Crepes

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Directions

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.
Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot.

The inside can be filled with anything; from nutella (an amazing chocolate spread) to eggs and cheese.


Back in the days when crepes were just beginning white flour was expensive so that only royals could afford to eat the crepe. The commoners ate crepes of buckwheat. Crepes are such a hit that on February second crepes are celebrated. The day is called La Chandeleur. Well not really celebrated It is just a festive dessert to eat on a holiday. The way most eat turkey on thanksgiving. the crepe comes in many different forms the Italians call them crespella, the Chinese call them 'mandarin pancake', the Mexican tortilla, and the Russian Blinchiki.

Baklava

Ingredients

1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough
1 pound chopped nuts
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup honey
Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.
Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cut whole stack in half to fit pan. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.
Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.



The Baklava was said to have been created around the eighth century. Baklava is based on the Arabic word for nuts. Phyllo means leaf in Greek because it's very, very thin. Although most believe it as a Greek dessert just as many people think of it as an Assyrian dessert. They believe that it made it's way to Greece through its merchants and sailors.

Spices and Herbs

There are a bunch of different types of spices; like thyme, garlic, parsley, oregano, cumin, rosemary, chili, pepper, ginger. They are all super healthy for your body. Spices have less side effects when used as medicine. Spices play a big part in raw food. They give the dish flavor without cooking it and there is no extra sugar or fat. When my mom prepared raw food, she used a lot of cumin and garlic. Spices begin to lose there flavor if not stored properly. They only last up to a year. Spices are all different colors, it attracts the eye.

Tanghulu

Tanghulus are a delicious treat sold on the streets in China. It is made of haws (the fruit from the hawthorn bush) which is stuck on a skewer and coated in sugar. Some are coater in powered sugar, and some are crystallized in sugar. These treats are sold in almost every street corner in northern China.

The legend is that in the Song Dynasty an emperor fell very ill and none of his physicians could find a cure. All except one. This physician prescribed him to eat tan sticks of haws coated in sugar water before each meal. Nobody believed he would survive. But soon afterword his ailment left him. Another story is that the emperor's concubine became ill with the same results. So eat your Tanghulus!!! :)

Raw Food

The Raw Food diet works as a cure for diseases like cancer. Raw potatoes have a good effect on rheumatic. Rheumatic is a painful disorder of the muscles, joints, bones, and tendons. You can mace all kinds of dishes that are all raw. When my mom prepared raw food, she made raw fajitas, raw lasagna, crackers and dip. They all tasted good and it was all raw. It took 8 to 10 hours to pa prepare including the shopping at special markets.

Vegetarian Recipes

I am responding to Celias comment;
Yes Celia we will be posting vegetarian recipes such as the crepe and baklava (?) and maybe the revani. (Which is a cake from Greece if you wanted to know...) More coming soon my fellow history project... people...

The Rice Myth

In the beginning of China, a giant rainstorm came and the lands were flooded. Plants started to die and only a few animals roamed the wetlands, which made hunting very difficult for the people. One day, a dog came bounding across the land shedding as he ran. As he approached the people, they noticed that the fur he was shedding was really little seeds! In the spots that the dog had run over, rice plants started to grow. That is the rice myth.

To the left is a picture of a rice plant.