eat, drink and just be!

kumquat jam

as much as i can remember from my childhood when we had a little kumquat plant in tehran, it only had fruits in fall. since it looks and tastes like all other citruses i expected it to be so in california as well. but i am totally mixed up with seasons here. so as you see we have kumquat in california in spring and of course what would i do with it. i make the jam i learned from my mom.

 

 

since kumquat is mostly skin and has the bitterness to it, i washed and left them in some water over the night to get the bitterness out of it. some kumquats don't have seeds and i rather keep them in their shape, but since the ones i bought this time had seeds i chopped them to halves and took the seeds off. but i rather not chop them into tiny pieces because then they look like orange peels. for each cup of kumquat i added one cup of water and one cup of sugar.

 

 

i also added a little bit lemon zest for the contrast. then brought the mixture to the boil for 30 minutes, then lowered the heat and cooked for another ten minutes with two cups of orange juice added. stir constantly that the juice doesn't boil. when the kumquats are tender remove from heat and pour into jars and close the jars immediately to vacuum. enjoy the jam with some bread and butter. nousheh jahn!

urban hike and comfort food

as i have written in some previous posts, some weekends we are too lazy to get out of the city and go for a real hike but also sitting around and doing nothing is not good for people like us who spend the whole week in front of the computers. the solution to our lazy weekends is our urban hikes. we usually start walking from home and walk towards other parts of the city. since san francisco is a very hilly city our long walks turn into a real hike. and then when we get to some point or we run into cafes or places we have not seen before and seem interesting, we stop there and eat or drink some thing as a reward to our long walk. last weekend we walked to golden gate park and it looked even more gorgeous than some of the mountains. 

there are so many wild flowers, herbs, and plants in botanic garden and they have all bloomed in spring that it's so delightful to walk in the park. also the wild life is very lively in this season. all kinds of birds, turtles, and fishes in the ponds. find the heron in the picture. i could watch that bird for hours. so amazing how it focuses to fish. and the cute turtles were all over sun bathing. of course i am shikamoo and i can't go anywhere without eating some yummy food. 

we had some sandwiches for picnic in the park and also landed in de young museum for coffee and pastries. i should also write a separate post about the great food in california academy of sciences. but that's for a rainy day not for a sunny one that i prefer to sit outside in the park.then of course walking back home and being tired, i love to eat some thing healthy but easy to make. our contort food is bakes salmon with potatoes and thyme. it takes less than an hour to have a delicious and simple meal. potatoes, onions, and garlics are slowly braised in thyme flavored stock and topped with pepper crusted salmon fillets.ingredients:

- eight to ten medium sized potatoes thinly sliced

- one or two onions 

- a bunch of fresh thyme leaves

- two cups of vegetable stock

- enough butter

- two slices of salmon fillet

preheat the oven to 375F and layer the potatoes, and onions in a dutch oven. season each layer with salt, pepper, and thyme and pour over the stock and some butter. bake for 35 to 40 minutes. in the meanwhile brush the salmon fillets with butter, garlic, ground black pepper, and salt. place the salmon on top of the potatoes cover and let it bake in the oven for 15 minutes. i served the dish with some edamame beans. nousheh jahn!

 

yosemite part II and artichoke stew

 

a friend of mine had a spontaneous idea to get a couple of days off in the middle of the week and go to yosemite when no one else is there. the three of us girls decided and the next day left the bay area to go to that direction. first day we stopped at hetch hetchy reservoir where the drink water of san francisco comes from. it was a great hike around the reservoir with several water falls on the way. it was such a hot day that we didn't mind getting soaked under the water falls although the water was freezing cold.

the next day we hiked more inside yosemite national park. comparing to two weeks ago that i was there, it has changed totally. there was not as much snow any more and water falls had tons more water with a lot more pressure in them. since we hiked along side vernal falls we totally got soaked head to toe  again which kept us fresh for the other hikes we did for the rest of the day. i can't wait to go back to yosemite but this time hopefully all roads are open and i can hike up to high country where there are beautiful lakes as well. on the way back to the city the shikamoo(means some one who loves eating in persian) me had to stop at farms on the way near mantecca and got some fresh vegetables and fruits. i got fresh artichokes and onions. the onions still had their stems which makes them more delicious. it's like having red onion and green onion both in one. i came back home and my husband was sick. so i decided to make a stew with those vegetables i bought on the way. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ingredients:

- butter

-  two artichockes

- two onions

- four heirloom tomatoes

- four more tomatoes or diced tomatoes

- one bell pepper

- fresh mint

- dried or fresh tarragon

- salt and pepper

- two limes 

wash and chop all vegetables except the artichokes and saute them for ten minutes with butter. add diced tomatoes and let them cook another ten minutes with the lid of the dutch oven on. then add two cups of water and put the artichokes in the stew that it cooks with the steam of the stew for half hour. turn them around after twenty minutes and let them cook more. saute the chopped fresh mint in some butter and mix it with some fresh pressed lime juice and add it on top of the artichokes before serving the stew. nousheh jahn!

 

 

persian eggplant dip

finally it's summery and warm to sit out side and grill. i finally planted flowers in the balcony and planted herbs and vegetables. let's see what happens to them in the next three months. some fine herbs such as cilantro don't like the windy san francisco, so this year i planted peppermint that can stand the wind. i also tried tomatoes in the last two years, once they turned out great, once they dies because it got cold too soon. let's see what happens to them this year.

one day my friend came over and we made one of my favorite dips which is common in north of iran at the caspian sea. the process of making this dip needs a little patience. first you grill the vegetables and then you make the dip by cooking the grilled veggies which makes the dish two times more time consuming. so i don't suggest it for a mid week quick dinner.

ingredients:

- four small eggplants ( they are more tender than the large ones)

- one garlic

- one onion

- two to four tomatoes

- one egg

- fresh peppermint 

grill the vegetables on medium heat until the skin is dark. peel them after grilling, especially it's necessary for the eggplants that they get that smoky flavor. i also love the flavor of grilled garlic. after peeling, chop them in tiny pieces and saute eggplants, garlic and onions with some olive oil for a good twenty minutes. then add the tomatoes and stir constantly. when the dip is smooth, add an egg sunny side up and let it cook inside the dip for five minutes. saute the fresh peppermints in some butter for a minute. this needs constant stirring too since it can burn very easily. garnish the dip with peppermint and enjoy it with a piece of bread. nousheh jahn!