Refreshing Cucumber-Mint Julep: Mom's Persian Sekanjamin

Looking at me, you wouldn't know it, but I actually love eating things like Macho Nachos.

Terrible, I know, but I'll be the first to admit I'm a sucker for marketing traps and the name got me.

Maybe it's the record heat we've been having here in Southern California, frying my brain.

Summer came early this year and I've been dreaming about the past and picnics we used to enjoy in our backyard in Iran when I was a little girl.

Snow in the winter, beach days in the summer shatter the myth that Iran is a dry desert. Tabriz where my mom's mom was born is famous for rocky mountains and blooming valleys.

A country rich in lush mountains, gurgling rivers and idyllic seasides, Iran's natural beauty is sheerly stunning.

The Persians are an ancient culture whose beautiful structured gardens rival those of Europe and Asia. 

The traditional Persian garden has a rectangular shape featuring various trophy plants, especially exotic roses. And the babbling fountain is the jewel at the center. Some of the most famous are palacial gardens like Shazdeh in the Kerman province where my father's father was born.

Persians love picnicing, anywhere under a shady tree. This was a culture that we Armenians also enjoyed in Iran.

Our teeny backyard was far more humble than the famous gardens, but we still loved it all the same. 

My parents would take our Persian rugs outside, lay them onto the stone pavers and set up a tempting picnic. 

The tea samovar was ever-present, but the hot weather really called for all things crisp and cool, like a refreshing mint and cucumber drink.

Mother's Day recently had me thinking about how grateful I am for my family and the wonderful lessons passed on from my grandmothers to my parents, to us and to our children. We have new summertime favorites now in the States, like searching for antique treasures at local estate sales with Mom.

Living in Los Angeles among a big Persian and Armenian community makes it easy to keep old traditions alive.

So, when I saw the fresh spearmint at the market, I jumped at the chance of making

Mom's refreshing mint syrup called sekanjamin.

Refreshing  Cucumber-Mint Julep: 
Mom's Persian Sekanjamin

Mom's formula for sekanjamin is:

1 part vinegar
2 parts water
2 parts sugar
lots of fresh mint


For about a gallon, use a big pasta pot or large stainless bowl.
5 lb bag sugar
8 cups water
4 cups vinegar (white or cider)
4 cups mint, washed

Note: Take extra precautions when working with hot sugar and syrup. 
I suggest you put the pot/bowl onto the back burner of the stove, where little hands can't reach.
Don't remove it until your syrup has completely cooled, overnight.

Stir water and sugar in a large pasta pot or stainless bowl.
Place onto back-most burner of your stove.
Heat to syrup consistency, on a gentle boil, maybe a hour.
Add vinegar, bring to a boil again.
Lastly add mint & continue to boil another 15 minutes.
Turn off the heat and allow the syrup to cool, overnight.


To serve, combine 1-2 Tb (to taste), freshly shredded Persian cucumber, chilled water, topped with ice. Add a tall spoon, if you have one, so you can eat the cucumber. And, a straw.

City folk, look for the sexiest, long- necked glass you have, like a elegant beer glass.

Country folk,  find your favourite old mason jar and grab a stripey straw.

Bottle in a clean, recycled glass juice jar or maple syrup container. Store for up to a year (if it lasts that long) in the refrigerator. This sweet & tangy syrup makes a lovely homemade gift for someone very special.

I realize how much my days revolve not only on the present, but also on the happy memories my parents have given me.

Something as simple as Mom's mint syrup revives so much of the past.

Dad & I will often wake up in the wee hours on summer nights to enjoy cold lettuce leaves dipped in the golden syrup.


These are the times I cherish now and the traditions I hope to share with you.

This cucumber~mint julep is a refreshing tradition enjoyed by Persians for centuries
on beautiful hot nights, 
shared with old friends and family, laughing and remembering 
happy memories under the summer stars.

Kahlua STUFFED Cocoa Bundt Cake

If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants. ~ Isaac Newton

Why reinvent the wheel?

There are so many recipes flying across the net these days, it's dizzying.
You ever wonder where they really come from?

How many magical cake recipes could humans possibly create?
The basics remain the same and the tried & true recipes are always the best.

Baking is chemistry, which, by the way, was one of my strongest subjects in school.
I've always loved the chance to blow stuff up!

But the point I'm trying to make is that formulas are formulas. Raw materials don't really change.

