Cookie Balls

Originally from Pinoy American Recipes, but there's something wrong with that blog

Mundus with Morta

24th of August is one of the Roman days of Death, the hole to Underworld was opened this day so that the spirits could visit this world.

Morta was the third of the Roman Fates, the one, who cut the silver cord of life. Don't be afraid of Her, She knows what She is doing, even though you don't. No-one dies before their time. Everyone dies exactly when they are supposed to die. It might seem to us it was too soon, that there was so much to do, so much to achieve, so much to experience, so much life... but there really isn't.
I wish you would learn to know Morta as the kind and gentle sister of Pacithea, Rest. Death is The Big Sleep, the Eternal Rest, where nothing bothers you, nothing harms you, nothing hurts you and nothing pains you.

Have a Silent Party to all your loved ones. Serve their favorite dishes, and set the table for the invisible guests who are passing by your life. All the ancestors who care about you, all your friends and relatives who have gone by, all those who were your soulmates when they were alive... You could also serve a dinner to someone you wish would come and visit you... Who is that? Whom would you like to meet from all the people who are dead today, whom would you serve a dinner? Marie Antoinette? Elvis? C.S.Lewis? Sokrates? Julius Caesar? Mata Hari? Marilyn Monroe?

Come dine with me

I enjoy watching Come Dine With Me. I don't know why... perhaps it's the "I'd do that better" factor.
I sort of like Dave Lamb's sarcasms, except when he's just mean.

The episodes I like most are the ones where the competitors get well on with each other, enjoy their time, really like the food - and the food is good, well-made and beautiful - and give points generously and there are only a couple of points between first and last.

I like least the episodes with... uh.

The purpose of a dinner party is that people enjoy eating together. It's not for you to teach new habits, preferences, opinions, information or anything to your guests. It's not for you to show off. It's not for you to lecture, it's not for anyone to mock the others or the food, or criticise, or shame or... Your job is to do your best to make everyone feel good about themselves, you and the food.
I know Come Dine With Me is a competition, but keep your criticism to the point giving.
In what way will telling the host, for example, that the plates are cold change anything? Is he supposed to take the plates back to kitchen and warm them up? No. You are just showing off and making an ass of yourself. The food won't get warm because you point out it's cold. You will also give an unfair edge to the other competitors as you tell them to watch out with the plates - something they might have missed as well, as most people don't warm up the plates for an informal dinner at their homes. So what you have done is caused unnecessary sorrow for everyone.

One thing that really irks me with people and food is the terrible intolerance people have. I'm not picky, I know what I like and what I don't like. I don't like seafood. It smells and tastes bad, and the consistence is weird. I have eaten seafood, and I will eat it if I ever has to, but I don't like it.
I don't like onions (onions, leek, chives, garlic etc.) In small amounts, correctly made, in right company, these can be really nice, but 90% of time people use too much, wrong and in everything, so it's better to avoid getting disappointed and having to eat stuff that smells and tastes like rusty nails in sweatty woollen socks.
I don't like mushroom, because they taste dirt.
I don't like asparagus, brussel sprouts, saffron, koriander, coffee and several other things, just like I don't like purple, daisies, ladybugs or Hugh Grant. It's a question of preferences, not that I'd be spoiled, immature and whiny.
It really is not your job to "convert" me. Serving me seafood is just as faux pas as serving meat to a vegetarian.
The worst thing you could do as a host of a dinner party is trying to trick your guests to eat things they have expressed they don't like. I would eat shrimp with aioli and say I like it, because I have manners, not because I liked it.
(P.S. You don't know why people don't like certain foods, and it really is none of your business. Show a little tolerance and respect, and set your guests' comfort before your own.)

Now, there are foods many people don't like. Try to choose food most people will be able to eat.

