The Erskine Lakes Women's Club Christmas Cookie Exchange at the Lake

Erskine Lakes Women's Club Cookie Exchange

Every year the Erskine Lakes Women's Club organizes a fun(and delicious) event called a cookie exchange. Every participant brings 4 dozen cookies, one dozen to share that evening with all the other ELWC members, and the other three dozen to swap in the cookie exchange. 

Tables are set and as the women arrive they are arrayed with trays and trays of colorful home made cookies.

Good Cheer

 Good friends and neighbors

This year there was an ugly sweater contest. I had to borrow a sweater (because you know I do not own an ugly sweater!!!) for the occasion. Thank God I did not win, but the person who won (no names) was a great sport and I believe she won a prize.

 Cookies to share

 Female camaraderie!

 We had to take another picture because we were missing Jenn who now joined us in the front row.

 This was the box I took home! Yum!

This was what I brought to the party!

You arrive with a homogeneous(good word huh!) platter and you leave with a colorful, jewel-like assortment. Ah, if only I could bring you the smells: butter, vanilla, sugar, anisette, and that king of aromas, chocolate.

So, no two cookies were alike, except...I thought my Italian Ricotta cookies would be the only ones of their kind at the exchange, right? Well, I look around the table, and what do I see? Another Italian Ricotta cookie platter! But, wait, there's more to the story. The baker of those cookies asked me what flavor I had used. Orange, I said. Well girls, hers was anisette. And boy were they as good! So, in the end no two cookies were alike!!

Italian Ricotta cookie recipe to follow in another post. Stay tuned...

Enjoy!

Maria

Archangel at Kinnelon, NJ Library in the New Year

Even as the time since I published Archangel passes and the number of Book Events I have presented add up, I am still grateful for every new opportunity to share the story of Archangel.

Last month I joined my book club members at an author presentation at the Kinnelon Library. The author was Michael Ransom and his book is a murder mystery titled "The Ripper Gene."

When we arrived, I was introduced to Kim Christian, the Library Program Coordinator, by my good friend Kathy who organized our outing. Kathy, one of my strongest supporters, had already spoken to Kim about me and my book. Kim, it turned out, was interested in me doing an author presentation for Archangel!

Won't you all join me on January 28th, at the Kinnelon Library in New Jersey, at 6:30 pm for an author talk. Save the date on your calendars and come out and see me.

Recent Photo of the Church of Panagia Kanakaria 

As in many of my other presentations, whether across town, across the country or across the Atlantic, events unfolded in unexpected ways and the Book Events came together successfully. It's not that I didn't put in a lot of hard work and effort behind my events, but I do feel that without the help and support of many key people none of the events would have taken place.

Detail from the entrance of the Church of Panagia Kanakaria 

Coming out of a Thanksgiving spent in bed with a bad cold, I am taking stock of how fortunate I have been this past year and a half.

First off, I'm so grateful for all the people who helped me get the book ready for publication. Then, I'm grateful for the friends and family who cheered me on. Also, I'm grateful to my childhood friend Marios who invited me to present Archangel in Cyprus and started an avalanche of translation and international book events. I'm grateful to my friend Myria Antoniades and her family who hosted us and my book event in Nicosia, Cyprus. I'm grateful to the Ambassador of Cyprus to Washington, George Chacalli, who invited me to present my book in Washington DC, grateful to Commissioner Photis Photiou who supported my presentation in Athens. To Ambassador of Cyprus in Athens Kyriacos Kenevezos, the Cultural Counselor of the Cyprus House, Maria Panayides and her staff who made it all happen, I am grateful. And this is just the short list!

And so it goes, and I'm grateful for Kathy Klauser who suggested I do a book event to the Program Coordinator of the Kinnelon Library.

Something tells me that this might not be the last presentation that I do on Archangel. Every book presentation I do has been amazing and has taught me something new. Just when I think I have gotten all there was to get out of the experience something new rises to add to the already rich tableau of experiences.


I'm amazed at how many people have reached out and helped me along the way. I'm overjoyed by people's generosity of spirit and love of books.

And I don't want to forget to say how grateful I am for my husband Stelios, who is now paying it forward by helping his good friend and author Stamatis Kampanis with the publication of his books. Stamatis gave me great feedback on my book and I was glad to share with him my journey of self publication. Now that Stamatis is on that journey himself, Stelios is helpinghim  as a reader and editor.

I also want to take a moment to remember my dad, Gregory Menico, who passed away in January of this year while I was in the midst of my book tour in Cyprus. His generous spirit is always with me. Love you dad.

And so it goes until later notice my friends!

Hope to see you there,

Maria

Samothrace Treasure at the Acropolis Museum

The Acropolis Museum is set on the foothills of the Acropolis, where the Parthenon is situated. It's an impressive building that offers, through glass floors, views of the ruins of the city of Athens below that were discovered during excavations for its construction. Its large windows frame the Acropolis hill with full views of the Parthenon.

