When he was in college, Kansas City author Adib Khorram taught himself to make Persian food. Khorram, who grew up in Gladstone with an Iranian-born father , hadn't always felt comfortable embracing that part of his background when he was kid. The struggle to find cultural belonging would later be mirrored in his semi-autobiographical young adult novel. Another thing that found its way into his book, "Darius The Great Is Not Okay"? Iranian cuisine. In conversation with Gina Kaufmann and KCUR's