Perennials2

The playful rainbow of my garden, perennials: from early July to August (updated 8 July 2012): In the first part of my perennials post, I introduced the types of flowers I get in my garden from May to mid June here in Zone 5. Well, as soon as they start to go to sleep, I get a new range of colors, more or less in the following order:

Lilis: You know they are everywhere, in the backyards and off the streets, right? That’s because all these flowers need in order to flourish are half to full sun and rain water – no matter how little their share might be. Lilies’ bulbs spread slowly but steadily over the years. So, pay attention to where you first plant them.

Clematis is a climbing plant of course and it is often used to cover ugly walls. My poor baby is by a fence and does not have much room as height to climb on and that’s why it sort of spreads instead of climbing! Most Clematis come in pink and purple hues. Mine starts to bloom late June, by mid July you can hardly see any green leaves behind the dense web of purple flowers, and they last till late in August. Clematis needs care and pruning at the end of the season.

I have two types of very classic summer bushes in my garden: Gold fire, which blooms around the time Lilies do and does not require much care, except proper pruning at least once a year. And Hydrangea, which needs lots of water in addition to proper pruning.

The hardy, long stemmed Daises make beautiful cut flowers. I have planted “Moon Beam” at the base of my long-stem flowers. They almost illuminate in sunset light and add a very gentle and charming touch to my yard.

The lovely Dahlia and Rose of Sharon are on their way, stay tuned!

Kookoo with potato

Posted: 11 July 2011 | Author: bootehBeeta | Filed under: KITCHEN, for recipes, KooKoo with potatoes, Uncategorized | Tags: booteh_recipes, food_photography, kookoo, main_dish, Persian_cuisine, sidedish | Leave a comment

This is a fast and easy Iranian dish great for supper – at the table, or “for the road”. All my non-Iranian friends love this “Persian pancake”, as they call it. Normally it is made mainly with potatoes, and eggs, but I do add one or two other ingredients.

For six relatively hungry people, you would need the following:

1 kg regular potatoes;
4 eggs;
1 small onion;
1/2 cup milk;
1/2 cup chopped parsley and chives;
pinch of turmeric; salt, powdered black pepper (desired amount),
and a lot of cooking oil.

NOTE: Some use baking powder to make koo koo tender. I think it adds an unpleasant taste and elastic feel to it though! Milk and onion (or even onion alone) does a wonderful job making it tender and crunchy. Herbs, however, could easily be skipped without damaging the result. It is just a matter of taste and innovation! Read the rest of this entry »

moment photography3

Posted: 10 July 2011 | Author: bootehBeeta | Filed under: COZY CORNER, Photography, Uncategorized | Tags: moment_photography | Leave a comment

Spring migrants under our roof

Jewel-mixed rice

Posted: 9 July 2011 | Author: bootehBeeta | Filed under: Jewel-mixed rice, KITCHEN, for recipes, Uncategorized | Tags: food_photography, main_dish, mixed_polow, persian_cooking, rice, vegan | 4 Comments

Jewel-mixed polo or ‘morasa polo” is a dish I often make when I want to impress my visitor :), of course served with fried or oven-cooked chicken. It has a unique taste – a bit sweet with the dominant taste of sweetened orange peel. In all fairness, this is quite a complex recipe to start my Persian cooking list with but I love the color so I went for it assuming many of you know the basics. If not, nothing to worry about. I will explain how to prepare plain rice in a separate post shortly.

Ingredients (serving five) Read the rest of this entry »

Shamrock loves summer

Posted: 6 July 2011 | Author: bootehBeeta | Filed under: Uncategorized, YARD, for gardening | Tags: gardening_flowers | 8 Comments

Shamrock loves summer! Take’em out, water regularly, and let them thrive.

Three appetizers: with beets, mushroom, and lentil/avocados

Posted: 5 July 2011 | Author: bootehBeeta | Filed under: KITCHEN, for recipes, Three Appetizers, with Beet, Mushroom, and Lentil/avocado, Uncategorized | Tags: appetizer, booteh_recipes, food-photography, mazeh, Persian_cuisine, vegan | 3 Comments

Okay, these three appetizers do not have to be served together of course, but if you decided that they do make a pretty ensemble, rest assured it won’t take you a lot of “active” time to prepare them. And keep in mind that beets, lentils and avocado all have outstanding notorious benefits.

1. Oven roasted beets: Buy a bunch of fresh (with leaves) beet. Cut off the stems and the leaves, but do not throw them away; you can steam cooked or use them in a variety of soups. Trim off the ends, wash and brush the whole beets. Wrap all three or four turnips in a large aluminum foil and crunch up the sides together to seal. Turn oven to 325C and bake in the middle row for at least two hours or until they are soft enough to peel easily. This method results in juicy and deep sweet beets with a taste incomparable to any other method. Cut and arrange in a cute plate! Read the rest of this entry »