Author: Emil Lazarian

TURKISH WRITER STATEMENT ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CAUSE DISPLEASURE IN TURKEY
PanArmenian News
February 17, 2005
17.02.2005 16:55
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish writer Orkhan Pamuk stated that early last
century the Ottoman authorities exterminated over one million Armenians
and 30 thousand Kurds. The statement causes extreme discontent in
Turkey. Thereupon Ulku Ojakh organization located a statement at its
site, demanding that Pamuk apologize to the Turkish people. If the
Turkish authorities do not make Pamuk and people like him answerable,
these people “will feel our anger and will stop disseminating hatred
towards Turkey and the Turkish people,” the statement says. Pamuk was
condemned by some other Turkish writers and media. Vatan newspaper
has sharply criticized Orkhan Pamuk and Taner Akcam, calling them
opportunists, “whose only desire is to sell their books full of lies.”

Beslan children to receive development toys
By Nikolai Tertychny
ITAR-TASS News Agency
February 17, 2005 Thursday
MOSCOW, February 17 — Electronic development toys, which are not yet
on sale in Russia, were handed over Thursday for distribution among
the children hurt in the terrorist attack on the North Ossetian town
of Beslan.
Several hundred sets of toys were presented by the Japanese company
Space Toon together with the Soglasiye /Accord/ joint stock company
from Russia.
Soglasiye president Ara Abramyan said such development toys are in
tremendous demand the world over.
The givers made sure that each child receives a toy which corresponds
to his or her age.
For example, the children aged between five and ten will receive toys
which help learn the English language.
According to a representative of the Japanese company which
manufactures a wide array of products for children – from videos and
books to toys and souvenirs, boys and girls up to 15 years of age
will receive different variants of games.
The gifts were handed over to deputy representative of North Ossetia
in Moscow Stanislav Bedikhov.
Ara Abramyan who heads the Union of Armenians of Russia emphasized
that “it is important we do not forget the Beslan tragedy over time,
and support the children who lived though this horrible grief.” He
urged all business people in Russia and abroad to take part in
similar actions.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

The Washington Post
February 17, 2005 Thursday
Final Edition
With a Rare Display of Unity, Lebanese Bury Former Premier
Scott Wilson, Washington Post Foreign Service
BEIRUT Feb. 16
Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese marched through the streets of the
capital Wednesday to the edge of Martyrs Square, where former prime
minister Rafiq Hariri was buried in a raucous ceremony that reflected
uncharacteristic unity and deep anger toward those they blame for his
assassination: the governments of Lebanon and Syria. Carrying banners
that read “Syria Out” and “Hey Syria — Who’s Next?” throngs of
Lebanese chanted and sobbed as Hariri’s casket was borne by ambulance
through miles of empty streets, then on shoulders into the enormous
al-Amine Mosque. The banners of political parties that were once
fierce rivals bounced along together in the flow of people. The signs
of religious and political unity in a country still haunted by its
15-year sectarian war were evident in almost every aspect of the
day’s activities. The bells of St. George Cathedral, a Maronite
Christian church next to the mosque, tolled for hours. No one could
remember such a tribute after the death of a Sunni Muslim, Hariri’s
religious affiliation. “The Syrians made all of this possible,” said
Mardiros Nigolian, 71, an Armenian Christian who joined the gathering
outside the mosque to pay his respects. “What was said in low voices
for months is now being said at a very high volume.” Syria maintains
15,000 troops in Lebanon, a legacy from the earliest days of this
country’s 1975-90 civil war, and exerted its decisive political
influence here last year to assure the term of President Emile Lahoud
would be extended.
Many Lebanese have blamed Syria and its allies in the Lebanese
security services for Hariri’s death Monday in an apparent suicide
bombing, and the United States recalled its ambassador to Damascus on
Tuesday for consultations to express its outrage over the slaying.
