Amateur Candy Makers of the World

My first attempt at candy making. Poolaki. Its a persian treat made of caramelized sugar that is nice to have with tea. I thought it would be a fun treat for celebrating Naw Ruz. It seemed simple enough. And it is. I followed this recipe from my new favorite blog Turmeric and Saffron. She recommends several different topping options. Mine only have saffron in them. The only thing I would like to add if one is planning to attempt making Poolaki, is that the sugar cooks very quickly and continues to cook even after removed from the heat. It is a good idea to start on low heat and remove it before all the sugar has melted, as it may end up with a slightly burnt taste.

Celebrating Spring

We are celebrating spring here. Its still cold out, and just so happened to snow on the first day of spring, but that makes it that much more important to celebrate. For the Persian New Year or Naw Ruz (new day), a fun tradition is to grow some sprouts of some kind or sabzi to welcome in spring. We grew some lintel sprouts and took our cues from this really nice persian blog Turmeric and Saffron. It was our first try, and I think it turned out very well. After the sprouts have enough green they can be placed on a Haft-Seen table (7 s's). Most of the things on the table begin with a seen or s in farsi and represent specific things for the new year. Below are pictures of our sabzi growing and the final product. Enjoy and Happy Spring!

When life gives you burrito left overs, make quesadillas

One of our favorite dinners is veggie burritos. They are quick, easy, and light. Ours usually consist of sauteed onions and green bell peppers, (in a little bit of oil, worcestershire sauce, cumin, and lime and cilantro), refried black beans, cilantro/lime rice, cheese, sour cream, and guacamole. Strangely there is always just a little of everything left over. Just the perfect amount to make a quesadilla.

So I just stuff the last two tortillas with the left overs, shred a little more cheese and use our cast iron skillet to fry it up. It gets so yummy and flaky. Garnished with a little fresh guacamole, its the perfect lunch!

Guacamole recipe:

1 ripe avocado mashed

1 clove of garlic finely chopped

1 half a lime freshly squeezed

a pinch or two of salt

a little cilantro.

mix it all together for a delicious treat.

The Trick Is Being Gentle

Since I haven't posted in a while...again, I thought I would just quickly share a new favorite recipe. I know I've posted about biscuits already, but that was before I actually found the perfect biscuit recipe. I can not rave enough about how deliciously airy and light and flakey and wonderful they are. I'm not sure it gets any better than this. I don't have pictures but I wanted to share anyway. Enjoy.