The Things You do for Love

Somewhere a little over a month ago my husband got this "brilliant" idea to go sugar free for 3 months (really babe I support you, but I miss chocolate). I suppose in the end it's really my fault. You see I had a friend who used to eat a lot of sugar. Then one day he decided to stop eating sugar completely. He said that after about 6 months it was like a fog had lifted from him. He said he was thinking clearer and his body felt better. Never in my wildest dreams would have thought that telling my husband about this would perk up his interest in the subject. You have to know him, he is a man that loves his snack foods.

So on February 15th we stopped eating sugar. I decided to do it with him as a way of supporting him. Also later on down the line when I get a kooky idea he will of course support me...because that's just the way it works right? We agreed on no sweeteners of any kind. That included honey, maple syrup, agave nectar, all those artificial sweeteners, etc. Brian decided to take it even further by not eating any fruit for the first 3 weeks. I decided that I was not going to take it that far. I will begrudgingly give up my daily piece of dark chocolate but I will not give up my apple and peanut butter, no way, no how.

I figured this would be a cake walk for me. After all the only sugar I really consumed in a day was the teaspoon of sugar in my coffee, and my chocolate. Since I make pretty much everything we make I didn't have to worry about all of the sugar that gets added into all the processed foods a lot of people buy at the grocery store.

The biggest problem was breakfast. Brian usually has a bowl of cereal before he heads out for work in the morning. And even when I make granola it uses some sort of sweetener like honey, maple syrup, or molasses. It really shocked me when I realized how much sugar a normal person consumes first thing in the morning.

The first morning of the no sugar experiment Brian sat down at the table with a bowl of oatmeal. He had put some chopped nuts in it. I glanced over at him as he took the first bite, raising my eyebrows in interest.

"So, how's that oatmeal?" I tried to say it without grinning too much but I knew it had to be pretty awful.
"It's not too bad, a little bland."
I tasted it and stuck out my tongue in disdain. Let me tell you, oatmeal with nothing in it...sucks...for lack of a better word.

That oatmeal needed to be resuscitated stat. Just because you aren't eating sugar or fruit doesn't mean you should subject yourself to the bland doldrums of plain oatmeal. Nobody could possibly hate themselves that much. So we stared at that bowl of oatmeal and started trying to improve upon it.

I looked up at Brian and said, "Maybe we're looking at this wrong. We're trying to make oatmeal sweet because that's how we're used to having it. Why don't we try to make it savory instead?"
I think this was our light bulb moment.
Brian glanced down at the bowl, "It kinda looks like risotto."

He was absolutely right. It was within a minute after that statement that we had worked out a savory recipe for breakfast oatmeal.

Savory Oatmeal

(Serves one)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup of water
• 1/2 cup of oatmeal
• 2 tablespoons of half & half
• 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons of goat cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• poached egg (optional)

Directions:

1. Bring water to a boil. Add in the oatmeal. Cook for about 2 minutes until the oatmeal is cooked. 
2. Stir in the half & half, tomato paste, oregano, and goat cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Top with poached egg if desired and serve hot.

*Get a printable version of this recipe here* 

Very quick, easy and delicious. But maybe you want to make more than one serving, and maybe you don't have time in the morning. Well maybe there's a solution for that. Years ago there was an episode on Alton Brown's Good Eats where he made an overnight oatmeal. You use a crock pot and then in the morning when you wake up your breakfast is hot and ready to eat. Here's our version using that method.

Savory Overnight Oatmeal

Adapted from Alton Brown's Overnight Oatmeal

(Serves four)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of steel cut oats
• 4 cups of water
• 1/2 cup of half & half 
• 4 teaspoons of dried oregano
• 1/4 cup of tomato paste
• 1/2 cup of goat cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a slow cooker combine the oats, water, half & half, and oregano. Set on low, cover, and cook for 8-9 hours.
2. In the morning stir in the tomato paste, and goat cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Divide into bowls. Serve hot. 

*Get a printable version of this recipe here*

#Svnseas: It's More Than "Just Rice"

Well it's finally happened, the end of February is fast approaching. This means that I'll be *sob* putting aside Persian cooking and moving onto a new country in the Indian ocean. I seriously could spend an entire year studying and cooking Persian food. If you've never given it a shot you should reconsider. Their dishes take more time than the food I usually cook during the week but it has been well worth the effort to reorder my days a little and make them.

What I quickly discovered is the importance of rice dishes in the Persian culture. Don't look down your nose at me for saying this, but I never really took rice seriously. I would follow the directions on the bag, maybe switch up the water for broth if I had some extra lying around, throw in a pat of butter, a pinch of salt, close the lid and call it done. I think out of all I've learned this past month, the most important thing was how good rice can be when given proper attention. I hereby solemnly swear to never take rice for granted again.

And did I mention how good the rice dishes have been this past month? Listen, I know if you read a lot of food blogs you have probably read a post or two that is inundated with all kinds of adjectives describing how amazing whatever it is that person made. Sometimes a BLT can get so glorified you'd think it was the only one the person had ever had, and was the last one they were going to get. Trust me, I've rolled my eyes a few times now and again. That having been said, if I take the time as a mother of three to repeatedly make a rice dish that takes several hours to make, you have to believe me that it's just that good, and that it's worth it. If you only ever try Persian food once in your whole life make sure there is a rice dish with the tahdig (crusty part) involved. Out of all the Persian food I made this month the one my oldest daughter made sure would reappear again was the rice.

