Monday, August 31, 2020

Bunny Rabbit Hides in a Front Yard on Maple Avenue


                                                          Photo by Marash Girl  -  2020

Sunday, August 30, 2020

Crossing your legs in church?

Crossing your legs in church?  That's a no-no that young Marash Girl learned years ago when she visited the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral in Paris, France.

Young Marash Girl was sitting in a pew a ways back from the altar, entranced by the service and the music, when all of a sudden she felt a slap across her knee.  She looked up to see an old Armenian woman, all dressed in black,  shaking her head and shaking her finger at Marash Girl, pointing to the crossed leg.  

"Whoops," thought young Marash Girl, and never again has Marash Girl crossed her legs in church.  She can still feel the sting of that slap! 

Saturday, August 29, 2020

Praying for the Healing of Jacob Blake



Marash Boy holds up the hawk's feather he found yesterday on the lawn of the 
Newton Presbyterian Church.

In the tradition of the Native Americans from Sturbridge, Massachusetts, Marash Boy and Marash Girl herewith pray for healing for Jacob Blake.

Friday, August 28, 2020

THREE EGGPLANT RECIPES, THREE GENERATIONS!


3 Eggplant Recipes, 3 Generations

Last Friday when I picked up my farm box downtown, the Hadley farmer gifted me a large round eggplant on top of my full box of local veggies. My mother shared eggplant recipes from her mother, with my siblings and I. Here are the three recipes, in my mother's words. I made the first one. It is delicious and a great hangover cure too, nice and fatty and salty, but not too heavy.

Fried Eggplant with Egg
Wash the eggplant chop off the stem. Sliced Into thin Round slices. Dip both sides into a dish that has beaten egg in it. Put into hot oil fry for a minute on one side and then flip and fry on the other side. Serve immediately with salt and fresh sliced tomatoes

Eggplant Salad
Another grandma recipe: broil the egg plant until it is soft and squishy inside. Remove carefully from oven. When slightly cold cut the egg plant in half and remove the flesh from the skin. Mash with a fork. Add chopped fresh tomatoes and chopped fresh scallions. Served cold as a salad. Add salt and pepper and red pepper to taste before serving

Eggplant Dolma
You can also make dolma by picking baby egg plants chopping the stem off and digging out carefully the energies leaving the thin out a thin outer shell. Then continue as you would when you make Dolma.

THANK YOU,  KAROUN, FOR THE PHOTO AND THE RECIPES!!!

Thursday, August 27, 2020

Scraping the Bowl!

 Visiting cousins in Troy, New York, Marash Girl sat with her auntie and her cousin while her auntie prepared a special cake for the family.  Removing the cake batter from the mixing bowl, and placing the batter into the oiled cake pan, her auntie continued to scrape the bowl until every drop of cake batter had been removed from the mixing bowl and was in the cake pan.  Auntie's daughter began to rant:  "How cheap can you be?  You have to scrape every bit of batter out of the bowl?"  Auntie did not answer her daughter.  Auntie knew better.  Auntie's daughter had never been hungry, had not survived a genocide, and had no appreciation for her mother, nor for the ageless advice:  "Waste not, want not."  Auntie was wise enough not to say a word.  She simply placed the cake pan filled with batter into the preheated oven, and began to clean up the kitchen, 45 minutes later serving the cake, just out of the oven, to her guests.

Marash Girl thinks of that incident every time she prepares batter for a cake, muffins, pancakes, or scones.  Hopefully, by now, that Troy cousin has learned to respect her elders, and to "Waste Not!"

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Love your neighbor!

                                Marash Girl's dad used to always love to give sayings a twist.  

                                        Here's one he would jokingly advise to his pals!

                                        "Love your neighbor, but leave his wife alone!"

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Social Distancing in the 21st Century!

                              Were Marash Girl's father still living, he would comment, 

                                    "Six feet apart is a lot better than six feet under!" 

Monday, August 24, 2020

Family Gathering Ten Feet Away From Marash Girl and Marash Boy (Who Were Sitting On The Front Porch)!

