Iraqi Participants make Dolma

Each year we have participants try their hand in the kitchen by making a dish for everyone during dinner.  This year our Iraqi participants made Dolma, a favorite Iraqi dish.  It is a very traditional dish mader with squash, onions, green peppers, tomatos and rice.

DOLMA

3 cups uncooked white rice
1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon curry powder (optional)
1 (16 ounce) jar grape leaves, drained and rinsed
3 Large Onions
4 Large Green Peppers
4 Large green squash
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 potato, sliced into rounds
1 cup canned tomato sauce
2 cups water, or as needed

Directions
1.In a medium bowl, mix together the uncooked rice, parsley, allspice, pepper and curry powder until well blended.
2.Pour oil into the bottom of a large pot, and spread to cover. Make a layer of potato slices to cover the bottom of the pan. The dolmas should not be able to touch the bottom of the pan.
3.Lay the grape leaves out flat on a cutting board. Place about a tablespoon of the rice mixture in the center of one leaf. Fold sides in towards the center, then roll up from the bottom loosely. Set in the pot seam side down. Repeat with the remaining mixture and leaves. For large leaves, you may cut them in half at the center vein. Place a heavy dinner plate on top of the dolma to keep them from unraveling. The cooking pot should be about 2/3 full.

4. Carve out the squash, green peppers and onions.  Stuff all three of these with the rice mixture as well and add into the pot with the grape leaves.

5.Pour tomato sauce and water over the dolma. The liquid should cover them by at least one inch. Adjust the amount of water if necessary. Bring to a boil, then cover, and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until all liquid has been absorbed and rice is tender.

Iraqi Recipe for Rice Borani

This dish was prepared by some of the Iraqi participants at GYV this summer. It is a traditional dish in Iraq and is served with fried eggplant, potatoes, and tomatoes.

Ingredients:

  2 cups of veggie broth
  3 cups of white rice
  3 cups of vermicelli noodles, broken into matchstick sized pieces
  1 cup of frozen peas, thawed
  1 cup of carrots, cubed
  1 cup of potatoes, peeled and cubed
  2 tablespoons of baharat (Iraqi spice – substitute equal parts of cinnamon and cumin)
  Salt
  Oil

Directions:

In a large frying pan, fry broken vermicelli until golden brown. Add rice and stir until warm, then add broth. Cover and reduce heat. Cook 15 minutes until tender.

While rice is cooking, heat ¼ inch of oil in another frying pan. Carefully fry potatoe cubes until golden brown. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and place on a clean paper towel to drain.  Salt to taste.

In a large pot, sauté carrot cubes until just tender. Add thawed peas and potatoes, stirring until warm. Added cooked rice, noodles, and baharat. Stir. Salt to taste.

“Let’s Move” at GYV

First Lady Michelle Obama recently unveiled her “Let’s Move” campaign a national public awareness campaign against childhood obesity.  A staggering statistic….one in three American children are overweight or obese, putting them at a higher risk for developing diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other illnesses.  Here at the Global Youth Village, healthy eating habits are a way of life and we teach our participants the importance of a healthy balanced diet.

“Let’s Move” is a campaign geared to target all aspects of a healthy lifestyle including helping parents make better food choices, serving healthier food in school vending machines and lunch lines, making healthy food more available and affordable, and encouraging children to exercise more.

Here at the Global Youth Village, our daily activites and diet mirror what this campaign is trying to promote. Our menu is predominately vegetarian with tasty international foods and all of our dishes are prepared with natural foods and whole grains. The youth learn the importance of a healthy diet for their physical and emotional well being. Each day of our sessions we encourage our youth to get involved in one of the numerous recrational activities we offer!  So if your looking for a place to “Let’s Move” visit us at GYV!