Food people have generally difficulties with:

offal (liver, tribe) and odd cuts, like pig feet
odd animals, like giraffe
food that looks at you. No whole fish or sheep's head.
raw fish and meat
asparagus, okra, brussel sprouts, peppers, spinach, coriander/cilantro, artichokes, eggplant, beets
garlic and other onions

mushroom
spiced food
strong cheeses, blue cheese, havarti, limburger
peas and beans
seafood, especially oysters and squid, sea urchin, roe...
(anchovies, sardines, kippers...)
seaweed
snails
frogs
ants, grasshoppers, larvae... insects
fermented food, like kimchi/sauerkraut
grits, polenta, semolina, rice pudding, tapioca

There is plenty of delicious food most people have no problems eating, so there is no need to serve any of this.

If your guest asks for something, see that she gets it, if possible. Don't roll your eyes, if your guest wants to "spoil" her dinner with ketchup or horseradish, it's her dinner, and really none of your business.

See that there is salt and pepper on the table, so that your guests can help themselves. Some people like more salty or spicy food than others. It's not an insult, so if you take it as such, you're an idiot.
There should also be plenty of clean, fresh water.
Also see that there are toothpicks on the table, and if you serve anything that is to be eaten with fingers, have bowls of water so that people can wash their hands.


Also, if you are the host, see that your toilet is in pristine condition and there's plenty of toilet paper, soap and towels.

Don't tell people what is the proper way of cooking, serving or eating. It doesn't matter whether you're the host or a dinner guest. It's not your job to educate people of the proper way of doing anything. It's a dinner party, not a finishing school.

Don't say food looks horrible. Keep it for yourself. Most probably the others can see it too, so no need of pointing out the obvious, and if they don't see it, good for them.

Don't criticise the food in any way. If you cannot say anything good, don't say anything. If you're a guest of a competition dinner, you have the points to express your critique, if not, it's rude to criticise a gift. You don't need to eat anything.
Don't make noises or faces, don't "ew" or "yuk", don't roll your eyes, don't grin. 

Don't ever, ever, ever say the food looks, smells or tastes like poo or puke or anything else inedible. Don't even talk about poo, puke or anything else inedible. Do not talk about disgusting things you have eaten or plan to eat, or have heard someone ate, no discussing placentas, insects, rotten food or baby animals. Also, no medical details, no mentioning of surgeries, injuries, childbirth or illnesses. Don't talk about anything that might make anyone feel sick. No talk about frogs, snakes or snails, even though some people find all these things delicacies. Just don't. If anyone starts talking about these things, put a stop to it immediately.

If you find the discussion boring, start a non-boring one yourself.

If one or more of your fellow guests irritate you, let it. It's a question of just a couple of hours. You can keep your mouth shut for a couple of hours. Lashing out on them will not make them less obnoxious. It will only spoil the dinner from others as well, and yours is already ruined.

Dress up nicely. Be clean. Surprisingly people need to be told this. If there's a dress code, follow it. It's there for YOUR comfort just as much as everyone else's.

Bring a gift. Flowers are good. Wine is okay, even though some people don't drink it. Chocolate is okay, even though some people don't eat it. Other food gifts are okay as hostess gift for a dinner party, for example spiced oil or vinegar, an exciting preserve or cookies.
It is also a nice idea to give party favors. It doesn't need to be expensive or advanced. It's just a gesture.

Have some entertainment or party games.

Countdown to Beltane, Day 1

Today is April Fools' Day. It's 30 days to Beltane, the feast of feasts and song and dance and merrymaking and lovemaking...

I am going to post a similar countdown to Beltane as I posted to Ostara, and the same goes as for Ostara countdown; if you leave comments, I'll link to your blog, or if you leave links to an interesting page, I'll link to that.

I appreciate comments, it would be enough to just say ":-)" or "thanks for posting this", if you find it hard to express your thoughts. Just give me a little word to remind me I'm not alone. :-)

I was reminded of the difficulty of reading heavy posts, so I will be sharing the information into three:
in this blog will be all the recipes and meny suggestions,
in Homes4Her will be information relevant to household, living and general holiday information and
in Need More Fiber will be all crafts, daily ornament and such.

