Baklava!

Yet another family tradition! Every year my Dad would get out the baking pans and make a huge portion of Baklava to enjoy during the holidays. He would give it to friends and family as a delicious treat when they came over for visits as well as gobble up one himself. Mmmmmm. I always enjoyed this undertaking and when I could, I helped him make it.

A couple of weeks ago my hubby sent me a link to the the Honey Harvest Hootenanny on October 1st ( link ), a fundraiser for an awesome place in downtown Oakland that teaches people how to live more sustainably. They put on fun events and also have interesting classes, everything from farming, rainwater harvesting, bee keeping and even arts and crafts. If I wasn't pregnant, I would have really enjoyed partaking in their bee-keeping series. You can check out their website at http://aplaceforsustainableliving.org/

During this "Honey Harvest Hootenanny" they are holding a competition of foods made with honey that don't have any refined sugars in them. Gary then suggested some Baklava. At first I rolled my eyes and thought, "Yeah right, at 8 months pregnant? You got to be kidding me!" But as you've read in previous posts, somehow my nesting instincts have strayed away from cobwebs and dusty corners and been more geared towards cooking and crafting. I bought the ingredients and I decided to put it together.

Now Baklava has a reputation of taking forever to make, it really wasn't all that bad. Overall, from beginning to end, I think it took about 3 hours. The original recipe that came from my grandmother's cookbook was not an option because it uses white sugar, not only that, but to be honest, I always had trouble understand what the heck she was talking about. A lot of times her measurements would be along the lines of, "a spoonful of this" and "a shot full of that". Without my Dad to help me, I decided I needed a more "legit" recipe to follow. Sorry Yayoula! I started looking for alternative recipes and found this awesome blog called The Nourishing Apron. I CAN'T WAIT to try other recipes that she's posted. This Baklava recipe was inspired by hers, although not without my own tweaks and knowledge of making this scrumptious dessert.

Here ya go!

Baklava:

-The night before, thaw out phyllo dough in the fridge. Keeping the dough in the box, set out an of hour before assembling Baklava so that it will come to room temperature.

- First, make the syrup

Ingredients for syrup:

2 cups of water

1 cup of dates, pitted and quartered

2 cups of honey

1 Tbs of cloves

-Simmer all ingredients, except the honey, in a covered pot for about 1/2 hour.

-Pull syrup off stove and ad honey, stir and set aside to let cool.

Ingredients for pastry:

1 lb box of whole wheat phyllo dough

2 sticks of butter

1 Tbs allspice

1 1/2 lbs of pecans

Small hand-full of whole cloves for decoration

-In food processor, coarsely grind pecans

-Add allspice to pecans and blend a few seconds more

-Melt 2 sticks of salted butter in a pot.

-Butter bottom of a 9x13 inch platter

-Take phyllo out of package and put on baking sheet, usually the phyllo sheets are large and can be cut in half to fit almost directly into your 9x13 inch platter. Important(!): Cover dough with a damp kitchen towel so that it doesn't dry out between uses.

-Add a layer of phyllo dough to bottom of platter, then drizzle and brush butter on.

-Add 6 more layers of dough the same way.

-Take a handful of pecans and spices and put a thin layer on top of doe, a bit heavier than a "sprinkle".

-Cover with another layer of phyllo dough, butter, and pecans. Note: In the beginning you may have to cut the phyllo do to fit the pan.

-Repeat process three or four times.

-Re-enforce with an extra layer of phyllo dough and butter (no pecans). Then start process again till all the nuts are gone.

-Add 4 more layers of butter and dough.

-Cut diagonally and put a clove into each square.

-Cook in oven at 350 degrees for about 30-40 minutes till golden brown.

-When baklava comes out of the oven, poor syrup between pieces of baklava, you should hear a nice sizzle. Be careful not to cover entire piece with syrup as it will make it soggy.

-Set aside and let it cool! It's usually best eaten room temperature after it has "firmed up" a bit and the honey has been sucked into the pastry.

Mmmmmmm! Salivating again!

Dolmas!

©Gary Dorrington

Mmmmmmmm, dolma's (or stuffed grape leaves). My dad just recently went to Greece and every time we skyped he would make me drool describing all the yummy food he was eating. To satisfy my craving I decided that it was time to pull out an old favorite recipe--dolmathes (in greek) or dolmas. I've been rolling dolma's since I was a babe, my fingers actually have muscle memory after all these years. We used to always make them on special occasions, the entire family sitting down to partake in the tradition. There was never a feast without these "green turds" as I used to call them when I was little.

They really aren't that hard to make, they just take a while to roll, especially if there is only one of you, so if you can, prepare the stuffing, sit down with a friend and partake in the joy of creating delicious, healthy food for you and your family.

Another tribute to my mom, . . .

Yalangi Dolmathes (stuffed grape leaves)

Good as a main course or appetizer. Make lots because you won't be able to eat just one!