Potato-Crusted Chelow

The rice dish my daughter was talking about is actually the least involved of the rice dishes. I've mentioned it before, it's called Chelow. In the cookbook The Food of Life by Najmieh Batmanglij there is a great recipe for chelow. There are a bunch of ways to make the tahdig too. I've made it plain, with yogurt, and with potato. The poatao version was sort of like having a french fry all crispy on top of the rice. The only problem I had with the recipe was that it made enough for "six servings". I put that in quotes because I really think it makes more like ten servings. At first I tried making half the amount and then using it for two meals for us. The only problem was that the tahdig was never as good the next day. Since the tahdig is my favorite part it was important to have it be just as good at each meal. What I ended up doing was adjusting the recipe and sizing it down so I could make a small serving that would be just enough for my family on the night we were having it.

Chelow (Saffron-Flavored Seamed Rice with Golden Crust)

Adapted from Food of Life by Najmieh Batmanglij

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

Rice:

• 1 cup long-grain basmati rice
• 4 1/2 cups of water; divided
• 1 tablespoon of salt; divided
• 1 cardamom pod; crushed
• 1 teaspoon of rose water

Tahdig:

• 2 tablespoons of ghee or butter; melted
• 4 tablespoons of water;divided
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground saffron dissolved in tablespoon of hot rose water
• 1 tablespoon of whole milk yogurt
• 1/4 teaspoon of cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon of oil

Directions:

1. Pick over rice. Wash the rice by placing it in a large bowl and covering it with lukewarm water. Agitate gently with your hand, then pour off the water. Repeat this 5 times until the rice is completely clean. After washing the rice soak it in 2 cups of water with 1/2 tablespoon of salt for a minimum of 2 hours and as long as 24 hours.
2. In a 3 quart, non-stick stock pot bring 2 1/2 cups of water to a boil over high heat. Add 1/2 tablespoon of salt, crushed cardamom pod, and rose water. Pour the washed and drained rice into the pot.
3. Boil briskly over high heat for 6-10 minutes, gently stirring twice to loosen any grains that have stuck to the bottom. Bite a few grains. If the rice feels soft, and all the rice has risen to the top, it is ready.
4. Drain rice in a large, fine mesh colander and rinse with cold water.
5. To make the tahdig: in a mixing bowl combine ghee, water, a few drops of the saffron rose water, yogurt, cumin seeds, and one cup of the rice.
6. Spread the yogurt-rice mixture over the bottom of the pot you used to par-boil the rice. Give the rice a shake to even it out, and pack it down with the back of a spoon.
7. Take one spatula of rice at a time and gently place it on top of the yogurt-rice mixture, gradually shaping the rice into a pyramid.
8. Cover the rice and cook for 10 minutes over medium-high heat to form the yummy golden crust.
9. Mix the remaining tablespoon of oil with 2 tablespoons of water, and the remaining saffron rose water. Drizzle this mixture over the top of the rice. Wrap your lid with a clean dish towel and cover firmly to prevent steam from escaping. Cook for 70 minutes longer over low heat (this is for a gas flame range).
10. Remove the pot from the heat. Immerse the bottom of the pot in water for a minute without uncovering it to help loosen the tahdig from the bottom of the pot. Uncover and loosen the edges with a wooden spatula.
11. To unmold, place a serving platter over the top of the pot and then invert the rice onto the serving platter. Serve in wedges.

*Get a printable version of this recipe here*

There have been many times this month where I sat down to dinner and said, "This is my favorite Persian dish that I've made this month." I was never lying either. But, if I had to pick just one dish that was my favorite, favorite dish it would have to be the Shirazi polow-ye qalebi (Oven-baked rice) that I made last weekend. It took 4 hours to make; two for preparation and two for cooking and cooling. In the end I'd say it would still be worth it to make even if it took five hours because it's that tasty. It's the kind of dish you want to have extra helpings of, not because you are hungry, but rather because you just want to have that taste in your mouth a little longer. I could get positively fat eating this dish. To describe this dish, the best I can tell you is that it seemed like the Persian version (hey look that rhymed) of Shepard's pie. I tweaked this recipe a bunch because I was lacking certain ingredients and wanted to shorten certain steps so here is my version of oven-baked rice. But I'm telling you, if you want to "wow" some company go ahead and fit this into your dinner plans the next time you have guests over. It won't disappoint.

Shirazi-polow-ye qualebi (Oven-baked rice)

Adapted from The Food Of Life by Najmieh Batmanglij

(serves 6)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups long-grain basmati rice
• 2 tablespoons of salt; divided
• 1/2 a roasted chicken or two chicken breasts; shredded
• 1 large eggplant
• 6 tablespoons of oil; divided
• 1 large onion; peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup of cranberries or raisins (you can also use a combination of both)
• 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
• Zest from 2 oranges
• 1/2 teaspoon of saffron; ground and dissolved in 2 tablespoons of rose water
• 1/4 cup of ghee or butter; divided
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 cup of plain yogurt
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon of rose water
• 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric

Directions:

