#wanted to post this since a lot of people seemed to like the spanakopita recipe i had that one time

[persephonaae]

Made κολοκυθόπιτα (Greek pumpkin pies) the other day! I’ll also include a recipe below!

Ingredients

3-4 small food grade whole pumpkins 

2 cups sugar (preferably brown sugar)

4 tablespoons honey

½ teaspoon ground cloves

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons olive oil

¾ cup rice

phyllo dough

half stick of butter

When you plan to make kolokithopita, you will want to transfer your frozen phyllo dough to the fridge to thaw for a couple hours before taking it out of the package and laying it on the counter with a paper towel lightly misted with water laid on top. The premade frozen stuff is completely fine, I do not in any way implore you to make your own phyllo as it is very time consuming and the premade stuff tastes just as good (but also not stopping you from doing so if you really wanted!).  In any case, once you have your phyllo at room temperature, take the rice and soak it in very hot water for 30 minutes. (I usually boil some water in the kettle for tea and then pouring it over the rice, covering it with something so less steam escapes) While waiting, this is a good time to grate the pumpkins to use in your filling (you will want to cut off the stem, peel/cut the skin off, and discard the seeds). You will want about 2-3 pounds of grated pumpkin, and maybe some help, unless you wanted to go for the record of world's fastest pumpkin grater while gaining arms of steel. (The texture of Greek pumpkin pie is different than other pumpkin pies since you have to grate the meat which is why you shouldn’t buy puréed pumpkin. The other thing to note is that you can actually do this with most any squash! Doesn’t have to be pumpkin; zucchini is also a common Greek base for kolokithopita, just to give you more ideas if you wanted to experiment.)

To prepare the filling, mix together the grated pumpkin, sugar, honey, ground clove, ground cinnamon, and olive oil. Drain the rice after it has soaked for 30 minutes, and mix it into this lovely slimy saccharine mixture of autumn-in-a-bowl, setting it aside once the ingredients are combined. 

Congratulations, it’s now time to work with the phyllo! Take half a stick of butter and melt it and have it ready on the side. Gently take two to three sheets of phyllo from the stack of dough and lay it on the counter or cutting board. (I usually use three sheets) You will then want to take a food brush and coat the entire side facing up with butter. Once it’s coated take a knife or pizza cutter and cut strips into the phyllo in thirds or fourths if you have the phyllo sheets in horizontal orientation, in half or thirds if you have it in vertical orientation. (The pictures show pies that we did cuts in fourths on the horizontal layout) Go back to your mixture of filling and scoop out a mound of filling that can fit into your cupped palm – it’s always better to be a bit generous with the filling. Gently squeeze out some of the excess liquid and place this filling at the bottom of one of the strips of phyllo and grab the bottom right corner and fold to the opposite side to make what looks like a triangle attached to the rest of the strip. Do this again but now with the corner of that triangle that’s on the left hand side, and bring it up to the opposite end. Keep repeating this fold until you have a triangle shaped pastry that completely encases your filling. This fold can be hard for some people to immediately understand and you might be really slow at it. Don’t worry if it’s a bit wonky, it will still taste fine in the end! Below I have a video that hopefully demonstrates that fold better. 

Keep repeating this with new sheets of phyllo (butter, cut, fill, fold… butter, cut, fill, fold…) until you’ve used all your filling or run out of dough. Each completed pie should be set onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper, set about half an inch apart. Before sticking it in the oven, brush the tops of all the pies with the rest of the melted butter, then bake at 375º for 45 minutes - 1 hour, until golden brown. My last caution is to not burn your mouth when inevitably digging in as soon as the timer goes off. Hope you enjoy, ευχαριστώ!

[liqvid-gold]

GIA Task #01: July

If your character’s in a bad mood, do they prefer to be left alone or have someone try to cheer them up?

Ionna tends to prefer to be alone with Pingu, but even they admit that sometimes they need help processing or comfort. it’s hard to be upset when you have a fluffy dog giving kisses. Sometimes, though, you need to go for a run to cool off. Or you need a friend, some good cannolis, and some dumb movie.

How do they deal/have they dealt with conflict in their relationships with others, past or present?

It’s taken a lot of mishandled conflict for Ionna to learn not only her limits, but that others have them too. And sometimes you just have to feel what you’re going to feel before you can talk about it honestly. Her relationship with her parents is evidence of this.

