γαλακτομπούρεκο: Custard-filled Phyllo Pastry

This is γαλακτομπούρεκο, a custard-filled phyllo pastry. It is a slight modification of the phyllo pastry that is so popular in Greece as it has a 'puff pastry' for the bottom layer. Zesty orange rinds are in the custard filling and honey and powdered sugar grace the top.

When I first started working with phyllo dough, I experimented also with 'puff pastry', a simple type of pastry characterized by various layers of dough spread with butter. The bottom layer of my pastries would be 'puff pastry' and the top would be flakey phyllo sheets I'd drench with honey and powdered sugar. The combination of the two are to my liking, one more substantial (flaky)and the other light as a feather (crisp).

I made this Deep-Dish Apple Pie using a puff pastry crust and a phyllo top. To make sure that the crust would stand upright, I used this small hinged baking pan. (Mistake: pouring honey over the phyllo toping BEFORE it was baked, rather than after. Those burnt pieces had to be removed.)

Puff pastry is an interesting delicacy because it tastes like a delicacy from a fine restaurant. The Italian dessert Sfogliatelle Napoletane has a crust similar to these Apple-Cinnamon Bear Claws.

When I make Sfogliatelle I reserve half of the vanilla custard filling and make Miniature Muffins with it, adding more orange zest strands and chopped pecans. I freeze these little muffins, and take several out after a meal - they are bite size, and are intensely flavorful.

To make puff pastry, you will need the basic ingredient called a puff paste, a dough that is spread with butter and is heavenly to work with as it is so light. The puff paste must be repeatedly rolled out and folded as thin as possible, then folded over and over into rectangles. I spread the melted butter with a brush over every layer. That way when it bakes, the layers will turn brown.

Rolling out and folding puff pastry is easy, but making puff pastry requires a lot of time. You have to make sure that the dough is stored at a cool temperature. (I store it in the refrigerator while I make the custard or fruit filling. ) To simplify the process, I purchase ready-made phyllo sheets in the frozen food section of our market and use them in stages, careful to keep all the layers moist under a towel.

Some people mistake puff pastry for phyllo pastry. There is a difference - puff pastry is made with a large amount of butter, salt, water and flour. When baked the product becomes flaky. Phyllo dough uses only a little amount of oil, water and flour. When you bake phyllo dough, it is more crispy than flaky. I made an Orange-Pecan Tart on Monday that has a puff pastry bottom, a filling of candied orange peel, pecans, shredded chocolate, ricotta, and dried espresso powder. It is a perfect dessert for George, as it isn't too sweet.

These pastry doughs are versatile and can be used for main dishes as well as desserts. I've made a puff-pastry biscuit pie filled with spinach, leeks and ricotta, then topped it with phyllo shards. Both combinations together are my favorite as I like crispy and flaky together. It offers something substantial yet visually inviting.

Beef Barley Soup and Sprouted Flaxseed Bread

I made this soup today, boiling up a ham hock then browning onions, garlic and celery in the skillet. I added carrots, peas, yellow beets, and tomatoes. Then I fried up thin-sliced steak in Worcestershire Sauce and added that. Barley came next, and a few bay leaves, fresh parsley, and an east-Indian spice called 'Paunch Puran'. It is fried with garlic to open the flavors - cumin, fenugreek, yellow mustard, fennel and kallonji.

I made a huge pot so I could freeze some, yet a tiny bowl is shown in the photo here so I could fit everything into the photo - the Sprouted Flaxseed Bread, the Mandarin Oranges and the Beef Barley Soup. It is a perfect meal when someone has a cold, and both George and I do!

I make the Flaxseed Bread using my Whole Wheat Bread recipe. I've used this recipe for over 30 years. It yields 3 loaves:

Sprouted Flaxseed Bread
To 3 cups warm water add and mix:
3 Tbs. yeast
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup honey
Let this sit awhile, for the yeast to get busy.
Then stir in 1 scant Tbs. salt
1/4 cup oil

Stir in until moistened:
1 cup whole wheat bran
1 cup sprouted flaxseed
2 cups whole wheat flour
Stir until sheets form, then add more flour:
2 cups white flour
Then add 2-3-or 4 cups whole wheat flour
Knead, adding flour as needed.
Place in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise.

