Mast-o-Laboo - Persian Beet & Yogurt Dip

There are many types of street food vendors here in NY. They sell fruits, soft pretzels, hot dogs, toasted chestnuts and so on. We took a stroll down Fifth Avenue and Rockefeller Center, looking at the holiday decorations and lighting. My daughters bought some roasted peanuts from a vendor on the street. It reminded me of my growing up in Iran and the time that my mother would buy me fresh

Shir Berenj - Persian Milk & Rice Pudding

In our language Persian/Farsi,  "shir" means milk and "berenj" means rice.  Placing rice, the staple of Iranian cooking, in a pot along with milk and simmering it till well-cooked with the right consistency is what this pudding is all about. The recipe that I'm offering here is the one that my mother used to make frequently. Using short grain rice is preferred for this dish. As for the

Persian Yalda Celebration: Celebrating The Longest Night of the Year!

Night of Yalda (shab-e Yalda) refers to the longest night of the year, the beginning of winter and the triumph of light over darkness. Monday, December 21, is the winter solstice (yalda) which  has been celebrated in our culture for hundreds of years. On the eve of yalda, families and friends gather together, stay up till midnight, tell stories, reminisce and read poetry while sipping hot

Fesenjoon - Pomegranate Walnut & Chicken Stew

Khoresh-e fesenjoon is one of the most delicious Persian dishes. Biting into a tender piece of a well cooked sweet and sour chicken covered with tangy pomegranate and finely ground walnut sauce is to experience a piece of Persian culture, its food and heritage. In researching pomegranates, its history and its use in our culture, I've learned that it dates back to 3300 BC, here. Fesenjoon is

Khoresh-e Beh - Quince Stew

I like autumn mostly for its beautiful color changing foliage, crisp weather and also for its seasonal fruits such as pomegranate, persimmon and quince. Quince is one of  my favorite fall fruits. Of course, quince is basically used in cooking and making jams and is one of those kinds of fruits that all  parts of it is edible. It also has a warm and happy color too. I'm so tempted to take a

Kashk-e Bademjan - Persian Eggplant & Whey Dip

Today is my first blogoversary! Food blogging has been a journey as well as a healing process for me while I've been chopping onions, frying eggplants, pickling garlic, steaming rice and grounding threads of saffron and the whole lot of other things that cooking entails. I had started this blog exactly a year ago as a tribute to my late mother who had passed away six months prior due to an