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Ever crave a treat that tastes decadent but is a bit healthier? Get your veggies and good fats with this brownie-like moist loveliness. Khashayar infuses love into all of his vegetarian cooking…
Ingredients
2 pounds grated carrots 2 cups regular white sugar 2 cups white flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon cinnamon 1 tablespoon nutmeg 2 eggs 1/2 cup milk 4 tablespoons melted butter 1/4 cup olive oil
Topping
2 cups greek yogurt 1/4 cup honey 1/2 cup slivered almonds
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 farenheit degrees.
2. Mix together all the dry ingredients: carrots, sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
3. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs and milk.
4. Combine all the above with the melted butter and olive oil.
5. Pour the batter into a 13″ x 9″ x 2″ baking dish.
6. Bake for an hour or until a toothpick inserted into it comes out clean.
7. Let the cake cool.
8. Stir topping ingredients together: yogurt, honey, and almonds.
9. Slice the cake and serve with a dollop of the topping. Garnish with fresh or frozen berries (frozen ones look tantalizing as they thaw, as if they’ve been powdered with sugar). It also gets a nice chewy crust when heated. If you prefer it warm, don’t add the topping until it’s out of the oven.
Homemade tasty panettone is quick and easy! Here’s some I just baked, cooling on its side, on parchment paper, in front of the window.
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Panettone, or pan dulce as my Argentine mother calls it, is no longer just for holidays! Moreover, in my home, its one of my family’s favorite desserts that I make. For anyone who has yet to become acquainted with panettone, the cake-fluffy queen of usually dense fruit breads. Tradition calls for them to balloon at the top akin to chef’s hats. Mine are freeform, same the novels I’m working to make into podcasts. Fragrant and puffy with yeast, they’re a decadence of eggs, butter, fruits, and honey that can be enjoyed for breakfast, afternoon tea, and an anytime dessert.
Whatever panettone success I’ve enjoyed is thanks to the melding of these two great no-knead bread baking books…
First mix your ingredients…
Use the panettone easy recipe here from “The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery that Revolutionizes Home Baking,” by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D., and Zoë François. By the way, I’ve also blogged a detailed review about the book.
Hey, when a cousin visited from Italy, she said it was the best she ever tasted!
My loaves aren’t cookbook photo-perfect, I use recipes only loosely, and I never repeat the same recipe exactly the same way. However, these two books will guarantee that you’ll end up with something delicious!
Extra tips…
The recipe is very flexible. For instance, if you don’t like nuts or dried fruit, double up on one or the other, or leave them out entirely — or substitute them with something else like chocolate chips.
For the first half of the baking, leave the lid on. For the remainder, take the lid off to shave off baking time and achieve a browner crust.
Lining the pot with parchment paper makes removal and cleanup much easier.
Halving the recipe is what I often do. This is a rich cake/bread.
Leftover panettone freezes nicely.
Whole wheat flour is a good, hearty alternative for the white flour.
What holiday food do you eat year ’round?
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Thank goodness COVID-19 hasn’t affected my ability to write and read, aside from the days it weakened my sight and energy. We’re much better, wake each morning slightly less raggedy than the one before in terms of feeling totally human.
It has a week since I’ve been able to smell and taste. If I hold my nose to a jar of cinnamon powder or a bottle of lavender oil, absolutely nothing registers. Taste is down to an occasional three notes of flavor. They’re subtle and offer no complexity. If something is super salty, ultra sweet, or blazing hot, they’ll call like old friends from a place so distant I can hardly hear them.
I tried sniffing a bottle of bleach… nearer = nothing… nearer = nothing… short of sticking my nostril right over the spout, a revelation terrified me. How easily I could accidentally truly damage myself without these two senses. How easily anyone could! My heart goes out to all who suffer this.
I try to rev my appetite by conning it that texture and temperature are flavors. My clothes haven’t gotten too baggy yet. I try not to stress over whether things will always be this way.
Ah, yes! There is indeed another note of taste I neglected to tell you about! It’s the most important one; the love Khashayar infuses into all of his vegetarian cooking rings loud and clear…
Ingredients
2 pounds grated carrots
2 cups regular white sugar
2 cups white flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon nutmeg
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup olive oil
Topping
2 cups greek yogurt
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup slivered almonds
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 farenheit degrees.
2. Mix together all the dry ingredients: carrots, sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
3. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs and milk.
4. Combine all the above with the melted butter and olive oil.
5. Pour the batter into a 13″ x 9″ x 2″ baking dish.
6. Bake for an hour or until a toothpick inserted into it comes out clean.
7. Let the cake cool.
8. Stir topping ingredients together: yogurt, honey, and almonds.
9. Slice the cake and serve with a dollop of the topping. Garnish with fresh or frozen berries (frozen ones look tantalizing as they thaw, as if they’ve been powdered with sugar). It also gets a nice chewy crust when heated. If you prefer it warm, don’t add the topping until it’s out of the oven.
