hi my name pat  and i wish to say congrats

Hi team,

sorry to be gone for some weeks, had my share of 'puter problems :-( but all seems to be well now.

Here's my nomination for this week.

1. Sam Sunday 

2. Dimitra Bravou

3. Jill B

4. Steven Suchar

5. Georgios Paraskevopulos

6. Dennis T

7. Jayson VanBeekom

Good luck to all nominees

Pauline

                     Dimitra              Steven

                                  



Ok, that was a break for some laugh!

Well, how about a different Greek dessert ?





For the Ancient Greeks and the Byzantines, today’s pasteli was known as "sesamus" or "sesamites". This sweet is mentioned by Athenaeus as being a sweet "from honey and sesame". However, the word "pastellos", "pastillos" or "pastelli", which crops up in Byzantine texts, is not related to the pasteli we are familiar with but is a name for must jelly. "Sesamus" was the sweet offered to a bride following the wedding ceremony, as honey and sesame were symbols of fertility.

Many centuries later, as noted by Adamantios Korais, "sesamus" became the Turkish "susam-halvas". From Kythnos to Andros and from Sinope in Pontus to Cyprus, pasteli – apart from its main ingredients, that is, honey and sesame – usually also contains almonds or walnuts. Even today on a number of islands, it is served on the leaves of the bitter orange tree, a custom dating back to Byzantine times.

These days, pasteli is known as "melekouni" on Rhodes whereas on Karpathos and in other areas it is called "sesamomeli" (i.e., sesame-honey), and is prepared on all festive occasions. However, it holds a special place at weddings, just as it did centuries ago. On Rhodes, it’s mainly used to accompany the wedding invitations. Even today, it is still served in woven baskets on the day the bride-to-be prepares the bridal bed, as well as on the day of the ceremony, following the nuptuals. The same custom is observed on Siphnos where it is offered along with the bonbonieri.


Visit Greek Islands and taste it!!!


Dimitra

Welcome, Pat Cangro!

I just sent you a friendship invitation!

Thank you, Dimitra!

My favorite daily afternoon show "Guiding Light" has had many Greek-heritage characters and actors/actresses, they had a restaurant that specialized in Greek food as part of the show...now I found out this show is being cancelled in September after being on for decades!!  Here are photos of some Greeks from "Guiding Light"

MELINA KANAKEREDES (now she's on CSI New York)

                  

FRANK DICOPOULOS (his character was married to Melina's character in the 1990's, Frank is STILL on GUIDING LIGHT for 20 years now)