Strawberry Mousse Cake FAIL and the Garburtor

Hello, hello my dear fellow foodies!

Its been a while hasn't it? Almost a month! I have been so very busy with the end of the school year and exams, and thus have had no time to update, and do you guys know what the worst thing about it is? I havent baked since early March! Oh my god. It hurts. the PAIN! *dramatic faint*

But now that I was done exams and ready to get into the full swing of things, I pondered...what can I make? It can't be just any old thing! It has to be special. Special enough to make up for all that missed time. And then it dawned on me. Last year, right after my exams I had the SAME exact dilemma. Last year, on April 22nd, I posted about my invention, my baby, my strawberry mousse cake.

However, I wanted to do a little something different this time around, to change things up a bit. I decided to make it sort of like my adapted peach mousse cake, and have a strawberry jele on top, instead of that crackling chocolate I wasn't too fond of. So, excited and happy, I set off to the kitchen like a happy little chipmunk sets off to hide her acorns. So I changed and tweaked the recipe a little, and everything was going great, and I was making excellent time and would definitely be left with plenty of daylight time to take my pictures. I was free. I was happy.

And then the garburator happened.

Whenever the garburator happens, a chef must use his/her skills to undermine this little monster and protect their prized foodie possessions. Now dont get me wrong, I dont mean an actual garburator you would find in a kitchen sink. no, no,no,no,no. If only. The garburator, my dear friends, comes out and eats half your cookie dough mix if you leave it unattended. The garburator eats the packet of chocolate chips you bought to MAKE said chocolate chip cookies. It will cause frosting you froze in the freezer and are depending on to be half gone, for your cakes to have finger print smudges on. It will eat all the muffins you spend hours of love laboring over - ok maybe not ALL of them, but about 10 out of 12, so it might as well have eaten all of them. This garburator is every cook's worst nightmare. This garburator is my little brother.

see that thin layer of gele? it should be a thick layer of gele

My little brother, who is coincidentally not so little anymore (he's now taller than me!), has been a challenge to deal with over my years of cooking and baking. It seems as if for every time I achieved a new baking skill, I also learned a new 'anti-garburator' skill, such as hiding the brownies in the microwave, or telling him they are all done in the hopes that he will only eat 5 brownies as opposed to all 12!

Now, back to my mousse cake. You see, I had prepared this perfect gele to pour on top of my mousse cake. Since I had already spread the mousse and was waiting for it to set in the fridge, I went out shopping with my mother and left the gele mixture in the blender. I came home to find that out of the 1/2 cup I made, there was maybe 2-3 tablespoons left! Of course I knew who the culprit was, and after some big drama, I was left with nothing. I decided to freeze the cake over night until I could get strawberries the next day to remake a batch of gele. This was a mistake. Learn from me, DON'T freeze this cake! The next day proved impossible for getting strawberries, so I ended up pouring that 2-3 tablespoons of gele on top.

This is why it looks so fugly.

But don't worry, it tasted amazing as usual! I plan on making this again very soon, and when I do (and when I manage to keep the garburator away) I'll be sure to post up the updated recipe and take some pretty pictures! :) ( as opposed to these fugly ones)

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Exploring Spices

I don’t know about you guys, but I really need to get more spice-savy. As a foodie it seems almost essential, yet its surprising how many foodies don’t know much, if anything about spices! When Penderys contacted me about doing a review on their spices I jumped at the opportunity to learn more. As I was browsing their site and all that they had to offer, I was quite surprised at the vast variety that they had! I had no idea there were SO many different types of spices! From good old fashion allspice to spices I had never even heard of (like CALENDULA).

I’m quickly realizing I need to acquaint myself more with new spices, and find out more about the varieties of the ones I already know about (Vanilla powder sounds amazing- can somebody say fluffy vanilla frosting?) Unfortunately, it seems that they only ship to the US, and I would like to see them expand internationally.

Pendery’s seems to be a lovely ‘family owned’ company. Though their website layout may not be as pretty as some of the others, it sure is user friendly. Their site also goes beyond just selling their product to their customers; they go into detail about how to care for their products, which I really appreciate. Apparently Seeds with high oil content, e.g. Poppy or Sesame, should be refrigerated or frozen, and Colorful spices, eg Paprika, should be refrigerated. Who would have known!

Speaking of Paprika, you guys should really check out their page on paprika – I had never thought that there could be SO many different types – from spanish paprika to Hungarian to Spanish Smoked. Also, if you are running low, be sure to get some now because my next recipe will actually be using some paprika.

Overall, its clear that they have excellent quality products, and a fan base since they are currently celebrating their 139^th anniversary!

So tell me fellow bloggers, whats your favorite spice? Mine would definitely have to be garlic powder, I use it in EVERYTHING!

Also, a Question to my readers, are you guys interested in me doing product reviews? What product would you guys like me to review next? :)

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Happy Nowruz! And Introduction to my Mini Series on Persian Cuisine!

