Yogurt

Dolma is so easy to make. You just need time and patience.

1 head Cabbage ( any variety except the purple one maybe?)
1 big handful of ground meat. I use turkey ( and many will say that is wrong) but you can use lamb or beef.
1 handful of rice
1.5 juice glass of water
A lot of chopped Parsley
A lot of finely chopped onion
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
One small can of crushed tomato
A big pot of water

Start by bringing your big pot of water to a rolling boil. While that gets started, separate and wash your cabbage leaves. Put them aside.
When your water is boiling drop some of those cabbage leaves in the water. Not too many at one time, do it in groups. You want the leaves to be thin and pliable. The thickest parts should bend and the thinnest parts should be translucent. Put the leaves aside.
Filling:
In a bowl add the meat, rice, parsley, onion, salt and pepper, and the water. Mix. It should have the consistency of a light dough.
Then place a little bit on the cabbage leaves and roll them like a spliff.

Pour enough olive oil in a saute pan to coat the bottom. Place the dolmas in the pan. Pour the tomatoes on top. If you have left over filling or cabbage leaves go ahead and toss those in there too. Also pour a little bit of water or broth in the pan for cooking. Bring it to a boil and then cover and simmer for 30-45 min. Check it once in a while to make sure there is still liquid in it. Add liquid as needed.
They should look like cabbage leaves rolled around a tablespoon of meat. Be sure to eat the dolmas with yogurt. I can taste my childhood as I write this.

If you know me then you know how much I love yogurt. I had been wanting to experiment with yogurt in desserts for some time. When I saw this recipe for yogurt cheesecake in the NY Times I knew I had met my destiny.
This cheesecake is perfect for the summer. It is light and fluffy yet retains the same integrity of an all cream cheese cheese cake. It is cheesecake but BETTER. Instead of mascarpone I used cream cheese. I also grated some lemon zest into the batter. That really gave it a nice zing. I topped the cake with a thin glaze of homemade, hand picked strawberry Jimmy Jam and also the strawberries from the market that day. I will totally make this again. I might try this using blueberries in the batter. Schloop schloop.