Mexico

Here I am..embarking on my first adventure out of college....Mexico City! My family and I arrived on Sunday and are staying with my Uncle Michael and his beautiful family! It has been wonderful thus far (minus this cold that refuses to leave..) I wish the weather was warmer out.. but I will take this over what we have in Minnesota and Wisconsin!

I love this experience of new culture and attempting to communicate with the locals, without sounding like a naive American. If I lived here..I would never attempt to drive a motorized vehicle... it is scary! I was told there are two rules: 1. Do not hit anyone 2. watch to make sure cars won't hit you. Chaos. But surprisingly, I haven't felt like my life would end...

We went to a bull fight last night--the pictures are on mom's camera..I will try and get them off as soon as I can--it was an experience that's for sure...glad I went--but it is not my new favorite sport.

There are little kids (and adults for that matter) who run through the cars when we're stopped asking for money and trying to sell you things--it's sad--these kids are under six years of age.

My Uncle and Aunt's house is absolutely beautiful!!

My pictures don't seem to want to upload right now..but I will try and get some up as soon as possible!

Graduation!

Well!!! I did it! I graduated from Winona State University! I now have a BA in Sociology of Family.. I am also proud to say that I graduated on the Dean's List!

Me and Nate after graduation!

My Lovely family!

My and my roommates!

My Grandma!!!



Everyone at the lunch afterwards!

Khoresht Karafs -- Persian Celery Stew

My mother and father have always made me Persian dishes..and I've only memorized two of the recipes.. I decided it was time to expand, explore, and experiment.

Earlier this week I decided to attempt Khoresht Karaf, and I must admit... it turned out pretty tastey. As I usually do... I winged some of the recipe, but here is what I did.

Ingredients

1 lb of meat

1 head of celery cut in about 2 inches long

1 onion diced

4 cloves garlic minced

1 bunch green onions, chopped

2 bunches of mint

1 bunch of parsley

3 dried Persian lemons

2 tsp advieh

1/2 tsp turmeric

5 tbsp olive oil

salt & pepper

On Monday, after living in Winona for five years, I finally went to Rochester Fruits and Vegetables...which by far is my new favorite grocery store--fresh and college budget vegetables, fruits, spices..it's amazing.

To start..many of you probably don't know what advieh is.. it's a mix of different spices that you could probably buy at a Persian store..but it's also easy to make. Here is the recipe--which makes enough for you to save..but I actually put all of it in..I like spiced foods.

Ingredients

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground rose petals

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Mix together and keep in an airtight container.And I am telling you right now..it smells good--but please don't taste it, it is awfully bitter. I didn't have access to all of the ingredients, so I improvised and used:

Ok. so after I made the Advieh.. I chopped up my ingredients. In a big pan--make sure it has a big lip, sauté onion, green onions, and garlic in 4 tbsp of oil until translucent. Add meat, in this case I am using stew meat, but you can use any type of meat you want, brown a bit and then add turmeric. Give it a few stirs in order for the spice to release its flavors.

Season with salt and pepper, if you were to have Persian lemons, give them a light crush and throw them in... I didn't have access to any so I used some lemon zest (experimenting). Throw them in, add 3 cups of water. Cover and cook for 1 hour.

In the meantime, roughly cut up all of your herbs.

In a separate pan, saute your celery in oil--not completely though, you still want a crunch--not an oily celery stick.

When the meat is ready, add the celery to it along with the chopped herbs, advieh, 2 cups of water, and adjust seasoning. Cover and cook on medium for 1 1/2 hours.

I ended up having to move the stew into a bigger pot so the juices didn't overflow.

This is what my Khoresht looked like and oh man did it smell amazing!

It was served with Must-a-khear (yogurt and cucumber salad--thank you Papa Zerehi for teaching me how to make that one!) and on top of tadiek and rice.
I also had found spiced cauliflower (it's pickled and has a nice zing) similar to what my step-mother, Sofy, use to make for me..which is also delicious with almost any Persian dish.

I am so thankful to have a boyfriend who enjoys trying my experiments willingly... and I have to admit I haven't gotten a complaint yet.. except when he didn't know what Tadiek was and thought I burned the rice... haha.

If you try this..let me know how it turns out!

Bon Appetite!

First Post

In 28 days I will be embarking a new adventure... life after college.

The excitement of the unknown has been creeping up on me, and I cannot wait to see what adventures will come my way.

This blog has no specific purpose but to update it with events that are taking place in my life.

Until next time...