Happy Spring - Nowruz - Persian New Year

 

Today is officially First Day of Spring ! But the weather just horrible , still cold, breezy, even we still expect to get more snow during this week ... eeeewww... last weekend was the second weekend without sunshine at all .

First Day of Spring mean is Nowruz, Persian New Year ! - The festival of Nowruz is celebrated by many groups of people in the Middle East, Central and South Asia, but particularly by Persians or various Iranian Peoples. It's the time to make new beginnings, realize dreams and reach new goals.

And this year,it's a first time for me to really try prepared several stuff to accommodate New Year celebrations like plant the wheat sprout representing rebirth .  I preparing to serve a good meal for dinner tonight too ; which is must to cook : Baqala polow (dill rice with fava beans) and smoked fish.

To honor my husband culture, today I bake Nan-e berenji (cardamom rice cookies) ; I never bake this cookies before, but after read the recipe, though is pretty easy to bake and since cardamom is become familiar spice to use at my household, I know I will like this type of cookies. Oh yeaah, I was right - this is a type of cookies that you wont to stop to eat, melt on your mouth and before you know you will keep hold the cookie jar for yourself  , don't ask me how my little one loves this cookies. She is doesn't mind with the aroma of rose water at all.  She loves the cookies as I do :)

Try to prepare some ingredients day a head, and keep in your mind that this cookies is so soft and easy to crumble so be careful when you transfer the cookies from tray to the jar.
 

Cardamom Rice Cookies - Nan-e Berenji
Recipe : Najmieh K.Batmanglij (A Taste of Persia)

For Syrup :
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 tbsp. rose water (easy to find at Mid-East Store)

For Batter :
3 eggs yolks
1 tbsp. sugar
1 cup clarified butter or Ghee *see note*
1/2 cup corn oil
1 1/2 tsp cardamom
3 cups rice flour
2 tbsp. poppy seed or fine grind pistachio nuts

 

Directions :
1.Combine the sugar and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 4 minutes, being careful not to let the mixture boil over. Remove from the heat, add the rose water, and set aside to cool. This syrup should be room temperature and not too thick. Set aside I cup and bottle the remainder for future use.

2.In a warm mixing bowl, combine the egg yolks with 1 tablespoon sugar and beat well, until creamy.

3.In another mixing bowl, combine the clarified butter, oil, cardamom, and rice flour. Mix well for a few minutes then add the egg yolk mixture and mix a few seconds. Add the I cup syrup from Step 1 and knead well for a few seconds, or until the dough no longer sticks to your hands. This will create a snow-white dough. Allow the dough to cool for 30 minutes at room temperature.

4.Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment.

5.Take a spoonful of dough, roll it into a ball the size of a hazelnut, flatten it slightly, and place it on the cookie sheet. Repeat, leaving 2 1/2 inches between each ball. With a fork or the edge of a cookie cutter, draw geometric patterns on the cookies and sprinkle them with poppy seeds. You may also use a cookie press (readily available in most cookware stores) to stamp a design in the dough.

6.Place the cookie sheet in the center of the preheated oven and bake the cookies 10 to 15 minutes. Keep in mind that the cookies should be white when they are done.

7.Remove the cookies from the oven and cool. Lift the cookies off the baking paper carefully: They crumble very easily.

8.Arrange the cookies in a pyramid on a footed cake dish.

 

Make about 36medium cookies

 

Make your own Clarified Butter (Ghee)

Even so easy to find ghee at store, but why not make your own .. very simple and yet safe more money.

 

Melt 1 lbs of unsalted butter in sauce pan ; when it bubbles, cover and simmer over low heat for 15-20 minute, until most of the froth subsides.  Let it cool in the pan for 5 minutes

Then strain the liquid through one layer of muslin or three layer of cheese-cloth to separate the clear butter fat from the milk solids. Discard the solid and store the ghee in a tightly closed jar in your refrigerator.

