It’s official … the grape harvest has been blessed in
traditional form in Armenian churches around the globe. So it’s time to appreciate this sweet fruit of the vine.
Grape Blessing at St. David Armenian Church, Boca Raton, FL (Photos by Anna-Lusi Simonyan)
In addition to eating grapes as they come naturally, there
are numerous ways to use grapes in recipes - cakes, compotes, candies, jams
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Grapes with Yogurt and Honey
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Grilled Eggplant and Tomato Stacks
You might have noticed an increased number of eggplant recipes on The Armenian Kitchen recently. Well, that's due to the thrilling news that my husband is not allergic to it! Here's a recipe similar to one I sampled recently that just tickled my taste buds. I hope you'll like it, too!
Grilled Eggplant and Tomato Stacks
Grilled
Eggplant and Tomato Stacks
Yields 12 stacks
These
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Baked Eggplant and Spinach Moussaka, a Vegetarian Creation by Christine Datian
As you might recall, Christine Datian often has her recipes
published on The Armenian Kitchen website, and in other online publications such
as the Armenian Mirror Spectator, Sunset and Cooking Light magazines, and the
Fresno Bee Flavors Magazine.
She sent me her latest creation which features eggplant,
and since that’s been a ‘hot ingredient’ around here lately, I’m happy to pass
this recipe
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Dried Eggplant Skins
Dried eggplant skins
If you don’t happen to live in an area dotted with Middle
Eastern stores, dried eggplant skins can be hard to find. It’s possible they might
be available online, as long as there are eggplant skins to be had.
I called my go-to wholesalers at Macar and Sons, to check
on their dried eggplant stock, and they’re out right now. They don’t expect to have any for a
month or
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Rose and Virginia’s ‘Lentil Kufta’
Today the Women’s Guild of St. David Armenian Church (Boca Raton, FL) resumes
its schedule of activities after a relatively quiet summer. To kick-off the
season, a covered-dish luncheon is being held after the general meeting. It’s
always a joy to immerse ourselves with the comradery of those we haven’t seen
in a while – and – what better way to do this than to chat and dine over some
mighty
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Left-over Lentil-Bulgur Kuftas, the Armenian ‘Breakfast of Champions’?!?
I am pleased to report that the lentil-bulgur kuftas were
well-received at our Womens’ Guild Welcome-Back luncheon this past weekend.
(Thank you, ladies!) I made some extra so that my husband, Doug, could have
some for his lunch at home that day, too.
Since we had some kuftas left over, Doug suggested I dip them in egg and pan-fry them for breakfast. (We use this
technique with left-over
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A Candy to Commemorate the Soul of the Departed – Do you know what it is?
A request was presented recently by Sato Moughalian, not just to
me, but to any Armenian would might be able to help.
Sato’s request:
“Dear fellow Armenians, I hope you won't mind if I pose a
candy-related question. I'm reading my mother's anecdote about her father,
during his youth in Eskishehir (now Turkey). She describes a "sweet
milk-white candy" that was prepared for madagh and handed
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Rock Candy - Can it Heal One's Soul?
After posting a special request asking about a type of candy
that was handed out at funerals, I received suggestions from two readers:
#1: JH suggested it could possibly be locum, which, after
dusting it with powdered sugar is white.
#2. My cousin Craig Simonian wrote, “You're talking about
Nabat Shakar, which simply means Sweet Candy.” In other words, rock candy.
Rock Candy
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Can’t Get Enough Lahmajoun!
Doug felt like having homemade pizza for dinner, but I didn’t
feel like messing around making dough from scratch because it’s
still really hot here in the south.
Doug’s solution was to purchase commercially prepared, ready-to-bake
crust. So, we bought two 3-packs of Mama Mary’s 7-inch, thin and crispy crusts.
Lahmajoun made on a small pizza crust
What Doug didn’t know was that I had
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Halva with Toasted Pine Nuts
I realize it’s only October, but, it’s never too early
to start thinking about the holidays.
Before you know it, Thanksgiving and Christmas will be
here, so I’m taking the opportunity to practice making some recipes I plan to
serve when the jingle bells start ringing.
Halva with Toasted Pine Nuts
I’m starting with an old-time favorite, halva. It takes
very little time to prepare and is
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The Armenian Kitchen Appearing Live at the St. Leon Food and Art Festival in Fair Lawn, NJ!
