a persian in rome

It's been a week now (still haven't grasped being in rome) and its going well. It has been an adjustment to say the least. There's always a trial period when I start in a new kitchen, and at times I didn't know if I'd fit into this one, but everything seems to be falling into place.

The week ended much better than it had begun, working on saturday with a few of the fellows from the academy and some of the children on the property. Much to my delight, the head chef Mona, told me that I was a good cook and that she was excited to work with me. Having had a rocky first week, this was the jumpstart I needed to know I had made the right decision for my externship. A few days into my externship, Mona had told me about her love of Persian food, that its her secret passion, and has many persian cookbooks and friends feeding this love. One of the fellows at the academy is a scholar of persian music. Tonight, Mona was having a dinner party where she was making some persian food, and invited me along this morning to help her cook it.

I was excited to spend time with her, which would not only help build our relationship, but to be able to show her some things from my culture. I made some fereni that she was going to serve with rose petals and pistachios from her friend Leila. I also made the dough for barbary, showed her how to make polo and tadig, and helped with the lamb khoresht. It was a fun day, especially since I learned to use the espresso machine at our bar, which ill be using everyday from now on :-D

We all found out we are off on tuesday together, which is a rarity, so we have been brainstorming day trips, and might possibly be venturing down to naples for the day... :-D a demani!