                                      

  L. to R.  Nisha, Aline, Raffi, Lorig, John, Jack 

l. to r.  John Simmons, Jack Simmons, Lorig Charkoudian, Nisha Charkoudian (on stairs), Aline Charkoudian-Rogers (on chair), Raffi Charkoudian-Rogers.  On porch are Ama and Baba.  
So who took this photo?????

Sunday, August 23, 2020

Del. Lorig Charkoudian: A Just Recovery for Maryland

 

Home  Commentary  Del. Lorig Charkoudian: A Just Recovery for Md. — COVID, Climate and...

Del. Lorig Charkoudian: A Just Recovery for Md. — COVID, Climate and the Economy

Del. Lorig Charkoudian (D-Montgomery)

The COVID-19-created recession we find ourselves in is also affecting Marylanders of color in disproportionate ways, including significantly higher unemployment. Many of the one of every six working Marylanders who 

The deadly pandemic, climate catastrophe and growing economic recession have starkly and tragically laid bare our societal vulnerabilities and racial disparities. Our nation and the state of Maryland have already endured staggering suffering and losses.

As we move forward, there are actions we can take to put our state on the road to a just recovery — both immediately and as part of a long-term strategy that addresses all three of these interrelated challenges.

What does COVID-19 have to do with climate change? The same fossil fuels accelerating the climate crisis — coal, gasoline and fracked gas — are making the coronavirus much deadlier. Harvard researchers found that air pollution increases coronavirus mortality in the United States.

Scientists also believe it is the reason why Northern Italy’s COVID-19 death rate reached nearly 12% while the rest of the country’s was 4.5%. A German research team says long-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide primarily from fossil fuel combustion in cars and power plants is “one of the most important contributors” to coronavirus deaths in Spain, Italy, France and Germany.

That’s sobering news, as death from air pollution itself was already on the rise in the U.S. and disproportionately affecting communities of color. In Maryland, we see racial disparities both in air pollution exposure and in COVID-19 deaths. There’s likely a large overlap between the thousands of Marylanders dying of COVID-19 and those who have been more exposed to pollutants caused by fossil fuels.

Of course, the effects of climate change in Maryland and the damage to our economy were being felt even before this pandemic.

Sometimes this happens quickly and catastrophically such as with hurricanes and extreme flash flooding in Ellicott City“Sunny day” flooding is now commonplace in historic Annapolis and downtown Baltimore and is expected to become more frequent. Saltwater intrusion is negatively impacting prime agricultural land on the Eastern Shore, further threatening our ability to build a sustainable local food system and causing additional pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. And the extreme heat and associated health risks that come with it are also disproportionately felt in poorer urban communities, which are also predominantly communities of color.

Del. Lorig Charkoudian (D-Montgomery)

The COVID-19-created recession we find ourselves in is also affecting Marylanders of color in disproportionate ways, including significantly higher unemployment. Many of the one of every six working Marylanders who have filed for unemployment will return to their old careers after the economy fully re-opens. But many won’t, with their vulnerability increasing the longer the pandemic lasts.

We find ourselves at a critical juncture. The steps we take now will determine if we can shift away from this unsustainable and imperiling path to a healthier and more just future.

Here are some ideas for both immediate and more long-term action:

Energy Efficiency: One of the most job-intensive ways to reduce climate pollution is increasing energy efficiency. Thanks to groups like the Green and Healthy Home Initiative, weatherization and other efficiency upgrades that reduce electricity consumption and improve indoor air quality, are helping families struggling with asthma. The General Assembly set aside an additional $6.5 million in funding for low-income energy efficiency in the 2020 session.

However, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has so far failed to release these funds. He should release these funds immediately as a simple step toward lowering electricity bills, improving health and creating good jobs.

Transportation: Huge reductions in car travel have given us the clearest skies many of us can remember. That comes as no surprise since on-road gasoline is the largest climate polluter in the state. Nonetheless, the governor is still pushing to spend billions of dollars to widen I-270 and 495. We must shift away from a future of ever-widening roads and highways to accommodate more and more fossil fuel-burning cars and trucks. Public transit provides a big job creation opportunity — for every billion dollars spent on transit, 50,000 jobs are created — in addition to connecting people to all kinds of jobs.

