I. A Limerick
While we were in Paris, The Aged Cat suggested I write a limerick about the Pont Neuf. As I was preparing the book review for Alyson’s Chooks in the City, I composed the limerick. Yesterday I got everyone longing for halvah when I mentioned it in my meme. Today our home is crashing down around our heads. It’s time to think nice thoughts, despite my headache, for the sake of three little animals gathered at my feet.
Top to bottom: new, new, in transition, old. Paper Birch, evergreen, and Newfoundland-Labrador flag infuse a Canadian atmosphere.
Oh, yeah, the crashing-down-home part: it’s literal. Our building is made up of three short towers (one four-storey, two six-storey) set in a U-shape. The lobby and elevator are in one corner of the bottom of the U. When you exit the elevator on an upper floor, it leads onto outside “hallways” — kinda like a motel, I guess. Anyway, all the railing facing the central courtyard has had to be replaced. The workers are good, and they’re at it from 7 am to 6 pm, so it will be done in a few days’ time, but the hammering and the sawing and the drilling are pretty loud and scary for the four-footeds. Today, the workers are right in front of our door. I’ve turned on some Medieval music and started some laundry in order to help drown them out. Just hope they’re not too ticked off at the dryer exhaust venting on their toils.
So anyway, here’s the limerick, dedicated to The Aged Cat:
- On June 1st, we crossed the Pont Neuf.
- Mid-month, it’s “La poule et son oeuf”.
- Pets, legends, pi-pi,
- Hikes, rhymes, symphony –
- Are my interests varied enough?
It’s scheduled for a week’s sidebar posting beginning July 14th, AC; I hope you like it.
II. Turtle’s First-Ever Online Pot Luck Party!
You’re all invited to a pot luck! Some delicious olives will be among the appetizers, and included in the desserts will be fresh sesame-based halvah.
I went to Wikipedia for its take on where halvah comes from, and it gives a list of places. I invite you — regulars and non, bloggers and general readers — to leave a recipe in the comments section, as long as the recipe is said to originate from one of these countries:
- Albania
- Bulgaria
- the Caucasus region
- Central Asia
- Cyprus
- Greece
- Iraq
- Israel
- Lebanon
- Macedonia
- Palestine
- Romania
- Serbia
- Syria
- Turkey
- Ukraine
We’ll see what we’ve gathered by next Friday. There are no prizes for this game, but hopefully we’ll have assembled a terrific menu. And hey, if anyone wants to start a World Peace movement based on love for halvah, send me your membership application!
My recipe, adapted from A Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden (Penguin, 1970) :
Rice with Pine Nuts, Almonds, and Raisins
*1 lb (2 cups) rice, cooked
*1 Tbsp butter or oil
*1/4 cup pine nuts
*1/2 cup almonds, peeled & chopped
*1/4 cup raisins
*1/2 tsp cinnamon
*1/4 tsp allspice
*salt and pepper to taste
Fry up the nuts about 2 minutes, until lightly browned. Mix with the spices and raisins. Put the cooked rice in a see-through dish, and cover with the nut mixture.
June 21, 2008 at 3:30 am
Count me in. I’ll just have to hunt through the recipe books. I think you could be onto something with the halvah peace group. Count me in that as well.
June 21, 2008 at 8:49 am
Was that “Peace” or “Piece” with regards to the Halvah?
Okay, drawing on my Romanian background (well 1/4 of it anyways), here goes.
LOKSHEN KUGEL (or translated – Noodle Pudding)
1/2 lb broad egg noodles (I use Lancia)
2 quarts boiling water
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon or 1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
4 tablespoons shortening
1/2 cup chopped seedless raisins
1/4 cup chopped almonds (Optional)
3 tablespoons bread crumbs
Drop noodles in rapidly boiling salted water and cook till tender. Drain in a colander, pouring hot water through to rinse well. Beat eggs with sugar, cinnamon, salt and add the noodles. Melt shortening in the baking dish and add to mixture, then raisins and almonds. Top with crumbs and bake 45 mins at 400 F.