Goddess of today is the Trickster Goddess; Loki's mother Laufey, Eris-Discordia, Apate-Fraus, Furrina and Laverna

The trickster God is one of the most misunderstood deities in the world. She is not evil. She is there to remind us of that nothing is fair, we are still animals and everything changes all the time. The world seeks from order to chaos and back again, like a pendulum. She is there to remind us not to take ourselves too seriously. "I'm full of it and know nothing. Dude." Compared to it all, just such a tiny bit of it all as the starry night sky, we are pretty small and insignificant... and yet - the center of the universe ;-)

Eris is considered to be an evil Goddess, interested in creating arguments, quarrels and fights. But... if you think about it... she didn't MAKE people to fight. That is what they CHOSE to do to "solve" the problem they were presented.
"To the most beautiful" stood on the apple she threw among the wedding guests. Naturally the Goddesses were the most beautiful, and they all were equally beautiful, but would they agree on that and let the apple lie?
Would they let it lie because they KNEW it was one of Eris' apples?
Did they agree to give it to the bride of the wedding, Thetis, who was not that much uglier than the Goddesses... and we all know the bride is the most beautiful woman in her own wedding, what ever she looks.
No. They chose to fight over it.

Eris is the Greek Goddess of Strife, Contention, Discord and Rivalry and a Goddess of War.
She is generally understood to be the same Goddess as Enyo (Warsome), who is associated with Bellona and Anatolian Ma (Hebat/Hipta/Kubaba/Kupala/Cybele).

Apate-Fraus, the Goddess of deceit, guile, fraud and lies... interestingly her male counterparts are listed as "cunning wizard God of trickery and disguise" :-Z

Apate and Eris are daughters of Night and Darkness.
(Other children of Night are Sun, Moon and Stars, Dawn, Dusk and Day, Air and Sky,
Doom, Violent Death, Nightmares, Blame, Misery, Faith, Revenge and Avengers and Insolent Pride,
Old Age and Hard Work,
Peaceful Death, Sleep and Dreams,
Moderation, Prudence, Love and Affection.
Pretty basic...)

Laverna is Goddess of Thieves and Furrina... not much is known of this Etruscan Goddess, as the Romans accepted and honored the deities of the conquered people, but didn't know much of them, but one can assume she too was Goddess of Thieves and other nightly activity, and the Goddess of Underworld. I think she might have been the Etruscan Night Mother (Nyx).

Patricia Telesco gives Laufey as the Goddess of April 1st and says

"Spring's upbeat theme continues into April, offsetting the rains with laughter.  It it's been a while since you really chuckled, consider renting a good comedy movie.  As you watch it, light a candle and ask Laufey to join you!"

Here's some information of the positive influence of laughter.
I love Marx brothers' movies and Aristocats. I still laugh when I watch it :-D Part of it is that I'm laughing at myself for laughing :-) It gets me all the time :-)

What's for dinner?
The Fool's Dinner, of course! Serve the desserts first and savoury course last, looking like each other. You could serve "chicken nuggets with peas and carrots and mash" and have a wonderful cake as "dessert". Here some other "switched" recipes and here some ideas for you to try.

You can also eat fish for the April Fish, or eat what ever you want, to honor The Fool and Trickster Goddesses.

Some side dishes for Yule :-)

Richard Corrigan's Mustard Fruits (Chutney)

250 ml water
400 ml sugar
dash vinegar 100ml
piece of cinnamon
3-4 cloves
peel of one lemon
dried cranberries
50 g dry mustard powder
200 ml mixed peel
400 g dried fruits in small pieces; figs, dates, apricots, pears...

mix all the ingredients in a pot and cook 10 minutes with the lid on.
Spoon the mixture into sterilised jars and seal while hot. Invert the jars until cool. Store in a cool dry place.
Serve Mustard Fruits with ham or cold meats. Refrigerate after opening.

Moroccan orange salad

Peel the oranges. Be careful to get out all the white. Slice the oranges and arrange beautifully on a plate.
Take a pommegranate, cut it half and pound all the seeds on top of the oranges
Sprinkle on some mint or flat-leafed parsley (or arugula) and onion rings, if you like onion.
Make a nice dressing of one part of olive oil, one part of vinegar, orange juice and orange blossom water, and a little sugar, salt and pepper, and sprinkle over the fruits. Dust with a little ground cinnamon.

