1991_03 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper March 1991

              EDITORIALS, Page 2
Hye Sharzhoom
March 1991
A Guide to Different Types of Armenian Food
By Jeff Ahronian
Editor
Have you ever sat down, after
eating a hearty and bountiful Armenian
meal, and wondered what exactly that
food was you just ate. Sure, the names
sound familiar and you've eaten the
stuff hundreds of times before but what
was it? What exactely was it made of?
Yalancie... pilaf...
doma... kufta... sou boureg...
lamajoon... keyma...
The scientist or the biology
teacher out there will probably say
that you just entered into your system
tons of carbon- hydrogen- oxygen
molecules.
The cardiologist will undoubetdly
say that you just dirtied your system
with high cholesterol, unhealthy junk
food.
But what about the regular Joe-
whatdoeshesay?
For all of you gourmets and
gourmands out there, the following is
a quick, yet, provocative guide to a few
different types of Armenian foods:
s... cold grape leaves
(straight from the vines) stuffed with
rice and spices and smothered in lemon
juice and oil. Hint: it's best to clean
the leaves rather thoroughly before
preparing them in order to get rid of
most of the sulfur.
Piktf... otherwise known as rice
with butter (a lot of butter!). Goes
great with any meal.
B®Mml.. this is when you take a
vegetable, preferably a bell pepper,
stuff it with meat and rice, and cook it
Forget about the eggplant and squash
varieties-- go stricdy with the bell
pepper.
(pronounced        'koof-
tah%. in the words of my Grandma,
is prepared in the following way:
"First, you fry some meat and onions
together, then you throw in a little
salt, pepper, onions, parsley - let it
cook good, cool, and then put it inside
a round ball made of bulghour and more
meat." Yeah... I think 111 let Grandma
stick to making that
Sm Hwang... this is
something like a hot, flaky pastry
filled with cheese and sometimes a
little parsley. Tastes wonderful piping
hot right out of the oven (even if you
don't like cheese!).
laBMjjwm... Armenian pizza
covered with meat, green peppers, and
tomatoes minus the pepperoni and
olives.
Kigymw... raw meat (that's right,
I said raw - as in uncooked!). It's best
to pour on as much cayenne pepper,
onions, and parsley and use as much
cracker bread as possible in order to
block out the taste of the meat. By
doing this, you are psychologically
training your mind to accept the idea
of actually eating raw meat And in
order to properly pronounce this word,
in case you want to actually order it in
a restaurant, you must begin it with a
'kh' and sort of clear your throat at the
same time.
Let's face it, one either likes or
dislikes these different Armenian
cuisines. For example, you'd never
hear anybody say, when asked if they
liked keyma or not, "I sorta like it" or
"It's all right." They either respond by
saying "Yummmm" or "Yecchhh."
So who cares what the scientist or
the cardiologist thinks about Armenian food... there are certain things
in life you just have to make sacrifices
for and maybe yalancie is just one of
those things.
Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor:
I really enjoy reading the articles
in your paper written by the students
of Fresno State -    they are doing a
tremendous job.   I also enjoy reading
the adventures of "Simon the Mouse."
Keep up the good work.
Sincerely,
Gladys Tusan
Sanger, California
Dear Editor:
My family and I enjoy reading the
Hye    Sharzhoom. Your    article
comparing Fresno and Watertown
(October 1990 issue) was interesting.
"An Ode to Armenian Grandmothers"
was so true and I think your "Simon
the Mouse" is amusing.
You and your staff are doing a
brilliant job.
Sincerely,
Carole Mazmanian
Fresno, California
Dear Editor:
I wish to compliment you on a
fine    publication. I    particularly
enjoyed reading the "What About Dec.
25th?" article by M. Leon Peters in the
December 1990 issue of Hye
Sharzhoom.
After years of reading different
accounts of why the Armenians
celebrate Christmas on January 6, it
was refreshing to read Mr. Peters'
pragmatic look at the subject. After
all, what is more important for
Armenians - to be "smart" shoppers or
to be committed to their faith?
Keep up the good work.
Sincerely,
Fr. Vazken Movsesian
St  Andrew  Armenian
Church
Cupertino, California
rlye Sharzhoom
Editor and Chief:
Jeff Ahronian
Staff Writers:
Armen Aghishian
Arpi Ajamidn
Cynthia D. Baxter
Janice Caprelian
Matthew A. Jendian
Vina Kochounian
Pam Manoogian
Satenig Ohannessian
M.Leon Peters
EvaSewm
Armenian Page Editor:
SeropTorossian
Armenian Page Writer:
Armen Aghishian
Layout:
Jeff Ahronian
Photo Editor:
Jon Philip Maroot
Advertising Manager:
M.Leon Peters
Circulation Manager:
Matthew Jendian
::Advh»r:::7
Barlow Der Mugrdechian
Hye Sharzhoom is a supplement of the Daily Collegian and the newspaper of the CSUFfl
Armenian Students Organization and the Armenian Studies Program and is funded by thej
Associated Students.
Articles may be reprinted provided thai Hye Sharzhoom is acknowledged
Hye Sharzhoom welcomes prose, poetry, articles, manuscripts, and other material from
its readers. For further information concerning the newspaper or the Armenian Studies
Program, call the ASP office (209) 278-2669.
Dear Editor:
I read your article "An Ode to
Armenian Grandmothers" with great
relish, and want to take this
opportunity to compliment and salute
you. That was a great tribute you paid
to all the Armenian grandmothers of
the world - both of your grandmothers
must be very proud of you, as I am. I
also admired your cartoons of Simon!
We Ahronians must have some
ancestors way back who did cartoons,
perhaps as far back as stone carvers,
since I used to draw cartoons myself.
In closing, I would like to wish
you success with all of your future
endeavors.
Sincerely,
Alfred Ahronian
Oakland, California
Dear Editor:
I greatly enjoyed reading the
October 1990 issue of Hye Sharzhoom,
but feel obliged to respond to the
editorial comparing Fresno and
Watertown. Armenian statistics are
notoriously unreliable, but the most
recent official town census finds over
6,000 Armenians in Watertown, which
measures 4.17 square miles in area.
Watertown has been an active,
densely populated community since
the 1920's, particularly in Ea^t
Watertown's "Little Armenia" section.
The Armenian presence here begins in
the late 1890's, but the initial
population was primarily composed of
bachelors who intended to return to
their native Armenia after achieving
success in America. After the Genocide
ended that possibility, these men
began importing brides and settling in
Watertown permanently, establishing
stores, churches, associations, and
etc. If one also includes the vast
Armenian population that has since
scattered among Boston's suburban
communities the total roughly
appoximates   the   Fresno   Armenian
population.     ■■■■■■I	
Although there are many points
of similarity, the differences are
striking. The sheer density and co-
hesiveness of Watertown had no
parallels in the U.S. until the recent
expansion of the Los Angeles
Armenian community, Fresno has no
counterpart. The Boston/Watertown
community emerged early on as the
dominant social, political and cultural
center of the American-Armenian
communities throughout the 1920's
and 30*s. In the post WWII period,
New York assumed this role, followed
by Los Angeles in the 1970's.
Watertown still remains as active
and vital today as it was generations
ago, and includes all the traditional
social organizations and elements, as
well as new organizations of national
importance. Watertown as "...a city
waiting in the wings- anxiously
anticipating the actions of its faraway
counterpart (Fresno)"? Not very
likely! Watertown is alive and well,
thank you.
Sincerely,
Gary Lind-Sinanian
Watertown, MA
S
K
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