We have very close friends within walking distance that we share our home prepared meals and recipes with on occasion.
The Gentleman (Antonio) was born in Cancun Mexico with a historic Spanish ancestry inheritance. His numerous recipes are mostly influenced by Mesoamerican and Spanish cuisine. The Europeans who settled in or near Cancun long ago brought in the extensive use of meat and poultry in the Mexican food arena and also introduced the use of herbs, spices, cheese and various other daily products.
His Wife (Gina) was born in Napoli Italy and has Italian ancestry inheritance, her food specialties include "Linguine / Scoglio" and many other pasta dishes that I will not even attempt to spell (or pronounce).
My Wife (Anna) is Vietnamese / Chinese, born in Việt Trì North Vietnam. The culinary regions of the north (Ha'Noi) have more Chinese influence than the central or South Vietnam French food. The use of soy sauce, stir-fries, and the wok.
There is also the prodigious use of fish sauce giving Vietnam the title of the "Cuisine of Dipping Sauces."
She only uses fresh vegetables for her delicious soups, many from her own garden.
Anna's below jujube tree is a fruit berry tree, not a vegetable. She dries the jujubes out in the sun until they look like a raisin.
She also uses fruits and berries in her soups. The jujube tree originated in China, where there are more than 400 cultivars. It has been cultivated there for more than 4,000 years. Centuries ago, the trees were taken beyond Asia to different parts of the world, including the southwestern United States, but in many cases they developed into substandard strains. In 1908, improved Chinese varieties were brought to the United States by the USDA. The trees can be found in many nurseries throughout the USA. They can withstand a range of temperatures and is heat tolerant. They will grow within all aapk members regions.
The second picture below shows the freshly picked berries from Anna's two jujube trees prior to being sun dried for soup. Very sweet. Many of these were given away to family and friends.
Moving on to me:
I am most likely the less productive in our neighborly meal sharing of the four of us.
I have German, Dutch/Netherland ancestry. However, I can not, or perhaps should say "Have not" prepared many meals pertaining to such ancestry. I have eaten some fascinating Dutch food in Solvang Ca known as: "The Danish Capital of the World."
The Dutch are also well known for their Pancakes and Pastries. Take a look.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=dutch+pancake ... &ia=images
Our visitations and menu sharing has somewhat come to a halt with our friends for the time being at least, due to current "Social Distancing" recommendations.
Gina's Mother is 92 years old and lives with them, she must be protected at all costs. She is our "Queen Bee".
About 3 weeks ago, Gina brought a "Meatloaf" to us with a side of homemade "Tortellini Salad".
Now, I am no stranger to Meatloaf, but the taste was superb, never have I tasted its equal. I asked Anna to obtain the recipe from Gina. Gina advised her that Antonio prepared the Meatloaf.
When reading the Meatloaf ingredients, I came upon a spice ingredient "Red Mehr Saffron." I had never heard of Saffron, so I did a Google research.
Here is what I discovered.
"Saffron is a spice derived from the dried stigma of the flower of the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus), a species of crocus in the family Iridaceae. The flower has three stigmas, which are the distal ends of the plant's carpels. Iran ranks first in the world production of saffron, with more than 94 percent of the world yield. Other minor producers of saffron are Spain, India, Greece, Azerbaijan, Morocco, and Italy.
Harvesting:
The high retail value of saffron is maintained on world markets because of labour-intensive harvesting methods, which require some 200,000 saffron stigmas to be hand-picked from 70,000 to 80,000 crocus flowers for each 1 pound of saffron product, forty hours of labour are needed to pick 150,000 flowers.
One freshly picked crocus flower yields an average 30 mg (0.0011 oz) of fresh saffron or 7 mg (0.00025 oz) dried; roughly 150 flowers yield 1 gram of dry saffron threads; to produce 12 g (0.42 oz) of dried saffron, 1 lb (0.45 kg) of flowers are needed; 1 lb (0.45 kg) of fresh saffron yields 0.2 oz (5.7 g) of dried spice.
Premium All Red Saffron is the most expensive cut of the saffron flower’s red stigmas, where they are equally cut and separated after drying. Saffron threads that are cut this way give maximum natural dye, aroma, and flavor in baking and cooking.
Over 7000 purple saffron flowers must be picked by hand, and then dried carefully to get pure, All Red Saffron with intense colors and flavors you want. We believe that our customers deserve only the highest quality saffron, and Mehr Saffron products are created this way, but they also maintain that highest quality due to only containing just that natural, organic saffron, with no additives, chemical fertilizers or anything else at all.
Enjoy the new taste of foods and drinks by adding a small quantity of Mehr saffron.
Mehr Saffron is the most trusted saffron ingredient to use in making: saffron rice, paellas, stews, risotto alla Milanese, Indian Rice, sholeh zard, saffron milk, khoresht gheime, and chicken masala.
Health Benefits of Premium All Red Saffron
We all know saffron for its amazing taste, exotic aroma and fabulous color, but it also brings some health benefits that are perhaps not so well known:
Saffron has very strong antioxidant components plus vitamin B2 and riboflavin with great benefits that will give your body a total cleanse.
Saffron is good for skin and hair and make your skin radiant and smooth.
A cup of Saffron tea is good for maintaining attention, aiding sleep and sharpening your memory.
The color, aroma and taste will mesmerize, giving anyone the chance to enjoy the new taste in foods and drinks they may not have experienced before. Saffron has no rules, you can unleash your creativity when cooking with saffron and find new ways to enjoy all it has to offer.
Different Ways of Using Premium All Red Saffron
To get the very best from your fantastic Mehr Saffron Premium All Red Saffron there are a couple of things to remember.
The first is to never throw whole saffron strands into your cooking, instead always crumble the required number of threads into a small container, or for the best results grind them with a pestle and mortar.
You can make a saffron infusion to add to your cooking very quickly, simply be adding a small amount of pre-heated liquid to the ground saffron, and simply leave for about 20 minutes for the color, aroma and taste to infuse out. What liquid you use will depend on the recipe, water, stock or milk all work, and once infused, you can leave it in the fridge overnight if you wish."
So...There you have it.
We purchased the below 0.18 oz (5g) Red Mehr Saffron through Amazon.com and received it a couple days ago. We are excited to experiment with our new found spice that can be used in Cooking, Baking and Drinks.
I have a strong urge to make a batch of "Danish Aebleskivers" I"ll keep everyone informed of my results.
Have you ever used Saffron? What are your favorite Spices, Herbs, and Seasoning Supplements?
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Delish! My mouth is watering already... that's some ummy stuff right there. Good job MMan 
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ribs I rubbed with a basic coffee rub (instant coffee, garlic powder, onion powder, beef bouillon powder, black pepper, cayenne) Friday night.. going on the grill right now (indirect heat) oak and lump hardwood charcoal
I’ve found red boat to be the best other than gourmet batches from Asia that are quite pricey.. I also have a little bottle in my fridge that is equal parts soy sauce,fish sauce, oyster sauce and Worcestershire sauce… It’s an umami bomb..