French Fries with a Greek twist

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                                               Organic French Fries with a Greek Twist

These are French Fries you can enjoy without feeling guilty. Our homegrown potatoes go directly from the garden and unto our table. Everything tastes so much better when it's home grown it's not only healthier but there's a lot of love that goes into growing your own food. So how do you make French Fries nice and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside?

Firstly, wash your potatoes really well, then peel. Slice your potatoes to accommodate your taste, we like them skinny, they become crunchier that way. 

Secondly, place them in a container with cold water and allow them to soak for about  1/2 hour then

 pat them dry. If you would like, place your fries in a colander and allow them to drip dry. When dry drizzle them with salt

Thirdly, Add olive oil in your frying pan, 100%  extra virgin olive oil gives your French Fries the extra savoriness and it's ideal for frying because of its limited fatty acids. Your oil should be hot before you add your French Fries. Fry your potatoes until golden brown.

Serve your French Fries with a Greek twist, instead of drenching them in Ketchup, drizzle them with lemon, olive oil,  a pinch of oregano and pepper. You could eat them as is or serve them with olives, either way they are delicious! The lemon and olive oil I used  are also organic, both come from my husband's village. This was a complete organic home meal! 

TIP: Place about 3 paper towels on the platter so the fries can drip the oil before you serve them.

                                         

Yellow Split Pea Soup

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                                                           Yellow Split Pea Soup a.k.a Fava

                                   
                                    

 When it's cold outside you need something healthy and delicious to warm your families insides and lift their spirits, nothing hits the spot like yellow split pea soup. It's quick,easy healthy and not to mention easy on the pocket. Split pea soup is rich in proteins and it comes in two colors yellow and green, I love both, it's just that yellow looks prettier. This is an authentic Greek traditional dish and you can find it at almost all local taverns when travelling to Greece. You don't have to travel to Greece to have this yummy dish, take a walk at your local grocery store, they have plenty. I have been such a food aficionado all my life due to my family's  Greek culture but also to my dad's refined taste buds.He always appreciated a higher quality of food and Split Pea Soup falls under this category.  A higher quality of food!

Split Pea Soup is a.k.a pease pudding, it was made in Medieval Europe and it's a popular dish in the Greek culture a.k.a Fava which is served as an ( appetizer) meze. Fave can be prepared as a puree or you can make it a bit chunky, I prefer the puree. My mother served it as a main dish with a side dish of any type of seafood, I serve it with a side of bruschetta

Split Pea Soup of either color are rich in fiber which helps the digestive system. All peas contain manganese,potassium,copper, protein and vitamins such as B1 and B5. For all the above reasons Split Pea Soup is a perfect meal at any time of the day!

Ingredients

• 500 grams yellow split peas
• 1 medium sized onion chopped 
• 1 carrot shredded
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• salt & pepper 
• 5 - 8 tablespoons of olive oil

 Take your split peas place in pot cover with water, place on stove and boil.When peas come to a boil drain them in a colander rinse with cold water and return to pot. Add all your ingredients and last add olive oil, saute for about 10 minutes. Cover peas with water, allow to boil until creamy and tender. Scoop batches of soup with a soup ladle, pour in a blender and mix until smooth. When serving drizzle with olive oil.

TIPS: a)  Use an immersion blender, this is faster and easier.
            b)  For a more spicy taste, use homemade broth or 1 beef knorr cube.
            c) If soup is too thick, thin it out by just pouring more water.

                                                     

KALE OREXI!!! Another fabulous dish from my kitchen to yours! 

Wild Asparagus

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Wild Asparagus, ( Black Bryony/Avriones) or Ovries as they are known locally here in Corfu. This wild asparagus is a sprout from Tamus Communis. It's name is derived from Bryonia Dioicia another wild plant which is poisonous and is not meant for eating. I really don't know why this mistaken in identity has taken place ;)   Wild Asparagus, is nature's gourmet food and the best part is that it's free. My mother in law is an expert when it comes to foraging and I'm an expert in executing a well prepared healthy meal. To me it looks like tiny asparagus. Avriones are simple to clean and simple to cook. They are three ways you can cook them boiled, baked and sauteed with tomato paste. I must admit they are bit bitter but pair them with lemon, fresh tomatoes and some feta and they automatically become a delicacy! 

