IT'S TIME TO DIET!

Since I started this blog, I 've gained weight... That's why today I am gonna give you the recipe of a light dessert. It is healthy,easy-to-do, delicious and low-cal!

Ingredients

200 gr. strain low-fat yogurt
1 jelly powder mix
1 kiwi
1 fig
1 plum
1 nectarine
some grapes
1 cup water

Steps

Boil water and pour into a big bowl. Empty the jelly mix in the bowl and stir very well until dissolved. Pour yogurt in the bowl and mix till combined well. Place into the refrigerator until it starts to freeze around the outer edge of the bowl. Wash and cut the fruits into cubes. Add them to mixture and mix ingredients together lightly. Place bowl in the refrigerator. You can unmould the jelly running a thin knife around the edges of the bowl to loosen and putting the bowl in hot water for a few seconds. Turn the dessert upside down on your serving dish! Enjoy!

Tips

You can pick whatever fruits you like, prefer the seasonal fruits! 

MEAT BALLS WITH CREAM CHEESE

Today, I will not tire you with a lot of words...even if I really enjoy it! I have so many things to do...that I should hurry up...See you soon!!Kisses! 

Ingredients 

1/2 kg. Minced beef
1 onion
100 gr. Anthotyro 

(traditional Greek light cheese)  
or other light cream cheese
1 teaspoon mustard powder
2 tablespoons bread crumbs
Salt
Black pepper
1 small spring onion
1/2 bunch of parsley
Vegetable oil for frying
150 ml. low fat heavy cream
200 ml. meat bouillon
Some mint leaves

Steps

Chop up the onion, the spring onion and the bunch of parsley. Put in a big bowl the minced meat, the chopped ingredients, the egg and the bread crumbs. Salt and season with black pepper. Mix them together and shape the mixture in small meatballs. Pour the vegetable oil in a frying dish as to cover its bottom. Preheat the oil at medium heat. Fry the meatballs about 10-15 minutes or until they brown on all sides. Put them in a serving dish and pour the heavy cream, the mustard and the bouillon in the frying pan. Salt and pepper according to your preferences. Bring to boil. The sauce is ready when it thickens enough. Pour the sauce at your serving dish with your meatballs and serve with mint leaves.

SPICY TIC TAC TOE

When my friends gather at my house, sometimes they ask me if there is something to eat or to order food delivery … I always answer something like that “we don’t need to order, I will cook...something…” so I open the fridge and I try easy recipes for quick meals. In a similar situation an idea of a spicy tic tac toe came on my mind. Keep it in mind; the preparation process is really easy and it catches visitors' eyes.

Ingredients

1-2 cucumbers 

½ kg.  Touloumisio or soft feta cheese

3 tablespoons strained yogurt (in case you use feta cheese)

1 tablespoon white vinegar

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 chili green pepper

1 red pepper

½ tablespoons hot red paprika powder

Steps

Preheat oven at 200 degrees Celsius. Wash the cucumber and cut it at medium pieces as in the picture. Remove the soft inner part (you can use it to make Tzatziki instead of throwing it away) and place the pieces of cucumber at a serving dish. In a bowl crumble the feta using a fork (Touloumisio is already crumbled), put in the vinegar, the olive and the yogurt and mix well. Put the peppers in the oven and bake them till they slightly brown on both sides turning them once. Let them cool a little bit. Take another bowl and put in the half portion of the mixture. Peel the peppers, remove the seeds and crumble them. Put the crumbled green pepper in the first bowl and the red pepper at the second bowl. At the second bowl add the paprika. Combine well. Now that the mixtures are ready, fill some cucumber pieces with the white mixture and the rest with the red. You can garnish with mint leaves the pieces with the white mixture. Place sticks at the serving dish so as to resemble a tic tac toe (I used sticks for Souvlaki, you can use Chinese sticks.  Use your imagination…you can find something better). 

Ready for a tic tac toe game!!!

Tips

Touloumisio is a traditional cheese that is made in some regions of Greece. The way that is produced is the same as Feta except for the last stage of hardening, that’s why it has quite the same flavor as feta but its texture is much more soft.

You can adjust the proportions of chili peppers and paprika depending on your preferences. Don’t forget some like it hot!

SALAD WITH CYPRIOT ORIGIN

The island of Aphrodite, Cyprus, is known for its beautiful sceneries and its rich history. It is known since ancient times as the island of Aphrodite, the Godness of beauty and love, because according to Greek mythology Aphrodite was born there. Aphrodite emerged from the foams of Urano’s genitals. This was result of a quarrel between Uranos and Cronus; the genitals were transferred with the help of wind, Zephyrus, from Kithira to Pafos.

