Addicted to Chocolate

So today is sort of a special day, not because it's 11/11/11.  Nine years ago today, da hubby and I had our first dinner date in Manhattan.  I remember it was a Monday night.  I had flown to NYC from Indianapolis to visit a friend as well following up on a job opening that I had applied for at Tiffany.  He on the other hand was supposed to be traveling for work to London, but postponed his trip to take me out.  Nine years and 2 kids later, here we are - living in our Brooklyn home.

As mentioned earlier, I love chocolate, but not any kind.  I don't really care for candy bars unless it's a dark Kit Kat.  Dark chocolate is what I love the most and I pay good $ for the high quality boutique chocolate.  It is sort of a weakness of mine besides the addiction!  Growing up, my mother hid the chocolate from me in the back of the freezer.  Of course, I would find it then little by little take a row off to eat.  Soon, I had to get rid of the entire evidence (by eating the entire packet) to make her think that this particular packet didn't exist.  Nice try... she knew what was up.  Yes, I have been a chocoholic since my childhood.  As a result, I've been fattening up the pocket of the dentists since I was 5 years old.  One word: cavity.  Well, that obviously hasn't stopped me nor my love for this dark brown, silky, delicious beauty.

To celebrate this day, I wanted to get my husband something.  But he just had a birthday.  So, I decided to make him (AND myself) chocolate truffles.  I have made truffles in the past and we both enjoyed them very much.  Since my blog is a Persian blog, I decided to make truffles with an influence of my culture.  Clearly, it's my first time trying them.  So, let's hope they turn out because I do not have a back up plan!

Dark chocolate Saffron Truffles

Ingredients:

½ cup of semisweet chocolate

½ cup of bittersweet chocolate

1 cup of heavy cream

½ teaspoon of vanilla extract

½ teaspoon saffron powder

Cocoa powder

Finely chopped pistachio

Chop the chocolates finely with a sharp knife. Place them in a glass mixing bowl.

Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it starts to boil. Turn off the heat and allow the cream to sit for about 10 seconds.  Pour the cream into the bowl with chocolate.  Add the saffron as well.  With a wire whisk, slowly stir the cream, chocolates and saffron together until the chocolate is completely melted.  Whisk in the vanilla extract.  Set aside at room temperature.

Using a spoon, drop a dollop of chocolate onto a plate lined with parchment paper.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes, until firm. Roll each dollop of chocolate in your hands to roughly make a round ball.  In a paper bag, add a spoon of cocoa powder or finely chopped pistachios (or both).  Drop a couple of round truffles and close the bag tightly and shake gently so the truffle balls are coated. 

You can keep the truffles refrigerated, but serve at room temperature.  I made 36 small truffles with this recipe.

 Dark Chocolate Saffron Truffles

(The picture turned out dark - apologies!)

WARNING: These truffles are extremely INTENSE!

Have a wonderful Friday night and a chocolatey weekend :)

Blogger's Absence Is Not a Glitch

HELLO!

I was just looking at the last time I posted and frankly felt very embarrassed.  Well, there are a couple of reasons that are quite legitimate.  I was away at least a couple of times and in between my dear hubby turned 40 which I had planned a party for him - it was a big deal after all (of course, I wouldn't know that personally, but have heard).  Also, I'll be honest that writing a food blog - especially your creation/revision - is not easy, people.  You need to be inspired to begin with, which I find very hard when I'm constantly running around with two kids who don't eat that well.  Also, I hate to have the food that I make get wasted, so I make sure that I have a very good game plan for this and also the food is season-appropriate!  Yes, a lot of thought goes into my blog. 

At this point, I'm not sure how many people are following my blog since you can now subscribe to get the new blogs sent straight to your inbox.  Wish there was a way to know though!  I actually saw a few family members over the weekend while we were celebrating my cousin's wedding in Santa Barbara.  I was told that they "had subscribed for the blog, but had not yet received any" and whether it was working?!  How humiliating, huh?  Well, I informed them that there was no glitch, but simply my lack of writing.  Yikes!

I must say fall is my favorite season.  I have always loved the weather this time of year; however, the weather in NYC has been quite weird recently.  It started off with lots of rain, then we had the infamous "October Snow Storm" and now it's beautiful, mild and sunny.  The sunny and mild is usually what I love about fall which will probably last another couple of weeks - if we are lucky.  I usually make a lot of soups and stews this time of year; also, when I start putting on the pounds as I get ready for winter hibernation.  These soups and stews are usually very healthy, but it's what I consume with the soups as well as what I reward myself afterwards that adds the pounds: bread and chocolate respectively.

On that note, let's get cooking and blogging with no glitch...

There are dishes in Iran that are called Aash (آش), which are soups but thicker.  Depending on the ingredients, Aash can be considered a full meal (but not according to my hubby - he considers them starters).  There is a particular one called Aash Reshteh (آش رشته) that's quite popular.  If Iranians could officially name it one of their national dishes, they probably would.

Today we are making Aash, but my way - the easy way!

Easy Aash

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked red kidney beans

1 cup uncooked white beans

1 cup uncooked garbanzo beans

1 cup uncooked lentils

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 large onion diced

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

1 tablespoon sea salt

½ teaspoon white pepper powder

1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

10 cups of water or stock

1-10 oz pack of frozen chopped spinach

Pinch of saffron powder

Wash the red, white and garbanzo beans in cold water thoroughly, then soak them in a medium bowl overnight.  This helps the beans become hydrated and cook faster. 

In a large pot, heat the vegetable oil and add the diced onion.  Sauté the onion until it’s soft and glossy.  Drain the beans, making sure all the liquid is out, then add to the pot and mix with the onion.  Mix well until they are coated.  Add the turmeric powder and pepper and mix well for 2-3 minutes.  Add water (or the stock), put the lid on and bring to boil.  Wash and rinse the lentils and add to the mixture.  Then let it simmer on low heat until all the beans and lentils become soft.  Add salt, lemon juice and the frozen spinach.  Simmer for another 30-45 minutes.

Serve in a bowl with plain yogurt and a slice of bread.

Easy Aash & Yogurt

Hope you enjoy this easy, delicious yet comforting dish.

نوش جان !