1. To cook the rice: Clean and wash the rice 5 times in warm water. If you have the time soak the rice in 4 cups of water with 1 tablespoon of salt for at least 2 hours.
2. Peel and cut the eggplants into 1/2 inch thick slices. To remove bitterness from the eggplants, place the slices in a container, cover with water, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of salt, let stand for 20 minutes, drain, and rinse with cold water. Blot dry thoroughly. Heat 4 tablespoons of oil in a wide skillet over medium heat and brown the eggplant slices on each side. Remove the eggplant and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the same skillet and saute the onions until translucent. Remove the onions from the skillet and set aside.
3. In the same skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil, add the cranberries or raisins, and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the cumin, orange zest, and 1/2 tablespoon of the saffron water. Stir-fry for 20 seconds. Remove from the heat and set aside.
4. Bring 4 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of salt to a boil in a non-stick pot. Pour the washed and drained rice into the pot. Boil briskly for 6 minutes, gently stirring twice to loosen any grains that may have stuck to the bottom. Drain rice in a large, fine-mesh colander and rinse with cold water.
5. Place the oven rack in the middle. Pre-heat the oven to 375°F. Melt 2 tablespoons of ghee in an 9-inch round pie dish. Spread the butter evenly over the base and the sides of the dish.
6. In a mixing bowl, mix together the egg yolks, yogurt, 1 tablespoon of the saffron rose water, and 2 cups of the rice. Place this rice mixture in the pie dish. Arrange the shredded chicken on top. Spread the cranberry mixture over the chicken. Next spread the onions over the cranberry mixture. The top with the eggplant slices. Cover with the remaining rice and pack down using a rubber spatula (It will be mounded over the pie dish). Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of melted ghee, saffron rose water, lime juice, and turmeric in a small bowl and pour over the top of the rice. Cover with a layer of oiled parchment paper and a layer of aluminum foil on top, and press down evenly with your hands (this will help the unmolding process later on). Seal tightly around the rim of the dish so that steam cannot escape.
7. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 1 1/2 -2 hours until the crust on the bottom is golden brown (a glass ovenproof dish allows you to see through).
8. Remove the dish from the oven (do not uncover) and allow to cool for 15 minutes on a damp towel. Uncover and loosen the rice around the edges of the dish with the point of a knife. Place a serving platter (larger than the pie plate) in top of the dish. Invert the rice onto the platter. Allow to rest a moment, then gently lift the pie plate. Serve hot.

*Get a printable version of this recipe here*

Stupid Carnations

This year my oldest daughter Naiya went into Middle school. I feel for her. These can be some rough years. Overall, she's been adjusting well with all of the changes.

Then last Tuesday she came home from school and plopped down on the couch. You have to understand that she is not overly dramatic. She's one of these girls that likes to act like things don't bother her. She doesn't like to talk about her feelings and never has. Whether I think that's a healthy way of dealing with her emotions or not is besides the point, it's just how she is. But, mom's pick up on things. I took one look at her and knew something was bothering her.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing." She tried to say it cheerfully, but she's my girl, I see through the smokescreens.

"That's not true, something's bothering you."

She glanced over at me and gave me a half smirk. I think secretly she likes the fact that I know her so well.

"It's stupid mom, I don't want to talk about it right now."

I've learned over the years how our dance works. I know to back off and give her some space to work it out. I shrugged my shoulders, "Alright, we can talk about it later."

She settled in to do her homework and I went in to start on dinner. 

At dinnertime the little ones had scoffed down their meals in a hurry to have some extra playtime. My husband, Naiya, and I were sitting at the table. I took the opportunity to try to get her to open up again.

"So, what was bothering you earlier?"

"It's stupid, I should't let it bother me so much. It was just that today at school people were giving each other carnations for Valentine's day and I didn't get any."

...And in a flash I remembered those days. I was transported back to my middle school hallways, the classrooms, the smells of white out, and chalk dust. I remembered the girls who were walking around with baskets of carnations with the little cards attached to each flower. Every time those girls walked into a class to hand out the flowers there was a palpable tension in the air...who was going to get a flower? Would one of them be for you? I would sit there mentally crossing all my fingers and toes praying that one of those carnations would be for me, that I wouldn't get left out. The popular girls would walk around with bouquets of them. I'd smile at them as they passed me in the halls, but deep down...actually not very deep down, let's be honest here...I hated those girls, with their teeny bopper perfume and their training bras. They didn't even act surprised when they would get handed yet another carnation. There was a sense of entitlement, of course they were going to get carnations on Valentine's day. I think it was the entitlement that irked me the most.

I don't remember if I always got a carnation on Valentine's day. I think if you aren't one of the girls who walks home with the whole dam florist's shop in your arms, you have a tendency to block those memories out. I know some years I did, my friends and I would buy them for each other. But it's a real shock when you shift past the years of decorating paper bags and putting them at the end of your desk. The Valentine's day party where at the end every kid goes around tucking the mandatory card and piece of candy into everyone's bag, and nobody gets left out. Into the middle school years where you just hope you aren't the one kid who gets nothing and has to walk around empty handed, while other girls walk down the halls like carnation clad prom queens.

So as I looked at my daughter who was trying so desperately not to let this bother her, I felt her pain. But what do you say? You can't say something like, "Wow that really sucks", 'cause that's sort of the understatement of the year, right? I wished I had the perfect thing to say, but there isn't some magical sentence to take away the hurt and jealousy. The truth is that these situations rear their ugly little heads throughout your life. At some point you just have to find enough confidence in yourself to not give a dam about what other people are getting, or wearing, or driving, etc. It's hard though, I get that, and I certainly don't expect my 11 year old daughter to have mastered that yet.

"They still hand out carnations, huh? I didn't always get carnations either honey. My friends and I would buy them for each other so we didn't get left out." I hated saying it because besides acknowledging what she was going through I was offering very little. "Did you get any carnations for your friends?"

*sigh* "No."

"Well maybe next year you and your friends can get them for each other."

I gave her a little shoulder hug.