But the Hogan administration continues to underfund public transit — to the tune of $2 billion over 10 years — leaving much of our bus and rail system woefully inadequate and in a state of disrepair. At a minimum, the governor must fully fund the forthcoming Maryland Transit Administration regional transit plan to be released in October.

Solar: Right now, there are more than 50 large solar projects under development in Maryland, but as a result of needless foot-dragging by the state’s Power Plant Research Program (within the Department of Natural Resources), many of these projects will face delays in permitting. Gov. Hogan should ensure that these projects move through the state permitting process without delay. This could unlock an estimated 3,000 good-paying jobs at no cost to the state.

Offshore wind: Similarly, Maryland’s emerging offshore wind sector, which has the capacity to generate clean renewable energy and cut air pollution from dirty power plants, has been threatened by delays and harmful policies by the Trump administration’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, putting potentially as much as a third of Maryland’s future offshore wind in jeopardy.

My legislative colleagues and I have asked the Public Service Commission to adjust the offshore wind application process to work around the issue, but so far the PSC has balked. The change could help create as many as 2,000 additional jobs without costing the state a dime.

When my colleagues and I return to the legislative session, we will have many pressing needs to address. We will also have an unprecedented opportunity to prioritize a just recovery framework. Creative statutory changes, as well as strategic investment of federal stimulus funds will allow for equitable growth in public transit; energy efficiency; solar, wind, geothermal and storage; grid upgrades; and compost and recycling systems.

We will need to proceed with utmost urgency to accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy, creating green jobs with family-sustaining wages, reducing climate risks, cleaning our air and improving the public health, especially in our communities that — because of systemic racism and injustice — have been hardest hit by COVID-19, climate change and the economic downturn.

By taking determined actions today toward our long-term future, all Marylanders should be able to breathe easier.

— DEL. LORIG CHARKOUDIAN

The writer, a Democrat, represents Montgomery County’s District 20 in the Maryland General Assembly. She can be reached at lorig.charkoudian@house.state.md.us.

Emily Dickinson Visits Newton Corner's Grace Episcopal Church


Saturday, August 22, 2020

Remembering the Little Red Store

 One of the wonderful memories of childhood is walking up to the Little Red Store.  Marash Girl's house on Lowell Avenue was far from shops:  a block from a wooded area with a spring at the base of the hill, and over a mile to Newtonville Square.  But going south on Lowell Avenue, we could walk to the little red store (if we had parents accompanying us, because, in order to get there, we had to cross busy Commonwealth Avenue).  As Marash Girl remembers this little store, it was a variety store that offered adults basic grocery needs such as milk and bread . . . and kids their basic needs -- popsicles!!!  Marash Girl loved it when her mom would walk with her and her brother and sister up Lowell Avenue, to Commonwealth Avenue (where the rich folks lived), across Commonwealth Avenue, past the Newton City Hall, to the little red store.  It wasn't there long, but it still lives on in Marash Girl's memory.  Thank you, Little Red Store, for the treats that you always had awaiting us kids!!!!

Friday, August 21, 2020

Del. Lorig Charkoudian: A Just Recovery for Md. — COVID, Climate and the Economy

The deadly pandemic, climate catastrophe and growing economic recession have starkly and tragically laid bare our societal vulnerabilities and racial disparities. Our nation and the state of Maryland have already endured staggering suffering and losses.

As we move forward, there are actions we can take to put our state on the road to a just recovery — both immediately and as part of a long-term strategy that addresses all three of these interrelated challenges.

What does COVID-19 have to do with climate change? The same fossil fuels accelerating the climate crisis — coal, gasoline and fracked gas — are making the coronavirus much deadlier. Harvard researchers found that air pollution increases coronavirus mortality in the United States.

Scientists also believe it is the reason why Northern Italy’s COVID-19 death rate reached nearly 12% while the rest of the country’s was 4.5%. A German research team says long-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide primarily from fossil fuel combustion in cars and power plants is “one of the most important contributors” to coronavirus deaths in Spain, Italy, France and Germany.

