Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska on SKAI with Recipe for Tsoureki – Greek Easter Bread (Τσουρέκι)


Καλώς ορίσετε στο Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska!

Welcome to Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska!

SKAI, the Greek television and radio station, recently ran three articles by Lamprini Thoma about my efforts to cook Greek and Mediterranean food in Alaska and about Holy Transfiguration, Alaska’s only Greek Orthodox Church. Unfortunately, the articles no longer appear on SKAI’s website.

One article described how I wrote the cookbook Tastes Like Home: Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska to help raise money for a new church building. This effort is very important because our church holds services in a converted house that is way too small for our parish. All proceeds from the sale of the cookbook go directly into Holy Transfiguration’s building fund. Many thanks to Lamprini Thoma for highlighting Holy Transfiguration’s efforts to raise money.

Another article had my recipe for Tsoureki (Greek Easter Bread), made using ingredients readily available in Alaska. Although we make the bread for Easter, it’s delicious any time of the year.

Tsoureki (Greek Easter Bread)Alaskan Tsoureki
Makes 2 loaves
Like classic Tsoureki, Alaskan Tsoureki is rich with butter and light with eggs. However, maxlepi and mastixa, the flavors of classic Tsoureki, aren’t available in Alaska. Instead, we create special spice mixes that give wonderful flavor to our Tsoureki. When Alaskan Tsoureki is in the oven, the entire house fills with the wonderful aroma of sweet spices.


Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska has moved as of March 2011. To read this post please go to


http://www.laurieconstantino.com/skai-tv-features-mediterranean-cooking-in-alaska/


Please click on over and visit my new site. Thank you!


18 comments:

Elly said...

Oh tsoureki how I love thee :) Yours looks fantastic! I was hoping to make some before Easter myself but I never got around to it. Maybe you could send me a slice?

Maria Verivaki said...

congratulations on all the SKAI articles laurie - you've put alaska on the map for many greeks in greece!

michalis said...

I read the article on skai website.. Bravo! Keep up!

Peter M said...

Laurie, I echo my same enthusiastic sentiments I shared with your privately. Bravo and your writing deserves this recognition.

PS. Don't be shy about getting any Greek ingredient from Toronto next time!

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

Congratulations on your articles -- what a wonderful recognition of the work you're doing! PS -- your tsoureki looks so inviting, too.

Gretchen Noelle said...

Congrats on the news about your Greek cooking there in Alaska. That is great!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful articles. Wonderful efforts for your church. Delicious-looking tsoureki.

Best,
Paz

Anonymous said...

You know, I had to control myself not to send you a huge pack of mahlepi and masticha.:-)

I really am glad that you and Peter are friends, too and, Laurie, thank you for all your wonderful posts!

Kali Anastasi ke Kali Patrida!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Congratulations Laurie on all your accolades and recognition. Good for you:D We will look forward to many more great recipes and your rising star:D

Joanne said...

Congratulations Laurie - That is great news about receiving Greek recognition with your cookbook and all your efforts in fundraising going towards building the local Greek church in Alaska!!!

I recently showed my mother your website and she was very impressed. She said you were a smart woman for talking about Greek food (ha ha) on the Internet. She is 70 years old and doesn't know much about the Internet world but she sure got an eyeful when I showed her the picture of your Alaskan King crab! Also, she's getting ready for her trip to Greece next month and is already looking forward to eating some fresh fish on the island.

Keep up the great work and if you ever need any 'mastiha' or 'mahlepi' - Toronto has many, many Greek bakeries and markets that sell it. I'm just an email away!!

Kali Anastasi !!

winedeb said...

Congrats Laurie! I just saw the news on Peter's site! You guys deserve the recognition!
Happy Easter to you and your family Laurie!

Cakelaw said...

Hi Laurie, Congratulations for appearing in print - and in Greek! Your bread looks super - enjoy it when you can finally eat it.

Anonymous said...

Laurie I just wanted to wish you congratulations on your recent "exposure" on Sky. Very well deserved.

The tsourekia are wonderful. I too had difficulties with sourcing a few ingredients but did my best. All the best for Easter.

Mike of Mike's Table said...

That looks excellent--between you, Peter, and the other Greek food bloggers in my reading list, I am dying to go to Greece one of these days. Congrats on the articles--you deserve the recognition!

Laurie Constantino said...

Elly, I'd be happy to send you some!

Maria, I'll tell you some time about the radio interview I got sucked into one day on the island all about Alaska - it was wild!

Michalis, thank you and thanks for visiting!

Oh, Peter, what a generous offer - thank you so much. I loved the SKAI articles about you - they were wonderful.

Lydia, thank you!

Gretchen, it was a nice surprise when Lamprini from SKAI emailed me.

Thank you Paz!

Lamprini, you are wonderfully generous and thank you so very much for helping to make known the efforts of Holy Transfiguration. The articles turned out really well - I love the ones about Peter, who is another of the world's nicest people.

Val, I hope I can live up to your expectations - :-D!

Bijoux, thank you - if it helps raise money for the church, that is the most important thing to me. Funny about your mom - of course, if I'm cooking Greek food I must be smart! Too bad you can't join your mom on the island. Thank you very much for the kind offer on mastixa/maxlepi; it's very thoughtful of you. Χριστός Ανέστη!

Winedeb, thank you and Happy Easter!

Peter G, thank you - I hope you didn't eat too much today (Easter) - I know I did!

Mike, you should definitely go to Greece, it is a wonderful country to visit and, of course, the food is amazing. You'll be an honorary Greek before you know it!

Ivy said...

Laurie, Congratulations on the recognition of your efforts by Skai. You do a great job writing lovely recipes. Sorry I did not visit earlier but I was away for a couple of days.

Anonymous said...

Laurie Χριστός Ανέστη! Well done, the article was fab and the tsoureki looks yummy.

Laurie Constantino said...

Thank you Ivy! I'm glad you're back and hope you had a great time away!

FJ, Αληθώς Ανέστη! Since you're such a wonderful baker, I'm glad to hear you approve of my tsoureki!