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SHISH KEBABS RAISE FUNDS FOR ARMENIAN CHURCH
By Tina Johansson Special to The News-Sun
Chicago Sun-Times
http://newssun.suntimes.com/news/6882120-418/shish-kebabs-raise-funds-for-armenian-church.html
Aug 8 2011
IL
Food adventurers had a taste of authentic Armenian food Sunday at
the 46th annual Shish kebab picnic at St. Paul Armenian Church,
645 N. Lewis Ave., Waukegan.
"This is our second big fund-raiser of the year," said Arda Haroian,
a native of Waukegan who grew up attending the church. Big red, blue
and orange flags - the colors of the Armenian flag - waved people in
to the picnic, which was held indoors this year.
"Because of the rain, we had to make a decision. So we moved everything
into the basement of the church," said Arda.
The smell of fresh lamb kebabs wafted through the air from a large
grill posted outside the church and manned by male parishioners.
"Yesterday the men marinated the meat, and the women baked all of
the desserts," said Ada. "We were here baking until 10 p.m."
She said the lamb preparation takes about 12 hours. Mitchell Mekaelian
of Lake Forest and Bill Henderson of Libertyville were among those
cooking the shish kebabs.
"We've been doing this for about 40 years, since we were little kids,"
said Mekaelian, adding Henderson's grandfather and his own father
helped build the church back in 1965.
Generations of families belong to the parish. Many of them come from
the same Armenian village, Tadem. Currently, the church has about 30
members, though at one time there were many more.
"There used to be hundreds of Armenians in Waukegan," said Arda.
Church members figure about 3,000 live in Lake County now.
All of the food for the event, including the lamb which is meant to
be a sacrificial symbol, was donated by parishioners.
"In Armenia and the Middle East, they will still actually sacrifice
a lamb," said the Very Reverend Father Daniel Garabedian, pastor of
the church. "It goes back to the Old Testament," he said, recounting
the story of Abraham and his son Isaac.
The event included the age-old traditional grape blessing, which began
as a way to bless the harvest and the kingdom, explained the pastor.
Today, blessings also go out for jobs and those less fortunate.
Church Deacon Asa Soulakian added that only after the grape blessing
are the grapes supposed to be eaten.
In the lower level of the church, plates were piled high with cubes
of tender lamb, a recipe that's a "secret," said Arda's mother, Kohar.
Sides included homemade rice pilaf, hearty bulgur pilaf, vegetables
and bread.
Kohar showed off traditional desserts at the bake sale including
her speciality, pakhlava, which is similar to the Greek baklava,
but lighter and less sweet. There also was choreg, which is Armenian
brioche; khadayif, shredded dough with cream filling; bourma, nut
rolls; and surma, stuffed grape leaves.
But the lamb was king of the table and everyone agreed with Shirley
Nordigian of Wadsworth when she said, "We have some of the best shish
kebabs around."
"Lamb isn't something you find in many local restaurants," said Arda.
"We have a lot of non-Armenians that come and look forward to this
every year."
Among them were non-Armenians Roxanne and Scott Swanson who brought
their son, Colin. "We came before and really enjoyed it, so we made
a special point to be here today," said Roxanne.
"We consider our parish like a small family," said Arda. "We may not
be related by blood, but we are related by our faith and our parish."
By Tina Johansson Special to The News-Sun
Chicago Sun-Times
http://newssun.suntimes.com/news/6882120-418/shish-kebabs-raise-funds-for-armenian-church.html
Aug 8 2011
IL
Food adventurers had a taste of authentic Armenian food Sunday at
the 46th annual Shish kebab picnic at St. Paul Armenian Church,
645 N. Lewis Ave., Waukegan.
"This is our second big fund-raiser of the year," said Arda Haroian,
a native of Waukegan who grew up attending the church. Big red, blue
and orange flags - the colors of the Armenian flag - waved people in
to the picnic, which was held indoors this year.
"Because of the rain, we had to make a decision. So we moved everything
into the basement of the church," said Arda.
The smell of fresh lamb kebabs wafted through the air from a large
grill posted outside the church and manned by male parishioners.
"Yesterday the men marinated the meat, and the women baked all of
the desserts," said Ada. "We were here baking until 10 p.m."
She said the lamb preparation takes about 12 hours. Mitchell Mekaelian
of Lake Forest and Bill Henderson of Libertyville were among those
cooking the shish kebabs.
"We've been doing this for about 40 years, since we were little kids,"
said Mekaelian, adding Henderson's grandfather and his own father
helped build the church back in 1965.
Generations of families belong to the parish. Many of them come from
the same Armenian village, Tadem. Currently, the church has about 30
members, though at one time there were many more.
"There used to be hundreds of Armenians in Waukegan," said Arda.
Church members figure about 3,000 live in Lake County now.
All of the food for the event, including the lamb which is meant to
be a sacrificial symbol, was donated by parishioners.
"In Armenia and the Middle East, they will still actually sacrifice
a lamb," said the Very Reverend Father Daniel Garabedian, pastor of
the church. "It goes back to the Old Testament," he said, recounting
the story of Abraham and his son Isaac.
The event included the age-old traditional grape blessing, which began
as a way to bless the harvest and the kingdom, explained the pastor.
Today, blessings also go out for jobs and those less fortunate.
Church Deacon Asa Soulakian added that only after the grape blessing
are the grapes supposed to be eaten.
In the lower level of the church, plates were piled high with cubes
of tender lamb, a recipe that's a "secret," said Arda's mother, Kohar.
Sides included homemade rice pilaf, hearty bulgur pilaf, vegetables
and bread.
Kohar showed off traditional desserts at the bake sale including
her speciality, pakhlava, which is similar to the Greek baklava,
but lighter and less sweet. There also was choreg, which is Armenian
brioche; khadayif, shredded dough with cream filling; bourma, nut
rolls; and surma, stuffed grape leaves.
But the lamb was king of the table and everyone agreed with Shirley
Nordigian of Wadsworth when she said, "We have some of the best shish
kebabs around."
"Lamb isn't something you find in many local restaurants," said Arda.
"We have a lot of non-Armenians that come and look forward to this
every year."
Among them were non-Armenians Roxanne and Scott Swanson who brought
their son, Colin. "We came before and really enjoyed it, so we made
a special point to be here today," said Roxanne.
"We consider our parish like a small family," said Arda. "We may not
be related by blood, but we are related by our faith and our parish."