Tag / Pomegranate

Soup

A Winter’s Tale and a Pomegranate Soup – Shab-E Yalda – Aash-E Anar

Yeky bood, yeky nabood…

‘Twas the longest night of the year.

‘Twas the darkest night of the year.

‘Twas the most magical night of the year.

Soak the rice as the split peas simmer away.  Immerse your hands in the cold water and gently break up the rice into bits and pieces. Feel the familiar beat of nostalgia course through your body.  Memory knocking at your door.  It always begins with a gentle knock. Patiently waiting for permission to enter.  Sometimes you grant it – sometimes you don’t. It’s a slippery slope – the unpaved road to nostalgia and memory. You often tread those loose cobblestones cautiously. But tonight you are in a generous mood. It’s a night of celebration.  A night of light, poetry, food, music, laughter, dancing, stories, family, jokes, togetherness, and a warm and tangy crimson-hued Aash-e Anar – Pomegranate Soup. You gently shake the rice off your fingers, dry your hands and place a firm grip on memory’s door. Wildly swinging it open. Welcoming with it a howling gust of wind echoing with tales of

Shab-e Yalda/Shab-e Chelleh.

Winter Solstice – December 21, 2014.

‘Tis the one night of the year children are allowed to stay up all night.

(Only to inevitably fall asleep at the foot of the korsi.  In the warmth of their grandmother’s lap.)

Giddy with anticipation of outlasting the long and dark night and welcoming a new crimson dawn.

Turn the music up.  Let its joyful rhythm, fervor and urgency draw your girls down the stairs. Add the rice to the aash along with a sprig of mint. Stir, stir and stir some more. The split peas have a tendency to stick.

What’s he singing about, Mama? -Luna

I’m not sure. It’s in Kurdish. I think it’s a love song.

Who are Kurdishes, Mama? -Soleil

Friends and neighbors.

Interlace your fingers with your moon and sun and start spinning.  Orbiting around one another.  Shake your hair out, shimmy your hips, spin, spin and spin some more. Let yourself get lost in the moment.  Catch the sun’s light reflect off the moon and bounce around the room.  A magical night, after all.  Spin, spin, and spin some more.  Jump and sing along until your heart can’t take it anymore.  Collapse on the floor.  Only to get back up and repeat it all.

‘Tis the night of Yalda – birth.

The birth of the sun.

As light, love, truth and wisdom prevail over darkness.

Start on the meatballs.  Put the girls to work.  Add the parsley, cilantro, dill and advieh to the mixture.  Now listen – don’t get too crazy measuring out the chopped herbs.  Grab a handful and chop away.  What you don’t use in the meatballs you can use as garnish on the aash.  Place a small bowl of water next to the girls and show them how to wet their hands a little before forming the mini-meatballs.  Show them how small you want them. Bite your tongue and move away (go stir the aash) as they start forming odd shapes and sizes.  Let them get lost in the moment.

‘Tis a well-told and oft-repeated tale.

Told by ancient Persians six thousand years ago.

Told by George Lucas. In six parts.  Soon to be seven.

Set the Yalda table.  A study in various shades of red. All to symbolize a crimson dawn – the light of life. Watermelon for protection against excess heat in the summer months. Pomegranates and red pears to ward off insect bites.

Just like those patches we put on to keep away the mosquitos when we went camping.  Remember, Mama?

I remember, Soleil.

Dried fruits and nuts for an abundant and prosperous harvest. Candles to light the house and keep darkness at bay. Garlic for joint pain.

Mama, do your joints hurt?

Not right now, Luna.  But just in case…

Divan-e Hafez to stir your soul and look into your future. And a crimson-hued wine to stir your thoughts and reminisce of days long gone.  A magical night, after all.

‘Twas a well fought battle.

With no end in sight.

As the night raged on and on.

Gently drop the meatballs in the pot. Grate the beet and let its juices drip through your fingers and into the aash.  Chalk it up to more good luck. Hold the bottle of pomegranate molasses high above your caldron as you release its contents. Stir, stir and stir some more, then cover.

But where there is dusk – there is dawn.

And the sun always rises.

She always rises.