That’s sobering news, as death from air pollution itself was already on the rise in the U.S. and disproportionately affecting communities of color. In Maryland, we see racial disparities both in air pollution exposure and in COVID-19 deaths. There’s likely a large overlap between the thousands of Marylanders dying of COVID-19 and those who have been more exposed to pollutants caused by fossil fuels.

Of course, the effects of climate change in Maryland and the damage to our economy were being felt even before this pandemic.

Sometimes this happens quickly and catastrophically such as with hurricanes and extreme flash flooding in Ellicott City“Sunny day” flooding is now commonplace in historic Annapolis and downtown Baltimore and is expected to become more frequent. Saltwater intrusion is negatively impacting prime agricultural land on the Eastern Shore, further threatening our ability to build a sustainable local food system and causing additional pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. And the extreme heat and associated health risks that come with it are also disproportionately felt in poorer urban communities, which are also predominantly communities of color.


Del. Lorig Charkoudian (D-Montgomery)

The COVID-19-created recession we find ourselves in is also affecting Marylanders of color in disproportionate ways, including significantly higher unemployment. Many of the one of every six working Marylanders who have filed for unemployment will return to their old careers after the economy fully re-opens. But many won’t, with their vulnerability increasing the longer the pandemic lasts.

We find ourselves at a critical juncture. The steps we take now will determine if we can shift away from this unsustainable and imperiling path to a healthier and more just future.

Here are some ideas for both immediate and more long-term action:

Energy Efficiency: One of the most job-intensive ways to reduce climate pollution is increasing energy efficiency. Thanks to groups like the Green and Healthy Home Initiative, weatherization and other efficiency upgrades that reduce electricity consumption and improve indoor air quality, are helping families struggling with asthma. The General Assembly set aside an additional $6.5 million in funding for low-income energy efficiency in the 2020 session.

However, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has so far failed to release these funds. He should release these funds immediately as a simple step toward lowering electricity bills, improving health and creating good jobs.

Transportation: Huge reductions in car travel have given us the clearest skies many of us can remember. That comes as no surprise since on-road gasoline is the largest climate polluter in the state. Nonetheless, the governor is still pushing to spend billions of dollars to widen I-270 and 495. We must shift away from a future of ever-widening roads and highways to accommodate more and more fossil fuel-burning cars and trucks. Public transit provides a big job creation opportunity — for every billion dollars spent on transit, 50,000 jobs are created — in addition to connecting people to all kinds of jobs.

But the Hogan administration continues to underfund public transit — to the tune of $2 billion over 10 years — leaving much of our bus and rail system woefully inadequate and in a state of disrepair. At a minimum, the governor must fully fund the forthcoming Maryland Transit Administration regional transit plan to be released in October.

Solar: Right now, there are more than 50 large solar projects under development in Maryland, but as a result of needless foot-dragging by the state’s Power Plant Research Program (within the Department of Natural Resources), many of these projects will face delays in permitting. Gov. Hogan should ensure that these projects move through the state permitting process without delay. This could unlock an estimated 3,000 good-paying jobs at no cost to the state.

Offshore wind: Similarly, Maryland’s emerging offshore wind sector, which has the capacity to generate clean renewable energy and cut air pollution from dirty power plants, has been threatened by delays and harmful policies by the Trump administration’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, putting potentially as much as a third of Maryland’s future offshore wind in jeopardy.

My legislative colleagues and I have asked the Public Service Commission to adjust the offshore wind application process to work around the issue, but so far the PSC has balked. The change could help create as many as 2,000 additional jobs without costing the state a dime.

When my colleagues and I return to the legislative session, we will have many pressing needs to address. We will also have an unprecedented opportunity to prioritize a just recovery framework. Creative statutory changes, as well as strategic investment of federal stimulus funds will allow for equitable growth in public transit; energy efficiency; solar, wind, geothermal and storage; grid upgrades; and compost and recycling systems.

We will need to proceed with utmost urgency to accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy, creating green jobs with family-sustaining wages, reducing climate risks, cleaning our air and improving the public health, especially in our communities that — because of systemic racism and injustice — have been hardest hit by COVID-19, climate change and the economic downturn.

By taking determined actions today toward our long-term future, all Marylanders should be able to breathe easier.