Wild Asparagus

Ingredients

• 500 grams Bryony
• 1/2 teaspoon of oregano
• 5 tablespoons of olive oil
• parchment paper or clay pan
• lemon 
• salt & pepper to taste

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                     First, you clean them, place them in a colander and run water over them. Allow them to drip dry. Cut off some of the stem. Place them in parchment paper, add all of your ingredients cover and bake at 300 for 20 minutes. Take out squeeze lemon and serve as seen in picture. 

TIP: When using a clay pan cover with parchment paper before baking. 

Kale Orexi! Another great tasting dish from my kitchen to yours! 

Romaine Lettuce with Cherry Tomatoes

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Romaine Lettuce with Cherry Tomatoes

A two ingredient-   A  two minute salad! 

Ingredients:

• 1 Romaine Lettuce
• 1/2 pound of cherry tomatoes
• salt
• vinegar
• olive oil

The other day  feeling exhausted from running errands and being a portable taxi, I needed a quick fix that was also healthy. I opened my refrigerator, I surveyed the area, my eyes spotted  Romaine Lettuce and juicy, ripe, Cherry Tomatoes perfect for a quick pick me up brunch! With only two ingredients and it only took two minutes to make Romaine Lettuce and Cherry Tomatoes hit the spot!  Hearty Salad Recipes, are a favorite. of mine. I don't think a day goes by that I don't have salad on my table! Don't forget, salads are beneficial in our daily diet, they are nutritious and always packed with the necessary vitamins to revitalize our bodies.

TIP: This quick salad can accompany all your kiddie  and adult parties! You will not believe the positive feedback I always receive when I serve Romaine Lettuce with Cherry Tomatoes Salad. 
Try it and I await for your feedback. KALE OREXI!

My Pasta Creation!

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Pasta! Pasta! and some more Pasta! My family and I can never get enough of pasta anyway I cook it, it's always delicious and fulfilling. Pasta is an all purpose dish, vegan, meat, poultry, salad, eat as a main dish or as a side dish. My favorite pasta is spaghetti and creating my own sauces makes it even better! I would to also like to add, that pasta in any form or shape is also nutritious, yes, you read correctly, nutritious. Pasta contains iron, low sodium and it's cholesterol free, which makes it fat free. When you combine your pasta with solid food like meat or poultry you are providing a full balanced meal.

Take out your favorite pan and whip up this easy, delicious and healthy spaghetti dish. 

My Pasta Creation

Ingredients

• 2 large leeks
• 1 large onion
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon fresh basil
• 3 sundried tomatoes
• 10 black kalamata olives

Take your pan and cover pan with olive oil add chopped garlic, onions and leeks and saute for about 20 minutes or until leeks become soft but don't change color.Add remaining ingredients and saute for another 10 minutes.  Boil your spaghetti as per package directions. When done add them to your pan and stir with all the ingredients.Serve hot with a glass of white wine,cheers! 

KALE OREXI!

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A Healthy Salad!

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A Healthy Salad! 

My first post for 2016 and I wanted it to be something healthy and quick. After all that meat eating and all those holiday time consuming meals. I decided to begin with something lighter,healthier and quicker, I created my Healthy Salad A  healthy salad always makes me feel better after misbehaving with the kitchen stove ;) 

A Healthy Salad

Ingredients

• 1 Romaine lettuce
• 1 cup arugula salad
• 1 cup pomegranate
• 1 cup walnuts
• Parmesan cheese (optional) 

 The most important part of this recipe is to clean both salads thoroughly, I can't stress it enough. Recalling an incident I had a few years back at a  local  restaurant. I ordered a romaine salad special and when it arrived and I took the first bite, something wasn't right and then I looked at the salad and the chopped up lettuce had soil, I mean really! Soil?? Wash, wash your salad! What I do is chop off the leaves one by one cut the stem a tad bit and rinse each one under running tap water. For the arugula I cut the stem up to the leaf place in a colander and rinse with plenty of water. Let your lettuce drip dry and chop it up as you see fit. Then, add to your chopped up salad in your  salad bowl and mix. Add your walnuts ( if you would like you can chop up you walnuts) I used them whole. Add you pomegranate  and mix. Add salt,balsamic vinegar and olive oil. For added flavor sprinkle some Parmesan cheese. ( I didn't sprinkle any Parmesan cheese my family didn't want it).

