For the milk pudding:

4      tablespoons cornstarch

4      cups milk

4      tablespoons sugar

1      tablespoons orange blossom water

For the orange pudding:

2      cups orange juice

2      tablespoons cornstarch

2      tablespoons sugar

1/2  teaspoons orange blossom water

For topping, optional

1/4  cup chopped unsalted pistachio nuts

-For the milk pudding, dissolve the cornstarch in cold water.  Pour the milk, the cornstarch mixture and the sugar into heavy pot and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon.  When you feel a slight resistance while stirring, and the mixture coats the back of the spoon, it has thickened sufficiently.  Add orange blossom water, stir and cook for 1 minute.  Remove from the pan from the heat.  Allow to cool slightly, then pour the pudding into ice cream dishes.  Leave at least a 1 inch space at the top to make room for the orange pudding.  Place the dishes in the refrigerator while you are making the orange pudding.

-For the orange pudding: Follow the same steps as milk pudding, replacing the milk with the orange juice.  When the orange juice thicken.  Remove from the heat,  allow it to cool slightly.  Take the milk pudding from the refrigerator and spoon the orange pudding on top the milk pudding making sure it cover the top.  Chill until ready to serve.

-To serve: Sprinkle with the pistachio and enjoy.

In my parent’s village in Syria, Safsafeh, my family is well known for its crop of figs.  The saying in the village goes like this: “While every one’s figs grow ripe from the blessing of the sun, the Dieb family’s figs grow ripe from member of the family squeezing them every day to see if they are ripe yet.” It does rhymes in Arabic.

Figs are one of most ancient fruits, mentioned in the Christian bible, the Moslem’s Koran, and the Jewish Torah.  Romulus and Remus, the storied founders of ancient Rome, were supposedly suckled by a she-wolf under a fig tree.  The early Greeks so highly prized figs that it was considered an honor to bestow upon the winner of various competitions both the foliage and fruit of a fig tree.  And we all know that modesty became popular when the private parts of /roman and Greek statues were covered with figs leaves.  In Greek Mythology, when Zeus was pursuing Ge and her son, Sykeus in the war of the Titans, in order to save her son, Ge metamorphosed into a fig tree.

Figs were supposed to have their beginnings in Southern Arabia, but the Mesopotamians, were the first to cultivate them.  From Iraq they were spread to Syria, and the Phoenicians, who had colonized most of the Mediterranean, spread the figs trees from Syria to the Greek  Island when they conquered them.  Then the Greeks spread figs to Spain, Italy and other parts of the Mediterranean.

Figs were first introduced to the New World by Spanish and Portuguese missionaries, which is where the “mission figs” originated.  The first recorded shipment of fig trees came from Seville, Spain, to the West Indies.  The Spanish, in a burst of protectionism, allowed only one fig tree per family in the West Indies, to prevent competition with figs from the mother country.

Since I eat every fresh fig I can get my hand on and since I can not find fresh figs in South Dakota I use dries figs in my desserts.

Fig Jam

makes about 2 pounds of jam

1         pound dried figs, coarsely chopped

2        cups sugar

2        cups water

1/2    cup sesame seeds

1        cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1/4    teaspoon ground clove

1        teaspoon ground anise seeds

zest of one lemon

-Dissolve the sugar in water and bring to a boil.

-Add the chopped figs, chopped walnuts, lemon zest, the anise and the clove.

-Bring back to a boil, turn down the heat into medium -low temp and simmer until the syrup is thicken.  Remove the jam from the heat and allow it to cool slightly.

-Toast the sesame seeds, cool and then, sprinkle over the jam and fold gently.

-Pour the jam into sterilized jars, cool and seal.

The story goes, that during the Ottoman reign over Egypt, the sultan or the big guy was on hunting trip by a small poor village in the Nile delta and then, I guess with the fresh air, developed a graving for sweet. Of course what the sultan wants the sultan gets.  The mayor of this small village did not what to do. The mayor went to the house of um Ali and asked her help.  I guess she was known as good baker in their village.  Um Ali, looked around and used what she had.  Dry bread, dry raisin, some nuts for the yard tree with milk from the house cow.  She sprinkled sugar on top and baked the whole thing.  The sultan loved this treat.  When he inquire about it they told him it was um Ali.  So, he thought that was the name of the dessert.   I have to say that this bread pudding is one of the most popular dessert in my restaurant.  I do like it serve hot in the winter and cold in the summer.  Her is the recipe and you can serve it any way you like.

