Siren's Feast Recipe Index

SIREN’S FEAST RECIPE INDEX

Appetizers and Salads

Armenian Eggplant Salad – 14
Baba Ghanouj – 196-197
Carrot & Beet Salad – 54-55
Cheese Beorag – 306-307
Fattoush (Syrian Bread Salad) – 206
Muhammara (Lebanese Walnut Dip) – 197
Orange Salad – 49
Salade Des Lentilles Vertes – 118
Tabbouli – 198
Yalanchi Sarma (stuffed grape leaves) – 304-306
Yogurt – 261

Side Dishes

Armenian Rice Pilaf – 13-14
Bulghur Pilaf – 208
Couscous – 49
Daddy’s Fassoulia (green bean stew) – 21
Dal (spiced lentils) – 168
Kubisa (Moroccan greens) – 40
Midya Dolma (rice-stuffed mussels) – 328-329
Red Beans and Rice – 288
Preserved Lemons – 40
Vosp Kufta (red lentil patties) – 207

Soups and Sauces

Cilantro-Mint Chutney – 169
Gazpacho Andalusian – 113-114
Sweet Salad Dressing – 126

Main Courses

B’Steeya – 55-57
Baby Feast – 289-290
Nigerian Pepper Stew – 288-289
Shish Kebab – 13
Stuffed Baked Fish Fillets with Spicy Tomato Sauce – 51-52
Tortilla Espanola – 112-113
Vegetable Shai Korma – 154
Vegetable Tajine – 50
Vegetarian Curry – 167
Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie – 243-244
Vegetarian Stuffed Zucchini – 134-135

Breakfast

Keta (sweet Armenian breakfast rolls) – 23-25
Wiggle Worms (Armenian donuts) – 19

Desserts

Christmas Trifle – 275-276
Fresh Peach and Hazelnut Tart – 94
Kataif (Honeyed Shredded Dough Pastry) – 199-200
Paklava Rosettes – 329-330

Beverages

Chai – 155
Mango Lassi – 142
Moroccan Mint Tea – 37

Silicon Valley and Beyond

Siren's Feast hit the trail recently with a road trip to Northern California, reminding me why I live in California. The drive was beautiful, through fields of artichokes, past orchards of almond and cherry trees and on through Gilroy, the garlic capital. I couldn't wait to get to Silicon Valley, where the first of two Siren's Feast events took place, and start cooking, loaded with fresh walnuts, Vidalia onions and all the spices I procured on my last trip to Morocco. My hostess, Lisette Derouaux, spared no expense to introduce me to the dynamic ladies of Silicon Valley. I can't wait to return to Menlo Park.

Then it was on to Marin County to attend a Siren's Feast book club potluck and meet yet another group of fabulous women. My hostess, Karin Conn, publicist extraordinaire, has a divine circle of friends who love to read and eat and I am always thrilled to have people prepare my recipes. It was hard to leave, but another visit awaited me, further down the road.

I had a fantastic visit with my old Ibiza friends Simma and Jeffrey. I loved their vegetable garden and Simma has a beautiful line of jewelry. I always say, you can't make new old friends.

I received some great news yesterday. My culinary memoir Siren's Feast, An Edible Odyssey has just been named the Winner in the Autobiography/Memoir category of the 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. It was also named Finalist for Best Cover Design in the Non-Fiction category. That is due to the beautiful work of Shawn "Blue" Bayer, artiste extraordinaire. I'm over the moon. Recognition is a good thing.

Saturday Afternoon on Mt. Washington

It is so rare these days, especially in LA, to meet new foodie friends at a party, decide to get together for a feast, then actually do it. I had a divine afternoon with my new friends at the home of Aussie chef Ben Johnson and actor Mark Espinoza, along with Denise Daclan who creates the most divine artisan infused sea salts. I baked my Armenian cheese beorag (pg. 306 of Siren's Feast) and made some Muhammara (pg. 197) Ben( Mannix of TheLoveBite.com) made his Wombat Salad of roasted root vegetables, goat cheese, watercress and pistachios which had me in ecstasy and Denise brought along a sampling from Saltistry. Wine, sunshine, and a view of Los Angeles from the deck completed our fabulous feast.

LA Times Festival of Books

Los Angeles does some things right. The LA Times Festival of Books (April 25 & 26) was a huge success, except for the three unfortunate people who were injured by flying scaffolding. Saturday was so windy. I was extremely fortunate to be signing books on Sunday, which was a gloriously beautiful day, at the popular Book Soup booth, right after the ever so popular T. C. Boyle and Candy Spelling, widow of Aaron, mother of Tori. This is LA, after all.

My yalanchi sarma (stuffed grape leaves) were a hit and worth the labor involved. And I met some fantastic people.
I stopped by the Heifer Booth (The Heifer Foundation's mission is to end hunger and poverty by giving people the means to feed themselves) to meet Kim, whose mission is to review and promote independent bookstores through her blog as well as supporting the Heifer Foundation and just generally being fabulous. And to my surprise and joy, copies of Siren's Feast, An Edible Odyssey, were flying out of my hands.

With the spate of independent bookstore closings, it was truly a thrill to see thousands of people who are enamored with reading and meeting authors.

Aztec Soup

A while back, after I'd returned from the wedding on Isla Holbox, I promised to post a recipe for the amazing soup I ate several times while there. Everyone loved this soup and I've done my best to recreate it. In honor of my lovely young friend, Kate Puzey, I decided it was high time to revisit the wonderful memories of the time we spent together. Knowing that Kate had an exciting life and the support and love of such an amazing family is some consolation over the loss of her.

AZTEC SOUP

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, sliced thin
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tomato, chopped
1 lb. ground chicken
1 tsp. oregano
2 ears fresh corn, with kernels removed
salt/black pepper to taste
4 cups chicken broth

Garnish:
chopped fresh cilantro
sour cream
crumbled Queso Fresco (Mexican cheese)
sliced avocado

In a stock pot, begin by sauteing the onion, then the bell pepper and garlic in olive oil, until softened. Stir in the chopped tomato and saute a few minutes more. Add the ground chicken and continue sauteing. Finally add the oregano, corn kernels, chicken broth and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish each bowl of soup with chopped cilantro, 1 tbsp. sour cream, crumbled Queso Fresco and avocado slices and serve.
DEELISH! And so easy.

Good news and more truly sad news

I've been so busy with Mom, who at 94 has had to recover from a broken hip, full-time book promotion, working on my next book, keeping up with the garden, the dogs and friends, I just realized I hadn't written a post in a long while. I'm excited about appearing at the LA Times Festival of Books, signing books at the Book Soup booth (#330), which is one of the hippest bookstores in the West and thrilled about all the latest great reviews of Siren's Feast. All that info is posted on my website.

The truly sad news I received was about the passing of a young woman I met last summer at the beautiful wedding I attended on Isla Holbox, off the coast of the Yucatan. Kate Puzey from Georgia, cousin of the bride, who had been a Peace Corps volunteer in Benin, was found murdered outside her hut in the village where she had been living. I am still devastated. I pored over her blog and photos for days. She was a beautiful, brilliant and spirited soul and my heart is broken since I know how close she was to her entire extended family. You can read from her blog and see some of her photos through another site

Some things are just incomprehensible.