Our Current Focus: 2010 EDMONTON TURKISH FESTIVAL

Turkish Festival will be held from Saturday, 26 June 2010 10:00 AM to Sunday, 27 June 2010 10:00 PM at Dr. Wilbert Mclntyre Park 8331 104 St. Edmonton, AB

The Festival will display Turkish art, folk dance, music and gourmet food, where visitors will get an opportunity to celebrate, learn, and savour Turkish hospitality, culture, heritage and cuisine.

Visitors will be able to browse and buy Turkish products, souvenirs and handicrafts, participate in activities for children, view many authentic demonstrations and performances, sample Turkish cuisine, and do much, much more at the Festival.

What to expect at the Festival?

• Performances of Turkish folk dances, authentic Turkish music;
• Turkish decorative pillows, traditional jewellery, handicrafts, and more;
• EnjoyTurkish Cuisine, sample gourmet foods including kebabs, donair, vegetarian dishes, desserts,baklava, Turkish delight, dried apricots, figs, hazelnuts, and much more;
• Taste popular Turkish Coffee;
• Let your kids enjoy all sorts of activities: coloring, face painting and games.

Do not miss out on the opportunity to savour Turkish culture and cuisine, so mark your calendars today! more

NOAH'S PUDDING

What is Noah's Pudding?

The story is told that during the 40 days of the great flood, food became scarce on the Ark. Noah asked everyone to bring what little food they had left. A pudding was made of the fruits, nuts, legumes and grains in a large pot and everyone shared in it. Shortly after that, the rains stopped and the flood receded. Everyone survived because they shared what they had.

Noah's Pudding (Ashura) is a day of fasting that Muslims observe on the 10th of Muharram (January 10 in 2010), the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is derived from the Jewish Day of Atonement. When Prophet Muhammad arrived in Madinah in 622 CE, he found that the Jews fasted on this day because, as they told him: “This is a blessed day. On this day, God saved Moses and the beleivers from their enemy (in Egypt).

Therefore, Prophet Moses fasted on this day in gratitude to God.” Then he also fasted and encouraged the Muslims to fast on that day and the day before in gratitude to God, just as Moses had done.

Turkish communities world-wide commemorate this event in January each year by the sharing of Noah’s Pudding with neighbours, community groups and the poor. The sharing of Noah’s Pudding reminds us that we must all help each other, regardless of differences in cultural or religious beliefs, because we are all part of one community. Noah’s Pudding is a symbol for different cultures living together in harmony while each preserves their original identities.

HDG is proud to continue this tradition among Edmonton citizens. As volunteers of HDG, we are holding Ashure days and nights at different locations to distribute Ashure and remind people of this tradition which we see as a symbol for "different cultures living together peacefully in harmony with preserving original identities."

If your organization or community group would like to share Noah’s Pudding with members of the Harmony Dialogue Group at one of your meetings this coming January and February, please contact us

Preparation of Noah's Pudding

Thousands of years old recipe!!!

Thousands of years old recipe for Noah’s Pudding - makes 30 servings for you and your neighbours.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup wheat
• 1 cup white beans
• 1 cup chickpeas
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup almonds
• 12 dried apricots
• 5 ½ cups sugar
• 5 cups water (enough to cover ingredients)
• Topping: walnuts, cinnamon

Preparation:

1. Soak wheat, white beans, chickpeas, and almonds in water overnight.
2. Boil the above ingredients (step 1) and remove their outer shells or skin.
3. Soak the raisins in boiling water until they soften.
4. Put all the above ingredients in a large pot and boil them. Add peanuts and almonds (peeled and cut in half).
5. Chop the apricots into small pieces and add to the mixture, along with sugar.
6. Boil the mixture for 10-15 minutes.
7. Enjoy your pudding!

*Feel free to experiment with other grains, fruits, and nuts.