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6 The Armenian Reporter | April 11, 2009 Community MY NAME IS ARMEN Auntie Rose’s Kurabia by Armen Bacon Easter is my holiday. I have a collection of whimsical bunnies, fancy placemats, a dining table that easily seats 17, and a traditional menu that includes shish kebab, pilaf, soubereg and all the trimmings. The family arrives after church and we graze on yalanchi and string cheese while everyone vows that from this year forward, we will omit all mezza (appetizers) and eat more sensibly. In the blink of an eye, second helpings are being dished out, everyone is again complaining that there is too much food, the women rise to go into the kitchen to wash dishes, and the men retire to the living room, eyes at half mast, ready for afternoon naps. Their youthful counterparts, the grandchildren, run wild through the house, energized from all the foil wrapped chocolate eggs they have ingested since the day began. It may all sound crazy, but the scene is a welcome tradition in our ethnic household. This year, however, Easter has moved to my sister-in-law’s house. We are in the middle of pouring concrete and landscaping our yard; I am busy tending to my mother’s broken shoulder and subsequent recovery. Easter dinner, for this year and this year only, will be cooked and eaten elsewhere. Today, on the day I would normally be making a major grocery shopping list, I am headed to the market to purchase five simple items: one pound of unsalted butter, one pound of regular butter, shortening, a box of superfine sugar, and flour. These are the ingredients for kurabia, a traditional part of our holiday ritual. Regardless of whose house we may be celebrating this year’s holiday – my kurabia will be part of the annual tradition. I first tasted kurabia, a delicate, melt-in-your-mouth sugar cookie, at my Aunt Rose’s house. I couldn’t have been more than 6 or 7 years old at the time. She lived across the street and Saturdays were play days with our cousins. I happened to be there one day when a mystery package arrived from her relatives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I watched her carefully unwrap the brown wrap that revealed an old, battered Sees candy box, you know, the shiny white box with black lettering embossed on top, including Mary Sees herself with that trademark grandmotherly smile. The box however, was not filled with candy. Instead – two layers of neatly placed cookies were inside, each perfectly shaped and precise in Armenian Reporter columnist Armen D. Bacon is senior director for communications and public relations for the Fresno County Office. Ms. Bacon lives in Fresno, California, and is a wife, mother, professional woman, and writer. Since 2004, her thoughts and reflections about life have been published in the “Valley Voices” section of The Fresno Bee as well as the Armenian Reporter. She also writes, produces, and hosts a radio series titled “Live, Laugh, Love” on Fresno’s K-jewel 99.3 radio. She can be reached at armendbacon@aol.com. size. Aunt Rose informed me they were called kurabias or shakareeshee (shakar means sugar in Armenian). She innocently (and quite generously) offered me a taste. So began my love affair with these heavenly, mouth-watering delicacies. For the next 30 years, I would hunt down recipes to mimic this first memorable and delicious experience. Years passed. I tried recipe after recipe, all quite unsuccessfully. Consistency was off, the sweetness and texture was impossible to replicate, mine tended to have a crunchy and unacceptable bite to them, quite contrary to Auntie Rose’s rendition, a secret family recipe, she had once confided. Looking back, I understand now why she hid them on the top shelf of her kitchen cabinet. One day, quite by accident, I was at an Armenian function with my husband’s side of the family, when one of his aunties, Auntie Lorraine, confessed that she, too, had an obsession for these cookies. But unlike me, she had stumbled upon what she described as the perfect recipe. To my delight, she was happy to share it with me. I carefully wrote down the five ingredients and then quizzed her repeatedly about the proper texture of the dough, cooking temperature, which rack seemed best suited for a perfect outcome, and so on and so forth. I wanted no detail spared. I took incessant notes. The next day, I began the arduous task of baking the cookies. I clarified the butter, measured out ingredients and was ready to sift, beat and roll. I could already taste Aunt Rose’s kurabias, despite the decades that had passed since I had been in her kitchen. I whipped the butters until their appearance was likened to whipping cream. I slowly added the sugar, patiently waiting until the consistency was just as Auntie Lorraine had described. And then the final step – adding the flour – almost 2 cups but not so much that the dough might crumble. She had suggested I close my eyes and feel it with my soul – it would be slightly wet but not too sticky. I realize now that the sensory talents of our ancestors have somehow skipped my generation and at this point I was praying for a small miracle or divine intervention. I hoped that Auntie Rose might be gracing me with a smile from heaven, cheering me on in my desire to make her family’s treasured cookies. I rolled out the dough, cutting it at an angle, until finally the cookies were ready to be placed on the cookie sheet. As they baked, the aroma filled my kitchen. The moment of truth was about to arrive. After they were sufficiently cooled, I carefully