Folklorama: Blintzes and Seekh Kababs

Blintzes

Goodness, here we are at the end of July!

I hope you’ve been enjoying the recipes of past Folklorama pavilions and that you’re planning on seeing a few - or all - of the pavilions at Folklorama50.

In 1980 Israel displayed its arts and culture in the Shalom Square Pavilion, held in the Y.M.H.A. Community Centre at 370 Hargrave Street.

It was noted in the brochure that the Sabbath would be observed and that the pavilion would be closed from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, a handy reminder for those who wanted to visit, but weren’t aware of the religious rules.

The Winnipeg Jewish Community Council had arranged for the internationally acclaimed Chair Folk Ensemble to perform Israeli and Yiddish songs and dances.

The cultural displays featured information on Israel, as well as exhibits presented by the Canadian Zionist Federation.

While the entertainment was excellent and the displays were informative, the sponsors knew that the food was the real draw.

The traditional favourites were there: gefilte fish, salami sandwiches, knishes, dill pickles, matzah, hamantashen, apple strudel, moon cookies and halavah.

They also added new items to their menu: cherry and blueberry blintzes, giant and salty bagelach (pretzels), and an assortment of candies, both sweet and sour.

Beverages ranged from Israeli wine (red and white), Israeli beer, and Sabra (a chocolate-orange flavoured liquor), to soft drinks and coffee.

Shalom!

In 1980 the India Pavilion, sponsored by the India Association of Winnipeg Inc., made full use of the classrooms at R. B. Russell Vocational School at 364 Dufferin Avenue for their large number of cultural displays. 

Colourful sarees (the common costume of women in India), floral design, handicrafts, artifacts, jewelry, Indian spices and herbs, books for children, posters of historical sites, fashions of India, and wall displays explaining the Indian system of mathematics and science filled the rooms.

Classical Indian dances and Folk dances from various regions of India were performed by dancers in colourful costumes, who were accompanied by East Indian music.

Intricate foot work and hand gestures conveying emotions and ideas, an important part of the dances, held everyone's attention.

The hostesses greeted guests with a warm Swagatum as they joined the lines for ‘East-Indian’ curried meat and rice, as well as a variety of curries divided into chicken, beef and vegetables.

Taj Rum and Calcutta Dry Gin for the full experience, as well as local beverages - both hard and soft - were available, as were desserts which included gulab-jamun, a pastry made with milk, then shaped into balls, fried and served with sweet syrup.

In the current Folklorama50 brochure there are still an Israel Pavilion - Shalom Square, and an India Pavilion, as well as the Punjab Pavilion and the Tamil Pavilion.

Hints:

The recipe said that oil is best for greasing the pan for the leaf for blintzes.

                        Blintzes  

Leaf

Combine in a small bowl

1 1/2 Cups flour

1/2 Cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Place in a large bowl

6 eggs

2 Cups water

2 Cups milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

Beat together.

Add the dry mixture and beat well.

The batter should be thin. Add water if necessary.

Lightly grease a pan with oil and heat until hot.

Pour enough of the batter into the prepared pan to form a thin leaf, tilting the pan from side to side so that the batter spreads evenly.

Cook until the top is dry and slightly blistered. 

Turn onto a clean cloth, cooked side up.

Filling

Combine in a small bowl

any canned pie filling

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

dash of cinnamon

grated lemon peel or dash of orange peel

Place a tablespoon of the filling in the centre of a leaf, fold sides to centre, and roll up.

When ready to use, fry lightly in butter.

Serve with sour cream and fruit.

                        Seekh Kababs  

Place in a medium bowl

1 medium onion, chopped finely

2 green chillies (hot), chopped finely

1 teaspoon lemon juice

salt to taste

Blend until it is a fine paste.

Add

1 pound lean ground beef

Blend well.

Grease a skewer with melted butter.

Take a scoop of the meat mixture and wrap around the skewer.

Repeat with remaining skewers and meat.

Barbecue or broil.

Serve garnished with sliced onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, and green peppers.

Folklorama: Cornitze and Schweinshaxe vom Spiess

Schweinshaxe vom Spiess

Folklorama in 1980 was a time when people in Winnipeg went to church a lot.

It wasn’t because anyone had suddenly become religious, but because the churches were the sites for so many pavilions.

It really made a lot of sense.

Many churches in Winnipeg were started and maintained by immigrants who were proud of their ethnic heritage.

The pavilions were run by volunteers who were proud of their ethnic heritage.

