Sunday, October 08, 2006
I don't like saffron. I made the Persian dish yesterday with a hint of saffron and it was the only thing I could taste. I kept thinking how delicious it would have been had I left it out. I've just never liked it. I don't like the smell or the taste of it, I don't understand why it's so prized. I mean, I do yet I don't. I have a full bottle of saffron syrup in my refrigerator that cost close to $20. I've had it almost a year and I really want to like it but it's not going down like that. I don't know why I bought it in the first place. Actually, of course I know why. SAFFRON SYRUP. Sounds incredibly intriguing. I'll have to try and find a good home for it soon...
Today I prepared a recipe from a cookbook I bought recently. It comes from Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Eastern Food. The dish is what I would call a Persian casserole made with basmati rice, dates, lentils, and chicken, beef, or lamb. It is flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg, and saffron. I made it with chicken, as I am trying to eat lighter these days. It was delicious. Not being entirely familiar with Persian cuisine outside of my frequent trips to restaurants in my old city, I'm not sure if it looks as it should, but I suppose I can worry about that the next time I try it. I really love Middle Eastern food. Research for some recent work I've done has gotten me interested in the cuisine. I can now count it as one of my favorites along with Mexican, Italian, and Southern cooking.
I have tried many of the recipes in Claudia Roden's book and I recommend it to anyone. One of the great things about the book --and there are many-- is that it offers recipes from countries throughout the Middle East. Many also have notes that instruct the cook on how to make a particular version of a recipe, meaning, you may be provided an Egyptian or Turkish recipe and Ms. Roden's notes let you know how you might make the Moroccan or Lebanese version of it. It's sure to make you a convert, if you don't already adore Middle Eastern food.
I have tried many of the recipes in Claudia Roden's book and I recommend it to anyone. One of the great things about the book --and there are many-- is that it offers recipes from countries throughout the Middle East. Many also have notes that instruct the cook on how to make a particular version of a recipe, meaning, you may be provided an Egyptian or Turkish recipe and Ms. Roden's notes let you know how you might make the Moroccan or Lebanese version of it. It's sure to make you a convert, if you don't already adore Middle Eastern food.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
something delicious
Today I prepared a recipe from a cookbook I bought recently. It comes from Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Eastern Food. The dish is what I would call a Persian casserole made with basmati rice, dates, lentils, and chicken, beef, or lamb. It is flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg, and saffron. I made it with chicken, as I am trying to eat lighter these days. It was delicious. Not being entirely familiar with Persian cuisine outside of my frequent trips to restaurants in my old city, I'm not sure if it looks as it should, but I suppose I can worry about that the next time I try it. I really love Middle Eastern food. Research for some recent work I've done has gotten me interested in the cuisine. I can now count it as one of my favorites along with Mexican, Italian, and Southern cooking.
I have tried many of the recipes in Claudia Roden's book and I recommend it to anyone. One of the great things about the book --and there are many-- is that it offers recipes from countries throughout the Middle East. Many also have notes that instruct the cook on how to make a particular version of a recipe, meaning, you may be provided an Egyptian or Turkish recipe and Ms. Roden's notes let you know how you might make the Moroccan or Lebanese version of it. It's sure to make you a convert, if you don't already adore Middle Eastern food.
I have tried many of the recipes in Claudia Roden's book and I recommend it to anyone. One of the great things about the book --and there are many-- is that it offers recipes from countries throughout the Middle East. Many also have notes that instruct the cook on how to make a particular version of a recipe, meaning, you may be provided an Egyptian or Turkish recipe and Ms. Roden's notes let you know how you might make the Moroccan or Lebanese version of it. It's sure to make you a convert, if you don't already adore Middle Eastern food.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
The end of a long hiatus?
So, I'm back. I don't know how long. So much has happened but right now I won't go into all of that. I need this spot right now because I am stumped. I have a writing assignment, a profile on someone in my class and OH MY GOD, is this woman boring. I have notes and I'm trying to make it work but...Maybe I've peaked and I just can't churn it out like I've been able to in the past. A big part of it is that I just don't write enough anymore. It's not part of my everyday. It's on my mind everyday, but I don't make it happen.
