Υπόγεια Ρεύματα @ Kingston Town, Λεμεσός, 07/11/2015

Το ξέρετε πως είναι ένα από τα αγαπημένα μου συγκροτήματα. Αν το ψάξετε στην ετικέτα "Μουσική", θα δείτε ότι με διακατέχει ένας βαθμός ενθουσιασμού όποτε μιλάω, ακούω, διαβάζω, βλέπω τα Υπόγεια Ρεύματα. Και φυσικά δεν μπορούσα να λείψω από το, all-time-classic-από-τα-μαθητικά-μου-χρόνια-ακόμα, Kingston το περασμένο Σάββατο!

Χα! Έτσι, είναι να μην μου θυμήσεις τα παλιά. Τόσα χρόνια μετά... Διαφορετικός χρόνος, διαφορετικός τόπος, διαφορετικά πρόσωπα, ίδιο συναίσθημα....


Κι ας αλλάξανε και διαβήκανε πολλοί, δεν με νοιάζει, δεν πειράζει. Αφού και μόνο οι επιλογές και τα πειράγματα και οι ξένοι στίχοι με την καλμαρίστικη προφορά του Γρηγόρη, αλλά τί εξωπραγματική φωνή! Και η στροφή σε μια απόκοσμη ατμοσφαιρικότητα που ανακατώνει μέσα όλους και όλα και αναμνήσεις και αγάπες και αναπολήσεις και ελπίδες και ανυπόμονους ρυθμούς και θέλω και όχι... Και ναι! Ακόμα ανήσυχοι! Η μεγαλύτερη έκπληξη για μένα ήταν τα ξένα κομμάτια. Από Radiohead, σε ελληνική απόδοση του "Which Side Are You On", μέχρι και το "Loser" του Beck! Χωρίς να ξεχνάμε φυσικά τις ρίζες μας, τον Παύλο Σιδηρόπουλο, Κώστα Καριωτάκη, σε διαστρευλωμένες εκδοχές μόνο με την καλή, υπόγεια, σκοτεινή έννοια. Πέππα είσαι Θεός! Γιατί αν αλλού οι κιθάρες είναι που δίνουν ατμοσφαιρικότητα, εσύ κάνεις αποδεικνύεις το αλλιώς! Και αν και δεν έπαιξε το πριόνι του, το μπάσο του Γιούσεφ ήταν μοναδικό. Και λίγα λέω!

Και τελικά, έφυγαν. Κι ήθελα λίγο παραπάνω, ένα Παιδικό, έναν Όρθρο των Ψυχών, αλλά Δεν Με Νοιάζει, δεν με νοιάζει, δεν πειράζει, δεν πειράζει.... Γιατί ήταν απόλαυση, ένα ηδονικό διάλλειμα στα τετριμμένα της πόλης... Και περιμένω κι άλλα.

Saragli

Another dish I made a dozen times, always with different ingredients, ways and results. Saragli or Sarayli is a traditional Greek sweet, similar to baklava. I've heard it also go by the name "Strifto", "Striftari" and so on. Here's how I did it last time. It  was a big hit!

Ingredients:


1 box of ½ kg phyllo dough, room temperature
½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup margarine
some crashed pistachio nuts for decoration

For the syrup:

1 ½ cups white sugar
¾ cup water
Juice from half a lemon
1 vanilla sachet


For the filling


150 grams of pine nuts, crashed or chopped (do not put it in the blender, it's gonna end up as nut-dust!)
1 tablespoon of brown cane sugar
1 vanilla sachet
Cinnamon to taste
 
Directions:

-1- Make the syrup first! Combine sugar, water, lemon juice and vanilla and bring to boil. Lower the heat to minimum and start stirring the syrup for the next 10 minutes over the fire. Move away from heat while still stirring and leave to cool completely.
-2- Combine butter and margarine and melt together.
-3- Mix the filling ingredients.
-4- Open the dough and take one phyllo at a time. Using a cooking brush, grease a phyllo with the butter mixture and place another phyllo right on top of the greased one. Leave 4-5 cm of empty space on the top and line a small amount of the nut filling along that height of the phyllo. Hold the phyllo above the nut filling and keep loosely rolling the phyllo all the way to the end.
-5- Hold the phyllo roll on your working surface using both hands. Start pressing the roll simultaneously on both edges towards the middle until you get a "pleated" roll of dough. That's the reason you should not roll the phyllo too tight, because it won't pleat enough to get a nice look. Continue combining every 2 phylla after greasing the first, placing a line of filling and rolling and pleating them, until your nut mixture finishes up.
-6- Arrange the "pleated" rolls in a greased round metallic baking tray shaped in a big "swirl". Using a clean sharp knife, cut the rolls into bite-sized pieces.
-7- Bake in a 200 Celsius preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until golden-brown.
-8- As soon as you get the pastry out the oven, pour over it the cooled syrup carefully. Make sure you pour enough syrup on every surface of the pastry. Sprinkle with crashed pistachio nuts and leave to rest overnight. It will absorb most of the syrup, but keep the crusty texture!

