Disclaimer : do not learn to make baklava from scratch, you will go mad. It’s up there with Sarma and Mantı as one of the most labor intensive parts of turkish cuisine.
I’ve never heard of Manti, but I’m gonna have to seek that out!
Sarma, on the other hand, I make at least 7 or 8 times a year. We call them dolma, or just stuffed grape leaves. Before my mom ended up bedridden, she and I would have dolma rolling nights, where we’d sit and roll the grape leaves for hours and make an enormous batch of them. I’m kinda shitty at it, and they turn out. Serviceable at best. My mom, though, she rolls them things like she’s been doing it her whole life. Each one perfect. But she grew up rolling joints in the 70s, so I guess the skill translated! Lol
Oh, no, it was entirely the ganja. Haha. Her mom never had a stuffed grape leaf, I’m fairly certain. Her family is mainly English, on both sides. Some Native American through Mama’s maternal grandmother. My dad’s family is mostly German, some Ashkenazi, and Nordic.
Mama grew up in South Carolina, but I grew up in a big coastal city (Virginia Beach) and we discovered through the incredible restaurants that we love food, especially food from the middle east, Mediterranean, India, and other places. Then we moved to Tennessee, where good food comes to die, so we had to learn to make everything ourselves.
Called a few of our favorite restaurants back home that we were on pretty familiar terms with the folks that owned them and begged them for their recipes, combined that with YouTube channels speaking in languages we didn’t understand, and got pretty good at making great good. I am particularly proud of my Lebanese Shish Taouk, and toum. Though, no one eats much of the toum besides me. I love that stuff, and can eat it with a spoon if I don’t have plans on being near other humans for a while. Haha
that sounds awesome! It’s sad what happened to your mother, but time affects us all.
Maybe you could give mantı a go, you might have the dexterity and patience to do it and it might be a fun experience for you, especially if you share it with your mom afterwards or spend some time with her as you make the mantı.
you guys seem very cultured, thank you for sharing.
Edit: hey, actually, if you have any recipes you feel like sharing, I’d be very, very cool with that!
It’s okay. She’s doing much better, just not able to get out of bed anymore. And I absolutely will try that! I love a good dumpling, and that’s such a big way my mom and I bond/spend time together is going over recipes and enjoying food together
Those are all really fair points. I wish I lived somewhere where people made good food, but alas, I have to wait for church bake sales lol
You could learn to make your own! :D
Disclaimer : do not learn to make baklava from scratch, you will go mad. It’s up there with Sarma and Mantı as one of the most labor intensive parts of turkish cuisine.
I’ve never heard of Manti, but I’m gonna have to seek that out!
Sarma, on the other hand, I make at least 7 or 8 times a year. We call them dolma, or just stuffed grape leaves. Before my mom ended up bedridden, she and I would have dolma rolling nights, where we’d sit and roll the grape leaves for hours and make an enormous batch of them. I’m kinda shitty at it, and they turn out. Serviceable at best. My mom, though, she rolls them things like she’s been doing it her whole life. Each one perfect. But she grew up rolling joints in the 70s, so I guess the skill translated! Lol
I’m sure she learnt from your grandma or one of your aunts, not just smoking weed :P
Whhat kind of heritage do you have to have this happen, greek, armenian , slavic, arabaic or something else?
Oh, no, it was entirely the ganja. Haha. Her mom never had a stuffed grape leaf, I’m fairly certain. Her family is mainly English, on both sides. Some Native American through Mama’s maternal grandmother. My dad’s family is mostly German, some Ashkenazi, and Nordic.
Mama grew up in South Carolina, but I grew up in a big coastal city (Virginia Beach) and we discovered through the incredible restaurants that we love food, especially food from the middle east, Mediterranean, India, and other places. Then we moved to Tennessee, where good food comes to die, so we had to learn to make everything ourselves.
Called a few of our favorite restaurants back home that we were on pretty familiar terms with the folks that owned them and begged them for their recipes, combined that with YouTube channels speaking in languages we didn’t understand, and got pretty good at making great good. I am particularly proud of my Lebanese Shish Taouk, and toum. Though, no one eats much of the toum besides me. I love that stuff, and can eat it with a spoon if I don’t have plans on being near other humans for a while. Haha
that sounds awesome! It’s sad what happened to your mother, but time affects us all.
Maybe you could give mantı a go, you might have the dexterity and patience to do it and it might be a fun experience for you, especially if you share it with your mom afterwards or spend some time with her as you make the mantı.
you guys seem very cultured, thank you for sharing.
Edit: hey, actually, if you have any recipes you feel like sharing, I’d be very, very cool with that!
It’s okay. She’s doing much better, just not able to get out of bed anymore. And I absolutely will try that! I love a good dumpling, and that’s such a big way my mom and I bond/spend time together is going over recipes and enjoying food together
no recepies I’m afraid, I hope you have fun.
The furthest I would go is for advice with the yogurt sauce/topping : go for garlic yogurt.