Skorda's Seaside Taverna: Let's Make Spanakopita!

Skopelos and Virgin

-by Skorda

Swallow that campari moon
when first you see it
across the water,
rising round and new above the mountain.
Open your mouth and swallow
while youth holds its roundness near,
and you are running fearless in the dark.
Hold it inside, it is still warm
and you will need its light,
there, inside you.

Down the road of time, somewhere
after you’ve aged, traveled,
Explored, discovered.
And the dust around your doorway
has been pounded hard and smooth under your feet.
When you find yourself growing weary and bored,
when your eyes see only ruins,
and your heart is empty.
You may believe, in your exhaustion,
that this is truth, at last.
That the mystery has unraveled,
leaving no wilderness to explore or tame.
All secrets have been shared,
the frontier has dissolved.
Know then, with these thoughts,
you have been swallowed.

The warm belly of the beast
comforts with confining darkness
and lulls with rhythmic sounds
Murmuring to you,
Curl up and sleep,
just go to sleep.

Shake your head,
stretch your legs,
do not sleep now.

Remember what you know.
You swallowed the moon,
you hold it inside you.
Not as a magpie hoarding shiny things,
or wearing the moon for beauty
or bartering the moon for wealth.
You swallowed the moon for this moment.
When you will walk to the water’s edge,
open your mouth, release the moon
and let its light build you a pathway
across the wine dark sea.
©Skorda 2008

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Let's Make Spanakopita!

If you are going to go through the trouble and time to make this delicious dish, why not MAKE LOTS!! Spanakopita freezes beautifully. If you prefer, you may choose to make one large pie, using a rectangular pan. I am going to give instructions for making small, triangular pitas, as I find these just the perfect portion to serve for party appetizers, light lunch or an afternoon snack. If you freeze them on a cookie sheet you can then transfer them to plastic bags and keep them in the freezer for an easy
I am NOT making homemade phyllo! Maybe some other time!
This is a flexible recipe, use ingredients that suit your own taste!

Ingredients:
-Spinach- 2 pounds fresh or 2 packages frozen chopped
-Scallions about 10, finely chopped
(you may use 2 finely chopped onions)
- Feta Cheese, 1- 1 1/2lb.
(you may supplement the feta with pot cheese, cottage cheese, or even ricotta if you wish)
-Garlic- 2 or 3 cloves, minced (I like garlic, but you may omit)
-Dill, one bunch, chopped chopped if you wish, or to taste.
- Parsley, flat leaf.One bunch chopped.
-Eggs, 4 or 5, beaten (sometimes I use only 3 and it still comes out great)
-Butter- at least 2 sticks! Melted.
-Olive oil-at least 1 cup, depends on whether you use all butter or a mixture of butter and olive oil between the layers of phyllo!
- Bread crumbs, 1/4 cup, optional (I usually do not add these)

Procedure:
-Lightly steam spinach if using fresh. Cut off any tough stems, chop, then squeeze out all moisture. If using frozen, defrost and squeeze dry.
- Mix with scallions, herbs, garlic, eggs and crumbled feta (and other cheese if using
-Add a glug of olive oil to mixture and stir it all together.
Lay out one leaf of phyllo and brush with melted butter or a combination of butter and olive oil. Repeat. You may use either two or three layers, depending on how flaky you like your pastry. (If you are NOT making triangular pitas you will want to use 5 or 6 layers of phyllo).
- Cut the phyllo lengthwise into strips about 2 inches wide. Cover all but one strip with a slightly damp cloth so that it stays moist.
-Drop about 2 T spinach mixture onto the phyllo strip and then begin folding, as you would fold up a flag. Make a triangle then fold, fold, fold until you have a little triangilar bundle.
Brush with butter or butter oil mixture.
Place on cookie sheet and cover with clean, damp cloth while you continue making pastries.
Bake in 350 degree oven. Check after 15 minutes, they may take another 5 or ten miutes to bcome golden brown. If you are going to be freezing these you will want to remove them from the oven while they are slightly underdone , so they will not overcook when you reheat them! Cool and enjoy!