The Chicken Soup

I've been very sick the last few days, miserable, congested and sick in every way, and to top it off: I have no appetite. Last night I begged my mom for chicken soup and she used this golden opportunity to try and teach me the most popular Persian and American remedy to an illness. She said there's no better time to learn to make chicken soup than when you're sick and desperate for it.

I went down to Ralph's (owned by Kroger) and purchased a twin pack of game hen that were about 2lbs each, marjoram, fresh parsley, a large onion, baby carrots, and chicken bouillon. I looked up several recipes on the web and they common denominator to all of them said to put the greens like parsley and marjoram and bay leaves in last and throw everything in a pressure cooker for 20 minutes.

The game hen was frozen so step 1 was to defrost in the microwave for 10 minutes. Then the grossest part of the recipe, cleaning the bird! The hen needed to be cleaned and its skin peeled back. Fortunately this particular hen had already been cleaned out and I didn't have to deal with the gore and guts.
Step 2 throw it all in minus the parsley, marjoram, and wait 20 minutes with the pressure cooker steaming away! After 20 minutes put the pressure cooker under cold water to reduce the heat and pressure. Take the top off and add the rest of the ingredients and let boil topless for 10 minutes.

I wish I was made healthy from it- but I was rather ill after indulging in its tastiness.

The Meat was Amazing!

I got home from a long day of work, tired and feeling ill, and a sink full of dirty dishes awaited me. I turned on the water and while waiting for it to heat up threw the marinated bowl of meat onto a pan and left it on Medium-High. I washed the dishes, turned the meat over, dried the dishes, and dinner was done! I still was rather hesitant to try the food considering I think that I am genetically erred when it comes to being able to cook well. So I did the ultimate test; I took the food to my fiance who is an incredibly picky eater and has lost his appetite with his recent cold. He looked up at the plate with pleading eyes to not be disturbed and I begged and bribed until he took his first bite.

Once his puckered face started chewing the meat I realized I am on a very lucky streak. I took the next bite and realized that this incredibly easy recipe made the meat tender, juicy, and incredibly savory.

Thank you God!

Saving the Meat

I think I'm getting the flu from my dear fiancé and I haven't had much of an appetite. However, when my mother brought home hamburger meat I was overjoyed at another opportunity to practice my cooking. I marinated the meat in thinly sliced onions, olive oil, soy sauce, barbecue sauce, salt and pepper. It's been marinating and I doubt I will go back to the kitchen tonight. ...I suppose its useless to try cooking if you rarely have an appetite. Here's to tomorrow and hopes that I will try the meat!

Before the Cookbook Arrives

I figured I can wing it on a simple appetizer like cucumber dip "Mahstoh Khee-ar." I took out every last cucumber we had and started skinning them over the trash can. Interestingly enough, I didn't notice that if they start to narrow out more in the middle that they will break in half right into the trash. So, I was more cautious to hold them in the center as I was skinning them to not feed the dumpster. I cut the cucumber into hair-thin slices then heavy chunks when I got tired. I dumped about half of a cup of chopped and diced cucumbers into the plain white yogurt (Mountain High brand is my favorite). I understand that some places don't have this yogurt as I painfully learned while in Illinois (which was an odd surprise since they actually celebrate Persian New Year). A Like-Kind-Quality alternative is Greek Plain White Yogurt.

I looked around the kitchen for mint and my mother dear gave me a bag of dried mint with the stems attached. I poured in a tablespoon and mixed it in, my face slowly puckering into a sourness as I realized that the fresh mint would have been better.

I sat the bowl down in the center of the table and we ate dinner that my step-father cooked; French stew with French bread. I watched my fiancé devour the stew and excuse himself from the table. I asked him to come back and try my dip. He pretty much ran up the stairs.

I offered the dip to my step-dad who ate every last bite, however said that it just wasn't made right. Alright, so even the easiest things are way out of my grasp right now. I think back to when Julia originally enrolled in the beginners cooking class and was over-it because she thought learning to boil an egg was too easy. I would LOVE to learn the basics.

Julie and Julia

I just finished watching Julie and Julia and have a new found belief that I can also be a gourmet cook.  Growing up in southern California almost every family is a two-income household; that being said, neither of my parents did much cooking. I grew up on take-out, dine-out, and on special occasions home cooked gourmet Persian cuisine.

I survived college on pb&j sandwiches and fries. I met an Anglo-American and we fell in love and got engaged, and continued eating lunchables and cheese sticks. After watching this delightful movie, I have gained the desire to learn to cook. Persian cuisine is typically very pricey and we are saving money for our new home so to enjoy the refined flavors of Iran I owe it to myself to create designer dishes in my own kitchen.

There is no Julia Child for American's to learn create gourmet Persian goodies so I spent hours searching the web finding highly rated Persian cookbooks that I can use in my attempt to be a respected meal maker.

So here's to me, my fiancé's picky taste buds, and my desire to not be teased when I walk into a kitchen.