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!

                                   

Deep Fried Zucchini Burgers in Red Sauce

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Deep Fried Zucchini Burgers in Red Sauce

The other day my kids wanted burgers but I didn't have enough minced meat and of course I was too lazy to go shopping. It was just one of those days where you cook with what you have handy. I opened my refriegrator and guess what, I had some extra fresh zucchini, hmmm, I thought to myself, time to improvise, how about some Deep Fried Zucchini Burgers  drowned in red sauce. The outcome was, well take a look for yourself. The plates were wipped clean with some rustic bread. Deep Fried Zucchini Burgers in red sauce, besides deep frying you can also bake them. I have tried both ways and I prefer deep fried, just a personal option. If burgers is not your choice then turn them into meatballs. 

Zucchini Burgers in Red Sauce

Ingredients:

• * 1 pound minced meat
• 1/2 - 1 pound shredded fresh zucchini 
• 2 slices rustic bread ( or any bread you have laying around) 
• 4 tablespoons of Pillsbury self rising flour
• 1 egg beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 1 medium tomato (diced) 
• 1 medium  onion (diced)
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon mint

Red Sauce:

Ingredients:

• 1 regular sized onion
• 1 medium tomato
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 garlic cloves
• nutmeg
• 3 cloves
• oregano
• salt & pepper to taste

*  If you are vegetarian you can use soy protein vegetaria meat

Place your chop meat, in a bowl or pot which ever is more convenient for you. I usually use a pot. Soak your bread in milk for a few minutes, take it out wring it and crumble it in your mince meat, add  all your other ingredients and mix. Your burgers might need a bit more flour, don't be afraid add some more. The bread makes the burgers more fluffy and juicy.

For your red sauce, 

Combine all your ingredients together saute for about 5 minutes add 1 and 1/2 cup of water, boil on high 30 minutes. When sauce is ready to simmer add tomato paste and put on low heat and let simmer until sauce thickens and set aside. When it's simmering add some grated nutmeg and your cloves.

Zucchini Pie a.k.a kolokithopita

This is a mommy's dish, my mommy is the best! This originates from a little island called Mathraki seven miles away from Corfu, my island of residency.  A sweet, warm loving lady who just cooked away to please her family and made sure we always had something cooked. She taught me the basics of cooking and all her little kitchen secrets. Coming home from school with my siblings and walking up to the house we could smell the aroma the pie from the driveway, it's a sweet dish. I dedicate this post to her. I have made this pie many times but it always seems that my mommy's always tastes  better !! I love you mom for all you've done for all of us ! 

Ingredients

Dough

6 pounds of zucchinis ( should make 2 large pizza pans ) 

3 - 4  pounds of onions 

1 teaspoon of oregano 

1 teaspoon mint

1 1/2 cup flour ( depends)

* 2 eggs ( depends) 

salt & pepper to taste

red pepper

Olive Oil 

Cut the zucchini and your onions up in tiny pieces by hand ( do not use a cutting machine it will turn watery ) I have tried this, I love to use pots to mix ingredients.

Mix all the ingredients together, beat the eggs separately and add it to mixture. 

* TIP, if you are vegetarian you can omit the eggs. Start adding flour slowly and mixing until all ingredients are bound together, be careful not to add too much flour or it will become tasteless, just enough until it looks thickened. Also add less than  1/3 cup olive oil in the mixture, salt and pepper to taste.

I have showed you in a previous post how to make your dough. Before placing it in the pan, brush it with olive oil. The rolled out dough should overlay the pan so  you will be able to make your crust.

My mommy is making the pie,add your mixture. Your mixture should cover the whole pan, don't try to make it thick. she's turning the pan counter clock wise and turning the dough inside making the crust. it's real simple once you get the hang of it.

 Then create your crust and sprinkle your crust with olive oil and sprinkle the pie with red pepper, you can put spicy or mild red pepper I use spicy red pepper. It' will be the  sweetest dish you've ever had. Bake in your  oven for 45 minutes at 356 Fahrenheit

My mommy's pie is ready and I'm sharing it with you. One taste and you will have seconds and thirds and etc. KALE OREXI !! 

