Food, Glorious Food!

I left 65 degree sunshine on Sunday morning only to arrive back to melting snow and a reset clock [which I then, promptly, set 12 hours off which made me miss my first class on Monday].

But Spring Break was great.

What I miss most about being away from home are the food choices. When I go home I hit up my favorite places and taste the diversity that Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties have to offer.

But before we even start the drive over the mountains toward home we make a stop: In-N-Out. I like the #2 - a Double Double with grilled onions and a chocolate shake. My friend Brianna is from Northern California as well and even though she's now a vegetarian she says she misses In-N-Out.

Now, I must mention that Sunday, 2 Mar, my first full day home, was the first day of the Baha'i Fast. Sun rise to sun set, for 19 days, Baha'is over 15 fast. It is a discipline that I actually enjoy doing. But after only one day, I came down with a horrible cold. Illness, age, travel, menstruation, pregnancy and nursing are reasons for not fasting so I was exempt.

This did mean, though, that I got to eat.

On the Sunday night, my sister Charlotte and I hit up Marianne's Ice Cream, a Santa Cruz favorite. Usually I get the Peanut Butter and Chocolate or Mint Chocolate Chip but I decided to be daring. After multiple times sampling it, I went for it: Pistachio Cardamom. Though it reminded me of little old Persian ladies, it was FANTASTIC; creamy but spicy and full of whole pistachios.

[Yes, those are dancing cows on the wall paper]

Back at Thanksgiving, I helped make some of the best bread I've ever had. I attempted to remake it. Yewollo Ambasha [recipe linked] is an Ethiopian spice bread. My first attempt, with a mix of different flours, turned out dense but well for a first time. Along with it, I made Doro Wat [recipe linked], a spicy chicken stew, also from Ethiopia. The stew and bread were both hits among the family and the general consensus was to have it again.

On Friday we opened our home to friends to come break the fast with us. I started baking as soon as I was up that morning and finished cooking just as people arrived. I made three loaves of Yewollo Ambasha [this time with just regular flour] and 5 times the recipe of Doro Wat. We were expecting lots of people, which was a good thing because 35-40 people showed up for dinner! The chicken from the Doro Wat was gone by the time I got around to it but spicy, caramelized onions and sauce on bread is just as delicious.

One week was not enough it hit up all my usual favorites [Indian, Japanese, Mongolian BBQ, Greek, etc.] but summer is only 8 weeks away...



**images courtesy of Google Images and my sister's cell phone