- In the holy abode, every guest feels loved and cherished
Monasteries have special rooms for welcoming guests. These are luxuriously furnished and richly decorated salons, which are called archondarik – the word is of Greek origin and means an aristocrat, a noble person. Archondarik is also the name of the guest bedrooms.
Monks are not only hospitable but hospitable. Large monasteries have several rooms for welcoming guests.
Pilgrims enter there when they come to the monastery, a modest treat is served – delicious food, a glass of water, and in some cases alcohol – brandy or liqueur in a small amount.
It was accepted in the monasteries to have services at night. These are the so-called all-night vigils, and when they are on the eve of a great festival, they are interrupted by a treat called kerasmos after the Greek word for it. Tea, coffee, water, small bites and sweets are arranged for the guests, who garnish the pleasant reflection with this.
My monastic obedience also includes taking care of welcoming guests and preparing various treats. I am sharing some of the recipes.
Herbal brandies – both for a treat and for a cure
According to a tradition learned by the popular Svetogorje cook – the monk Epiphanius, now deceased, many, many years ago, the holy fathers blessed, when welcoming guests to the monasteries of the holy Mount Athos, that they be offered a glass of strong brandy. The reason for this blessing was the dehydration of Aten, which sometimes became the cause of stomach disorders. Thus, a few sips of 50-degree anise served as prophylaxis against viruses and other harmful substances.
Since ancient times, it has been a tradition in monasteries to offer alcoholic beverages to guests in minimal quantities. The volume of cups arranged in trays is the size of a thimble.
Of course, brandy can be pure, but it can also be flavored with herbs.
Herbs are usually placed in the cask in which the fiery liquid is stored. Monks in Serbia season their brandy with 27 different herbs and the drink is called “Travarica”. Another practice is to put herbs in the bottle, as I do. I prefer to use small bottles with a capacity of 200, 250, 300 ml. When I give the small bottles as gifts, sometimes friends joke whether the contents are for drinking or for putting behind the ear (like perfume). I make brandy with basil, with mint, with oregano, with snowdrops that I grow in the garden. I mix St. John’s wort, yarrow, oregano, thyme. And in addition to brandy, the bottles contain a healing infusion, which, in addition to being a treat, can also serve as a cure, since it is prepared with prayer.
Liqueur “White Rose”
Homemade liqueurs are also made with brandies. They are also suitable for a treat. I use the same technology. I put the fruits – sour cherries (pitted), raspberries, blackberries, strawberries – domestic and wild, blueberries, currants – in a glass jar and sprinkle them with sugar. When I release my juice, I squeeze it and mix it with alcohol – brandy or vodka.
The proportion is according to taste. Especially attractive is the liqueur “White Rose” made of rose syrup and vodka and with a small rose in the bottle.
For the fruit, I prepare a sugar syrup with a ratio of 3:1 – three parts sugar and one part water. I boil them in the syrup and they make an excellent spice for sweets and colivo.
Herbal syrups
As a non-alcoholic drink, monastery guests are offered herbal syrups diluted with water. They are prepared from a sweetened and preserved cold infusion of herbs. Elder flower, lemon balm, acacia flower are most often used. Fig leaf syrup has a specific taste.
Fig leaf syrup and liqueur
Products: fig leaves – 30 pcs., water – 1 l, sugar – 1 kg, lemon juice – 4 tbsp.
Preparation: Thoroughly wash the fig leaves. We put them in a pot and cover them with 1 liter of water. Boil on moderately high heat with a lid.
When the water boils, we adjust the fire so that it does not boil strongly, and the boiling continues for about 20 minutes, but we are careful not to be longer, because it can become bitter. Cool the syrup to room temperature. We take out the leaves and strain the juice. Mix with the sugar and return to the fire again. So we stir and leave until the sugar melts. Add the lemon juice and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Pour into bottles and close immediately while it is hot. We turn to seal them from the heat and thus store the syrup for a longer time.
We can separate from the syrup before adding the lemon juice and boil until it thickens more. The thick fig syrup prepared in this way can serve as a base for liqueur. We mix it with alcohol to taste.
Sweet for advanced
Older housewives probably remember the time when we welcomed guests with jam in a small saucer, a glass of water and bitter coffee. This tradition is still preserved today in most monasteries, and making sweet for some monks and nuns is obedience and needlework. Different techniques are used in the preparation of jam from different fruits. It is worth noting that jam is made from both small green tomatoes and hot peppers.
