Natasha's Blini

My dear friend's Mom, Natasha, taught me how to make the following Armenian-style crepes. I remember at the time she smiled and told me that the recipe wasn't exact and not to worry too much about it. Of course I did, at the time, and in spite of my nerves made a passable version. Today, as I rummaged through the 'fridge and found yeast "best used by" Oct. 2008, I thought, "Why not make Blini?" I didn't want to take a chance on a loaf of bread if the yeast was past it's prime. As it turns out, the yeast was fine and Blini were perfect in spite of the liberties I took with Natasha's recipe.

Natasha's Blini

Yeast Starter:
1/2 cake yeast
flour
sugar
water

First, she places a small amount of sugar, flour and lukewarm water in a small custard cup with the yeast. Stir and let stand for a while until the yeast is activated. (I used 1 full packet of powdered yeast and it worked just great.)

In a mixing bowl combine:

2 eggs
2 T. sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 pint of milk

Whisk together and add 2-3 cups of flour to make a thick batter.

Add approx. 4 T. oil (Natasha uses 2 borsch spoons)
Add the yeast starter and
1 pint of milk

(I have to admit that I didn't measure anything... dumped in the flour, poured in a little sugar, substituted powdered buttermilk and enough water to make a thin batter... and it worked just fine.)

Let the batter rest for a short time and allow the yeast to permeate.
Heat a crepe pan (non-stick skillet) over medium heat until a drop of water dances on the surface.

Melt approx. 1 T. butter and brush the pan between crepes.

Pour approx 1/4 cup of batter into the heated pan and quickly swirl to cover the bottom. Bubbles will form throughout the batter. When the edges begin to brown and crisp, flip and gently brown the other side.

Serve with your favorite filling, but it's hard to beat a spoonful or two of sweetened condensed milk. Roll a few filled Blini and serve with a nice cup of hot tea for the full experience.

=)

Thank you, Natalie, for teaching me to make Blini! It's been maybe 16 years and I still remember the warmth and love from your kitchen. I also think of you every time I make "kartoshka". (Latkes or Potato pancakes).

Bon Apetit!

Aunt Melissa

Aunt Melissa's Super Refreshing Iced Tea

Why pay $ for flavored iced tea when you can make a simple refreshing beverage at home for pennies a glass? Through trial and error, I've developed an iced tea concoction that is very easy to make and we love it. As a matter of fact we drank pitchers of this particular concoction over the sweltering hot July 4th weekend.





Aunt Melissa's Super Refreshing Iced Tea

4 tea bags (I use Lipton's decaffeinated)
4 fresh crushed fresh mint leaves (any variety...)
Juice of 1 Orange
Juice of 1 Lime
4 packets of Stevia sweetener (Trader Darwins Stevia Packets 100% Natural no calorie sweetener)
filtered water

Place approx. 2 cups of water on to boil. Place tea bags, mint leaves and sweetener into 1/2 gallon size pitcher. Cut and juice orange and lime (removing seeds) and add to pitcher. Pour boiling water into pitcher and allow to steep for 3-5 minutes prior to filling pitcher with filtered water to make 1/2 gallon. If your family is squeamish about leaves floating around in their drink (mine's not) , by all means.... pour through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth prior to serving. Chill or serve over ice.

Cheers!


Aunt Melissa

Purple Cake

The following recipe isn't quite perfected, but the taste is phenomenal. Everyone who has tried it so far raves about it. The imperfection is in appearance, not taste, so those of you requesting an advance copy of the imperfect recipe, please enjoy.... Once the appearance issues are solved, I will post a correction, of course. =)





Aunt Melissa' Purple Cake

3/4 cup soft margarine
1 cup sugar
2-1/4 cups self-rising flour
(or 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour +1-1/2 t. salt, 1/2 t. soda and 2-1/4 t. baking powder)
2 t. baking powder
4 large eggs
juice from 1/2 lemon
2 cups Trader Joe's frozen organic blueberries (thawed)
1 heaping Tablespoon of frozen orange juice concentrate (do not add water!)
1 heaping teaspoon fresh grated ginger or ginger paste (do not substitute dried ginger, it doesn't even come close)

Grease and flour two layer cake pans and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With an electric mixer, cream margarine and sugar. Add eggs. Combine dry ingredients and add to wet mixture. Add lemon juice, orange juice concentrate, ginger and blueberries. Mix until batter is uniformly purple, but do not overmix.

Divide equally into prepared cake pans and bake approximately 40 to 50 minutes in the preheated oven. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out dry, with no crumbs sticking to the wood, and the edges should shrink from the sides of the pan. Allow to cool completely prior to frosting.

Frosting:

Approx. 1 lb of confectioner's sugar
1 T. softened butter
1 T. frozen orange juice concentrate
1/2 cup thawed Trader Joe's organic wild blueberries
1 t. fresh grated ginger (I use ginger paste)

Measurements for the icing is very approximate. I began with 2 cups confectioner's sugar and kept adding until sugar until proper spreading consistency was attained. 1 lb is an approximation. At the time it seemed I was making an incredible amount of frosting, but it covered exactly two layers, so everything worked out right.

NOW, about the "appearance" issues. These cakes are VERY moist and dense. The centers have a slight indentation. If this doesn't bother you, enjoy. On my next attempt, I intend to try using butter instead of the soft margarine and possibly using more flour. I haven't tried using fewer blueberries or OJ concentrate, because the brightness of the flavor is what makes this cake good.


Happy July and Enjoy your cake!

Aunt Melissa




p.s. a preview of recipes to come... homemade dog biscuits

.......................................chocolate almond biscotti

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