Serve the warm and tangy crimson-hued Aash-e Anar as the girls crack open the walnuts.  Duck as walnut shells ricochet off the walls.

Mama, can we please stay up all night?  Please?

Yeky bood, yeky nabood…

Wishing you all a very joyful and happy Yalda and Holidays. Please make sure you also check out the wonderful Yalda posts below. Plenty to tempt you with for this Yalda night.

POMEGRANATE SOUP – AASH-E ANAR

Notes:

  • Soaking the rice makes it easier to break it into pieces.  This is so we have smaller pieces of rice visible in the soup. You want to break the rice into bits and pieces; don’t pulverize it.
  • How long you simmer the yellow split peas depends on the quality and freshness of your peas.
  • Pomegranate molasses can be easily found in Middle Eastern markets, most grocery stores and online. I use a more sour kind.  This aash is meant to be slightly tangy.  But if you prefer, and depending on the kind of pomegranate molasses you use, you can balance out the flavors by adding a little bit of sugar.  Start with a small amount and add as needed.
  • Advieh is a Persian spice mix. Recipe can be found here.
  • This aash is best if made a day or two in advance. The flavors sit and mingle and really intensify.  When reheating adjust the water.  You want this aash on the slightly thicker side.

Ingredients:

Serves 6

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 cup yellow split peas, picked over and rinsed
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
water
1/2 cup white basmati rice, soaked in cold water for 30 minutes
1 mint sprig
1/2 cup pomegranate molasses
1 small beet, grated
sugar or sweetener of choice (optional), to taste
fresh chopped herbs (parsley, dill, cilantro, mint), as garnish
pomegranate seeds, as garnish

MEATBALLS

1/2 small yellow onion, grated
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped dill
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon advieh
3/4 teaspoon salt
pepper, to taste
1 lb ground beef or lamb or combination of

1- In a large pot heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and saute until it softens, about 6 minutes.  Add the garlic and turmeric and cook for 2 minutes.  Add the yellow split peas and give a quick stir.  Add 8 cups water and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered and stirring ocassionally, for about 20-30 minutes, depending on the quality of the peas.

2- Gently break the rice into bits and pieces.  Add the rice to the pot and bring back up to a gentle boil.  Add the mint sprig and lower the heat and simmer, partially covered and stirring ocassionally, for 20 minutes. In the mean time make the meat balls.

3- In a large bowl combine the onion, garlic, parsley, dill, cilantro, advieh, salt and pepper.  Add the meat and combine well.  Wet your hands and form into mini meatballs. I use a 1tsp measuring spoon to scoop out the meat.  Should make about 30 meatballs.

4- Add the pomegranate molasses and the grated beet to the soup.  Stir to combine.  Gently drop in the meatballs and cover.  Simmer for about 20 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through and the peas are tender (but not mushy).  Taste and adjust seasoning.  Add sweetener if desired.

Garnish with fresh chopped herbs and pomegranate seeds and serve.

Will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.  Adjust water amount when reheating.

by Naz
Dessert

Mothers and Daughters – Strawberries Macerated in Pomegranate Molasses with Rose Water Cream

Once upon a time, a long, long, long time ago, there was a bang which wasn’t really a bang but more of a singular moment in time when all the matter in the universe came into laser-sharp focus and all that energy in there shook around and bounced off of each other and  contracted and contracted until there was no more room so it expanded and BANG! exploded into tiny particles forming protons, neutrons and electrons – forming The Universe.  Thousands of years passed and this universe kept expanding and expanding eventually forming stars and galaxies – forming The Moon and The Sun.  My Universe.

Every morning you wake up and vow that today you will be a better mother.

You will be more patient, more adventurous, worry less, play more, not yell, improve your Barbie voice,  run faster and harder when playing the monster game, get down on your hands and knees and inspect the dead slug.  You vow to try and stay out of their way when they have disagreements – let them figure it out on their own – because you read somewhere that’s what you’re supposed to do.  You promise not to let the “baby” and “puppy” voices grate on your nerves like nails down a chalkboard.  You swear to squeeze them harder, linger in their embrace longer, and commit to memory every inhale and exhale as you watch them fall asleep.  You vow that today will finally be the day that you don your Perfumier apron, and distill the warmth of their bodies, their sweet scent, in fine Venetian glass bottles.  Because you understand – you know – that these days are fleeting.

