Edina decides to remodel the kitchen (again), and calls up her friends Bettina and Max. But a lot has changed since we last saw them - now divorced, Max is gay and Bettina is clinically insane. Bettina transforms the kitchen into a stairless white box, but even Edina hates it. Patsy, meanwhile, develops serious health problems and walks around with an IV stand. Saffron returns from her wedding to John in Kenya and reveals that he is a polygamist. Edina and Patsy head off to meet designers Terence Conran and Kunz for inspiration. At the latter's store, Edina claims to have seen her ideal kitchen in a previous life, so she hires a channeler. What results is a channelling that causes so much disruption in the household that Saffron and Edina argue once again, and Edina winds up assaulting baby Jane (which is contrary to her behavior - Edina is known for many things, but physical violence to family members is not one of them). Saffron has finally reached her breaking point, and kicks Edina and Patsy out of her house
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoysdcnnxk8&hl=en
Absolutely Fabulous-White Box Part 4 Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Saffron Sky: A Life Between Iran and America Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Saffron Sky: A Life Between Iran and America Review
This is an absorbing account of the author's divided identity as a Muslim woman who grew up in Iran in the 1960s-1970s and then remained in the U.S. where she was a university student at the time of the revolution. Now married to an American and working as a journalist, she is torn by her desire to return to the beloved Iran of her youth, its 3,000-year-old culture, and the large, loving family who still live there.
The strictures imposed on women in the Islamic Republic (the rigidly puritanical dress codes, the denial of social equality for women) are only a part of the difficulties she faces as she begins a series of return visits to Iran in 1990. The dominance of the West in the material values of educated and upper middle class Iranians has been replaced by the tyranny of the fundamentalist and hard-line religious leaders who dictate social policy. The dominance of the West in controlling Iran's oil-rich economy through the CIA-installed monarchy has been replaced by the social and economic upheaval brought on by years of war with Iraq and isolation in the world community.
With all this in the background, Asayesh articulates the human toll resulting from the revolution by describing its impact on the lives of the members of her family. She reveals this most vividly by contrasting her idyllic childhood against the realities of the present. Everywhere there is division, right down to her own efforts to recover a personal identity. Her sense of self is continually frustrated by the lack of continuity between the memories of her life as a girl and her current life in the West. Asayesh has a journalist's eye for detail that takes the reader beneath the surface of her subject and any easy generalizations about the Islamic Republic. It's an excellent book to read after Nafisi's "Reading Lolita in Tehran."
Saffron Sky: A Life Between Iran and America Overview
Gifted journalist Gelareh Asayesh writes indelibly of her struggle to balance an Iranian childhood with her adult life in America.
"A brave and beautifully written memoir that should be read by all who seek to understand Iran, America, or the divided life of the exile. Rarely have the enduring questions of time, place, faith, and identity been explored with such an array of amazing images.
-Tom Drury, author of The Black Brook
Available at Amazon Check Price Now!
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Growing Saffron Crocus
Image : http://www.flickr.com
Everyone is familiar with Crocus, the harbinger of spring. But the Saffron Crocus is a fall-blooming species that yields an important spice.
A fancy spice from a charming bulb
Saffron, the yellow spice, is obtained from the flowers of the Saffron Crocus, Crocus sativus. It is an important spice for coloring and flavoring certain foods, and was also once used as a dye. In fact, the genus name Crocus is from the Greek and means "saffron."
Origin unknown
The genus Crocus is found mainly in the Mediterranean region, but ranges as far east as Afghanistan. The native home of Crocus sativus is uncertain but is thought to be Asia Minor. It has been known in cultivation for thousands of years and was even mentioned in the Bible. Saffron Crocus is grown commercially in many parts of the world but the finest quality saffron comes from southeastern Spain.
Blooms in fall
In general, Crocuses can be divided into two groups: the winter and spring blooming species. Many people are familiar with the spring-blooming types. Usually the first flowers to bloom in spring, they often appear while snow is still on the ground. Their arrival is warmly greeted after the long cold winter.