When she was initially contemplating dropping nursing school, they fought pretty regularly. They were supposed to be setting an example, after all. And wasn’t she just so sure when she started? This was a huge commitment. What was the plan? Did she have one? Was she sure?

They only wanted the best for their child, but it initially felt like a personal slight to suddenly reject such a significant investment.

Ionna felt betrayed by their disappointment.

It was weeks before everything was outlined properly. They decided to present a business plan, a draft of the one she was intending to use for her applications for licensure and permits. The family was able to talk it out properly at that point, and move on, but it took work.

Who or what is your character currently proudest of? Why?

Ionna’s pretty proud of herself. She had a dream and she built it and while it doesn’t always thrive, it is surviving. And she gets to run her business her way, and has the support to do the parts that she wants to do the most. Supposedly, it’s the american dream.

Explain why your character has moved to/stayed in NYC?

She got familiar with the city initially when she started doing her internships with non-profits and charities in between semesters of college. There was (and is) so much need, and while they know there’s need everywhere, they had the connections there to start building their dream of running a point of contact for resources and help out of a bar.

Was it crazy? Absolutely.

Would she do it differently? Absolutely not.

If your character was having a bad day, which of these would they prefer as a means to cheer them up? Their favorite dish, a massage, or some space?

Food. Hands down. No question. Ionna loves food. And wine. But mostly food. Her family was pretty quick to instill that particular love. Family dinners. All-out feasts for holidays and festivals whenever possible. Teaching the basics of cooking at a young age.

Her grandma’s spanakopita is one of the best savory comfort foods.

There’s a section of the menu dedicated to Greek cuisine that’s often designed by Ionna, and like most of the menu, is adjusted seasonally to compensate for the local farms and business support.

What usually jump starts their day? Coffee? Exercise? A Shower? Breakfast? Or something else entirely?

Pingu decides how and, often, when the morning starts. Morning walkies is sometimes morning joggies. And then a shower, unless it’s a gym day.

Does your character thrive in order or chaos?

They eat most flavours of chaos for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but even they have their limits. They’re very grateful for their office staff who tend to handle the Order of the bar a bit better.

Would your character say that their parents were/are good at being parents?

Their late twenties into their thirties came with a certain change of perspective. Her parents were definitely parents. Sometimes their choices sucked, but their hearts were in the right places and they never meant any harm. They weren’t bad, but they definitely had the practice to deal with her baby sister and have, in Ionna’s mind, done a lot better in some respects.

What scares your character the most?

After losing her bar? Internally? Being alone. Or having to face hardship alone. They put so much of themselves out into the world that the worst feeling in the world would be to not have anyone there when they need someone most.

What did the last relationship your character was in teach them?

If they make repeated, passive aggressive comments about your profession, it probably runs as a deeper problem and they can either figure it out and get over it, or it’s time to move on. It’s just not worth the time wasted combating their negative fixation on something that’s a core part of her life.

If your character could choose 1 superpower, what would it be and why?

I think she’d want to be super fast. Or the ability to read minds.

What’s something people often misunderstand about your character?

Socially, she’s very awkward without meaning to be, and it’s not really because she’s poorly practiced or anything in particular. They have just ended up three or four steps ahead in the conversation (in her head), and assume the other person has managed to stay on the same page when they’re two and a half pages behind because that’s how time and conversations work.

What is something your character tends to procrastinate on?

Paperwork. It’s boring. It’s not pointless but it feels obvious. It’s necessary. But it’s still boring to such a degree it should be a sin. Ionna doesn’t know what to do when all of her office staff end up having vacations or emergencies all at the same time.

Well. She does. She just hates doing it so it takes three times as long as it really should.

Where does your character like to go/what does your character like to do for inspiration?

When she’s working on menus, they tend to throw “parties.” They are less party and more test bed for future food or drink items. But the guests don’t necessarily know that. It does mean they tend to happen more at season change time once she knows what fresh produce will be available.

There’s always a big spread of lunch and dinner samples, and she tends the bar herself on the condition that it’s dealer’s choice on the drink.

Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t.

They still haven’t gotten the mulled pumpkin spice mead to work out properly and haven’t figured out why.

Does your character usually follow their head or their heart?

They lean pretty heavily on their heart to start, but the head does catch up to what’s going on eventually and evens the keel.

Who or what brings your character the most joy in their life today?

Pingu for a who, though Calliope is always a delight to be around. Who condensed sunshine and infused it with that girl?