Kale Orexi from my kitchen to yours! 

carrot truffles

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                                                               Carrot Truffles

I went to a party the previous week and as I sat down my eyes immediately were attracted to these tiny coconut covered balls. My hand quickly dove into the platter, grabbed one and sunk my teeth right into it. Then another one and another one, I couldn't stop at just one, these Carrot Truffles were so good!  So what's the next best thing, you ask the host of the party if you can have the  recipe. She handed me over the recipe book. I opened it up and found my recipe of Carrot Truffles, they were so easy to make. 

This is not my recipe, and I haven't tweaked it at all. The author of the cookbook is Vefa Alexiadou, she is really well known in Greece. I just wanted to share it with all of you. 

So without further adieu and since this will be my last post for 2015 I wanted to leave you with a sweet thought, Carrot Truffles- simple, quick and an awe- inspiring yummy recipe. :)

Carrot Truffles

Ingredients

• 2.5 pounds big carrots
• 1 pound sugar
• 1 pound grated coconut ( have an extra bag for coating)
• 2 lemons
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Clean your carrots place them in a pot and cover them with water.Boil them until they become soft ( don't over boil)  Place them in a colander and let them drip dry.When they have dried up shred them. Place them again in the colander and set  them aside for two hours. Place them in pot add sugar, place your pot on stove on high heat and stir for about 15 to 20 minutes. Take your pot off the burner, add your vanilla extract, grate your two lemon rinds,and your coconut, stir and allow to cool. When cool take a bit of the carrot mix and roll balls into your palm then coat them with coconut and they are ready to serve.  KALE OREXI and have a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! You should be able to make about 40 - 50 depending on how big or small you make your truffle balls. 

Lentil Soup

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Lentil Soup 

Lentil soup has to be the most healthiest and easiest soup and such a comfort food especially on the cold winter days. A fireplace, lentil soup paired with pan fried peppers and a glass of retsina and of course a few good friends are all the ingredients you need for an ideal night for fun and chuckles.

Lentil soup has a minimum of 2- 3 ingredients and it cooks in about 45 minutes. When you're in hurry just throw all the ingredients together and just boil. I like to serve my lentil soup with pan fried peppers, sometimes anchovies but I always, always serve them with retsina. 

Retsina- is a traditional Greek white wine with an exceptional flavor that was found accidentally. Retsina production goes back to ancient Greek times. Retsina came about from the need to preserve wine, they used amphorae and wine vessels for transportation. They used resin to seal the wine so oxygen couldn't penetrate through and spoil the wine, if resin wasn't used the wine would spoil within a year. Pine resin was used as a sealant in which in turn it gave the wine the distinct flavor we have come to known today as Restina. As the years passed transportation of wine also changed, in the 3rd century Romans began to use barrels for wine transporting. This eliminated the need for resin but the flavor became so popular that they retained it. Restina is still made with the same process bit of course with a much lesser amount of resin. Retsina is best when paired with the appropriate recipe, for example, it's perfect when serving with legumes, fish and appetizers( a.k.a. meze in Greek).

Lentil soup

Ingredients

• 500 grams lentils
• 3 chopped  garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• salt & pepper to taste
• 10 tablespoons olive oil


 Add your lentils in a pot add water make sure it covers the lentils, allow them to boil for about 5 minutes. Drain your lentils in a colander. In the same pot add lentils, garlic, oregano olive oil, slat and pepper to taste, cover with water and allow to cook  for about 30 - 40 minutes. When they start to split they are ready, simmer on low heat and serve. 


