It was not related to snow after all, but we lost our adsl connection for the last couple of days. Finally the technician has restored it this afternoon and I am able to answer dear Paz whom I neglected for a while. She tagged me with "The Five Food Challenges for 2006" memé. Thank you Paz and my apologies for the delay, along with another snowy picture: olive tree this time.
- I want to prepare decent macaroons this year. Considering that I have never tried to cook them before, it is big challenge for me. Here you can see some decent ones...very pretty.
3. I want to use some well known tropic fruits in my kitchen; like carambole, lychee and papaya. I have never used them before.
4. Collecting traditional recipes from my family is a hobby of mine. I want to make more contributions on this field. The Balkans have a real treasure of tastes, smells and recipes and I do not want any of them to be lost in time.
5. As a person who has problem eating seafood outside, I want to try making vegetarien sushi at home, at least once. They are called "california sushi" if I am not mistaken. A little avocado, carrots, celery and cucumber drizzled with wasabi will be my ingredients.
Thanks in advance.
It is snowing since yesterday morning in Athens. A rare phenomenon, occuring once or twice a year with enough snow to cover not the ground, but the cars and trees mostly. Above is what I see from my kitchen window. The city lays ahead but invisible because of the constant snow with strong wind. Below is the small lemon tree we have in our backyard, wearing whites. You can have a glimpse of the lemons, very few this year but definitely organic produce:-)
I am ok with the fish. Almost any kind of fish. But the rest...... I have a problem. It was not a problem actually, until I got married. My husband and his whole family adores these creatures but I am unable to eat them. Recently I gathered all my courage and managed to try some fried calamari and actually liked them. And this means I have a looong way to go if I decide to try them one by one. Being unable to eat does not stop me and my curiousity of course. Although the well known phrase is soon to be "curiousity killed the domestic cat" (!), I will not stop cooking them.
I prepare clams regularly, always with white wine deglasé but this time we had only the red wine from my father in law's own cellar. This year they decided on Merlot only, unlike past year's, which was a mixture of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. So the wine was red as blood, and as was the sauce. Though I cannot eat clams, I like to eat linguini with their sauce. Their liquor has an incredible aroma and goes very well with garlic and wine. For four to five persons:
- 20 -25 clams
- 400 gs package of linguini
- 1 cup of white wine
- 2-3 cloves of garlic
- a small onion
- 1 big ripe tomato (or half a can of chopped ones)
- coarsely ground blackpepper
- finely chopped parsley
- olive oil for sauteéing
When you decide to cook, rinse them well with running water and place in a bowl which is filled with tap water. Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons cornmeal over the bowl and mix slightly. Leave aside for 30 minutes. Clams will happily eat the cornmeal and leave out the sand they have in their shell.
Discard the water and rinse clams throughly. You can prepare linguini first, as it takes little time to prepare clams. Chop the onion and garlic and sauteé for two minutes. Add tomatoes and let their juices evaporate. Then add the wine and wait until it evaporates to half of its volume. Normally clams have enough salt like the other seafood, but you may add a little salt just for the sauce. Put clams in the pan, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. They should be opening quickly as the steam hits, do not cook them more than 5 mins or you will have small pieces of rubber to eat. Throw any unopened ones and check the amount of liquid inside the pan. Keep in mind that I am not using any cream or other thickeners for this sauce, you may do as you like. Divide the clams and the sauce over linguini on the plates, garnish with parsley and serve hot.
They cannot replace cream cheese, but surely they are healthier, lower in fat and the most important : they are homemade! You need a couple of days to achieve the result above and if you are as impatient as I am, start with strained yoghurt. The quantitiy is depends on your eating habits and of course the number of the guests you have. You should be very gentle with the little yoghurt balls while serving them and they will pay you with their distinctive taste.
- 3 cups (750 gr) plain yoghurt
- 1 teaspoon salt
- chopped fresh herbes ( rosemary, oregano, thyme or dill)
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 cup ( or more) extra virgin olive oil.
If you prefer them plain, just add the salt in yoghurt and sprinkle the herbs between layers of cheese. You may also add a clove of garlic or a chili pepper inside the jar. You can keep them around three weeks in the fridge. Just take them out early enough for the oil to thaw. Serve with toasted bread or crackers. Enjoy!
As you have already guessed, I am getting up every morning and thinking " what should I marinate today???" oh no.... really my one and only intention is making another addition to our antipasto platter. Of course you have a huge selection of ingredients to place in your platter but since I will skip decorating the plate with processed meat; I want to make an addition on the "vegetarian" side. I used two different recipes, one for canned mushrooms and the other for the fresh ones. The key for success is using extra virgin olive oil and good quality vinegar as well as fresh ingredients.
