Rowan tagged me!

The really cool Rowan, that is, not +Cantuar.

The former is a dog with his own blog, the latter is in the dog house as far as I am concerned.

So, Rowan, a fabulous dog and one of my canine blog buddies (along with Grendel and Scout and Clumber), has tagged me with the middle name meme.


The Rules:

• You have to post the rules before you give your answers.
• You must list one fact about yourself beginning with each letter of your middle name. (If you don't have a middle name, use your maiden name or your mother's maiden name).
• At the end of your blog post, you need to tag one person (or blogger of another species) for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged.)

My middle name is Eric (which is related to the Romance language words for "king" - is that why I do prince blogging?).

E - must be for "ecstasy" (no, not the designer drug, you silly dopers). I am a strange mixture of Apollonian and Dionysiac, using my head a lot but really preferring to use my heart and I love getting lost in something so that I am "outside myself" which is what being ecstatic is all about. This would happen when I was folk dancing as a youngster (see post on Israel below). It happens when I am doing creative stuff like painting, or sewing, or writing poetry or fiction. Music helps.

R - might just be for "rebel" because I can be very stubborn when people try to make me do things one way and I want to do them another. (In this I am a very typical Taurus. Taurus is also a very sensual sign, ruled by Venus: see "escstasy" above.)

I - is either for "instinct" or "intellectual." I have learned to trust my gut more and more over the years because even if I cannot explain an intuition, my intuitions are usually pretty good. I was also, from very early on, a real bookworm who always wanted, and still wants, to learn more.

C - might stand for "cook." I am not a great chef but I am a good cook. You would never know it if you could sneak a reality show camera into my house because I hate cooking for just myself. So I don't eat as well as I could or should. But I can whip up something tasty and healthy without a recipe using whatever is in the fridge and the pantry, if I just bother to do it. My mother was a good cook of the old-fashioned midwestern variety (born in Missouri though she lived most of her life in California) and we always ate well. I worked as a cook's helper in summer camp during my college years (and one summer in juvenile hall... as an employee, OK?). I was also blessed to live for many years with a truly excellent cook and we enjoyed being in the kitchen together (and still do on occasions).

I am going to throw in a dessert recipe. The flavor profile is like paklava but it is shaped differently. You might find it a nice addition to your Great Fifty Days of Easter.


Bourma
Rolled, shirred filo in syrup with a nut filling

1 pound filo (phyllo dough)
1½ pounds sweet butter, melted

Syrup
1½ cups water
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan. Cook the mixture for 8 minutes. Add the lemon juice. Cook for an additional 2 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Filling
1 pound shelled walnuts, ground
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Combine the ground walnuts, sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl. Mix until they are evenly blended.

Open the package of filo and spread it out flat on the table. Cover the surface with a dry towel and a damp towel over the dry one to prevent the dough from drying. [Nowadays I use clear plastic wrap for this purpose.] Take one sheet of dough at as time and be sure to cover the balance with the towel each time. Spread the sheet on the table and sprinkle a tablespoon of the nut mixture over the sheet. Use a long ¾-inch dowel as a rolling pin. Place the dowel across the wide end of the sheet nearest you. Fold the sheet over the dowel and roll it loosely to the other end. Hold your hands over the rolled sheet and gently push both ends to the center as you might close an accordion. Pull the dowel out carefully and place the bourma on a baking sheet. Cut the bourma in half to make two shorter pieces. Prepare the rest of the bourma. Put a tablespoon of melted butter over each bourma in the pan. Bake them in a 350 º F. oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and pour off as much of the butter as possible. Put a tablespoon of the cooled syrup over each bourma. Allow them to cool before serving.

Makes 50 pastries

The Armenian Cookbook, Rachel Hogrogian (Atheneum: New York, 1978), © 1971 by Rachel Hogrogian

[When I made these recently--I typed a few years back--, I paid little attention to the recipe, used lots of butter, made them smaller, and used more cinnamon; but this is an actual cookbook version and is more authentic. I usually add some honey to my syrup as it shifts the flavor profile in a way I like. —Paul]

It seems as though pretty much everyone I read has already been tagged with this meme, so I will just put it out there for anyone who wants to play along. Let me know if you do.
--the BB