Lifestyle Archives - Page 14 of 14

Nowruz Cookies

March 21, 2014

I was dying for an excuse to use my Iran Cookie Cutter I purchased via Golreezan for a while. To get into the Nowruz spirit I baked Iran shaped sugar cookies!

The Sugar Cookie recipe is the delicious recipe via Corilynn Blog

Sugar Cookie Recipe
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups flour

Cream butter and sugar in large mixing bowl
Blend in eggs and vanilla
Add dry ingredients and mix well
Refrigerate dough for 1 hour before rolling out
Flour surface, roll out to 1/2 inch thick and cut
Bake at 375℉ for 6-9 minutes.

To decorate the cookies I used white color royal icing and Duff Cake Graffiti.

Final product!

What yummy treats are you baking for Nowruz?!?!

Lifestyle, Persian Culture

Nowruz 2014 [1393]

March 20, 2014

Happy Nowruz! Nowruz is my favorite Persian holiday!!! I embrace all the traditions and love celebrating and spending time with family and friends. Nowruz literally translates to “new day” which marks the beginning of the new year in Iran and many other countries. Nowruz is celebrated on the first day of spring which is March 20.

With the celebration of the New Year comes many traditions. One of these traditions is the Haft Seen table. Haft Seen translates to The Seven S’s. The Haft Seen table includes items that begin with the letter S and symbolize various things. The traditional Haft Seen includes:

Sib [Apple] symbolizing beauty

Sonbol [Hyacinth] symbolizing fragrance

Serkeh [Vinegar] symbolizing old age and patience

Senjed [Wild Olives] symbolizing love

Seer [Garlic] symbolizing medicine

Samanu [Wheat sprout pudding] symbolizing affluence

Sekkeh [Coins] symbolizing wealth

Sumaq [Sumac] symbolizing the color of sunrise

Other symbolic items placed on the table are:

Sabzeh [Wheat, barley, or lentil sprouts growing in a dish] symbolizing rebirth

A gold fish to mark the the passage from Pisces to Aries

A mirror to reflect the light of wisdom and creation

Candles to symbolize holy fire

Decorated eggs to represent fertility

A copy of the Quran or religious text to signify prayers

DC, Lifestyle, Persian Culture, Travel, USA

Nowruz: A Persian New Year Celebration

March 19, 2014

The Freer, Sackler, and Ripley Center had a Nowruz: A Persian New Year Celebration. The event was filled with lots of activities, displays, and performances. In my opinion the celebration was great for kids. There was a ton of activities geared toward children such as face painting, storytelling, coloring, calligraphy, Iranian music, and traditional dance performances.

It was an interesting event to go to for a gal like me from the Midwest who rarely sees Nowruz celebrations outside my home. Below are some photos from the day:

Sofreh Haft Seen

Haft Seen Details

Haft Seen Details

Selfies with Hani Hulu

Outfit details:

Lifestyle, Recipes

30th Birthday Dessert Display

March 11, 2014

If you’ve been following my blog by now you know I’m obsessed with baking.

A few weeks ago my girlfriends and I threw a surprise 30th birthday party for our dearest friend, Amber. I was responsible for the dessert display. Let me preface this with saying Amber is a fabulous baker herself therefore I wanted to go all out for my girl!

The dessert menu included St-Honore cake, sugar cookies, push pops, cookies & cream cupcakes, and fruit dessert kabob! All the delicious details are below!