Waldorf salad is excellent at Yule :-)

Mix some grated horseradish in applesauce :-) Wonderful to ham and roasted bird

Danish red cabbage - also wonderful to pork and poultry

Swedish browned cabbage

Don't only roast potatoes for Yule dinner - roast all kinds of roots, like sweet potato, turnips, rutabagas, swedes, carrots, celery, parsnip, beetroot, even pumpkin and squash goes well :-)
Just peel and cut the vegetables in good chunks, perfect for a mouthful, rub them with oil, salt, a little sugar and herbs, like rosemary and thyme, and roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes, then turn them and roast 15-20 minutes more. Absolutely wonderful :-)

Finnish carrot casserole (kugel)
It's slightly sweet, and in my mind goes wonderfully with meatballs and sausage, but it's too sweet to some people.
Rutabaga casserole
this is the best with pork :-)
Sweet potato casserole
(not sweet potato casserole, but potato casserole that's slightly sweet)
Beetroot casserole

Rosolli - mixed vegetable salad



What to eat with this?

Of course you could eat turkey, duck or goose for Yule, but you should be eating pork. Now, of course the pork should be from a "happy pig". Go and see your Yule ham while it's still alive and see it has a good life.

Delia Smith's Roast Collar of Bacon with Blackened Crackling


Jamie Oliver's Jerk Ham


Nigella Lawson's Coca Cola Ham

Gelatinas

This has nothing to do with Goddess and menues. Just desserts I find extremely fascinating.

Where I come from, people don't use much jellies or gelatines.
(Jello is a label and gelatin is pure gelatin, the name of the dessert is with -e; gelatine. Not that it much matters, people use all these words.)
That stuff is almost exclusively used as a thin layer on top of cream cakes or to give shine to fruits. Some amount is used to make puddings, like fridge cheese cake or bavarois and such. In the Latin world this thing is very popular, and so they have invented 100 and 1 different ways to serve and decorate this simple dessert.

If you tilt the serving dish, you get nice patterns :-)

Don't stop with two or three layers... :-D

If you take a special form and fill the cavities with different color jellos, you get nice, almost painted jellos :-)

You can also make different shapes of jellos and bed in clear jello or bavarois

Or cut holes in bavarois and fill with clear fruit jellos, and get nice decoration and taste :-)

Here the "cut holes and fill with jello" is taken to a whole another dimension:
The pistils are made with syringe and the leaves with different items, like spoons and knives and filled with syringe.
here's a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79vhYblqqQk
and I recommend you watch the other videos associated with it :-D
You'll get the idea of how to make petals and leaves
with just a syringe with straight or bent needle.


Not all of this looks nice, but it has a lot of potential...
And think of making a jello layer like this on top of a cake. ;-)

Basic gelatine recipe

Interesing jellies

Vegan gelatin - as gelatin is meat product

Gelatin Tips and Hints

• Use 1 tablespoon or 1/4 ounce unflavored gelatin to 2 cups of water for standard firmness. Decrease or increase water for your particular needs.

• One tablespoon of unflavored powdered gelatin equals 4 sheets of leaf gelatin.

• Other liquids can be used in place of water to prepare gelatin, including juice, wine and cordial.

• Pineapple, raw figs, kiwifruit, guava, ginger root, and papaya contain an enzyme called bromelain which breaks down gelatin causing it to lose its thickening properties. The enzymes are deactivated by cooking, so canned fruits are fine to use.

• Too much sugar can inhibit gelatinization. The more sugar in the recipe, the softer the resultant gelatin will be.

• When using sugar with unflavored gelatin, mix the sugar and gelatin first before dissolving.

• Be sure to drain all solids of their liquid before adding to gelatin to avoid watering down the gelatin.

