Delights From the Garden of Eden, an Iraqi Cookbook

This new Iraqi cookbook contains more than four hundred recipes covering all food categories. There is ample choice for both vegetarian and meat lovers, and many that will satisfy a sweet tooth. All recipes have been tested and are easy to follow. "Sufurtas" (a four-tiered 'lunchbox' for rice, stew, salad, and dessert)

"Sufurtas" (a four-tiered 'lunchbox' for rice, stew, salad, and dessert)

Introducing the recipes are thoroughly researched historical and cultural narratives that trace the development of the Iraqi cuisine from the times of the Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians, through the medieval era, and leading to its interaction with Mediterranean and world cuisine.

Of particular interest are the book's numerous folkloric stories, anecdotes, songs, cultural explications of customs, and excerpts from narratives written by foreign visitors to the region. Arabic calligraphy, and photos, paintings and sketches add to the pictorial appeal of the book.

Apology: Considering the hardships that Iraq and the Iraqi people have been going through since 1990, some might think this was not the right time to write about food. But as a wife, a mother, a woman, and a human being, I find in food and in memories of food my refuge, my comfort and consolation when things are not looking good, as they say here.

My sympathies go to Naomi Shihab Nye, a woman writer of Palestinian descent, who wrote:

Nor can I forget the journalist in Dubai who called me a donkey for talking about vegetables when there was injustice in the world.

I can talk about sumac too. When a friend asks what's that purple spice in the little shake-up jar at the Persian restaurant, tears cloud my eyes.

Is it good for you? Are vegetables, in some indelible way, smarter than we are? Are animals? - "Long Overdue"

May be it would make Naomi feel a little bit better if she knows that the donkey is the most patient and most sensitive creature in the world. The sight of a bereaved mother donkey banging her head hard against the wall is the most touching sight that man can ever see.
- Nawal Nasralla