1. TIP: When serving drizzle with oil. Most Greeks also drizzle it with vinegar it will jazz up the flavor.
2. My way of eating it,drizzle with vinegar and some feta cheese, I love it! I hope you will too. 
3. KALE OREXI!! Another great dish from my kitchen to yours! 
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Bruschetta

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                                                                  Bruschetta

The other day I was just sitting around and I needed a quick fix, ever feel like that? We all do at one point or another.  Took a few steps to my kitchen and opened up my cupboards and ran my eyes across the shelves and there was some leftover bread that I had brought from two days ago, hmmmm I thought how about some bruschetta, I had different types of cheese in the refrigerator,  some cold cuts and had a bit of white sweet wine. In just a few minutes I whipped up a quick fix lunch for me and my hubby, oh , my kids had leftover lunch from the other day. As you can see  it was a lazy kind of a day so I needed something quick and easy. Bruschetta hit the spot.

Bruschetta

Ingredients

• 1 left over bread
• 2 tomatoes
• 3 -4 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 2 -3 fresh basil sticks

Take your left over bread and cut into slices. Place baking sheets on your rack ( makes cleaning easier) Sprinkle with water add chopped up tomato, few pieces of chopped garlic, sprinkle with olive oil and oregano. Bake for about 5 minutes on high. When done add basil on top and serve with cold cuts and cheese. KALE OREXI !!!!




                                                 

Pan Fried Bell Peppers with Tomatoes

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Pan Fried Bell Peppers with Tomatoes 

Pan Fried Bell Peppers with Tomatoes, A quick and easy dish! Peppers can be found year round but the best time for this recipe is the summer time, that's when they are in season, fresh out of our garden and onto our plates. Fried peppers are a  personal and cherished favorite of mine only because it was taught to me by my grandmother. When I prepare this recipe, images of good times, fun times, relaxed and carefree summer days come to mind. The scent of  Pan Fried Bell Peppers in olive oil takes your culinary taste to another level. Back in the days when I lived with my paternal grandmother, I  would sit right beside her, in her outside fireplace, where she cooked on an open fire as she used olive wood and olive oil, I waited patiently for the first batch of fried peppers and to just start eating. The aroma that lingered in her outside fireplace, for a little while after she had finished the frying... mmmmm I could almost touch this memory! The tomatoes give the peppers a delightful succulent taste.

TIP: For the perfect fried peppers make sure your oil is quite hot and make sure you don't put one too many in the pan or they will not fry properly. They even taste better if have  fresh brick oven rustic bread.

Pan Fried Bell Peppers with Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 2 pounds green bell peppers
• 1 large tomato
• Olive Oil 
• salt 

Cut your peppers into pieces large enough to fit on a fork add salt and mix.

Cut your large tomato in small pieces and set aside for later use.

Add a bit more oil then just to cover the pan but not too much or your peppers will boil not fry.

In about 15 minutes of frying on high, they should start looking charred, 

Add your tomato allow to fry for about 5 minutes if more is needed allow them longer frying time.

That's it they are ready to serve as an appetizer or a side dish! 

KALE OREXI!! 

Halloween Lunch

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                                             Halloween Festivities with a complete lunch!

            Witches Brew, Bloody Spider Rice and Bloody Eyeballs served with Bloody Shots!

                                                         

Bloody eyeballs!

Halloween is a time to make spookatacular lunches that are darculicious! I'm an expat living abroad but that hasn't stopped me from celebrating my U.S. holidays whether it's Halloween, Thanksgiving or Fourth of July, with  the help of  few good neighbors and community support,I always go out of my way to provide my kids with the best of both worlds. Before cooking our Halloween lunch, I joined up with the local English Afternoon School and after quite some hardwork of the owner of the school, Ms.Katerina Katsouli, and quite a few days of organization, My kids  and her students enjoyed a full week of Halloween festivities everything from spooky stories, trick or treating to Halloween fun and games and of course a complete lunch!! Happy Halloween!  It doesn't matter where you live in the world you can celebrate any holiday you want! We would like to thank Ms. Katerina Katsouli,  she really goes out of her way to make her students happy! Teachers like her are hard to find!

It's that time of the year again and I love it just as much as the kids!! There's so much in creating, serving and seeing smiling faces on the faces of people you love.

