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It seems somehow appropriate to eat pomegranates today. I woke up and really thought to myself - why get up? It's gray. Cold. Raining. The end of October in Germany. Slumping my way through the apartment this morning, not even 5 cups of coffee was going to make me into a gym enthusiast. But eventually I made it. Small victories. I knew that I would return home a few hours later to shower and then work in preparation for the big meeting on Friday. One thing made me a little happy: my pomegranate.
Coming home from the blasted gym yesterday on my bike, I passed one of my favorite fruit stands. At almost any time of the year, this Turkish guy sells me some seasonal goodie that makes me happy. Honey-flavored figs, sweet Italian tomatoes, and yesterday - a pomegranate - filled with hundreds of ruby fruits. I had no idea what I would do with it, but it was really irresistible. He had a little mountain of them in his stand and they reminded me of Istanbul. He'd cut a few of them open really beautifully so that the seeds shone like facets of a huge gem just as the merchants had in Istanbul. All that was missing was the Turkish sign: "Nar." I remember the fresh squeezed pomegranate juice still...
So I bought one of these red globes and brought it home and knew there was enough in the fridge and freezer to make something good out of it. A quick peek revealed - yup - some frozen lamb. And lamb would be easy to pair with pomegranate.
When I got home, I had narrowed recipes down in my head to three. A perfect trio. Marinated lamb kebabs, Israeli couscous with pinenuts, and a pomegranate, mandarin orange, and fennel salsa to top it off. What was particularly nice was that all three recipes were fast and easy so I would be able to work as well. I marinated the lamb before jumping in the shower (pomegranate juice, thyme, garlic, cinnamon, toasted cumin, ground ginger, salt and pepper) and then slept for an hour. After the nap, and after working, the couscous and salsa also came together quickly.
It's winter, and the curse of Persephone approaches menancingly...but at least there are pomegranates.
2 comments:
Wow. What a great looking dinner! I want to make this, and you've pretty much explained how. But, "toasted cumin?" Explain that. Mom
your energy and creativity in the kitchen still wow me. granted i eat well but charlie brown will eat anything i make...he never complains and he loves all veggies like me. this week i learned he loved greek yogurt...nevertheless i dont go all out very often for just us. on the weekends jeff and i cook a little but its also a chance to have a dinner date out...maybe i'll cook again, after grad school eh?
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