Decadent and Easy Valentine’s Day Dessert Options

Stressing over making a homemade dessert for Valentine’s Day? Don’t worry, my loves, I gotcha covered with a few simple, quick options: Chocolate Almond and Apricot Truffles Or you could salvage a broken cake with my Chocolate Cherry Trifle: Another fun and easy option: Molten Chocolate Cakes with a Middle Eastern Flair If chocolate’s not [...]

Read Full Post »

Banana Chocolate Pudding Parfait, Milk Free Comfort in Glass

Dunno about you, but the recent events in the Middle East, combined with the relentless weather we’re having here in New York City, make me want to crawl under the covers and hide, preferably with a delicious, comforting dessert in hand.  Alas, hibernating isn’t really an option for me, or for most of us, I [...]

Read Full Post »

Visions of Sugarplums: Saffron-Infused Persian Sugarplums

Merry Holidays, everyone! Does anyone really know what sugarplums are? What confection, precisely, is that Sugarplum Fairy in The Nutcracker dancing for anyways? Turns out they’re balls of dried fruits and nuts, sometimes with spices added in, perhaps coated in powdered sugar. Well, besides sounding Christmasey, this all sounded very Persian to me. So I [...]

Read Full Post »

Mission Fig Jam with Warm Fall Spices

    Canning and preserving has always both scared and fascinated me. On the one hand, it seems so practical, nourishing, and creative. It conjures up images of pantries full of summer’s bounty that can be enjoyed on cold, snowy nights. On the other hand, it strikes me as highly technical and like there’s all [...]

Read Full Post »

Gazelle’s Horn Cookies

A heart filled with desire for sweetness and tender souls must not waste itself with unsavory matters —-Rumi The above is quoted from a ghazal poem by Rumi (the famous Persian poet). The words above speak to me especially now, in light of recent events and changes in my life. More and more I’m learning [...]

Read Full Post »

Watermelon Mint Cooler Slushie

Today’s chill slushie is the perfect anecdote to hot and dehydrating summer days (and nights)! It’s refreshing and cooling to drink, and beautiful to look at. And one of my favorite ingredients–watermelon, is the base of the drink. I just adore watermelon. For me, it brings back such happy memories. Some of them are kinda [...]

Read Full Post »

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: a New Headshot, Plus: Vegan Cheesecake, Anyone?

I said this would be an Almost Wordless Wednesday . This is I just have to share:  my friend Marisa, a budding professional photographer and former model, took some headshots of me yesterday. So far, this one below is my fave. Of course everyone has a different opinion on which shot they like best, and [...]

Read Full Post »

Assorted Random Things I Love

Today’s post is gonna be a bit self-indulgent. I have the right, though. Birthday Girl’s Privilege. Yep, my bday is this coming Sunday. It falls on Easter this year, which I think is pretty cool, because it’s a time of rebirth and renewal.  No matter what creed or religion we follow (or don’t follow), the [...]

Read Full Post »

When Life Hands You a Broken Cake, Make a Trifle Instead

Oh dear. A kitchen mishap. Big plans to bake a chocolatey, decadent, gorgeous birthday cake for a loved one. Said cake recipe was new to me and untested in my kitchen. Plus, I was having a bit of a trying day. Not to get all “Like Water for Chocolate” on you guys here, but I [...]

Read Full Post »

Wordless Wednesday: Easy Turkish Coffee Pudding

Read Full Post »