Enjoying the Journey

A few days ago, I was talking with a good friend of mine about my culinary journey and its adventures and about all the things I want to do but I don’t have enough time …to do them! She simply answered to me – Do as much as you can and the most important thing is to enjoy the journey! It’s so true and I am so glad she said that to me! I try to remind myself of that all the time and I try to read my favorite’s poet K. Kavafes’ masterpiece (in my opinion) Ithaka – a poet which is all about the life journey and that it’s upto us to make it rich …

So this past week I tried to put things in perspective and stop dwelling on the ideas I have but I have no time to implement and focus on things I can do ... so this past Thursday I took a demonstration class with one my favorite chefs in the Sacramento area – Michael Tuohy. I thoroughly enjoyed the class and needless to say I had a delicious dinner which consisted of carnaroli risotto with asparagus and baby artichokes, halibut with Spring vegetable ragout and strawberry crisp. Michael Tuohy is the executive chef at Grange restaurant in Sacramento. I love all the food on the menu at this restaurant. The reason why I am drawn to his cooking is because he loves to cook with fresh local ingredients. It doesn’t take a lot to win me over to some style of cooking if it involves seasonal, fresh and local vegetables! A great way of cooking that I hope more of us adapt and follow.

 

Here is one of my favorite salad recipes that I created using seasonal vegetables. Try it and let me know what you think. It’s also a powerhouse of vitamins and anti-oxidants based on the ingredients that it has so you can fully enjoy it.

 

Crunchy Asparagus Salad

1 bunch asparagus or 8 stalks

½ cup roasted chopped walnuts

½ cup roasted pine nuts

1/3 cup roasted sesame seeds

1 garlic clove finely chopped

1 large red beet

1 cup chopped celery

½ cup crumbled feta

½ cup virgin olive oil

¼ cup wine vinegar

2 teaspoons pomegranate syrup or

substitute with some fresh pomegranate juice

First prepare the dressing.

In a bowl mix the olive oil, finely chopped garlic, wine vinegar and pomegrante syrup. Wisk well and set aside.

Cook the beet in boiling water. Let it cool off and remove the skin.

Cut in small cubes.

Wash the celery stalks and cut in small cubes.

Cut the bottom part of the asparagus which are not tender.

Place in a steamer and cook for 5 minutes or until you can easily fork them.

Don’t overcook them because we want them to maintain their crunchiness.

Cut in small bite size pieces and place in a salad bowl. Add the beet and celery.

Add the pine nuts, chopped walnuts and roasted sesame seeds into the salad.

Drizzle over the dressing. Toss well. Sprinkle the feta on top and serve.

You can also use other types of beets other than the red ones and you can mix and match! Remember that bright colors are appetizing!

Makes 4-6 servings

I love this salad because it’s easy to make and it’s tasty. The crunchy part of it is great for me since I love crunchy food!

Καλη ορεξη!

Till next time stay well!

My Beloved Home Town - Lefkosia – Λευκωσια

 

Lefkosia  - Λευκωσια is where I lived most of my life. That’s where I was born and that’s where I spent some of the formative years of my life. I miss my city and the medieval walls that surround the old town. These distinctive walls offer a welcoming contrast to the modern and cosmopolitan character of the new part of the city. Lefkosia which has thousand years of history that date back to the bronze age is build around these 16^th century walls that were built by the Venetians.

The part of the town that’s the closest to my heart is the old part of town where most of the houses date back to the late 1800s or very early 1900s. There are beautiful churches in this part of the town that are from the Byzantine times. Some of the streets are so narrow that only one car can get through.

Even though I have been living abroad for quite sometime, friends and relatives  ask me for directions when I visit during the summer and we get to the old part of the town. I know all the streets and I can get around the old town without getting lost or more precisely I know all the street shortcuts.

I got to know them by exploring them either on foot, riding my bike or my car. I always loved this town so much that I wanted to get to know each street, each corner, each little antique shop – as if I wanted to have it engraved in my mind and I think I have succeeded!

If you ever visit the beautiful island of Cyprus you have to visit its capital – Lefkosia.

It’s in the old part of town that I went to have some traditional desserts with my sister while I was visiting this past summer.

We went to an old coffee shop tucked in the beautiful courtyard of an old elementary school – the one our mom attended – and next to a beautiful old church.

The elementary school my mom attended

Here is the recipe of my favorite Greek dessert – Galaktoboureko. Every time I eat it I am transported to happy times as a child ...

 

Galaktoboureko - Γαλακτομπουρεκο

1 pound phyllo

1 cup unsalted butter

Syrup:

2 cups sugar

1 cup water

1 cinnamon stick

1 tablespoon orange juice

Orange rind

Custard:

4 cups milk

½ cup semolina

½ cup sugar

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup unsalted butter

First, prepare the syrup. In a saucepan, combine the sugar, and the water with the cinnamon stick and orange rind. Stir over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Let it continue boiling for an additional five minutes until it thickens a bit. A couple of minutes before you remove it from the heat, add the orange juice. Set aside to cool off.

Start the second step. Take two phyllo sheets at a time and place them in an 8 by 12 inch baking pan. Brush the top phyllo sheet with melted butter. Continue the same process with another two sheets until you have used half of the phyllo sheets in the package.

Next, prepare the custard. In a saucepan, heat the milk and let it cool off a little bit. While the milk is cooling off, in a bowl, mix together the sugar with the eggs. Use a blender to mix well until the mixture is fluffy. Add the semolina. Pour this mixture into the milk. Place on medium heat and stir with a wooden spoon. Continue stirring to avoid the creation of any lumps. The mixture will slowly start to get thicker. It is thick enough when it can still drop from a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat and add the butter and vanilla.