Every night you go to bed and vow that tomorrow you will be a better daughter.

You will be more patient, more agreeable, better natured – not so reactionary.  You will slow down and walk beside her – at the speed that frail and ravaged knees now dictate. You’ll listen patiently, enthusiastically to the stories you have heard many times before. You won’t pretend to know it all – because you don’t.  You’ll remind yourself to let her mother you – because that’s what mothers like to do.  You’ll remind yourself that these days  are fleeting – you are fully aware of the preciousness of time.  Time is insolent, it knows no do-overs, it is a dictator that can never be overthrown.  No revolution, no hunger strike can change its course.  It is expanding – continually expanding.  And so you long to curl up in her lap again – just like you did when you were a child. To have her smooth, always elegant hands run through your hair – just so – to have her gently sing you your favorite lullaby.  You’ll remind yourself that once upon a time you were her Universe – you still are her Universe.

You stain your hands blood red from the fresh strawberries.   Many times you’ve had strawberries macerated in balsamic, but since you usually don’t have any balsamic around and you’re not willing to make a trip to the store, you reach for the bottle of pomegranate molasses you always have on hand.  You watch the syrup languidly ooze out of the bottle and bathe the strawberries.  You set the bowl aside and allow the flavors to meld and dance in perfect harmony.  You ask your girls – your taste testers – your shadows – your Moon and Sun – what else the macerated strawberries need.  They savor their bite, licking their lips with big smacking sounds, and confidently declare it needs salt.  It doesn’t need salt.  They always say it needs salt because that’s what you always say.  Your words, your opinions, still carry weight.  You are still their Universe.  You remind yourself it won’t be this way forever.  Time is fickle, time is irreverent.

You watch the cream slowly churn as you add the rose water and for a moment you are transported to your grandfather’s garden in Tabriz.  You were six years old chasing butterflies through the rose bushes.  You put the cap back on the bottle and just like that the memory fades.  Memories trapped in bottles. You turn to tend to the dinner simmering away on the stove.  You reach for the salt bowl.  You feel your mother’s observant gaze follow your every move.  Gently, she reminds you not to add too much salt.  You snap back saying you haven’t.  Instantly you regret it.  You taste the stew, it’s too salty.  She was right – she is always right.  Slowly, cautiously she makes her way over, puts a gentle hand on your shoulder and tells you not to worry.  She’ll fix it with a little more lemon juice.  She’ll fix it.  Because that’s what mothers do.

You serve the strawberries – tangy, sweet juices and all – and add a dollop of the rose cream to each bowl.  You instinctively extend your arm out to your mother.  She balances herself and gives her weight over to you.  Your other hand reaches for the Moon as the Sun clings to your apron.  The four of you make the slow, short walk from stove to kitchen table.  Mothers and daughters.  Protons, neutrons, electrons bouncing off of each other.  As you dig into your bowl of pomegranate molasses strawberries you look around you and marvel at it all.  The Universe – with all its mysteries and certainties is a beautiful thing to be a part of.  Your heart contracts and contracts and just when you think there is no more room BANG! it explodes and expands.

Mothers – daughters.  It’s beautiful – it’s complicated – it’s love.

Happy Mothers Day.

 

STRAWBERRIES MACERATED IN POMEGRANATE MOLASSES WITH ROSE WATER CREAM

*I don’t like my cream very sweet so I don’t add too much of a sweetener to it.  Feel free to adjust to satiate your personal sweet tooth.  You can also substitute the maple syrup for any sweetener of your choice.

Ingredients:

Serves 6

2 pints fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered or halved depending on size
2 tablespoons maple syrup (I use Grade A because it has a more subtle flavor)
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
1 cup very good quality heavy cream
*1 teaspoon powdered sugar, plus more as needed
1/4 teaspoon rose water, plus more to taste (I used 1/2 teaspoon)
ground up dried rose petals, as garnish (optional)
fresh mint leaves, as garnish (optional)

1-  Place strawberries in a medium sized bowl.  Add maple syrup and pomegrante molasses.  Stir to combine and set aside allowing all the flavors to meld, until the strawberries release their juices.  About one hour.