Punch down, form 3 loaves, place in pans.
Brush egg white over the tops of the loaves,
and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
Let rise again (I use a warm oven, to speed
this process up.)

Bake 350 degrees for 35 - 40 minutes, or until
the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. My oven
runs hot, so I cover the tops with foil mid-way
through the baking period.

Just make sure when you prepare this bread that oil doesn't touch the yeast until AFTER you've added flour. Many cooks ruin their yeast by coating it with oil, and it doesn't work well that way. You can also substitute milk for part of the water, but always dissolve the 3 Tbs yeast in 3/4 cup water, to which a little sugar has been added. Yeast eat the sugar and burp, causing it to activate.

I've been drinking organic Echinacea Plus Herbal Tea. It supports the immune system. There is also another tea that I use when I'm sick called "Throat Coat". It has licorice root extract, wild cherry bark, fennel seed, licorice root, cinnamon bark, orange peel, slippery elm bark, and althea root. soothes a sore throat. Traditional Medicinals carries the kind I use. They say it supports throat health by including herbs traditionally used to soothe the vocal chords, esophagus and the trachea. When released into hot water these herbs form a protective coating on the mucus membranes.

Night-time is the worst for George and I, as we can't breathe easily, so we're blowing our noses and getting up. He doesn't take any medication because of his asthma, but I purchased some Children's Dimetapp Cold and Allergy medicine today so I can sleep tonight. I use children's dosages rather than adult dosages because these higher doses make me jumpy.

I'll sure be glad when this bug has run its course. Until then, I'm just hunkered down with a box of Puff Plus, the TV, and Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" .

Isabella State Park

George and I are both down with colds, but that did not stop us from exploring Isabella State Park Saturday afternoon. This is a heritage site north-west of Olympia. There are extensive forests, old fruit orchards and expansive meadows, all of which are open for exploration.

Plans are in the works for this acreage to offer educational programs as well as recreational opportunities. Non-native plant species control is a concern as are the osprey and bald eagle habitats nearby. Nearby Lake Isabella offers a educational habitat for studying salmon and the fields offer native habitat field-study.

We walked along the trails, enjoying the sunshine and warm temperatures. As we hiked the meadow, we noticed that people were bringing dogs here, so they could run without a leash, finally being free of the confinement of a back yard.

We thought how unfortunate it was that it was only a day-use park, as camping in such an open meadow would be fantastic in the summertime. Currently, there are no such plans, but the meadow, forests and orchards are getting a lot of attention from environmentalists, naturalists, and silviculturalists. People are concerned about over-development around nearby Lake Isabella, and the impact of recreationists on nearby home-sites.

We put the canoe in Lake Isabella at the public boat-launch. It was a busy place, with families eager to do some fishing. These boaters brought along their morning coffee, and spent the day fishing.
The shoreline of the lake is bordered by wetlands.

We paddled completely around the lake, found the outlet and paddled down current until a beaver dam blocked the passageway. It was a wonderful paddle, warm, with no wind - perfect conditions for an afternoon canoeing.

We finished our day about 5:30, and drove over to visit with Taraz at Forza's where he works as a barista in Lakewood. He and Megan spent the night at our place again this weekend, so he could open at 7:00 at another place, One Heart Cafe, here in Tacoma. That meant he'd worked two different jobs in two different cities in one day, with a commute!
Perfect end to my day: Taraz prepared a single-shot doppio espresso with cinnamon, nutmeg and honey. They leave the most tasty mustaches!

Well, we've enjoyed the Root Soup, and it is almost half gone. It is really like a barley soup, with vegetables. I added tiny meatballs, and my homemade breadcrumbs for the top.

This soup has leeks, shallots, onions, garlic, carrots, fennel root, celery root, parsnips, rutabaga, turnip, and potatoes all lightly mashed after the vegetables have simmered for 45 minutes. I used green curry powder, an east-Indian spice which was so much better than the orange curry. I served the soup with warm cornbread, butter and honey. I made two small loaves, one for the freezer and one for dinner.

