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Silences: My Mother's Will to Survive by Alice Tashjian Table of Contents Acknowledgments Foreword Preface Introduction Appendix Frances' Story-Ch. 1 Four Sons-Ch. 2 ThreeDaughters-Ch. 3 Missionaries-Ch. 4 Deportation-Ch. 5 To America-Ch. 6 Leon's Story-Ch. 7 
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Mother's Favorite Recipes MOTHER'S PAGHACH 1 cup of milk, lukewarm 1/2 cup softened, not melted, butter 3 eggs + 1 egg for wash 1 fresh yeast cake (Proofed in 1/4 cup warm water) 1/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon salt 5 cups of flour Measure flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Mix. Make a large well in the flour. Add the milk, sugar, eggs and proofed yeast in the well. Slowly merge the flour into the liquid, working from the center around the inside edge of the flour without breaking the well of flour until the liquid is absorbed. Soften the butter with your hands and add to the dough. Knead until elastic. If more flour is needed, add more. Keep your hands buttered as you work. (Many times, mother substituted evaporated milk). Our mother always stretched her fingers and used the side of her hand to indent a cross on the dough. Cover with a dish towel and let it rise to double its size. Keep the dough away from drafts. Shape. Mother made large braids or knots; others rolled their dough, and cut rounds with a cookie cutter. Arrange the braids on trays well greased with Crisco. Cover with egg wash and sesame seeds. Allow the dough to rise again in a warm spot. In an oven preheated to 375 degrees, bake for 15-20 minutes on the low shelf. Raise the tray to a higher shelf and bake until the crust is golden brown. Keep a very close watch. One day when we were in grade school, mother made paghach. She needed to run an errand. We arrived home from school before she did. The bread smelled so good, the neighborhood children gathered. Generously, we shared the paghach with them. When mother arrived, she realized that her week's supply of bread was nearly gone. Mother would remind me of this event every time she baked bread. AUNTY ISKOUHI'S CHEESE BEOREG as given to Manooshag Seraydarian Dough: +1/4 lb butter for layers 1/4 cup corn oil 5 heaping cups flour 3/4 tsp salt 2 packages yeast 2 tbs. honey 1 cup water + 1/4 cup for yeast + 2 tbsp sugar 3 eggs + egg for glazing Filling: 1 1/2 lbs. Muenster cheese 1/2 cup parsley, chopped Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water and 2 tbsp sugar. Proof. Melt butter in one cup of warm water in a large bowl. Add oil, and the rest of the ingredients for the dough. Add yeast. Knead thoroughly. Make the sign of the cross on the dough, and let rise until double its size. Divide dough into 2 balls for beoreg and a small ball to make a braid for a small bread. Cover and let rest ten to fifteen minutes. Roll out the dough until thin. Brush with melted butter; fold into thirds overlapping. Roll again to fit into buttered pan. Mix cheese and parsley. Spread the cheese mixture evenly over the dough. (One can combine Muenster with mozzarella, if available). Roll out the second ball in the same way; cover the cheese mixture. Brush with egg wash. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired. Cover with waxed paper or damp towel. Let rise for at least one hour. Brush with egg wash. Bake 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes on the lowest rack in the oven. Bake until golden 5 minutes on the upper rack. Cut into squares and serve warm. Mother's heavy aluminum trays were 13" x 16". She prized her trays and kept them polished and in excellent condition. Her grandchildren, whom she encouraged to watch her bake, now own these or similar trays to make her delicious beoreg for family parties. YALANCHI SARMA: GRAPE LEAVES STUFFED WITH RICE Filling: 2 cups River rice (rinsed) 6 cups onions, chopped 4 cups fresh tomatoes seeded and chopped 1/2 lemon 1/4 can tomato paste 1/4 teaspoon allspice 1/2 cup olive oil 1 cup parsley chopped 1/4 cup mint, chopped (or cumin or dill) Salt and pepper to taste 1/4 cup pine nuts (optional) Pour over layered sarmas before cooking: juice of 1/2 lemon + boiling water to cover 50 fresh wild grape leaves or 1 jar of canned grape leaves. Soak freshly picked leaves in boiling water for five minutes. If using canned leaves, soak in warm water for fifteen minutes to remove the salt. Cut off the stems. Spread the leaf on a small plate, wrong side up. The stem end is toward you. Put one teaspoonful of the filling near the stem end; fold over the sides; then, start rolling from the stem up to the tip. Try to keep rolls the same size. Be careful not to wrap too tightly. The rice will expand. Place the large, tougher leaves on the bottom of the pan. Arrange the rolled leaves side by side, seam side down. When full, add another row arranging the rolls in the opposite manner. Cover the