Um-Ali

serves 6

3      tablespoons corn starch

6      cups milk

1/2  cup sugar

1/2  cup raisins

2      tablespoons coconut flakes

1/2  cup slivered almonds

1/2  teaspoon orange blossom water

3      dry croissants

-In a bowl, mix the corn starch with 1/2 cup of cold milk.  Add the rest of the milk and the sugar except for 1 tablespoon.  Mix well.  Add the raisins, the coconut flakes and the orange blossom water.

-Crumble the dry croissant in 9 X 12 baking pan.  Sprinkle the almonds on top and then pour the milk mixture on top.  Sprinkle the rest of the sugar on top.

-Bake in a 450 degree F. oven for 15 minutes or until the top is browning and bubbling.  Remove and serve hot or cold.

I like to sprinkle the top with crushed unsalted pistachio.

Makes 3 cups

6        tablespoons olive oil

1        large onion, finely chopped

4        cloves garlic

1        tablespoon fresh ground coriander seeds

1        tablespoon fresh ground cumin seeds

1        cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1/2    cup pomegranate molasses

3        tablespoons Harrisa, or any red pepper paste*

1/2    cup lemon juice

salt to taste

-In heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil and saute the onion, over medium heat, for 5 minutes.

-Add the garlic, the coriander and cumin.  Stir and saute for couple of minutes.

-Add the walnuts, stir and saute for one of minute.

-Add the rest of the ingredients.  Stir, and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat.

*Harrisa, is red pepper paste. It can be hot or mild and it is sold in all Middle Eastern Stores.

Figs and Walnuts Strudel

serves 8

1        Sheet store bought puff pastry

2       cups figs and walnut jam, see recipe below

4       tablespoons honey

-Place puff pastry sheet on cookie sheet.

-Spoon the fig and walnut jam in the middle lengthwise.

-Fold the edge of the pastry to cover the jam.

-Place your palm on top of the folded pastry and turn the mold upside down, this way the sealed part is underneath.

-Bake in a 400 F. degree oven for 35 minutes or until the strudel is golden.  Remove from the oven, drizzle the honey over it and serve.

Fig and Walnut Jam.

make 3 cups

2         cups dry figs, cut the tip and chop the figs into small pieces

1/2     cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1         cup sugar

3         cups water

1         teaspoon ground anise seeds

1         teaspoon lemon juice

-Place all the ingredients in a heavy pan, bring to a boil.  Stir and cook over medium- low heat, stirring often- until the syrup thicken and it feels like honey texture.

-Remove from the heat, allow to cool down before serving.

make 6-8 serving

3              cups almond milk

4              tablespoons corn starch

1  1/2      cups sugar

1/2        candied orange peels, or orange mamalade*

12            ounces firm lite tofu

8 ramekin cups

-Preheat the oven to 375 F.

-In a heavy saucepan bring 1 cup of water with 1 cup of sugar to a boil.  Stirring until sugar is dissoleved. Boil syrup, without stirring, washin down any sugar crystals that cling to side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water, until it begins to turn golden.  Swirl pan untilsyrup is a deep golden caramel.  Divide caramel among ramekins, coatin bottoms.  Set ramekins in a roasting pan.

-In a chilled bowl, dissolve the corn starch in 1/2 cup of the almond milk. Add the rest of the almond milk and the rest of the sugar and mix well.

-In a food processor, place the candied orange peels or the orange marmalade and processes until smooth.

-Add the tofu to the food processor and continue to puree until you have smooth paste.

-Fold the tofu orange paste into the almond milk .

-Pour almond milk tofu custard among ramekins and add enough hot water to pan to reach halfway up sides of ramekins.

-Bake in middle of the oven until they are just set but still tremble slightly, about 40 minutes.

-Remove from the oven and allow them to cool completely on a rack.

-Refrigerate for couple hours or overnight.

*I prefer candied orange peels, the flavor is much stronger.

History of Chocolate

For those of you who are hooked on chocolate, as I am, you will be fascinated, as I was, to know that cocoa bean , from which chocolate is made, was first cultivated by the Aztec Indians, then located in Mexico. Columbus sent cocoa beans back to Spain in 1502, which was the return of his fourth voyage to the New World.  Spaniards were at first mystified by the bitterness of the beans, and because Columbus provided no instruction nor insight on how they were to be used, they remained on the shelf, so to speak, for a long time.

