Pampers and Paklava

Pomegranate Spritzer Recipe

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Pomegranate and Revah Pomegranate WineBig Papa and I kicked off 2012 with a bit of bubbly, a special creation I concocted to welcome the New Year. I filled our glasses half-way with Cava, topped them off with a semi-sweet pomegranate wine from Armenia that I picked up this past summer at our favorite wine shop, and floated a few pomegranate seeds on top. Then we lifted our glasses, clinked them together, and toasted to happiness and good fortune in the coming year.

I love pomegranates with their ruby-red seeds that shine like jewels when the fruit is cut open. The name pomegranate derives from Middle French, pomme garnete, literally “seeded apple”; it is sometimes referred to as a Chinese apple. Many scholars also believe that the forbidden, yet irresistible fruit that Eve indulged in from the Garden of Eden was actually a pomegranate (and not an apple).

Pomegranates are also said to represent good luck because of their bright red color, which is thought to denote life and fertility. In many cultures, pomegranates are prominently featured during the winter holiday season and into the new year.  The fruit’s beneficial medicinal properties are often touted in health and cooking magazines. And the abundant seeds represent prosperity. Cheers to that!

Pomegranate Spritzer

 

Ingredients

  • Bubbly (Cava, Prosecco or champagne)
  • Pomegranate wine (or pomegranate juice like POM, in which case fill ¾ with bubbly)
  • Pomegranate seeds

How to:

Fill a glass half-way with bubbly, top off with pomegranate wine (or juice). Float pomegranate seeds on top. Start sipping!

Come on-a my house my house, I’m gonna give you Christmas tree
Come on-a my house, my house, I’m gonna give you
Marriage ring and a pomegranate too ah

~Rosemary Clooney, Come on a my house

Want to launch your New Year with more deliciousness? Check out Wanderfood Wednesday!

The color of pomegranates

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Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand! That’s ‘Merry Christmas’ in Armenian.

While the glow of the holiday season is fading in the U.S. and Christmas trees have been stripped of their glory and are heading to the curb, today is Christmas Day in Armenia. Armenian Christmas is celebrated January 6. So it is both ironic and fitting that the wine tasting at 12th & Olive Wine Company, this past Saturday, featured pomegranate wine.

Pomegranate wineThe pomegranate, with its symbolic association with fertility, is the national fruit of Armenia. When Big Papa and I visited Yerevan this past September, the pomegranate was everywhere. At the Vernissage Flea Market in the center of the city, we saw glass pomegranate earrings, pomegranates painted on bookmarks and artwork and dried pomegranate Christmas tree ornaments.

“Pomegranate” is from the Latin “pomum granatum” which means “apple of many seeds.” Pomegranates are high in antioxidants. 100 ml of pomegranate juice has three times the antioxidants of 100 ml of red wine or 100 ml. of green tea. The health benefits are almost legendary. Consuming this fruit is thought to prevent lung, prostate and breast cancer, Alzheimer’s and Osteoarthritis. It protects the arteries, lowers cholesterol and blood pressure and may reduce dental plaque. It is even purported to increase virility and fertility.

At the 12th & Olive tasting we sampled three wines made from pomegranates, a sparkling wine from Argentina, Armenian wine, and an Israeli dessert wine. All three had their own unique charm. Big Papa and I were excited to have a taste of the Armenian wine as it’s a rarity to find anything made in Armenia here in Seattle.

Both the Argentinean sparkler and Armenian wine were produced by ReVah. Steven, the wonderfully knowledgeable, friendly and helpful owner of 12th and Olive told us ReVah sources the fruit from each country. The Armenian wine is made at the Proshyan Wine Factory, which also makes some of Armenia’s famous brandy. We noticed Proshyan is in Yerevan and hope to visit the wine factory on our next trip.

Holding our glasses to the light, the color of the wine was a deep red, with shades of violet and raspberry. Putting my nose to the glass there was no mistaking the intense aroma of pomegranates. The wine was a bit sweet on the palate but not as syrupy as I imagined it might be, with hints of fresh fruit and light acidity. For $12.99 it’s a nice wine to enjoy on a warm summer’s day…or for those days when I want to conjure memories of being in Armenia.