One of the best delicacies that you definitely should try when you visit Cyprus is Halloumi! It can be roasted, grilled or fried; it has a high melting point that's why you can use it with no fear! Try also to use it in the following salad, you‘ll get excited!

Ingredients

4 pleurotus mushrooms

1 eggplant

2 zucchini

2 chili peppers

5 tablespoons mustard

8 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon dried oregano

A pinch of pepper

Some fresh oregano

2 tablespoon warm water

1 teaspoon dried thyme

100 gr. halloumi

Salt

Directions

Wash the vegetables very well; let them strain for a while.  Cut the ends off the eggplant and the zucchinis. Slice them vertically and as thinly as possible. Place them in a bowl and toss with the half amount of olive oil, the lemon juice, the dried oregano, the pepper, the salt and the thyme. Put them in fridge for half an hour to marinate them. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. 

Spread the vegetables in a roasting pan that you have already sprinkled it with olive oil without overlapping. Roast them in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Place the vegetables in a salad dish and toss with the remaining olive oil. Put a nonstick pan in medium-high heat.  Slice halloumi cheese into 2-3 cm.  thick slices and fry it for just a couple of minutes on each side until turned slightly brown on top. Cut fried halloumi at small cubes. Mix the mustard with the 2 tablespoons warm water till combined well.

Add halloumi to the vegetables and pour the mustard. Serve with fresh oregano garnish and chili peppers.

Our nutritious and tasty salad is ready!

WHEN NATUTE IS GENEROUS

Recently I’ve visited one honey producer to buy honey and honeycomb. She was too polite to let me taste all the different flavors of honey that she sells. I didn’t know that there are so many flavors of honey… such as pine honey, orange blossom honey, wildflower honey and many others… By tasting them it is easy to understand a difference in the flavor and the scent… I also ate some honeycomb! Honeycomb is known for its beneficial properties for digestive problems. You can chew the honeycomb and taste all the honey, it is totally edible but I prefer not to eat the hard parts. I also had the opportunity to see how the honey and candles are produced. It was a unique experience. You can get an idea from the following photos. As for the cooking part, when I went home, I made yogurt ice-cream with honey. It was marvelous!!!!

The beekeepers remove the honeycombs wearing the special equipment. They usually put on a fire near to the hives, the smoke bewilders the bees and the bees become less likely to sting. Beekeepers don’t take all honeycombs leaving enough for the bees. 

Then the honeycombs are placed into some machines to uncap the honeycombs and extract the honey from the honeycombs. The certain honey producer uses centrifugation. Then the honey is filtered and bottled. Some leftovers of the honeycombs are used to make natural candles and beauty creams.


Ingredients

• 500 gr. Strain yogurt
• 150 gr. Heavy cream
• 150 gr. Honey
• Pile of a lime zest or a lemon zest

Directions

8 servings

 Put all the ingredients together in a bowl and beat them till combined well. Let the bowl to freeze and after half an hour beat them again to avoid sharpening. Repeat for another five times. In case you have an ice cream maker pour your mixture in and follow the instructions! Serve with honeycomb, dried fruits and nuts of your preferences!

 Easy and yummy!!!

SEPTEMBER AT BEACH!!! (ROASTED FISH)

There is nothing more relaxing after a tiring week at city than a break at beach...On September the beaches are wonderful, quiet and peaceful. Last weekend I visited a beach at Northern Greece; at one of my walks I discovered this beautiful scenery that you can see in the photos- which is a small port for fishermen, where I had the opportunity to buy some fishes from the local fishermen. I bought these two fishes (one chiona and one salpa) that I cooked them the next day for me and a friend. I served them with a risotto, a Greek salad and ouzo!

Ingredients

2 whole fishes (700gr each- you can use also fillet of fishes)

2 tablespoons dried rosemary

Juice from 2 lemons

Juice from one lime

Salt

½ teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon thyme

2 spring onions

Baking paper

1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Scrape the scales, gut and remove the gills. Rinse the fishes under cold running tap water. Don’t forget to remove blood coagulated on the inside of the fish. In Greece you can ask fishermen to clean the fished for you (It saves a lot of time!). Cut a piece of baking paper big enough to cover twice the bottom of your baking dish. Place the sheet of parchment paper on baking dish leaving enough around it to cover. Place the fishes in the center. Mix the rest of ingredients (except for the spring onions) and pour the half quantity over the fishes. Don’t forget to pour some at the inside of the fish. Chop the spring onions and add them to the baking dish. Bring edges of the paper together and fold together to crimp closed living some room inside the bundle.  Leave it to marinate at your refrigerator for about two hours (or till you do a bath at sea, it is said that on September the sea water is warmer than it is on other months. Then place in the preheat oven and roast for about 40 minutes then add the rest of your mixture with lemon juice, olive oil and herbs and roast about 15 minutes more or until you think the fish is just cooked through!! Serve it hot! Delicious!!!

