Candy Corn

Totally stolen from some website that stole it from some blog that stole it from Epicurious. The first 48 hours after you make this, it has a sort of flat blandness to its flavor, but around day 3 it develops that irrefutable candy corn zing. Since it keeps for some time, I would recommend making it three or four days in advance of consumption if possible.

You can easily make this with vegan substitutions.

Ingredients:

* 1 cup sugar
* 2/3 cup light corn syrup
* 5 tablespoons butter or margarine or earth balance
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
* 1/3 cup powdered milk or soy milk
* a pinch of sea salt
* Red and yellow food coloring

Instructions:

Sift the powdered sugar, powdered milk, and salt into medium bowl. Set aside.

Melt the butter. Don't let it bubble.

In a large saucepan, bring the sugar, corn syrup, melted butter, and vanilla to a boil over medium-high heat. Do not allow the temperature to exceed 240 degrees F. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and continue to simmer (almost boil) the mixture for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, keeping the temperature between 235 and 240 degrees. After 5 minutes, remove from heat.

Slowly add the powdered sugar mixture to pan, stirring to combine. Continue stirring until it's smooth and all the clumps are out.

Let the mixture stand until warm (rather than hot) to touch, about 10-15 minutes.

You have to do the following steps relatively quickly, because if the dough chills too much, it becomes a little brittle for what you need from it.

Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces.

Take the first piece and knead it, then roll it out into a tube. If you roll it out too thin, it will break, so don't do that.

Add several drops of yellow food coloring to the second piece of dough and knead food coloring into the dough until the color is even. Then roll that out into a tube of length equal to the first tube. Repeat using red and yellow food coloring for orange with the third piece.

Push the three tubes together to form one big, 3-layer rectangle.

Using sharp knife, cut the ropes into triangles. Some will be white tipped and some will be yellow tipped.

Enjoy!

Lentil Kufte

Also known as: lentil kofte; vosbov kufte; mejmekli kufte.

I'm including this recipe because I struggled (read: failed) to find a respectable recipe on the internet. This recipe will yield delicious lentil kufte. It comes from the Armenian classic, "Rose Baboian's Armenian-American Cook Book." Mrs. Baboian assembled a crack team of Armenian ladies to refine an endless number of Armenian recipes, as well as some American recipes. I'm proud that my great-grandmother can be counted among the women who compiled this excellent resource. If you want to cook Armenian food, this book is indispensable. Note, the book includes a chart to help you make this recipe for up to 126 hungry people.  This version will serve 3-5 people.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup red lentils
2.5 cups of water
1.5 teaspoons of salt
0.5 teaspoon of paprika
0.5 teaspoon of cayenne
1 small (1/3 cup) chopped onion
1/4 cup clarified butter or vegetable shortening (Crisco)
1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter
1.25 cups fine bulgar (Baboian's recipe calls for medium, but I prefer fine)
1/4 cup finely chopped scallions
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 cup chopped parsley

DIRECTIONS:

* Wash the lentils.
* Add lentils and water to large saucepan, bring to a boil, then simmer 20-25 minutes or until lentils are soft.
* Mix in salt, paprika, and cayenne. Set aside.
* Put bulgar in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
* In a frying pan, brown the onion in the clarified butter.
* Once the onions are pink, add the butter and simmer until all lumps are melted.
* Add the onion and butter mixture to the mixing bowl with the bulgar. Also add the lentils.
* Mix thoroughly, then let it stand for 30 minutes, or until bulgar is soft.
* Knead the mixture.
* Add the scallions and green pepper. Add most of the parsley, but reserve some for garnish.
* Shape into approximately 12 kuftes (little football shaped clumps).
* Garnish with remainder of parsley and some paprika.

SERVE IMMEDIATELY

Grandmother Norian's Aintabsi Pias (Black-eyed Pea Salad)

This dish is great for summer picnics!

INGREDIENTS:

2 cans of black-eyed peas (drained well)
1/2 head chopped parsley (not Cilantro)
1 medium onion, thinly sliced into half-moons or finely chopped
1 jar of chopped, red pimiento
1/2 cup sliced, pitted black olives
Juice of 1-2 lemons (depends on how dry lemon is); strain out pulp and seeds.
1-2 tsp. olive oil (optional)
1/2 tsp. salt (you may need to add more at the end)
1/8 tsp. garlic powder (optional)
Dash of cayenne
Dash of paprika

DIRECTIONS:

* Place drained black-eyed peas in large mixing bowl.
* Add chopped parsley, chopped onion, pimiento, and olives.
* Drizzle on olive oil.
* Add juice of 1 lemon (you can add more lemon juice later); 1/2 tsp. salt; garlic powder; cayenne and paprika.
* Mix together gently--don't mush the peas!
* Taste for salt as well as lemon juice; add more if needed.
* Serve chilled.  Refrigerate leftovers.

Mojo Picon

INGREDIENTS:

5 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2-3 dried chiles
Salt
Bread*
1/2 teaspoon of paprika
2-3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
4-5 tablespoons olive oil
Water (roughly 1/2 a cup, add as needed)

*The recipe I have recommends 3-4 tablespoons of breadcrumbs, but I add small chunks of bread until the desired thickness is achieved. You can use Italian table bread, French boule bread, or even straight-up American white bread - or whatever.

DIRECTIONS:

* In a food processor, add cumin, garlic, chiles, and salt. Blend well.

* Add paprika, vinegar, and oil. Blend well.

* Add bread and water and blend until desired thickness and taste are achieved. (I like it relatively thick.)

I SERVE WITH:

* Papas Arrugadas

Papas Arrugadas

INGREDIENTS:

Small new potatoes (or comparable potatoes)
Course sea salt
Water

DIRECTIONS:

* Add potatoes to a pot of very salty water. I usually use two bags of small potatoes, and 12-20 ounces of coarse sea salt.

* Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes.

* Drain almost all the water from the pot, leaving just a small amount at the bottom. Dust the potatoes with a layer of salt.

* Then, place the pot on low heat until the salt crystalizes, shaking the pot occasionally.

* Remove pot from heat.

* Cover pot with a light towel for 5 minutes.

* Serve immediately.

I SERVE WITH:

Mojo Picon