She also really loves it when a client who’s been referred to support services comes back to visit in a better position than when they’d initially stumbled into their bar. It’s not necessarily a reminder of why they do what they do, but it does bolster their resolve to keep going.

Does your character have a hero or someone they admire or look up to? If so, who and why?

With the perspective of proper adulthood, Ionna’s really come around to admiring her parents. They’ve worked really hard to build what they have, and they didn’t succumb to the desire to continue expanding and end up over-stretching themselves. They decided what they were going to do and how much they wanted to put into it and what they wanted out of it, and then they didn’t give in to the pull to do more than that.

From a business owner perspective, that seems like such an easy trap to fall into. Ionna does want to keep expanding the supports available, yes, but she doesn’t want to fall into the trap of having multiple locations for the sake of profit. That’s not what she’s here for. She’s here to help, to be a safe place for folks to have a good time, and to treat her employees well.

Is your character much of a reader? If so, what author(s) do they like?

They’re less for literature and more for recipe books. But books, not necessarily websites with inane blog posts that drone on for twelve paragraphs too long. Other how-tos are also appreciated, since they like to at least try and do things on their own.

Does your character like surprises? How do they tend to react to surprises?

Ionna likes nice surprises. Less so surprises from Pingu since those are often smelly, if few and far between.

Gifts are pretty important to them, for a lot of occasions. It’s not necessarily common in American culture, so whenever anyone remembers it’s a joy and tends to leave her impressed for a good while afterward.

Is there anything that your character collects? If so, what is it/what are they?

They have a sizeable collection of corks from favoured bottles of wine or bottles from special occasions. Eventually they want to turn it into a table, but they don’t have enough yet.

[ouraidengray4]

Facebook Can’t Replace Family... but When You’re a New Mom, It Can Come Close

The author nursing her child

I imagine that most harried parents of young children fantasize about the days when entire extended families lived together on the same block, or even in the same house, like multi-generational Matryoshka dolls. Consider the beauty of it: a never-ending stream of grandparents, aunts, and cousins ready to lend a helping hand with childcare, household chores, and the minutiae of daily living. Because my dad’s family is Greek, my vision of this scenario always takes place on a cliffside in the Mediterranean, in a whitewashed villa, a great-grandmother in the kitchen, cooking up spanakopita and fresh seafood... an image almost as beguiling as the fantasy of free childcare.

In reality, like many American millennial parents, I live with my partner and our children, and both of our extended families live far away. So when it’s 4 a.m., and I’m desperately seeking advice on nighttime cluster feeding, I can’t go knocking on the door of my beloved yiayia. But as new parents, we don’t always know exactly what’s going on with our precious newborn… and we seriously need that font of experience and wisdom.

One night not long ago, we literally couldn’t tell if our baby was starving to death or just going through a very normal, very frustrating developmental phase. What can I say? When you combine extreme sleep deprivation and a fundamental lack of knowledge about infants, you get two well-educated parents who are contemplating taking a seemingly healthy newborn to the emergency room simply because he won’t stop crying.

Sure, we could have called one of our mothers in another time zone, but something about that seemed like admitting defeat. Because we live far away, we’re so unused to asking for their help that relying on them for answers almost feels like confessing that we’re unsuitable parents.

However, I do know someone who’s always ready for a 4 a.m. inquiry, and always has a ready answer: my pal, the internet. In your Facebook mom group, you can ask the crowd, "My newborn won’t stop screaming… what the hell do I do?" and in addition to some sympathy, you’ll receive articles on everything from colic to Harvey Karp to developmental growth spurts.

While easy access to information—all the information—may be the most useful aspect of being a new mom in the internet age, the communities we have developed are just as important. There’s a strange sense of solidarity in knowing that I’m not the only otherwise competent adult who has to ask strangers how to keep my baby still long enough to trim his nails. And the sense of failure I felt in the early days of parenting has slowly been replaced by a feeling of unity as I stare at these early-morning queries from exhausted parents around the world.

Online spaces have become the modern parenting community for many people because of the sense of connection they offer during a stage of life when getting out and finding a live community just isn’t feasible. Although a lot of people have claimed that this new reliance on the internet is as an indication of how we’re failing as a culture, most moms I know embrace the advantages of online groups while acknowledging their limitations. I wouldn’t want to rely on online spaces as my sole social contact for the rest of my life, but for the time being, they’re keeping me connected to the outside world and to other people experiencing many of the same challenges I face.