Dani – a cook with a mission

Dani, a head cook on the Legacy food service team, has a great outlook on life.   Her motto is “Saving the World One Bite at a Time”.  At GYV she loves to create delicious vegetarian meals for breakfast and lunch.  All the food is fresh!  She makes home baked bread which is amazing.  If you are used to eating meat once or twice a day, you hardly miss it. Dani is also a remarkable woman. She spent the last 3½ years as a cook on a reproduction of the Amistad.  They sailed the triangular slave route, traveling from, New Haven, Ct., Nova Scotia, Falmouth, Liverpool, Bristol, London, Libson, Canary Island, Freetown, Sierra Leone, Cape Verde, Barbados, St. Croix, Charleston, SC, returning to New Haven, CT.  The crew educated people about the Amistad experience and the slave trade.  Did you know that a letter written by a 12 year old convinced John Adams to defend the Africans aboard the Amistad in front of the US Supreme Court in 1841?  This was the first civil rights case to be tried in the US and 7 of the 9 judges were slave owners.

Tips for Starting an Organic Garden

Tom Taylor has been the master gardener at GYV for the past 20 years. He often invites GYV youth to join him in the gardens for community service and is a featured guest speaker in the Green Your World Workshop.  Right now we have lettuce, arugula, parsley, and green onions ready to eat.  If you’ve been trying to eat more organic foods, both to decrease the amount of pesticides you and your family consume, and to help protect the environment from overloading with toxic chemicals, you know it can be expensive. Here are some tips on starting your own garden.   Luckily, there’s a way to grow your own delicious, fresh produce, while having fun and learning at the same time: organic gardening!

Go to http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/organic-gardening-tips-460309  to get some tips on starting an organic garden.

Nowruz: Persian New Year Welcoming Spring

NOWRUZ SPRING FESTIVAL OR NEW YEAR’S CELEBRATION

In harmony with the rebirth of nature, the two-week Persian New Year celebration, or Nowruz, always begins on the first day of spring. On that day-which may occur on March 20, 21, or 22 - Nowruz celebrations include many traditions and wonderful foods: 

Nowruz ceremonies consist of a series of symbolic actions dating back to ancient times, including:

• Cleaning of the environment, cleansing of the self, confession of sins, the exorcising of devils, or divs, from the house and the community.
• Forgive yourself and your enemies and a time for making up relationships.
• Dowsing and re-lighting the fires.
• Processions to borders, seas, and rivers.
• Disruption of the normal order of things with boisterous parties.

A few weeks before the New Year, Iranians thoroughly clean and rearrange their homes. They make or buy new clothes, bake pastries and germinate seeds as signs of renewal. Troubadours, called Hadji Firuz or heralds of rebirth, disguised with makeup and wearing red satin outfits, sing and dance through the streets with tambourines, kettle drums, and trumpets to spread good cheer and the news of the coming New Year. The celebration of renewal is attributed to the Sumerian god of sacrifice, Domuzi, who was killed at the end of each year and reborn at the beginning of the new year. The Hadji Firuz’s disguised face represents his return from the world of the dead, his red costume symbolizes the blood and tragic fate of the legendary Prince Siavush and the rebirth of the god of sacrifice, while his happiness and singing represent his joy at being reborn.

In every Persian household a special cover is spread onto a carpet or on a table. This ceremonial setting is called sofreh-ye haft-sinn (literally “seven dishes’ setting,” each one beginning with the Persian letter sinn). The number seven has been sacred in Iran since antiquity, and the seven dishes stand for the seven angelic heralds of life-rebirth, health, happiness, prosperity, joy, patience, and beauty. The symbolic dishes consist of sabzeh, or sprouts, usually wheat or lentil, representing rebirth. Samanu is a pudding in which common wheat sprouts are transformed and given new life as a sweet, creamy pudding, and represents the ultimate sophistication of Persian cooking. Sib means apple and represents health and beauty. Senjed, the sweet, dry fruit of the wild olive, represents love. It has been said that when the wild olive is in full bloom, its fragrance and its fruit make people fall in love and become oblivious to all else. Seer, which is garlic in Persian, represents medicine. Somaq, sumac berries, represent the color of sunrise; with the appearance of the sun Good conquers Evil. Serkeh, or vinegar, represents age and patience.

