FOOD TRIVIA: Cocao

Kakaw was the primary word used for cacao beans in Mesoamerica from which the word cacao comes. Cocoa is a misspelling of cacao which appeared in a ship's manifest in the 18th century. This led to the replacement of the original word which is continued to be used in the U.S. and the United Kingdom today.

THINGS I LIKE: Loukoumades

I have liked sweetened fried dough treats all my life. I ate taiglach, a traditional Jewish Chanukah celebration fried dough treat coated in honey, made by my maternal Grandma Amper when I was a child. In my my teen years (and many thereafter) I started eating Italian powdered sugar covered  zeppole at New York's Feast of San Gennaro in Little Italy and many other Italian festivals. I had honey drizzled sopapillas and cinnamon /sugar coated churros at Mexican fiestas and enjoyed powdered sugar coated funnel cakes in the Pennsylvania Dutch country and at the Clermont County fair in Ohio. I loved each of them. Two years ago, my Chiropractor and good friend Kosta Linardakis, who is Greek/American and  is a member of the Board of Directors of his Greek Orthodox Church, Saint George's, invited me to attend his church's Panygyri. A Panygyri is a festival  that Greek churches use as fund raising events where all things Greek  are celebrated - culture, products, song  dance, and to me, most enjoyable of all, the  food where the best dishes best are prepared by the mothers and, especially, the yia yia,s (grandmothers) of the church members. It was there, I had my first taste of loukoumades;  light, airy fried dough-balls  that were drizzled with a sugar water/ honey syrup.They were so wonderful that, as soon as I had finished the first six that came with each purchase, I ordered another and ate them on the spot. Went the next year and did the same thing .They are WONDERFUL and have become my favorite fried dough treat. On New Year's Day, 2015 Kosta appeared at our door offering us a bowl of sweet syrup covered loukoumades, a gift from from him, his wife Maria and  his mother - in - law Faye, who had made them. We were  told us that it is a Greek tradition that you give gifts of Loukoumades to your neighbors on  New Year's day to wish them a "sweet year". In return, they give you a glass of water that you take home, sprinkle it in the sign of the cross and around your  house to bless it for the coming year. WHAT A MARVELOUS WAY TO START A NEW YEAR! A Faye approved recipe for loukoumades follows:




INGREDIENTS
2 lbs flour
1 C lukewarm water
2 C lukewarm milk
0.5 oz. dry yeast
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp salt


vegetable oil for frying


SYRUP
1/2 C honey
cinnamon powder
chopped walnuts or toasted sesame seeds




PREPARATION
Mix water and yeast, stir with a fork and wait 5 minutes until yeast dissolves. Add the3 rest of thye ingredients for the dough and whisk at high speed, until the mixture becomes a smooth batter - about 2 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rest in a warm place for, at last, six hours. pour enough oil into a medium size pan to deep fry the Loukoumades. Heat oil until it begins to shimmer. test to see if the oil is hot enough by dropping a bit of them dough into the oil. If it sizzles, the oil is ready.Dip a spoon into water and drop spoonsful of the dough into the oil until the surface of the pan is comfortably filled but the dough is still separated. dip the spoon into water each time you pick up some dough to cook so that its doesn't stick to the spoon. While the Loukoumades are frying, use a slotted spoon, to move them around inn the oil so that all sides are cooked to a golden brown. when browned, remove to paper towels to drained and  prepare the next batch. When they are all done, drizzle with the heated honey and sprinkle cinnamon and the chopped nuts or toasted sesame seeds, if using them.