Time: 1 hour | Complexity: Medium | Yields: 2 dozen |
Tools: 2 small bowls, large bowl, saute pan

Time: 30 min | Complexity: Easy | Yields: 4 servings | Tools: 4-quart saucepan, serving bowl

She’reya is a very old fashioned traditional dish found in Saudi and other surrounding Middle Eastern countries. Basically this easy dish is simply boiled pasta with sugar and defiantly not anything fancy or hard to make. My mother in law told me the story behind this special dish and why she continues to always make it on the days that her family fast so that they will have it to break the fast. When her grandmother was a small girl her family was extremely poor. So poor that most days they did not have food to eat and the days they did it was usually borrowed. Maybe one day a neighbor would give them a small Arabic coffee cup with some tanhina in it and they (the other three kids) would add water and drink it as if it were a soup. The mother (my mother in laws great-grandmother) would usually not eat just so the children would have food. This she’reya recipe was one that sometimes they would have and they would eat it with bread and it was such a treat. So my mother in law now always keeps the tradition alive by making she’reya. This beautiful story makes the dish so much more appealing and its found in a lot of Saudi homes during Ramadan since most were raised with it.

Time: 45 min | Complexity: Medium | Yields: 6-8 servings |
Tools: baking sheet, mixing bowl, serving bowl

LAST week when we were out having breakfast with all of our family at a traditional restaurant I had the pleasure of trying another Southern favorite called areeka. Oh how I fell in love! Hands down this one of the best dishes that I have had here and the perfect flavors that I love combined. Wheat bread is baked, chopped and then fresh honey is drizzled with a beautiful golden honeycomb in the middle with big brown luscious dates. These are both breakfast foods in Saudi but you can also make them for a sweet snack that goes perfect alongside a cup of hot Saudi coffee balancing out sweetness. Here is the Saudis recipe for areeka.

Time: 1-1/2 hours | Complexity: Easy | Yields: 3 dozen |
Tools: 2 mixing bowls, 2 9-inch cake pans, spoon

Last year I made my first cake balls and they came out perfect, they were the talk of my family. A family member got married and my in laws hosted a party so I was in charge of the sweets. I made cake balls and they were a huge hit and everyone wanted the recipe.

For a while now I have wanted to create something with rainbow cake. The thought of rainbow cake balls came to me after I was already starting to bake my cake so I went with it. My son had so much fun helping me make these and everyone loved the outcome. I mean cake balls are just awesome in every way. All of the cake balls I have seen have been frosted so I decided to try something different with these. Honestly they are already sweet enough without dipping them into more frosting. This is one of those recipes that work and taste better cold. So make sure to let it chill for a bit before forming into balls or eating. I like to make mine at night and let them chill overnight. I just love the way they look when you bite into them.