declared it an efficient way to consume a wholesome breakfast. No changes to my original statement other than mentioning that it is great for any meal of the day. This is a cheesy egg and sausage version. 

Thursday, December 2, 2021

1611. Lemon Mousse Gateau


This cake is a bit fussy to make, but not unattainably so. The result is a fresh lemon scented light and airy cake, perfectly complemented by the fresh raspberries used for both aesthetic and flavor.

Monday, November 29, 2021

1610. Olive Cream Cheese Spread


This is a two-ingredient hack which I now always have on hand of breakfast or snacking. All you do is blend a drained jar of pitted olives to a paste, then whip in a black of cream cheese. 

Thursday, November 25, 2021

1609. Tiny Blueberry Croissants [Air Fryer]


A three-ingredient delight made express in the air fryer. All you need is puff pastry, blueberries, and powder sugar. The powder sugar, while pretty, is not only for looks for for actual flavor. 

Monday, November 22, 2021

1608. One-Pan Paprika Chicken with Potatoes and Tomatoes


Always up for a new way to roast a chicken, this one pot paprika roast chicken is nestled between cherry tomatoes and cubed potatoes, making it a one pot meal as well. 

Thursday, November 18, 2021

1607. Honey Spice Cake


Sweets for my sweet, honey for my honey. Or in this case, honey cake for my honey. Using a whole cup on honey, this lightly spiced cake has the honeycomb flavor loud and clear. 

Monday, November 15, 2021

1606. Baked Onion Dolmades


We Arabs have an affinity to stuffed foods that is shared with our lovely neighbor, the Turks. These delicious soft melting stuffed onions are quite simple to prepare, but they did wow me in their flavor profile. 

Thursday, November 11, 2021

1605. Orange Glaze Shortbread Cookies


The cookies may not look like much, but they were unbelievably delicious. Melt-in-the mouth, literally, and you will find yourself making mug after mug of tea just to have some more cookies.

Monday, November 8, 2021

1604. Saudi Chicken Rice Pudding


Rice pudding, but in a savory chicken form. Apparently, this is a popular Saudi comfort food where you actually want to cook the rice to a mush. 

Thursday, November 4, 2021

1603. Salmon Sushi Bowl

This deconstructed sushi bowl has been making the rounds on the internet and social media like wildfire. I happened to have all ingredients on hand and decided to give it a go. It obviously lived up to the hype otherwise I would not be sharing.

Monday, November 1, 2021

1602. Double Chocolate Cookies


My cute baking date chose to make these chocolate cookies with white chocolate chunks. She's got good taste. The batter is made with cocoa, then the white chocolate chunks are stirred in. 

Thursday, October 28, 2021

1601. Savory Oatmeal Breakfast Bowl


For some reason oats are frequently used in sweet recipes, and they are just as capable of starring in savory ones. Rice is usually a savory component of a meal, but sweet rice pudding is very popular in may cultures. In this breakfast recipe, we are having savory oats for a change, plus some superfood sides to complement it. 

Monday, October 25, 2021

1600. Maple Pecan Cinnamon Rolls


I have one cinnamon roll recipe on MCW, and it is so good that I never saw the need of adding another. That one is yeast-leavened, this one is baking powder and soda leavened, making it more convenient and quicker to make. 

Thursday, October 21, 2021

1599. Chicken Cheesy Pasta


This is a simple but gutsy pasta with plenty of garlic and oregano in a cheesy chicken white sauce.

Monday, October 18, 2021

1598. Cinnamon Toffee Cake



This cinnamon cake is a variation of my trusty basic cake recipe, vamped up with cinnamon in the batter and a toffee glaze on the finished product. 

Thursday, October 14, 2021

Best of MCW 1201-1300


Welcome to the 13th Best of MCW installment, gathering the best recipes from a one hundred-recipe range on this blog that are time tested and made over and over again.
Kicking off with a simple pleasure of life, this fragrant sage tea recipe was picked up over a decade ago, when a Palestinian colleague prepared me my first cup in the pantry of our internship program. She used dried sage leaves, which is the norm. Palestinian sage, procured through Jordan, is the best you could get a hold of. 

Monday, October 11, 2021

1596. Pecan Lacy Cookies

 


These amazing cookies are shockingly easy to make, provided you adhere to cooling times and proper handling. They are a very brittle and extremely thin cookie, that are sandwiched with the best glue ever: chocolate. With time, they lose their brittleness to become gooey. That is my favorite stage.

Thursday, October 7, 2021

1595. Baked Gruyere Dip


In the cheese world, you have the Swiss fondue, which is a molten pot of multiple cheese varieties which you dip bread, cold cuts, or cornichons in, and you've got queso fundido, which is a Mexican pot of other varieties of molten cheese using tortilla chips as the carrying vehicle. This baked gruyere dip is neither.

Tuesday, October 5, 2021

1594. Checkboard Cookies

My cute date chose to make these checkerboard cookies this time, and I gladly obliged. Similar to marble cake, the basic recipe makes a vanilla and a separate chocolate dough. This is accordingly divided and rolled into equal length ropes, and combined in a way to form a checkerboard rod. 

Sunday, October 3, 2021

1593. Sumac Roasted Potato Wedges


Eons ago I posted a roasted sumac cauliflower recipe. I wonder what took so long to do the same for potatoes, since one replaces the other in a couple of cases in the first place.

Thursday, September 30, 2021

1592. Banana Lotus Trifle

It might be a bother that this recipe calls for 1.2 litres of cream instead of just one, but let me tell you, it is worth it. Strong banoofi vibes come from this trifle. Caramel and lotus, aka biscoff, are the main flavors, which combine dreamily with banana. 