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO WHEN YOU GET BORED OF PIZZA?

Suppose that one day you get bored of pizza!You may think I am completely nuts… but it could happen...Okay, I admit that I love pizza too! But let's assume that it comes the time that you don't want to eat another piece of pizza...you just had fed up of eating pizza with your friends watching the football game and you just want to eat something different while keeping the same style!If you don’t think that my hypothesis is possible, I would remind you that there are more extreme scenarios than mine that you may believe in, such as that aliens will attack earth, parallel universes exist, earth will collide with a giant comet or strange creatures live in the core of earth... Oh, I'm such a chatterbox...Whatever...I simply assume that you don't want to eat pizza, I don't care about the reason....

Let's cook a delicious vegetable tart!!! 

Ingredients

Pastry 

• 1 ½  cups all-purpose flour plus more
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 9 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• A pinch of oregano
• ½ tablespoon salt

Filling

• 3 red peppers
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 8 cherry tomatoes
• 2 eggs
• 8 mushrooms
• 2 spring onions
• 6-8 black olives
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil
• 4 sundried tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons milk
• ½ cup Greek yogurt 
• ½ cup cream cheese (I used Katiki, a Greek soft goat cheese)
• 200 gr. Feta cheese in small pieces
• 100 gr.  grated cheese (whatever you will use for pizza)



Steps

Preheat oven to 180°C. Pour the flour, the salt, the oregano and the sugar in a big bowl.  Beat the egg slightly and then add it at the flour mixture. Add the butter and the water and mix it well. Put the bowl in the fridge for about an hour so as to chill. 

Grease a 26 cm. diameter heat resistant pie dish Use a rolling pin to roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface then transfer it to pie dish; press onto bottom and up sides of dish. Trim dough if any dough protruding, leaving 2 fingers overhang.  Line dough with baking paper; fill with dried beans or rice to avoid tart for inflating. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove paper and beans. Bake for a further 10 minutes. Set aside to cool until you prepare the filling.

Cut the peppers, the mushrooms, the spring onions, the cherry and sun dried tomatoes into small pieces. Remove the stones from the black olives and slice them. Beat slightly the rest ingredients together and then add the vegetables and mix well. Put the filling on the pastry and bake for 15 minutes or until the filling seems baked. Top with basil to add scent. 

Good luck!!!

EH... WHAT'S COOKING, DOC? WHAT'S UP, DOC?

Carrot muffins!!!

Ingredients

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 medium carrots
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 eggs
1 1/4 (250 gr.) cup sugar 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup butter at room temperature






Steps

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and oil the muffin cups. 
2. Peel and grate the carrots.
3. Stir the flour with the baking powder, the salt, the cinnamon and the vanilla in a large bowl.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs with the sugar for about 3 minutes. 
5. Then add the butter and the grated carrots while continue beating.
6. Put the egg mixture to the first mixture and mix till combined well.
7. Divide the mixture among muffin cups, filling them two thirds full, and bake in middle of oven until puffed and a tester comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes.
8. Put them out of the oven and let muffins cool in cups before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

WITH OR WITHOUT GRILL

Today I am going to give you a recipe for burgers that a friend gave me before some years and since then it is one of my favorite burgers recipe. You can either grill the burgers or bake them on oven. I prefer to bake them because it is much faster and easier for me since I live in apartment.

 

Ingredients

• ½ kg. ground beef
• 1 onion minced
• ¼ cup breadcrumbs 
• 1 tablespoon salt
• A pinch of black pepper powder
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder
• ½ teaspoon sumac powder
• A pinch of chili pepper powder
• A pinch of sweet paprika powder
• A pinch of baking soda
• 4 tablespoons vinegar
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ clove garlic, minced (optionally)

Steps

1. Preheat your oven at 200 degrees Celsius (390 degrees Fahrenheit).
2. In a big bowl mix all the ingredients until well combined.
3. Shape the mixture into burger patties.
4. Oil lightly the baking dish and place the patties on it.
5. Bake 30 minutes turning once or bake according to your preferences. 

