Kitchen Confessions

What I am about to write on this blog should've been shared a couple of weeks ago!  But I am going to write up about it anyway because it is a great recipe and you might find it handy AND easy to do this holiday season.

It was one of those days - mid week - gloomy, cloudy and rainy.  I woke up in the morning only to find myself looking like someone who was stung by a bee!  My right eye was so swelled up that my eyelid felt it weighed a ton on my eye!  The swelling was so bad that the entire right side of my face looked weird.  I looked like a result of a domestic violence!!!  I was so freaked out and not sure what caused it.  I avoided putting my contact lenses in and got ready as usual to leave the house while I hoped for the best.  Despite the fact that I looked very silly with my sunglasses on a day like this, I figured it's better to have them on with the way I looked.  I do have seasonal allergies, so I thought this was probably related to that, but I had never experienced such a thing before.  I got the kids ready and dropped my older one off at his school while wearing my sunglasses indoors.  I had to confess to some moms - that I was closer to - why I had them on and once they saw my eye, they understood!  Now, I had to take my younger one to her per-school.  Of course, she decides to take a 7-hour tour of one block, stopping at every little step, leaf on the ground, any passing dog and so forth.  Oh, did I mention we were expecting a guest for dinner that evening whom I had not met?  This meant that I had a total of 2.5 hours to do grocery shopping, preparing, cleaning and organizing for that night.  If you are a parent with two toddlers and many toys spread around the house, you get my point.

Earlier that morning, my husband suggested seeing a doctor to find out what was wrong with my eye.  What was he thinking?  No time for that... which doctor to call?  A family doctor?  An ophthalmologist?  An allergist?  It would probably take me half a day to figure this out and then good luck getting an appointment on that day!  So, I decided to pretend that nothing was wrong and I went about my business while sporting my sunglasses every where I went.  Yes, I got many weird looks in my neighborhood, but the alternative was just not an option.  After I ran my morning errands and picked my daughter up from her 1/2 day program, I was home at last.  I had never been happier to be home and without sunglasses.  Why did it have to be rainy today out of all days?  As soon as my daughter was down for her after school nap, I remembered one of my grandmother's home remedies... Cucumber is anti-inflammatory.  PERFECT - I had some in my fridge and I immediately sliced some and laid flat for 15 minutes while I applied the cucumber slices on my eye.  This was a miracle.  It worked like a charm!  I was so amazed by the results.  I still looked puffy and weird, but the swelling had gone down quite a bit.

I was ready to roll and prepare our dinner for our guest.  This was going to be a dinner to impress.  Since my husband is a huge fan of lamb, we decided to make lamb shanks.  I had prepared this dish a few times in the past.  The first time, it turned out great as they usually do.  Then after that, it just wasn't the same anymore.  So, I was on a mission to get it right again - I just couldn't remember the amount of the ingredients I had initially used.  It was time to pull out my pen and paper and record the measurements.  I even tweaked the time and the temperature.  The final result was very close to my first try and I believe we had a successful dish!  Also - in case you were wondering - my eye looked so much better by dinner time and our guest hadn't even noticed...

Lamb Shank with Saffron and Lemon

4 lamb shanks - washed and dried

3 medium red onions peeled and thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves peeled and crushed

1-½ teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoon saffron water (1/2 teaspoon ground saffron dissolved in 2 tablespoon hot water)

½ cup lemon juice

½ cup of water

Preheat the oven to 325 degree F.  Put the lamb shanks in a large baking dish.  Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine all the other ingredients and slowly pour the mixture over the shanks.  Cover and bake for 2.5 hours in the oven.  Uncover and cook for another 30 minutes.

I know what you are thinking now, scrolling down for a picture!  Well, I am ashamed to say that after a day like that, I forgot completely to take a picture and I only remembered it while we were cleaning the dishes!  I was so angry with myself and I put off writing this blog in hopes of re-making that dish and to have a photo.

BUT I will promise a photo once I make it again.  Meanwhile, try it at home and let me know what you think.

