I can still hear father speaking in that mock-angry tone of his as he discovered that the jasmine bushes had been stripped of their flowers. When our grandmother nonchalantly joined the rest of the family at breakfast, she casually plucked the concealed flowers from their hiding place under her shawl and dropped the fragrant bouquet near my father. He would pretend to ignore her as he waited to take his sweet revenge the next morning. I have fond memories of those breakfasts, or sobhaneh. The meal itself usually consists of sweet tea, feta cheese, and nan-e barbari, a crusty, flat bread made fresh very early every morning.
Breakfast sometimes includes other types of bread, jam and honey, fresh cream, butter, and hot milk.
Sobhaneh is a very important and pleasant moment in the life of an Iranian family, a time to be together before everyone leaves for work. The cuisine of any country is a fundamental part of its heritage. The ingredients reflect its geography, while the savor and colors accent the aesthetic tastes of its inhabitants. Thousands of years ago, Zoroaster elaborated the ancient myth of the Twins. One became good and the other evil, one the follower of truth and the other of falsehood.