That's why I need this spot. I think of it a bit like warming your car on a winter morning. Revving it up, you know, so that things run smoothly. In the end, this is a good way of taking care of my writing, so to speak. It's gone down the toilette, I feel. But that is also another story. Now, the topic at hand is this boring woman. If I were good, wouldn't I just be able to churn this out, dazzling the masses in the process, one might ask? I don't know, she's pretty boring. And since, I've talked to her a total of about 50 minutes my entire life, the material I'm working from is pretty thin. Three pages of notes about how supportive and wonderful her husband and family are. Her current dilemma, not so much a dilemma as a heartwarming story to share with the grand babies later in life. Help. I wonder if she dots her I's with hearts? Her name isn't Candy or Tami or anything. But you know, too bad, that would make a great profile. Years of emotional abuse and neglect as a child have me convinced that healthy personal relationships are suspect. That might be overstating it a bit, certainly emotional stability and support can make for good writing (and reading). We'll see what I come up with. Maybe I'm just jealous.
I'm also feeling sorry for myself and that takes focus. Redirecting the considerable energy required for self-pity is no small feat. But I must. Maybe I'll make some popcorn. N0, no snacking. Procrastination is a sneaky whore isn't she?
Oh, yes, it's due tomorrow. I better raise up and get to work, y'all.
Peace in the Middle East.
That's why I need this spot. I think of it a bit like warming your car on a winter morning. Revving it up, you know, so that things run smoothly. In the end, this is a good way of taking care of my writing, so to speak. It's gone down the toilette, I feel. But that is also another story. Now, the topic at hand is this boring woman. If I were good, wouldn't I just be able to churn this out, dazzling the masses in the process, one might ask? I don't know, she's pretty boring. And since, I've talked to her a total of about 50 minutes my entire life, the material I'm working from is pretty thin. Three pages of notes about how supportive and wonderful her husband and family are. Her current dilemma, not so much a dilemma as a heartwarming story to share with the grand babies later in life. Help. I wonder if she dots her I's with hearts? Her name isn't Candy or Tami or anything. But you know, too bad, that would make a great profile. Years of emotional abuse and neglect as a child have me convinced that healthy personal relationships are suspect. That might be overstating it a bit, certainly emotional stability and support can make for good writing (and reading). We'll see what I come up with. Maybe I'm just jealous.
I'm also feeling sorry for myself and that takes focus. Redirecting the considerable energy required for self-pity is no small feat. But I must. Maybe I'll make some popcorn. N0, no snacking. Procrastination is a sneaky whore isn't she?
Oh, yes, it's due tomorrow. I better raise up and get to work, y'all.
Peace in the Middle East.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
deliciousness
I recently returned from a three-week trip to Paris where I spent my time in a mini-internship learning to make my beloved Algerian pastries. It was a short stint, but enough to clarify my desires, bringing the desire to bake in line with the desire to write, neither of which I have been particularly committed to in the last year. Yes, I've finished an article about my pastries soon to be published in a major food journal, but I haven't been writing or reading and I can feel it here as in every other attempt to sit and create at a keyboard for the last oh, 6-8 months. Words do not come as easily, creativity seems to have waned, even in nonfiction writing. Yes, I have been a lazy lump...there is not much else to say about it.
Now, however, after my petit sejour in Paris, a have a renewed sense of getting things done despite being anchored in this city for the next year. Mine is a future of written words and baked delices if I could just stopped getting sidetracked by the occasional Yahoo game. UGH!
I recently returned from a three-week trip to Paris where I spent my time in a mini-internship learning to make my beloved Algerian pastries. It was a short stint, but enough to clarify my desires, bringing the desire to bake in line with the desire to write, neither of which I have been particularly committed to in the last year. Yes, I've finished an article about my pastries soon to be published in a major food journal, but I haven't been writing or reading and I can feel it here as in every other attempt to sit and create at a keyboard for the last oh, 6-8 months. Words do not come as easily, creativity seems to have waned, even in nonfiction writing. Yes, I have been a lazy lump...there is not much else to say about it.
Now, however, after my petit sejour in Paris, a have a renewed sense of getting things done despite being anchored in this city for the next year. Mine is a future of written words and baked delices if I could just stopped getting sidetracked by the occasional Yahoo game. UGH!
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