How to turn a fail into a success… I had planned to make chicken tinga for dinner, when I realized that I had defrosted the wrong chicken, had no tomatoes, no chipotle peppers, and no corn tortillas 🤦♀️. So I explored my options knowing that I needed to use the chicken tonight. We had broccoli,…
Pumpkin Bread Biscotti
What did I do with the rest of the can of pumpkin that I found in my cabinet? As you can see I made pumpkin bread biscotti, which was so easy to make and truly a delicious treat. But I need to share how I came about making it. When I first found out I…
Pumpkin Challah Cinnamon Rolls
Time for some quarantine comfort baking – “emptying my cabinets” style. I found a can of organic pumpkin, so, since I also still have some confectioner’s sugar, baking project #1 – pumpkin challah cinnamon rolls. As with many of my favorite challah recipes, this one was from My Jewish Learning – The Nosher. I made…
Smoked Salmon and Rice – Mahi Polo
Of all my favorite food treats living in Oregon, I think the quality and variety of smoked salmon is about the top. From salmon candy, to all the different flavored smokes, to what I used here, a moist, smoked salmon stored in a jar, I have yet to work my way through them all. This…
Cumin Chicken & Rice (Morgh Zereh ba Berenj)
Talk about comfort food! And memories of my mother! Another mash-up of my husband’s and my backgrounds. I set out to make a chicken and rice dish with a bit more flavor by adding a good bit of cumin along with turmeric, and bay leaves. When I went to the store today, I was able…
Baklava experiment
In my quest to combine Pacific Northwest foods with Persian foods, I decided to jump into making one of the foods that has always intimidated me – baklava. Not just any baklava, but I wanted to experiment with using hazelnuts and walnuts. Not only that, but I decided to bring my love for orange juice-based…
Persian Rice with Cabbage and Lentils (Kalam Polo ba Adas)
Cabbage, lentils and tomato lie at the heart of vegetarian comfort food. And I do love cabbage. It gets a bad rap, but it is so versatile. Cabbage can be stir fried, braised, stuffed, pickled, or, as I even like to munch on it, eaten raw. And lentils, I hated lentils as a child. They…
Sumac and Honey Hazelnuts
I found a great place to buy hazelnuts on my way to Salem. I buy nuts in the shell; I find shelling the nuts to be a very “Zen” activity. I typically do about 2 cups of nut meats at a time; that way not too many have been opened, so they stay fresh. I…
Qormeh Sabzi – even healthier!
The first Persian dish I fell in love with was Qormeh Sabzi – a vibrant green stew of herbs with kidney beans and served with or without meat. I have posted both beef and chicken versions before. But now that I am in Portland, we have access to local fresh greens all winter. The kale…
Persian Shrimp with Rice
One of the main differences between the Persian Moslem diet and a Kosher diet is that Moslems eat shrimp. So, here is a recipe for a simple shrimp and rice dish – Persian-style. My son is a shrimp fiend, it is a toss up between salmon and shrimp as to which is his favorite protein. …
