Put together yeast, salt, vinegar, eggs, oil and mix well. Pile up the flour and make a hole in it and pour the mass into it. You will get the dough, which you need to mix again and covering with a towel leave for 1-2 hours. Then you need to split the dough into parts, roll it and bake it.

Every meal probably has its own history, either real or created. Every meal is also special, with its own history. I have a collection of recipes, where ones with interesting stories are included. Armenians have a holiday that is called "The Fasting of St. Sargis". St. Sargis is one of the people’s favourite heroes, about whom many rumors have spread.

People imagine him to be a hero on a white horse, riding in the skies, helping vulnerable people and travelers, saving young people and making dreams come true. All young people don’t eat anything during the day (fast) and they refuse to drink water, and the same night. After eating salty bagharj they go to sleep, eagerly waiting for their dreams and to see who will give them water. According to the tradition, they will marry the person who gives them water.

I’ve heard that many nations have similar tradition. I haven’t yet tried yet this mysterious thing. I hope that salty bagharj helps all loving people to find one other.

Boil the rice separately. Cut the top of the pumpkin and empty inside of it. Fill the pumpkin with rice, raisins, dried fruits and butter. Mix it well and add the honey. Put back the "lid" of the pumpkin and put it into the oven. When the pumpkin is soft it is ready. Cut ghapama before serving.

I like very much food with a lovely design, as it makes every table very special. On most occasions I surprise the people who are dear to me and prepare something very beautiful for them, like ghapama. Ghapama is so well designed by itself, that there is no need to add anything to it. In our region it is also made the next day after the wedding ceremony. At the presence of all guests the groom’s mother cuts ghapama and serves it to the just-married couple, wishing them to live as sweet a life as the taste of honey.

Ghapama is also the symbol of love and happiness. I wish it would bring us to the table more often.

Chop up all herbs. Before baking the add vegetable oil, pepper and salt and mix it well. Roll the dough, prepared before and put some herb stuff into it. Cover the content with the edges of the dough, in a round form. Fry (all sides) in a frying-pan.

Every season of the year is beautiful, but my favorite is spring. Nature wakes up and the air is so fresh! It is as if we also wake up from a long sleep and start breathing the fresh and healthy spring air. Spring really fills our life with newness. Spring brings a lot of herbs also. Nature offers us great variety of herbs. And the food made of herbs is very healthy, easy to digest and tasty.

In spring there is a big choice of herbs, which can be found on roads, by the rivers and even on the mountains. We often go to collect herbs. People grow herbs in their gardens as well. No one of the herb can replace another. When you mix them all you will get a very tasty meal called "Bread with nettle". It is a very popular food in our family and among our relatives. In spring in our kitchen you can smell the tasty flavor of it. I can eat it very often and never get tired of it. I like the nature of my homeland, where even the color green is not like the one in other countries.

Put on a slow fire and boil milk and flour together, untill it gets thick and changes a little color. Shpot must be mixed with a wooden spoon. After it is ready it is poured into earthenware crockery. Each person can add butter or sugar, according to his/her taste.

If someone asks me to name the second most famous fruit in Armenia, after the apricot, I will say the grape. In our region grapes are so popular and respected that, before harvesting, we have a special ceremony called "the blessing of grape". On that day, usually at the beginning of autumn, the grape is blessed. Only after that it are we allowed to taste the fruit. The ceremony is conducted in vineyards. A very ripe grape bunch is selected, picked and then blessed.

In the morning, tables are laid in fields for celebration and for drinking the red wine made of last year’s harvest. As a traditional meal for this occasion the Armenians have chosen a very simple but tasty meal, called "Shpot". In the same field the fire is made for shpot. Everybody takes part in the preparation: Dried bushes are collected for the fire and everyone takes turns to mix the content of the pot. It takes a little long, but is not boring at all. After the food is ready it is poured into earthenware crockery. I usually eat shpot with grapes.

Put everything together and boil with water till it’s ready. At the end add salt.

I like very much food with a lovely design, as it makes every table very special. On most occasions I surprise the people who are dear to me and prepare something very beautiful for them, like Ghapama. Ghapama is so well designed by itself, that there is no need to add anything to it. In our region it is also made the next day after the wedding ceremony. At the presence of all guests the groom’s mother cuts Ghapama and serves it to the just-married couple, wishing them to live as sweet a life as the taste of honey. Ghapama is also the symbol of love and happiness. I wish it would bring us to the table more often.

Barley as one of the oldest domesticated grain crops that dates back to 16th Century BC. Ancient history shows that China, Turkey, Scandinavia, Switzerland and the Middle East raised a similar crop to barley. It has been said that barley was the special food of the Roman gladiators for building strength and stamina.

Put de-boned meat into water and boil it. After the meat is ready add the wheat and leave it to boil ‘till the meat has mixed well with the wheat. Stir it from time to time with wooden spoon. You may add some boiled water, if needed. At the end, add salt. Serve with butter, black and red pepper.