2- Chill the bowl and whisk of your stand mixer in the fridge or the freezer.  Once chilled add the cream, sugar and rose water to the bowl and whisk starting on a slow speed and increasing to a high speed until soft peaks form.  Adjust flavors as needed.

3- Serve the strawberries and their juices in a bowl with a dollop of rose water cream.  Garnish with a dusting of ground up dried rose petals and a couple of mint leaves.  Enjoy right away.  The strawberries are also fantastic over Greek yogurt or on your morning pancakes and waffles!

by Naz
Stew Uncategorized

A Music Education and a Pomegranate and Walnut Stew – Khoresh Fesenjan

George Michael and Andrew Ridgely.  They dreamily look deep into my soul – unearthing every little secret and thought as I flop on my bed – chin resting on hands looking even  deeper into their souls – the intensity of my stare almost burning a hole in the album cover – held inches from my nose.  I fancy myself Andrew’s best bud and the next Mrs. George Michael.

Well – we all know how that all turned out.  But that’s what you do when you’re twelve and a mad fan of Wham!.

Losing myself in a selfie slow-dance to the heartbreak that is Careless Whisper – and always ending with a big finale of me forgiving George (this one time) for his cheating ways – a radically different sound pounds through my bedroom floor knocking me off my feet and leaving the Careless Whisper sax solo whimpering in the dust.  My brother’s music.

Hands on hips, an I-mean-business glare in my eyes, and ready to confront the injustice that has been assailed upon me and George (the same look I now spot in Soleil to much hilarity) – I storm down the stairs ready to unleash all my pre-teen angst on my older brother.  But halfway down I stop, and the fumes rising out of me slowly fizzle out.  For days afterward I sneak halfway down to the basement, take a seat on the stairs and listen to this sound that is planets away from anything I have heard before.  But you can sneak around secretly enjoying your older brother’s music for only so long before you’re caught.

He doesn’t tell me to take a hike, or embarrass me, or make me feel like a silly little WHAM!-loving twelve-year-old that I am.  Instead he invites me in – passionately sharing with me this new world of music.  Excitedly he rattles off facts – stories – one thought quickly leading to another – faster than I can keep up – as is his way to this day.  We listen through his entire record collection – the MOD/PUNK/”alternative music”/SKA canon. The Jam – Dead Kennedys – The Cramps – Madness – The Specials – Bahaus – The Smiths – Style Council – The Clash – The Stranglers – Talking Heads – The Who – Velvet Underground….

Weekends become about trips downtown to Odyssey Imports on Granville Street (before Granville Street became the tourist hub that it is now) to check out the latest import releases out of the UK.  When there was a distinct rivalry between the music coming from the UK vs the US.  When the freshly mohawked punk rockers had claimed the front entrance to Eatons as theirs and theirs alone.  All frightening and exhilarating at the same time for my pre-teen eyes.

Those early years in Vancouver, after a day spent record shopping, Saturday nights were also synonymous with a dinner party at our family friends house – the K’s.  Where we would all gather seeking comfort in the company of other families – expats – having gone through similar travels, similar adversities.

New immigrants to a new land.

Where you could be guaranteed plenty of dancing and plenty of Mrs. K’s mouth-watering Khoresh Fesenjan – Pomegrante Walnut Stew.

Food in general demands our respect.  Khoresh Fesenjan commands our respect.  The respect of time and patience.  The respect of slowly and lovingly allowing a much celebrated stew of walnuts and pomegranate molasses simmer quietly away for a few hours on your stove on a Sunday afternoon.  Warming up your home with its tantalizing aromas – transporting you to a faraway land –  a faraway orchard – or – simply as my mother puts it – allowing all the flavors come to life.