Recipes are so elaborate these days and conscientious. Gluten-free, vegan, fair-trade, organic, humane.
It's refreshing to think responsibly about the food we eat.

Ok, yes, we now have sexy ingredients like organic chia seed flour,
but
I'm a simple woman. I just deal with plain old flour.

When I give you a recipe, the results should make you proud every time you follow it.
And, when you dash for the pantry, most, if not all the ingredients, should be there, waiting for you.

So, here's my favourite chocolate cake recipe,
from scratch,
no fuss,
easy as Sunday.

Throw everything into the food processor in the order listed and then serve your cake with a smug li'l snooty smile.

Oh, but one more thing - this spiral cake has a sweet li'l secret.
They say you can't really frost a bundt cake.

Well, I suppose you could, but then you'd un-bundt it, as my sister Nathalie says.

I like breaking rules and defying science. I found a way to stuff the frosting into the bundt.

The process isn't pretty, but the result is lovely.


And the filling is a fun surprise!

Don't look at me like that.

Just do it.

It won't hurt and you'll thank me later.

Kahlua STUFFED Cocoa Bundt Cake 
This is a very forgiving recipe. You should have all of the ingredients at home.
Don't be afraid to make substitutions, like gluten-free flour or another special blend you like.

So, if the urge hits you, as it has hit me, at 11pm, you can bake a cake!

What you need

For the Cake
Nordicware Heritage bundt pan
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp coffee (ground or instant)
pinch salt
2/3 cup unflavoured yogurt or sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup oil
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

For the Frosting
1/2 stick butter or 1/2 cup shortening (Crisco), softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 Tb Kahlua coffee liqueur


What you do

Preheat oven to 350*F

Get your food processor out.
If you don't have a food processor, grab the blender.
If you don't have a blender, just get a bowl and a wooden spoon..

Add the ingredients in the order listed, one at a time, and give them a whirl.
When you get to the flour, be careful not to overwork the batter..
Just mix until the the flour, baking soda & powder disappear.

Pour the batter into a well-greased bundt pan
and pop it into the warm oven.

Bake for about 30 minutes. Once you can smell the cake, it's ready.
Do a toothpick-test toward the center and remove it from the oven.

Allow the cake to stay in the pan for another 10 minutes, then turn it over onto a metal rack.
Let it cool completely, about 30 minutes, depending on what the weather looks like out your way.

Now, make the frosting.
Mix the butter/shortening, powdered sugar & Kahlua by hand until smooth.

Flip the bundt upside-down and gently set onto a plate.
With the handle of a wooden spoon, poke holes evenly apart through the bottom of the cake.
Fit a plastic sandwhich bag with an icing tip and fill the bag with the frosting.
Snip the tip with a pair of scissors and gently pipe the frosting into each hole.

Flip the cake rightside-up and set gently back onto the plate.

Just before serving, dust with powdered sugar and WOW your guests!

Russian Farmer's Cheese Pancakes: The KGB Exposed!

This recipe was guarded by the Russian secret police and reserved exclusively for top-level KGB officials.

Today is your lucky day. I'm risking life & limb and, more importantly, my parents' lives here.

But you're well worth it.

Official code name for this delight is syrniki. Dad made some for us this morning.

I ate so much that I can't breathe, but I can't stop smiling, because the whole house smells like 

Butter & Vanilla.

Made from a Russian farmer's cheese called tvorog, these buttery pancakes are great for breakfast, 

but especially good as a luscious late-night snack.

The tvorog cheese is known as quark in the US.

 There are different brands. 

We usually get Lifeway with the pink label. (Blue label is low fat - Yuck!)

If you're Amish,  you can make your own cheese. 

Natasha's has the step-by-step in her post.

This recent obsession started when a new neighbour, Anya 

moved into an apartment near my parents. Somehow their conversations lead to the subject of these pancakes. 

My parents recalled the first time they tasted them back in the 1970's. I was about 4 years old, we used to spend summers in a seaside village on the Caspian called Pahlavi. 

I still have dream-like memories of the windy drive through the northern mountains, past roadside tea houses.

I loved playing in the water, but the shoreline bed was covered in clams. Dad had to carry me  into the water, past the clams, because I was terrified that the fishies would swim into my tooshy.

No wonder I hated this swimsuit. I actually remember feeling it was way too revealing.

