Racine is
situated on the shores of Lake Michigan, the south-east corner of Wisconsin.
Racine has become home for Armenians fleeing the Ottoman massacres at the
beginning of nineteen hundredths. They
were refugees mostly
from Tomarza and Kharpert.
American Mid-west has become a
settling place for Armenian men because of its industrial facilities.
They
first settled in big cities like Detroit and Chicago, but later preferred small
towns such as Racine where they could support each other while working in
factories and foundaries. The intentions of these young Armenians were to make
enough money and return home to their families. But the massacres that were
continuing in their homeland forced them to stay in Racine and tried to start a
new life. There were a lot of displaced Armenians all over the world and
orphanages were full of children. The relatives of the Racine Armenians
arranged marriages from the old country. They wanted to marry women who
have the same backgrounds. Young girls came to Racine arranged through correspondence . Thus the Racine Armenian
community grew and prospered. “God Bless
America” had a special meaning for them. It symbolized “ Salvation and Protection”. They worked,
entertained and prayed together keeping the Armenian language and the religion
alive. They could only depend on each other since most had no relatives left.
They made huge sacrifices at the beginning and had successful married lives.
I gathered all
this information from the cookbook “Cooking Like My Mother”. This book was
published in Racine through the efforts of St. Hagop Armenian Apostolic Church
in 2001. The significance of the book is the printing of the biographies of the
women along with the recipes they provided from the various cities of Ancient
Armenia. Lucille, who edits my articles translated into English, provided the
book for me. I learned a lot about the Armenians of Racine and decided to share some of this information with
you.
“My Mother’s
Apron”
Your mother is
the most important person in your life when you are young. Those are precious
years... Your mother does all the thinking for you while you play carefree with
your friends . I am sure all of you
remember your mother’s apron no matter how many years have passed since that
day... How can you have missed the aroma
coming from your mother’s kitchen when you returned home from school. Didn’t
your mother cook all the time? How about the special dishes made for special
occasions? How can you not remember the long days of preparations? Bread,
baklava, beorek...Do you not recall the sound of the rolling pin while
preparing the dough? Didn’t she make dishes that your father, your brother or
you were fond of?
I wish I could
have translated every single word in the book, but I will end my article by
giving you a recipe that can be made at all times. It is called “Kurtempurt” which is made with
fresh grape leaves and bulgur and is famous in the Kayseri region. It was easily made by all women when
unexpected guests arrived. They will gather the grape leaves from the vineyards
where they lived close by in the summer, with bulgur and lentils which were
always available at home. And the dish was made in no time .Lawyer Ismail Evci
who is the author of “Kayserili Cook Book” has called this dish “surprise
food”. The following recipe combines the instructions of two women, Gulizar
Asdigian and Serpouhi Boranian.
2 cups of
diced fresh grape leaves
300 gr.
minced lamb
3 white
onions
½ cup lentils
½ cup coarse
bulgur
1 white onion
Salt and pepper
to taste
Butter
Trim the
stems from the grape leaves and dice them. Stir the minced lamb with 3 diced
onions until the meat changes its color and the onions are translucent. Add the
grape leaves and some water and cook until
the leaves are tender.
Cook the
lentils separately and add to the pot with the meat and leaves. Add some more
water and the bulgur. Adjust the seasoning. Simmer until all the water is
absorbed by the bulgur.
Slice another
onion and fry lightly in butter and add
over the bulgur Stir all and
serve.
You can also
use dried grape leaves or ones soaked in brine. During winter months you can
also add pasturma.