For the white mushrooms on the left:
- 1 can of mushrooms ( 250 gr)
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 clove garlic, mashed
For fresh mushrooms on the right:
- 500 grs small button mushrooms
- 1 cup (240ml) red wine
- 1/2 cup (120ml) red wine vinegar
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablesppon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 cloves of garlic, mashed
Here is a combination of ingredients which goes very well as part of an antipasto platter. Greek feta cheese is made of a mixture of sheep's and goat's milk and has a salty taste. It is not for your breakfast table but accompanies very well salads, meat, fish and roasted vegetables. It is an appetizer on its own but you can use it in baked goods as well as different mezes. You can use any type of white hard cheese for marinating; the main ingredient here, is extra virgin olive oil. If your cheese crumbles while cutting; try using a sharp knife which has dipped in hot water and dried each time you cut. It keeps well in the fridge; and the oil, which will be very aromatic at the end; could be used in salads or dips, or you can just drizzle your olives before serving.
- Feta cheese
- extra virgin olive oil
- sundried tomatoes
- bay leaves
- black peppercorns
- capers
- oregano or thyme
Start by cutting the cheese in 2cm cubes. In a clean jar, made layers of cheese, tomatoes and bay leaves and sprinkle with peppercorns and capers. You can add a chili pepper inside for a hot twist. After filling the jar with loose layers of cheese mixture; fill it up with extra virgin olive oil. Your marinated cheese will be ready in one week. Before each serving, bring the jar at room temperature to thaw the oil a little....enjoy.
If you like fava beans (broad beans) you should give this a try, and if you do not; you are missing a taste from your life. Many people does not like them because of their smell. But to exclude fava beans just for that reason is unfair. After all, most of the vegetables which has antioxidant properties are smelling too... and we keep eating them. Fava beans are rich in valuable nutritients, vitamins and trace elements also low in calorie. Goes very well with olive oil, dill and a little sugar; just as the recipe below, one of the most traditional mezes (appetizer) of Turkish cuisine; called with the same name as it's main ingredient : Fava
- 1 cup of dried fava beans
- 2 cups water
- 1 onion
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tablespoon sugar
- salt and black pepper to taste
- a bunch of fresh dill
We have been growing raspberries in our garden in Ankara for many years but I never thought of using them to make vinegar, until I read "The Tales From the Fruit Tree" by Tijen İnaltong who is the author of well known, inspiring books about food, ingredients and their origins, in Turkish. The attempt of preparing vinegar was a first time experiment for me; so considering the fermentation time and all the patience you should muster for having a good result, I decided to make use of two fruits instead of one. It was late august and raspberry was still available in the market and the peach was at its best. I used small amounts for the beginning. The remains are still in the freezer and although their fruity taste slowly starts to sharpen and bite your tongue, peach vinegar still accompanies green salads very well and the raspberry one works almost as balsamic vinegar to decorate ripe cheeses and salads made of legumes. I could not get satisfactory information about their expiration date, since they are homemade and the acidity level is not balanced (and stabilized) by industrial methods. But I am sure that if you start with a small amount and keep the bottle in freezer after the first fermentation ends, their shelf life should be at least a year.
Raspberry vinegar
- 200 grs fresh raspberries, hulled
- 100 grs sugar
- 300 ml good quality white wine vinegar
- 2 big ripe peaches, peeled and stoned
- 200 grs sugar
- 500 ml good quality white wine vinegar
A breadlike muffin which has the characteristic ingredients of mediterranean cuisine. Once, a friend of mine who tasted it right after I took them from the oven; said that the taste reminds pizza. Well I do not know, but definitely the smell coming from the oven is truly irresistable while you are cooking them. The recipe is from the website of Betty Crocker products. The recipe contains little salt because of the saltiness of tomatoes and parmesan. I used kalamata olives instead of pimiento.
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 egg
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup shredded parmesan
- 1 tbs chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp dried basil
- 2,5 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes in olive oil
- 1/4 cup pimiento olives
- additional parmesan for topping
This is the second memé that Angelika tagged me sometime ago. With my apologies for the delay; here are the answers:
2. Which cookbook is the one you bought recently?
"The Big Book of Sauces" by Anne Sheasby. I already had her other "big" book for breads and it is very useful also.
3. Which cookbook is the one you read most recently?
It was the "Mediterranean Light" by Martha Rose Shulman, giving very nice ideas about the topic.