My parents convinced me to model it long enough for this front & back fashion shot. Then I got to wear my fav li'l bikini (which apparently I didn't think was too sexy) and go back to playing on the beach with my cousins.

We always stayed at a cute villa that was owned by a Russian lady named Lala. It must've been the buttery pancakes she made that brought my parents back each summer.

Recently, these memories fueled a new friendship with their new neighbour, Anya who promised to teach my parents how to make authentic syrnikis for themselves.

Shawn's been away for work this week. So I've had Mom & Dad with me. 

Almost every night, we've been spoiled with these wickedly decadent treats. You have to eat them with sour cream and jam (sour cherry seems to be the best).

Mom has perfected the recipe itself. It took a lot of tries and taste-tests.

Months and months of  research, changes, and more tests. No failures, but lots of tension around the waistline. 

Guess who did all the QA? 

And Dad, he's made an art out of sculpting them into beautiful fluffy li'l round disks, all the same size and shape.

You've gotta see him.

Dad's got a whole technique for this.

The weirdest thing is that Daisy actually doesn't like eating these pancakes. 

She'd much rather eat the sour cream.

By the spoonfuls. 

This gets pretty messy, but it's so entertaining that I don't care. She will get sour cream all over her face, hands, GuamPa, the table, 

and you, if you're close enough!

The really interesting part is watching Dad shape the syrniki. 

Deep in quiet concentration, he rolls a tablespoon of dough into a ball, then flattens it into a plump disk.

 Then, pat-pat-ploomf  off it goes into the flour for a coating. He gently dusts the excess flour off and sets onto a piece of wax paper where it sits while the next guy's created.

It's mesmerizing.

I was going to tape him, but to be honest, I just stood there like a dummy, jaw hanging, watching him quietly shape the dough. 

I did manage to snap some good pics for you, though, of the step-by-step process.

First, find a reliable sous chef and prepare the dough the night before. (Recipe & video follow.)

When you're ready to fry the pancakes, take a tablespoon of dough. 

 Dust your hand with flour and roll the dough into a ball about the size of a lime.

Pat it into a disk about 1/2 an inch thick.

Coat generously with flour on both sides and set onto a piece of parchment paper.

When the oil & butter in the pan start to bubble, gently add the disks one at a time.

Be patient and allow the syrniki to brown well on one side. 

Flip them carefully so they cook on the other side. 

There, you go! 

Eating these pancakes is your reward.

Top them with quality sour cream.

Then, add your favourite jam. Mom & Dad recommend sour cherry.

©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©

Syrniki (Russian Farmer's Cheese Pancakes)
Makes about 8 plump pancakes

Note: Straining the whey out of the cheese is really a matter of taste. The whey is actually protein-rich, heart-healthy and gives the pancakes a bit of tartness similar to buttermilk pancakes. You can skip the straining part altogether, if you like. Just add a li'l more flour to absorb the extra moisture, maybe 1/3 of a cup.

The size & thickness of the pancakes is entirely a preference.
But, remember, the smaller they are, the more you can eat!


What to Get
2 lbs quark/tvorog cheese
cheesecloth

1 cup flour
2 egg yolks
1 whole egg
4 Tb sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extra

butter & oil for frying
extra flour for coating
2 trays/dishes
wax paper

sour cream
sour cherry jam

What to Do
Place a colander over a large bowl and cover with a piece of clean cheesecloth.
Put the cheese over the cheesecloth , wrap into a tight bun and allow the whey
to drain, about 8 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

To make the batter, discard the whey, remove the cheesecloth and place the strained cheese into the bowl. 

Beat the yolks and egg together and add to the cheese.
Add the sugar, salt, zest, vanilla and incorporate everything together using a fork.
Dad finds a potato masher works well. 

If you're not ready to eat them yet, cover the bowl with plastic and store in the fridge for up to 1 day. 
The dough travels well, too, if you want to take them to your daughter's house and spoil her. 

When you're ready to fry them,  gently start heating a nonstick pan, add a dab of butter and a drizzle of oil, so the butter doesn't burn.

Cut a piece of parchment paper and place it over a clean plate/tray.

Put some flour onto another plate/tray and cover your palms with flour.
Take a tablespoon of dough and roll it into a ball about the size of a lime.
Rest it onto one palm and with the flat of the fingers of your other hand,
pat the ball down into a patty about 1/2 an inch thick.