And now for the Halloween Lunch 

Ingredients
Witches Brew:

• 1 big round eggplant
• 1 medium sized onion
• 2 garlic cloves ( you can add more garlic to make it spicier) 
• 1 medium sized zucchini
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• salt & pepper to taste
• Chili pepper (optional)

Take a sauce pan add your chopped up onions and garlic sweat them for about 2- 4 minutes then add

your chopped up zucchini and the inside of the pumpkin saute until veggies are soft enough to place in a blender. Add about 1/4 cup of water to and boil, veggies will soften faster, just be careful don't add to much water or it will become to soggy and watery.When veggies are soft enough run through blender making a smooth dip.

Take your eggplant and carve out the inside, add salt and place upside down on a paper towel and allow for the water to drip out for about half hour. Then place in oven for about 20 minutes on high. Make sure it doesn't bake all the way or it will  fall and it will not hold your dip. Take out of the oven add your dip and it's ready to serve!

Bloody Eyeballs:

Take 6 eggs separate egg whites from egg yolks

Add 1 cup water with salt and pepper allow to boil add egg yolks

boil until hard.

Add red sauce or ketchup in  plate spread add your egg yolks top with tiny pieces of olive and serve!

Kids will love this!

                                                            

*I found the spider idea on the internet.

Bloody Spider Rice

Ingredients

• 3 cups of long grain rice
• 1 cup red sauce or ketchup
• 1 tablespoon butter
• a few black olives

Boil rice as per package directions

When you drain and you return to pot add butter and stir.

Take a small cup that resembles a ghost add rice and pack well turn upside down on a plate

and your ghost figure should come out.

Make small spiders out of olives, place them on top of your rice , add red sauce or ketchup and your 

Bloody Spider Rice is ready to serve! Another food your kids will get a kick out of!  

Bloody skull shots any red juice

Serve with Bloody Skull Shots! Happy Halloween and spine chilling cheers to all! 

                                               

                                             A Complete Halloween Lunch!

                                   

Bacon and chili peppers bean soup

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                                       Bacon and Chili Peppers Bean Soup

                                                

                          

     

Good morning  my fellow readers/followers, I'm just so excited this week! I belong  to an amazing group on facebook called Foodify, and this week we had the Fall Soup Challenge which I was thrillled to join, This was my first food challenge and I loved it!! We had to use only 6 ingredients and for me ( as you know I love spices & various ingredients) so using just 6 ingredients was a real challenge for me! My creation was Bean Soup with bacon and chili peppers, we are legumes lovers in my house. I chose legumes because they are  healthy and adding chili peppers to it just makes a perfect fall soup! I bring another great recipe from my kitchen to yours. KALE OREXI!!!

Ingredients

• 1 pound small white kidney beans
• 1/2 celery stick
• 5 bacon slices
• 1 chili pepper
• 1 medium sized onion
• 1 medium sized tomato
• 1/4 cup oilive oil
• salt & pepper to taste

 I soaked my legumes (kidney- beans) over night. The following day I boiled them and drained drained them in a colander. I chopped up all the ingredients and added them in the pot. I sauted for about 10 minutes, added 8 glasses of water( if needed add more. Boil on high for about 1 hr. When they have softened place on low heat and allow to simmer until legumes have reached an almost creamy taste. 

Check out my fellow Foodify Soup Contributors

Athina Pantazatou

Parvathy V Nair

Grape Pudding a.k.a Moustalevria

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                                                  Grape must pudding a.k.a Moustalevria

It's grape harvest time in my part of the world (Greece) in a little village called Zygos and grape harvest is called Trygos.  Once you have harvested your grapes you process them and make grape must, this the  the first step of wine making.  In Greek must is called moustos, Must has many uses in the Meditteranean cuisine, petimezei ( grape syrup) similiar to molasses, pies, grape must cookies ( moustokouloura) and the most famous, Moustalevria, a pudding made from the grape must, using alevri (flour). My  recipe of moustalevria is organic and gourmet, this is a recipe that dates back to Byzantine times, grape must was a necssary ingredient in all their sweets. 

Our organic grapevine

My grape must, is straight from my father -in - laws grapevine and onto our table. Moustalevria is made in many ways but I chose the most easiest and traditional way.

