Food Festivals Archives - Good Food St. Louis

Celebrate Freedom Every Chance You Get

Every country and ethnic group has special holidays they celebrate. Being the mother-in-law of a great guy from Colombia, South America, gives me a chance to enjoy those times with him, family and friends.

This past weekend, despite the heat, local Colombians observed their Independence Day with great gusto in a Kirkwood park. The occasion denotes their independence from Spain on July 20, 1810.

We arrived in the morning before the heat got too oppressive and had an early lunch. Dancers, musicians, food and craft sellers seemed to ignore the heat, despite being from a country, where temperatures are far more moderate year round.

In buying lunch for his family and their out-of-town relatives, my friend Billy explained, “When you’re feeding an army, you have to buy for an army.”

I get a “tutorial” in Colombian cuisine.

Food favorites from the neighboring country of Venezuela we’re also on the menu.

Robin and I had JC make the food selections, since his expertise is much greater than ours. 🙂

Loukoumades (Pronounced: loo-koo-MAH-thez)

Perfection on a Plate

One fan of loukoumades wrote on line, “If you’ve never had this fluffy, Greek delicacy, drop everything you’re doing and get on a plane to Athens!” (Obviously, that was written pre-pandemic.) It’s been awhile since I’ve eaten the mini-donuts in Greece, but my memories linger.

This past weekend I indulged in the golden puffs of goodness offered by the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church at their Festival II—the final until next season.

The Family Center for St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox church is located directly across Hwy. 40 from the Mormon Temple (You can see the reflection in the glass).

Loukoumades: Oh, the Bliss!

Robin, JC, and I did a curbside pickup at the church’s Family Center on South Hwy. 40. We had pre-ordered the usual favorites: gyros, spanakopita, baklava, shish kabobs.

But the pièce de résistance was their loukoumades. The golf-ball size pastries of fried yeast dough are a bit crispy on the outside and soft on the inside with a light drizzle of honey and nuts. (Unlike baklava that sometimes swims in honey.)

We were greeted by a friendly, masked woman wearing traditional Greek dress and jangling a tambourine. She directed us to the backside of the building, where the curbside pickup was taking place.

Our order was packaged and ready for pickup at the assigned time.

The Ancient Delicacy Lives On

The ancient Greek-Roman dessert can be found today on menus in Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, and Egypt. But trying to find it in the Lou is more problematic.

I went on line, but didn’t see any local restaurants that offered loukoumades. If I’ve overlooked one, please let me know—seeing as how a trip to Athens is out of the question in my foreseeable future.

There’s a great You Tube recipe here. If you’re making a batch at home, I’ll be glad to do a taste test for you. 🙂