I have visited the Museum a few times since its opening but this year we had a special treat. The exhibit of the Treasure of Samothrace had just opened.

The Samothrace Temple Complex, known as the Sanctuary of the Great Gods, (Greek Ιερό των Μεγάλων Θεών Ieró ton Megalón Theón) is one of the principal Pan-Hellenic religious sanctuaries, located on the island of Samothrace within the larger Thrace in Greece. Built immediately to the west of the ramparts of the city of Samothrace, it was nonetheless independent, as attested to by the dispatch of city ambassadors during festivals.

It was celebrated throughout Ancient Greece for its Mystery religion, a Chthonic religious practice as renowned as the Eleusinian Mysteries. Numerous famous people were initiates, including the historian Herodotus – one of very few authors to have left behind a few clues to the nature of the mysteries, the Spartan leader Lysander, and numerous Athenians. The temple complex is mentioned by Plato and Aristophanes.

During the Hellenistic period, after the investiture of Phillip II, it formed a Macedonian national sanctuary where the successors to Alexander the Great vied to outdo each other's munificence. It remained an important religious site throughout the Roman period. Hadrian visited, and Varro described the mysteries – before fading from history towards the end of Late Antiquity.

One of the best known sculptures of Samothrace is the Winged Victory or Pteroti Niki of Samothraki displayed at the Louvre in Paris.

The exhibited items at the Acropolis Museum are very impressive and, along with an informative video, give an understanding of the Sanctuary and its importance in the Ancient World.

Fragments of plaques with writing.

One of the pros of this museum is that it is well curated. I find that as a visitor I am not overwhelmed with the quantity and placement of the exhibits.  The items are well selected and displayed in a way that makes walking through pleasurable and educational.

I am aways in awe when visiting the Acropolis of Athens and its Museum. This time I expanded my knowledge about our ancestors as well as enjoyed the lasting beauty of ancient art.

If you ever are in Athens, the Acropolis Museum is a must destination.

Beer Crust Pizza!

Well, by now you must have guessed that I'm working down the list of favorites(and there are so many!) that I missed while away. And pizza is definitely on the top of that list!

I was a t a party last year where they were making pizzas for the guests. One of them, was a beer crusted pizza. I took one bite and was hooked. That yeasty, chewy taste took the pizza to another level.

So, I googled it and came up with a recipe I was happy with. It has now become my go-to pizza crust recipe whenever I have a yen for pizza.

 So, this week I took out my pizza stone.

 Made my dough and set it to rise, spread around the toppings...

 and voila! Here's my pizza before baking.

 and here it is after 10 minutes in the oven! Yum, perfection.

It's an easy, simple dinner that you can adapt in many ways depending on your toppings. Here's the recipe:

Beer crusted Pizza(makes two)

Ingredients
Crust
3.5 cups of all purpose flour( I include a 1/4 cup whole wheat)
1/4 cup warm water
8oz beer
2.25 tsp yeast
2 tsp sugar
2 tbspn olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
Topping
1 cup marinara sauce
1/2 lb sliced mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup sliced red pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbspn grated parmesan  cheese

Heat oven to 170 and turn off.

combine warm water, yeast and sugar in a cup. Let it foam for a few minutes.
Add the flour and salt to the bowl of your mixer outfitted with the dough hook.
Pour in the yeast mix and process on medium until mixed. Slowly add the beer and knead for 5-8 minutes. If the dough is sticky, add a tbsp or two of flour.
Turn out the dough on a floured surface and kneed a couple of times.
Divide dough into 2 pieces. If you are making two pizzas place both in separate oiled bowls, cover loosely with a tea towel and place in oven to rise for an hour. Make sure the oven is off!
If only making one pizza, place one half in the oiled bowl to rise as above, and either refrigerate or freeze the other half to use at a later time. Make sure you take out cold dough and let come to room temperate before set to rise.
After an hour your dough should have doubled in size. Punch down and kneed a few times to get the air out.
Place on a pizza pan and using your fingers pull and shape to the size of the pan. I usually put semolina on the bottom of the pan so the pizza doesn't stick.

Place your pizza stone(if you have one, optional) in the oven. Heat oven to 550 degrees fahrenheit.

Top the pizza by spreading the sauce all over the dough. Place pieces of the mozzarella cheese around the pizza and sprinkle the sliced peppers or any other topping over the cheese and sauce. Then, sprinkle the parmesan cheese around the edge, drizzle with olive oil and place in the preheated oven.

I bake mine for 10 minutes. Bake for 10 minutes or until the crust is nicely browned and the cheese and sauce are bubbling.

Enjoy!

Maria