what else...

ummm. for the past month or so, Lois and I have been on a banana bread baking kick. you know how you make something that generates praises; you want to make that dish all the time.

well, last month, we were perusing through Cooking Light's September issue, which had a scrumptious looking Coconut Lime Banana Bread on its cover. inside, there were six other recipes for non-traditional banana breads. of the seven, we have made three: coconut lime, cardamom pistachio, and Blueberry-Lemon Banana Bread with Cream-Cheese Glaze. and of the three, the Coconut Lime is still our favorite. the Cardamom Pistachio was really good too though. you Indian food lovers will swoon over this recipe (provided you like bananas ;).

there are two more banana bread recipes that we would like to try...Marbled-Chocolate and Orange Banana Nut. after that, we'll have to find a new type of recipe to wear out ;)

what about you guys? what are you all cookin' right now...recipe or not? oh yeah, there's a cool chicken recipe that i found in an Afghani cookbook that i gave to Lois a couple years ago. ever since we had dinner at Helmand Restaurant in San Francisco (in November 2000), we practically swoon every time we think about it. the rich colors of the stewed veggies, the fantastic flavors of their sauces, the bright flavors of their desserts. Afghani food is like a mix between Indian and Persian (Irani) food, but more delicately spiced than Indian and less sweet than Persian.

anyway, this chicken recipe sounds awesome. it's stuffed with all kinds of fruits, nuts, rice, and lamb. i think the author, Helen Saberi, calls it 'Jeweled Chicken.' i guess it looks like a poultry treasure chest ;) she says that the dish is used often for weddings, as chicken is pretty much a special occasion ingredient...it's expensive there.

could you imagine that if chicken were only served on special occasions here? so-and-so got married last week and two people were trampled to death when the surge of wedding guests started fighting over the last drumstick...

wanna know something scary? if you're over seventy...and Chinese...you will fight over who gets the chicken butt. seriously, the fatty chicken tail is considered the best part of the bird. of course, these are the same people who'll bring out the brass knuckles for the fish eye...all the time knowing that there is one on each side of its head. sometimes, i'm glad that certain things are generational...and not genetic.