Oatmeal-Spelt Cookies with Nuts and Dried Cranberries

Oatmeal cookies are among my favorite cookies, and I always enjoy experimenting with finding new flavors for the basic recipe. This time, since I like the unique flavor and texture of spelt flour, I decided to combine it with the oatmeal in the following recipe.

Braised Chicken Thighs with Olives and Tomatoes

In the following tasty and easy to prepare dish, cooked green olives are the dominant flavor component, and impart their unique flavor to the chicken and the sauce. While the concept of cooked olives is not widely familiar in many cuisines, it is an integral part of the Moroccan cuisine, as well as other Mediterranean cuisines, such as the French, Spanish, Italian, Greek and more, and the dish was inspired by them.

Spiced Pears in Butterscotch Sauce

Poached pears is my go-to recipe, when I’m looking for a quick, tasty and light dessert (click HERE for the recipe). Pears have an incredible way of absorbing flavors while cooking, yet keep their shape, and can be easily served on their own, or with few additions, creating an effortless and elegant dessert.

Lamb Stew with Eggplant, Cherry tomatoes and Potatoes

Lamb stew is one of my favorites, especially on cold days. As the weather is warming up, I opted for a lighter version in the following recipe, which is a complete meal in itself.
The dish doesn’t require many ingredients and is very easy to assemble. Once done with the initial cooking, the braising in the oven doesn’t require much attention.

Sephardic Spaghetti and Cheese Bake

Unlike last week’s time consuming recipe, the following recipe requires very little effort or ingredients.
The original bake, which is known in the Sephardic cuisine as “Makarron reynado”, is a simple mix of cooked spaghetti, Feta cheese, eggs and milk, baked until set and golden.

Banana Yeast Dough Cakes with Chocolate-Almonds Filling

The following tasty cakes are a version of THIS recipe, for banana yeast dough cakes.

Stir-Fry Tofu and Rice Noodles

Stir-fry dishes are very versatile and fairly quick to prepare, and I often make them for lunch or a light dinner. I don’t tend to follow any specific authentic recipe , but rather, use whatever ingredients and flavoring I have around while cooking.

Condensed Milk Dough Filled Cookies

The following tasty cookies were inspired by THIS blog post. Though the cookies looked very tasty, I was mostly intrigued by the dough, which listed condensed milk as one of the ingredients. The use of condensed milk in pastry dough was new to me, and I wanted to give this unique dough a try.

Potatoes, Chicken, Onion and Herbs Patties

The following tasty patties are my variation of “Aruk”, potato-herbs patties from the Jewish-Iraqi cuisine, which are popular in Israel.

Lemony Poppy Seeds and Frangipane Cake

Recently, I’ve baked THIS poppy seeds tart, and THESE Pithivier pastries, and, once again, I didn’t need the full amount of both types of filling. I could have easily freeze both for future use, but then decided it would be more interesting to use them to create an entirely new cake.

Shredded Braised Skirt Steak with Tomato-Parsley Rice

Skirt steak is one of the most flavorful beef cuts. The outer part is mostly suitable for pan-searing or grilling (see recipe HERE), while the inside part is more suitable for slow cooking, which is the method I used in the following recipe.