When I was a child, my parents often bought pomegranates as a special treat. On a recent trip to visit my mother, she had a pomegranate waiting for me. I love the magic of cutting open the fruit to reveal hundreds of ruby-colored seeds.

Pomegranate’s subtle sweetness now holds an even deeper meaning for me, a thread to the heart of Armenia. Many Armenian fairy tales end thus: “Three pomegranates fell down from heaven: One for the story teller, one for the listener, and one for the whole world.”

Check out the WanderFood Wednesday series for more great food postings!

Brandy is dandy

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My copy of ‘The Cuisine of Armenia’ by Sonia Uvezian arrived in the mail today (thank you Amazon.com). If it weren’t for the fact that the Urban Cabin’s kitchen is still mid-remodel, I’d be diving right in to cook Armenian vittles for Big Papa and I. Unfortunately, I am without a stove for the moment, not to mention that the fridge is in the bedroom and the counter tops, what little remain, are caked with 100-year old dust.

Armenian Brandy

Glancing through the recipes, there’s nary one I wouldn’t try (ok, well maybe not the ‘Tongue Salad’). One of the reasons I’m tickled to be adopting from Armenia is the food!

I first heard about Ms. Uvezian through her book, The Book of Yogurt. While I do not own this book (yet), I am a huge yogurt devotee. All her books receive rave reviews and several reviewers say ‘The Cuisine of Armenia’ is a “classic.”

With the advent of the internet, I’m buying fewer and fewer cookbooks. Recipes are at my fingertips online. That said I wanted one compilation of Armenian recipes I could wade through. Uvezian’s book is also sprinkled with tidbits on Armenian history as it relates to food and recipes. I love to read about food history and learn more about the cultural roots for the food we’ll eat.

If I can’t cook much these days, I certainly can read. So I nestled next to Maggie the cat and took my time perusing the many temptations awaiting me in the 487 page cookbook.

At times I think I reading about food and cooking is as tantalizing as making the dish itself. The joy is in the imagining. Some days I’ll find myself searching for sweet treats and others I’ll scour my sources for hearty stews.

Today, the recipe that jumped out and said, “Make me! Make me!” was the recipe for Armenian Cherry Brandy. It could be the biting chill to the air or possibly stores filled to the brim with red this and that, but suddenly some tummy-warming burgundy-colored brandy, home made no less, sounds like just the ticket.

Armenian brandy is world-renowned for its excellence. Winston Churchill was so impressed with Armenian brandy given to him by Stalin that he asked for several cases of it to be sent to him each year.

When I was a kid, my father made cherry brandy. I have fond memories of him letting my sister and I enjoy the wrinkled drunken cherries that we found sitting at the bottom of the jar. The brandy recipe in ‘The Cuisine of Armenia’ calls for cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. It just sounds so darn festive.

Of course, fresh cherries are quite seasonal and out of the question mid-December, so I’m contemplating using a combo of frozen and dried cherries or substituting with another fruit altogether. Pomegranate, in particular comes to mind. Aside from pomegranate being the national fruit of Armenia, it also has a lovely festive red color.

Here’s the recipe for Armenian Cherry Brandy. Tweak as desired (as my fridge magnet reads: “She didn’t always follow the recipe”):

Armenian Cherry Brandy

  • Sour cherries
  • Sugar
  • Brandy
  • Whole cloves
  • Cinnamon sticks
  • Whole nutmeg

Wash, stem and pit the sour cherries. Place equal amounts of the cherries and sugar in alternate layers in a heavy, enameled saucepan, ending with a layer of sugar on top. Let stand 12 hours or overnight. The following day, bring the mixture slowly to a boil, stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved. Drain off the cherry juice and measure (reserve the cherries).

To each cup of cherry juice, add ½ cup brandy. To 8 cups of the cherry-brandy mixture, add 1-1/2 teaspoons whole cloves, 1 small cinnamon stick, 1 whole nutmeg, and ½ cup of the cherries. Pour into sterilized bottles and seal and store in a cool place. The brandy will be ready in one month. Serve chilled.

Check out the WanderFood Wednesday series for more great food postings!