Steiner Ranch Multicultural Festival

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One of the Syrian traditions celebrated during December is the feast day of Saint Barbara on the 4th. We usually prepare a traditional dish of boiled wheat grains in a bowl with Pomegranate seeds, raisins, anise, sugar, shaved coconut and small hard candies. We also celebrate Christmas. On Christmas Eve, we attend Mass at our church in the evening, and then we have dinner at home with family. Growing up, our Christmas meal would be roasted Turkey and Buche de Noel for dessert. During the holidays, it’s tradition in Syria that each family visits one another at their homes, even if it means visiting multiple families all in one night. During the visit, guests would receive Jordan almonds and chocolates. The adults would have liquor and Turkish coffee. The holidays are mostly about visiting with one another and enjoying each other’s company. Since our family is far away, we always call them or video chat with them. Sometimes my mother will come and visit us during the holidays from Syria as well as one of our siblings, usually with their families. During the holidays, when my mom visits, she makes traditional Arabic dishes, such as Kibbeh (a croquette of ground beef or lamb combined with bulgur wheat, pine nuts, and warm spices like cinnamon and allspice), Grape Leaves (grape leaves filled with rice, ground beef, sautéed onion, fresh cilantro, basil, cumin, salt and pepper steamed in water with a hint of lemon), and Tabbouleh (fresh herb and bulgur salad, with parsley, diced cucumber and tomato, dressed with olive oil and lemon juice) and Anise Cookies.

(Icon of Saint Barbara of Heliopolis in Syria) (Special treat eaten on the day of Saint Barbara Feast) Anise cookies are the kids’ favorite; they call them “Teta Cookies.” (Teta is Grandmother in Arabic) and the delicious sweet aroma they spread while baking in the oven conjures up sweet memories of my childhood. Hopefully this year like every other year Teta will visit and bake lots of Teta Cookies to share with friends and neighbors. Thank you for this opportunity to share a piece of my heart and we wish the community a healthy and happy Holiday Season.

(Featured above: Kibbeh, Grape Leaves and Tabbouleh)

(Turkish Coffee and Jordan almond chocolates)

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(Teta Baking Anise cookies with Anthony)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour • 1 TBSP Anise seeds • 1 TSP Mahlab

(you can find in international markets) • ¼ cup sugar • 1 stick melted unsalted butter • ¼ cup olive oil • ½ cup warm milk • ½ TSP Baking Powder Preparation:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. • In a mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients first and mix together. • Then add the wet ingredients and mix it all by hand. • Once the dough is formed, take a small Ping-Pong sized ball and roll it by between your hands to form a an inch thick roll; then put one end on top of the other forming a circular shape (see picture for reference) • Insert in the oven on a cooking sheet and bake for about 18 minutes. Then change the heat to broil for about 2 minutes. This should make about 24 cookies. Enjoy!

(YAH women group at one of their recent meetings) Young at Heart is an active senior social group open to Steiner Ranch residents ages 55+. We are purely a social organization wanting to share fun times. Joining us is a great way to make new friends and to get to know people your own age and with common interests. Our activities are planned to give everyone a chance to get know each other in casual social settings. Many friendships have been formed while participating in our various interest groups. If you live in Steiner Ranch, you are invited to join us. To become a member, send your name(s), address, phone number and e-mail address to steinerranchYAH@gmail.com. Planned activities include: Book Club, Ladies’ Social Bridge (limited),

Canasta (day and evening), Euchre (limited), Exploring Austin, MahJongg, Mexican Train, Technology Classes, BUNCO and Biking.

In addition, we have several other social groups that give us an opportunity to meet and visit with those in Young at Heart but are not in any of the other groups. These activities include: Ladies’ Lunching Out, Happy Hours, Wine Socials, as well as the popular ROMEO

(Retired Old Men Eating Out) and SWEET (Single Women Enjoying

Eating Together). New groups are added when there is interest.

by Craig Buchner

Want an opportunity to meet a lot of the guys in Steiner? Come to Houseboat! Houseboat is a monthly men's gathering in Steiner that has been going on for over 5 years and happens the last Tuesday of each month. Guys show up around 6pm, eat FREE food around 7:15pm, and then we all circle up to share what's been going on in life good or bad. It's an authentic environment you won't find anywhere else. Why? Guys naturally live-in isolation. Mix isolation with COVID19 and the stresses of life, and you get increases in domestic violence, depression, parenting issues. Manhood done as a team sport means you're never alone and can get through anything! How to get on the email list: email craigbuchner@yahoo.com

How did Houseboat start?

About 15+ years ago, several guys from the Lake Travis area went to a Wild at Heart boot camp. They came back and started meeting on a guy’s houseboat routinely to enjoy a good meal and get real about life. It’s grown a bit since then and saved many marriages and helped guys get through some really hard times. The number of Houseboat locations has greatly increased in the past few years. Steiner Ranch Houseboat was launched In June 2017.