Cooking and Drinking Iraqi Style

My everything in the store "steak" stew

This is NEAR beer and if you notice the 0.0% you will understand

Dalibor helping mix the stew up

If you know me then you also know I LOVE TO COOK anything and everything. Cooking is the thing I miss most about home, besides my family and friends. I am always in the kitchen inventing something new or trying a new recipe that I got online or from a friend. In Iraq, we eat in a cafeteria for every meal and they try to make the food taste homemade but it really isn't up to par with what I am use to. So about a month ago I went to an Iraqi grocery store, we have here on base, and bought all sorts of vegetables and a bag of chic peas for under $20. We don't have stew meat and stuff like that at hand so I got some steaks from Robbi (Tee's mom) and cut them into cubes to make stew meat. Anyways after putting a ton of onions, garlic, bell pepper, potatoes, a bag of chic peas, and my handmade stew meat into a crock pot and letting it slow cook for a day and a half it was ready. My co-workers know I also love to cook so everyone was anxious to try my concoction. I, on the other hand, was a bit nervous because it is a bit weird cooking in a key room with only a small knife, cutting board, bottled water, and a crock pot. I also had never used chic peas, otherwise known as garbanzo beans, to make anything so I was a bit uncertain of how it would turn out. When everyone dug in it was great. The meat was very tender and the peas gave it a feel that wasn't like regular beef stew. I always make too much food no matter what I cook or the occasion, so needless to say I fed approximately 18 people. LOL!! Cooking in Iraq wasn't at all like cooking at home but it did feel great getting back into the kitchen, so to speak. Also I added a new gadget to my homepage, the Food Network Recipe of the Day, so check it out. I love getting new ideas and recipes so if you want to share please do so.