In Farsi...

The beautiful Italian meatballs in capon broth is one of the most popular Italian dishes for Christmas. This recipe is from the sweetest Umbrian granny Bernardina. She prepared these today for tomorrow's Christmas lunch. They are super easy to make, if you do not have the possibility to make a capon broth, make a quick broth with small pieces of meat or chicken. These meatballs are so perfect, the smooth broth with an intense flavor, the fresh orange zest and the aged cheeses make them very special.

Coconut for me is all about my childhood memories. My mom used to buy it as my school snack. And those lovely persian meringues which we make with coconut; in fact for me there is no other meringue taste than that! So I was trying to bake some persian coconut meringue and I ended up baking both coconut meringues and a sponge coconut cake! Well, my first meringue round was not so great so I had a bowl with three beaten egg whites and some sugar and coconut powder. As I don't like to waste any ingredients or food, I came up with this lovely sponge cake which is so simple to prepare and heavenly delicious! You can also turn this into a perfect and beautiful birthday cake with a simple white frosting and fresh red fruits on top.

As many of you celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah in these days, most of Iranians celebrate Yalda. Yalda is the celebration of the winter solstice, the longest night of the year; Iranians call it Shab-e Chelleh (night of forty) or Shab-e Yaldā (yalda night). In Iran is celebrated between the last day of Azar and the first day of Dey (december 20, 21 or 22 of each year). In modern Iran, people come together in small or big gatherings to celebrate Yalda...