last night i was up until 1:30 i was tired but i was still rolling dolmas at midnight. luckily the olympics were on so i worked and listened, ran over to watch when it got exciting. exciting is like the beach volley ball. it was a little dicey.

anyway, here is how to make greek 'dolmas'

you pluck a few pounds of large fresh grapeleaves. i let them soak in cold water for days hoping to soften them.



wash leaves in coldwater, boil for three minutes. in half a cup of olive oil saute' the onions.



fresh herbs make a big difference in the flavor. i used pine nuts (pinon) and currants also.

throw in the ingredients: mint and dill, black pepper, salt,pinon, currants and a nice basmati rice (1cup)


simmer for five minutes (rice will cook later in the rolled up leaves. don't roll them too tight because the rice expands.

a heaping teaspoon is about right. if the leaf is smaller or bigger put less or more.

roll 'em up. perpendicular to the longest diameter as in the picture.


layer the bottom of frying pan with leaves



pour a half cup of olive oil and the juice of about six small lemons.




add a cup and a half of hot water.



cover and simmer for at least an hour. low heat. not too low. simmering.

i ate these hot but they are normally served cold. i was starving by 1:00 a.m.. i think they're even tastier hot.



this takes a long time, but i made enough to freeze half of them. the rest will last many days. serve with other condiments like this sourcream garlic dill cucumber sauce. i think it's called 'tzadziki'.

for lunch today i made this lovely snack with the balancing sweets of cream cheese and guava jelly.

yes, that's 'passion fruit' and a slice of apple.