In the end I wish schools didn't feel a need to do the whole carnation thing at Valentine's day. Even if they're doing it to raise money for a good cause, I wish they would choose another way so kids don't feel ostracized in the process. I'm not trying to put a bubble around my kid, but there are already enough opportunities for her to feel different and left out by her peers. I really don't think the school needs to throw it's hat in the ring. 

I also felt lame and sheepish. I think that's why I'm writing about it here. I'm still trying to sort it all out. I wish I could have given her more, but I'm still at a loss as far as what I could have said. Emotions aren't like a scraped knee, you can't just brush the dirt off and slap on a band-aid. As a parent I've found there are times where really all I can do is support her and give her the time to work it out. I'm always here to listen even if I don't always know what to say.  Maybe that's all I'm supposed to do.

#Svnseas: Special Guest Post

To find our more about the #svnseas challenge check out this post.

I am thrilled today because this will be the first time I have hosted a guest post on my blog. When I started this #svnseas challenge I was not even considering the possibility that I could have people do guest posts on my blog. Then one day after I had started making Persian food a fellow blogger named Suzanne tweeted me that she knew a bunch of Persian recipes. I asked her if she would e-mail them to me, and before I knew it my inbox was flooded with several delicious looking recipes. Then Suzanne offered to send me a couple of the harder to find specialty ingredients. By the end of the week when I was sitting down to plan out my meals I was stocked up with the specialty ingredients that Suzanne had sent me as well as the e-mailed recipes. It was a no brainer that in the following week my house was going to be filled with the smells of her food. My family has enjoyed her recipes thoroughly. I think their favorite was for her beef kebobs which I served over some lavash with a cucumber mint salad. I think Lily's exact words were, "These are the bestest!"

Somewhere in all of this a thought came to me...more like a light bulb went off in my head...how cool would it be if Suzanne did a guest post on my blog to share her wealth of knowledge of Persian cooking? I e-mailed her and she agreed! Since then I've been so excited to post this.

My first time hearing of Suzanne was on Food52 (you can check out her page here.). She is an active member on that site. Boasting over 70 recipes; including 14 community picks, and winning the contest for "Your best flank steak" with her recipe for Flank Steak on Texas toast with Chimichurri, Suzanne is well versed when it comes to her skills in the kitchen. Suzanne also writes a wonderful blog called A Pug in the Kitchen, in which she is constantly posting all kinds of delicious recipes. I have enjoyed getting to know Suzanne through her recipes, writing, and our conversations on Twitter. I feel more that comfortable handing my blog over to her so she can share some of her experience in Persian cooking with you.

Take it away Suzanne!

I love Persian food, it is indicative of the rich culture of Iran, lavish stews, fragrant rice with the wonderful crisp tahdig, kebobs, the list goes on and on. I am not an expert on Persian food or culture but I have learned to prepare many Persian dishes and made them just about every day for many years. I was married to an Iranian, his father was the Chef to the Shah of Iran and I learned to prepare many dishes from relatives and friends. I am amazed how each dish varies from household to household and city to city. Each family will add their own touches which makes the dish their own, and recipes are passed down from generation to generation. The food is warm and comforting and full of flavor, it's not heavily spiced and because of this, each ingredient stands out. Two of my favorites are Khoresh Baadenjaan a stew made with lamb and eggplant and Ghormeh Saabzi which is a melange of vegetables, herbs, lamb and black eyed peas and most if not all Persian stews are eaten with rice, preferably Basmati rice. I think the method of preparing rice in the "Persian Manner" is brilliant, you are virtually guaranteed rice that is separate, not sticky and perfectly cooked every time. The Iranians that I knew were not big on dessert or sweets, sometimes after dinner I would make a cantaloupe drink which was simply fresh cantaloupe blended to a smooth consistency and I would add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a rice pudding made with cream, rice and rose water. Amanda has taken you on a culinary tour of Persia and the recipes that she prepared are beautiful, fresh and delicious. I want to share one of my go to recipes, its simple to prepare and was on the menu just about every week during the winter months.

Qa’Meh is a Persian stew, wildly popular for large gatherings and some consider it almost mandatory to bring to “potluck” functions. I used to make this stew at least once a week, it’s made with ground meat (beef, lamb or veal) in a tomato based sauce with yellow split peas and roasted potatoes. You can sub other vegetables for potatoes, like eggplant or zucchini but I like to use potatoes for this stew. The Persian cook that taught me this dish used french fries, I prefer roasting pieces of potato. You spice with turmeric, saffron and cinnamon and eat it with rice. It’s sort of  like a Persian version of a Bolognese sauce. This is great comfort food that is easy to prepare. I think it tastes even better the next day if you have any leftovers.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground meat (beef,lamb or veal)

1 onion chopped

1 (4.5 oz) tube of tomato paste or 3/4 of a 6 oz can

1/2 tsp turmeric

Pinch of cinnamon (approximately 1/8 tsp or less)

3 1/2-4 cups water (start with 3 1/2 add more if needed)

1/3 cup dried yellow split peas

2 medium size potatoes cut into bite size pieces

pinch of saffron

2 tbs lemon juice

2 dried limes or 1/4 cup  lemon or lime juice

pinch of sumac (for potatoes)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 425, spread potatoes on parchment lined sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and sprinkle with some sumac. Roast in the oven for approximately 45 minutes stirring frequently so that potatoes are browned on all sides. Remove from oven and set aside.

Roasted Potatoes

In small saucepan bring some water to a boil, add the split peas and boil for 15 minutes, you are par cooking them so they will soften a little..Rinse, drain and set aside.

