A lot of family.
I married into Persian culture years ago and it still feels like stepping into a world that insists on colour, poetry and enough food to feed the neighbours as well.
This part of Saffron & Cyrus is where I explore the Persian side of our family life, from the big celebrations to the food, music and little traditions that become part of everyday family life.
Some of these traditions are ancient. Some have been adapted because we live in the UK. And some are simply things we do because they remind us where we come from and who we are raising Cyrus to be.
It is in the food on the table, the music playing in the kitchen, the way a family celebrates, the stories we tell our children and the people we remember.
For us, Persian culture is part of family life rather than a museum piece. This page is my way of documenting some of it.
Nowruz marks the Persian New Year and the arrival of spring. It is one of the most important celebrations in Persian culture, filled with renewal, family, food and tradition.
Shab-e Yalda is a celebration of light, family, poetry and getting through the longest night of the year, preferably with enough fruit and nuts to make you question whether dinner is still necessary.
A fiery Persian celebration that takes place just before Nowruz, Chaharshanbe Suri is one of those traditions that manages to be both symbolic and rather good fun.
Sizdah Bedar brings the Nowruz celebrations outdoors, traditionally marking the thirteenth day of the Persian New Year with family, food and time in nature.
Persian food is woven through our family life, from comforting stews and rice dishes to sweets, tea and the recipes that carry a little bit of home with them.
Culture is not just the big celebrations. It is also the music playing while we’re cooking, the words we use with our children and the little things that make a house feel like home.
If you celebrate these traditions too, or you’re discovering Persian culture for the first time, have a wander through the stories. I add to this page as our family life evolves.
And if you arrive mainly for the food, I completely understand.