Variantion: I omit the cinnamon, almonds and raisins and substitute lemon juice and a drained can of fruit cocktail which gives a sweeter variety.
I find I can divide the noodles in 1/2 before adding the variations and make one of each type in an 8×8 dish instead of one large 13×9.
June 21, 2008 at 5:29 pm
All right, Livingisdetail! We’ll save a place for you.
“Peace” isn’t a typo, Shelley, but “piece” works too, in that if everyone in all these countries (and ours) could sit down together with a good piece of halvah, I’m sure it would go a long way in promoting piece.
Your noodle recipe sounds fab!
June 22, 2008 at 1:50 am
I bags in too…love a recipe hunt! I haven’t been able to get Halva off my mind either, pnly to discover there’s Halva and there’s *Halva*. Fake Halva, just doesn’t do it at all…especially when it is actually Turkish Delight! Seriously!
June 22, 2008 at 5:40 am
That’s right, Alyson. Halvah in its original language(s) is actually a general term meaning sweet/candy. Another common sweet called “halvah” uses semolina (cream-of-wheat) as its base. For us Western European descendents, though, “halvah” usually refers to the sesame-based treat. I was up at midnight to sleep in the papasan with the puppy for two hours, or I would probably give an analogy from another language that uses an English general term as a specific item… scanning… scanning… OMG, here’s one! To me, “Canadian bacon” means bacon from a homegrown hog. To the Americans, the term applies to what we Canadians call “back bacon”. Maybe the day won’t be a total loss.
June 24, 2008 at 3:14 am
Oh, I am drooling liberally already!
Here’s Village Eggs a Greek recipe adapted from John Bedelis’ recipe in “Mum’s favorite recipes” Published by Lantern, Penguin Group, Australia 2005. I chose it because I always have to find egg recipes!
Village Eggs
(Great for breakfast or brunch as well as a lighter course for lunch or dining alfresco on a nice balcony)
Ingrediants:
6 large free range eggs
2 tabs extra virgin olive oil
50g Greek fetta cheese, crumbled
1 handful fresh herbs roughly chopped(try basil, oregano and flat leafed parsley)
Good unsliced bread thickly cut and toasted
salt and cracked pepper
Method:
Crack egg intoa bowl and gently break the yolks, being careful not to mix the yolks and whites together. Heat half the oil in a large non-stick frypan over low-medium heat. Pour the eggs into the pan, then add the crumbled fetta and most of the fresh herbs on top. With a spatula, slowly and gently slide through the mixture in different directions. This allows the mixture to cook through slowly, creating a light, rippled, layered effect. Serve immediately on toasted bread, drizzle lightly with remaining olive oil, season with salt and cracked pepper and garnish with remaining herbs.
Serves 6.
June 24, 2008 at 6:20 am
I’ve never heard of making a design with frying eggs before! It must look something like a mille-feuille pastry or a well-presented cappuccino? What fun!
June 24, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Well, you’ve mentioned Greece, and I don’t see my favourite Greek dessert on the menu yet, so here goes (I haven’t actually made it before, but I have lots of eating experience, so I hope that counts!):
Baklava
Ingredients:
4 cups slivered almonds and/or walnuts (1 pound)
1-1/4 cups sugar, divided
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 package (16 ounces) frozen phyllo dough (about 20 sheets), thawed
1 cup butter, melted
1-1/2 cups water
3/4 cup honey
2(2-inch-long) strips lemon peel
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick
3 whole cloves
Preparation:
1.Using a food processor or knife, finely chop nuts.
2.Combine nuts, 1/2 cup sugar, cinnamon and ground cloves in medium bowl; mix well.
3.Unroll phyllo dough and place on large sheet of waxed paper. Cut phyllo sheets in half crosswise to form 2 stacks, each about 13X9 inches. Cover phyllo with plastic wrap and damp, clean kitchen towel. (Phyllo dough dries out quickly if not covered.)
4.Preheat oven to 325°F. Brush 13X9-inch baking dish with some melted butter.