Tip

You can freeze some burgers and bake them another time but remember not to keep them over a month. When you want to bake some, put them out of freezer for a couple of hours at room temperature and cook them before they have completely defrosted.

FORTUNE TELLING PIE

Do you feel anxious and worried about your future? 

Do you ever wonder what will happen to your business 

or when you will find the love of your life?

It’s time for a fortune-telling- pie!!! 

Or as we say in Greece fanouropita.

 Let me be more specific; there is a Greek tradition of a pie that can reveal your future. You may think that fanouropita resembles the fortune cookies but it is quite different as you’ll see. Greeks make this pie for Saint Fanourios whose name comes from the word φανερώνω (fanerono, reveal or predict in English). In the Greek Orthodox Church, Saint Fanourios' memory is celebrated on 27 August. At the evening of 27 August, women bake this pie and bring it to saint Fanourios' churches across the country. After a special church service, each woman shares some pieces of her pie to others so at the end she should have at least 3 pieces of different pies. When they go home at the same night they put under their pillows one small bag with a very small piece of three different pies. This happens for three successive nights. During these nights the saint will reveal that they want to know. (I guess there is a timeframe due to saint’s workload ... :) ) Expect for this day, whenever somebody wants to ask something to the saint, he/she can make the pie and go it to the church of saint Fanourios. 

This custom traces its roots back to the centuries and survives from generation to generation. As far as I am concerned, saint Fanourios hasn’t still predicted anything for me but I have heard many stories in which fanouropita fulfilled its purpose. Regardless, whether or not somebody believes in this Greek tradition, Fanouropita worths a try as it is really delicious. You can find this recipe with many variations, but there are some standards, for example the ingredients that you will use should be 7 or 9 and it shouldn’t contain any animal products. 

P.S. In case saint Fanourios will reveal you the lucky number of lottery, I will ask a part of your profits!!!

Ingredients

500 gr.all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup of black raisins

1 cup oil

1 cup fresh orange juice

2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon clove powder

1 cup sugar

Some icing sugar

Steps

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Lightly grease and flour a tube pan. In a mixing bowl, beat well all the ingredients together apart from flour, baking powder and raisins. Place flour in another bowl and add baking powder, stir well. Add raisins to flour mixture (this is an old trick as flour will prevent raisins from falling at the bottom of your pie).

At the end add the flour mixture to the other mixture and stir again.

Pour your mixture into the tube pan and bake for 45 minutes to one hour.

Wait till it cools down and sprinkle it with icing sugar.

Your fortune-telling pie is ready!!!

INSPIRATION FROM THE EAST

Greek gastronomy has many influences from East due to its geographical position. Personally I find eastern recipes very interesting. One of the salads that I cook often is this one, that undoubtedly will remind you a worldwide known Lebanese recipe, the Tabouleh. My recipe has many differences as you can see but it remains nutritious, tasty and a quick solution to get a fresh salad.

Ingredients

1 bunch parsley 
2 spring onions
2 tomatoes 
1 red pepper 
2 tbsps. lemon juice
4 tbsps. olive oil
1 cup bulgur or couscous
200 gr. Feta cheese 
2 cups chicken broth
Salt
Pepper 


Steps

In a pot, heat in high temperature 2 tablespoons olive oil, then add the bulgur (or couscous) and cook for 30 seconds stirring to avoid burning the bulgur (or couscous). Pour the chicken broth in and wait till all the broth has been absorbed. Leave it aside to cool. 

Chop the parsley and the spring onions. Seed and chop the tomatoes and pepper. At the end cut the feta into small cubes. When the bulgur reaches room temperature, place it on a bowl and add the vegetables, the parsley and the feta. Add the lemon juice and the remaining olive oil. Season to suit on your sense of what the right flavor is. 

Before you serve it you can put it in the refrigarator for an hour.

Bon appétit!!!

CERTAINLY not A GOURMET SAUCE

This time I am going to show you how to make tzatziki! Tzatziki is a dip with main ingredient the yogurt that Greeks cook it all the time. It is also definitely a must-have appetizer when you visit a Greek tavern. As well as don't forget to add to your gyros. Now I must warn you to avoid it in case you have planned a romantic evening; as you know garlic smell is quite repulsive....

Ingredients

250 gr. strain yogurt 
1 peeled cucumber 
3 tbsps. olive oil
1 tbsp. white vinegar
1/2 tbsp. garlic powder
2 tbsps. finely chopped fresh dill
A pinch of salt 




Steps

Grate the cucumber and strain it. Mix the rest ingredients until all ingredients are well combined. Add the cucumber and mix again. Put it in fridge for a couple of hours and it is ready to be served. It can be preserved at fridge for 2-3 days. Optionally you can use one or two gloves of garlic instead of garlic powder. Just smash it before you use it. 

