Have you ever walked down the street and smelled something absolutely scrumptious cooking? Have you ever walked into a bookstore or library and saw a book that jumped out right away? We get both of those things with Pomegranate Soup! Join me and a guest, Marissa, to discuss this beautiful book about love, acceptance, culture, and food.

Recipe: For the pomegranate soup you’ll need a large chopped onion, olive oil, ½ cup of split peas or lentils, 6 cups of water, 1 tsp of salt, ½ tsp pepper, 1 tsp turmeric, about a cup of chopped parsley, a cup of cilantro, ¼ cup chopped mint, a cup of chopped scallions, 1 lb of ground turkey (original recipe calls for lamb but I am subbing it out), ¾ cup of rice, 2 cups pomegranate juice, Tbsp sugar, and 2 Tbsps lemon juice. Wow that’s a lot of ingredients. The instructions themselves are quite short. In a large pot, saute the onions in the olive oil until golden. Add the split peas, rice, water, and spices and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for half an hour. Add the herbs and scallions and simmer for another 15 minutes. While all this simmering is happening, roll the ground meat into meatballs. Add the meatballs and all other remaining ingredients to the pot and simmer for an additional 40-45 minutes. Enjoy! For the pomegranate smoothie, you will need about a cup of orange juice, strawberries, a banana, ½ cup of greek yogurt, and a handful of pomegranate arils, which are the seed pods. Put everything in a blender and blend until it is smooth. It’ll be a stunning shade of pink and is best when enjoyed immediately after blending.

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Artwork by @stephanieilana

Music: Clementi Sonatina No. 1 in G Major III

Editor: Alex Schmitz

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