Blue Cayenne

So many interesting holidays. So little time.

Nowruz, the Persian New Year, was celebrated on March 21, the Spring Equinox. With spring just “springing” here in Southern California, this is a belated nod to that celebration.

Nowruz has been celebrated for more than 3000 years.  To celebrate, people gather with friends, exchange gifts, feast, recite poetry, ritually jump over fire. (The fire ritual is meant to symbolically burn away the negativity of the previous year. )

For the young at heart, here is a Disney Junior video aimed at helping children understand and celebrate Nowruz: Nowruz.

For those with a love of poetry, here is a century Nowruz poem, Bani Adam, by  Persian poet Sa’adi Shirazi. The poem celebrates the unity of mankind. Seems like we could use a little of that right now. 

Human beings are members of a whole,
since in their creation they are of one essence.
When the conditions of the time brings a member (limb) to pain,
the other members (limbs) will suffer from discomfort.
You, who are indifferent to the misery of others,
it is not fitting that they should call you a human being.

Interestingly, a Persian carpet hangs on the wall of the U.N. bearing this quotation.

For those with a love of sweets, here is a great Persian Walnut Cookie, a nan-e gerudi. The original recipe was posted on the King Arthur Baking Site here.

Scones!

The biscuit-like quick breads originated in Scotland in the 16th Century. By the 18th Century, they were a fixture on the English afternoon tea table.

More recently, they were popularized by Queen Elizabeth II who reportedly adored them topped with bespoke strawberry jam from Balmoral and clotted cream. So proud was she of her scones, that she served them to President Eisenhower when he made a state visit in 1960. After he left, the Queen dashed off the recipe and mailed the note (shown below) to him. 

Here is a variation on the Queen’s recipe from America’s Test Kitchen’s cookbook Boards: Stylish Spreads For Casual Gatherings. You can find the book at your local bookstore or on Amazon here.

For my “afternoon tea,” I enjoyed the scones with mascarpone and English strawberry jam (Tiptee’s Little Scarlet Jam) as Juliet sat corgi-like at my feet hoping to cadge a few crumbs.

I’m with Elizabeth R; they’re pretty wonderful!

Humans have been consuming mushrooms for a very long time and for many reasons. 

Greek warriors were fed mushrooms to make them stronger. 

Mushrooms were used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years–many times for the purpose of enhancing the immune system.

In the Americas, the Aztecs incorporated huitlacoche (a parasitic fungus that grows on corn during the rainy season) into their diets, savoring the smoky umami flavor it imparted to food. Today, the sought-after fungus is often called “Mexican caviar.” 

During Napoleonic times. Parisians fell in love with the delicate color and flavor of white mushrooms, growing them in quarry tunnels near Paris. 

Today, Americans consume about three pounds of mushrooms each year per person. Once hard to find, the modern American consumer has only to look to her local farmer’s market to find the likes of creminis, oysters , or even lion’s manes. And like those who have treasured the exquisite flavor of the fungus for hundreds if not thousands of years, many  modern consumers continue to consume mushrooms for their purported health benefits. Here’s a piece from the well-respected Cleveland Clinic on the health benefits of mushrooms if you need a nudge to add more mushrooms to your diet.

Here is a Cream of Three Mushrooms Soup recipe that you are sure to love.