With practice, a routine accumulates in making jam, and at some point you stop measuring the products and following the proportions according to the recipe. I usually prepare jam in a wide shallow pot with a cast iron bottom. I arrange the fruits in the pot and sprinkle with sugar. I let them stand for about 24 hours and put them on low heat. I don’t use a whisk so the fruit doesn’t get crushed, I just shake the pot. The jam is ready when the syrup becomes so thick that not a drop of it spills when placed on a smooth surface. It is generally accepted to use lemon juice as a preservative, but it is better to add freshly squeezed lemon juice. One spoonful of lemon juice is replaced with two spoonfuls of juice. After adding it, the jam should boil for another 3-5 minutes.
When the jam is rarer or jam, marmalade is made, it is good to boil the jars for 5 minutes to ensure that they will be stored longer.
A trademark in making sweets for me is the use of vanilla sticks. I use vanilla for the jam made from peeled prunes, from white cherries, which can also be seasoned with a leaf of endrische, for rachel made from pumpkin.
One of my favorite sweets is the lemon one. After boiling it in the jars, you have lemon slices for all kinds of needs – for jam in a saucer, for lemon water, for decorating sweets.
Orange peel jam
Products: orange peels and – 8 -10 pcs., sugar – 1 kg, water – 1/2 l., lemon juice – 2 tbsp.
Preparation: Peel the oranges into strips. We cut the strips into narrow strips with a width of 1/2 cm. We clean the strips from the white part as much as possible. We wind the strips of snails and string them on a thick thread. We boil the strung orange snails, well covered with water, letting them boil for 5-10 minutes, so that the water turns orange (and bitter). We repeat this procedure at least five times. This is done to remove the bitterness in the peels. When, after blanching, the water becomes clear and does not feel bitter, the orange snails are ready for the sweet.
Put half a liter of water and 1 kg of sugar in a saucepan with a thick bottom.
Boil until the sugar dissolves and add the orange snails.
Boil for another hour or until the desired syrup thickness is reached. Add 2 tbsp. lemon juice (can be replaced with 1 tsp lemon juice) and cook for another 5-7 minutes.
Leave the orange snails in the syrup overnight. The next day, we remove the threads and arrange the snails in jars. To be sure, we can boil the jars by letting them boil for 5 minutes. Then, while they are still hot, turn them upside down to create a vacuum while they cool.
This year we received a gift from friends in Greece, oranges from their vegetable garden, and all the peels are already made into jam.
This raw material is especially valuable because our relatives do not apply any preparations in the cultivation of citrus. This jam can be eaten directly, it can be used to treat guests, but it can also be used to decorate cakes.
Turkish delight and coconut candies
Products: Turkish delight – 3 boxes (of different colors), coconut shavings – 1 hour for the candies and ? tsp – for rolling them, powdered sugar – 1 tsp. or to taste, lemon and/or orange juice – 3 tbsp., raisins – 3 tbsp. – optional, lemon and orange peels – 3 tablespoons, raw nuts -. almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts – whole or in pieces
Preparation: Cut the lokum cubes from the boxes into smaller pieces. If it is of different colors, we do not mix it, but warm it in a water bath to soften it. Add coconut shavings, powdered sugar, raisins, citrus peels and citrus juice. Mix well until a homogeneous mixture is obtained. From it we form balls into which we put a whole nut or a piece of it to taste. We roll in coconut shavings, and maybe in ground walnuts or sliced almonds. The candies are ready and quite durable. Experience shows that the smaller they are, the tastier they are. And for the monk, the patience to make more small candies means more prayers for each of them.
Quick Gingerbread
Products: flour – 3 tsp, water – ? tsp, honey – 5 tbsp, butter – 100 g, soda – 1 equal tsp, Cocoa – 2 tsp, cinnamon – 1 pinch
Preparation: Sift the flour, adding the soda. Then we add honey dissolved in water, melted butter, cocoa and cinnamon to it.
Knead a medium hard dough. We form balls from it with our hands, which we flatten and arrange in an oiled tray. Bake for about 30 minutes in a medium hot oven. We can roll out a crust up to 1 cm thick and cut out figures. The thinner they are, the faster they will brown. And they will become crispy. You can sprinkle them with powdered sugar on top.
In the archondarica with a guest from Ireland. I had herbal tea, she taught me to play her harp.