Save these dates - Friday, October 16th through Sunday, the 18th and come to the ever-so popular St. Leon Food and Art Festival in Fair Lawn, NJ. Click here to view their scheduled events.
Doug and I are heading that way to visit family, to
partake in the array of delicacies, and to enjoy the music, dancing, and art. We also intend to rekindle old friendships.
The Armenian Kitchen is
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Pumpkin Bread
One of my go-to autumn recipes is Pumpkin Bread. It’s not
too sweet, is easy to make, and goes perfectly with a cup of hot coffee or tea.
Add a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of good vanilla ice cream, and you’ve
got yourself a dandy dessert.
I’m not ashamed to say that I use canned pure pumpkin for
this recipe; it certainly beats carving and cooking a fresh pumpkin – a real time-saver.
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Cheese-filled Bird's Nests
Cheese-filled Bird's Nest
If you missed seeing my demonstration at the St. Leon Food
and Art Festival, you’re in luck. Here is the recipe I made. Hope you'll like it!
Cheese-filled Bird's Nests
Yields about 16 to 18 nests
Ingredients:
1/2 of a 1-lb.package of shredded phyllo dough, aka kadaif
8 to 10 tablespoons melted, unsalted **butter, clarified
1/4 lb. (1 cup) fresh
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Meet Lisa Kouchakdjian, creator of 'Love on a Plate - Armenia'
It’s been over a week since I did my cooking demonstration at the St. Leon Food Festival in
NJ. I’d never seen so many people and so much delicious food in one place at
one time. It was incredible!
Lisa Kouchakdjian (R) and me (L) with her 'Love on a Plate - Armenia' display.
I had the pleasure of meeting Lisa Kouchakdjian who drove
down from the Boston area to participate in this very
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Homemade Yogurt in a Slow-Cooker? Why not!
I’ve never owned a slow-cooker, and I still don’t, but that
might have to change. After 45 years of marriage, my sister just got her first
one, so I’m looking up recipes she might like to prepare.
This is the Crock-Pot ® model my sister has.
A friend of mine (who asked to remain anonymous) really loves
her slow-cooker and offered me her recipe for homemade slow-cooker yogurt. She
said
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HAJIMOM’S DZEDZADZS – A Meat and Wheat Casserole
I had the pleasure of chatting with family friend Ruth
Bedevian while on our visit to NJ in October. She asked if I’d ever heard of a
recipe called ‘Dzedzadzs’. I knew that dzedzadz (spelling varies) was a grain used in preparing
keshkeg, (aka 'harissa') the national dish of Armenia, but I'd never heard of it as a
specific recipe.
Dzedzadz- Shelled Wheat
Ruth had her family’s recipe and
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Christine Datian's Eggplant Walnut Ricotta Rolls with Fresh Greens and Basil Salad
If you've been following The Armenian Kitchen, you’ll recognize the
name, Christine Datian. I’ve posted a good number of her creative recipes in the past.
Christine Datian's ‘Eggplant Walnut Ricotta Rolls with Fresh Greens and Basil Salad’ (Photo credit: Andrew Scrivani, New York Times)
Christine’s latest culinary achievement, ‘Eggplant Walnut Ricotta
Rolls with Fresh Greens and Basil Salad’
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Making Dolma using Dried Eggplant Skins
At times, it’s not easy to find dried eggplant skins. In
October, I happened to be in the heart of the Middle Eastern community in
Paterson, NJ, surrounded by more ME stores and restaurants than you could possibly imagine.
Packaged dried eggplant skins
I was pretty confident I'd be able to find the skins even though some ME stores don't carry them. The fact that dried eggplant skins are
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Preparing for Thanksgiving
As Thanksgiving rapidly approaches, it’s time to dust-off
some tried and true recipes, and add a few new ones to the dinner menu. Being
American-Armenian, we often mix-and-match our menu items to express our
gratitude to our birth country and our ancestral home.
Here’s a list of recipes to use as a guide in planning this
year’s mix-and-match Thanksgiving feast. My recipe for
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Happy Thanksgiving!
The Armenian Kitchen wishes everyone a Blessed Thanksgiving!
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