مجله کیانوش

Hanukkah Dinner

When you are alone on Christmas Day which plan sounds better than driving around the city to see the decorations? At least for me the answer was nothing!
Driving around the empty streets of Atlanta and listening to 90.1 WABE, I learned that it is customary for Jewish people to have dinner in Chinese restaurants on the first night of Hanukkah, which coincided with Christmas Day this year.

I went to a nice restaurnt in its own class ($-$$), Chin Chin on Howell Mill Road. On their brusher it is claimed that their restaurnts have been voted for the best Chinese food in Atlanta for 8 years in a row. It had a nice environment and classy, except a TV set which was hung on the wall. Also the waiters were not very fluent in English. For example they were about to fill my 7up glass with water, although they quickly bring me another glass of 7up!
In general, I vote 8 out of 10 to Chin Chin Howell Mill.

Ghorme Sabzi

It was very exciting to see my first-ever cooked Ghormeh Sabzi not only looked good, but also tasted good!

Ghorme Sabzi (قورمه سبزی) is a tradition Persian cuisine served with steam boiled rice, but it is possible to have it even with bread. If translated in English word by word, its name is the stew of chopped beef and green leaves. Maybe what I made was not 100% faithful to the original recipe, but I liked it, and my German roommate did too!

It took about four hours to prepare the food out of scratch. Here is a very simplified recipe I used. I hope by recording it here, I can remember how to cook it later; also contribute my style of Ghormeh Sabzi cooking to the world! (Actually I learned it from a relative in Newport Beach, CA)

Le Pain Quotidien

Once in Santa Monica, I ended up in a European style coffee-house with a long table people sitting around it, discussing in French, Italian, or surfing internet on their laptops. It seemed that I was the only non-European there.

I had a French donut with an excelent coffee. It was decent to such an extend to wish there was a branch of Le Pain Quotidien in Atlanta too. They have several branches, but only in NYC and LA.

the best chocolate bar

I have tried every brand of chocolate bars that one can find in a grocery store, but I couldn't find any of them as delicious as Lindt's Dark Lindor Truffles. Probably this is a common idea about the quality of Lindt's chocolate, because there is no other chocolate shop in the Lenox Square mall.

Actually, my advisor always calls Lindt as the best chocolate, but I used to think that he is promoting the chocolate brand from his mother-land!

آجیل

از آنجا که ایران یکی از صادرکنندگان خشکبار است، کمتر پیش می آید که سایر دانه های خوردنی را بتوان در بازار یافت ـ البته به جز کشو (cashew). یکی از جالبترینِ این دانه های خارجی، بادام برزیلی نام دارد(Brazil nut). مغز این دانه توسط پوسته ای منشوری شکل احاطه شده و شکستن آن کار بسیار مشکلی است. مزه بادام برزیلی شبیه نارگیل است.

در تصویر زیر مغز بادام برزیلی با یک بادام متوسط مقایسه شده است:

شام آلمانی

امشب شام غذای آلمانی داشیتم:

آلکساندر به همراه سیلکه ـ دوست دخترآلکساندر که برای تعطیلات به آمریکا آمده ـ این شام را تهیه کردند. شام خوشمزه ای بود!

شام

این عکس را اینجا گذاشتم تا مادرم خیالش از بابت کیفیت غذای من راحت بشود!! ـ

!یک روش سریع برای پختن سیب زمینی

اگر سیب زمینی را در یک حوله کاغذی مرطوب بپیچانید و بعد آن را به مدت 6 دقیقه در مایکروویو با توان 1000 وات قرار دهید، خیلی سریع سیب زمینی کباب شده خواهید داشت! کن
ادامه : این روش را برای ذرت یخزده هم امتحان کردم؛ فقط 4 دقیقه لازم بود تا نتیجه زیر بدست بیآید. در این عکس حوله کاغذی مرطوب نیز قابل مشاهده است! ـ