On Sunday morning I made everyone a vegetable hash with salmon and tofu. The tofu is thinly sliced and fried, then used as a topping. Veggies are kale, onion and garlic, broccoli shards, thinly sliced carrots, bok choy, peppers, and cauliflower. I seasoned the slaw with a sprinkling of turmeric and cumin and stir-fryed it for only a few seconds to sear the skin and bring out the color. A mixture of almonds, peanuts and dried cranberries is sprinkled on top.

This butterscotch muffin was an experiment. I prepared a chocolate brownie batter and lined the bottom of the muffin tin with a thin layer. Then I poured a butterscotch brownie batter over the top, adding a little milk to both layers to make them more cake-like.

A few melted chocolate chips add a surprise in the center.

We had to put our precious Mordred down, suddenly, unexpect- edly. Rahmat and I are still recovering. Ruhiyyih will share the story.

Too Pretty For Soup!

A few days ago I purchased these organic roots - turnip, parsnip, rutabaga, onion, potato, celery root, fennel root, and golden beets. All of them (except the golden beets) will be used for my Root Soup.

I'd planned to make Root Soup over the weekend, but made the mistake of purchasing a little oval basket to hold the roots. Once I put the roots in the basket, I couldn't make the soup! Everything was just too interesting! (We went to the Mongolian Grill for lunch instead, having a wonderful meal prepared while we watched.)
The golden beets had such exquisite color and root tendrils. This turnip was so beautiful in the afternoon light. I angled my camera up close so it could magnify the detail.
It is a journey looking through the lens of a camera, poking it into the depths of fennel fronds, careening under celery root to examine pock-marks, angling over turnips and rutabaga. I kept the basket in the sunshine while filming, then placed it on our coffee table.

We were busy the entire weekend with house and garden projects - George and Rahmat cleaned out the garage and I worked out in the yard. Taraz and Megan stayed over Friday night. About 9:00 I served them some waffles that I made earlier in the day - Whole Wheat Citrus Waffles with mangoes, strawberries, Mandarin oranges and bananas on top.
These waffles are hearty, with wheat germ and orange zest in the batter. The orange zest is from Mandarin oranges boiled in brown sugar. Store any extra in the freezer for other recipes.
I dry them on a rack, and when there are left-overs I roast them in the oven until they are completely dried out. They make good sweetened breadcrumbs for desserts.

These little phyllo cups held left-over Bhutan red rice-white basmati rice pilaf. They work well as a garnish/embellishment to a simple salad, like watercress with lime honey dressing. George bought a bundle of watercress, filled a jar with water, and slid the root bundle down inside. We kept it on the windowsill for two days until lunch on Sunday. It was like eating a spring bouquet.

Root Vegetables and World Hunger

These vegetables were scrounged from my refrigerator. I'll make Root Soup. I wish all families could have abundant spiritual food....and a good meal every day.

The book is a favorite of mine "Tibetan Portrait" by Phil Borges; text by the Dalai Lama:"World problems cannot be challenged with anger and hatred. They must be faced with compassion, love, and true kindness."

Root Soup is a wholesome soup that my mother used to fix for us after we'd been ill with the flu or a cold. It helps to restore vigor and provides essential nutrients that have been lost through fever. Rutabaga, turnip, parsnip, fennel, leek, shallot, celery root, potato and carrots are added to a vegetable broth.

My daughter called me today during her lunch break. She was distressed over the plight of the Haitians who aren't able to feed their families. She mentioned Saint Louis Meriska's children, who ate only two spoonfuls of rice apiece as their only meal on one day and then went hungry the next day. "They look at me and say 'Papa, I'm hungry'," and he has to look away. That hunger is palpable across the globe, in Africa, India, Egypt, Pakistan, Malaysia, El Salvador, Mexico. One woman in the slums of Haiti was willing to give away one of her children if the person would feed him. It is an act of desperation no parent should feel.

The United Nations World Food Program will help.
Bread for the World will help.

The real solution comes when we understand that none of us can move forward in our lives as true human beings until we understand our inter-connectedness, everything is dependent on everything else. Then we will be committed to addressing the issue of global hunger.