In large deep skillet saute the onion in some olive oil until its translucent and soft, add the ground meat and turmeric and cook just until the meat is cooked and not red. Add the tomato paste, stir until its mixed with the meat and cook for a few minutes, add the water, split peas, cinnamon, salt and pepper and the dried limes or citrus juice. NOTE: If you are using dried limes poke a few holes or slits in the limes with the edge of a sharp knife before adding to the stew. Cover with lid slightly ajar and simmer for about 1 1/2  hours the sauce will be thick and most of the liquid will have evaporated. Stir frequently and add more water if you see that too much of the liquid has evaporated. When the stew is done mix saffron with the lemon juice and add along with the roasted potatoes, stir to combine and simmer for 5 minutes just to heat the potato through. Serve immediately with rice.

Everyone Needs a Little Cheesecake Love (Unless You're Lactose Intolerant)

My dearest beloved Cheesecake,

It's me again. I swear, I tried to stay away, but like a mermaid in the sea of desserts your siren song came drifting over the waves of sugar and pastry. I couldn't resist. You are a dangerous temptress in the post holiday frenzy of finally having the time to get my body back into some sort of shape and the ability to stay away from those mountains of desserts that crowded me during the previous months.

I know it's not you Cheesecake, it's me. I get weak in the knees when it comes to you. I simply lose all of my constitution. I could try to blame Abby Dodge too. After all she was the one who came up with the idea to use you for the inspiration for #baketogether this month. But the truth of it is, when it comes to you Cheesecake, how can I say "no"?

I realize I should have run the other way (my thighs would have thanked me for the extra exercise). Instead I found myself dreaming up new variations for Abby's recipe. I was pulled to the idea of a Persian inspired cheesecake since I've been cooking from that region this month. I resigned myself that I was going to fall for your wiley ways again. I flipped open an Iranian cookbook to the desserts section and began perusing the pages.

Then it happened, I turned a page and there staring me in the face was a recipe for baklava. Ohhh baklava, another one of my favorite treats. What would happen if I combined the flavors of baklava with you Cheesecake? Would it be like having a small slice of heaven on my plate? Well *sigh* there was only one way to find out.

I took the different components of baklava; almonds, cardamom, rose water, lime, honey, and pistachios, and started to rework them into a creamy concoction. I was thinking of a cardamom toasted almond crust, with a rose water lime filling, and topping you off with some crushed honey roasted pistachios.

As always Cheesecake, you came together beautifully. The hardest part is knowing how creamy you will be and still having to wait until the next day to have a small slice of you. Cheesecake, you are always such a tease, filling my house with all of your wonderful smells and then making me wait.

So here it is, Valentine's day, and I get to serve my family a rose scented cheesecake. You are everything I wanted you to be, you never disappoint. Cheesecake you are the perfect dessert for Valentine's day. Because, let's face it, everybody needs a little cheesecake love.

I'm hoping that I will be able to stay away from you for awhile now. That maybe you will go and tempt someone else. You're no good for me Cheesecake, but I'll always come back to you.

Love always,
Amanda

Rose Scented Cheesecake With a Cardamom Almond Crust

Adapted from Abby Dodge's Classic Vanilla Bean Cheesecake

(Makes 12-14 servings)

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1 1/2 cups of ground almonds
• 3/4 cup of dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon of ground cardamom
• 1/4 cup of melted butter

For the filling:

• 3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• A small pinch of salt
• 1 1/3 cups (9 3/8 ounces) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup of rose water
• Zest from 2 limes
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature

For the topping:

• 1/2 cup of unsalted pistachios
• 1/2 tablespoon of honey
• 1/2 tablespoon of butter

Directions:

To make the crust:

1.  Heat the oven to 375°F. Wrap the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with a piece of aluminum foil and clasp the outer ring over the foil so the edges hang outside the ring. In a medium bowl, stir together the ground almonds, dark brown sugar, and cardamom until well blended. Drizzle with the melted butter and mix until well blended.
2. Dump the crumbs into the springform pan and cover with large piece of plastic wrap. Place your hands on the plastic wrap and press the crumbs about 2 1/2 inches up the sides of the pan.(The plastic wrap will keep the crumbs from sticking to your hands.) With the plastic wrap still in place, redistribute the remaining crumbs evenly over the bottom of the pan and firmly press down to make a compact layer. I like to use a metal measuring cup with straight sides and a flat bottom for this task.. Bake until the crumbs are fragrant, about 12 minutes and set on a rack to cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.

To make the filling:

1. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, flour and salt until very smooth and no lumps remain. It’s very important for the cream cheese to be lump free at this point so stop and scrape the beater and sides of the bowl frequently. Add the sugar, sour cream, rose water, and zest from the limes and beat until well blended and smooth, stopping to scrape beater and bowl several times. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until just blended, stopping to scrape beater and bowl before each addition. (Don’t over beat the filling once the eggs have been added or the cheesecake will puff too much.) Tap the bowl several times on the counter to release some of the air bubbles. Pour the filling into the cooled crust. Using the tip of a small knife or a toothpick, pop any air bubbles on the surface.
2.  Bake at 300°F until the center jiggles like jello when nudged, 63 to 68 minutes. The cake will be slightly puffed around the edges and the center will still look moist. Set on a rack and cool completely. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 8 hours or overnight or up to 3 days. The cake can also be frozen up to 1 month.

To make the topping:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the pistachios in a bowl.
2. Melt the butter and the honey together until the butter is melted and stir to combine. Toss woth the pistachios.
3. Spread the pistachios out on a parchment lined cookie sheet and roast for 5-10 minutes, until you can smell the pistachios and they are slightly browned.
4. Once the pistachios are cooled put them in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the pistachios are like a coarse crumb. 