Hello all, I say I will update every week and then I go missing for 3 weeks. Tsk tsk. Remember that cold I was getting? It turned into the worst cold I’ve ever had in my life, lasting well over 2 weeks and me still sniffling and coughing. But we aren’t going to talk about that today. Nope. Today we are going to talk about the Persian New Year- Nowruz.

Being an Iranian-Canadian I have quite the clash of both the cultures, which even though they can make my life a bit complicated at times, I love to no end and wouldn’t change for the world. Today I would like to introduce you to my world and my Persian Routes. Hopefully you enjoy!

So, what is Nowruz(or Norouz)?

Nowruz is a rich tradition that is celebrated by many different countries and territories, and marks the first day of spring (Persian Equinox) and also happens to mark the beginning of the Persian New Year. Nowruz recognizes the rebirth of nature, and despite its Iranian Characteristics, is celebrated by many people throughout the world.

(In fact, according to a quick wiki search, Practiced principally in: Albania, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Georgia, Iraqi Kurdistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan as well as Ethnic groups in: Zoroastrians, Sufis, Bahá'ís and the Iranian diaspora. Also observed in Armenia, Bosnia, Caucasus, Crimea, Georgia, India, Kashmir, Macedonia, Pakistan, Serbia, and among Uyghurs and Salars of China.)

ALSO, The UN's General Assembly in 2010 recognized the International Day of Nowruz, describing it as a spring festival of Persian origin which has been celebrated for over 3,000 years, and was officially registered on the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity!

What’s amazing about this is that not too many people in North America have ever heard of Nowruz, let alone know its practices! I also found the internet was a bit limited in resources…so hopefully this post will help just a little. :)

The word Nowruz literally translates into ‘New Day’ (Now=new, rouz=day) in Persian, and the festival marks the beginning of the solar year and new year on the Iranian calendar, as well as among several other nationalities. It is a time to celebrate life at the time when life begins or is renewed – this renewal of nature is the essence of this millennia-old tradition. My favorite part about nowruz is that it is not a religious holiday – it’s a cultural one. So on new years, everyone, from Christian, Jew, Muslim, Zoroastrian, (and even atheist) come together to celebrate the first day of spring and the beginning of the new year!!

Nowruz has many different components and ‘steps’ to it, as most holidays do. Hopefully next year I will be able to blog about it more, and be able to cover each part more as it comes by. The preparations for Nowruz include Chahārshanbe Sūrī, (some bonfire fun) and some ‘Khaneh Tekani” which is basically some major house cleaning in preparation for the new year. Some people believe that the origin of the very North American practice of “spring cleaning” originates from Norouz!

A major tradition of Nowruz is that of setting a table of ‘haft seen’ – which translates into the 7 “s” (the letter ‘s’- is pronounced as seen in Farsi) upon this table one sets things that symbolize good luck for the upcoming year (you will come to find that Persians are VERY superstitious;) )

There are many things to put on the table, many symbolizing different things, but the 7 ‘s’ must be present! (lucky number 7) On our table we put the following:

(left to Right)

1) Seer - Garlic - Garlic has been known for centuries for its medicinal benefits and symbolizes good health for the new year

2) Sabzeh - Spring Sprouts - Made from wheat or lentil this S signifies rebirth and renewal.

Rice - not part of the haft seen - but symbolizes better fortune

3) Somagh - Crushed Sumac berries - symbolizing (the color of) sunrise ( and with the sun all evil is conquered.)

4) Seem (fish) - Gold Fish - Gold Fish in a clear white bowl represents life and the end of the astral year associated with the constellation Pisces.

Decorated eggs - Symbolizes fertility. Eggs are usually painted by children much like Easter eggs are painted.

5) Serkeh - White Vinegar signifies age and patience.

6) Seeb - apple - A big red apple represents health and beauty.

7) Seke - Coins - represents wealth and prosperity ( I didnt get a sepearte picture of it..but its the little bowl with coins in it)

Other things to put on the table:

A mirror - To bring light & brightness into the New Year



Candles- enlightenment and happiness




Your chosen religious book - Ex. Quran, Bible, Torah etc... some people like to put a book from Hafez instead (a book of poetry from one of the Ancient and most respected poets in Persian History)





One of the major things that one must not forget, especially when you have a food blog, is that you need to have lots of sweets and pastries on the table as well (an throughout the holiday! Of COURSE ;) )


There are many other things representing different types of good luck that can also be placed on the table!


At the exact time of new years, the family surrounds the table and count in the new year together!




Now, time for a little confession. New Years was actually last week (on the 20th). I *meant* to update on said date, but you guys know how it gets! ;)

As well, I'm sure you guys remember me mentioning a few times that I plan on doing a mini-series on Persian Cuisine, but couldn't think of a good way to 'kick start' it. But now I have come to the conclusion of "what better time to start than at New Year?" So, I hope you guys enjoy and tag along! I plan on learning more about Persian Cuisine and sharing recipes with you guys soon! So check back often ;)

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