One of the main places - and in some cases the only place - where ethnic traditions and culture could be observed was in the local parish churches.

Many of the Folklorama volunteers were also parish members who could easily arrange to set up a pavilion in their church without having to pay rent for the space.

We’re Winnipeggers. 

Why pay rent when you can use a space for free?

The Romanian Pavilion was held in another long established ethnic Winnipeg church, St. Demetrios Romanian Orthodox Church, 103 Furby Street, its sponsor.

After a visitor was welcomed with a warm Bun Venit it was on to the cultural displays.

As would be expected in a church, there were displays of a religious nature: icons painted on an Icon Screen (Iconotasis) sculptured in Romania on oak wood, as well as embroidered linen items.

They also had artists doing egg painting, as well as doing icon painting on glass.

The nightly entertainment consisted of three half-hour shows featuring ethnic dances performed by Balada (an Edmonton dance ensemble) and by the local Perinita Romanian Dance Ensemble, with songs provided by both the parish’s adults' and children’s choir, as well as soloists.

As with the other Eastern European pavilions, the main focus was the food.

The hearty traditional fare included: alivinci cu smantant, sarnmali, rosii si ardei umpluti, colacei, varza cu sunca, and more, followed by prajitura cu mere, saralia and corneletze for dessert.

There were three Romanian table wines and Canadian spirits and beer available, as well as soft drinks, to keep everyone hydrated.

The German Pavilion was at the building owned by its sponsor, The German Society of Winnipeg, at 121 Charles Street, and their introductory piece says:

‘Gemütlichkeit’, roughly translated means good natured, easy, comfortable, and that’s the atmosphere found at the German Pavilion.

Along with the German arts, crafts and historical items on display there was entertainment provided by the Mardi Gras Dancers, as well as singing and yodelling by the entertainers.

Everyone was invited to sing along as the German brass band, two organists, and a guest accordionist from Kitchener, Ontario, filled the air with the sound of Germany.

Along with the sounds filling the air there was plenty of food to fill the stomachs.

Rostbratwurst (a grilled sausage on a bun), Rouladen kit Rotkohl and Eisbein kit Sauerkraut were top favourites on the menu, and went well with the Lowenbrau and Dormunder beer, as well as the German wine and soft drinks.

Paul and I had taken my parents to the German Pavilion during their visits.

Since College Point was originally a German/Irish town they felt right at home.

After a beer or two, they even joined everyone in the yodelling.

Just love that spirit of Gemütlichkeit!

In the Folklorama50 brochure there is still a Romanian and a German Pavilion listed.

No surprise there - the artwork, food and entertainment are excellent.

Want German food more than once a year?

The German Pavilion is home to The Schnitzelhaus which hosts weekly buffets featuring German and Canadian delicacies in a full service dining room.  

It has become famous for its Saturday morning breakfasts.

Hints:

The recipe for Schweinshaxe vom Spiess has an intro that is a bit colourful. Here it is:

The aroma of ‘Schweinshaxe’ on the rotisserie will drive the neighbourhood wild. Try this on the evening that the neighbour you don’t like is serving her husband cold leftovers after he has been mixing cement for their new patio all day.

It even works better if the wind is blowing in their direction.

Willkommen to the ‘hood!

Check the Schweinshaxe for doneness with a meat thermometer.

Even if you’ve invited the nasty neighbours over for dinner, it’s best to be safe.

                        Cornitze

Makes about 100 cookies

Dough

Place in a large bowl

4 Cups flour

1 pound butter

4 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla

12 ounces cream cheese

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Mix well and break into nut-size pieces.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Filling

Combine in a medium bowl

1 pound finely crushed walnuts

1 Cup sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

4 egg whites

Sprinkle confectioners’ sugar on the work surface.

Roll out a piece of dough and fill with the filling mixture.

Close and form into a crescent shape and place on cookie sheet.

Repeat with the remaining nut-size pieces. 

Bake at 375º F for 20 minutes.

                        Schweinshaxe vom Spiess

Wash and dry

3 pork hocks, not ham, each between 2 - 2 1/2 pounds

With a very sharp knife slit the skin in a crisscross pattern of half inch squares that are 1/2 inch deep.

Rub with 

salt and freshly ground pepper

Roast on the rotisseries at high heat until very well done.

This takes 2 1/2 to 4 hours, depending on the rotisserie and the size of the hocks.

If the skin starts to burn move the meat further from the heat.

Serve with Gemischter Salat (a mixed salad), Semmein (rolls) and Bier (beer).