Ingredients:

1 16 oz jar of grape leaves, washed and set aside. Or about 50-60 fresh grape leaves

6 bunches of scallions, cleaned, roots removed and white parts chopped finely

3 zucchini, grated

Juice of one large lemon

1 head of red or green loose leaf lettuce, chopped in small pieces

2 cups of rice (white, long grain)

1 cup of olive oil

2-3 cubes of chicken bouillon, dissolved in a little water

About 8 oz (or to taste)feta cheese, (a tangy variety like Bulgarian or Greek), grated

1/2 bunch of fresh dill, chopped

1 big handful of mint, chopped into tiny pieces

Salt to taste

Prepare the above ingredients. When ready, put the ingredients (with the exception of the grape leaves) in a large bowl. Mix together and taste and, if necessary, adjust the seasonings. Set the bowl of ingredients down on your working space. You will also need a dinner plate, a spoon and a small knife.

Select a heavy, deep cooking pot that can go on top of the stove and has a cover. Pour a bit of olive oil in the bottom and line the bottom of the pan with some of the coarsest grape leaves from the jar. If all the leaves seem tender, you may use lettuce. Place a grape leaf, inside up, in the center of the plate. The stem should be closest to you with the leaf pointing away from you. With the knife, cut away the stem and coarse vein. Overlap any cut parts.

Mix the stuffing together with the spoon (do this before making each dolma to make sure the juice doesn't accumulate on the bottom), and then fill the spoon with stuffing. Place the stuffing about 1/3 way up from the stem. Roll by first folding the end closest to you over the stuffing then folding the sides. Roll up until complete. Place in the pot seam side down. Pack dolmas side by side until you finish one layer. Repeat again for a second later. You will accumulate a lot of cuice as you roll the dolmas. This should be added to the pot. Place a small plate on top of the second row. Do not add more rows. Put more dolmas in another pot, if necessary.

Place the pot on high heat at first and when it starts to boil, turn down to medium heat. Cook for 20-30 minutes depending on the rice and the coarseness of the grape leaves. You can also add a little water if necessary. Taste for doneness. If the rice is cooked, take the pot off the heat. Open the top and let the dolmas cool on the top of the stove. Dolmas are better served at room temperature. They may be prepared up to 4 days in advance. Refrigerate if made in advance and allow dolmas to get to room temperature before serving. Enjoy!

Greek Easter Bread! Yum!

In honor of my sweet Mom, you taught me well (!) . . .

(to the left is one of my favorite pictures of my mom and I, on the docks of Hotel Bora Bora when I was nine)

Easter was hard for me this year. Not only was it the last time I saw my mom before she died last year, but it was also always one of "her" holidays. Normally I don't even give it a thought because my mom always asks me what we are doing. Of course, since we didn't "traditionally" celebrate the holiday we always used it as an excuse to hang out all together and have a good meal, usually something amazing that my mom would cook.

This year, even though I was sad, I used it as an opportunity to start a new tradition. I decided to make some Greek Easter Bread. It is a long process, not too difficult, but just takes a while. My mom used to love making it for my Dad as there are some foods he gets hankerings for being away from his homeland. I remember helping her when I was younger and then eagerly awaiting the fresh cooked bread to come out of the oven. Now it was Serafin's turn to help and enjoy the outcome!

For those of you who didn't know my mom, she was an AMAZING cook. She actually had taken lessons from Julia Child at one point. Her food was mouthwatering, diverse, and, of course, NOT non-fat. A year before she passed away she asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I told her how cool it would be to have a compilation of her huge (and very messy) cookbook. I don't know how she knew where things were in that binder of recipes, it was a huge mish-mash of hand written pages and magazine clippings. Somehow though, that Christmas, my mom produced a neatly typed binder of all my favorite recipes. Included were old family dishes, Greek food, and my childhood favorites. It was also prefaced by a sweet letter from my Mom, words that I have read many times since she passed. This cook book is a treasure to have and I am especially grateful that all the wonderful foods that my mom once cooked are not lost forever.

Straight from my mom's cookbook and into our mouths, please enjoy making some Greek Easter Bread (Tsoureki). It is most definitely worth the time and effort.

Tsoureki

Makes 4 twists

4-5 lbs white flour, sifted with 1 T. salt

4 yeast cakes or 4 packages dried yeast, dissolved in 1 cup of warm water

10 eggs beaten, with 1 1/2 cup milk

1 tsp. allspice

1 1/2 tsp. anise or 3 tsp ouzo

3 egg yolks

1/3 cup sesame seeds

1/3 cup sliced almonds

Boil the allspice and anise (ouzo) in 1 cup water and set aside, reserving water. Place 4 lbs of the sifted flour and salt in a large bowl, and make a well in the center of the flour. Add the yeast with water, eggs with sugar and mix, but do not knead; add the melted butter and milk, and the reserved liquid from the allspice and anise (ouzo); mix with your hands to blend ingredients thoroughly, adding more flour as needed (you will end up using all the 5 pounds of flour).

Then knead until the dough is smooth. Place dough on a floured board and knead until firm, smooth and not sticky. Brush the dough with melted butter, cover with towels , and set in warm place to rise until double in size. Knead again, brush with butter, and allow to rise until again twice in size. Repeat this process one more time (3 times altogether).

When dough is ready, divide it into 4 balls. Divide each section into 3 small balls and roll out each ball with your hands into a long narrow rope. Take the ropes of dough, press them together at the top and braid them, then press the ends together to form a wreath or leave straight. Brush twists with egg yolks, sprinkle with sesame seeds, place in greased baking pans and bake at 325 degrees (350) until golden brown. (45 minutes plus)

Yum!