To serve:

Have a flat serving plate ready and close by. Unclasp the pan’s ring, remove it, and using the excess foil, gently nudge and lift the cake to be sure it’s released. Using the foil, carefully lift the cheesecake and slide it onto the serving plate and center it.. Tear off one side of the foil close to the cheese cake. On the opposite side of the cake, gently pull the remaining foil  out from the cheesecake. (If you are topping the cake with something yummy, do so now.) Run a thin knife under hot water, wipe it dry, and cut the cake into slices, heating and wiping the knife after every slice.

*Get a printable version of this recipe here*

#Svnseas: Continuing the Persian Theme

I decided at the beginning of #svnseas a couple of weeks ago, that I was going to cook at least  four dishes a week from the region I was in. However, we have been enjoying Iranian food so much that I have upped the amount of meals to five a week with two nights of leftovers from the previous week. So it's basically all Iranian food all the time right now in our house. My house smells really incredible when you walk in the door...just sayin'.

OK switching topics a little...

Something really wonderful and unexpected happened when I mentioned on Twitter that I was going to be cooking Persian food. Suzanne aka @bklynpuggle, a friend of mine on Twitter said she knew how to cook some Persian dishes because a family member had taught her at one point in her life. I asked her if she had any recipes she would care to share with me and Suzanne started shooting me e-mails for several different dishes. Then she offered to send me some of the specialty ingredients that I was having trouble tracking down. By the end of the week I had received some Persian limes which are used in a lot of the stews as well as some zereshk berries (bayberries), which are a small, tart, red berry used in some of the rice dishes.   

So here I was, armed with a slew of recipes and a bunch of specialty ingredients when a thought occurred to me...How cool would it be to have Suzanne do a guest post on my blog? She has a wealth of knowledge on this topic and is more than willing to share her information. I asked her, and am excited to announce that Suzanne will be doing a guest post next week on Persian cooking. If you can't wait to see what she is all about you can check out her blog apuginthekitchen.wordpress.com.  In the meantime I thought I'd share the recipes of hers that we've been enjoying this week. 

The first thing I made was Khoresh Baadenjaan, which is a Lamb and Eggplant Stew. You can get the recipe for this dish here at Food52  I decided to serve it with Suzanne's recipe for Zereshk Pullow, which is a basmati Rice with Bayberries (those are the zureshk berries she sent me that I mentioned above). This dish is not as strongly spiced as some of the other dishes I made last week, but it is really good. It's a comforting dish and is perfect for this time of year.

The Zereshk Pullow is another variation of the chelow rice dish I did last week. This variation calls for saffron, yogurt, and the zureshk berries. After you make the tah-dig (which ends up being the crusty part) by mixing some saffron infused yogurt, you layer the remaing rice which the berries are mixed into with the remaining yogurt and steam the whole thing for 45 minutes. What you end up with is a creamy, tangy rice with a crusty top. We really enjoyed this rice dish. My husband said he liked it better then the chelow. If you would like to give this recipe a try Suzanne already has it up on her blog and you can get it here. Oh, and before I forget to mention it, I made the smart decision of picking up a non-stick pot to make the rice in, and lookie lookie, the crusty top didn't stick this time!

I also made her recipe for Ghoremeh Sabzi. This is very similar to a khoresh except that it includes a lot of vegetables and herbs it it. The vegetables and the herbs are cooked separately while the meat and beans are being braised and then added with some additional flavorings and allowed to stew together for an additional half hour. This another comforting dish that my family enjoyed a great deal. So much so that I *ahem* forgot to take a picture. I served it with the remaining zereshk pullow from the previous night. With Suzanne's permission I have included the recipe for the sabzi below. 

Ghoremeh Sabzi

By Suzanne from apuginthekitchen.wordpress.com

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion; chopped
• 1 1/2- 2 pounds of lamb stew meat
• 1 teaspoon of turmeric
• 3/4 cup of dried black eyed peas (soak overnight) or use canned
• 4-5 cups of water
• 2 bunches of parsley; chopped
• 2 bunches of spinach; chopped
• 1 tablespoon of dried fenugreek leaves
• 2 dried Persian limes, or the juice of 2 lemons
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a dutch oven heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Saute the onion until it is translucent. Add the lamb and the turmeric. Cook the lamb until it is browned. Once the lamb is browned add the black-eyed peas that have soaked overnight and 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the meat and beans are tender 1 1/2-2 hours.
2. Meanwhile, heat up a skillet with some more oil (about 1/4 inch). Add in the parsley, spinach, and fenugreek, saute until wilted. 
3. Once the meat and beans are tender add the sauteed vegetables to the lamb and peas along with the dried limes or lemon juice. Simmer for another 30 minutes. Adjust seasoning. Serve with rice.

*Suzanne's notes: Start out with 4 cups of water. If you notice the liquid getting low add a little more water, you don't want the dish too watery. The beans will absorb some of the water which is why I included the 5 cups, just in case. Also some people put coriander in the stew. I didn't, but if you want to I would add a couple of tablespoons of fresh or a few teaspoons of dried. 

*My notes: I did add in the coriander (about 2 teaspoons) and my family enjoyed it that way. I also only needed 4 cups of water and I have a hunch that I could have squeezed by with just 3 1/2. This may vary for you depending on how your range works. The last 30 minutes of cooking I cooked without a lid to allow some of the water to evaporate and the sauce to thicken up.  

