Dear George
You may be aware I am offering your book Greek Cookery from the Hellenic Heart as a prize in the 2009 Menu 4 Hope.
You may have heard of us. No? People donate US10 and get a ticket that puts them in the draw for various prizes throughout the world. It is something the food and wine blog community have done for several years now. We raise money to support the less fortunate communities in the world. This year our money is going to the United Nations World Food Programme.
Anyway back to your book. It's a lovely book. Beautifully produced, pretty pictures, good recipes, nice bit of personal information about you and your family. I enjoyed reading it.
I have some questions. Did you test all the recipes in the book? See I've made several recipes.
Firstly I tried the Fig and Olive Relish. It was delicious. I served it with a nice Greek cheese I bought at the local deli. I even used it on a pizza. My husband hates figs. Yes really. Hard to believe but true. He ate the pizza, even said it was nice. I didn't tell him about the figs.
Next the Toursi. Again very nice. Although my husband found them a bit strong. I figured next time I make them I'll dilute the vinegar with a touch of water. I'll probably enjoy them more too.
I have the most wonderful oncologist. His father emigrated from Greece some years ago. Had a little restaurant somewhere in Queensland. Up north somewhere. I can't quite remember which town. I thought he might enjoy some Kourambiethes. With it being Christmas and all. It could have been the weather but I found I needed to add more flour. Even then the mixture was quite sticky. But not to worry they turned out fine. Bloody fabulous actually. My son said they are nicer than the ones his girlfriend makes.....and she's Greek.
Finally the Orange Peel Spoon Sweet. Now that did look interesting. I'd never eaten them before. It took me five days to complete the recipe. I changed the water religiously each day.
It could have been I didn't boil them sufficiently. I googled orange peel spoon sweet and several of the recipes said only boil 5 minutes before starting the soaking process. I actually boiled them about half an hour. It would be helpful if you could put some timings in your recipe. Anyway today I boiled them in the syrup. Again no indication on time so I boiled them to the jam/jelly setting on my sweet thermometer. I didn't want to go any further as I'd have ended up with toffee. Don't even ask about my experiences with pomegranate syrup.
So here's your dish and my dish alongside each other. Yours look delicious. Mine look like plain old orange peel. Can't say I like the taste much either. Nothing like I was expecting. I think I stuffed up somewhere. Where do you think I went wrong?
Anyway George you can check out all the Menu 4 Hope prizes at Tomatom . Maybe even suggest to Gary and Matt they could make a donation. It's a pretty neat Christmas present to give. If you'd like to see the prizes from throughout the world have a look at Chez Pim.
I might be down in Melbourne in 2010. Perhaps I could drop in and say hi. Maybe taste your orange peel spoon sweet.
Cheers
Barbara