— DEL. LORIG CHARKOUDIAN

The writer, a Democrat, represents Montgomery County’s District 20 in the Maryland General Assembly. She can be reached at lorig.charkoudian@house.state.md.us.

Thursday, August 20, 2020

An Italian Plum Tree in an Armenian Back Yard

 Dwight Rideout, do you remember visiting Pauline and Marash Girl on Lowell Avenue one autumn afternoon?  You became enamoured of the ripe plums on the Italian Plum Tree in Marash Girl's "Armenian Back Yard", a backyard surrounded by fruit trees and anchored by a vegetable garden.  You couldn't stop eating those delicious plums!!! Still wondering if you ever made it home without an accident!!!!

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Finish Everything On Your Plate!!!

 In college, the girls were curious. Why are you finishing every speck of food on your plate?  You can always get more, if you want!!!What Marash Girl didn't know was that it was rude in their world to finish everything on the plate; it would mean that you were still hungry, that your host should offer you more food.  And what a vicious cycle that would be, since at first, you would have to refuse three times before you could accept food, and in the offering world, it was rude to offer three times to a guest.  Wow!!! Two different cultures, not clashing, but whimpering to a halt!!!

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Today I saw an Armenian searching for food from the garbage.

 Dear Marash Girl,

Today I saw this man searching for food from the garbage. 


I couldn't stay inactive. I stopped and asked "Hye es?" ("Are you Armenian?)   

He said, "Ayo!" ("Yes," in Armenian.)  I gave him a small amount of $ and asked him to buy food, not to eat from the garbage. 

God bless you. 

​Garo Derounian​
Researcher
Beirut, Lebanon
Tel: 00961 3 546247
Email: garoderounian@hotmail.com

N.B. Marsh Girl writes, "​God save our people from starvation.  Readers, please help if you can, by donating money to the Armenian Missionary Association of America, 31 W Century Rd, Paramus, NJ 07652
to help our people, the Armenians in Beirut, Lebanon.

We miss you, Grandpa Peter!!!!

Remembering Grandpa Peter, born in Marash, Eastern Anatolia, in August of 1912, he attended Watertown, MA, Public Schools.  His favorite poem, a poem he referred to often, a poem which embodies his philosophy of life, is copied below.  Oh, how we miss you, Grandpa Peter!!!

The House by the Side of the Road

by Sam Walter Foss (1858-1911)

There are hermit
souls that live withdrawn
In the peace of their self-content;
There are souls, like stars, that dwell apart,
In a fellowless firmament;
There are pioneer souls that blaze their paths
Where highways never ran;-
But let me live by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

Let me live in a house
by the side of the road,
Where the race of men go by-
The men who are good and the men who are bad,
As good and as bad as I.
I would not sit in the scorner’s seat,
Or hurl the cynic’s ban;-
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

I see from my house
by the side of the road,
By the side of the highway of life,
The men who press with the ardor of hope,
The men who are faint with the strife.
But I turn not away from their smiles nor their tears-
Both parts of an infinite plan;-
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

I know there are brook-gladdened
meadows ahead
And mountains of wearisome height;
That the road passes on through the long afternoon
And stretches away to the night.
But still I rejoice when the travelers rejoice,
And weep with the strangers that moan,
Nor live in my house by the side of the road
Like a man who dwells alone.

Let me live in my
house by the side of the road
Where the race of men go by-
They are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong,
Wise, foolish- so am I.
Then why should I sit in the scorner’s seat
Or hurl the cynic’s ban?-
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

Monday, August 17, 2020

Happy Anniversary, Anoushig!!!!!

Sylva, the daughter of a well known Armenian writer, greeted Marash Girl at the entrance to Cabot Hall on the first day of Marash Girl's first year of college,  with the following announcement:  "I have the perfect man for you . . . He's Armenian, he's Protestant, he's Marashtsi, and he's here in the Graduate School at Harvard!!!" Well, Marash Girl did not believe Sylva, but ten years later, Sylva was proven right!

Happy Anniversary, Anoushig!!! You have, indeed, been the perfect man for Marash Girl!!!!

