the "season of restraint"?

this is the month of fasting and the "season of restraint" BUT this post is all about FOOD!! the good food continues and i find myself feeling so grateful for all the flavors and cultures that i have the bounty of being exposed to.

There continues to be the wonderful chinese cooking of yx.

a couple of days ago there were colorful cakes for Ayyam-i-Ha [the 4-5 day festival before the Baha'i fast begins]

and the other night a dear colleague invited us to dinner and her charming Mexican husband cooked us a scrumptious Mexican meal.

tonight we celebrated the end of the first day of fasting in style and vibrance at the pouschti's with

prayers and music,

pomegranate soup,

a couple of different types of Persian rice sprinkled with various precious items such as dried cherries and saffron, and much more. Of course there was Persian tea on the samovar and ended it all with

some joyful dancing and laughter.

The evening made me remember that wonderful quotation of 'Abdu'l-Baha that goes

"My home is the home of peace. My home is the home of joy and delight. My home is the home of laughter and exultation. Whosoever enters through the portals of this home must go out with gladsome heart. This is the home of light; whosoever enters here must become illumined...."('Abdu'l-Baha, quoted in an article on humor and laughter published in "Baha'i Studies Review 7," 1997)

I told them so and it turns out they had that quote framed on their wall.