Loukoumathes

Every June, I look forward to volunteering at the Greek Food Fair. I enjoy seeing all the people from the church, and I especially love preparing and serving the food. My family has always helped out at the loukoumathes stand. Louka-what, you ask? If you are not Greek, this word is a mouthful, literally. Loukoumathes (luke-uh-ma-thes) comes from the Turkish word lokma meaning "morsel" or "mouthful." My Yia Yia refers to them as honey balls--deep-fried dough balls soaked in a sugar syrup and sprinkled with cinnamon.

The food fair goes for 4 days, and the dough for the louks is made fresh everyday. It rises for 30 minutes to one hour before it is spooned into the hot oil.

This church is one of the few churches in the area that still spoons its louks by hand (instead of machine), a technique that I can honestly say is very difficult to master. (Any time I try, my louks end up looking like ugly blobs rather than round puffs of dough.)

The dough must be fried to a golden brown color, so that the louks are crisp on the outside and soft and pillowy on the inside.

After the loukoumathes are cooked they are soaked in a sugar syrup immediately before serving.

Then they are lightly dusted with cinnamon.

Eat them while they are hot because loukoumathes just aren't the same eaten cold!

Finally, no Greek food festival would be complete without traditional music and dancing.

I urge you to find the nearest Greek food fair to you and grab an order of loukoumathes. Don't worry if you can't pronounce the word correctly...just ask for an order of honey balls...we know what you mean:-) But, watch out...these things are seriously addictive.

One final word...no forks allowed. You should definitely eat these with your fingers. They will taste that much better.

Chocolate Sorbet

It's hard to believe that my first post involves chocolate. You see, I'm actually not that big of a chocolate lover. I know, I know...you're in shock. Don't get me wrong I like chocolate here and there, but quite honestly it's not my favorite flavor.

So, why the chocolate sorbet? Well my youngest brother happens to love chocolate and ice cream, so I'd thought he'd enjoy this treat. Dan reported that it was good, but a little too chocolate-intense for his liking.

I took a little lick and my reaction was that it is comparable to a gourmet fudgesicle. I think this recipe would be great in popsicle-form. Just a suggestion...

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About Hugs and Besos

Hi, I’m Nicole! Welcome to Hugs & Besos! From the pictures, you can probably tell that the kitchen has been my hangout spot since I was little. I’m Greek, so I guess the whole love of food thing is in my blood. One of the first things that I remember baking was Christmas cookies. My mom would always let me fill the pecan tassies with the brown sugar mixture. I think I ate more than I filled :-) I also recall making homemade pizza. My dad used to give my brothers and me extra dough to push out on the counter and top with sauce and cheese. Yum! My mom was (and is) great because she let me use the kitchen as long as I cleaned up after myself—pretty sweet tradeoff in my opinion. I frequently asked for baking items for my birthday and Christmas—a rolling pin, a candy thermometer, some mini bundt pans, a dough scraper, and cookbooks galore! A big thanks to my family for putting up with these quirky requests. CONFESSION: In college, I would often escape to the library, to read cookbooks. Kind of crazy, I know…but definitely worth it. I am really a Spanish teacher by day and a baker by night, weekend, and summer. I just finished my first year of teaching after coming back from an ETA Fulbright in Mexico. Very exciting! For me baking is my way to say, “Thanks! You’re the Best! and I love you!” Thus, my blog is called Hugs & Besos (besos means kisses in Spanish). I hope you enjoy all of the baked treats here. Don’t be shy. I would love to hear from you! XOXOXO, Nicole