Armenian Beef Stew
- Aug 27
- 2 min read
Join Araz Torosyan as she shares the many hospitality lessons she's learned through frequent moves as a Navy spouse. From hilarious newlywed cooking disasters to confidently hosting a beloved soup night for her husband's dive school classmates, Araz reflects on how opening her home has grown over the years. She also shares her creative approach to building community in every new place (hint: she doesn't wait for an invitation!), along with family-friendly recipes that are always a hit. We wrap up the conversation with thoughtful ideas for making overnight guests feel at home and a favorite kid-friendly kitchen tool recommendation. We're so glad you're here!
Recipes:
Armenian Beef Stew
Use chicken broth instead of water.
Puff Pastry Appetizer (Bourekas)
(submitted by Araz Torosyan)
Ingredients:
1 box puff pastry
8 ounces feta cheese (or 4 ounces feta cheese and 4 ounces mozzarella cheese)
Black or Aleppo pepper
Egg yolk
1 teaspoon yogurt
Sesame seeds, optional
Directions:
1. Thaw a box of puff pastry sheets and cut each sheet into 9 squares.
2. Crumble 8 ounces of feta (or feta and mozzarella) and add a pinch of black or Aleppo pepper.
3. Spoon the mixture into each square, then fold each square in half diagonally to make little triangles.
4. Brush tops with an egg yolk mixed with a teaspoon of yogurt.
5. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, optional.
6. Bake at 350℉ for 30 minutes or until puffed and golden brown!
Dessert!
Breakfast (or snack)!
Dump it onto a sheet pan with parchment paper, spread to a thickness of a half inch or so, and bake it at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.
Chocolate Chip Waffles
We love adding mini chocolate chips or Ghirardelli 60% dark chocolate chips.
Out-of-This-World Waffles
(adapted from The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook by Bess Hawthorne)
Ingredients:
2 ½ cups flour (Mix all-purpose with whole wheat. I sometimes add spelt or oat flour instead. I also add a bit of wheat germ and ground flax seed in place of about ¼ cup of the flour.)
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
1 ½ tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
2 ½ cups milk
¾ cup oil (I use ½ butter and ½ oil. Either is delicious.)
Directions:
1. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Combine eggs, milk, and oil in a medium bowl.
3. Add to flour mixture, stirring with a wire whisk just until dry ingredients are moistened. (Batter will be slightly lumpy.) Cook in a preheated oiled waffle iron until golden.
4. Place the waffles in a single layer on a cooling rack to cool. This keeps them from becoming soggy. Once cool, move to plate or into a freezer bag (see note below).
Note: These waffles freeze well. I put parchment paper between each waffle then grab the desired number out of freezer bags. We heat them in the toaster to thaw and crisp them at the same time.
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