 

 

 

 

Summer Break (Part One)

I(we) 've been so lucky spent 10 days summer break this year traveling around several Europe countries, the main goal was to meet my in-laws in Germany. But since my visa is schengen visa so it was easy for me to traveling to another countries too.
The first destination was Hanover. Hanover is situated at the very edge of the North German Plain. The city has been recognized as ‘The City of Trade Fairs’ from years . What surprised me was, the summer weather over there was so pleasant. It was chilly in the morning and in the afternoon mostly not much than 70 F. What a beautiful weather comparing with summer in my city right now, which is reach 100 F every days.. phuiih..

Hanover was badly damaged in World War II, but after 1945 numerous old buildings were reconstructed and many modern structures were erected. Hanover is particularly known for its beautiful buildings, wells, fountains and parks. Please enjoy some pictures I've been taken and I will continuing my story from different countries soon :)

And enjoy the apple kuchen, the famous cake from Germany. You can buy German apple cake in a bakery or make it yourself, where the smells of baking apples and lemon will brighten your house. This popular apple cake recipe is considered standard for many bakeries and cafes, but it is simple to make at home with ingredients from the grocery store. When I bake this cake, my mind came back to the bakery store that i visited one day morning to get the fresh breads. the aroma from fresh breads and cakes is always make me happy :)

Kuchen is a German word for cake--It’s pronounced “KOO-khehn”—and is leavened with yeast and filled with either fruit or cheese

Apple Kuchen

4 -5 cups baking apples, Granny Smith
1 1/4 cups white flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk

Topping
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tsp oatmeal

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Mix 1 1/4 cup flour, baking powder, 2 tsp sugar, and salt and sift once.
Cut 1/2 cup butter into dry mix with a pastry blender to pea size.

In a small bowl, beat egg with milk and add to dry mix.
Mix thoroughly and pat dough into a greased or oiled 9x13-inch baking dish.
Pare and core apples. Cut into thin wedge slices and place on dough in rows until covered. We would cover the thin end of one apple with the thick end of the other. Dot apples with butter and mix 3/4 cup sugar, 1 1/2 Tbs flour and cinnamon together. Spread dry topping over dotted apples, and bake in oven for 45-60 minutes, until golden brown.

Sweet Tooth..

May this new year bring many opportunities to your way,

to explore every joy of life

and may your resolutions for the days ahead stay firm,

turning all your dreams into reality

and all your efforts into great achievements.

Happy New Year everyone

Happy Holidays ..

One day my daughter said, 'Mom, when I grow big i will learn how to cook and bake like you' Oh.. she melted my heart :D - well, since we have a long holiday weekend, I asked her to bake together.. and she really enjoyed the baking process.

And here we go, the one of her favorite holiday cookies, Stained-Glass Sugar Cookies ! Pretty easy to make and bring smile to her face , what a great combination !!

And for all my beloved friends :

May the joy and peace of Christmas be with you all through the Year.

Wishing you a season of blessings from heaven above. Happy Christmas

Stained-Glass Sugar Cookies

Recipe Ingredients
3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp each ground ginger and vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
About 50 assorted colors Life Savers or Jolly Ranchers hard candies, each color crushed separately

Recipe Preparation
1. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy. On low speed beat in next 5 ingredients to combine. Gradually beat in flour until blended.

2. Divide dough in half; shape each into a 1-in.-thick disk. Wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes, or until firm enough to roll.

3. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets(s) with foil; coat with nonstick spray. Have ready a star cookie cutter.

4. Meanwhile prepare your crush candies . Pick out all the red and blue candies from your bag of Jolly Ranchers Unwrap them and put them in separate Ziploc bags. Using a meat mallet, crush the candies into little, bitty pieces .

5. rolled the dough, cut large star shapes out of it. cut out about six big stars first

6. Using a smaller cookie cutter , remove a star-shape from the center of each large star.

7. Fill the small star-shaped holes with the pieces of the hard candy. It's OK if there are a few gaps. They will fill in when the candy melts.

8. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the edges of the cookies have just started to brown and the candy in the center has melted and smoothed out.

9. Be sure to allow the cookies to cool and the candy to harden before transferring to a wire rack to cool thoroughly