Shape the rest of the pancakes. 

Once the butter/oil has started to bubble and brown, gently place the pancakes, one at a time into the pan.

Take good care not to splatter any hot oil onto your hand.

After about 2 minutes, lift a pancake slightly to see how crispy brown the bottom has gotten.
Flip the pancakes and rotate the pan for even heating.

Serve hot with cold sour cream and your favorite jam. 

©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©

There is a video available, if you want to see the process "live."

You can see how easy they are to make. 

If I can do it, so can you.

And you should, at least once.

Eating them is really easy, too!

Good luck resisting seconds with this one. 

Remember that life's short and breathing's over-rated. Being happy is all that really matters.

. 

Blue Crab Tortilla "Cupcakes:" Cookbook GIVE-A-WAY!!

Huevos Rancheros always remind me of a cool cowboy, crossed wrists resting on the horn of his saddle, guiding his herd across a gorgeous valley.

Cowboys need a big, hearty breakfast to get them through the day.

Well, we're not all cowboys.

Many of us spend Ordinary Tuesday sitting in front of  the computer, 

not burning a lot of calories.

 I was thinking you'd still like something tasty to start your engine, right?

The answer was staring right at me.

Two-time Cupcake Wars champion  Hollis Wilder has just penned a new cookbook called Savory Bites.
(Keep reading to see how you can enter to win your own copy.)

The book is bursting with brilliant photos, but the one of her huevos rancheros really got my attention.
How cool would it be if I made breakfast 
in the form of cute li'l packages for my office mates?

And I did. All before taking my morning shower.

No kidding.

I did make a couple of teeny changes to the original recipe.

The star ingredient is blue crab,
because my cowboy lives by the sea.

Blue Crab Tortilla "Cupcakes"

Based on Huevos Rancheros from Savory Bites Cookbook

There are really no exact measurements here. It's very free to what your personal taste is. Add more cheese, use less beans. Whatever you like, it'll turn out perfectly.

Serves: 4 hungry rancheros

Supplies

2 large flour tortillas

1/2 cup black beans

16oz can blue crab meat

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup fresh salsa

pinch of freshly grated orange zest

4 eggs

3 Tb milk

Salt & Pepper to taste

Cooking spray

Method

Preheat oven to 375*F.

Spray 4 of the cups of a cupcake pan with cooking spray.

Cut each of the tortillas in half using clean kitchen scissors.

Bring the ends together to create a cone shape with the tops flaring out

and stuff neatly into the greased cups.

Sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of black beans on the bottom,

top with generous pinches of crab meat.

Add a pinch of freshly grated orange zest to each.

In a small bowl, break eggs, add the milk, salt & pepper and beat with a fork until the yolks are well blended with the whites and the milk.

Divide the egg mixture among the four cupcake cups.

Top with a couple of teaspoons of salsa and finish with a good sprinkling of shredded cheese.

Crack a bit more fresh pepper on top and pop the pan into the hot oven.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes.

Finish with just a minute under the broiler to crisp up the tortilla tops.

Take care not to burn them, like I would!

Pop these li'l guys out of the pan and serve with sour cream, guacamole with freshly brewed coffee.

Full of brilliant ideas for turning the usual meals into the cutest li'l cupcakes, 

Hollis turns boring Tuesday meals into something 

fun to make 

and 

fun to eat,

especially for the kids.

Did you know that

red figs,

wild mushrooms and

blue cheese

made great friends?

They play nicely as

these sweet little

Fig & Blue Cheese Tarts.

And Mr. Stroganoff looks really spiffy in a cupcake cup, doesn't he?

Lucky for you, 

Riffle Books has generously offered to give away up to 5 copies of Savory Bites.

Hurry! Hurry! 

Enter here:

Savory Bites Giveaway  


I left for the office with my chest puffed up with Popeye pride this morning.

Still in her footie pajamas, Daisy was on the front porch with G'Pa, 

enjoying the crisp morning air.

I waved see-you-laters, blew kisses into the air, and off to work I went.

But, today was more special than the usual workday,  not only because Li'l Miss Daisy was seeing me off in very cute form along with my dad, 

but also because I happened to have a tray of 

freshly baked Blue Crab Tortilla "Cupcakes,"

still warm from the oven. 

It's wrong to call huevos rancheros cute.

Maybe that cowboy will forgive me if I call these li'l guys

sexy instead?