To reconfirm the hopes and wishes expressed by the traditional foods, other elements and symbols are also placed on the sofreh. Books of tradition and wisdom are laid out: usually a copy of the holy Koran; and/or a divan of the poems of Hafez. A few coins, representing wealth, and a basket of painted eggs, representing fertility, are also placed on the sofreh. A Seville orange floating in a bowl of water represents the earth floating in space, and a goldfish in a bowl of water represents Anahita, one of the angels of water and fertitily, which is the main purpose of the nowruz celebration. The fish also represents life and the end of the astral year associated with the constellation Pisces. A flask of rose water, known for its magical cleansing power, is also included on the sofreh. A bowl of fresh milk, representing nourishment for the children of the world. Pussy willow branches, pomegrantes, figs, and olives, representing time. Nearby is a brazier for burning wild rue, a sacred herb whose smoldering fumes are said to ward off evil spirits. A pot of flowering hyacinth or narcissus is also set on the sofreh. On either side of a mirror are two candelabra holding a flickering candle for each child in the family. The candles represent enlightenment and happiness. The mirror represents the images and reflections of Creation as we celebrate anew the ancient Persian traditions and beliefs that creation took place on the first day of spring, or Nowruz.

On the same table many people place seven special sweets because, according to a three-thousand-year-old legend, King Jamshid discovered sugar on Nowruz (the word candy comes from the Persian word for sugar, qand). These seven sweets are noghls (sugar-coated almonds); Persian baklava, a sweet, flaky pastry filled with chopped almonds and pistachios soaked in honey-flavored rose water; nan-e berenji (rice cookies), made of rice flour flavored with cardamom and garnished with poppy seeds; nan-e badami (almond cookies), made of almond flour flavored with cardamom and rose water; nan-e nokhodchi (chick-pea cookies), made of chick-pea flour flavored with cardamom and garnished with pistachios; sohan asali (honey almonds), cooked with honey and saffron and garnished with pistachios; and nan-e gerdui (walnut cookies), made of walnut flour flavored with cardamom and garnished with pistachio slivers.

On the eve of the last Wednesday of the year (Shab-e chahar shanbeh sury, literally “the eve of Red Wednesday” or “the eve of celebration”), bonfires are lit in public places and people leap over the flames, shouting, “Sorkhi-e to az man o zardi-e man az to!” (Give me your beautiful red color and take back my sickly pallor!). With the help of fire and light, symbols of good, celebrants pass through this unlucky night-the End of the Year-and into the arrival of spring’s longer days. Tradition holds that the living are visited by the spirits of their ancestors on the last days of the year. Many people, especially children, wrap themselves in shrouds to symbolically reenact the visits. By the light of the bonfire, they run through the streets, banging on pots and pans with spoons and knocking on doors to ask for treats. This ritual is called qashogh-zany and reenacts the beating out of the last unlucky Wednesday of the year. In order to make wishes come true, it is customary to prepare special foods and distribute them on this night: Ash-e reshteh-ye nazri (Noodle Soup); a filled Persian delight, Baslogh, and special snacks called ajil-e chahar shanbeh soury and ajil-e moshkel gosha. The last, literally meaning unraveler of difficulties, is made by mixing seven dried nuts and fruits-pistachios, roasted chick-peas, almonds, hazelnuts, peaches, apricots, and raisins.

A few hours prior to the transition to the New Year, family and friends sit around the sofreh-ye haft-sinn. Everyone sings traditional songs, and poems of Hafez and verses from the Koran are recited. I remember an amusing story about my aunt. She would always carry a tattered divan of the poems of Hafez and, just prior to the Tahvil, while we were all sitting around the sofreh, she would ask each of us to make a wish so that she could ask Hafez about our fortune. Then she would lay the closed book, spine down, on the palm of her left hand while she passed her right index finger several times up and down the page edges. With her eyes closed she would ask out loud:

Ay Hafez-e Shirazi to ke mahram-e har razy! To ra be Shakh-e Nabatat qassam. . .