As a plus, they introduce you to new ideas that nurture your family in ways you never would have considered. Am I the kind of mom who spends her time Pinning recipes for DIY "ice chalk" made with eco-friendly, toddler-safe ingredients? I surely am not, but I will absolutely take advantage of the industrious parent who came before me and created a craft that could potentially occupy my child for more than five minutes when I’ve run out of episodes of Thomas & Friends.

Perhaps most importantly, there are times when Facebook groups, blogs, and other online parenting forums have let me feel like a person again, instead of just a mother.

Last year, we had a particularly long winter, and I was experiencing a brand of cabin fever that is perhaps unique to parents of children under 2. Sweet, sweet relief was promised by the weather forecaster, who predicted a relatively balmy January day. But almost as soon as I got both kids out of bed and into our playroom, I realized an outing was not in the cards. My heart sank as the forecast became more and more dire, and no amount of coffee was able to prepare me for the day ahead, as a light shower of rain was quickly replaced by the ominous noises of freezing rain and wind.

As I pulled out my phone to check Facebook, parents up and down the coast joined me. My feed was full of people lamenting school closures and cancelled plans as they too realized a long day indoors was inevitable. Memes lamenting the realities of a snow day with little children were everywhere:

As frustrated as I was that today was shaping up to be an inside day, it quickly became apparent that I wasn’t the only one.

But mom groups are more than just places to vent about being cooped-up with toddlers; they also offer genuine connection. As ridiculous as my partner thinks my cloth diaper groups are, they have not only kept my children from smelling like a barnyard, but are also real resources for parents. After one mother posted that she’d lost all her cloth diapers in the August 2016 flooding in Louisiana, the responses were amazing. She had only been asking for advice about where to buy on a limited budget, but her post was quickly full of comments from people around the country who wanted to mail her diapers for free so she could get back on her feet.

Maybe it sounds silly that this woman was getting this support from an online community instead of a local organization, but she was able to connect with other people who were not only empathetic to her story (and understanding of her desire for cloth diapers), but able to quickly follow through with a solution.

Sometimes I think wistfully of that Mediterranean compound full of pasta and grandmothers willing to take over the odd diaper change. But I have also come to realize that said grandmother is probably overly intrusive about your family planning and will take advantage of Sunday dinner to publicly lament the fact that two years have gone by since you had your first baby and to ask if you have plans for another, as all the cousins look on attentively and wonder what’s wrong with your marriage. Perhaps the anonymity and convenience of online forums are to be desired during a time of life when sleep deprivation makes emotional personal interactions too complicated. And after all, I can always order Greek takeout.

Olivia Williams is a full-time attorney turned stay-at-home feminist and mother of two. She enjoys craft beers, yoga, and the rare opportunity to read a Victorian novel in the bathtub. Follow her on Twitter @oawillia.

from Greatist RSS http://ift.tt/2ijWbmj Facebook Can’t Replace Family... but When You’re a New Mom, It Can Come Close Greatist RSS from HEALTH BUZZ http://ift.tt/2j4nMtH

[ouraidengray4]

Facebook Can’t Replace Family... but When You’re a New Mom, It Can Come Close

The author nursing her child

I imagine that most harried parents of young children fantasize about the days when entire extended families lived together on the same block, or even in the same house, like multi-generational Matryoshka dolls. Consider the beauty of it: a never-ending stream of grandparents, aunts, and cousins ready to lend a helping hand with childcare, household chores, and the minutiae of daily living. Because my dad’s family is Greek, my vision of this scenario always takes place on a cliffside in the Mediterranean, in a whitewashed villa, a great-grandmother in the kitchen, cooking up spanakopita and fresh seafood... an image almost as beguiling as the fantasy of free childcare.

In reality, like many American millennial parents, I live with my partner and our children, and both of our extended families live far away. So when it’s 4 a.m., and I’m desperately seeking advice on nighttime cluster feeding, I can’t go knocking on the door of my beloved yiayia. But as new parents, we don’t always know exactly what’s going on with our precious newborn… and we seriously need that font of experience and wisdom.

One night not long ago, we literally couldn’t tell if our baby was starving to death or just going through a very normal, very frustrating developmental phase. What can I say? When you combine extreme sleep deprivation and a fundamental lack of knowledge about infants, you get two well-educated parents who are contemplating taking a seemingly healthy newborn to the emergency room simply because he won’t stop crying.