A festive bowl of Khashayar’s Butternut Squash and Cod Soup!
More time to write my novels, for my husband to cook marvelous meals — of course I hate the devastation of Covid-19, yet those are two ways I’ve benefitted from it. (More about the unexpected bonuses of sheltering-at-home here and here and here and a guest’s exert advice on how to deal with anxiety here.)
Soups are like smoothies on steroids — they can be cooling or warming, super nutritious or totally indulgent.
Every day since the pandemic began, each night is a culinary adventure. (More of Khashayar’s recipes here and here and here and here and here and here.)
Recently he made a massive pot of this — yum!!!!
Butternut Squash and Cod Soup by Khashayar Parsi
Ingredients
1 small butternut squash
1 medium onion
4 Tbs coconut oil
4 Tbs unsalted butter
1 Tbs turmeric
2 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground saffron
1 Tbs of white sugar
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground chili pepper
1 quart almond milk
1 quart water
1 cup Chardonnay wine
¾ cup of white rice
16 oz cod filet (or similar)
Split the Squash lengthwise and bake the halves in a 400∞F oven for about 45 minutes or until they are softened but not browned. Let them cool just enough that you can handle them. Spoon out the seeds and peel them. Cut the butternut squash into smaller chunks and set aside.
Chop the onion and sauté in coconut oil for about 7 to 8 minutes on medium heat until lightly golden. You can use a large pot so that you can finish the soup in the same pot. Add butternut squash, butter, and all the spices. Mix well and cook for another 5 minutes.
Add rice, almond milk, and water. Bring to boil on high heat, and then let simmer on low for half an hour. Stir the pot a few times to avoid any burns. Add cod and wine and cook for another 10 minutes.
Puree the soup, adjust the seasoning, and serve in a bowl.
Garnish
Oven roast 4 cloves of garlic with skin. Peal and mix with 1 Tbs of minced ginger. Add them to ½ cup of balsamic vinegar, 1/8 cup of soy sauce, and 1 Tbs of brown sugar, and cook in a saucepan on medium heat until it thickens to the consistency of molasses.
Drizzle over the soup and add some green peas. Don’t stir in the garnish; that way, there’s an extra burst of delightful flavor and texture in each bite!
Our dear doggie is quite an enthusiastic kitchen mate, always eager to help with pre-wash.
What’s your most satisfying food for this season?
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What book lover or writer wouldn’t benefit from someone else taking up the meal preparation slack while they’re reading or working on a novel? Anyone can cook tasty fare that’s unhealthy. The real art lies in food that’s both healthy and delish. How fortunate I am that my husband works from home these days and loves to cook.
Let me count the ways…breakfast, snack, lunch, dinner…I could eat this for any and all of these!
Forgive, dear reader, the drool on these introductory words. My aim is to give you an idea of what the recipe that follows tastes like, but I’m too busy dealing with the watering in my mouth to think.
Okay, here goes—fresh, crunchy, sweet, salty, peppery, soft—and delicious!!!!!!
There. Oh, and exotic yet familiar, green and healthy, yet decadent. Easy but a bit time consuming so make enough for a few meals. It’s filled with everyday ingredients like bread and cheese, but with the added specialness of a not-your-run-of-the-mill sort. Lavash (a soft, thin unleavened flatbread available at many grocers) and feta,(a cheese made from the milk of cows or goats or sheep) and greens that are best eaten raw yet go cosmos-beyond lettuce and spinach. Things of which the mere scent of them are heaven!!! These are fresh herbs such as dill, tarragon (worthy of making into a perfume though one might get bitten…) and parsley and cilantro. If you’ve got more, great, but if you haven’t got these, all is forgiven because most any green leafy goodness will do.
There—I’ve said it—onto the recipe. Oh, and it’s my husband’s own making, a melange of cultures, and personal preferences. It’s a reworking of a Turkish chopped herb salad.
This is a forgiving dish—I make it my own way, and that’s good too—but let me step aside. Today it’s Khashayar’s turn to be our guest here. Slobber away, folks! By the way, he’s got more healthy easy recipes here and here and here and here and here and here too…
Yum!!!
Herb Salad Recipe by Khashayar Parsi
Ingredients
Dressing:
EVO 1/2 a cup (note from da-AL: EVO is the abbreviation for Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
Lime 1 small
Herbs:
Basil (Lemon or Thai) 1 bunch
Chives (or Green Onions) 1 bunch
Cilantro 1 bunch
Dill 1 bunch
Parsley 1 bunch
Tarragon 1 Bunch
Feta Cheese 8 oz (another note from da-AL: this is a particularly wonderful cheese because it’s so flavorful that one needs far less than most other types. To lessen saltiness, drain the brine and replace it with water. Another great thing about it is that when it’s stored in either brine or water, it keeps for a very very long time.)
