Greek = Better, Baby

         Today is Greek Independence Day!

         Απ’ τα κόκκαλα βγαλμένη

των Ελλήνων τα ιερά,

και σαν πρώτα ανδρειωμένη,

χαίρε, ω χαίρε, Ελευθεριά

We sing special songs in Church, light candles and pray in memory of those who fought for the right to call themselves free (I was struck, writing this, at how we are united across the world by this fight). And then there is a big parade downtown. Lots of flags, traditional music, and people dancing in the streets, its a joy to see!

my (second) cousins, dressed in traditional regalia

And one of the best things about being greek? Loukoumades. Greek honey balls, or doughnuts. Just saying the word makes me drool. Little balls of fried sweet dough drenched in honey, cinnamon, and sesame seeds = best dessert in the world. And from what I understand, they eat it every day as part of their breakfast over in the motherland. How awesome is that??? And because I love you guys so much, I will share this most secret recipe (that Im sure you can find hundreds of variation to online lol) and hope it puts you in the mood to shout OPA!

Ingredients
180 g all purpose flour
100 gr whole wheat flour
1 cup milk

2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of dry yeast
Vegetable oil for frying
Honey
Cinnamon

Sesame Seeds


Directions

Heat the milk slightly, just to get it warm and dissolve sugar and salt in it. Add yeast and stir with a spoon. Slowly add the flour and continue stirring.

Preheat the oven just for a minute and turn it off. Cover the bowl with a towel and let it rise inside the oven for an hour.The dough will rise and draw bubbles on the surface.

Use a pan and heat the oil over medium heat. There must be plenty of oil because we are going to deep fry the donuts. When the oil is heated, we use a wet spoon to get some dough and we use another wet spoon to slide the dough into the oil. The secret for this recipe is that you have to turn around the donuts frequently and you must not fill the pot with too many donuts. Just few at a time. 

When they golden brown, remove them and let them drain on a paper towel. Transfer the donuts to a plate, shake some cinnamon, and drizzle with warm honey. Add some sesame seeds and serve (or eat the whole thing yourself)!