Pour in the custard over the buttered layers of phyllo. Spread it out evenly. Start adding phyllo sheets over the cream. Place two at a time after brushing them with melted butter. Repeat these steps until you have used all the phyllo sheets. Lightly score the top layer with a sharp knife in order to create rhombus or square shapes.  (Do not cut all the way through the pastry.  Once the pastry is baked, it will be easy to cut in these shapes.) Brush the top layer with butter and then sprinkle with a little bit of warm water.

Place in a pre-heated oven. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Continue baking at 350 degrees for another 40 minutes. It is fully baked once it has a golden color on top. Once you take the pastry out of the oven, pour very slowly the cold syrup using a ladle. Try to spread the syrup over the entire surface of the dessert.

Do not cover the pan, because the phyllo will soften. Set aside for a couple of hours before serving. It needs time for the syrup to be absorbed.

Serve cold. Except in very hot climates or seasons, you can leave the pastry outside the refrigerator for a day.

Makes 10-15 servings depending how big the pieces are.

 

I hope you make it and you share it with love.

Every year when I go back home I spend a day going around the old town. I usually park far away from the city and I walk. I go through all the familiar streets, I visit the farmers market, I take pictures, I have coffee at the small traditional kafeneia, I talk with the locals and I just enjoy the city and its people. I stop and observe the different small shop owners trying to sell goods to the tourists, I visit antique shops and sometimes I cry when I see some parts of the town which are now run down. I take my time, I don’t rush as if I want to take part of the town with me to California; have it with me till the next time I visit. When I do my annual visit which is like a pilgrimage to me I like to do it on my own and with no time constraints. My family knows that it’s my day with Lefkosia. When they ask me what time I would be back I always say – I don’t know.

... and Lefkosia is indeed with me everywhere I go.

Τα λουτρα της Εμερκες - Old communal baths

Lefkosia remains the only divided capital in the world. After the Turkish invasion in 1974 the town was divided. I actually come from the area that’s under the Turkish occupation. During the war in 1974 we had to flee to another part of the town but then we couldn’t go back. For the last few years we are allowed to cross the divided line and go to that area but only as visitors. Greek and Turkish Cypriots cross the divided line every day.

I visited the part of Lefkosia where I grew up as a child three times. I stopped going because it hurts too much.

Pumpkin Pastries All Year Round - Κολοκοτες

I love to bake pumpkin pastries all year round because I simply love pumpkin but I also love the idea that I can make them and freeze them so I can enjoy them for long periods of time.

Baking and especially making dough relaxes me so it’s one more reason for me to bake often!

I know that many people think and use pumpkin only during the Fall. Well, that’s not me.

These are what I baked a few days ago. 

Growing up in Cyprus I would always see my mom and her friends buy a few of these huge pumpkins only once a year. They would only cut and use one of the pumpkins in order to make pastries and store the others in a cool place of the house so that they would continue baking pastries all year round.  Many times a few friends would get together for this elaborate baking process so at the end of the day and at the end of the production line there were always several yummy pastries!

Our pumpkins back home are long and elongated with a very light yellow color on the outside and very dark yellow/ almost orange color on the inside. They are the equivalent of the round large pumpkins we use here in the U.S.

These traditional pastries we make in Cyprus are labor intensive so when we make them we do so in large batches. We even freeze some so that we can enjoy these delicious pastries for a long time.

This is what I made a few days ago. Perhaps you get a couple of friends or family members to help you and you start baking and creating lots … and then start distributing the “wealth”. J

In Cyprus we call these – kolokotes ~ κολοκοτες

Here is my mom’s recipe.

Traditionally we use bulgur in the filling and NOT rice or any other type of grain!

Kolokotes  - Pumpkin Pastries                         

7 cups pumpkin chunks – can also use butternut squash (3 ½ - 4 pounds)

7 tablespoons bulgur – preferably the thicker grain (number 4)

7 tablespoons canola oil

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 cups raisins

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

For the Dough

12 cups flour

1 cup orange juice

1 teaspoon salt

1 ½  cups canola oil

1 ½ cup cold water

For the Top

2 eggs

¼ cup milk

Peel the butternut squash or pumpkin. Remove the seeds and pumpkin threads. Cut up the pumpkin into 1 inch cubes.

In a large bowl mix the bulgur, sugar, raisins, canola oil and all of the spices. Mix well and set aside. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave overnight. Do not refrigerate.

In a separate bowl, put the flour along with the salt. Make a well in the middle  and pour the canola oil. With your fingers, rub the oil into the flour for a couple of minutes. Start slowly adding the orange juice and water. Knead the dough until it is firm and does not stick to your hands. Leave the dough in the bowl for about an hour, covered with a couple of thick towels.

Split the dough into 3 equal parts. Take one and leave the others in the bowl covered with a towel.

Sprinkle the third piece with some flour and place it on a floured surface. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a pastry sheet of about 48 centimeters diameter. The thickness of the pastry sheet should be 1/16 of an inch. 

At the end of the pastry sheet place 3 tablespoons of the pumpkin filling, leaving some space in between. Fold over the dough once and then with a dough cutter, cut around the filling in the shape of half moon.

  

Continue this step until the entire pastry sheet is used. If you have any little dough pieces left don’t throw them out. You can save them until the end and use them to roll another smaller dough sheet.

Repeat the above process with the other two pieces of dough.

 

Wisk the egg well with the milk.  Brush over each pastry.

Bake the pastries in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for approximately 40-45 minutes. They are fully baked once they have a golden color on top.

Makes approximately 50 pastries.

Served warm or at room temperature for breakfast or snack.

Can be stored in a freezer for 2-3 months.