New year, heavenly bread

The first day of spring, the vernal equinox, Persian New Year—these all happened March 20. The latter is called Nowruz, and if celebrating it at the likely to be intense dance party at Reunion nightclub in El Dorado Hills isn't your thing, keep it low-key by getting in-store baked barbari from Folsom Quality Meat and Grocery Kabul Bazaar (640 East Bidwell Street in Folsom). The market's name isn't vegan, but this bread is. Look for the golden-hued, nearly 3-feet-long, slightly raised and sesame-sprinkled flat. In Iran, there are neighborhood bakeries that only make this kind of bread, and walking out the door with one just out of the oven is heaven. It's best when toasted and is traditionally eaten with sabzi, a mélange of fresh herbs (mint, basil, cilantro, tarragon, green onion, radish) and feta, which can be substituted with Miyoko’s Kitchen's phenomenal pungent nut-based “cheeses”—a cheese eater said he could be fooled into believing it was the real thing. Nowruz mobarak!