My first vegan dessert and adventures in the country side

Shol-e-zard
Persian Rice pudding(?) 

This one was my mother's idea actually -- a craving struck and the kitchen was again open for business.

Ingredients


1 1/8 cup Mahatma brand white rice
3/4 -1 cup sugar ( depending on your sweet tooth)
1/8 cup vegetable oil
6 1/4cups water
1/4 cup Rosewater
1/2 tsp Saffron steeped in 2 Tbsp hot water
Almonds, slivered and pan toasted
Pistachio, ground for decoration
Cinnamon, for decoration

Directions


Preheat the oven to 225F


Rinse the rice thoroughly once. Then place the rice and the water in a big pot and bring it to a boil. Once it begins to boil stir the mix regularly allowing for the rice to expand and the excess water to evaporate. It will begin to resemble Congee. Once the mixture begins to thicken and adopts a uniform opaque color add the sugar, oil, rosewater and saffron.

Continue cooking for another ten minutes, allowing the ingredients to mix together and thicken.

Finally, place the mixture into a glass serving platter, cover it with foil and place it in the oven. Turn off the preheated oven and let the rice stay there for a good thirty minutes so it will set.

Finally, after the time has elapsed, removed the Shol-e-zard and let it cool down. Once it is cool to the touch decorate with the almond, cinnamon and pistachio.

Tastes best when served cold. 

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Last week I took my annual trip up to my best friend's home/vineyard for a their harvesting of the grape festivities.  As usual, it was an amazing time with friends and family-- something I look forward to every year.

I brought back these gorgeous beauties with me:

My good friends Candy and Joey Bedoya also joined us on the trip this year to take engagement pics for my BFF and her Fiance.  All the pics aren't up yet, but I can't wait any longer -- I have to share. 

Pictures available here

This is how we do it

I LOVE, absolutely Love having friends over for to eat at the same table with me. I have a slight obsession with filling peoples bellies with simple delights.

So, when Superbowl weekend came around I took the opportunity to invite people over. I'm not particularly a fan of football, but I was eager for an excuse to gather people around. This time, most of the inspiration was from my youth. Typical Persian/Armenian appetizers covered the dining table and side console....

The above consisted of four distinct items:

1.  Armenian String Cheese. I used the "Karoun" brand, found at my local Costco of all places!  If you havnt tried this before, you MUST try it soon. It has much more flavor than  you typical school lunch brand. As an extra bonus, its actually stringy.
2. Valbreso French Feta cheese - A very light, simple sheeps milk Feta. 
3. Bulgarian Feta Cheese - Lower in fat, and a slightly more "organic" or "gamey" flavor.
4. Soujuk - You can call it "Armenian Salami" if you'd like. That's how I grew up thinking about it. Flavored with Paprkia,  Cumin and lots and lots of Sodium. 

This particular display pleased a few people at least... those of us who grow up on it call it comfort food. 

Yes, its simply a big tray of herbs. Basil, Cilantro and Parsley in particular . Oh, and radishes, don't forget the radishes. They are a must before the dinner entree, a perfect apertif. You fill a pita with the herbs, some raw onion and some butter of Feta and you are set. 

 

Of course to balance out the Kettle Potato Chips and the platter of cheese, I needed to offer some vegetables. Other than the basic tray of crudites I tossed together a simple salad of english cucumber (though I would have preferred persian), Cherry tomatoes, olive oil, fresh lemon juice, chopped green onion and a pinch of diced cilantro and parsley.

Can you guess what the above consisted of?  Hummus I think is the most obvious. I chose to buy it from Trader Joes and everyone loved it. I topped it off with some smoked paprika. Then the duplicates, diagonally from eachother is something similar to Raita, but the Persian version. It consists of yogurt, cumbers, a pinch of dried mint and dried basil ( more mint than basil), fresh chopped green onions, cilantro and dill. Its the perfect dip for chips, or just to eat alone -- i promise. Lastly, closest to you is a simple dip made from a yogurt product called Lebne, if you can't find it at a local store you can make it by placing whole milk plain yogurt in a cheese cloth and hanging it from something like the faucet over the sink, allowing the liquids to drip out. What you are left with is a thick yogurt product. Once you have this Lebne, simply add a bit of sea salt and freshly chopped shallots. Let it marinade over night. Think of it like onion dip, but better :)

Simple potato salad, the recipe can be found here.

Speaks for itself.....

A foray into the exotic, but simple

Persian Yellow Split Pea Stew 

served over a bed of basmati rice and topped with oven roasted potato bites

 

 Ingredients

1 cup yellow split peas, dry

1 medium onion

8oz tomato sauce

at least 3 cups of beef broth

1 tsp granulated onion

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp paprika

3-4 dried lemons, broken (sold at middle eastern markets)

saffron

2 tbsp olive oil

Directions

Either soak the peas overnight, or boil them for about 30 minutes before moving on with the remainder of the directions.

Sautee the diced onion in the warmed olive oil. Next, add the remainder of the ingredients , stir and simmer until the liquid thickens into a sauce and the peas are fully cooked.

I told you it was simple ;)

Granted, this is a meatless version. Others make this with ground beef or stew meat, but this is my personal preference.