Sweet or Sour – Pomegranate Molasses
Contrary to popular belief Khoresh Fesenjan is quite simple to prepare.  At its simplest preparation it is nothing more than ground up walnuts, pomegranate molasses, water, chicken (or vegetable of choice), salt to taste.  That’s all you need.  But for a little added depth of flavor you can enhance with some extra spices. I like to use a little bit of turmeric, ground up dried rose petals and cinnamon. However, this simple yet sumptuous dish is often quite polarizing as to how it should be prepared.  This divisiveness comes down to a personal preference for what type of pomegranate molasses to use.  Sweet or sour or something in between – sweet and sour.  It is not uncommon for people to get quite particular and passionate about this preference.  You know you are talking about quite a special dish when there is so much passion and intensity surrounding it. I like and prepare my Fesenjan sour – the way Mrs. K and my mom prepare it – the way it is prepared in Gilan – Shomal – the Northern region of Iran bordering the Caspian sea  – known for its Khoresh Fesenjan.  Now, by sour I don’t mean a mouth-puckering taste that makes you wince.  It only means that there is no sugar or other type of sweetener added to the stew.  It is a subtle and satisfying tartness which is dictated by the kind of pomegranate molasses that is used.  I use this pomegranate molasses which says sour on it.  If you are new to Khoresh Fesenjan I recommend trying different kinds of pomegranate molasses and see what suits your palate best.

Walnuts
There is also a debate as to how fine the walnuts in the stew should be ground up.  Again, this comes down to a personal preference.  Some like the texture of a rougher grind, where you can feel the crunch of the walnut in the stew.  I prefer my Fesenjan smooth so I grind up the walnuts to a fine meal, or even to a paste. You’re looking for a grind resembling a flour like texture or smoother. The walnut meal is then mixed with some water and added to the pomegranate paste in the pot.

Simmer, Simmer and Simmer Some More
There is one thing about the preparation of this stew that is not up for debate.  And that is allowing the pomegranate/walnut sauce to sit and simmer slowly for at least a couple of hours before adding your meat or vegetable.  No quick fixes here.  The color, depth of flavor and richness of this dish depend on this step.  Just like any good stew or braise, this is your chance to bring the flavors to life.  Specifically to bring the walnuts to life .  As the stew simmers, the walnuts will slowly start to release their natural oils.  The more the walnuts release their oils the more they will come out of their raw state and the color of the stew will start turning from a very pale cappuccino shade to a rich brown .  That is what we are looking for.  The walnuts can make this dish a very rich and hearty dish, so you want to skim off as much of those oils that come to the surface as possible to cut down on some of that richness.  Also we don’t want a raw walnut aftertaste in the stew which can often be rather bitter. As the stew sits and simmers uncovered it will start thickening so you want to keep adding about half a cup of water to it every half hour or so.  This process should take about 2 hours.  You will know the sauce is ready when its color has turned to a rich brown, when most of the walnut oil has been released and when it is at the desired consistency: not too thick and not too watered down.  At this point you should taste the sauce and make any necessary adjustments like adding more pomegranate molasses if necessary.  This is also where I add the cinnamon and ground rose petals, if using.  The sauce can be made ahead of time up to this point and kept in the fridge before adding the chicken.  If I am pressed for time or preparing for a dinner party  I usually make the sauce one day ahead.

Duck, Chicken or Vegetables
Traditionally, Khoresh Fesenjan was served with a whole duck placed in the sauce and cooked through.  It has now become more common to make Fesenjan with chicken – whole or cut up into pieces – which is how I like to prepare it. Some preparations also use mini meatballs which cook through in the sauce.  You can also make a vegetarian version with eggplant or mushrooms or various types of squash.  It goes without saying that Fesenjan, or Fesenjoon as it is more colloquially called, should be enjoyed over rice.  This dish is also a perfect example of the Persian tradition of balancing a meal. A rich and satisfying stew like Fesenjan should always be accompanied with something fresh, raw and crisp to aid in digestion.

We are a culture obsessed with digestion.

So you will most definitely find Sabzi Khordan – a platter of fresh herbs and radishes (I love using watermelon radishes when available) at the table along with a bowl of crisp, fresh turnips as is tradition in Gilan and at Mrs. K’s house.

Those Saturday nights at Mrs. K’s, after a feast of Fesenjan, Baghali Ghatogh, Mirza Ghasemi and smoked fish – following the obligatory after-dinner tray of tea and dates (for digestion of course) was passed around – after the platter of fruit (for digestion, of course) was served – after the dancing and clapping (also for digestion, of course) – my best friend S. and her older sister M. and I would watch my brother, their older brother B. and another good friend F. go through their ritual of getting ready for a night out.

