#dolmas

This is so fucking funny - Trader Joe’s canned dolmas are an absolute staple in this 75% Ashkenazi/ 25% Irish-my grandmother-was-from-Waterford house.

A proper - 100 word Drabble for both of my grandmothers, lamb.

***

Mulder looks at the can reproachfully. “There’s no reason to have done it this way.”

Scully, having neatly deboned a chicken in the time it took him to let the dolmades know he wasn’t mad, just disappointed, huffs hair from her mouth.

“Open the goddamned can,” she hisses. Flecks of raw meat, of skin, cling to her wrists.

Mulder scowls. “They put the opening ring on the BOTTOM, printed everything on the TOP, it’s preposter-“

Scully glares. “I haven’t time for this. Dinner is -“

“Thirty minutes,” he acknowledges.

To have such minor, tremendous irritations.

I just realized muscadine leaves are edible and they are growing EVERYWHERE! The vines are taking over the back porch and I really need to do something about it. Most recipes I found were for dolmas, but I also found recipes for pilafs—which had essentially the same ingredients, but the leaves were chopped instead of used as a wrap. These leaves are pretty small and I didn’t even think about attempting to wrap them around anything! So pilaf it was.

To include more of my foraged plants (my vegetable drawer is currently overflowing), I decided that in addition to the muscadine leaves, I would use a little sheep sorrel for some sour, since I’m out of lemon juice at the moment. And I used shiso as a mint substitute, and added a little bit of pepperweed in addition to black pepper.

To start i sautéed half of a yellow onion in about a 1/4 cup of olive oil. While it cooked, I soaked one cup of basmati rice and I brought some water to a boil and parboiled the muscadine leaves for a minute. I used about a cup of fresh leaves, but they cooked down so much that next time I use them I plan on doubling the amount.

I chopped up the parboiled leaves and about a 1/3 cup of sheep sorrel and sautéed it with the softened onion. Once the greens softened I added the drained rice and sautéed it until it was well coated with the oil. I then added 1 and 3/4 cup of water, 1 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and a couple dashes of red wine vinegar.

I brought it to a boil, put a lid on it and dropped the burner to the lowest setting and cooked it for 20 minutes. I then fluffed it, and stirred in about 3 TB chopped shiso (perilla), a teaspoon and a half pepperweed pods and leaves, and 1 tsp dried dill leaves.

I had it for lunch with a fried egg, but I think it would be really good with the chicken shawarma that I make sometimes.

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