Pomegranate Soup Report

We had a great meeting this week! Overall folks liked Pomegranate Soup quite well, though two people found it too dull to keep them awake at night. Everyone loved the food descriptions, and the slight touch of magical realism. Many were reminded of Like Water for Chocolate and also the book Five Quarters of the Orange.

Fresh pomegranates were out of season, but a few folks had luck finding them frozen. Some of us were wondering where one could get rosewater nearby, and apparently JDs Market in Lynnwood is a good source, along with other middle eastern foodie supplies.

For folks interested in finding out more about the lives of women living in Iran during the revolution, I highly recommend the graphic novel Persepolis (and the animated movie is quite good too!)

I'm sorry to report I completely forgot to take photos of all the delicious food. But what a delightful spread we had!

Karen - dolma
Sheri - apple pomegranate crisp
Tania – fesenjoon (chicken and walnut dish from book)
Julie – chelow
Sonja - lentil soup
Deborah - Spinach Pomegranate Salad
Denene - salad with pomegranate
Katie - Lavash bread
Dawn - dugh yogurt drink and Mast-o-Khiar
Denene – pomegranate salad with pomegranate dressing, sparkling pomegranate juice, and chocolate covered pomegranate!
Katie S. – Persian zucchini and tomato dish:

3 T or so canola oil

1.5 lbs zucchini or zucchini - eggplant combo

1/2 cup (about 1 small) onion, minced

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

1 t each salt and pepper, more to taste

1 T turmeric, more to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Slice the zucchini about 1/4 of an inch thick. Heat oil to medium high, and fry zucchini until golden on each side, working in batches. Arrange zucchini in a baking dish as you go. In the same pan, fry the onions, stirring so they don't burn. Add can of tomatoes and the salt pepper and turmeric. Taste, and add more if needed. Top zucchini with tomato mixture and bake about 10 or 15 minutes, until flavors are melded.

Someone mentioned a great Persian lima bean and rice dish they had once. Could it be Baghali Polo?

Also…Sonja mentioned some Frosted Irish Cream Brownies that people wanted the link to (they look awfully good!)

Looking forward to discussing The Fortune Cookie Chronicles with you next month on Monday April 11th, 2011.