• For 2 cups of gelatin mixture, allow 1 to 2 cups of solids, either minced, cubed, or cut into small pieces.

• To suspend fruits, meats, or vegetables in gelatin, chill until it is the consistency of cold egg whites. Then mix in the additions and chill until completely set.

• To avoid clumping, dry unflavored gelatin should be mixed with a little cold water first for 3 to 5 minutes to moisten and separate before adding hot water.

• If you are doubling a recipe originally calling for 2 cups of liquid, use only 3-3/4 cups of liquid in the doubled recipe.

• To easily unmold gelatin, spray the mold with cooking oil before filling. If you want to avoid an oily film which might cloud the surface by using oil spray, simply rinse the mold with cold water prior to filling. Or dip the mold into warm (not hot) water to the depth of the gelatin for 5 to 10 seconds, loosen edges with a knife or spatula, and unmold. Return to the refrigerator for 20 minutes to refirm.

• To easily center a mold on a plate, rinse the plate with cold water before unmolding the gelatin.

• Two hours of chilling should be enough for standard clear molds, while it may take up to 4 hours for those with additions. Layered gelatins will take longer, since each layer must be individually chilled and firmed before adding the next layer.

• Gelatin takes twice as long to dissolve when used with cream or milk.

• Firmness varies on the ratio of water to gelatin and temperature. You can successfully melt down (gently using a double-boiler) and re-chill gelatin several times before the mixture loses its thickening ability.

• Do not bring gelatin mixtures to a full boil or you risk losing its thickening properties.

• Keep gelatin dishes refrigerated until ready to serve to maintain their gelatinous state.

• Store gelatin desserts in a covered container to avoid the formation of a thick rubbery skin on the surface.

• Unprepared gelatin has an indefinite shelf-life as long as it is wrapped airtight and stored in a cool, dry place.

P.S. Marshmallows are made with gelatin :-) Here's a vegan marshmallow recipe.

Ashna and kasha knishes :-D

“Lady of Abundance”

Ezina, Eshana, Ashnan - beloved, abundance
is a Sumerian grain Goddess.
"The growing grain, the life of Sumer", "the good bread of the whole world".
He sister Lakhar is the sheep goddess.

She is also the supporter of treaties and laws by withholding abundance from anyone breaking them.

Now when the harvest season for grain gets closer and we are about to celebrate the first harvest, let's look a bit closer at cereals.

* Wheat, corn and rice are the most used grains in the whole world. It varies which one is on top, they are all VERY popular.
* "old world grains", that used to be called "corn" (Goddess of corn isn't necessarily the same thing as Goddess of Maize), are especially barley, wheat and rye, but also oat.
* #4 is barley, thanks to bear and other alcoholic beverages. Barley is also used as animal food, because it is very easy to grow and very tolerant; it doesn't much care about lack of water, or cold or heat.
* #5 and #6 are sorghum and millet. Many believe them to be the same, but they are not. Millet is one of the oldest grains in the world, and it sustains 1/3 of world population.
* # 7 is oats, very much thanks to horses
# 8 is rye, which is very important in Northern Europe. We Finns couldn't live without our rye bread, and as far as I know the Danes and Russians have the same relation to theirs :-D Rye is nutritionally very important. Bread that is made of rye, even refined rye, keeps the eater satisfied longer than wholemeal wheat.
# 9 is Triticale - hybrid of wheat and rye, with similar qualities as rye.
# 10 is fonio, an African grain family
# 11 is teff, another African, mainly Ethiopian grain. Teff is amazing nutritionally and could easily grow everywhere in the world.
# 12 is buckqheat, which is not really a cereal.
# 13 is quinoa, which isn't really a cereal either, but has the same qualities cooking wise :-)

Then there are other grains, that might be interesting to mention:
* wild rice, the wild cousin of white rice
* amaranth, quinoa's and buckwheat's cousin
* kañiwa, quinoa's brother
* spelt, wheat's grandmother
* einkorn - single grain wheat
* emmer - one of the first grains of humankind
* durum - tetraploid wheat (it has four sets of chromosomes instead of the normal two)
* kamut - I love the story of this ancient pre-wheat :-)
* adlay, coix, "Chinese pearl barley", "Job's tears" - a maize relative from Asia. (Funnily enough, they make sort of "coix milk" which they call "Job's tear tea" :-D Reminds me of an old Finnish fairytale of bird milk :-D)

* chia isn't really a grain, it's seeds of a American salvia. It's nevertheless very nutritious, oily and very good food.
* flax seeds are another non-grain food that can be used as grain.