TIP:  You have to use the grape must immediately before fermentation begins, if you use it after two days you will get a sweet and sour taste.

Grape pudding ak.a Moustalevria

Ingredients

• 7 cups grape must
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ashes
• 1/3 cup crushed walnuts
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Collect your grape must and place it in a container, leave overnight so it can settle.

The next day take a colander, line it with a cheesecloth or tulle.  Cheese cloth works better but I didn't have one this time. Place it inside the colander and drain your grape must, place in a pot and boil on high until it's half of what you original had. Make sure you add your wood ashes while the grape must is boiling ( in a cheese cloth). The ashes purify the grape must. 

When done boiling drain again using a cheesecloth,  I drained iτ twice allowing it to sit for about an hour each time. You can also allow it to settle over night and drain the following day. Return to heat on medium, add your flour slowly and stir with a whisk  when the pudding thickens remove from heat and place in bowls. 

TIPS: 1) Don't use charcoal ashes ( Very Dangerous) !  Some people use bread instead of ashes, I stick to olive wood ashes, I was informed by  Panagiotes Koutelidakes, an oenologist that you can also use grapevine ashes. He  also informed that wood ashes are rich in potassium, which neutralizes the musts's acidity, and also helod with the the thickening of the pudding. (  USE nothing else just clean wood or grape vine ashes, they are also high in potassium)  I prefer to use olive wood. When you are burning wood it should be clean wood and just wood,  no other materials like napkins, newspaper logs, fake firelogs etc.)   and only use small twigs to start a fire not petroleum or any other substances because the ashes will go into your pudding. 

2) You might not use up all the flour so don't worry if  you have flour left over.

7 cups of grape must,  makes about 4 small bowls.  Your Moustalevria is ready! Add crushed walnuts,cinnamon and serve.

KALE OREXI!! 

Greek Garlic Potato Dip a.k.a Skordalia

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Greek Garlic Potato Dip a.k.a Skordalia

Greek garlic potato dip a.k.a Skordalia is  another Greek traditional recipe. It's name is taken from the word skordo which means garlic, hence skordalia and if you are a garlic lover, then this dish is perfect for you, it's potent, so make sure you have extra mints lying around :) This is a dish that is usually made on Greek Independance Day, at our our house we made it a few times more. It was my dad's favorite and of course mine so we didn't wait till holidays came around, any day was a good day for skordalia. My sweet mom would never make enough. We would always wipe the bowl clean! Back in the days when blenders were not known  they used a pestle and mortar, yes we had one in the house and that's how my mom made Greek garlic potato dip ( skordalia) I use a mixer blender. If you are using a pestle and mortar for Greek Garlic potato dip ( skordalia), I suggest you use a wooden one, stone is too heavy and let me not forget when using these tools it's a bit more time consuming but for some reason it tastes better.

This garlic dip is usually served with boiled cod fish or beer battered cod fish with a side dish of beets. Variation servings with bread, vegetables, bread sticks etc. Skordalia is very simple to make all you need is potato, garlic and olive oil.  If you do a google sreach you will find many variations. Some use bread, almonds,  walnuts and lemon but this is the way it was made traditionally. Greek Garlic Potato Dip is usually served with a white wine or Retsina 

Greek Garlic Potato Dip 

Ingredients

• 2.2 pounds potatoes
• 5 garlic cloves ( crushed or minced)
• 1/3 cup of olive oil
• salt to taste
• Rustic bread  to spread your dip on

Peel and boil your potatoes on high until tender and mashable. If you us e a mixer place your garlic with 1/3 cup olive oil and chop up your garlic add your potatoes and mix. Empty out the mix into a bowl. Add your next batch of potatoes in the mixer, mix and add them to the garlic mix, add salt for taste.  Repeat the process until you are finished with the potatoes. Serve them with boiled cod fish and beets or beer battered cod fish.

If you use a pestle and mortar mash you garlic and slowly add your potatoes, you will have to remove them when it fills and then you repeat the process without the garlic. The more garlic you add the more potent it will become. Enjoy! Kale Orexi!! One more tasty recipe from my kitchen to yours :)