Syria has denied any involvement in the killing of Hariri, who in
recent months had emerged as an important opponent of Syrian
influence here. France, which administered Lebanon after World War I
and maintains a strong cultural legacy here, has joined the Lebanese
political opposition in calling for an international investigation to
determine who was responsible for the attack, which killed 13 other
people and wounded more than 100. President Jacques Chirac, a friend
of Hariri’s, reiterated that demand Wednesday when he arrived for the
funeral.Hariri’s assassination has brought together Lebanon’s
famously antagonistic political factions in a way no other event has
since the end of its civil war. Hariri, a self-made billionaire who
headed an important bloc in parliament increasingly associated with
the opposition, represented for many Lebanese a rare sense of
moderation and economic progress.Regardless of whether Syria is found
to be involved, Hariri’s death has galvanized the opposition at a
time when the country is preparing for parliamentary elections that
could begin as early as April. Hariri, 60, was believed to have been
planning a comeback as prime minister and had moved closer to the
collection of Christian, Druze and other sectarian parties that
largely form the opposition to the Lebanese government, now run by
men with strong loyalties to Syria. “When you lose your country, how
do you feel?” Talal Salim, 51, who owns an electronics store in
downtown Beirut, said as he watched the funeral procession. “To calm
the people now, this government must do something very big to make
sure we live in freedom. But we know they take their orders from
outside the country.”Although passion and political divisions run
deep here, there is evidence to suggest that the kind of fighting
that killed roughly 150,000 Lebanese during the civil war will not
return. The war was fueled by regional powers — including Israel,
Iran and Syria — that supplied arms and money to proxy armies.
Today, few countries appear ready to back factions in the same way.
But Lebanese officials have warned in recent days that the political
climate resembles the time preceding the civil war. Syria’s divisive
role could have an effect similar to that of the Palestine Liberation
Organization, whose presence in Beirut helped spark the sectarian
strife in 1975, according to a number of Lebanese politicians and
others who lived through the violence. “There is a regional power
here that is working against peace and stability,” Ali, 58, who was
born in Beirut and declined to give his last name out of fear of
reprisal, said as he waited for the funeral to begin. “Any
development in our country they see as a threat to their power here.
So they seek to stop it. And he [Hariri] was for that development.”
The day started with a gathering at Koreitem, Hariri’s hillside
mansion, which has been an open house for mourners since the
assassination. Thousands of marchers lined up outside, while inside,
people prayed over his flag-draped coffin. A group of men, including
Hariri’s sons and key members of the opposition, struggled to carry
the coffin from the large salon amid the crush of people.The cortege
made its way through empty streets on the second of three days of
official mourning. Koranic verses rang from minarets, drowned out at
times by angry chanting from those in the procession. Much of the
chanting was directed against Syria.A few former cabinet ministers
filtered through the crowd, but none from the current government.
Opposition leaders had warned that government officials would not be
welcome.The United States was represented by Assistant Secretary of
State William J. Burns, the senior U.S. diplomat for the Middle East.
He told reporters that Hariri’s death “must give renewed impetus to
achieving a free, independent and sovereign Lebanon” and called on
Syria to remove its troops immediately.Filing down the hill toward
Martyrs Square, at the heart of the postwar renovation of downtown
Beirut that Hariri spearheaded, the marchers surged through tens of
thousands of people already gathered in front of the mosque. Hariri’s
picture was plastered on shuttered storefronts and car windshields
along the parade route. Young men with the flags of a Christian
nationalist party and the Druze party led by Walid Jumblatt, the face
of Lebanese opposition to Syria, climbed scaffolding along one
minaret and waved the banners until loudspeakers boomed with orders
not to do so. Some obeyed, others did not, throughout an event that
had the feeling of a resistance march as much as a burial service.
People in baseball caps and red-checked kaffiyehs, scarves and
clerical vestments marched side by side. Well-groomed women with eyes
filled with tears led chants: “There is no god but God. Hariri is
beloved of God.” Admonitions to move back so the coffin could pass
into the mosque had little effect on the eddy of grieving people who
wanted to get near it and for a few minutes prevented Hariri’s body
from being lowered into the ground. “We have all come to say
something to the world,” said Sylvia Kayrouz, 38, an Armenian
Christian who expressed amazement at the spectacle. “Christians,
Druze, Sunnis — all of them here. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TBILISI WAITS FOR RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER’S VISIT WITH MIXED FEELINGS AND PRACTICAL PROPOSALS
RIA Novosti, Russia
Feb 16 2005
TBILISI, February 16 (RIA Novosti) – In Tbilisi, Russia’s foreign
minister will be offered practical proposals on the normalization of
Russian-Georgian relations. Salome Zurabishvili, Georgia’s foreign
minister, said this addressing the republic’s parliament Wednesday.
In her words, the Georgian side “looks at Sergei Lavrov’s official
visit calmly, openly and positively.” Sergei Lavrov will arrive in
Tbilisi on the evening of February 17.