lifted a slightly disfigured one from the tray, dusted it with powdered sugar and bit into it. Melt-in-your-mouth perfection. I had succeeded. Auntie Lorraine’s recipe worked. Word travels fast. I have since become the “Kurabia Queen” of the Valley, a title I wear proudly, after years of practice and hundreds of pounds of butter and sugar purchased in the process. I am called on to bake them for weddings, baptisms, birthdays and holidays. While this year’s Easter holiday is not being celebrated at my house, I am still baking my kurabias. If you happen to be in the neighborhood, drop by and let me offer you a cup of coffee and a kurabia. I promise, it will melt in your mouth. From left, Gerard Libaridian, Mary Johnson, Ann Meade, and Richard Norsigian. Metro Detroit committee promotes Armenian Genocide awareness CLINTON TOWNSHIP – Committed to promoting awareness of, and gaining U.S. recognition for, the first genocide of the 20th century, The Metro Detroit Armenian Genocide Committee, in collaboration with Facing History and Ourselves, organized on March 25 the third educator’s workshop (in Michigan) on the Armenian Genocide. The Knights of Vartan, Detroit Lodge, sponsored the project initially conceived and sponsored by Edgar Hagopian, local businessperson, and his Hagopian Family Foundation. Richard Norsigian, a member of the committee as well as a principal in the South Lake School District, coordinated the event with the help of Kim Meade, Macomb Social Studies Consultant. Educators representing 13 school districts attended the March 25th workshop held at the Macomb Intermediate School District offices. Facilitor for the workshop Dr. Mary Johnson, Senior Historian for Facing History and Ourselves, used text and video to present a background on the “universe of obligation” and segued into the history of the Armenian Genocide. Educators using the provided resource materials were asked to participate by posing scenarios and voicing their ideas and opinions on the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Turks from 1915-1923, and the response at that time from the international community. Dr. Johnson then introduced guest speaker Dr. Gerard Libaridian, who holds the Alex Manoogian Chair in Modern Armenian History at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Dr. Libaridian also served as advisor to Armenian President Levon Ter Petrossian from 1991 to 1997. Participants were reminded of the Second Annual Armenian Genocide Essay Competition open to all Michigan Middle and High School Students, sponsored by the Hagopian Family Foundation with cash awards for both the winning student and the instructor. The Metro Detroit Armenian Genocide Committee members are Edgar Hagopian, Edward Bedikian, Ray Boujoulian, Corinne Khederian, Paul Kulhanjian, Richard Norsigian, David Terzibashian and Madeline Thomasian. “The Armenian Genocide - a genocide that is not reflected in our history books and that on April 24, 2009, represents 94 years later, even though 42 states and numerous foreign governments have recognized it, remains unacknowledged by the U.S. Government and the successors to the Ottoman Turk perpetrators,” stated Mr. Hagopian. connect: armeniangenocideessay.com Let us know what’s on your mind. Write to us at letters@reporter.am
The Armenian Reporter | April 11, 2009 7 Community Sipan Armenian School honored by Armenia’s Ministry of Education PARAMUS – On March 15, at the annual fundraising event of Sipan Armenian School, Mrs. Louisa Janbazian, president of the school Board, announced that the school received an Honorary Award from Mr. Spartak Seyranyan, the Minister of Science and Education of the Republic of Armenia, for its legacy of educating and nurturing the young Armenian generation with the Armenian Spirit, and for the 30th Anniversary of its founding. Mrs. Janbazian added that the school has earned this award because of the hard work and the dedication of the teachers and especially the principal, Mrs. Arpi Kevorkian, who teach the Armenian children to learn and love the Armenian language and our rich cultural heritage. She also thanked the Board members, the guests and the donors for their continued support for the school, and praised the founding members (Armenian Evangelical College Students Association of Beirut, Lebanon) some of whom are still on the School Board. Thirty years ago, as new emigrants from Lebanon here in New Jersey, this group had the vision to create an environment, outside of the home, where Armenian children could come together to learn their Armenian language and history. Finally, she thanked James and Maral Sahagian, who graciously hosted this fundraising event at their home in Airmont, N.Y., where the guests spent a lovely afternoon and enjoyed a delicious Lenten luncheon. The proceeds from this event, as well as the generous donations from friends and supporters, will help the school to continue with its noble mission. The Sipan Armenian School, which meets on Friday evenings at the Armenian Presbyterian Church of Paramus, NJ, has Pre-Nursery to seventh grades. connect:1-201-497-5096 Some of the teachers and Board members of the Sipan School. N. Lael Telfeyan, Ph.D., LCSW Counseling and Psychotherapy with Individuals, Families and Couples Adults and Adolescents College student needing cash for books Part-time sales positions available. Email jobs@reporter.com 140 West 97th St. New York, NY 10025 By appointment 917-975-3109 24 Windsor Road Great Neck, NY 11021 e-mail: nlael@aol.com
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