I learned a lot yesterday: that some 85-year old women have more stamina and resilience than women 35 years their junior, and that where there's a will there's a way! When beautiful Laurice entered my kitchen, laden with bags full of goodies from the morning's shop, a joy filled the room as though someone had just turned on the light. Ever the teacher, and eager to get to work, Laurice and friends Laurie (a graphic designer) and Midge (a "finishing school" photo editor), helped find large pots and trays and unwrapped a 12-pound block of cheese curd! With the prowess of a professional chef, Laurice set up her mise en place -- 3 to 4 pounds of kosher salt, (who measures?), the mahleb (more about that later), nigella seeds, a huge roasting pan filled halfway with cold water, and an egg. "Everybody wash your hands," she decreed, and then dropped a bombshell. "Where's your microwave, Rozanne?" "Microwave?, I responded. I don't have a microwave." She was crestfallen. The adventure was over. "What? No meat pies, spinach pies, hummus and babaganoosh? No olives, sesame pita bread, homemade baklava (provided by Laurice)? No string cheese? We all fluttered around like a bunch of chickens. "Let's buy one," I said! "No!" said my husband. "Let's take everything and go back to Laurice's." "No!," I said. "Let's call Arthur!" He and Bob were just about to leave their house, but we reached them in the nick of time. Within 15 minutes, their brand new microwave, brought over on a hand truck, had landed on my kitchen counter. Arthur, of course, joked about the scarcity of microwaves in ancient Syria, but Laurice assured us that it was essential to melt the curd at exactly the right temperature and figured that 8 ounces of crumbled cheese curd on a very large plate needed 1 minute and 15 seconds to nuke and soften to perfection.

I ground the mahleb ($27 a pound) -- dried cherry pits, tasting a bit like ground almonds, that are an essential component of Syrian string cheese -- to a powdery state in my coffee grinder, and under Laurice's watchful eye, mixed in the right amount (who measures?) of nigella seeds. They, too, are integral to the taste of the cheese. Laurice added almost 3 pounds of salt to the cold water bath. How did she know if the brine was salty enough? Well, that's what the egg was for! You immerse it in the water and if it bobs up to the size of a silver dollar, then it's ready! It wasn't. More salt was added and then the fun began. We all took turns handling the gooey hot curds and sprinkling them with the exotic spice mixture. Laurice instructed us each how to pull, and stretch, and pull and s-t-r-e-t-c-h, and stretch and pull, and twist and hook and braid. Each of the 24 cheeses was then carefully immersed in the brine for an hour. During that time we laughed and competed, burned our fingers, drank strong coffee, ate meat pies and spinach pies and babaganoosh, pita bread and olives, and marveled at the flavor of Laurice's not-too-sweet baklava. The day was saved. We divvied up the cheese and decided to make pickles next.

The girls bought the cheese curd at: Lioni Latticini, Inc. 718-232-7852 (7819 15th Ave. in Brooklyn). They bought the cheese pies, pita, spices, etc. Mid-East Bakery 718-680-0561 (7808 3rd Ave. in Brooklyn) and Samia's 718-748-3337 (7922 3rd Ave.)

Last month, I did a cooking class at Whole Foods on the Bowery. It was a very enjoyable experience due in large part to the fabulous two assistants who cooked with me for the five hours that I was there-- prepping, schmoozing and sharing ideas. Kitchen gossip. I was also delighted that several sated students (say that three times fast!) stayed afterwards to chat. One of those avid class-goers, Laurie S., told me that she, too, lived in Park Slope and asked if I would enjoy learning how to make Syrian string cheese? An interesting non-sequitur, but it got my attention. "Who wouldn't?" I exclaimed and awaited further instructions. Well, today is the day! A flurry of emails resulted in a well-oiled plan. Laurie and her 85-year old neighbor, Laurice Najjar, the cheese maker, would be coming at 12:30 p.m. after shopping for ingredients. They would be making two stops: first at Lioni Latticini in Brooklyn, for cheese curds ("Do you know them? Fantastic mozzarella," Laurie wrote), then to a Syrian market near 78th St. and 3rd Ave. for herbs. My instructions: A very large stockpot ( 20 lb. turkey size, Laurie noted) is required for the brine which Laurice will bring unless you have one. Beyond that, not much else is needed, she said. "I'll provide kosher salt and foil, but one egg from you would be good." A last-minute detail was the need for a spice grinder, which I have, and I've got the egg ready! I asked Laurie to pick up some Syrian goodies for us to munch on for lunch and I am just now making my signature "Venetian Wine Cake" for dessert. Laurie's friend Midge, a photojournalist, is joining us and -- as a great treat for us all -- my dear friend, the food maven Arthur Schwartz, is coming, too! The art of making Syrian string cheese, I'm told, comes from the melting and working of the cheese to just the right elasticity. It then gets pulled and braided into shape. Known by its Arabic name, jibneh mshallaleh, it is made from cow's milk and a Middle-Eastern spice, called mahleb. Today we may be adding other herbs and spices. It's lots of fun to eat the cheese, strand by strand, and chase them down with sips of licorice-perfumed ouzo. But today, we'll just have tea. Wish you were here.