Folklorama: Mramorni Kolac and Ćevapčići

Ćevapčići

Back in 1980 many of the pavilions were about Central and Eastern European countries and took place in their home parishes.

These churches were a reminder of when people, after having immigrated to Canada, stayed within their own ethnic community in their new country.  

It was understandable. 

They were facing problems adjusting to a new life, so there was comfort and strength in gathering together for religious and social events in a place where they were able to speak their own language with others who were in the same situation.

Folklorama was a way for people in the different communities to get to know, and be known by, their neighbours.

Just as the Greek Pavilion was sponsored by the Greek community in Winnipeg, the Croatian Pavilion, Zagreb, was sponsored by the Croatian Congregation of Winnipeg.

It took place at the Croatian Catholic Church, St Nicholas Tavelich and Banquet Hall, at 2688 Main Street.

The people at the Croatian pavilion extended a warm Dobro Došli and shared their culture, traditions, national costumes and handicrafts.
They served Croatian dishes such as Raznjici and Sarma.

Visitors could sit and listen to Croatian folk songs or join the folk dance ensemble Hrvatska Zora in a lively dance.

Glasses of Sijivovica and Lozvaca were available to raise in a toast: 
U Zdraulje - To your health!

The Slovenija Pavilion, Ljubljana, gave us a glimpse into the country just north of Croatia. 

It was at Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church on 95 Macdonald Avenue, and was hosted by the Slovenian Folk Art Council.

They took a slightly different approach in their written introduction.

First they had a sentence instead of just a welcome:

Dobrodošli v Sloveniji! Želimo vam mnogo zabave in zabave med nami.

And while the other pavilions invited visitors to an energetic and exciting, while educational, time, the people at Slovenija said:

For a change of pace in the hustle of pavilion trekking, stop and relax in the Slovenian Pavilion.

To be honest, it wasn't like going to a quiet place of meditation.
It was just as much fun and as lively as the other pavilions.
Three folk dance groups - Zvonček, Rožmarin and Triglav - plus a male singing quartet, Zvon, provided the entertainment for people who were relaxing and dining.

Along with the handicrafts, embroidery, costumes and crystal, they also had a narrated slide presentation of Slovenija’s history and culture.

While ćevapčići, žlikrofi, and kranjske klobase were available, the main attraction for the pavilion was the succulent young pigs which were barbecued on spits.

The aroma was amazing, and the servings were generous.

Along with the usual domestic and soft drinks, Riesling wine and Slivovica were available for the total Slovenija experience.

Some of the '80s pavilions are no longer with us, but others are as popular as ever.

In the current Folklorama50 brochure there is still a Croatian Pavilion "Zagreb" Pavilion and a Slovenija Pavilion, and they still attract crowds.

Oh, that sentence from Slovenija’s half page means: 

Welcome to Slovenia! We wish you lots of fun and fun among us.

Hints:

The pavilions pride themselves on authentic recipes, and sometimes that causes a problem in translation.

The recipe for the Croatian Mramorni Kolac (Marble Cake) was written with measurements in dkg - dekagrams, a type of metric weight unit. 
I checked a couple of conversion charts and this is what I got. Hope it helps.

dkg    Cup             ounces

 4       .168      1.410958477983 

20      .84        7.054792389916 

25    1.05        8.818490487395

50    2.1        17.63698097479 
I don't know how much was in the packages of baking powder and vanilla sugar.

They didn’t say what size pan to use.

About the pork hamburger... I think the ground meats in the Ćevapčići are lean.

Ćevapčići tastes better barbecued over hot coals until light brown.

Well, what doesn’t?

                        Mramorni Kolac

Preheat oven to 350º

Grease the pan

Combine in a small bowl

50 dkg flour

1 package baking powder 

In a large mixer bowl place

20 dkg butter or margarine

Beat until it is well beaten or smooth.

Add

25 dkg sugar

1 package vanilla sugar

Continue to beat and add, 1 at a time

4 eggs

Then add

a pinch of salt

grated rind of 1 lemon

the flour mixture.

Stir in 

1/2 Cup milk

Place 1/3 of the batter in a medium mixer bowl

Add

4 dkg cocoa

4 dkg sugar

2 Tablespoons milk
Mix well.

Pour the vanilla batter into the prepared pan.

Pour the chocolate batter over the vanilla batter and swirl through with a knife.

Bake 45 minutes or until the cake’s centre springs back.

Cool 15 minutes.
Remove cakes from pans.

