Vegetable Pâté with Walnut and Garlic (Pkhali)

The power of food—to transcend boundaries, both geographical and cultural, and unify—has been the main idea behind Chesnok. By focusing on the recipes that have allowed my own family to bond through the years, I have created a space, a virtual communal table if you will, where I too can forge a connection with others in my community and around the globe. This week marks exactly one year since I’ve started to share a little of my life and my family’s food heritage with you all and I’ve been rewarded with a warm and welcoming embrace. To know that others believe in me has gone, and will continue to go, an incredibly long way towards this passion project of mine.

Georgian, SidesPolina C.April 20, 2017pkhali, beet, spinach, pate, dip, vegetarian, vegan, walnut, fenugreek, side, georgian, gluten free Comments

Summer's Bounty and Fried Eggplant Rolls

Nature is so generous to us this time of year that, presented with such an abundant bounty, I often find myself facing the same dilemma. Do I savor this piece of fruit or vegetable immediately, teeming with all the goodness and flavor of summer, or do I save it instead to cook with? If I practice a little restraint and go with the latter, I’m then left with another dilemma: how do I make the absolute best use of it?

Georgian, SidesPolina C.August 15, 2016eggplant, fenugreek, cilantro, side, gluten free, vegetarian, summer Comment

Khmeli-Suneli & Co.

In Tbilisi, the central marketplace is a city dweller’s link to the country. With two huge floors of stalls, not to mention the labyrinth of the outdoor market, you have an enchanting and exhilarating destination where vendors of every shape and size, from every part of the country, are unabashedly selling their wares. Counters are laden with farm-cured cheeses and meats, their sellers vying for attention and a chance to convince you their product is superior to all the rest. Rows of butchers wax poetic about their meat which, according to them, only that morning was still alive, grazing and sleeping in the meadows. Burlap sacks overflow with every nut, dried fruit, bean, and grain you can imagine, and barrels sit filled to the brim with pickles and marinades, hole heads of garlic soaking in verjuice or pomegranate juice.

GeorgianPolina C.July 29, 2016spice, fenugreek, vegan, vegetarian Comments

Chicken with Herbs and Tomato (Chakhokhbili)

Birthdays are an interesting thing. Of course as a little kid, birthdays were the best day of the year—you are the birthday prince or princess and anything you say or want, goes. But as you grow older, things change. The day looses its luster for some and then others find that they’re better off without the yearly reminder that time is ticking away. Most likely the hedonist in me, I’ve always loved birthdays. Not only is it an excuse to eat, drink, and be all sorts of merry, but it’s also an occasion to bring together the people in your life to do so. And even when it’s not your birthday you’re celebrating, you can do what I did as a 4-year old and pout in the corner until you get a present too. Sorry, Mom.