“I cannot say that we expect positive results from the forthcoming
visit; it is hard to say anything against the present backdrop,”
Salome Zurabishvili noted.
She said that “the Georgian side prepared practical proposals for
Sergei Lavrov and, should they be approved, the results could be
expected within the next three months. She did not rule out that “the
first steps towards normalizing Russian-Georgian relations could be
made in this period.”
Salome Zurabishvili stressed that “if Russia and Georgia fail to take
steps towards normalizing their relations in the near future, it will
be of no use to talk about a framework agreement or anything else.”
According to Zurabishvili , “the Georgian leadership has no intention
to deploy foreign states’ military bases on its territory. She pointed
out that representatives of the US Administration said repeatedly that
the United States had no plans to deploy US military bases in Georgia.
At the same time, Salome Zurabishvili underlined that “the issue of
Georgia’s refusal to deploy foreign military bases on its territory
cannot be a subject of the Russian-Georgian framework agreement
(Moscow still maintains two military bases in Georgia, in Adzharia
and Akhalkalaki near the border with Armenia).”
The Georgian foreign minister pointed out “there is no talk of any
concessions to Russia on the issue of influence in the region.” To
quote her, “such a country as Russia will always have influence in
the region However, it is important [to understand] in what form and
at what level Russia will exercise this influence.”
Salome Zurabishvili expressed the Georgian side’s readiness to discuss
all pressing issues in Russian-Georgian relations. “We have no border
problems, no visa regime problems, or problems related to the agreement
[between our two countries]. Our problem is that we do not know what
Russia really wants,” Georgia’s foreign minister said in conclusion.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Ambassadorial Visit
City News Service
February 15, 2005 Tuesday
GLENDALE — The U.S. ambassador to Armenia will discuss organized crime
in the former Soviet Union with the Eurasian Crime Task Force during a
visit tomorrow to the Glendale Police Department, a department official
said. John Evans will discuss the criminal underground that spread
to the United States after the fall of the Soviet Union; the impact
of Russian and Armenian organized crime on the Los Angeles area and
the assistance embassy officials provide to law enforcement agencies
in the United States and Armenia, Tom Lorenz of the Glendale Police
Department said. The task force includes the chiefs of the Glendale
and Burbank police departments and representatives of the FBI, Secret
Service, Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles County District
Attorney’s Office and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZERIS URGE OSCE TO STOP MINSK GROUP INEFFICIENT ACTIVITIES
PanArmenian News
Feb 16 2005
16.02.2005 16:23
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Azeris all over the world appealed to the OSCE
leadership with a demand to put an end to the inefficient activities
of the Minsk Group. The statement issued by the World Congress
of Azerbaijanis says that the mediators should either settle the
Karabakh problem or withdraw from the negotiation process. The authors
of the statement call the OSCE leaders to take “concrete steps” on
Karabakh. “The organization does not recognize Armenia as an aggressor
despite that the fact that the Minsk Group undertook the mission to
settle the conflict. Such situation questions the impartiality of
the mediating structure”, the statement stresses.

Armenian lawmakers favor same-sex marriage ban, dual citizenship rights
The Associated Press
02/16/05 16:47 EST
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) – Lawmakers discussing plans to amend Armenia’s
constitution expressed broad support Wednesday for a ban on same-sex
marriages and for the removal of a clause outlawing dual citizenship.
Calls for an official ban on same-sex marriages won unanimous support
from both pro-government and opposition lawmakers in talks on proposed
amendments in the ex-Soviet republic’s 1995 constitution.
Legislators showed similar backing for a plan to remove a clause
barring Armenia citizens from holding citizenship of another country,
a significant change for the small country of about 3.2 million that
has a massive ethnic diaspora worldwide.
Parliament factions are holding preliminary discussions on proposals
for constitutional changes. If they can agree on a single draft,
it would face a vote in the legislature and then put to a nationwide
referendum, possibly later this year.
Debates have been calm, but the contentious issue of the division of
powers has not yet come up for discussion. The opposition wants to
limit the powers of the president and strengthen the parliament.
Armenian voters rejected a package of proposed constitutional
amendments, including one allowing dual citizenship for members of
the Armenian diaspora, in a May 2003 referendum.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

National Council of Churches USA, NY
Feb 17 2005
NCC Board Acts on Development, Security, Middle East, Genocide, Due
Process
NCC Endorses U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals
Halving global poverty by 2015 and ultimately ending it altogether is
the aim of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals. The
National Council of Churches USA, at its quarterly Governing Board
meeting Feb. 14-15, 2005, in New York City, endorsed the goals and
pledged to work for their achievement.