top row with left over leaves. Place a plate over the top to keep them in place. Add boiling water to just reach the edge of the dish. Bake in the oven at 350 degreees F for one hour. Remove and allow the Sarma to cool. Drain any extra liquid. Invert pan carefully to keep rolls in place. Serve cold. Early in June, we would drive into the country and pick tender wild grape leaves. Those we did not use, we canned or froze. DOLMA : ARMENIAN STUFFED CABBAGE LEAVES 1 large head of cabbage (2 1/2 lbs.) 1 large onion, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon cooking oil 1 lb lean lamb shoulder, ground 1/4 cup short grained rice 1 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon cayenne 1/2 teaspoon allspice 1/2 teaspoon dried mint, crushed meat mix, 1/4 cup later 1/2 can tomato paste in 2 1/2 cups of water Remove core of cabbage with a sharp knife. Boil head of cabbage for fifteen minutes. Cool. Gently pull leaves away. Place heavy first leaves on the bottom of the kettle to form a base. Cut large ribs from leaves. Save a few heavy leaves to cover top of rolls. Melt butter and oil in frying pan. Saute onion, add garlic: mix with the lamb, rice, spices and two tablespoons lemon juice. Place one tablespoon of the mix on an edge of the leaf, fold sides and roll. Arrange seam side down in the kettle over the large leaves. Pour tomato paste and water over the rolls. Cover with a heavy inverted dish to keep rolls in place while cooking. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cook slowly for 45 minutes. Taste to see if rice is cooked. Allow to rest 5 minutes. Serve warm with lemon or yogurt dressing. This meal is delicious served with garlic powder or crushed fresh garlic in madzoon (yogurt). During Lent, this dish may be made without meat. Yalanchi sarma filling can be used in the cabbage leaves. For forty days, most Armenians ate no meat, no eggs, no dairy products. However, housewives would make nutritious dishes with grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts and oils. SLAVIC CABBAGE ROLLS 1 large head of cabbage 1/2 lb sausage 1/2 lb ground veal 1/2 lb ground pork 1 large onion 1/2 cup parsley chopped 2 quarts sauerkraut 1 cup River rice 1 large cabbage 1 tsp salt, cayenne to taste 2 cups of water With a sharp knife, cut core out of cabbage. Boil the cabbage in a large kettle. Cool and pull leaves apart. Carefully cut larger stems from leaves. Mix next nine ingredients. Place two tablespoons of mix on cabbage leaf. Wrap, pulling sides together, top, and bottom. Tie with a heavy string, being careful not to tear the cabbage. In a flat oven proof container, layer 1/2 of the sauerkraut. Add wrapped rolls close together. Cover with the other half of the sauerkraut. Add water. Cover. Bake 350 degrees for thirty minutes. Serve warm. Sometimes, the cabbage rolls would be wrapped like the Armenian cabbage. This eliminated tying. Mother enjoyed people and never had trouble making or keeping friends. She sat next to a lady in one of the cooking classes she attended. Though they were of different backgrounds, they discovered that they each made cabbage rolls. They exchanged recipes and our family enjoyed the rolls steamed in sauerkraut. AUNTIE SATENIG KETCHOYIAN'S SHAKERISHE (Sugar cookies) 1 cup clarified butter 1/2 cup crisco 1/2 cup clarified margarine 1 cup powdered sugar 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 3/4 jigger Jack Daniels 1 egg yolk 5 cups sifted cake flour Whip butters until double in size. Add ingredients except flour. Whip. Remove from beater and gradually add flour to the mixture. No need to knead. Make into a ball and press with hand onto the board. Cut as desired. Place on a cookie sheet. At time of baking, place a 9x13 pan of cold water on the lowest rack of the oven preheated to 350 degrees. Bake 15 minutes until bottom is a light pink. "Do not double or hurry this recipe. You must be at peace and quiet with yourself before you begin," Auntie warns. Every bride listens to Auntie Satenig who is, at the age of 95, a careful, successful and generous cook. Many Armenian-American husbands ordered trays made of copper, plated with tin, to fit the measurements of their ovens. The trays were round and made an attractive star when the paklava (another pastry prepared with sheets of dough, butter and walnuts) was cut. Mother's Greek friends made a Christmas Cookie, called Kourabiethes. Their recipe included 1 tsp. baking powder, 2 jiggers of cognac and 1 cup chopped blanched almonds. Using a spatula, they carefully removed the baked cookies and placed them in mounds of confectioners' sugar. For Harry's and my wedding reception, my Godmother, Ovsanna Ketchoyan and Auntie Margaret Garabedian made 500 shakerishe cookies in the shape of hearts for our guests. In the center of each cookie they pressed an almond split in half. ~~~~~~~~~~ Appendix Menu
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