A little Something Sweet

I was never a big fan of microwave ovens. I honestly never saw the need for one. Even as a kid growing up the lack of a microwave oven in our house did not get added to the list of injustices that I had to suffer through in agony while all of my friends were living large. I remember the short time when we did have one in the house I would use it mostly for melting butter inside of a flour tortilla.

This trend continued into my adult years. When I moved out my first act of rebellion was not to run to the nearest appliance store and splurge on some fancy microwave. I did not make popcorn and pump my fist wildly in the air in the general direction of my mother. Trust me, there was rebellion a-plenty just not in the area of microwave radiation.

So when I got married and my husband to be insisted that we "had to" have a microwave I guffawed the idea. After a brief debate I quickly came to the realization that this was not a topic that was open for discussion. With a sigh and a down-turned head I scanned a shiny stainless steel microwave onto our wedding registry, silently vowing that I would never be caught using such an abomination in our kitchen.

For the most part I have upheld that silent promise I made to myself over six years ago. As good of a cook as my family says that I am, my one main short coming occurs when it comes to the microwave. I can never figure out how long to re-heat food in it. It seems I am only able to under-cook the food so the center is ice cold, or heat it up to the point where the family is patiently waiting for whatever I nuked to cool off to something less than the temperature of the sun. There is no middle ground when it comes to me and the microwave. I am able to melt butter successfully, but, the only thing I use it for consistently is heating up the corm bag that I use to keep my feet toasty warm at night.

So when I saw a recipe for making muffins in the microwave in a minute, I liked the idea, but lacked the confidence that I would be able to pull it off. In the end I was able to tweak the recipe and come up with my own microwave muffin in a minute that although was not going to make the cover of any magazine, packed a tasty punch. You can get the recipe for my flax seed muffins here.

A month or two later I saw a recipe for a 35 second chocolate cake on the blog Eating Well...Living Thin. I rushed to the kitchen and whipped one up. It was good, and gave me a plethora of ideas for my own mini desserts in less than a minute. I wrote down a list of ideas and then promptly forgot about them. Then today I was in the mood for a sweet treat and I saw the list of variations I had jotted down and posted to the refrigerator. I decided to pull out a spice that I've been using a lot lately and come up with a little late winter snack.

There are a few things I like about these little sweet snacks:

1. They make just one. This is great news for me because I am a terrible when it comes to restraining myself from not eating several cookies when they come out fresh from the oven. I just don't think it's in my genetic code.
2. They don't take a whole lot of commitment. After all it's a very small amount of ingredients so it's not like you're investing tons of money into a bunch of stuff praying that you'll actually like the end result.
3. They don't take a whole lot of commitment part two...They take less than five minutes from start to finish so you don't have to clear your day to make them.
4. I can make these without screwing them up. Plus there are so many ways to play with the recipe.
5. You get to have a sweet treat, anytime of day, and get this...it's always fresh, soft, and warm.

Have I laid out enough reasons to peak your interest? Alrighty then, let's move onto the recipe part of this post.

40-Second Cardamom Walnut Cake in a Cup

Adapted from Eating Well...Living Thin's recipe for a 35-second Chocolate Cake

(Serves one)

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of whole wheat flour or plain all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon of ground cardamom (or just a nice sized pinch)
• A small pinch of salt
• 1/2 tablespoon of chopped walnuts
• 2 tablespoons of whole milk
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil
• 1/8 teaspoon of vanilla

Directions:

1. Spray the inside of a small coffee cup or ramekin with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl mix together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cardamom, salt, and walnuts.  Add in the milk, olive oil, and vanilla. Stir until smooth.
3. Spoon the batter into the coffee cup. Microwave on high for 40 seconds. It may need another five seconds but I found it took exactly 40 seconds in my microwave.
4. Enjoy while it's still warm.

#Svnseas: I Am in Love

OK I just have one piece of business to attend to and then I will move on. When I started the #sevenseas hashtag on twitter I neglected to check and see if it was already being used for other peoples nonsense besides my own. Well that hashtag is being used. So I checked #7seas because I thought I was being clever, but alas that one was also being used. So I started thinking of other ways I could work it and...ta-dah!!! #svnseas is not being used. So that will be my new hashtag for these posts. To clarify, #sevenseas is now to be known as #svnseas.

Moving on...

Image from Wikipedia

I decided to start out the Indian sea part of my culinary adventures in Iran. I was always able to remember where Iran was on the map because it looked like a cat to me. I know that has nothing to do with cooking but it's what first came to mind when I decided to start cooking Persian food. I've never had Persian food before which is the main reason I chose Iran to start with. Apparently this was a smart decision on my part because I have made three meals from the cookbook I am using and I have loved each one.

I purchased a used copy of The Food of Life, by Najmieh Batmanglij on Amazon to use as my primary source of recipes for this region. The book is about the size of a textbook. I love it because it is well written and has lots of pictures that make my stomach do a little dance of joy when I turn the pages. I want to make almost everything in it. I could spend a long time with this cookbook and I recommend it if you are thinking about trying Persian cooking. The recipes all look stellar and I had a hard time picking out where to start.

This first thing I made this week was Gondi, which is a chickpea flour meatball soup. Out of the three meals I have made so far this was probably the one I was least impressed by. That being said, I would still make it again. I think the trouble I had with it is that the recipe called for a lot of ghee, oil, or butter (whatever you wanted to use). I knew to reduce the amount by half right off the bat. No soup needs 1/4 cup of fat in it. However, I think the problem was that I forgot to take into account the natural fattiness of the ground lamb, which as it cooked, released it's own fats into the soup. The result was a soup with a very silky mouth-feel, but I knew where that was coming from which made it not so pleasant for me. What I liked about this soup was the addition of cardamom into the meatballs, it was subtle, but very pleasant as a flavor. I also loved the fresh herbs on the top. The recipe called for parsley, cilantro, basil, and mint. The combination gave a wonderful freshness to the soup.