The Millennium Development Goals set specific targets within
categories of extreme poverty and hunger; primary education; gender
equality and empowerment of women; child mortality; maternal health;
HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, and environmental
sustainability. They call for establishment of a global partnership
for development.
The NCC pledged “to support, through advocacy, education and other
appropriate means, programs that work toward the achievement of these
goals, and urges its member communions to work together with one
another and other church and ecumenical organizations that work
toward these same ends.”
SMART Security Platform Promotes Peace, International Cooperation,
NCC Says
What foreign policy alternatives exist to better assure America’s
security and address terrorism? The organization Physicians for
Social Responsibility offers its “SMART” Security Platform, and the
NCC endorsed the platform at its quarterly Governing Board meeting,
Feb. 14-15, 2005, in New York City.
“SMART” is the acronym for “Standing for Sensible Multilateral
American Response to Terrorism.” The platform makes specific
recommendations for strengthening international institutions and
supporting the rule of law to prevent acts of terrorism and future
wars; reducing the threat and stopping the spread of nuclear and
other weapons of mass destruction, and changing budget priorities to
reflect “SMART” security needs.
Statement of NCC Middle East Delegation Commended to Member Churches
“Barriers Do Not Bring Freedom,” the statement of the National
Council of Churches USA’s official delegation to the Middle East Jan.
21-Feb. 4, has been commended to the Council’s 36 member churches for
their consideration.
Delegation members reported Feb. 14 to the NCC’s Governing Board at
its regular quarterly meeting. The 11-member delegation met with
Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders in Lebanon, Egypt, Israel and
Palestine, with the aim of understanding current on-the-ground
realities in the context of renewed optimism for peace, expressing
solidarity with Christians in the region and meeting with new
leadership of the Middle East Council of Churches.
The statement, which offers a sobering assessment of the current
situation, reflects the delegation’s experiences and insights gleaned
from the various meetings. The Board voted to receive the report and
commend it to the Council’s members.
NCC Commemorates 90th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
On April 24, 2005, it will be 90 years since the start of the
Armenian Genocide, in which 1.5 million Armenians in Ottoman Turkey
died and almost the entire Armenian population was deported from its
ancestral lands in Asia Minor.
Many of the methods employed in that genocide – the first of the 20th
century – would become models for subsequent genocides, such as under
the Nazi regime and in the Soviet Union, Cambodia and Rwanda.
Despite copious documentation and the inter-disciplinary consensus of
serious scholars, the Armenian Genocide is still not acknowledged by
the present-day Republic of Turkey – nor, officially, by the U.S.
government. And despite the lessons of the past, the horrors of
genocide continue to the present day, most recently in Darfur, Sudan.
In response, the NCC Governing Board, meeting Feb. 14-15, 2005, in
New York City, resolved to ask the Republic of Turkey and the U.S.
government to grant official recognition of the Armenian Genocide,
and to ask that the world community heed the lessons of the Armenian
Genocide.
Specifically, the Board asks recognition and unambiguous
acknowledgement of “the early ‘seeds’ of genocide when they arise, to
act speedily and decisively in these early stages, so as to pre-empt
full-blown genocide” and “to resist and rebuke the deniers of
genocide.”
Finally, the NCC joined other faithful, including members of the
Armenian Church, in remembrance of the souls of those who perished in
the Armenian and other genocides in the past 90 years, in prayers for
the peace of those who survived, and in petition that “in the century
just beginning, God will free humankind of the scourge of genocide
once and for all.”
NCC Weighs In, Again, on Due Process for National Security Detainees
The National Council of Churches USA Feb. 15 heard a concern
expressed by the NCC’s Interfaith Relations Commission on the effects
of the USA PATRIOT Act on civil rights and due process for Muslim
people.
The Governing Board of the Council, at its quarterly meeting (Feb.
14-15), voted to receive a statement which noted that in the past the
NCC has joined with other organizations “to advocate for tighter
controls on current anti-terrorism efforts and the highest standard
of scrutiny in laws and policy changes related to civil liberties,”
and has spoken out on civil rights and due process for detainees at
Guantanamo Bay and Abu Graib.
The statement asked that the NCC speak out more directly about the
USA PATRIOT Act in order to express its solidarity with Muslims and
others whose well-being continues to be threatened by some of its
provisions. “This is especially important in view of the upcoming
Congressional debates on certain provisions of the Act,” it said.