Sunday, August 16, 2020

What's the fastest way to the hospital?

One day after church, as Marash Girl and her cousins were gathering on the sidewalk in front of their little Armenian Protestant Church in Watertown, a fellow pulled up in his car and asked cousin David the fastest way to the hospital.  Cousin David, clever boy that he was, asked the fellow, "See that telephone pole over there?"  "Yes," answered the driver.  Cousin David quipped, "Just crash right into it!!!"

Saturday, August 15, 2020

A Quick and Easy Summer Lunch!!!!

Getting lots of zucchini from your garden?  Eggplant, too?  Use Grandma Jennie's favorite go to recipe for a quick lunch or Sunday supper.  (Not sure, but Marash Girl thinks the meal may have originated in Aintab!)

Simply rinse the eggplant or zucchini (preferably eggplant or zucchini fresh from your garden, not veggies that have been stored in your refrigerator for days) under cool running water.  Slice thinly.  Beat several eggs in a low soup bowl, dip the sliced veggies into the egg mixture, and fry quickly in hot light oil, turning the slices once, and, when browned, placing on a platter which has a covering of several layers of paper towels to absorb the oil from the freshly fried vegetables.  (Be sure the paper covered platter is not close to the flame, but rather on the opposite side of the stove from the flame!!!). Sprinkle the zucchini and/or eggplant with salt (and red pepper, if you're tastebuds  veer towards the Middle East), and serve (while still hot) with fresh, sliced tomatoes . . .  You may serve theses slices in a sandwich, or simply tomato and eggplant (or tomato and zucchini) on a bed of fresh lettuce.   Yum!!!

Friday, August 14, 2020

"Sure I went to MIT . . . and I walked right past it!!!!"

After having survived the Armenian Genocide, and having moved to the good old USA, Grandpa Peter used to laugh about the fact that he was the oldest boy in first grade . . . 10 years old!!!  (As he knew no English when he arrived, they placed him with the first graders in Watertown, but once he learned English, he skipped 5 grades!)  Upon graduation from Watertown High School, Peter, known to Marash Girl as Daddy, was offered a scholarship to MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  When Peter announced the good news to his family, his brother Paul said, "Are you going to leave me alone to care for our aging father and blind mother?"  Peter didn't have the heart to do so, and thus, rather than attend MIT on scholarship, he worked with his brother in their own shop, Newtonville Electrical Company, Inc., in Newtonville, Massachusetts, repairing refrigerators and oil burners for the rest of his life.  But that didn't mean that he never got a college education . . . he did more than that!!! He purchased and carefully read through the entire Encyclopedia Brittanica, and when he finished reading and digesting those volumes, he purchased the Historians' History of the World, and read through that series of books on world history. . . and on and on and on!!!! He got more than a college education, and he did it  all on his own!!!!

Thursday, August 13, 2020

The Folks In Beirut, Lebanon, (Your Yeghpayrner) Need Your Help!!!!

                                                 "Աստուած օրհնէ մեր տունը"   "God Bless this home."  

                   Photo credit Levon Kalaydjian (He found it, while helping to clean the streets of Beirut after the explosion.)

Marash Girl's friend in Beirut writes in an email following the explosion which caused the disaster in Beirut, Lebanon, "For contributions, I don't know to whom you can address. Now lots of organizations are fundraising but I don't know the donations will reach the right places. They are evacuating people from their houses,  listing the damages.  Even before the satanic explosion we were facing very bad economic crises. I know lots of families in Bourj Hamoud the Armenian Quarter who were already in difficulties. Those are needy also."

Պէյրութի հզօր պայթումը, որ բազմաթիւ անմեղ Լիբանանցիներու կեանքը խլեց՝ իր ետին թողելով հազարաւոր վիրաւորներ, աւելի քան աւերիչ էր։ Անկախ այն իրականութենէն թէ արկած էր կամ կանխամտածուած ոճիռ, վնասը չափազանց ահռելի էր եւ անկրելի։ Աւերն ու կործանումը այնքան հսկայական էին եւ ծաւալուն, ոմանք զայն բնութագրեցին նմանը չունեցող Լիբանանի 15-ամեայ քաղաքացիական պատերազմի ընթացքին։

Please help by donating to the Beirut disaster relief fund at the Armenian Missionary Association of America (AMAA.org) in order to help those in need in Beirut, Lebanon.