In the sixteen century, Spanish nuns serving in Mexico were the first to add sugar to the bitter beans, making them edible.  Cocoa beans were considered so valuable that for years it was forbidden to export them from Spain to other countries.  In earlier times chocolate was part of bequests in wills of the aristocracy.  But because they were made a part of the dowries of royal marriages, when Marie Therese, who was daughter of Philip IV, married King Louis XIV of France, she took with her the cocoa bean part of her dowry.  That was the break in the chocolate dam that soon spilled all over the world.

Of course, it was the French who added milk to the cocoa, resulting in the hot chocolate we know and love today.  And then, it took American ingenuity to mass produce making it available to everyone,m rich and poor alike.   But because American chocolate producers used lower grade cocoa, added dairy fat and other stuff to the mix, European chocolate producer s began to denounce American chocolate and tried to have it labeled as “imitation chocolate.”. It did not work.

I use chocolate to dust my baklava and to put me in the wow zone every time I eat couple pieces of dark chocolate.

Here is my recipe for Chocolate and Walnut Baklava Tulip

Makes 8 cups

6      large baklava sheets, cover the sheets with moist towel to prevent drying

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1      cup crushed walnuts

3     tablespoons orange marmalade

1     teaspoon sugar

2    tablespoons cocoa powder

1/2 cup honey

-Melt the butter and gently brush one sheet.  Place another sheet on top and repeat until you reach the last sheet.  Brush the last sheet, sprinkle with the cocoa powder.

-Cut the sheet into 8 equal pieces.

-Gently push each piece into mini bundt cup cake.

-Mix the ground walnut wit orange marmalade and the sugar.  Divide the walnut mixture between the filo cups.  Bake in a 300 F. oven for 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven, drizzle with the honey and little powder cocoa.  Cool and serve.

I found a jar that my husband brought back from China when he was there in 1979, on his way to Tibet.  I opened it and was happy to find that it didn’t smell badly, but I’m afraid to try it.  I think it’s candied ginger, but, who knows?

That find prompted me to do some research into ginger, during which I found that it is one of the most widely used spices around the world.  In India, it is used in curry, or eaten fresh.  In Indonesia, it is used for tea, or grilled with fish or meat.  In China, it flavors most of Chinese sauces.   In the Middle East, it is used to flavor rice and meat dishes.  In the Caribbean, it is used to make a paste called, “jerk paste,” and who knows what that is.  In the United States, ginger extract is used to make the well known ginger ale.   Ginger can be found in spice markets in the Middle East which is generally used to make tea to take the chill off one in cold mornings.

In the Middle Ages, ginger was used, not for cooking, but as a holistic remedy for diarrhea, cramps, muscular aches and pains, nausea and motion sickness.  When I was pregnant with my daughter, on my mother’s advice, I cut a small piece of ginger root and chewed it to alleviate morning sickness.  In 1982, the British medical journal, The Lancet, caught up with my mother’s home remedy and confirmed that it should be used for morning sickness. 

 The name, “ginger,” derived from the Sanskrit word, “shringavera,” which in turn gave rise to the Latin word, “Zingiber,”  which means it is shaped like a deer’s antler, which is what the ginger root looks like.

One half of the world’s ginger production comes from India, but the best and most potent ginger comes from Jamaica.

Although ginger was used in Europe, it disappeared from use after the fall of Rome.  However, Marco Polo is credited with bringing it back with him from China to Italy, and its use regained favor.  Queen Elizabeth the First is credited with developing the gingerbread man as a treat for children, although it was generally too expensive for the average person during those times.

Ginger, Apple and Walnut Tart

Serves 8

1          sheet buff pastry

1/2     cup peeled and finely chopped fresh ginger

2          large Granny Smith apples, peeled and coarsely chopped

2         cups apple juice

1/2    cup orange marmalade

1/2        cup sugar

1/8    teaspoon fresh ground clove

1         cup coarsley chopped walnut

1/8    teaspoon sea salt

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

-In a large saucepan, cook the chopped apples and the chopped ginger roots in the apple juice.  Bring to a boil, and then simmer for about 15 minutes.

-Add the sugar, the orange marmalade  and the clove.  Stir until the sugar is dissolved. 

-Bring back to a boil, stir, turn down the heat and simmer until the sauce is thickened.  Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.  Fold in the walnut.

-Roll the buff pastry sheet slightly. Place on a cookie sheet.

- Pour the apple ginger mixture in the middle, spread a little, and then fold about one inch from the edge of the pastry over the ginger mixture. Sprinkle with the salt.

-Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until edges are golden.

Serve hot or room temperature.

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