Tuesday, September 28, 2021

1591. Airfryer Steak


Ironically, it took me a long time to master making a decent steak. Baking and cooking are just fine, but grilling a steak was always a guessing game I would be bound to lose. Now I'm ok with steaks, but do not appreciate the smoke and smell the process entails. In comes the handy-dandy airfryer. 

Sunday, September 26, 2021

1590. Walnut Pie

If you like pecan pie, this is a must for you. In our part of the world, walnuts are much more native and affordable/accessible than pecans. As such, pecans tend to be given the gourmet treatment, and walnuts are viewed as a second option. I resent that and view walnuts as a beloved nut worthy to be used in dishes for kings. 

Thursday, September 23, 2021

1589. Mushroom Pasta and Cornflakes Chicken


A large platter of saucy pasta topped with crispy chicken is an ideal comfort meal for kids and adults alike. Make the pasta with mushroom, and the chicken breaded with cornflakes, and you've got a winner. This chicken piccata pasta is a strong contender too, switching the sauce from the pasta to the chicken, and another version in pesto pasta.  

Tuesday, September 21, 2021

1588. Banana Brulee Oats


Another loaded breakfast oat bowl, but with a drastically different flavor profile. The basic oat mix is topped with chopped almonds, a dollop of cream, almond butter, and the piece de resistance: seared bananas and chocolate drizzle.  

Sunday, September 19, 2021

1587. Loqum Cookie Sandwiches



Although many people grew up on these loqum cookies and remember them in their childhood with great affection, I did not. I literally tasted this combination last week for the first time and was blown away. I did not expect it to be that good. It was delicious, and dangerously addictive. 

Thursday, September 16, 2021

1586. Apricot Jam Roast Chicken


If I had added soy sauce to the apricot jam, this would be a Chinese/Asian dish. However, only nutmeg was added, hence the dish is European. The caramelization on the chicken from the sugar in the jam is just amazing.

Sunday, September 12, 2021

1585. Everyday Marble Cake


To be honest, I was not going to put this cake on MCW, but someone special asked me to, so here it is. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I have an unbeatable basic cake recipe that I keep re-purposing for different flavors. There is the orange cake (by and far the most loved), then there is the cardamom. A toffee cinnamon is coming up soon, and then here is this marble cake frosted with nutella. 

Wednesday, September 8, 2021

Best Of MCW 1101-1200


The intermittent compilation of culinary wonders you may have missed and definitely want to try is back. This is part 12, covering the best of posts 1101 to 1200, made over and over, time and time again. 

Monday, September 6, 2021

1583. Kid's Jam Cookies


These cookies are basically Linzer cookies stuffed with whatever jam you prefer. The dough is simple enough to work with kids and it is very rewarding to them to eat what they made. 

Wednesday, September 1, 2021

1582. Vineleaf Haloomi and Preserved Lime Parcels


I am embracing vineleaf-everything life as of late. Cheese and vineleaves tuned out to be a pretty epic combination. Feta-chilli was a great one. Now this haloomi-preserved lime is all that, too. Grilled in a searingly-hot griddle pan, the grill marks are to be coveted here. 

Sunday, August 29, 2021

1581. Sourdough Pasta


I think I have discussed my sourdough misadventures on the blog before? Long story short, I have admitted defeat in making a decent sourdough bread loaf. However, my sourdough starter is a wonderous ingredient that makes the most amazing crackers. I make the starter, just to make the crackers with its "discard". This is another super duper quick recipe that is enriched with the sourdough starter. Made in 5 minutes, and cooked in 2 minutes, this is a pasta you cannot pass (ta).

Thursday, August 26, 2021

1580. Instant Peach Sorbet


It is a wonderous event when you learn this life hack of making instant one ingredient sorbet with practically any fruit. Today, we've made peach sorbet, made form overly ripe peaches sliced and frozen right at home. A hack to the hack? Buy frozen fruit! 

Tuesday, August 24, 2021

1579. Chicken Burgers


Chicken burgers are far from a revelation, and are quite regularly the second choice to beef burgers. These chicken burgers will have you making them for the specific reason they they are chicken. They are that good. 

Sunday, August 22, 2021

1578. Rutab Date Smoothie

As mentioned in the last post during our visit to the Heenat Salma farm for their date harvest festival event, we requested the recipe for the delicious date smoothies presented during the afternoon tea and Chef Mark kindly gave us a private cooking demonstration. 

Wednesday, August 18, 2021

1577. Heenat Salma Farm Visit


We took a few hours to visit Heenat Salma farm for their date harvest event, and it was a wonderful experience. Due to the intense heat this time of year in Qatar, the event commences at 4pm, where we are invited for a date-filled afternoon tea. 

Monday, August 16, 2021

1576. Loaded Breakfast Oats


For some reason, January seems to be the month I most consume oats. But no more, because oats are a great source of nutrition all year round. This recipe is basically porridge oats, topped with a variety of deliciousness, making you almost excited to get up in the morning.

Thursday, August 12, 2021

1575. Olive Oil Cake


This olive oil cake was a huge hit from the first bite, and frankly, that was quite a surprise. The touch of lemon zest made a huge impact, and the crumb was tender and soft.

Monday, August 9, 2021

1574. Vineleaf Feta Parcels


Feta cheese has been around forever, and it is seemingly now more than ever that people are getting creative with it. It was not my favorite cheese, being so salty and distinctively brined, but I find that is it now a staple that my refrigerator is never void of. I also have an affinity to grape leaves in the kitchen. This combination is a wonderful one I can easily eat more than once a week, every week.