Contact. 
AMAA Worldwide Headquarters 31 W. Century Rd. Paramus, NJ 07652
Tel: 201-265-2607             Fax: 201-265-6015                 info@amaa.org

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

"Never go visiting empty-handed!!!"

A hard and fast rule growing up, Marash Girl learned that one should never go visiting "empty-handed"!  Whether it be a chocolate cake baked that very day by her mom (Grandma Jennie), or a box of Whitman's Samplers, chocolates purchased that day from the Armenian owned pharmacy, the rule was clear.

Today Marash Girl learned from her Turkish friend Murat that, yes, this is not only a rule in the Armenian community, but it is a teaching from the prophet Muhammed:  

            "Ziyarete eli boş gidilmez."  "One should not go visiting with an empty hand."

Monday, August 10, 2020

All the Way to Istanbul to Meet with the Best Eye Doctor in the Land

Here's a story that Grandpa Peter used to tell.

There was a little boy in Marash, Turkey, who had very bad eye infections.  No matter what his parents used to heal the little boy's eyes, no matter what the local medicine woman suggested, nothing helped.  So one day, the little boy's parents decided to take their son to the best eye doctor in the land.  The family traveled all the way to Istanbul.  After waiting days, the family was finally granted an appointment with the renowned opthamologist.   When the doctor entered the room and examined the little boy's eyes, he asked the little boy to hold out his hands.  The doctor looked at the little boy's hands, and proceeded to tie the boy's hands behind the boy's back.  

"He'll be fine now," the doctor said.

Sunday, August 9, 2020

To Wear or Not To Wear

Well before the 1960's, Marash Girl had a good founding in "plain" living . . . no lipstick, no makeup.  But when she wore no stockings to church, her Auntie Mary chastised her for going barelegged into a holy place.  Interesting, because it was okay to go bare lipped.  In fact, it was expected.  Folks in Marash Girl's church did not wear makeup (not even lipstick) in church.  Whether they wore it outside of church, Marash Girl does not know.

But Marash Girl's mom Jennie wore no makeup except for lipstick.  One Sunday, in respect for the customs of the United Armenian Brethren Evangelical Church of Watertown, Massachusetts, Marash Girl's mom Jennie, before going to church, began to wipe off her lipstick.  Marash Girl's dad Peter remonstrated her with the following words.  "If you're going to wear lipstick, wear lipstick.  Don't take it off just because you're going to church!!!"  Marash Girl's mom Jennie smiled, and carefully reapplied her lipstick before leaving for church.

Saturday, August 8, 2020

Spit up?

                                     Aşağı tükürsen sakal, yukarı tükürsen bıyık.

                      "Spit up, you hit your mustache; spit down, you hit your beard."  

(Actually the reverse in the above Turkish expression which translates,  "Spit down, you hit your beard; spit up, you hit your mustache."). . . a common saying in Marash Girl's house growing up. In college she learned that in English, to express the same meaning, one would say, "Caught between Scylla and Charibdis; caught between a rock and a hard place."  Marash Girl guesses that every culture has its conundrums!!!!

Friday, August 7, 2020

Jajuk - An Armenian's Summer Delight

Jajuk - cucumber and yogurt and mint and garlic.  A simple and deliciously cooling appetizer or accompaniment to a summer's meal is jajuk -- Armenian yogurt (madzoon) with peeled, crushed garlic (one clove of garlic per quart of yogurt, or none, if you hate garlic), some chopped up fresh mint from your garden, or if you do not grow mint, some dried, crushed mint leaves, and salt to taste.  That's it!!!  Enjoy . . . and let me know how you like it!