Versagrain is a really good site with all the information one can need

So - everybody loves k'nishes :-)

Kasha knishes

Dough:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons ice water
2 eggs; lightly beaten

Filling:
1 egg; lightly beaten
1 cup kasha; whole roasted
1½ cup chicken broth
1 large onion; small dice
5 tablespoons schmaltz
salt & pepper; to taste
3 eggs; lightly beaten

(Kasha is buckwheat groats, schmaltz is chicken fat)

DOUGH FILLING SOURCE: "Love and Knishes" by Sara Kasden 1956

PREHEAT OVEN TO 400 degrees F.
Place the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; mix well. Make a well in the center and add the oil, ice water, and eggs. Mix with a spoon, incorporating the wet and dry ingredients to make a smooth dough. Turn out onto a board and knead for 2 minutes. Place the dough in a bowl, cover with a damp towel and let stand at room temp. for 30 minutes.
On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into 4 balls. Slightly flatten each ball to make a disc shape. Divide each disc into 4 equal balls. Cover with a damp towel and let sit at room temp. for 10 to 15 minutes.
Roll each ball out into a circle about 3 1/2 inches in diam. Cover the dough circles with a damp towel until ready to fill.

In a bowl combine 1 beaten egg and the kasha, stirring to coat each grain with the egg. Heat a large non-stick saute pan over high heat. When the pan is hot, add the grain and cook, stirring constantly, over moderate heat for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the kasha kernels are separate and smell nutty. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook, covered, for about 20-25 min. or until liquid has evaporated and the grains are tender but chewy. Cool at room temp.
Meanwhile, saute the onion in the chicken fat over high heat for 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until soft.
Add to the kasha and season with salt and pepper. Add the 3 eggs and mix well.

Place 2 rounded T. filling in center of each circle. Pull the edges up around filling, completely enclosing it and pinching the dough to form a tight package. Turn the packages over, place seam side down on a lightly greased baking sheet, and brush the surface with an egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 T. water).
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until light golden brown. Serve hot.

SERVES: 8
Kasha and mushroom filling

1 cup onions, diced
1 tablespoon safflower oil
3 cups mushrooms, coarsely chopped
½ cup liquid egg substitute
1 cup Kasha
2 cups vegetable broth
salt & pepper

Saute onions in oil in a large skillet until lightly browned. Add mushrooms & cook until mushrooms are lightly browned. Set aside.
Place egg substitute in a bowl & toss the kasha in it. Place tossed kasha in a large skillet with a tightly fitting cover. Over high heat, flatten, stir & chop the kasha with a fork until the grains separate. Remove from heat.
Bring broth to a boil. Slowly pour broth over the kasha, cover skillet, & cook over low heat until the liquid is all absorbed, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
Stir in onion-mushroom mixture, salt & pepper. Cool to room temperature

from "Vegetarian Gourmet" Issue #11

White bean, chard and emmer soup
about farro/emmer...

To dessert I suggest Carnelians of Babylon

Mix 8 ounces of cream cheese so that it's soft. Mix in 4 ounces of finely ground cashews, 2 ounces of raisins, 4 tablespoons of white wine (or lemon juice, or rose water), zest of a lemon and 1/2 cup of powdered sugar.
Sandwich about a tablespoon of this cheese mixture between two dried apricots. It should be enough for about 32 apricots :-)
Sprinkle more powdered sugar on top, if you like.

You can also use almond and cranberry ricotta :-D

This is emmer :-)
Yes... it really HAS that color. Only the hull, though ;-)