The Sabzi Saga

I've mentioned Sabzi, or herbs, before in other posts. A very common part of Iranian cooking and dining, I'm still getting adjusted to using them. For awhile I told my husband to stop buying them because the way they are packaged at our local store makes it very difficult for me to prepare. Okay, maybe not "very" difficult, but it's a bit of a task. The produce here is not pre-washed before packaging so it's dirty. Let me show you...

Mixed herbs in the store's package with some whole radishes thrown in:

Oh no,  look at the dirt!

Soak all the herbs in a big pot of water to clean them!

Ew, look at the dirt that came off!

Now spread the mix on a large surface to dry and sort.

Oh no, look, another bit of dirt. Must examine all the bits again.

My husband says it's strange 

that I take the time to separate all of the herbs, 

but I need to know what I'm working with! 

Speaking of sorting herbs, I'm not the only one. While watching an Iranian drama series on YouTube called, "5 Kilometers to Heaven," I remarked, "See! You need to sort the herbs!" Here, I made a little clip for you of the scene in which a woman is sorting her sabzi, but then her husband mixes them up, and she asks him, "Why did you mix up the herbs?" The best part of this short clip is the other lady's facial expression at the husband's silly answer:

Then comes chopping the various herbs and storing them in containers.

Speaking of knowing what I'm working with, I'm still not an expert there. I didn't use herbs in my cooking back in the States (mostly found them to be too expensive for our budget), so I'm still figuring out what is what. And with the bag not being labeled, I'm trying to guess what things are based on Mr. Google and asking friends. Here's what I think so far, but feel free to correct me!

I needed only basil and oregano for a recipe once so I asked my husband to buy just those two. He did not find them at the local store so he went to a small "farmer" stand near his school and asked for 5 TOMANS (under $2 U.S.) worth. He came home with a huge bag of greens, complete with the roots and soil as if the farmer had simply pulled them out of the ground before selling them to my husband. I'm all for being natural and avoiding chemicals, but it was a big mess! Clearly, I'm a spoiled American used to pre-packaged, pre-washed, expensive items indeed! It was after this incident that I told my hubs, no more herbs please!

Nevertheless, sabzi is a delightful Iranian treat! I put them on a plate and enjoy eating them raw! You should give it a try! Check out this recipe for Kuku Sabzi, an Iranian frittata like dish with loads of these great green gifts from the gardens! 

Thanks for reading! 

Settled

Several things have happened since I last updated this blog.

Trump was actually inaugurated as the President in the United States and has caused pain to millions around the world with his ugly rhetoric and executive orders. I'll only say that America needs a Mockingjay to inspire its people in seeing that The Capitol is run by The Dark Lord and his Death Eaters. 

Now...on to more simple matters.

My eldest daughter turned 12. My second eldest daughter turned 11. I had a birthday party for them and invited several friends with their children to our apartment. It was the first time in a long time that I hosted a party at my own place with new friends. In Texas, I had a party for the kids every year. It was a nice way to focus on crafting decorations and gathering friends and family together. The party went well! I had hoped to cook some classic Iranian food, but due to lack of time and ingredients, I made a few simple meals. Turns out I live a lot farther away then my guests realized. They are all living in Qom, while I am in a nearby town. Still, it was a nice time!

A couple of weeks later, my whole family were invited to a friend's house for lunch. It was interesting to visit another apartment building in Iran. It was slightly different from ours of course, but also had some similarities. Their apartment had a lovely view of Qom and mountains from their balcony! 

I wish I could go out and explore Iran more, but for now, the kids and I stay close to home. You can follow my INSTAGRAM to see the photos I don't publish here on the blog.

I can say that we are definitely settled now. The first week I arrived, some people would casually ask if I'd gotten settled yet. I don't know if there are different definitions of settled, but I know for sure I didn't feel that way for the first few months. It's been 5 months now and thankfully, we are settled nicely! We have a routine. Our furniture and household items have a place and function that work (That is, do cardboard boxes as side tables count as furniture?). My husband bought a study desk, we put up a privacy curtain, a handful of shelves, bought a huge round plastic bucket and fashioned it into a bathtub, and even got a mobile Western style commode to place over the eastern toilet (ha)!  

Our internet and devices are on a stable schedule and easily accessed, so that helps our daily living a lot! We've had no major problems with electricity, plumbing, water, or heat thankfully. At first I really hated the way the shower room (it also has an installed Western toilet and sink) was so small and how the water goes all over the floor, but again, it's something that I've gotten used to now, and doesn't bother me AS MUCH (though it's still annoying of course). 

Another issue that has been resolved is our need for English entertainment. Although I was glad to watch familiar Western shows and movies here in Farsi, nothing beats being able to enjoy a show in your own language. A friend of ours mentioned that he has an extensive collection of popular English films and shows we could use. I was very relieved to be able to watch these during our free time. Since then, we've watched Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Hunger Games--all movies that I wouldn't have even wanted to watch in the U.S. since I was content with my cooking and design shows there (which they don't really have in Farsi either). But I'm glad to now be able to see what all the fuss about such films was about. It's the little things that make life comfortable, you know. 

Speaking of The Hunger Games (haha), the kids daily meals have become established as well. In America, frozen waffles, frozen pizza, pasta with sauce, etc. were quick and easy to give to them. Now in Iran, I spend a lot of time making things from (semi) scratch: pancakes, pizza (without a stove!), pasta sauce, and even popcorn the old fashioned way. We are more easily able to purchase and cook halal meat here so I am cooking with those more often now. We've found some snacks to be as "good as in America," such as "Ramen" noodles, pickles, chocolates--but my children are still very discerning when it comes to other things such as popsicles and pasta sauce. And the cakes here are good, but they all seem to contain nuts inside which my kids don't like. It's true, America has an easier line up of tasty treats! But that's only because it was what we were used to for so long. I personally was sad at first that the chocolate here was not the same as it was in the States, but have found some here that's equally enjoyable. You can find it all here in Iran, you just have to be patient enough to look around since there's not a big box store like Walmart that has everything under one roof. Oh, there're loads of ice cream and sweet shops here though!

One of my younger brothers is set to arrive here in Iran to study soon. I am glad to be able to have another familiar person here! Since he's coming from America, we've asked him to bring a few things along for us. If you're ever traveling to Iran from America, we expats will always appreciate some of the "good stuff" that your bring for us. It saves us the time and effort in having to seek similar things out here. And of course, there is something comforting about a familiar product that comes from the land where you were raised. 

We've been to the Holy shrine of Lady Masumeh (p) a couple more times.  Also, I bought a chador to wear. I feel like a sort of superhero while wearing it, as if putting on armor--yet still feminine. In this bottom photo, I am wearing it while facing toward a mihrab (prayer niche) in the wall of the shrine's courtyard.

It's always a great privilege to be able to visit the shrine and its surrounding courtyards, and I hope to spend more time there just sitting and contemplating the meaning of life.

Until next time, thanks for reading.