The Interfaith Relations Commission, in meetings last weekend in St.
Petersburg, Fla., with representatives of a Florida social advocacy
organization, HOPE (Hillsboro Organization for Peace and Equality)
and the Tampa chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations
(CAIR), heard about the case of Dr. Sami Al-Arian.
Emphatically noting that it is not taking any stand on Dr. Al-Arian’s
guilt or innocence but rather on his right to due process and humane
treatment, the Council resolved to make known the plight of the
former professor at Florida State University, arrested in February
2003.
CAIR “shared with us statistics and concerns about civil rights in
the Muslim community since the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act,” the
Commission reported. “The Muslim community came to us as an
authoritative Christian body and said, ‘We are hurting over this.
Please stand up and be counted,'” said Betty Gamble, a member of the
NCC Interfaith Relations Commission.
Asserted Mia Adjali, United Methodist Church, “We are using this
person as an example of so many others. Whatever this man may have
done or not, the issue is the inhumane treatment that’s befallen
Muslim people, Arab people, anyone who looks like an Arab.”
In addition to the Board’s action, the NCC’s Justice and Advocacy
Commission is developing a new policy on civil liberties.

Charge filed against writer Orhan Pamuk
Turkish Daily News
Feb 17 2005
ANKARA — Charges have been filed against internationally renowned
Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk for statements he reportedly made
during an interview with Swiss daily Tagesanzeiger, published in the
newspaper’s Feb. 6 issue, the Anatolia news agency reported.
Anatolia Professional Association of Owners of Scientific and Literary
Works (ANASAM) President Mehmet Özer and attorney Mehmet Üçok filed
the charges at the Kayseri Public Prosecutor’s office.
Pamuk allegedly said in the interview that that 30,000 Kurds and 1
million Armenians had been killed in Turkey.
–Boundary_(ID_TuesnAKPLvu0ESyWpNA0cw)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

The Republican, MA
Feb 16 2005
Armenian cooking made easy
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
By PAT CAHILL
[email protected]
As soon as the cultural committee at St. Mark’s Armenian Church in
Springfield saw a video of Eleanor Demirjian of Longmeadow making
rice-stuffed grape leaves in her kitchen, they knew they had a
winner.
They were right. Six months later, a video and DVD called “From Our
Kitchen to Yours: Armenian Cooking Made Easy” is selling like, well,
hotcakes.
The instructional tape features 13 cooks from the congregation
demonstrating traditional Armenian recipes in their own kitchens,
including three appetizers, two breads, two main dishes and four
desserts. It’s available from St. Mark’s for $25.
The cultural committee began tossing around ideas for fundraising
last summer. They wanted a project that was food-related, because the
church’s annual Armenian Fest is famous for its traditional cuisine.
But how could they put their culinary knowledge to good use? Classes?
Sales?
Then Stephen Demirjian, a professional cinematographer whose mother
just happens to be one of the best cooks in the congregation, shot
the sample video of his mom making “yalanchi,” or stuffed grape
leaves.
Eureka!
Stephen’s mother, Eleanor Demirjian, directed the whole production
from start to finish, attending each taping with her son or with
David A. Jermakian of Wilbraham, who also did some of the taping.
David is married to Brenda Jermakian, head of the cultural committee,
who demonstrates on the tape how to make spinach pie, or “boreg.”
So far 170 copies of the video/DVD have been sold.
Most of the tapings were day-long affairs, with cast and crew taking
breaks or going to lunch as yeast rose or appetizers steamed.
The cooks on the video are no dilettantes. They are the kinds of
women who have secret stashes of wild grape leaves in the
neighborhood, who know which leaves to pick for the right texture,
who know how to preserve them in canning jars.
Anita Assarian of Springfield has been using the same wooden cutting
board for 55 years, as she tells the camera. Her mother-in-law gave
it to her. Same goes for her broomstick-shaped rolling pin, which she
wields with a dazzling expertise.
To watch Assarian roll out a huge perfect circle of dough is alone
worth the price of admission.
The women describe what they are doing as they go along, peppering
their instructions with asides gleaned from years of experience.
“Feel your earlobe,” says Sally Jermakian of Springfield as she makes
the dough for “lahmajoon,” or meat pies. “It should be the same
consistency. Maybe a little stiffer than that.”