Sure, we could have called one of our mothers in another time zone, but something about that seemed like admitting defeat. Because we live far away, we’re so unused to asking for their help that relying on them for answers almost feels like confessing that we’re unsuitable parents.

However, I do know someone who’s always ready for a 4 a.m. inquiry, and always has a ready answer: my pal, the internet. In your Facebook mom group, you can ask the crowd, "My newborn won’t stop screaming… what the hell do I do?" and in addition to some sympathy, you’ll receive articles on everything from colic to Harvey Karp to developmental growth spurts.

While easy access to information—all the information—may be the most useful aspect of being a new mom in the internet age, the communities we have developed are just as important. There’s a strange sense of solidarity in knowing that I’m not the only otherwise competent adult who has to ask strangers how to keep my baby still long enough to trim his nails. And the sense of failure I felt in the early days of parenting has slowly been replaced by a feeling of unity as I stare at these early-morning queries from exhausted parents around the world.

Online spaces have become the modern parenting community for many people because of the sense of connection they offer during a stage of life when getting out and finding a live community just isn’t feasible. Although a lot of people have claimed that this new reliance on the internet is as an indication of how we’re failing as a culture, most moms I know embrace the advantages of online groups while acknowledging their limitations. I wouldn’t want to rely on online spaces as my sole social contact for the rest of my life, but for the time being, they’re keeping me connected to the outside world and to other people experiencing many of the same challenges I face.

As a plus, they introduce you to new ideas that nurture your family in ways you never would have considered. Am I the kind of mom who spends her time Pinning recipes for DIY "ice chalk" made with eco-friendly, toddler-safe ingredients? I surely am not, but I will absolutely take advantage of the industrious parent who came before me and created a craft that could potentially occupy my child for more than five minutes when I’ve run out of episodes of Thomas & Friends.

Perhaps most importantly, there are times when Facebook groups, blogs, and other online parenting forums have let me feel like a person again, instead of just a mother.

Last year, we had a particularly long winter, and I was experiencing a brand of cabin fever that is perhaps unique to parents of children under 2. Sweet, sweet relief was promised by the weather forecaster, who predicted a relatively balmy January day. But almost as soon as I got both kids out of bed and into our playroom, I realized an outing was not in the cards. My heart sank as the forecast became more and more dire, and no amount of coffee was able to prepare me for the day ahead, as a light shower of rain was quickly replaced by the ominous noises of freezing rain and wind.

As I pulled out my phone to check Facebook, parents up and down the coast joined me. My feed was full of people lamenting school closures and cancelled plans as they too realized a long day indoors was inevitable. Memes lamenting the realities of a snow day with little children were everywhere:

As frustrated as I was that today was shaping up to be an inside day, it quickly became apparent that I wasn’t the only one.

But mom groups are more than just places to vent about being cooped-up with toddlers; they also offer genuine connection. As ridiculous as my partner thinks my cloth diaper groups are, they have not only kept my children from smelling like a barnyard, but are also real resources for parents. After one mother posted that she’d lost all her cloth diapers in the August 2016 flooding in Louisiana, the responses were amazing. She had only been asking for advice about where to buy on a limited budget, but her post was quickly full of comments from people around the country who wanted to mail her diapers for free so she could get back on her feet.

Maybe it sounds silly that this woman was getting this support from an online community instead of a local organization, but she was able to connect with other people who were not only empathetic to her story (and understanding of her desire for cloth diapers), but able to quickly follow through with a solution.

Sometimes I think wistfully of that Mediterranean compound full of pasta and grandmothers willing to take over the odd diaper change. But I have also come to realize that said grandmother is probably overly intrusive about your family planning and will take advantage of Sunday dinner to publicly lament the fact that two years have gone by since you had your first baby and to ask if you have plans for another, as all the cousins look on attentively and wonder what’s wrong with your marriage. Perhaps the anonymity and convenience of online forums are to be desired during a time of life when sleep deprivation makes emotional personal interactions too complicated. And after all, I can always order Greek takeout.

Olivia Williams is a full-time attorney turned stay-at-home feminist and mother of two. She enjoys craft beers, yoga, and the rare opportunity to read a Victorian novel in the bathtub. Follow her on Twitter @oawillia.

from Greatist RSS http://ift.tt/2ibNQ4p Facebook Can’t Replace Family... but When You’re a New Mom, It Can Come Close Greatist RSS from HEALTH BUZZ http://ift.tt/2j3Vkuz