Thursday, August 6, 2020

Jennifer Koochof Continues the Struggle: Armenians for Freedom for All

                                 Upper photo-  Name of woman on left unknown, Marash Girl on right               

                                 Lower photo-

                                Jennifer Koochof Continues the Struggle of Armenians for Freedom for All


Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Lorig's Recipe for Beet Hummus

Beet Hummus

1 ¾ cups Chickpeas (about one 15 oz can or cooked) drained
3 Tbsp Tahini
2-3 cloves Garlic (more or less to taste)
¾ cup Beets (roasted or boiled) cut into pieces
4-5 Tbsp Lemon Juice
4 Tbsp cup Olive Oil
Salt & pepper

Chop garlic. Drain chickpeas. Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Taste and add more garlic, lemon juice, or olive oil, to adjust to your palate. Add salt and pepper to taste

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Watermelon Rind Candy

Marash Girl guesses that once you've experienced starvation, or near starvation . . . once you've seen people dying of hunger . . . you never again waste a bit of food . . . and that includes the rind of the watermelon.  The old ladies that Marash Girl knew, the survivors of the genocide of the Armenian people, loved to serve watermelon removed from the skin.  Many ate watermelon with a fork, we kids ate it off the skin.  Dad salted his watermelon and carefully ate the innards of every seed that was in his piece of watermelon.  And the old ladies carefully peeled the green rind off of the melon from which they had taken the red watermelon to serve, and prepared it for making watermelon candy by simmering it in sugar syrup on their wood burning stoves!!!!  Marash Girl never learned to make  watermelon candy, (although the recipe is now on the internet), but she used to eat it when she was a kid.  Delish!!!

Monday, August 3, 2020

Grandma Jennie's Go To Recipe

You already know about Grandma Jennie's parsley and egg which Marash Girl has written on in several earlier blogposts.  Here is another of Grandma Jennie's favorites:  eggplant dipped in egg!   No, not the whole darn eggplant, but eggplant with its stem removed and its skin intact, nicely washed and rinsed, and thinly sliced. 

Dip a slice of eggplant in a bowl of well-beaten eggs (two or three should suffice), and carefully place that slice of eggplant into a frying pan which has approximately a 1/2 inch of oil on your stove top.  Turn the heat up under the pan to bring the oil to a sizzle before placing the egg-dipped eggplant into the frypan. Be careful, as the oil is likely to spatter as you place the eggplant into the pan, so try to keep your distance.  You will see that the egg on the sides of the eggplant slices become brown; at that point, flip the slices of eggplant over and fry for another minute or so.  Remove the eggplant slices and place the eggplant on a dish that has been covered with a paper towel, a dish that has been set at a distance from the flame, so that the paper towel will not catch fire.  Lightly sprinkle the eggplant slices with salt and pepper, and serve as soon as possible with freshly sliced tomatoes as a garnish.  Delish!!!

Sunday, August 2, 2020

Happy Birthday, Marash Boy!!!!


Marash Boy stoking the fire at his favorite fireplace, at the top of Wilbraham Mountain,                           before the tornado...

Marash Girl remembers the first day she met you, Marash Boy!!! You were wearing the same beard that you are wearing today.  She loved you from that first day, beard and all, right through to this very moment, beard and all!!!!  Happy Birthday, Levon, my love!!!!

Saturday, August 1, 2020

Bir yumuşağı var mı?

In the old days, whenever we visited relatives on a Sunday afternoon, Daddy and Mommy would stop at a local pharmacy to buy a box of Whitman's Chocolates.  We would never arrive at anyone's house empty-handed, and in that all of the Armenians in those days baked their own elegant pastries, carrying Mommy's wonderful apple pie, brownies, or banana cake would not be particularly appreciated.  Therefore, it would be a box of Whitman's Chocolates that we would carry with us to our khunami's house.  And always, the grandmother of the family, after opening the box, would ask, "Bir yumuşağı var mı?"  Is there a soft one?  Because in those days, very few grandmothers could afford false teeth.  It was less costly simply to have the offending molars removed.  But that's for another blog post.  For now, let's stick to the chocolates.  Marash Martha and Marash Girl would be delighted to offer our guests the chocolates with soft centers, because we hated them!!! In fact, when folks brought those boxes of chocolates to our house, we would secretly press in the bottoms of the chocolates, surreptitiously replacing the chocolates that gave in to our thumb's pressure . . .  until we found one that did not give in . . .  a chocolate covered nut!  Hooray!