Roast Chicken & Saffron Rice
Posted: 17 December 2017 Filed under: Roast Chicken & Saffron Rice, Uncategorized | Tags: Akbar joojeh, kateh, pomegranate, pomegranate syrup, saffron_rice, winter solstice, yalda 1 CommentYalda, the Persian celebration of winter solstice, is around the corner. Hence the occasion for a special food blog entry – something representing red and orange colors of Yalda, something made with passion, and maybe pomegranate, to serve along with sweet-nuts mix, watermelon and persimmon as we get together with friends and family to bring to dawn the longest night of the year – the night before the beginning of winter, or the Yalda night.
For some of my previous Yalda-related blog entries, please see here, and here.
Peru Trip
Posted: 22 November 2017 Filed under: Peru Trip | Tags: Andes, Cusco, Inca, Machu_Picchu, Peru, travel Leave a commentFor the first two weeks of October, my husband and I had a blast visiting Andes and remains of the ancient Inca civilization in and around Cusco, Peru: Stunning landscapes, magical lush valleys and foggy mountains, mind blowing stone work and engineering, delicious fresh food, colourful handicrafts, soothing music and of course a lot of history! A history almost too painful to hear of Spanish colonization demolishing the Inca Empire, looting their treasures, enslaving them and brutally suppressing resistance movements up to the 18th century!
Cusco, once Incas’ capital, has half a million population today and according to one of our tour guides 80% of the city’s economy depends on tourism. This includes not only food, lodging, entertainment, heritage businesses small and large, but also native women who make a living by knitting sweaters and hats out of Alpaca wool, and by dressing up in colorful clothes along with their Alpacas and baby goats to take pictures with tourists. Read the rest of this entry »
Off-season smoked fish with rice
Posted: 30 October 2017 Filed under: smoked fish, Uncategorized | Tags: smoked_fish Leave a commentFor most Iranians, smoked white fish resonates with the Persian new year, Norooz, especially when it is prepared long with mixed herb rice. And of course, as an Iranian food blogger I have already posted the full recipe for this delicious Norooz related meal right here. 
However, first off, in the mentioned blog entry I did not devote enough attention to preparing smoked fish component of the meal. Secondly, I absolutely feel the need to share with you my new discovery: Smoked fish can be found in most supermarkets in my city (and am pretty sure in many others) ALL YEAR Long!! So, why wait till the New Year? Why have it only once a year? In fact, the type of smoked fish I find here is quite moderate in terms of taste intensity (not too salty, not too smoky) and can be served on its own along with either plain white or herb mixed rice. Read the rest of this entry »
Zucchini Fritters
Posted: 29 August 2017 Filed under: Zucchini Fritters | Tags: dairy free, gluten free, kookoo, vegi, Zucchini, Summer dip Leave a commentAs promised last week and without further ado, here is my recipe for zucchini fritters when you have too many homegrown zucchinis on your hand and no one in particular to offer it to them! You could make this with yellow or green zucchinis as a side, snack or light meal.
Ingredients: Read the rest of this entry »
Six uses for your extra homegrown zucchini
Posted: 16 August 2017 Filed under: 7 ways to use extra homegrown zucchini, Six uses for your extra homegrown zucchini, Uncategorized | Tags: dairy free, gluten free, homegrown_Zucchini, salad, summer_dip, vegeterian 2 CommentsIt is said that two zucchini plants produce enough zucchinis for a family of four to eat as much as they can for the entire summer. This year I grew three zucchini plants for the two of us, which meant way too much of it if we were to stick only to our traditional Persian style zucchini stew.
Almost every single morning I checked on my vegetable garden I found a new baby zucchini turned into a huge heavy one almost before my eyes. So, even with all I gave away to family and friends I still had to come up with new creative ways to consume this delicious vegetable. Read the rest of this entry »
Summer Dip with Zucchini, white beans and tahini
Posted: 7 August 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized, white beans & tahini Dip, Zucchini, Summer dip | Tags: dairy free, easy and fast, gluten free, summer_dip, tahini, vegeterian, Zucchini, Summer dip 4 CommentsI found the recipe for this delicious and easy dip in PRAVA organic site and modified it slightly to my taste. You could do the same I am sure as long as you keep the main ingredients in: It is a vegetarian recipe and completely gluten and dairy free.
Ingredients Read the rest of this entry »
Mixed Berries Jam, Persian and Healthy Style
Posted: 8 July 2017 Filed under: Mixed Berries Jam | Tags: brwon sugar, maple syrup, Mixed Berries Jam, Persian cuisine Leave a commentTraditional Persian jams are made with whole or cut fruits rather than crushed fruits; they usually have no additive to make them jelly like and as a result any kind of fruit jam preserves that fruit’s look to a large extent. It is hard to find this type of fruit jam in the market in Montreal, giving me one more incentive to make them at home from scratch.
For this particular jam, I used the four berries currently in season in Montreal: Strawberries, black berries, blue berries and raspberries. You could certainly go with your own choices. Also for this particular jam, I have deviated from traditional Persian jams by making it less sugary/sweet. I have used brown sugar instead of white sugar and only to a much less degree, and used maple syrup to get to the desirable thickness and sweetness. I am pretty happy with the result: Not as thick as a traditional Persian jam but much tastier! Give it a try to see for yourself! Read the rest of this entry »
Moment Photography30
Posted: 22 June 2017 Filed under: Photography | Tags: Montreal_summer, Summer_Solstice 1 Comment
Summer Solstice, sunset in “lac des Deux Montagnes”, at 8:47
Curry Vegetables Stew
Posted: 10 June 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: curry, fresh_vegetables, vegetarian, vegi Leave a commentThis is a modified version of an eggplants curry which I once tried in an Indian restaurant and absolutely loved. It is made of my favorite vegetables eggplants, portabella mushrooms, red potatoes and tomatoes; it is also aromatic and absolutely gorgeous looking. So, give it a try if you are in for fried garlic, turmeric, black pepper and curry. As a stew, it is best served with white rice.
Ingredients: Read the rest of this entry »
My Caldron 