#213 : GRANDMA BONA’S BOREKAS
Friends who love being in the kitchen, and a family recipe for Borekas.
This is a story about a door that opened into a friendship after receiving an unexpected query from Victoria Shilton in 2022, plus her family recipe for Grandma Bona’s Borekas—a savory Sephardic pastry and another “B” for our alphabet year.
A little over two years ago, I received an email from Victoria Shilton asking if I might consider donating a pie-making session as part of a fundraiser for a non-profit benefiting The Arts on an island not too far from me…at least as the eagle flies. The Arts, especially in small communities, is something I feel very strongly about so I replied, “Let’s schedule a time for a chat and see what might be possible.” On our first phone she shared with me more details of what she had in mind and I shared with her what I could offer—an intimate pie-making demonstration experience to take place in her home kitchen. Over the months of conversations, we worked through the details and logistics—the biggest one being just how to get me there.
The island where she lives is only 36 miles away from the bluff where I walk with GP every day. On many days I can see it but as there is lots of water in between us, there’s really no easy way to get there. Driving was a possibility, but it would take much of one full day to get there with a drive first to Port Townsend to take a ferry to Whidbey Island, a drive up island and across Deception Pass, on to Anacortes to catch a second ferry that would take me into the San Juan Islands. There are many joys and advantages to a quiet rural life but traveling off the North Olympic Peninsula can feel like a major haul to get to an island that I can see right out my window.
Victoria had already explored the possibility of someone from the island coming to fetch me by boat and ferrying me across, but in the end she and the non-profit decided that a 30-minute plane ride would be easiest for all. Over the months as we worked out details, we began to share more about ourselves—books we were reading, recipes we were cooking and baking, family events that were taking place—so when travel day finally arrive, it felt like I was heading off to visit a good friend even though we had never yet met in person.
The one engine plane I was to travel on—the smallest I have seen—was waiting at my airport when I got there. I took a deep breath, climbed on board with my rolling pin, buckled up the seat belt, and was handed a head seat to place over my ears.
We taxied down the runway and, as we gained altitude, headed east past my town where I saw the green trees fronting the bluff I walk with GP above the marina.
As we banked to the left I saw the island where I would be teaching directly ahead of me to the north. From lift off to touch down, travel time was less than 30 minutes…a far cry from the hours of driving and ferries it would have taken had I driven.
Victoria and her husband Al picked me up at the island airstrip and whisked me away to their lovely home.
Once there, Victoria cooked us up a little something lest I might be peckish from the journey and we settled into easy chatting that went well into the evening. The next day as I got ready for my first in-person session taught since the COVID shutdown, I felt all the excitement return and thought “How very lucky am I to do this work.”
The group arrived, introductions took place, we gathered around the big island in Victoria’s beautiful kitchen and I began. It was wonderful to be back in the “baking” saddle once again.
The next day my little chariot with wings arrived at the appointed time to fly me back home as a carried wonderful memories of the lovely people I had met, the honor of teaching, and the sweet time I had just had with my new friend.
In a recent phone call, Victoria told me of the Borekas she had just made for Al. I had not heard of them before and asked if she might share her recipe. “Of course!,” she replied, and I’m happy to say that she is sharing it with us today, too.
Thanks so much for reaching out in that first email, Victoria! Now, I’ll turn it over to you.
GRANDMA BONA’S BOREKAS
From Victoria Shilton
Almost every culture has a form of a “hand pie”, be it empanadas, piroshki, samosas, knishes… This is a Sephardic recipe passed on to me by my beloved late sister-in-law, Louise, who owned a wonderful cooking school in Seattle for many years called Bon Vivant. Her mother-in-law was Grandma Bona, the matriarch of our large and wonderful family.
I love the tradition of passing along treasured recipes! I’ve taught my daughter to make these and look forward to one day teaching my granddaughter, who is now 2 years old, too. Making memories together in the kitchen is a priceless gift!
ENJOY!
Victoria
RECIPE: GRANDMA BONA’S BOREKAS
WHAT YOU WILL NEED