                        Ćevapčići

Place in a large bowl

1 pound good quality ground beef

1 pound pork hamburger

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon red sweet paprika

1 egg

1/4 Cup red wine

2 cloves garlic, minced

Mix well, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or more.

Roll into 1 inch thick, 2 inches long rolls.

Barbecue or fry.

Serve with Spanish onion slices and bread.

Blueberry Refrigerator Pie - Margaret Ullrich

Yippee!!! It’s almost July!

Time for folks north and south of 49th parallel north to celebrate their home and native lands.

Holidays like Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas come with their own menus.

Skip an item and the family never lets you forget it.

New ideas don’t stand a chance against years of tradition. Really.

But the July holidays are a bit more free wheeling.

For starters, there’s the weather.

If you have nice weather, it’s time to fire up the barbecue.

If you don’t, it’s time to fire up the broiler, or oven.

And - yes, it finally happened - the kids have finished another school year.

Schedules, books and lists have been tossed out the window.

The mood is totally spur of the moment.

A friend calls and says she’s having a pot luck.

You laugh uproariously and offer to bring the dessert.

Yeah… What were you thinking?

Don’t panic.

Right about now blueberries are on sale, or in your freezer.

The other ingredients are usually on your kitchen shelves or in your fridge.

This recipe is easy. You can do it. Really.

Throw it together and par-tay!!

Hint:

In a rush? Use 1 1/3 Cups graham cracker crumbs.

A 9 inch springform pan is just as good as the tart pan.

This recipe also works with Saskatoon berries, or any other berries that are in season… or in your freezer.

Don’t like lemon? You can also use orange zest and juice.

Don’t have zest? Use another tablespoon of juice or a teaspoon of extract.

Thawed whipped topping is also good with this.

Taking this to a pot luck? 

Don't add the topping until you get there.

Or you can add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on each serving. 

Or leave as is. They'll never know.

                        Easy Blueberry Refrigerator Pie

Finely crush

50 Nilla Vanilla Wafers

You need 1 1/3 cups of crumbs.

Place in a medium bowl.

Melt

6 Tablespoons butter

Add the melted butter to the crushed wafers and mix well.

Heat oven to 350°F. 

Press the crumb mixture onto the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom. 

Bake 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool. 

Combine in a small bowl

2 Tablespoons corn starch 

3 Tablespoons water 

Place in a large saucepan

1 1/2 Cups blueberries

2/3 Cup sugar 

2 Tablespoons water 

Stirring constantly, bring to boil over medium high heat. 

Whisk the cornstarch mixture into the blueberry mixture. 

Stirring constantly, simmer over low heat 2 minutes, or until thickened. 

Remove from heat. 

Add 

1 Tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest 

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Stir until the butter is melted. 

Stir in 

3 1/2 Cups of the blueberries 

Pour the blueberry mixture into the crust.

Top with 

1 Cup blueberries 

Refrigerate 4 hours, or until firm. 

Remove side of pan before serving. 

Top with

1 1/2 Cups whipped cream (more or less)

Anna Sultana’s Lemon Surprise Cake / The Summer Triangle

It’s funny how a holiday can make you think of a certain dessert. Think about it… 

Love it or hate it, everyone expects to see a fruitcake at Christmas.

And what’s Thanksgiving without a slice or two of pumpkin pie topped with whipped cream?

Here we are, in June, and every Canadian is in summer vacation mode.

We’ve gone through our usual long winter and can’t just serve another winter dessert.

Cobblers and coffeecakes - good as they are - have their place, and that’s not at the end of a summer meal or barbecue.

Tangy lemon recipes are perfect for ending summer meals and barbecues.

Lemon Surprise Cake is a summer recipe that was popular when I was a kid.

Ma wasn’t big on buying soda, but she'd heard a few of her co-workers talk about this really easy cake recipe.

Then one of her friends brought a slice to work and shared a bite with Ma.

Ma liked it and, when Ma made a cake for us, we did, too.

Hints:

You can use sugar-free soda.

If the frosting to too thick it can be thinned with a little water or lemon juice or milk.

For a lighter touch you can make a simple glaze:

Mix together 

2 Cups confectioners’ sugar

6 tablespoons lemon juice

Drizzle over the cooled cake.

You can also make this into a poke cake:

Using a fork, poke holes in the warm cake and pour the lemon glaze over the cake. Cool the cake and serve.

You could melt some chocolate and drizzle it on the top of the cake. 

White chocolate goes well with the lemon lime taste.