The next night I made Khoresh-e kadu halvai-o alu, which is a butternut squash and prune khoresh. A khoresh is a braise. The meat, vegetables, and spices are simmered together for a long time to achieve a very special meal. This was my favorite meal of the week. I could eat this all the time. I can't wait to make some more khoreshes. I think I will name my next pet Khoresh, just kidding...maybe.

To go with the khoresh I made chelow, which is a rice dish. This is the best rice dish I have ever had. The Iranians have this special way of cooking rice in which you make what is called a tah-dig. It has been pointed out to me that there are other cultures that use this method of  forming a crust on the rice but this was my first time experiencing it first hand. A tah-dig is the crusty part on top of the rice. I never knew rice could be like that. This rice was combined with salt, cardamom pods, and a little rose water. Then it was parboiled and rinsed. After that part of the rice was mixed with some oil, saffron, more rose water, yogurt, and cumin seeds. This part of the rice was spread over the bottom of a non-stick pot. Then the remaining rice was spooned over the top to form a mound. The rice was then cooked over medium-high heat for 10 minutes to form that beautiful crunchy golden crust. Then more water, and oil was poured over the top, the heat was lowered and the rice was allowed to cook for a little over an hour. The hard part of the chelow is getting it out of the pot. My particular problem was the lack of a proper non-stick pot. I ended up using a non-stick skillet because it was all I had in the non-stick department. You see how it looks all pretty up in that picture? Well that was not how it looked about two minutes before I took that shot. It looked more like this...

I show you this so you understand that I am not related to either Mary Poppins or Martha Stewart. The tah-dig part did not come out as easily as it should have. I eased it out separately with a spatula and flipped it carefully over the top of the rest of the rice. I need to get a non-stick pot, lesson learned.

However, regardless of it's appearance it tasted amazing. (Side note: forgive the quality of the pictures because they were taken at night before dinner without natural lighting.) The khoresh and the chelow went perfectly together. It was so worth the few hours of cooking that I put in. I think the rose water in the chelow  was the clincher. When you went to take a bite of the rice this heady floral aroma would slip up your nose just before you went to take a bite. In the dead of winter it was like a little sprinkling of summer on my dinner plate.

The last thing I made this week was Sup-e jow, which is a Cream of Barley Soup. I served it with some homemade Lavash, which is a type of a flat bread. This is another meal I could eat all the time. The next time I am sick this is what I want. It's hard to describe the taste of the soup besides using silly adjectives like "yum". All it included was a simple homemade chicken stock, then some onions, garlic, carrot, leeks, barley, lime juice, and sour cream. It was topped off with a combination of parley, cilantro, and dill. Even though it was really simple it was really amazing. I may have added a skosh more sour cream than the recipe called for, but there is no harm in that right?

The Lavash took awhile to make but it made a lot so I think that's a fair trade. It is a flat bread with a heavy dose of butter and milk, which translates into tender and delicious when you serve it to your family. There was absolutely a learning curve to making it and my first ones were not as round, thin, or pretty as my last ones. I think some Iranian women would have had a good chuckle watching me try to do it for the first time.

What I have learned so far:

1. Persian cooking takes time. I am finding myself starting dinner much earlier in the afternoon than I do when I cook American food.  
2. I don't mind that it takes longer because the results have been worth it.
3. Persian cooking uses a lot of saffron. No, I mean like a lot of saffron. The recipes I used this week even called for ground saffron. Do you know how much ground saffron costs? More than I have to spend I can tell you that. My dishes are a little light in the saffron department as a result of that. I'm thinking they must have saffron everywhere in Iran. I'm thinking it must be like dust. Some mom is all, "Hey, we need some saffron can you go dust the bookcase off for me?"
4. Even with my lack of saffron these dishes are amazing. I will be sad when it is time to move onto another country.

Butternut Squash and Prune Khoresh (Khoresh-e kadu halvai-o alu)

From Food of Life, by Najmieh Batmanglij

(Serves 6)

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons of oil, butter, or ghee
• 2 large onions, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 pound of stew meat (lamb or beef), cut up
• 1 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 2 pounds of fresh butternut squash
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar or grape molasses
• 1/4 cup of fresh lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground saffron dissolved in 1 tablespoon of hot water
• 2 cups of dried golden plums (alu zard) or pitted dried prunes

Directions:

1. In a dutch oven, heat 3 tablespoons of oil over medium heat and brown the onions and the meat. Add salt, pepper, turmeric, and cinnamon, and saute for 1 minute.
2. Pour in 2 1/2 cups of water. Cover and simmer over low heat for 1 1/4 hours, stirring occasionally.
3. Meanwhile, peel and cut the squash into 3-inch cubes. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a wide skillet over medium heat and brown the squash on all sides for 15 to 20 minutes.
4. When the meat is almost tender, add 2 tablespoons of sugar, lime juice, saffron water, plums, and butternut squash cubes. Cover and simmer over low heat for 45 to 55 minutes until the meat and butternut squash are tender.
5. Check the taste of the khoresh and adjust seasoning. Add more lime juice or sugar according to taste.
6. Transfer the khoresh to a deep casserole, carefully arrange the butternut squash then the meat, and spoon in the broth. Cover and place in a warm oven until ready to serve. Serve hot from the same dish with chelow. Nush-e jan!