Greek yummies

Today the aim is to reach you folks out there who actually know me,
or have figured out who I am....and naturally who live in the same fair
city! Yes, I am still trying to keep a semblance of anonymity with this
blog, as some of the events and people I write about REALLY need
to remain anonymous! Anyway, today and tomorrow the local Greek
Orthodox Church is holding their 'big' festival (big is a matter of
opinion in this matter, but beggars can't be choosers!). Every year
the church holds 2 main public events, a small bake sale in the spring,
and a larger bazaar or festival in November. For the first time ever, it
will be a 2 day event here - in larger Greek communities these things
go on as long as a week, but not many Greeks in our town. Guess the
church is hard up for funds and are hoping to get more out of 2 days. I
just hope this means they have made extra of the great yummies that
they sell, the Greek delicacies and sweets; usually, in the past, the
really good stuff was sold out by lunch time! So if they are doing this
for 2 days now, better be prepared to avoid any embarrassments. So
I am sure you are wondering what do I mean by yummy good stuff?!?
Well, my personal faves have always been the galaktoboureko and
the kourambiethes (and please do not start with 'it's all Greek to me'
jokes, I have heard them a million times!). The first one is a fillo roll
topped a tad of honey, with custard on the inside. The second is an
almond cookie topped with powdered sugar, that will explode all over
you when you bite in if you haven't shaken the sugar off! I also like the
koulourakia, a sort of egg based hard cookie good for dunking in coffee,
milk, or hot chocolate. Revani is also good, a yellow sponge cake with a
touch of rum and honey. You notice I have not mentioned baklava, what
most Americans are familiar with. I find baklava highly overrated; all I
have mentioned above are more delicious in my 'humble' opinion! The
tyropitas and spanikopitas (feta cheese and spinach pitas) are also great
IF they are homemade. A couple of times in the past they didn't make
enough at the church so they bought industrial pitas that were NOT
good as backup - I can tell the difference (hint: look at the texture and
shape of the pastry, if it is too perfectly even, it is NOT homemade!). I had
bought a couple of the store bought items once, couldn't eat them; hardly
any feta inside, spinach had no taste, and the pastry that was used was of
poor quality. I really hope they have good pitas this year, if not, just going
to stick to my almond and custard fixes. They will also be serving lunch
and dinner, with several baked specialties - y'all should find time to go!