Enjoy at room temperature or cooled!

Tips:

-1- I used pine nuts, but traditionally almond or cassius nuts are used. Also, you can combine nuts to your taste!
-2- The phyllo dough is usually sold frozen. Defrost in the fridge the night before and then leave it in room temperature for about 2 hours before using it. It can dry very quickly, so open the package right at the very last minute before greasing it.
-3- The rule is hot pastry with cooled syrup or the other way around. I prefer cooled syrup, 'cause I find it keeps the hot pastry crunchy.
-4- My gas oven has the tendency to burn the downside of everything! What I did was to take out the pastry at half the time and turn it upside-down and bake it till the end of the time. came out looking just as good!

This is not my photo! Sorry I didn't take any pictures, but this is more or less how you are suppose to arrange the phyllo rolls. Don't worry if the rolls don't fully feel your dish, but keep a close eye on it while it's baking.

Photos of your tries and comments are always welcome!

**** 11/11/2015 Update - Here's the one I made last Sunday! Delicious! ****

 

Aubergines, Potatoes and Sausages Bake

Keep making some good dishes lately that I can't seem to succeed them a second time! Soooo..... Introducing a new label under the theme of "Cooking"! And yes! It's gonna be in English.Don't think anyone will mind. After all, I had this blog inactive for the past few years. That doesn't mean I'm not interested in Criminology or what's happening around the world anymore. On the contrary! It's just that my lifestyle has changed a bit lately, for the best so far!

Anyways, back to business! Aubergines, Potatoes and Sausage Bake! A recipe of my own, inspired from a dish my mom makes. Love you mommy!!! (here's the awkward american-ish remark!)

Ingredients:

3 medium sized aubergines (eggplants)
3 medium sized potatoes
2  fresh leek sausages (uncooked, nor smoked)
1 large dry onion
1 large mature tomato 
1 small red sweet pepper (I used the pointy type instead the bell one)
2 cloves of garlic
olive oil
oregano
sea salt and pepper
some granted kaseri cheese or feta

Directions:

-1- Wash the aubergines and slice them into 2 cm thick slices. I like to clean a few long strips from their skin, but don't overdo it, 'cause they are to loose their shape. Sprinkle the slices on both sides with sea salt and let them stand for about an hour. This draws out the bitterness of the aubergines. Wash them again and leave them to dry in a strainer.
-2- Skin the potatoes, wash and slice them into 2 cm thick slices. Clean and slice the onion into thinner slices. Slice the sausages into thicker slices, 4-5 cm thick.
-3- Cut the garlic into tiny pieces, don't smash it! Cut the red pepper into square pieces too. 
-4- Grease the potato and aubergine slices on both sides with olice oil.
-5- Place the aubergine, potato, onion and sausage slices standing side to side in an olive oil greased ovenproof baking dish. Sprinkle them with the pieces of pepper and garlic, add lots and lots of oregano, salt and pepper to the taste and pour the dish all over with the tomato, which you have grated. Add some water, so the liquids are up to 1/3 of your dish.
-6- Cover and bake in a preheated oven of 190 Celsius for 50-60 minutes.
-7- When the vegetables are fully cooked, uncover and bake for another 5 minutes. Then add the grated cheese, or chunks of feta and bake for another 5 minutes.

Enjoy warm!

Tips:

-1- Add any other vegetable you might have left in your fridge! Just keep in mind that the size of the slice effects the time of cooking.
-2- Sausages can be replaced with pieces of meat. Next time, I'm planning to try this with chicken or pork!
-3- Don't go stingy with oregano! You will regret it!

This is not my photo! Sorry I didn't take any pictures, but this is more or less how you are suppose to arrange your dish.

Photos of your tries and comments are always welcome!