Get the latest recipes from Elgab89 http://www.grouprecipes.com/people/elgab89 This is a book that I got from my mom and it is related to a family joke , when my son was young and would contradict us - this is what my mom told him- Grandma knows everything. The book is quite nice and has a lot of old world advice, that I thought I should share with you. I don't know why it did not allowed me to post the recipe in the first place - this is my second attempt. http://www.grouprecipes.com/71929/grandma-knows-everything.html My mom has bought me a book from back home that is called: Grandma knows everything - this is related to a joke we had in our family, when my son was young and contradicted my mom. The book itself has a lot of practical old world advices that I found so great I thought I should share them with you. http://www.grouprecipes.com/71927/grandma-knows-everything.html Zur or Romanian Bors (read Borsh) is a sour liquid made out of fermented ryemeal. It is easily found in Polish or Eastern European Stores. In case you cannot find it, replace it with lemon juice. http://www.grouprecipes.com/71611/ukrainian-polish-zur-or-romanian-ciorba-soup-with-meatballs.html This is another phyllo recipe that I make - I would not attempt making the pastry myself - it is reaaaaly hard! - I buy it ! It does work well with puff pastry or with the recipe I have posted in my sweet cheese pie : http://www.grouprecipes.com/71594/cottage-cheese-sweet-pie--myzithropitakia.html . Vissino - sour cherries you can find in any Greek or Eastern European store as a compote or in syrup, if you cannot find the fruits themselves. http://www.grouprecipes.com/71599/sour-cherry-vissino-phillo-pastry-pie.html This is a Greek recipe that I have changed a little. I have added to it raisins in rum or cognac, as my hubby loves that, instead of the traditional ouzo and cinnamon. I am only sometimes making the pie dough myself, as it takes a lot of work. When I do not have time I replace it successfully with phyllo dough or even puff pastry bought in the frozen section of my local supermarket. If you use phillo - butter it well and follow the instructions. http://www.grouprecipes.com/71594/cottage-cheese-sweet-pie--myzithropitakia.html Lostritza or Hucho Hucho is a fish still available in Danube and Ukraine - although, protected, you would need special authorization to fish it. It has great caviar, as well. It is a type of salmon and it is huge - can reach up to 10 kg, I guess it can successfully be replaced with salmon. This recipe is also from my mom cookbook and we are making this constantly with trout or salmon, http://www.grouprecipes.com/70174/lostritza-or-hucho-hucho-fish.html As promissed, here is my father version of Moussaka (a lot of people will argue - the original way)! My Grandma was from Ioannina and my Grandpa from the island of Skiathos - as this is from my sweet grandmother, that I did not have the privilege to meet (she died before I was born) – I am dedicating it to her and to the beautiful and medieval city of Ioannina. http://www.grouprecipes.com/70141/moussaka-from-ioannina-greece.html I thought I should post 2 recipes that were frequently made by my parents. This is my mom version translated from one of her cookbooks and comes from the enchanting land of Bucovina - which is part in Ukraine, part in Romania ( that is where she is from). Both of them are similar and different in the same time, but they are equally good. Enjoy! http://www.grouprecipes.com/70137/moussaka-from-dorna-bucovina.html This reminds me of my younger years when I used to travel all over Europe with a free rail ticket (I used to work for RailEurope) and very little money in my pocket. In Paris I used to resume my morning meal to a chestnut yogurt and a croissant. What enchanting year I had! http://www.grouprecipes.com/68448/the-chestnut-yogurt-haiku.html This recipe is made with different variations in the whole Eastern Europe area. You can fill it up with apricots, plums, peaches and even jams. I work with a nice Polish girl and one day we both showed up at work with a plate of these goodies. We laughed and joked about who invented them first: Romanian or Polish. I guess the Germans did it! http://www.grouprecipes.com/67372/plum-dumplings---galuste-cu-prune.html