TIP: If  your not sure if the bottom is baked take a fork and lift it up from the sides. If you have any questions about this recipe or any other recipe, feel free to contact me !! 

Fried Zucchini Patties a.k.a Kolokithokeftedes

                                        Fried Zucchini Patties a.k.a Kolokithokeftedes

                                                       

I  know summer time has stepped in when my mother - in - law keeps sending me fresh zucchini, it's time to make Fried Zucchini Patties. Due that we have English people on our island  they are also referred to as courgettes. Kolokithikeftedes ( I think subliminally, I'm trying to teach you how to order in  Greek ;) ) as I was saying, kolokithokeftedes are a Greek ouzo meze ( hors d' ouevre). This meze is served at traditional taverns and restaurant all over the Greek Islands. A trial and error recipe as I like to call it, it takes a lot of practice to perfect. You can always add or subtract ingredients, next time I might add mushrooms to the mix. This is a great side dish when you have french fries, lentil or bean soup.You can even add an American twist to it, stay tuned and  keep reading and find out how. :)

3 pounds of zucchini ( courgettes ) 

Ingredients:

3 pounds of zucchini

5 small fresh onions ( should make 2 cups) 

2 tablespoons fresh or dried dill

2 tablespoons fresh parsley

1 medium sized tomato ( pureed) 

1 tablespoon mint

1 teaspoon paprika ( only if you like it)
1 teaspoon oregano

4C breadcrumbs 1 cup for the mixture and the rest for making the patties ( This is the American twist and this idea was my cousin's) 

2 whole eggs

1 cup crumbled feta cheese (preferably Kefalonia feta if not, any feta will do)

5 cups self rising flour ( This varies anywhere from 2 - 5 cups) depending on amount of zucchini or preference) 

salt and pepper to pepper
Salt- add 2 tablespoons of salt, keep in mind the feta cheese is salty.

Corn oil and and olive oil

Shred your zucchini in a colander strainer and set aside to drip, they usually retain water.

Some pictures of the ingredients, below are the fresh onions. Cut your onions in small pieces place in pan with 1/3 cup of olive oil and saute for about 10 minutes.

                                                      

Below the sauteed onions 

  

I used fresh frozen parsley,  I chopped it up in the blender and placed it in the mixture.  

Kefalonia feta cheese that I crumbled up , comes out to 1 cup.

This is how your mixture should look, make sure it's not running. 

Remove the shredded zucchini from the strainer and place it in a bowl. Put your sauteed onions, pureed tomato, parsley, dill, eggs ( scramble them first), and crumbled feta in the mixture with the zucchini. Mix well ,add 1 cup of 4c bread crumbs, then add 5 cups of self rising flour. Mix very well, your mixture will not be pliable, just enough flour so you are able to work with it. Let it stand in the refrigerator for an hour. Remove and excess water and begin to make you zucchini patties.

 

This is the last part before frying your patties, scoop it out as shown in the picture with a tablespoon. Place a scoop of the mixture into the bread crumbs. I used plain bread crumbs you can use 4C breadcrumbs, then begin forming your patties.

This is how your patty should look.

Fill your deep frying pan with olive oil and corn oil. Make sure the oil covers half of the patty. You can add half and half of both oils. I added more olive oil and 3 cups of corn oil.We use corn oil because it's sweeter and it gives the patties a sweet taste. My mommy's secret, the oil has to be sizzling hot before your fry your patties.

Look! I have captured the fog from the sizzle.

You should deep fry for about two minutes or until they have this color. The object is, for the patties to be crispy on the outside and a soft spongy inside. As you can see in the picture, place paper towels, on  the bottom of your plate so the patties can drain out all the oil on the towels.

And your zucchini patties are ready ! Kale Orexi !!! My kids and hubby loved them !!