Greetings friends! Spring has sprung in full bloom here – the “golden waterfall” and “wisteria” and myriad other flora are blooming in earnest all over Tehran – providing beauty and pollen and allergens. I never enjoyed any allergies whilst on the coast of East, but here in the Eastern world, I am totally prone to itchiness and sniffles. Oh joie!
But why complain and whine when there is such and much beauty to behold?
The courtyard of my office is in full bloom as we speak – a corner of it shrouded in a canopy of romantic and lush cascade of colorful wisteria. The most gorgeous purple haze.
Speaking of color … I’ve read about the trend of colorful latte sweeping the U.S. Not sure how it would taste, but it sure does look pretty. Would love to try some!
Have you tried any? Any good?
Spring brings with it wonderful, even if not trendy tidings. Guess what’s available aplenty in the bazaars in Tehran? Chaghaleh badoom – unripe almonds – the emblem of spring in Iran. Harvested and gathered in lushly massive hilly piles, and sometimes, adorned on top with a decorative motif! Like this apple and flower.
Spring brings with it plenty of other tidy tidings and goodies. To wit, handpicked rhubarb blossoms. Ah rhubarb! To paraphrase the iconic words of Audrey Hepburn, do you know what’s wrong with rhubarb? Answer: Absolutely nothing!
You know what you can do with rhubarb?
You can gather your rhubarbs and make the devastatingly succulent, delicious and classic Persian rhubarb stew, aka “Khoresh Rivas” which served along with fluffy steamed rice and some crunchy tadig, offers the palette a decadent symphony of flavor and texture and pleasure. You really must try some.
And now for a totally random change of subject (hence why this post is a smorgasbord) … here’s a still life photo from a recent business meeting in Tehran. I enjoyed the meeting as well as the juxtaposition of the cozy Persian cookies with the French press coffee and the photograph of the Eiffel tower.
And finally, let’s get to the business at hand … namely, that the latest Fig & Quince Stories podcast episode is up. This time I spoke with Saman Khosravani, who is an entrepreneur, a friend, a real foodie, and whose talk of the food and sweets of Yazd and Tehran made my mouth water! For real!
It is a fun episode, so do catch a listen if you’re so inclined. (In Persian language.)
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Hope you liked this post. I’m definitely hoping to write a few recipe posts soon as well. But for now, I guess I’ll wrap things up here for the moment.
Till soon, xoxo
♥
Are the rhubarb blossoms used decoratively or another way? I have always just tossed mine so interested in other ideas.
Azita joon, I had no clue about the blossoms of rhubarb, although back than in Germany we would have rhubarb in any possible way of baking tarts, juicing or jams.
A podcast!!? What a great idea!