It almost always involved excessive amounts of hair gel.

I secretly longed to one day tag along, be a part of that world.  But until then I was quite content with George upstairs in my room and the new world order I was experiencing downstairs in my brother’s room.  Clinging to my childhood but on the threshold of crossing over to something new, exciting and nerve-racking: the teenage years.

That’s what happens when you’re twelve.

On the cusp of when his music, becomes our music – my music.

Dedicated to the memory of Farzad and Sepideh.

WALNUT AND POMEGRANATE STEW – KHORESH FESENJAN

Inspired by Mrs. K. and Maman

Ingredients:

Serves 6 – 8

1 lb/450 grams shelled walnuts, ground up to a fine meal
water
3/4 cup sour pomegranate molasses, or pomegranate molasses of choice
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
salt
1/2 teaspoon cinammon
*1/8 teaspoon ground dried rose petals (optional but highly recommended)
2 1/2 – 3 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken pieces, I use 2 breasts/2 drumsticks/4 thighs
pomegranate seeds, for garnish (optional)
pepper

* You can grind up dried rose petals in a spice grinder.  You can buy dried rose petals at Middle Eastern markets or here or here for organic ones.

1- In a medium size bowl mix the ground up walnut meal with 3 cups room temperature water.

2- Heat a large dutch oven style pot over medium heat.  Add the pomegranate molasses, 1 teaspoon salt and turmeric and stir to combine.  Keep a close eye on it. As soon as the molasses starts to bubble and come to a gentle boil add the walnut/water mixture.  Stir and allow to gently boil for about 5 minutes.  Turn the heat down to low and gently simmer the sauce uncovered.

3- You will be simmering the sauce uncovered for the next 2 hours or so. Add about 1/2 cup of water every half hour or so.  You will know it’s time to add more water as the sauce starts to thicken and the walnut oil starts to rise to the top.  Make sure you stir once in a while making sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot and your sauce isn’t burning at the bottom.  Skim off any oils that come to the surface.  The color of the sauce will start turning from a pale beige to a rich brown throughout this process.  Once the sauce is ready add the cinnamon and ground up rose petals.  Taste and make adjustments.  I usually add another 1/4 cup of pomegranate molasses.  Hold off on adding more salt because the chicken will be seasoned with salt.  The sauce can be made ahead of time up to this point.  Or carry on right to the next step.

4- Cut up the chicken breasts and thighs into medium sized pieces.  I cut the thighs in half and the chicken breasts into 3 or 4 pieces.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper.  Add the chicken to the sauce and simmer for 45 minutes – 1 hour until the chicken is cooked through (if the stew starts thinning out turn up the heat slightly, just make sure you are stirring so nothing sticks or burns).  I prefer the stew on the thinner side than the thicker side.  Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Serve over rice and garnish with pomegranate seeds if you like.  Enjoy with a side of Sabzi Khordan and/or raw turnips for digestion of course!

Will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.

by Naz
Dinner

A Pomegranate Molasses BBQ Sauce and Park Ribs – Food Diplomacy 101

You never see the sun in the night, but once in an ice cream while, you see the moon in the daytime. – Luna

BBQ sauce and pork ribs are not exactly part of my everyday cooking vernacular.  I am not what you might call a BBQ sauce/ribs enthusiast – not even close.  I know there are cookbooks, TV shows and competitions dedicated to this mighty American tradition.  Somewhere along the line I’ve learned that there are distinctions and differences, and pride to boot, between Texas BBQ, Mephis BBQ, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kansas City…BBQ.  What those differences are – I’m not sure.  This is not that story.  It’s not a particularly Persian story either.  It’s more a mother’s everyday story to get dinner on the table, working with what she’s got in the pantry and fridge.  A simple story.  At least that’s how they all begin.