4. Name 5 cookbooks which mean much to you:
a) "From Anna's Kitchen" by Anna Thomas. She is the awarded author of "The Vegetarien Epicure". Though I do not have her first book the one I mentioned is beautifully written and you can almost smell the ingredients by her vivid descriptions. I am not a vegetarien but I like her solution of vegetarien combinations and cooking methods.
b and c) Two other books in Turkish by Tijen İnaltong who is another vegetarien but presents very good selection of original recipes of her own and local ones that would be lost otherwise. "The tale of Herbs" and "Tales from the Fruit Tree" are both giving information about most unknown herbs and fruits and the ways to prepare them.
d) "Ingredients" by Loukie Werle and Jill Cox. Ok it does not include recipes but how can you cook a certain ingredient if you do not know what it is? I check this entirely informative book often as a person who likes to try new things in her kitchen.
- How many cookbooks do you own?
2. Which cookbook is the one you bought recently?
"The Big Book of Sauces" by Anne Sheasby. I already had her other "big" book for breads and it is very useful also.
3. Which cookbook is the one you read most recently?
It was the "Mediterranean Light" by Martha Rose Shulman, giving very nice ideas about the topic.
4. Name 5 cookbooks which mean much to you:
a) "From Anna's Kitchen" by Anna Thomas. She is the awarded author of "The Vegetarien Epicure". Though I do not have her first book the one I mentioned is beautifully written and you can almost smell the ingredients by her vivid descriptions. I am not a vegetarien but I like her solution of vegetarien combinations and cooking methods.
b and c) Two other books in Turkish by Tijen İnaltong who is another vegetarien but presents very good selection of original recipes of her own and local ones that would be lost otherwise. "The tale of Herbs" and "Tales from the Fruit Tree" are both giving information about most unknown herbs and fruits and the ways to prepare them.
d) "Ingredients" by Loukie Werle and Jill Cox. Ok it does not include recipes but how can you cook a certain ingredient if you do not know what it is? I check this entirely informative book often as a person who likes to try new things in her kitchen.
I have been tagged by my dear friend Angelika, before I managed to start my humble blog. After reading her answers I saw that there is not much difference between our tastes. So here are my version of "You Are What You Eat Food Memé":
- I consider myself as a morning person, so breakfast is the most important meal for me. In my hometown Ankara I was having a good breakfast and having only yoghurt as lunch. But in Greece most people does not eat breakfast and the main meal is lunch, so we are keeping the habit as a light breakfast with my husband. I am addicted to the trio; consisting of white cheese+tea+olives and of course homemade bread for breakfast. However, once in a while I am spoiling myself and my family with omelette or toast or even pancakes.
- I love most of the vegetables but aubergine is the best one for me. I can eat anything prepared with aubergine and at this point your possibilities are endless. I avoid deep frying but you can roast, sautée, boil or grill aubergine and use it as meze (appetizer), filling for pies, side dish, main dish as the most known representative of mediterranean cuisine and even make souffle! Is it not obvious that I love it!
- As for the carbohydrates; rice in all types are my favourites. Ok I eat pasta but not extremely fond of it (unlike my husband who adores it!) , I prefer ravioli or gnocchi instead. But I really cannot resist to a hot bowl of pilaf with chestnuts, raisins and pinenuts inside or the way I prepare for our daily meals with carrots, peas or mushrooms. What more I can ask for the side? Nothing, thanks.
- I love artichokes prepared in any way.
- I was almost forgetting yoghurt which is an essential part of our diet. I prepare yoghurt at home, as I do with bread and it is always present in the fridge as a healthy snack with walnuts, sunflower seeds and honey, or dressing many kinds of Turkish and Greek plates we eat daily. It is really a lifesaver literally and rationally.
- Any kind of legumes are also my favourites. In soups, salads, as meze again and just plain cooked with olive oil and onions... it is a whole meal itself.
- Ok it sounded like the well known food pyramid until here, so it is time to talk about desserts, pizzas and other sinful food. I am not cheating very often ( I cheated enough sometime ago and still trying to loose that weight) but I am having a slice or two of pizza and creamy desserts sometimes. I do not know how sinful we can consider them because they are mostly homemade but I feel kind of guilty each time I have them. Black forest cake, tiramisu and of course baklava are my favourites.
- Mexican food! I love spicy food and mexican cuisine answers all of my needs in the same plate.
- I am the only one in the household who eats pickles. They really do not know what they are loosing!
- As the last but not the least, I like to grow herbs and use it in different ways in my kitchen. Rosemary, thyme, oregano, mint, basil, parsley, salvia and so on... do not know the number of small jars that I am keeping my dry spices, is another story. And I love to have under my hands pesto, soy sauce, definitely mustard and balsamic vinegar. You will never know when the urge will hit you to use one of them!:-)
