SWEET LIKE STRAWBERRY

Strawberries season has started, isn't great? I can think hundreds of recipes with strawberries but today I am going to make a really easy and quick dessert with only four ingredients. This delicate treat is an excellent choice for vegetarians and whoever is desperate to lose a few pounds before hitting the beach but at the same time wants to keep his/her sweet tooth satisfied ! Strawberry mousse!

Ingredients

8 servings

500 gr. ripe strawberries (17 oz)
200 gr. dairy-free cream (7 ounces)
200 gr. sugar or froctuse (7 ounces)
water


Steps

Wash the strawberries and cut the leaves off. 

Pour water in a saucepan enough to cover- about enough to cover the bottom of the saucepan. Heat the water.

Add the sugar and allow it to melt, stirring occasionally

When it melts add the strawberries. 

Remove the foam that accumulates. 

Strawberries will be ready when syrup is thick but strawberries haven't melted completely. Let the syrup cool down.

Whisk the whipping cream just until it reaches stiff peaks. 

Pour the half of strawberry syrup in the whipped cream and combine well. 

In serving glasses pour the remaining strawberry syrup and then the whipped cream. 

Leave them in the refrigerator for some hours.

Garnish with a strawberry and serve cold.

THE OTHER SIDE OF PEAS

Strange as it may seem, peas are a traditional main dish in Greece. They are healthy, delicious and not to mention easy and quick. Serve with crusty bread and feta cheese! 

Ingredients

4 servings

1 (500g-or 1 lb) bag frozen garden peas

1/4 cup olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 potatoes peeled and quartered (optionally)

2 carrots peeled and cut into rounds

A pinch of garlic powder

Salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon sugar

1-2 cups hot water

Steps

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in onion and garlic; cook about 2-3 minutes till transparent. Add peas, potatoes, carrots, tomato paste, sugar and stir. Season with salt and pepper. Add hot water enough to cover the half peas. Cover and cook until the peas are tender and the water is absorbed (only the olive oil to remain)  -about 30 minutes.

Good luck!

NO MORE DISHES

How about cooking a tasty salad without using a serving plate? 

Ingredients

1 black olive oil halved
1/2 cup crisp canned corn
1 avocado
2 tomato cherries
1/2 boneless and skinless chicken breast
1 tablespoon dried oregano
A pinch of salt
A pinch of pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

 Directions

Cut the chicken breast at small pieces.
Heat 4 tablespoons oil into a pan and stir-fry the chicken. Season with salt, pepper and oregano. 
Let chicken cool.
Halve the avocado, remove the stone and dice it. Don't forget to reserve the shells.
Drain the corn.
Chop the tomato cherries. 
In a bowl toss the chicken, the avocado, the tomato cherries, the corn and the remaining oil for the recipe. Season them with salt and pepper according to your preferences. 
Place the mixture in the avocado shells
Garnish with the halved olive.

HAPPY OCTOBER WITH A QUICK RECIPE!

I hope October has gotten off to a fantastic start. I want to apologize for having been neglecting my blog lately. My new month's resolution is to spend more time to my blog! Pick one new month's resolution to start today too. Just to give you some ideas about what you can do. You can quit smoking, help a friend, call your parents, try to be more creativeor laugh more!!
Okay, time to cook dinner for 4!

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups wide egg noodles or Greek chilopites

1 cup small mushrooms

1/2 eggplant

1 red pepper

Salt

1/4 cup cauliflower

1/4 cup peas

1/4 cup green beans

1 carrot

A pinch of pepper

Vegetable oil for frying

100 gr. gruyere cheese

Process

Boil noodles according to package directions or boil the noodles for 4-5 minutes. Noodles need a lot of water to cook properly. Don't forget to put a pinch of salt in water and try not to over cook them. Drain water and drizzle a little olive oil over noodles to prevent them from sticking. Cut all the vegetables at small pieces and put them (apart from the mushrooms) in boiled water for 2 minutes to soften a little bit. Preheat the vegetable oil and fry all the veggetables for a couple of minutes stiring at the same time. Add the noodles and mix well. Salt and pepper. Stir well. Serve to the dishes. Grate the cheese over the top of your dishes. Ready! Yummy!

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.

BACK TO SCHOOL AND VILLAGE

When I was child, I considered myself to be terribly unlucky to come from Greece, famous for its beaches and islands but born and lived my childhood so far from the sea. This may be surprise for many people since it is widely believed that Greece is only islands and Athens. Over the years I have appreciated more my village. Nowdays, when I have enough time, I visit my little village which has only some  dozen residents where I enjoy the beautiful forest its serenity, the sounds of birds and the smell of the earth. The calmness that it provides is priceless. On my return to city I always carry with me a lot of local products such as fruits, vegetables, greek yogurt, pies, eggs, cheese and goat milk.  The last time I went to my village I returned with 4 storage boxes full of very juicy and sweet plums. After I gave some to my friends, I decided to make a jam and a plum cake with nuts and chocolate. Plum cake is energizing and delicious and ideal for snack or breakfast for the children  (since schools have opened again!) Give it a try and you won't regret it!!

Ingredients

For cake

1 ½ cup green plums chopped at small pieces
1 cup mixture of nuts
1 tablespoon of baking soda
2 eggs
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
½ cup vegetable butter
½ cup milk
1 cup brown sugar
1 ½ cups self-rising flour
1 cup hot water
A pinch of salt
A pinch of cinammon

For chocolate icing

225 gr. bitter chocolate¼ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon brandy (optionally)


Directions

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Butter a regular cake pan. Chop the mixture of nuts in a food processor. Put the chopped plums in hot water and wait till the temperature of water gets room temperature. Strain the plums for a while. Dissolve the baking soda in lemon juice. Beat the eggs slightly. Pour the sugar, the flour, the cinnamon and the pinch of salt in a bowl and combine them together till mixed well. Add dissolved soda to the mixture. Add the mixture of nuts and process using a mixer. Add butter, plums and milk and process some minutes more. 

Spread the mixture in the cake pan and bake for 50 minutes or test it using a toothpick. (Poke the toothpick in the middle of the cake and if they toothpick is dry it means that it is ready.) 

Melt chocolate in a bain-marie at low heat. Add butter, cream and brandy and mix well using a wooden spatula till your mixture becomes smooth. When cake and chocolate icing cool, spread chocolate icing over cake.