One of our quick, last minute, pre-made, go-to meals used to be the fully-cooked baby back pork ribs in smoky BBQ sauce from one of our local stores.  It was a hit with the girls.  All we had to do was heat it up in the oven or on the grill, roast some sweet potatoes, toss a salad and call it a night.  It was the meal we were about to enjoy the night Soleil fell and we thought she had broken her wrist (she hadn’t).  It was the meal we quickly had on the table the nights we had unexpected company.  The meal that required extra napkins and lots of finger licking.  That is – until the fateful night I read this.

Drew and I are both avid magazine lovers.  Consumer Reports is considered an exciting, cozy, bedtime read.  So when CR talks about “bugs in pigs” and “pigs on drugs,” that gets our attention.  This news was actually not all that shocking.  Whenever possible we try and buy all of our meats organic, grass fed, antibiotic-free, hormone-free, local, etc.  But this practice had not applied to our baby back pork ribs.  So it got me thinking.  How difficult would it be to make our own organic, antibiotic-free, pork ribs with a homemade BBQ sauce.

Down the internet vortex I went.  Once I came up for air I was armed with a little more knowledge.

There are a few different cuts of pork ribs.  So far I have worked with the baby backs and the St Louis style.  I found the St. Louis style (pictured above) slightly meatier and fattier, and the baby backs slightly more tender.  Both have been a hit and turned out delicious.  But organic pork ribs don’t come cheap.  What I also learned is that when preparing the ribs you need to remove the membrane (the thin layer of skin on the back of the bones).  You can do this yourself or ask the butcher to do it for you.  I also like to trim most of the excess fat. Although the fat provides much of the flavor, none of us (especially the girls) like the chewy texture once cooked.

As for the cooking, I’ve learned low and slow is the key to tender, fall-off-the-bone meat. But since this was going to be a midweek meal, I certainly did not have the time or patience to babysit pork ribs cooking in the oven or on the grill for hours.  So I turned to my most trusted low and slow kitchen appliance – the slow cooker.  After 5 hours on high (or 8 hours on low), not only were the ribs fall-off-the-bone tender but the whole house smelled fabulous.  I finished off the ribs under the broiler for a couple of minutes to get that slightly crisp and grilled effect.

The preparation of the BBQ sauce is where my worlds started to collide.  After 3 failed attempts (read 3 separate trips to the store) to buy bottled BBQ sauce that would not be too spicy for the girls, and not loaded with a bunch of ingredients I did not recognize as food, I gave up and resolved to make that myself too.  It turns out I had most of the ingredients needed to make BBQ sauce, either in the pantry or in the refrigerator door.  And it was there, at the perpetually overstuffed fridge door that I was suddenly lifted out of my cooking malaise.  To reach the worcestershire sauce I had to move the pomegranate molasses out of the way.  And that is when I hit my cooking high.  The fog lifted.  I was filled with adrenalin as I poured the pomegranate molasses into the blender, along with ketchup (worlds collide!) and reached for other familiar spices that I usually use to compliment pomegranate molasses – cinnamon, turmeric, cumin.  The result was a tangy and slightly sweet – finger licking good – concoction; one most definitely approved of by the girls.  I happened to have a sour pomegranate molasses on hand, and I added 2 tablespoons of honey to the sauce to cut the tang a bit. If you use a sweeter pomegranate molasses, start off with one tablespoon of honey, try it and add more honey according to taste.  Pomegranate molasses is readily available now at most stores or at any Middle Eastern market.  The sauce also works great with chicken, lamb chops or Portobello mushrooms.  It also freezes really well.  So whatever you don’t use you can portion out and put in the freezer for another time.

Perhaps this is a story about when my American kitchen met my Iranian ingredients.  Something that happens on an everyday basis.  And I am here to testify that this encounter is quite harmonious, peaceful, and  delicious.  A little food diplomacy can go a long way.  And although we might not be indulging in pork ribs smothered in pomegranate molasses BBQ sauce all the time – we will be enjoying them once in an ice cream while.

Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend.

POMEGRANATE MOLASSES BBQ SAUCE

Adapted from theKitchn

Ingredients:

Makes about 2 cups

1/2 cup pomegranate molasses
1/2 cup organic ketchup
1 teaspoon unfiltered apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon organic unsulphured molasses
1 – 2 tablespoons organic raw honey, according to taste
1 shallot, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Put all ingredients in a blender.  Blend until smooth. The BBQ sauce can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days and frozen for up to 3 months.