Oh Hafez of Shiraz, knower of all secrets, by the love of your sweetheart, Shakh-e Nabat . . .

She would continue with the rest of her questions in silence and finally she would open the book by placing her fingernail randomly into the pages. With the first glance at the verses on the page, she would cry out, bah- bah! wonderful, wonderful, how beautiful! She would go on like this for a good minute or two while we sat round-eyed and impatient, waiting to know our fortunes. At last she would begin the first verse of the poem:

Exactly at the moment of the equinox, my father would recite a prayer for the transition, wishing for a good life, and we would all repeat after him out loud.

Then traditionally the oldest person present begins the well-wishing by standing up and giving out sweets, pastries, coins, and hugs. Calm, happiness, sweetness, and perfumed odors are very important on this day of rebirth, since the mood on this day is said to continue throughout the year. An old saying goes, “Good thought, good word, good deed-to the year end, happy indeed.”

The New Year celebration continues for twelve days after the equinox occurs. Traditionally, during the first few days, it is the younger members of the family who visit their older relatives and friends in order to show their respect. Sweet pastries and delicious frosty drinks are served to visitors, and there is a general air of festivity all around. The children receive gifts, usually crisp new notes of money; in America, dollar bills. In the remaining days, the elders return the visits of the younger members of the family.

According to the ancients, each of the twelve constellations in the zodiac governed one of the months of the year, and each would rule the earth for a thousand years, after which the sky and the earth would collapse into each other. The Nowruz celebrations, therefore, lasted twelve days, plus a thirteenth day (representing the time of chaos) celebrated by going outdoors, putting order aside and having parties. On this thirteenth day, called Sizdeh bedar or outdoor thirteen, entire families leave their homes to carry trays of sprouted seeds in a procession to go picnic in a cool, grassy place. Far from home, they throw the sprouts into the water, which is thought to exorcise the divs and evil eyes from the house and the household. Wishing to get married by the next year, unmarried girls tie blades of grass together. There is much singing, dancing, eating, and drinking. With this, the Nowruz celebrations are completed.

The traditional menu for the Nowruz gathering on the day of the equinox usually includes fish and noodles. It is believed they bring good luck, fertiltiy and prosperity in the year that lies ahead.

• Noodle Soup – Ash-e reshteh, noodles representing the Gordian knots of life. Eating them symbolically helps toward unraveling life’s knotty problems.
• Rice with Fresh Herbs and Fish-Sabzi polow ba mahi, fresh herb rice representing rebirth, fish representing Anahita, one of the angels of water and fertility. Or rice with noodles, dates and raisins, or rice with barberries, candied orange peels and carrots.
• Herb Kuku- Kuku-ye sabzi, the eggs and herbs represent fertility and rebirth.
• Bread, Cheese, and Fresh Herbs – Nan-o panir-o sabzi khordan, representing prosperity.
• Wheat Sprout pudding – Samanu, representing fertitlity and rebirth.
• Sprout Cookies – Kolucheh-ye Javaneh-ye Gandom, representing prosperity and fertility.
• Ice in Paradise - Yakh dar Behesht, representing nourishment for the children of the world.
• Saffron Sherbet and Saffron Tea with Rock Candy – Sharbat-e Zaferan va Chai-e Zafaran ba nabat, representing sweetness and light.
• Baklava, Chick-pea Cookies, and Sugar Coated Almonds – Baqlava, Nan-e Nokhodchi, Noghl, representing prospertiy.

Find recipes on http://www.asiafood.org/persiancooking/newyear.cfm from New Food of Life: Ancient Persian & Modern Iranian Cooking & Ceremonies or Silk Road Cooking: a Vegetarian Journey, copyright Najmieh Batmanglij 1986-2004. Courtesy of Mage Publishers, 1032 29th St. NW, Washington, DC 20007.

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