Jeja at age 19
My mother, Khadija Ghilzai, passed away yesterday, January 7th, from complications of Covid-19. My mom who everyone affectionately called Jeja, was a fantastic cook but I had not taken the time to learn any of her recipes. At a time when my children were in middle school and I was facing my own mortality, I realized that Jeja was not going to be with us forever so I dedicated myself to recording her recipes which ended up becoming this blog.
Read More
I hope you’ve all enjoyed a happy, healthy, and celebratory end to 2020. I’m not going to lie, I have been looking forward to seeing the back-end of this very challenging year and welcoming 2021. Despite the challenges we have faced this past year I’m grateful for...
staying healthy
nightly family dinners with my husband and two young adult children
socially distanced meals with friends in the backyard
my meditation practice
Kulch e Birinjee is an Afghan rice flour & pistachio butter cookie which is so easy to make that even an unskillful baker like me can make them. These cookies are light and flaky with a little bit of a crunch from the ground pistachios. Best of all, they are gluten-free.
In Afghanistan, these cookies are also called Kulch e Nowrozee, which translates to ‘new year cookies’ and are made at the end of March when Afghans celebrate Nowroz, New Year. The recipe is very much the same except that bright green food coloring is used to make a plus shape design in the center of the cookies for a festive holiday look.
Read More
