I may have mentioned this before, but I LOVE to cook! I am not perfect, but sometimes, when I have the time, I do pretty darn good! I listen to alot of food podcasts and over the past year I kept hearing about Pomegranate Molasses, so I decided to order some and make something with it. This recipe, for one-pan Pomegranate Chicken was perfect, although as with many things I make, it wasn’t exactly to recipe. (I try to make things per the recipe the first time out, but sometimes that just doesn’t happen, and that’s okay!) I decided on this recipe at the last minute and so I wasn’t able to find Sumac locally, along with pomegranate seeds. A quick search on the internet revealed that lemon juice and zest is a decent substitute for Sumac, so we did that. And as the title notes, I was looking forward to eating this again, as lunch leftovers the next day and in hindsight, the lemon juice & zest made it quite tart, so I am considering adding some raisins or other fruit to the sauce at the end in the future.
Thinking about what to have with this dish was an easy one…but, could I actually make it right? Tahdig, (pronounced tah-deeg) is a crispy Persian rice dish, that you basically cook, covered on the stove, until the bottom layer is browned and crispy, but not burnt. A precarious balance, for someone like me, using the stove I have, is almost impossible. But the stars aligned yesterday and it turned out pretty darn good! (I actually squealed like a little kid when we flipped it out onto the plate! Check out my Instagram feed for a video of the unveiling!) We used this recipe, and when we make it again, and I will probably use golden raisins instead of the dried cherries. I knew I would love this particular version of Tahdig, because the bottom layer of rice was mixed with oil, (I used olive but would also use avocado or grapeseed oil) greek yogurt and some of the saffron water mixture. I think that helped keep the rice moist and not burn. I mean, greek yogurt is great for SO many things!
This was one of the first full weekends I have had off so far this year, so hanging out in my kitchen was a top priority. Cooking & baking is therapeutic for me…it’s one of my favorite places to be. And a huge bonus was that BOTH my kids were going to be home, on a Saturday night! So I set the table and we sat together and enjoyed this delicious meal together, something we haven’t done (at home) in longer than I like.
Another highlight of our meal, was that we received our order from my brother-in-laws new wine company! Our first shipment of wine from August Forest contained their 2021 Rosé of Cabernet Franc and 2021 Riesling. We opened a bottle of each, and started with the Rosé first. This dish, leans towards the tart side, even though you’d think with the pomegranate molasses, it would be sweet, it is not. So the Rosé actually held up really nicely with that! We finished with the Riesling and it was crisp, and not too sweet. I was wishing I would have made something for dessert to pair with it!
I did consider having a slice of the Almond Flour Banana Bread I had made that morning, but really wanted a scoop of ice cream with it and we just don’t buy ice cream anymore! Maybe I could try it with greek yogurt…hmmm… Anyway, we had a bunch of bananas that got overripe last fall, that I decided to freeze in one cup portions and what a great idea that was! I also added pecans, which I don’t normally do, but the hubby prefers those over chocolate chips, which is my usual go-to addition to banana bread. I am not sure if you have ever baked with almond flour, but after making this recipe for Ted Lasso’s biscuits this past holiday season, I have been wanting to make something else with it. It has the most delicious smell!
Thanks for following along, I keep saying that I will be here more often, but I have prioritizing other things and honestly, I need to make time for this…for me…for my kitchen! Hope to see you soon, ox ~Shawn 💗
Who Eats Like This?! 
Love the pecans on the banana bread.