Good luck!

VEGETABLE CROQUETTES -THE GREEK WAY

This is one of my favorite recipes without second thoughts. I cannot even count how many vegetable croquettes I can eat. Basically there is a main recipe for vegetable croquettes in which you can do some amendments or change the basic ingredient. For example this time I used as main ingredient some spring onions but I could use also spinach or zucchini. This is an awesome receipt not only for those who choose vegetarian but also as an excellent appetizer for ouzo!!! 

Ingredients

500 gr. spring onions 

200 gr. feta cheese

2 tomatoes 

1 egg

250 gr. flour 

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tbsp. chopped dill

2 tbsp. chopped fresh mint

1 tsp. salt 

A pinch of pepper

A pinch of oregano

Vegetable oil for frying

Steps

Wash and chop finely the spring onions. Salt them and put them in a strainer about thirty minutes to remove some of its liquid. Let's continue with the preparation of the rest ingredients. Cut the feta cheese and the tomatoes into very small cubes. Mix the baking powder with the flour. Then wring the onions with your hands to remove their liquids. Put all the ingredients in a big bowl and stir well.

If your mixture is too dry, pour some water; if it is too watery, add some flour.

In a frying pan pour the vegetable oil until it covers its bottom. When oil heats enough, take a spoonful of the mixture and put onto the pan.

Cook on both sides until it goldens.

Before you serve the croquettes, put them on a paper towel to remove the excess oil.

Ready!!!

Good luck! Καλή σας όρεξη!!

TELL ME THAT SUMMER ISN' T OVER!!

3 of September is arrived and it looks like the summer is typically over, but hopefully the weather here in Greece is still very good (so everyone who wants to enjoy the beautiful beaches and the bright sun shouldn't hesitate and visit Greece...)

This summer was different from others; the majority of Greeks couldn’t afford vacations. It is obvious that the economic crisis has affected tourism. These who were lucky enough to go on holidays tried to decrease their expenses or the days of their vacations. Fair enough when most Greeks feel anxiety about the future, unemployment is increasing and the purchasing power of Greeks has dramatically fallen. 

As far as I am concerned, I was lucky enough to go on vacations. More specific, I had an amazing weekend with my friends when we sailed around Thassos. We went to beaches that aren’t accessible with other way. The sea  was so crystal that we could see the bottom of the sea and the light breeze on board was so refreshing.

We also learned a couple of things about sailing, we fished and swam. In the evenings we went out to drink a beer at ....Limena. The best part of the trip was when we saw dolphins, it was amazing! There is an uploaded photo at the end of this post. Our skipper told us that dolphins race with boats and a potential defeat can result to get dolphins depressed. 
In case you wonder, the weekend included cooking except for diving and sunbathing. Believe it or not cooking on board is a very challenging project, as I had to cook a quick and light meal for 8 people in a tiny kitchen with a few ingredients. So we cooked  pasta with two different types of sauce; the result was impressive according to my friends!!!






P.S. Sorry for the following clumsy photos but the crowd was too hungry to wait  me   to take pictures!

 Ingredients 

400 g pasta

1st sauce

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cloves garlic, chopped finely (optionally)
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped
• 1 zucchini  chopped and peeled 
• 1 eggplant chopped and peeled
• ¼ can beer 
• 4-5 black olives, pitted and halved 
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Steps

1. Put the peeled and chopped eggplant in salty water for thirty minutes to reduce its bitterness. 
2. Cook the pasta al dente according to package directions or your preferences. 
3. Warm the olive oil over medium heat and wilt the onion, add the garlic (optionally) and cook about a couple of minutes. 
4. Add the chopped eggplant and stir. After 3 minutes add the zuchinni and cook 2-3 minutes more. 
5.  Add the tomatoes and the olives until the sauce thickens. 
6. Add the beer and cook until it has evaporated completely. 
7. Season with oregano, salt and pepper. 
8. Serve the pasta and the sauce at the top of the dish.

2nd sauce 

• 100 gr. goat cheese
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cup 35% cream 
• 2 zucchini  chopped and peeled 
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Steps 

1. Cook the pasta. 
2. Warm the olive oil over medium heat and wilt the onion.
3. Add the zuchinni and cook 2-3 minutes more. 
4. Add the cream and cook until the sauce thickens. 
5. Add the chopped goat cheese.
6. Season with salt and pepper. 
7. Serve immediatelly