“Don’t be afraid of the dough,” urges Virginia Omartian of
Springfield as she lays down a sheet of delicate phyllo dough to make
“paklava,” a sweet pastry. “Don’t be afraid.”
Indeed, convincing culinary wannabes to master phyllo may be one of
the triumphs of this production. The cooks handle the thin sheets so
easily it looks like a slam-dunk. Brenda Jermakian even has her
little daughter Ani do it.
On the other hand, isn’t that what great artists always do – make it
look easy?
The production has an encouraging tone. “That’s OK, it’s not
science,” says Karen Tesini of East Longmeadow when a square of dough
for “manti,” a meat-stuffed pastry, comes out a little lopsided.
And enthusiastic? “Boy oh boy, are we going to have a feast in a
minute!” crows Tesini as she whips the manti from the oven.
Other cooks on the video include Joyce Zeroogian of Hampden, who
shows how to make a braided bread called “choreg,” Mary Omartian of
Springfield, who makes a butter cookie called “khourabia,” and
sisters-in-law Anna and Jane Garabedian, of Palmer and Wilbraham,
respectively, who make “simit,” a sesame cookie.
Diane Boghosian of Wilbraham makes a spectacular dessert called
“khadayeef” from a shredded dough that looks like masses of curly
angel hair pasta. (One place to find it is Milano’s in Springfield’s
South End).
Elaine Devine of Monson, who appears with Tesini in the manti
segment, is a professional graphic designer who also donated her
talents for the cover of the video/DVD.
The project was a team effort that created a lot of excitement, says
Brenda Jermakian. “We’re a very small congregation, about 120
members,” she says, “but everybody put in time.” Lisa M. Natcharian
of Wilbraham did the publicity.
A key to the project’s success was Stephen’s expertise and equipment.
Thanks to him, the product has a polished look, with Armenian folk
music playing discreetly between demonstrations, names of each cook
and her featured dish spelled out as each segment begins, and even a
diagram showing how to cut boreg.
The cooks who share their culinary artistry on camera were as
professional as anyone. How many times did they have to rehearse?
They didn’t rehearse at all, says Brenda. The camera rolled and they
were ready. That’s what it means to have life experience.
The video/DVD includes an insert listing the ingredients of each
dish. To learn how to put them all together, just watch.
Spinach boreg (“Spinach Pie”) (Makes 15 squares or 30 triangles)
3 packages frozen chopped spinach (squeeze out water)
1/2 pound crumbled feta cheese
6 ounces cottage cheese
4 ounces cream cheese
3 eggs
3 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped or dried
1 clove garlic, chopped, or 2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 bunch scallions, chopped
2 onions, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil and 3 tablespoons butter
1 stick butter and 1/2 cup Crisco, melted together, heated
Salt, pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten, to brush on top
One package phyllo dough
Here’s a summary of what Jermakian instructs on camera: Sauté onions
and scallions in olive oil and butter. Mix with squeezed spinach,
feta cheese, cottage cheese and cream cheese. Add 3 beaten eggs,
dill, salt and pepper.
Dip a pastry brush in the heated butter-and-Crisco mixture, and brush
it over a large 13-by-18-inch pan. Unpeel two layers of the phyllo
dough and place them flat side-by-side on the pan. Brush them with
the butter-and-Crisco, put down another layer of phyllo, brush with
butter-and-Crisco, and so on.
After laying down about 10 layers, stir the filling and spread it
evenly over the layers. Then begin the process again with 10 more
layers of phyllo dough. Finally, brush the top with one beaten egg
and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake at 375 degrees 25-30 minutes. Cut into diamonds or triangles.
Khourabia
1 pound sweet butter
4-5 cups cake flour
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
Beat butter with electric beater. Add flour, 2 cups at a time,
continuing to beat. Add nuts, confectioner’s sugar and vanilla
extract and keep beating (yes, with the nuts in there).
Dough should be sticky. Scrape it off beaters to keep from sticking,
and flour your hands. Roll dough out flat and cut cookies in
rectangles 1 to 1-1/2 inches long.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with confectioner’s
sugar.
To order a video or DVD of “From Our Kitchen to Yours: Armenian
Cooking Made Easy,” make out checks for $25 to St. Mark’s Church at
2427 Wilbraham Road, Springfield MA 01129 or call 783-5793 or e-mail
stmarkarmch1@ hotmail.com.
–Boundary_(ID_6tk4Bb1xpuZ7VEOZfoazJA)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress