Central Park and Spring Brides

New York's Central Park is a joy to walk through. It's such an iconic place, conjuring memories from my youth when my University was only steps away from this amazing piece of open space in the middle of a vertical city.

It's a great place to take a break on a sunny spring day.

 As many times as I walk through the park, I always experience something new and interesting. Like the time when I saw Woody Alan, hand in hand with Sun Yi or the time I saw Garth Brook in concert, or when I watched the Metropolitan Opera in the park with colleagues.

This past week, it was seeing brides and grooms having their picture taken in the Park by the Bethesda Fountain.

As my friend and I had lunch at the Loeb Boathouse we spotted the bridal couple posed across the lake at the edge of  Bethesda Terrace close to the steps that lead into the water.

The daffodils were proudly displaying their yellow and white like an army waiting to salute the sun, some of the trees wore  their white  chiffons and others wore pale greens. Every season is magical in the park and spring brings with it that hope for renewal.

Enjoy!

Maria

The Plains Indians-Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Plains Indians of North America are the people of the Native nations that originally lived in the vast open spaces of the Great Plains. They hunted the buffalo and lived off the rich resources of the land. Many nations, including Osage, Quapaw, Omaha, Crow, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Lakota, Blackfeet, Pawnee, Kiowa, Comanche, and Meskwaki are among them.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has a magnificent exhibit of Plains Indian art, called "The Plains Indians-Artists of Earth and Sky," open until May 10, 2015.

 Bear claw necklace

Beginning in the 1500's and through the 1700's explorers came to the area and forever changed the course of the lives of these people. They brought horses, weapons and disease.

Subsequent European and American settlement resulted in the destruction of the buffalo, the transformation of the land, and the creation by the U.S. government of reservations for the confinement of Native peoples.

 Gauntlets

The Plains Indians suffered great loss and had to survive and adapt through the changes that  transformed America. Art has been a central way of recording and communicating their history throughout the centuries and into modern times.

 Contemporary art

"The evolution of Plains aesthetic traditions over four centuries is traced in this exhibition through more than 150 works drawn from public and private collections. These objects reflect profound connections to both the natural and the spirit worlds—to the forces of earth and sky".

It has been one of the most spectacular and broad exhibits of American Indian art I have ever seen. The exquisite use of materials such as porcupine quill, leather, natural dyes, feathers, and beading is extraordinary. I highly recommend you see it if you're in the area.

Enjoy!

Maria

Flaounes - Cyprus Easter Cheese Breads

Flaounes are a traditional Cypriot  Easter Bread that every family in Cyprus bakes for Easter. Each family has their own variation on the basic recipe and usually the family members get together to make the breads.

Since I'm having the family over for the big feast this Easter(Greek Easter is on April 12), I decided to make a batch of my own. Mom always made them but she's not up to it any more.

Stelios and I had to cut one up for a tasting as the breads were taking their turns in the oven.

Cyprus Flaounes
Ingredients
Filling
1 tspn masticha(Greek gum resin)
1 tspn sugar
1 envelope yeast
1/2 cup fine semolina
2 lbs Cyprus flaouna cheese, grated(you can use parmigiana or pecorino)
1 lb haloumi cheese, grated( you can use another hard cheese)
1 cup chopped mint leaves or 2 tablespoons dry mint
6 eggs lightly beaten
Dough
1 envelope yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
1 tspn masticha
1 tspn mehlepi(wild cherry pit used for flavoring)
2 tspn sugar
61/2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1 tspn salt
4 eggs lightly beaten
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
2-3 eggs for egg wash for baking.
1/2 cup of sesame seeds.
Instructions:
Start the night before you are planning to bake by mixing the cheese filling.
Place the sugar and the masticha in a mortar and gently pound until it becomes like powder.
Mix the yeast with 1/2 cup warm water. Let it bubble.
Mix the cheeses in a large bowl. Add the semolina and mix.
Add the yeast mixture, the mint, the masticha powder and the eggs. Mix well, cover and refrigerate overnight. This will allow the flavors to meld.
The next morning take the filling out of the refrigerator and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Fahrenheit.Turn off.
Mix the yeast with 1/2 cup warm water. Let it bubble and add the warm milk.
Place the masticha, sugar, and mehlepi in a mortar and pound until you have a powder.
Mix flours and salt in a large bowl. Add the masticha/mehlepi mixture and the salt.
Add the oil and rub with hands until the oil is incorporated into the flour.
Alternate between adding the eggs and the yeast and mixing until you have a cohesive dough. Place the dough on a floured counter an dknead for 5 minutes until it is smooth and elastic.
Oil a bowl and place the dough inside. Cover loosely with a towel and place in preheated oven. Make sure you have shut it off. Let the dough rise for about an hour.
Remove from oven and punch down. Divide into 18 balls.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Roll out each ball, place half a cup of filling in the center and fold over the edges like wrapping a present.
Place in cookie sheets covered with parchment paper. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Place 2 cookie sheets in the oven at a time. Bake for 20 minutes and then rotate the pans and bake for another 20 minutes or until the flaounes are done. Remove from the oven and let the breads rest.
Any leftover dough can be shaped into breads and baked.

Happy Easter to all my readers. I hope you enjoy this recipe. It's very unusual, delicious and rewarding.

Maria