value to us.
When we purchase from a supermarket, we often don’t take into account the distance the produce must travel to reach our plates and the intervention that takes place to keep it in optimum condition. By buying from a farmers’ market or becoming a member of a CSA program—that is, buying a subscription for a season’s worth of produce from a local farm—you can be sure that your produce has been picked the same day that it’s ripe and delivered that very same day, as well. In this way, we are getting the optimal nutrition from the foods we eat, while minimizing energy consumption and waste involved in transporting foods for great distances.
Here I’m wearing a traditional silk Bukharian brocade reserved for special occasions.
My husband and I wearing silk jomahs.
The notion of buying locally grown produce might seem to be a bit of a conundrum in colder climates, where the growing season is short. However, winter root vegetables, some hothouse-grown foods, and preserved and frozen produce can be substituted for fresh.
As we understand and respond to the relationship between planet and plate, we can regain the balance in our lives and on our planet, reawaken our taste buds, and leave the world a better place for future generations.
AND SO, A BOOK
These recipes are inspired by my mother’s Silk Road cookery, and all the ingenious, loving Silk Road cooks who came before her. In my imagination, I’ve extended Silk Road cuisine all the way to Long Island, as I make use of local ingredients and combine them with seeds, pods, spices, and everything in-between to mimic the essence and flavor of the trade route. And in the same way that Central Asian food was adapted to varying tastes and lifestyles along the Silk Road, I have adapted my recipes to our modern American techniques and sensibilities.
My recipes also reflect my own preference for vegetarian fare that is free of wheat, gluten, and dairy. (Each recipe is labeled to identify its vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free status.) I’ve tried to make the dishes appealing to all, whether strict or “occasional” vegetarians. For meat eaters who experience vegetarian meals as lacking fullness, Silk Road-style spices can add a whole new dimension to your food.
Unloading another fresh delivery from Golden Earthworm farm on the east end of Long Island, New York.
CSA member pick up.
I have heard some complain that a vegetarian diet is too time consuming and labor intensive for our modern world. It’s true that this food requires a good bit of peeling and chopping. Remember, though, that a good and healthy vegetarian diet isn’t supposed to be eaten in a car or on the run. Enjoying flavors and food, whether in the presence of those you care for or on your own, is good for your soul—your spirit will sit up and take notice.
Because I’m not a trained chef and have no formal culinary education, I have been very conscientious in creating a recipe book that is easy to follow. If I can cook these dishes, anyone can! Regardless of previous experience in the kitchen, these recipes are accessible to the home cook. While some require more practice and skill, most are suitable for the novice.
By both personal inclination and the tenets of my religion, I passionately believe we must all be good stewards of our planet. I’ve designed my recipes to foster seasonal eating. To this end, I’ve also included a section on food preservation through freezing (page 35) for readers whose local farms don’t have a year-round growing season. In this way, when you have an abundant supply of produce, you can preserve it when fresh and use it when it’s not in season.
Sharing my dishes with you is a sacred experience for me and I share them with love, from my heart and my hands, in the hope that when we cook together, we can create a groundswell of well-being for all. It is at the table that we connect with one another, our animals, our land, and our past. Cook, eat and enjoy!
The Spice Pantry
The exotic scent of spices—rich, alluring and almost magical. Fragrances that infuse the air with an enthralling bouquet. That is what spices do to me—transport me to a dreamy and transcendental place. But spices do more than add flavor and interest to ordinary ingredients. They were a vital commodity on the Silk Road.
Spices are used liberally throughout the recipes in this cookbook. They are my friends, each one having a very specific color, texture and flavor—always adding excitement to any meal while warming the heart. When I was growing up, I never saw my mother use a measuring spoon. This is typical with Old World women, who use their fingers to sprinkle a little of this or throw in a little of that. They cook from a place of passion and intuition, continually adding spices and tasting till the desired state perfection is achieved. Since I started cooking, I have become something of a scientist with spices—experimenting with blending them to attain unique flavors. I encourage you to do the same. Eventually, when you feel confident with your spices, you can decide how much to add of a particular seasoning without measuring. In time, your intuition will guide your senses to play with spices like an artist mixing paint to achieve that ideal color. Brilliant reds, yellows, greens, and a dozen other shades in every imaginable shape, size, and texture sit in my spice rack, mysteriously telling me how to use them. They will talk to you too.
YOUR SPICE PANTRY
I have developed this must-have seasoning and spice pantry for myself and it can be the foundation of your modern Silk Road-inspired cooking, as well.
A FEW THINGS TO REMEMBER
Store dried spices in clean, airtight bottles, in a cool, dark place. Whole spices will keep for a year or two.
Ground spices will lose pungency after four or five months. Aroma is the best indication of freshness. A rule of thumb: little smell, little taste.
Whole spices ground by hand provide the best flavor and aroma. Grind your spices as you need them and do not be tempted to grind too much, as the surplus tends to lose potency and flavor when stored. Some spices, such as cloves, turmeric and cinnamon are difficult to grind at home and are better bought already ground.
Spice grinders come in an assortment of styles, with varying functionality. Some people prefer the look and feel of a mortar and pestle, while others want the efficiency and convenience of a coffee grinder or electric grinder.
ALLSPICE is the dried unripe fruit (actually, the berries) of Pimenta dioica, a mid-canopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, Southern Mexico, and Central America, and now cultivated in many warm parts of the world. The English, who thought it combined the flavor of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, coined the name “allspice” as early as 1621. Allspice is indispensable in Middle Eastern cuisine, where it is used to flavor a variety of stews. In America and in Great Britain, it is used mostly in desserts, because it has a wonderfully