I told Ruhiyyih that I wish everyone could grow their own garden, have a milk goat and a few chickens. Start there, grow root crops, yams, collards, and share them with your neighbors. If there is soil, something can be grown. I told her about the military widows in Greece who fled up into the hills when the Germans came. Their only nourishment was field greens, and it kept them alive. Olive trees kept them alive too....some of those trees are over a hundred years old.

We have dandelions in the back yard - tender greens just poking through. They are edible.

There are fallen calendula petals on my kitchen counter. As I pushed them into a little point I wondered if they were edible. They are. Sprinkle a little on your salad and you're fighting inflammation.

(I'm going to include my "Root Soup" recipe here, as I cannot find it on the Internet)

Root Soup

4 potato
1 onion browned in olive oil
2 or 3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 turnip, peeled and chopped
1 celery root, diced
1 fennel root, diced
1 cup leek, finely sliced
1 rutabega, diced
15oz. vegetable broth
1/3 cup barley
1/3 cup cilantro
4 cups water (optional) - for boilingveggies
1/4 tsp tobasco
1/4 tsp curry
rosemary, bay leaves, parsley flakes
basil, dill

Simmer all together for an hour until cooked.
Slightly mash to combine the textures.

George has been telling me to get a new camera, Taraz too. They say that my old Sony, now 8 years old, should be replaced.

I bought it new just 3 years ago, ordering it from the company through 'back stock'. Now you could ask, why would you want to buy a camera that is already 5 years old! Well, my computer is also very old, and very temperamental. And, both my old camera and my ole puter have suffered so long together that I can't bear to buy a new camera or a new computer until both crash - preferably at the same time.

I waited about five years before I finally started using the family computer, and when I began to use my son's camera, found it quite simple, I ordered a camera just like his - a beginner's camera. No complex settings, F-stops, lighting, depth of field measurements. Just one adjustment and point and click. It was great, and I was not in a mood to be challenged by anything more complicated.

When I started blogging, it was just to write and present some of the new material I was finding on the Internet. I touched down on an irascible writer, Rob Smith of Gut Rumbles, and was hooked on the pastime of blogging. I evolved into photography because my writing was so bad!

And now, I mostly enjoy the photography....imperfect as my pixels are. Taraz says, "Mom, your camera only has 2.0 mega pixels!" And, he tries to give me his camera, "Try THIS, see the difference."

I think I relate to old cameras like the elderly relate to an old house-dress or an old pair of shoes. I've trusted this camera, yet I know there is better out there. But I'm just not ready to relinguish my camera or my computer for something better. When one of them finally crashes, I'll give both items more consideration.

Meantime, Flickr rejects most of my photos for PRINTS. They require higher definition or the prints turn out fuzzy. (Geez, even Flickr expects an upgrade.) My printer doesn't always work; sometimes, I have to hand-copy recipes off the Internet. It takes minutes to download any blogger site (due to videos on site?). Pod-casts give out mid-stream. It is like trying to prod a darn mule. Best thing to do is tell him to lay down and use him for a backrest. Gaze at the clouds and forget where you wanted him to go.

I've been involved in a project, putting a cookbook together from all the recipes I've tried the past year. If you look at this Flickr page, you know that I enjoy cooking. With a few photos (yes, some do make the grade), and my adaptations of recipes, I'll have something lasting and memorable for a year's worth of work. I'm hand-writing all the recipes, adding packaging labels and info, and enclosing all of it in plastic-covered pages, so that when I use the cookbook the pages won't get splattered.

This past week I have experimented with phyllo dough, those thin wafer-like sheets that are a Greek delight. They come packaged and layered, found in the frozen food section of our local market. I just have to spread them out, brush on a little oil, and layer them. They dry out within minutes, so I take out only small portions at a time, keeping the rest sealed and buried under a damp washcloth.

I made a Spinach-Leek Phyllo Casserole , (pictured above), preparing just two large servings in a small pyrex baking dish. This is a perfect meal for empty nesters.

I made a flaky pie-crust, then layered leeks, onions, orange peppers and mushrooms on the bottom, followed by ricotta, feta, and cottage cheese. Add a beaten egg to a layer of steamed spinach, then more feta, then about 10 layers of phyllo dough, waved in layers.

