Lavash Bread

It’s Cook the Books Club time and we’re back with another food-centric novel!

I like reading memoirs because they stretch me as a reader, but they are almost never my personal book of choice, so I’m always excited when a foodie novel comes my way!

Pomegranate Soup by Marsha Mehran is an interesting concept.  It follows 3 Iranian sisters who have fled Iran and are attempting to start a new life (and café) in Ireland.

Everything Bagel Mix

It’s time for this month’s Food ‘n Flix pick…well…sort of.

This month’s movie was Nina’s Heavenly Delights hosted by Heather at All Roads Lead to the Kitchen.

Based on the title and the cover art, I was skeptical (I also had to check the rating, because, yikes (turns out it’s PG-13)).  I read the synopsis and I was still not enthusiastic.  Then I realized that the movie wasn’t available at the library or on any streaming service and I was done.  Then my friend Cam mentioned having the same problem.  She got around it by watching trailers and clips on Youtube.  That I could do.

Rich Chocolate Cake & Circuit Board Cake

Last month was Dude's 12th birthday. TWELVE you guys!

When I asked him what he wanted for a birthday cake this year, the requested chocolate cake with chocolate frosting (my favorite, too!)

But that wasn't the real question.

The real question was how do you want your cake decorated?

Then, the big guy broke his mama's bear's heart a tiny bit saying, "it doesn't need to look like anything, just the chocolate."

Waaaaahhhhhh!!!!!!

My baby is big!!!!

Well, I couldn't leave well enough alone and I still wanted to make him a special cake, even if he wouldn't request it himself.

Dude love electronics in any way, shape or form, so I decided to make a cake that looked like a circuit board (honestly, you should see my basement right now, he takes everything apart, there are motherboards everywhere!) 

Then I decided to take it just one step further.  I knew I wanted to pipe along the edges, but instead of a regular pattern, I used a series of dots and dashes to write "Happy Birthday" in binary!

T’Bit (Iraqi Slow Cooked Chicken & Brown Rice)

It's time for this month's Eat the World recipe challenge and this month, we're heading to Iraq!

Oh boy, I thought, this will be a tough one.

My family, while pretty adventurous eaters, are not big fans of a middle eastern spice profile.  I could have given myself a break and made some sort of bread, but I felt it wasn't really in the spirit of the challenge.

Eventually, I found a recipe for T'bit - a slow cooked chicken and rice and hoped, that even though there were some unfamiliar spices, it would be acceptable.

Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli, & Rice Casserole

How about a nice, comforting casserole for a chilly February day?  Because despite what that groundhog predicted, we’re in one heck of a cold snap in my area!

This is a recipe that I’ve been trying to perfect for years.  There have been so many versions!  And none of them blog-worthy until now!

I vaguely remember something like this recipe from my childhood, but never managed to get the recipe from my mom. So, I set out to make it myself and was just never successful.

Each and every time, the cheese was the problem.  The issue, I finally realized, was that I was trying to stir the cheese in last.  That is, I was leaving the rice just a bit liquidy (but still cooked through), then stirring the shredded cheese in.  The first few bites would be fine, but the dish would quickly congeal.  Still delicious, but unsightly.

Finally, I realized that I needed to make a roux and a cheese sauce first.  Ding, ding, ding!  We have a winner!