A Sunny Sunday

Last weekend I had some friends over for brunch. I picked some goodies out of the garden and brunch began to unfold.

I had been craving this carrot salad so I made some using the parsley. I sliced the radish and tossed it with some english cucumber and salt for another fresh treat, perhaps now is a good time to mention that I love salads. We also made some gently scrambled eggs with garden leeks, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and capers. I tossed a sprig of thyme and rosemary in with the leeks to give some aroma and extra flavor.

K and A brought over some delicious Humboldt Fog goat cheese, a perfect accompaniment to the Whole Emmer (Wheat) Sourdough I had made the day before.

For dessert we had fresh fruit and some of the Sachertorte I made in class last week (I have moved on from the bread portion of baking school to pastry.)

Between the brunch and the lovely sunny weather, we had a perfect picnic.

After lunch, we retired to the lawn with several baking books and enjoyed the sunshine.

(photo credit: Angel Trumpet Tree)

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Egg decorating

Yesterday morning, my friends and I decorated eggs for No-Rouz (Persian New Year.) We decided to try coloring them with onion skins. We collected red and yellow skins and soaked them separately in some water, so they were soft enough to wrap around the eggs. We also used some basil leaves for designs.

We tightly wrapped the eggs in red and yellow onion skins and then in (new) nylons.

We put the egg bundles in a pot of boiling water with some purple cabbage (in hopes to add a little more color.) When they were cool enough, we got to unwrap them!

I look forward to playing with other vegetable for color, maybe beets would result in a brighter purple?

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No-Rouz

I am visiting some friends in Colorado. Yesterday we celebrated No-Rouz, the Persian New Year. The exact time of No-Rouz changes yearly in accord with the exact time of the beginning of Spring (This year it was in the late afternoon.)  We began by preparing the “Haft Sin.” or “Seven S’s.” As you might guess from its name, Haft Sin includes seven items that begin with “s”, however it is not exclusive to these items.

Our Haft Sin setting included the traditional seven:

Sabhez- lentil sprouts, symbolizing rebirth

Samanu- a sweet pudding made from wheat germ, symbolizing affluence

Senjed- dried oleaster fruit, symbolizing love

Sir- garlic, symbolizing medicine

Sib- apples, symbolizing health

Somaq- sumac berries, symbolizing the color of the sunrise

Serkeh- vinegar, symbolizing patience

Plus some more recent additions:

Sonbol- hyacinth flowers

Sekkeh- coins, symbolizing wealth

Sohun asali- Sesame honey cookies

Shirini nokhod chi- Chickpea flour cookies with cardamom

Haj Badoom- Crispy almond cookies

Nargili- Coconut cookies

Ayeneh- a mirror, symbolizing honesty

Sham’- lit candles, symbolizing happiness and enlightenment

Tokhm e Morgh- decorated eggs, symbolizing fertility

Mahi-goldfish, symbolizing life within life

A book of Hafez (a highly respected Iranian Poet), and or the Qur’an

We prepared the Haft Sin setting together, each adding a little bit of the different items. After the sun passed over the equator and we had a quiet celebration, exchanged gifts, and gathered at the table for a traditional No-Rouz dinner.

We had sabzi polo – rice pilaf cooked with lots of fresh herbs and saffron, kookoo – a frittata like dish that is heavy on the greens and light on the eggs, maast – yogurt with shallots (a different variety than what we are used to in the states), and a tray of olives, mint yogurt, and naan khoshkeh – a crispy flatbread (literally “dried bread”) from Isfahan, and fish.

Sabzi polo:

3 cups basmati rice
water
3 tablespoons salt
3 cups finely chopped fresh herbs (parsley, young leeks, cilantro, dill, fenugreek)
3 spring garlic shoots*

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

1/4 tsp. saffron powder

Rinse rice thoroughly. Combine rice and boiling water (cover about 1″ above the rice) and soak for about 4 hours. Strain the rice. In a large pot, boil some water, add some salt and the rice, cook for about 5 or 6 minutes, or until the rice is tender but not to soft (you can 2 or 3 Tbsp. of yogurt to the water if you like). Strain.

In a large pot, place about 2 Tbsp. oil and 3 Tbsp. water add the spring garlic shoots, cut in half lengthwise and saute for a few minutes over medium heat. Layer rice and herbs on top of the garlic and cover with a clean cloth or paper towel and the lid. This prevents the excess steam from going back into the rice and making it mushy. Let cook on medium heat for about 20 minutes.

In a separate pot, melt 2 Tbsp. butter and stir in 1/4 tsp. saffron powder.

Stir a little of the cooked rice in with the saffron butter to use as a garnish. Mound the rice on a platter and decorate with saffron rice.

*For a potato version: replace garlic shoots with a potato or two, thinly sliced. Add a little salt and a touch of saffron while sauteeing.

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Zucchini and Ricotta Quiche

My friend just moved into a new apartment, in honor of her move we made some breakfast. I found this recipe on Heidi Swanson’s blog. She always has beautiful, tasty, and inspiring recipes to share. I collected some ingredients and headed over for breakfast.

There was a lot of crumbling, grating, and mixing involved in making this crust-less Quiche. First I grated a zucchini, set it in a colander sprinkled it with salt and let it de-juice (the result came in two parts, a Quiche that was not soggy, and some vibrant green zucchini juice!)

Meanwhile, I chopped some dill and shalots and mixed them, and the zucchini, into a mixture of fresh ricotta cheese and Parmigiano Reggiano.  I added a couple of eggs and mixed it again.

I put it in an oiled cast iron skillet, and put it in the oven to bake.

After about 30 minutes, I topped it with some fresh goat cheese from Zingerman’s creamery and slid it back in the oven to finish cooking.

Note: I cut down the over all cooking time from 80 minutes to about 45-50 minutes because I used cast iron.

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