Garlic 4 cloves
Lavash Bread 16 oz
Grapes 1-1/2 cups
Nuts:
Almonds 1/2 a cup
Cashews 1/2 a cup
Walnuts 1/2 a cup
Onion 1/2 a medium size
Spices (Ground):
Cinnamon 1 teaspoon
Cumin 1 teaspoon
Pepper (Black and Cayenne) 1 teaspoon each
Instructions
Mince the onion and garlic, and put them in a large bowl. Add lime juice, EVO, and pepper (black and cayenne). Mix and let them soak as you prepare the rest of the salad.
My honey chops onions and garlic beautifully!
Tip: Do not add any salt; feta cheese is already salty. If you like it saltier, adjust it at the end.
Tip: Save 2 teaspoons of EVO to toast the nuts.
Spices from ethnic markets cost a fraction of what they do in regular markets.
2. Chop the cilantro, parsley, dill, chives, lemon basil, and tarragon.
Tip: Dry well after washing them.
Tip: If you use a food processor, make sure not to mince them.
Chopping fresh herbs like this Italian parsely make the whole house smell wonderful!
3. Roast the nuts for about a couple of minutes on medium heat. Let them cool to room temperature and crush them.
Tip: You can put them in a bag and use a hammer.
Tip: Do not grind them. Crushed nuts will give the salad a better texture.
Home-roasted nuts are the best!
4. Crumble the cheese.
In Iran, if you ask for cheese, you’ll get feta.
5. Dry the lavash sheets (on very low heat) until they are like crackers, and crumble them by hand.
Tip: Be careful; they can go from perfect to overdone very quickly.
Tip: Do not use a food processor, because it makes bread crumbs.
Lavosh that’s crisped makes for fancy crackers!
6. Add the herbs, walnuts, feta cheese, lavash and the remaining spices to the bowl and mix well. You can also add grapes like these (1 1/2 cups) from our backyard.
Let your imagination run loose! This recipe accommodates whatever modifications you prefer.
Nooshe-Jawn (Bon Appetite in Farsi)
Tip: Serve with some fresh tomatoes and cucumbers on the side.
Do you have a tasty, healthy, and easy dish that you like to make?
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Handmade Persian embroidery given to da-AL enhances this colorful delight!
There’s no better way to end a sumptuous dinner with something lovely and just a little decadent. Get some tea steeping and reignite your guests’ appetites with buttery sweet baking aromas. The striking layers and fruity colors of this confection are sure to please most palates. (Find more of my dear husband’s recipes here and here and here and here and here and here.)
Double Pop-Over by Khashayar Parsi (inspired by Jacques Pépin)
(serves 8-12, depending on how hungry your guests are)
Note 1 : this party-friendly batter can be made in advance and refrigerated for several hours.
Note 2: As mouth-watering as this is fresh from the oven, it’s just as good later. Refrigerate leftovers, which are equally wonderful hot or cold.
Nuts can be served on the side, in a pretty bowl, if any of your guests might prefer their dessert without them.
Ingredients:
2 eggs
3/4 cup flour
3 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cups milk
4 tablespoons melted butter
2 cups cream cheese
1 cup honey
1 cup mixed berries
3 sliced bananas
1 cup orange marmalade
1/2 cup crushed roasted walnuts
1 cup crushed or shredded chocolate
Baking
Preheat oven to 420°F.
Whisk eggs, flour, sugar, salt, sour cream, and milk in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly until smooth.
Slowly whisk in half of the melted butter.
Heat two non-stick pans: an 8” and a 6”. Divide the remaining butter onto both warmed pans.
Pour about 2/3 of the batter into the 8” pan, and the other 1/3 into the 6” pan.
Cook over medium-high for five minutes, or until crepes take shape.
Put the pans into oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until popover cakes are fluffy and golden.
Remove pans from oven, and let them cool to room temperature.
In a separate bowl, stir honey into sour cream.
Plating
Transfer the larger cake onto a serving plate.
Sprinkle about 2/3 of the chocolate onto it.
Spread about 2/3 of sweetened sour cream over it.
Remove the smaller cake from the pan and gently place it over the center of the larger one.
Add the remaining chocolate and sweetened sour cream to the smaller cake in the same way.
Decorate the outer edge of the larger cake with berries.
Cover the smaller one with bananas.
Spoon the jam over bananas.
Sprinkle the nuts over jam.
Serve in pie-shaped wedges.
Jacques says that food is best when made with love and eaten with loved ones. That said, eating alone can be wonderful too, so long as you treat yourself with love.
Happy eating!
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Happiness Between Tails by da-AL 
