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In Dwelling

I'm Roz, and this is my relaxed space. It's about fun, good conversation and — well yes — good conversation. Pull up a well-padded armchair and help yourself to something to drink. You'll find cheese and crackers on the sideboard. What's new with you?

If you're looking for things in a more serious or spiritual vein, you can check out Exultet where I write that sort of thing.

It was a lovely Christmas, but . . .

It was truly a good holiday. Christmas Eve Mass was wonderful, there were great times and conversations with kids and friends, everyone gave thoughtful and welcome gifts, and which were joyfully received. However, it offered a new opportunity to me to Learn Something the Hard Way.


I like to cook, but I haven't done much in the way of baking since my bread-baking days gave way to "got a lot of toddlers" days. But this year brought me a brand new kitchen and renewed ambition to bake Christmas cookies and other goodies. The final installment was a batch of Baklava, a wonderfully rich middle-eastern pastry that my aunt taught me to make. As my daughter and I were tenderly placing and buttering fragile layers of phyllo dough, I explained to her that I preferred cooking to baking because I'm a "throw together whatever tastes good" cook, a technique that doesn't work in baking because everything has to be precise. I should have listened to myself more closely.

After dough layers are assembled over and under a delicious filling of ground walnuts and flavorings, you make a sugar syrup with lemon to pour over everything after baking. I had listened attentively to dear Aunt Jenny who had emphasized that it had to become a thick syrup, not at all watery. "Yes, Aunt Jenny," I said to myself as I boiled and boiled; I hadn't, however,  paid enough attention to that important guideline: Be Precise. Somehow along the way, I had missed the instruction that the lemon juice should be added to the syrup after boiling, not before. Did it matter? Yes.

Those of you who listened in Chemistry class may be able to explain the whys and wherefores, but, as I later discovered, the abortive syrup finally 'thickened'' well after it had reached the "let's make it rock hard" stage of candy-making. Though I was mildly surprised to observe that I was pouring deep-caramel-colored syrup over those perfectly-browned diamond shapes of Baklava, it was indeed startling to have the whole pan of stuff harden within minutes to approximately the consistency of granite. 

I chiseled it apart and served with trepidation. My family was courteous. As they dug unchewable nuggets from their teeth, they praised the flavor and the flakiness of the (lower levels of) pastry, but they were just being kind.

So today, I am performing surgery. I am incising and discarding the awful bits, gathering the goodies that lie below, and gathering the remnants. Perhaps they'll be good in a bowl with milk? They're certainly tasty when grabbed surreptitiously on the run.
Read More 3 comments | | edit post

3 comments

  1. Julia of the flakey dough on 7:40 PM

    I promise, the parts beneath the candy truly are scrumptious!

     
  2. Randy on 9:36 PM

    A new cereal high in sugar; one that would even justify the exorbitant price. It might prove more popular than fruitcake. A catchy name is needed. “Bakla Bits” ? I would not hesitate to purchase it

     
  3. Anonymous on 9:39 PM

    I take issue with your claim that baking has to be precise. I almost NEVER am and no one ever fails to polish off whatever comes out o the oven. I think one just needs to feel confident and loving. Roz you sure got the second half so it must just be confidence.

     


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  • About
      Name:: Roz
      Hometown:: Ann Arbor, MI
      Mother of several, grandmother of a couple, wife to one very good man. My epitaph will probably read, "Well, you just never know." Life is good, but it takes unexpected turns. Good thing I like surprises.


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    And if you're interested in what I have to say in a more serious vein, check out Exultet.

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