Saffron Crocus belongs to the fall-blooming group. The flowers and leaves begin to appear at the same time, usually around October. The grass-like leaves eventually reach a length of 1-1 1/2 feet, but the 1 1/2-2 inch wide flowers rise barely more than an inch above the ground. The fragrant flowers are lavender or reddish-purple with spreading petals. The styles have three long blood-red, drooping, stigma lobes, from which the yellow saffron spice is harvested. The anthers are also bright yellow but are not a source of the spice.
Unusual Spice
Although not widely used, Saffron is nevertheless a crucial ingredient in certain dishes. Many Spanish dishes, in particular paella, require Saffron. Saffron is also used in bouillabaisse and to color and flavor rice.
The spice is obtained from the red stigma lobes of the flowers. They must be harvested by hand and approximately 70,000 flowers are required to make one pound of the spice. It is easy to see why Saffron is the most expensive of all the spices!
Through the year with the Saffron Crocus
Grow it in a pot or windowbox, or in the garden, where it will be hardy only in the south. Saffron requires full sun and blooms best in areas with hot summers.
Plant in July-August
Plant the corms as soon as they can be obtained. Put them in a rich, sandy, well-draining soil mix. Use regular potting soil with 25% extra sand added, or an equal mixture of peat moss, sand, and perlite or pumice. Plant six to eight bulbs in a six-inch pot, three to four inches deep. Water thoroughly, but not again until the leaves appear. Place the pot in a warm sunny spot.
Blooms in September-November
Flowers and leaves begin to appear September-November, depending on when the bulbs were planted. Flowering continues for about four weeks. Water regularly and do not allow the soil to become dry. A single application of liquid fertilizer is usually all that is needed.
Green from December-April
Continue watering regularly, but do not let the soil become soggy or let the pot stand in water. The leaves will begin to yellow and wither toward early spring and watering should be reduced.
Divide in May-June
Lift and divide the corms at least every two to three years or even annually. Clean the corms and replant them immediately in fresh soil. Place the pot in a hot, sunny spot for the summer and do not water until the leaves appear again in the fall.
How to harvest Saffron
Pick the stigmas as soon as the flowers open. Dry them immediately in the sun on newspaper or on screens over bottom heat. As soon as the Saffron has dried, store it in an airtight container out of the light.
Plant Doctor
Crocuses are rarely attacked by pests or diseases, but if grown outdoors, protect from birds and small animals.
No flowers. The plants have either not had enough sun, or have not been divided often enough. Keep the pot in a hot sunny area in summer.
The bulbs rot. The soil is either too heavy or kept too wet during the summer dormant period. Plant in a sandy, porous soil and keep dry after the foliage withers.
Buying Tips
Saffron Crocus will usually need to be ordered from a mail-order bulb nursery. Order and plant as early as possible.
Lifespan: Years, if divided frequently.
Season: Autumn.
Difficulty quotient: Not particularly easy.
In Brief
Size and growth rate
Perennial, deciduous cormous plants with 1-1 1/2 foot long grassy leaves. New corms are formed each year on top of the old ones.
Flowering and fragrance
1 1/2-2 inch wide fragrant flowers grow close to the ground. They are lavender or reddish-purple with yellow anthers and red stigma lobes which yield the Saffron spice.
Light and temperature
Saffron Crocus need a great amount of warmth to produce flowers, Place plants in the hottest, sunniest spot available.
Watering and feeding
Water regularly during the growing season and reduce watering as foliage withers. Keep dry in summer. Little fertilizer is needed; one application at the beginning the growing season is sufficient.
Soil and transplanting
Sandy, well-drained soil is required. Use regular potting soil with added sand or mix some from equal parts sand, peat moss and perlite. Plants should be lifted and divided in early summer every year, or at minimum every two to three years. Replant immediately.
Grooming
None except to harvest the Saffron if desired.
Propagating
By division.
Environment
Saffron Crocus is an interesting and unusual spice plant that will thrive best in a hot sunny window in a pot or windowbox outdoors, or planted in the garden.
For information on Choosing, Cultivating, Preserving and Using Herbs, please read my blog at http://www.plantingherbs.net/
Saffron Egg Nog - Grow Your Own Drugs Christmas - BBC Two
More about this programme: www.bbc.co.uk More about this series: www.bbc.co.uk Ethnobotanist James Wong returns with a one hour Christmas special of Grow Your Own Drugs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pux799v81U8&hl=en