Last Sunday while George was doing the taxes I made this heavenly pie, a creme pie with a layer of baked apples, then a phyllo topping. The crust is a sweet-crust, almost like a thick bread.
This dessert has a creme filling similar to that found in Sfogliatelle Napolitan. Vanilla, orange zest, apples, ricotta, egg and milk. The brown crunchy flakes are dried oven-roasted potato flakes. I crumble them like bread-crumbs.

Still experimenting, I poured the creme filling into phyllo pockets, and baked several of these, forgetting to dust the top with powdered sugar (a must for an Italian pastry). We ate them warm from the oven, and simply groaned they were so good. I baked several, so have saved one for when Ruhiyyih visits in May for our annual camping trip.

In fact, I save a small portion of almost everything I cook and stick it in the freezer for her. When it is time for our afternoon coffee I can then pull out a treat, and not waste any time in the kitchen.
I made this Sweet Potato Pie also, adding a bottom layer of chopped walnuts. I'll be savin' a slice for her!

First Trip of the Year to Eastern Washington

Wouldn't you know, in spite of our best intentions to hunker down and get to the taxes on Saturday, we opted to head over to eastern Washington! It was gorgeous and sunny, with temps in the possible 80's! We fueled up ($45.00, ouch), loaded our canoeing gear and hiking boots, and headed up Snoqualmie Pass. Snowdrifts up on the pass were shoveled ten feet high to clear the road. It still looked like winter!

Nothin' like prime real estate! We pulled off the road and stopped here for a picnic lunch - lentil soup, turkey sandwiches, and pumpkin pie.

I got out of the car and explored. This project is left-over from last fall, laying where it was dumped...I have to laugh: Can you think of a more ghastly place to have a picnic? (However, better than the industrial area of Tacoma, on the tide-flats! )Someday, perhaps here...at Butchart Gardens.

This little place, although run-down, is just my size. Other outbuildings were nearby, all of them in various stages of collapse.

We decided to hike the Umtanum Ridge, a favorite of our entire family. All of our kids love this hike. The trailhead is right off Canyon Road, has camping available, and plenty of parking. We crossed a suspension bridge over the Yakima River, then headed up into the canyon, which is a moderate uphill climb.

The trails here are not marked, and there are many detours, dead ends, and narrow paths through sagebrush hillsides, shale moraines, and along cutbanks in Umtanum Creek. Everytime we do the Umtanum Ridge Trail we get off-trail, and have to find beaver dams to cross the little creek. I'm usually the first one across, then I hand poles to George, to steady his balance.

Here, George took the lead, and I walked sideways along this deadfall to backtrack to another trail. I have my only fuel for the trip tied in an old scarf around my waist - a bottle of milk. I figured if I got thirsty, milk would keep me going longer than a bottle of water. I also tied a little sandwich into the folds of the scarf, for an emergency (we forgot our backpacks).

It was in the 80's here, but the Boy Scout leader who was managing his troop along the trail told me that it will get down to 30 degrees at night. Every scout had to pack his own water and supplies, as there are no facilities of any kind at the end of the trail.

In all, we covered about 7 1/2 miles, taking about five hours to do our hike. Every time I do this hike I regret not sitting down more - taking forced rest breaks. We sat down once on a log and watched Umtanum Creek for about five minutes, but that was it, then we were climbing again. By the time we got back to our car at the trail-head, we were bushed! When we got home, George took a shower and hit the sack, just really weary.

But me? Well, I had a cup of coffee, drip, from a Truck Stop at 6:00 p.m., and it kept me wired until almost 11:00. (Drip-made coffee has more caffeine than espresso does.) My eyes were as big as saucers, and I had a surge of energy. I got out my weights and did some strength- training while watching Deadliest Catch on TV! George was snoozing, the cats were asleep curled in furry balls, and I felt like it was morning.

While George did taxes on Sunday, I spent the day cooking, wearing my running shoes! My feet hurt! Breakfast Sunday morning: Cheese, onion, and poached eggs on French bread. About an hour after breakfast I pulled the potato au'gratin out of the oven, and we had a second breakfast at 10:00.