PORK RIBS PREPARED IN THE SLOW COOKER*

Ingredients:

Serves 4

1 rack baby back or St. Louis pork ribs, about 2 pounds, membrane removed, extra fat trimmed, cut in half to fit in the slow cooker
salt
fresh ground pepper
olive oil
pomegranate molasses BBQ sauce, about 1 cup

1-  Season both sides of ribs with salt and pepper.  Lightly brush both sides with pomegranate molasses BBQ sauce.  Oil the bottom of the slow cooker with olive oil.  Place ribs inside.  It’s ok if they overlap.  Cook on high for 4-6 hours (depending on slow cooker) or low for 8-10 hours (depending on slow cooker).  Mine were done on high after about
4 1/2  hours.

2- Brush ribs with more BBQ sauce (as much as you like) and place under broiler on High for 2-5 minutes.

Serve immediately with extra BBQ sauce on the side for dipping.

* The ribs can also be made in the oven or on the grill.

by Naz
Drinks

Pomegranate Juice – Abeh Anar

This pomegranate brought me back to life!

So said my 6 year old daughter Luna when she got through the very last drop of her abeh anar – pomegranate juice.  Next came the search for any surviving seeds that didn’t have their juice sucked right out of them.  Dainty, stained fingers ripped though the ravaged piece of fruit in hopes of one more little morsel, one more blood-red seed, one more crunch.

My childhood in Iran during the autumn months meant the arrival of pomegranates, and with it the cold winter months.  The pomegranates would be quartered for us, and we’d pick through them for seeds. An after-school snack, dessert, something to keep us occupied and out of the way of the adults for a while.  But what I loved most was sucking the juice right out of the pomegranate.  No juicers, no special equipment.  Just a strong yet careful pair of hands to do the squeezing.

Juicing a pomegranate

1 pomegranate, rinsed (organic if possible)

I highly recommend doing this over the kitchen sink at first until you get the hang of it.  And it is also advisable to not wear your favorite freshly laundered and pressed white men’s button-down.  So go ahead and put on an apron.
It should also be pointed out that my husband is the official pomegranate squeezer in our house.  Like I said – strong yet careful hands.

Gently but firmly squeeze the pomegranate with both hands to release the juice inside the seeds.

You will start to feel the seeds crunch and the fruit soften.
Work your way through the entire fruit.
You want the  pomegranate to soften but don’t over do it or the fruit will burst.
Take care not to  break through the skin.
If you do – don’t panic – try to recover as much of the juice as possible.  It might involve sticking your head right under the pomegranate with your tongue dashing about madly trying to catch every antioxidant-filled drop of delicious life-altering goodness.  This will not look pretty.  But it will be oh so delicious.
If you have been successful and have not been afflicted by the above-mentioned calamity, take a sharp pointed tool like the tip of a knife and make a small incision in the skin somewhere in the middle of the pomegranate.  BE READY.


The juice is going to come gushing through.  So have a mouth ready to start sucking the heck out of that fruit.  Gently squeeze as you suck.
Or you can squeeze the juice right in a glass.
On most days my girls want the juice right away and don’t want to work for it, so we squeeze it in a glass.  They drink up that juice in one straight shot.

Luna, take a breath in between sips.

But Mama, it’s so good.  I can’t stop.

It’s mid-winter and we won’t be enjoying pomegranates for much longer.  But for now, while we still can, we’ll keep on squeezing, and relishing this ethereal nectar from this fruit that seems to carry with it stories from far away lands, from times long, long ago.  Or maybe it’s just a reminder of a time not so long ago.  A reminder of a childhood in a land that was once home.  A reminder of children walking around sucking on pomegranates.

Get yourself a pomegranate and let those seeds and juices bring you back to life.

Thank you for joining me on this food journey!  And tell me, how did the pomegranate squeezing go for you?

UPDATE: My mom just checked out my inaugural post and she called right away with some advice.  As she is apt to do.  From Maman:  When looking for the juiciest pomegranate choose one with a bumpy surface.  Not a smooth surface.  Those bumps are the juicy seeds bulging out.

Good to know!

by Naz

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