Have a wonderful and delicious weekend.

I Dream in Chocolate on a Rainy Day

Good morning readers.  It is yet another gloomy, rainy day here and what better thing to do than eat comforting chocolatey things!  Let's not have any doubts about how much I LOVE chocolate.  The last batch of truffles I made were a hit among family members and friends who were fortunate to eat them.  Sorry, if you didn't get to taste any, but I promise I'll make it up to you this time!  My kids are dropped off in their schools and I have a solid 2-hour to myself in the kitchen.  So, today is the perfect day to experiment more with different flavors and of course with a Persian twist. 

 

Dark Chocolate Pomegranate Truffles

½ cup of semisweet chocolate

½ cup of bittersweet chocolate

1 cup of heavy cream

1 tablespoon of pomegranate molasses

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Cocoa powder
Finely chopped walnuts

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 pomegranate molasses as well.  With a wire whisk, slowly stir mixture together until the chocolate is completely melted.  Whisk in the vanilla extract.  Set aside at room temperature (this mixture may seem a little runny, so just let it sit longer at room temperature). 

Using a spoon, drop a dollop of chocolate onto a plate lined with parchment paper.  Refrigerate for 1 hour, 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 (or the chopped walnuts).  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.

 Dark Chocolate Pomegranate Truffles

These truffles will make great hostess gifts this holiday season.  Try them at home and you will develop an addiction!  They taste amazing.  The pomegranate molasses gives these truffles a settle tartness which is a great compliment to the dark chocolate.  They will go perfectly with a glass of milk, a cup of coffee or Champagne!

Cheers and happy early holidays.

Spring Time in December

So, it's been unusually warm here for this time of year.  We typically bundle ourselves with our down-filled marshmallow coats, scarves, hats and gloves in December.  Today people were walking around with short sleeves and rain boots.  Yes, apparently the monsoon season has not quite ended in NYC!

It's been hard to get motivated and make soups in this kind of weather; however, there is one recipe that I've been wanting to share with you.  It is so simple yet delicious.  My mother used to make this soup and I learned it from her.  Once I got married, I notice that my mother in-law does a different version that I also enjoy.  So, I married the two recipes and came up with the following.

Creamy Barley Soup

Ingredients:

1 tablespoons olive oil/vegetable oil

1 large onion finely chopped

1 cup dry barley

1 ½ teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper

8-9 cups of water

1 cup plain yogurt

2 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice

In a large pot, over medium-low heat, sauté the onion in oil until it is soft and translucent.  Rinse the barley in cold water then add to the pot and sauté the mixture for about 5 minutes on high heat.  Add salt and pepper and mix well. Add water, put the lid on and bring to a boil.  Then cook on low heat for about 2 hours until the barley grains have become completely soft.  Add the yogurt and lemon juice and mix well.  Serve hot in a bowl.

You can put the soup through a food mill or use a hand blender if you like a smoother texture then add the yogurt. 

Garnish (optional):

1 tablespoon of dried mint

1 teaspoon olive oil + 1 teaspoon

In a small pan, heat the oil and add the dried mint.  Sauté on a low heat for 1-2 minutes until it looks shiny.  Do not let it turn dark.  Pour over the soup and serve hot.

 Creamy Barley Soup

The great thing about this recipe is that you can add other ingredients.  When my children were smaller and had just started eating solids, I made this soup with diced carrots, celery and even meat.  Then I made a puree out of it.  This is by far the most complete meal for a kid.  My kids used to love this dish, but now that they have discovered chicken nuggets and french fries, it's become a little challenging to feed them this soup!

The way my mom made this recipe was to cook the barley until it's soft, then she passed it through a food mill and added heavy cream.  She then sautéd some mushrooms and added as a garnish on top. 

Fun Fact:
1 cup of cooked barley has less than 200 calories which makes this meal even greater than it seems (since it's very filling).  It is also high in fiber and has no saturated fat.

Enjoy and have a wonderful evening.