I'm Eating the Pistachios Anyway!

As part of a string of errands yesterday, Audrey and I went to Sarkis Pastry in Glendale for some good old fashioned Armenian paklava (Baklava to non-Armenians). Armenian paklava is made with a sugar syrup not honey, so it has a different flavor than the typical store bought baklava.

I was never a huge fan of paklava (or baklava) growing up, but later figured out it was the walnuts I didn't like. Fortunately, Armenian bakeries make various types of paklava, including almond and cashew filled ones. Now that I know which ones to get, I enjoy going to Sarkis Pastry (the only place I buy paklava) and getting my four favorite types.

I thought it would be interesting for Audrey to tag along and see how it all works. She seemed to enjoy the experience and even got a small box filled with about seven pieces to take home. I purchased two boxes. One for tea with a friend in the morning. The other for Andrew to take to work. Audrey and I bought one cream filled phyllo triangle to share right then and there. All the paklava got an extra sprinkling of pistachio on top after it was packaged, and the cream filled pastry got a drizzle of syrup with pistachio sprinkles. Audrey and I devoured our phyllo pastry as soon as we got back to the car. It was delicious, and we were hungry. After getting home and getting settled, I discovered my friend wasn't going to be able to make it to tea in the morning after all. I was a little disappointed that I wouldn't be seeing her, but at least, there's paklava. I had one piece yesterday evening and another piece in the morning.

When Audrey came to work in the morning, she asked me if I had seen the news and heard about the pistachio recall. Well, I don't watch the news, so I hadn't heard anything. It turns out Salmonella was found in some pistachios traced back to a giant plant in California, and the FDA is asking people not to eat pistachios until further notice. Since we both had eaten the paklava and weren't sick, we figured our pistachios were probably safe to eat. Just as a precaution, I called and notified Andrew of the recall.

I rarely get paklava, so it's unfortunate the pistachio recall had to happen now. I think for the most part it will be alright. I'll keep the paklava away from anyone with a compromised immune system and warn those wanting some of the risks. I just had another piece paklava and am pretty certain it's worth the minuscule risk of getting salmonella poisoning (at least for me).