5.Place 1 phyllo sheet in bottom of dish, folding in edges if too long; brush surface with butter. Repeat with 7 more phyllo sheets, brushing surface of each sheet with butter as they are layered. Sprinkle about 1/2 cup nut mixture evenly over layered phyllo.
6.Top nuts with 3 more layers of phyllo, brushing each sheet with butter. Sprinkle another 1/2 cup nut mixture on top. Repeat layering and brushing of 3 phyllo sheets with 1/2 cup nut mixture until there are a total of eight 3-sheet layers. Top final layer of nut mixture with remaining 8 phyllo sheets, brushing each sheet with butter.
7.Cut Baklava lengthwise into 4 equal sections, then cut diagonally at 1-1/2-inch intervals to form diamond shapes. Sprinkle top lightly with some water to prevent top phyllo layers from curling up during baking. Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until golden brown.
8.To prepare syrup, combine 1-1/2 cups water, remaining 3/4 cup sugar, honey, lemon peel, lemon juice, cinnamon stick and whole cloves in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer 15 minutes.
9.Strain hot syrup; drizzle evenly over hot Baklava. Cool completely before serving.
Makes about 32 pieces.
June 24, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Eating experience is essential to good cooking.
Guess I’ll take the dogs to the park for a few hours while you putter in the kitchen!
June 29, 2008 at 1:00 am
Well, I am a bit late for the party but… I do have a plate of Koupepia from Cyprus.
Stuffed Vine Leaves (koupepia)
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
11/2 brown onions, chopped finely
400g (13 ounces) minced pork
1/2 cup of red wine
1 cup of carolina rice (white long-grain)
1 lemon
1/4 cup chopped flat-leafed parsley
1/4 cup chopped mint
1 tomato peeled and chopped
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
375g (12 oz) of vine leaves (blanched)
(Save 4 to 6 leaves to line the saucepan & 4 – 5 for covering the koupepia to stop them burning)
1/2 cup hot water
Method
1)Wash the vine leaves and boil in hot water for 5 minutes. Cool in cold water and strain.
2) Heat oil in a large saucepan and add 1/3 of the onion. Fry until onion is translucent then add minced meat, stir continuously until browned.
3)Add the red wine,stir. Cook for 5 minutes.
4) Stir the rice into the meat and onion mixture. Add the lemon juice to stop the rice becoming gluggy. Cook for 30 seconds, then remove from the heat. (The rice should still be uncooked).
5)In a bowl, add the remaining onion, the parsley, mint, tomato, salt and pepper.
6) Now add the meat mixture and stir in well.
7) Place a vine leaf and place it shiny side down. Cut off the stem if it is still there. Place about 1 tablespoon of the meat mixture close to the stem end, fold all the sides of the leaf over the stuffing and roll firmly. Repeat.
9)Pour in hot water and then trickle the olive oil on top
10) Place a plate on top of the rolls to protect their shape while they are cooking
11) Cover the saucepan with a lid and bring to a simmer. Cook on low heat for 30 minutes. Taste a roll and check the rice is cooked. (Give it approx. another 10 minutes if necessary). Add a little more water if needed.
Serves 8 – 10
June 29, 2008 at 1:25 am
Well hi, Livingisdetail! Come in, you’re just in time!
I decided to have the party as a Sunday supper, since a lot of people here are taking the Monday off because Tuesday is Canada Day anyway, so why not make it an extra-long weekend? The American guests have their national holiday July 4, so they’ll be in town for the whole week, and tomorrow’s supper will be a nice capping to the Pride Parade fun. And I understand from Alyson that school is out over your way, so she’s bringing the kids and the dogs. Milo needed his own seat on the plane, but they at least got child fare for him.
And since you were the first person to respond to this post, we knew the party just wouldn’t be the same without your koupepia!
(Yes, I realize it’s 2:30 in the morning as I write this, but I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep. So here I was at the keyboard when you dropped in! )
June 29, 2008 at 4:25 pm
[...] To find the recipes for the foods listed in bold, head over to the comments section (and one recipe in the main blether) in Part II of last Friday’s post. [...]