You can also use a container of fluffy type frosting or just give the cooled cake a dusting of confectioners’ sugar.

                        Lemon Surprise Cake

Heavily grease and flour an angel food cake pan or a bundt pan  

Preheat oven to 350º F

Place in a large mixer bowl

1 1/2 Cups butter, at room temperature

3 Cups sugar

Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.

Turn down the speed to low and add one at a time

5 large eggs, at room temperature

Beat well after each addition.

Add

2 Tablespoons lemon extract

3/4 Cup 7-up or Sprite or any lemon-lime soda 

Stir until just blended.

Stir in, 1 Cup at a time

3 Cups flour 

Stir until just blended.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

A toothpick inserted into the cake should come out dry.

Cool cake in the pan for 10 minutes before removing.

Run a knife around, between the cake and the cake pan, to loosen the cake.

Carefully remove the cake and cool it on a wire rack.

Place the cake on a pretty serving platter.

While the cake is cooling, prepare the icing:

                        Lemon Icing

Place in a medium mixer bowl

4 Tablespoons butter, at room temperature

Beat at medium speed until light.

Beat in

1 teaspoon lemon extract

Turn down the speed to low and add, 1 Cup at a time

3 Cups confectioners’ sugar

Spread over the cooled cake.

Garnish with slivers of lemon rind.

About the sky, thanks to the folks at The Farmers' Almanac…

Look for the Big Dipper asterism, referred to as The Plough by those in the U.K. As the most recognizable star pattern in our night sky, it will be high in the north in the evening hours during the month of June.

June 6 - Mercury passes from the morning to the evening sky. Observers who closely follow Venus may be able to see Mercury as early as the evening of the 13th in rather bright skies, about a half hour after sunset and hovering just above the west-northwest horizon nearly 30-degrees to the lower right of Venus. 

Mercury, at magnitude -1.4, will then match Sirius (the brightest star) yet will be fainter than Venus by nearly three magnitudes. By month’s end, Mercury dims to magnitude -0.1, but is more easily found, setting 1½ hours after the sun.

June 9 - Stargazers can still spot the Summer Triangle on these spring evenings at dusk. Look for a triangle that’s composed of the three brightest stars in the sky: Deneb, Vega, and Altair. 

June 11 - At dusk, Venus forms a nearly straight and horizontal line, just over 10° long with the much fainter “Twin stars,” Pollux and Castor. For viewers at mid-northern latitudes, June is the month when Venus appears highest right after sunset. This dazzling world (magnitude -4.0) is more than 25-degrees high at sunset now for observers around 40-degree north latitude. It sets about 2½ hours after the Sun at the start of June and maintains this interval throughout the month.

June 13 - Tonight is a Supermoon! But you won’t see it. That’s because its in the “new” phase. The new Moon will be at its closest point to Earth in its orbit on the 14th.

A lovely crescent Moon and Venus likely will attract attention to even casual sky watchers at dusk, although they are not really all that close to each other; Venus appears 7 or 8-degrees to the right of the moon as they descend the west-northwest sky.

June 14 - Earliest sunrise of 2018. This happens every year around mid-June. The Moon is also at perigee, its closest position to Earth, at 7:45 p.m.

June 15-16 - After sunset look for Venus and Mercury near the waxing crescent Moon, 30-45 minutes after sundown. Mercury will be beneath Venus and very close to the horizon.

Anna Sultana's Broiled Chicken Oregano, Maltese Style

I have a confession to make.

Ma never served ground chicken.

We ate chicken.

But Ma left it up to our teeth to do the grinding.

To be honest, I don't remember ground chicken being in the store until recently.

Maybe it just didn't sell in my neighborhood until recently.

Maybe it's something new.

Like raspberry vinegar.

Here's a nice easy chicken recipe.

The meat is still on the bone.

It can be broiled or barbecued.

With fresh ingredients Ma always had on hand.

Like garlic.

                        Chicken Oregano 

4 pounds chicken parts, rinsed

Place on large cookie sheet

Sprinkle lightly with

salt and pepper 

Mix

1/3 Cup olived oil

1/4 Cup lemon juice

2 teaspoons oregano

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon chopped parsley

Brush chicken generously with this mixture. 

Place on broiler rack about 6 inches below flame.

Broil 20 minutes on each side, until golden brown.

Brush chicken occasionally with the liquid. 

When done, arrange chicken on platter.

Pour remaining liquid over chicken.

Serve very hot.

The chicken can be served with pasta or rice.

If you're at a picnic, crusty bread is nice, too.