New Year’s celebration is the biggest holiday for our family. They say how you start the year will determine how you spend the rest of the year; and we all try to start the year with a smile! My sister and I are eagerly waiting for New Year’s Eve. Everywhere there is light. The whole clan gathers together. The table is full of different tasty meals, sweets, fruits and juice. There must be a lot of food for the year to bring abundance to the family.

Special respect is paid to the elderly members of the family. Everybody is kissing each other and expresses best wishes for the coming year. Singing and dancing continues until the morning. The table is full of food up to Christmas (according to the Armenian old calendar). I’m also eagerly waiting for that day, as we must have Harisa, cooked by my grandmother. In our family my father and I like Harisa most. My granny says that nobody should eat Harisa alone.

In general, Armenians are very hospitable people. The people say, "Guest is the rose for the host". I know that these words are in the heart of each Armenian. We also never eat harisa alone. Even passers-by can try it. All Armenian families cook harisa as a symbol of healthy food, abundance and kindness. What else can generous Armenians do?

Boil the water and then add pokhindz, little by little. Cook it on a slow fire and mix, untill it gets thick. Eat it hot. It should be served with oil and yogurt.

I was born in one of the most beautiful places in the world, where it seems that even the mountains and fields are talking to each other. The people in my region are called "mountain people". They breed animals, garden and make a variety of dishes. There is a meal which I like very much. It is made of cereals and is served with dairy products. It is called "Pokhindz porridge".

Pokhindz is produced from wheat. Though it takes much effort to make this, I really enjoy the process. First of all, the wheat is fried on a fire. Then it is grilled. In old times, people used to leave a tray with pokhindz, surrounded by candles, outside the house so they could see tracks of the hoof prints left by the horse of St. Sragis. In the morning, after watching the tracks and wondering what it could mean, people started making porridge. I don’t really follow that tradition but I enjoy the pleasant taste of this porridge very much.

How do you pronounce Pokhindz?

(poh-KHEENDZ)

Cut the asparagus into small pieces and mix it with meat. Then mix the herbs, salt and pepper and mix it all with the eggs. Add to the asparagus. Put this all together into the oven. You can make this in the field by putting everything on a fire. It will be ready in 30 minutes.

There is a saying, "He who does not work, shall not eat. Work is not only for living, but also for getting satisfaction and pleasing yourself and others as well." These words I usually hear from Shahum grandpa. He is a gardener and has a lovely garden. I visit him very often. You can find a lot in his garden! He grows everything with great pleasure and love, talking to each plant separately. Shahum grandpa really understands the language of the soil and miracles that take place.

The garden is special because of the rows of asparagus. Asparagus first appeared on the beach of the Mediterranean Sea. It became famous in the whole world and reached my homeland also. Now it is dear to us as well. In old times people used to plait the asparagus and just-married couples used to wear it on their heads. It was so famous that people were punished if they ate it. Currently it is used as a herb. It cleans the body and regulates blood pressure.

They say it fills people with energy too. It is said that sentimental people become full of life after eating asparagus. Many people wear asparagus on their neck, like a type of talisman. And if you add asparagus into a bunch of flowers it will become much more beautiful. Shahum grandpa has many guests and he usually treats them with the "coffee", made from the seeds of asparagus. In a word, it is a decoration, herb and food. I like asparagus fried with eggs, or boiled. Most of all, I like a meal called "Kot."

Boil the sorrel in water. Pour that water out. Again, add the water to the sorrel and again boil it till the leaves are soft. Then add sour fruits and the flour. At the end the garlic, walnuts and salt are added, according to taste. It can be served with bread.

The winter in our region is usually very cold and lasts long. That is why we are not able to use many tasty things, which are given to us by the nature. For that reason we prepare winter food in summer. In winter, when it is extremely cold outside, it’s a real pleasure to stay at home and have tasty food. Very often in those days my mother cooks sorrel. This meal is not only very tasty, but also very healthy.

When any of us have stomach ache my mother immediately offers sorrel. She is a nurse and pays great attention to herbs. In spring, our fields are full of many different herbs which can heal people. We always collect sorrel with my mother. The plate of sorrel leaves is very nice. We also hang sorrel from the ceiling and dry it and then use it in winter.

Wash the wheat, put into a tray, cover with dry towel and keep in a dark place till it germinates. From time to time water it. It lasts approximately two weeks. After it has grown for 10-12 cm, grind it and put on a slow fire and mix it all the time. Boil it till it gets thick and changes the color for brown. It is served cold.

During their life people are creative enough and get different recipes for different dishes. For different meals various flavorings are used. What did people eat when there were not so many kinds of food and seasonings? I’ve always wondered about this and finally found the answer — nature itself took care of them. One example of this kind of "natural" food is "Atsik". It is a meal which needs only one ingredient. It is the most valuable and important product for our life — wheat. I think that atsik is closely connected with Easter. For that special holyday people were germinating wheat and putting colored eggs in it. It is the symbol of the crucifiction and resurrection of Christ. Atsik is made of germinated wheat. It is very simple, but at the same time a very special food. In Goris they made it in April and people treat each other with great respect. It has some strange natural sweetness. For that reason there is no need to add anything in to it.