Greek Coffee

How about a revitalizing cup of Greek Coffee, just to sit down and share our news after these almost three months? You missed me right?

It smells like grandma's house! It smells hospitality! It smells like home!

I remember when I was a young (I still am, but let's don't go there for now), when my parents were having their siesta (afternoon nap), my sisters and I would prepare two delicious cups of Greek coffee and "accidentaly" would pass them out of their bedroom in order to wake them up and cease the "be quite" period of the day!

What we need for 1 cup:

1 mpriki 

1 cup of water

1 1/2 tea spoon of Greek Coffee

1 tea spoon of sugar (for medium, 2 tea spoons for sweet, none if it's for funeral)

Pour the water into the mpriki and put it on fire. After 1 minute pour the coffee and the sugar. Stir it well and let it become bubbly!

As soons as the surface becomes bubbly, take the mpriki out of the fire and pour some coffee in the cup. Return the mpriki to the fire and let it become bubbly once more. Pour the whole coffee in to the cup and... 

ENJOY!!!

The beginning of a new era!

Enjoy your international Frozen Margaritas this Friday night!

Pudding with milk and rice (Rizoghalo)

Such a familiar smell! Such an easy dessert! So healthy and yummy as there's no tomorrow!!!

Pudding with milk and rice (Rizogalo)

Ingredients

6 table spoons rice for risotto

2 cups water

6 cups milk (full fat)

4 table spoons corn flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tea spoon vanilla powder

Procedure

Boil the rice into the water, until it drinks it all.

Start boiling the milk in another bigger casserole.

Disolve the corn flour into a bit of water.

As soon as the milk starts boiling add the rice and the sugar and stir constantly. Then add the corn flour. 

Stir the mixture in a fast way so as it becomes somehow curdy. Add the vanilla powder at the end, and then pour the mixture into small bowls.

Let it cool for 10-15 minutes and then transfer it into the fridge. In about 2 hours you'll have an amazing, refreshing, delicious and traditional Greek pudding!

TIP

Season with cinammon on the top for extra flavor!

Enjoy!!!

Greek yogurt

Greek yogurt with honey and almonds

What I mostly love about greek cuisine is the fact that the ingredients, the vegetables, the meat, the milk, the cheese that are produced here in the region are of high quality and that's actually the greatest asset to the taste that accompanies each dish!

Yogurt is of unique nutritional value and we count many many years back when it started being one of the basic foods for the Greek family.

Well, now, as you probably can understand, I may have tomatoes in my balcony, I do not have a cow though to walk around the zarntineries! Space-wise, not that convenient!

Ingredients
1 1/2lt milk, fresh milk, not of highly pasteurized
1 can of real yogurt, not the dessert-type, but the one that is quite sour and has, usually, a layer of crust on the top

Procedure
In a casserole, boil the milk until it reaches 40o C. In case we don't have a kitchen thermometre, the milk should reach a temperature that can be tolerated by your finger.
If you feel that the temperature is higher than 40o C, let the milk cool for a while.

Take 2* table spoons of the yogurt and put them ina glass (glass for water). Fill in the rest of the glass with the milk. Stir thoughly until the yogurt is disolved.
Pour the mixture from the glass into the casserole with the milk and stir nicely.
Now you can even leave the mixture in your casserole, or transfer it into a taperware, close it and keep it in a warm place for about 4 hours (in the summer months) and 6-7 hours (in the winter months).

Your yogurt is ready when it has taken a steady and massive shape.

When your yogurt is ready

Refreshing drink with yogurt!!!
How does this sound to you?

Add 2-3 table spoons of yogurt into a glass (for water) and then top the glass with cold water, stirring carefully while adding it until the yogurt is disolved. Enjoy!!!!

Refreshing drink from yogurt

Enjoy!!!

*In case you prefer a more sour taste, add 3 table spoons of yogurt.

Mouthful of zucchini

Here it is! Zucchini once again in all its glory!

Zucchini bites for an alternative gourmet proposition with a bit of my sister's resplendency!!!

You're gonna need:
1kg zucchini (small, medium, large.. the size doesn't really matter in this case!)
1 egg
2-3 cups of  toasted bread (crumbs)
2 fresh green onions, chopped into very small pieces
500gr feta cheese, into crumbs
salt (not much as we use feta as well)
pepper
peppermint
fennel
1 table spoon of olive oil

Mouthful of zucchini

Grate the zucchini into big thin sticks. Let them into a bowl with holes so as to get rid of the water. You don't want your balls to be watery! You can even leave it one night in the bowl in the frigde.

Now take all the ingredients and mix everything together and create small balls (like meatballs), while at the end you press each ball in between your two hands so that they can be fried evenly.

Fry your zucchini mouthfuls into a deep frying pan with plenty of olive oil, until they get the brown-golden colour.
Don't forget to turn them from the other side as well!!!!

NOTE
The texture of the mixture has to be thick and malleable so as to create steady and not watery zucchine bites. The secret is in the toasted bread. I say 2-3 cups, so you got to try and see the texture of your mixture. Add the toasted bread slowly and check on it; you feel like you need more, add some more.
If you make them really tight, roll the balls into some flour before you fry them and you'll be just fine!!!

TIP
They love the company of cheesy or yogurt-y dips. Try this one by mixing 1 cup of cream cheese with 1 chopped fresh green onion and a bit of peppermint.

Enjoy!!!

Meze with octopus in vinegar

Octopus + Ouzo = L.F.E.A.E*

Octopus in vinegar

Follow the procedure as in the Octopus with pasta (NOTE, steps 1-2).
After boiling it, cut its legs into two pieces each.
Put the pieces in an oven pan and bake in the grill mode for around 20 minutes (depending on the size
Keep in mind to turn your octopus so that it's baked equally from both sides.
Take it of the oven, pour some olive oil, vinegar and a pinch of oregano and you're ready to enjoy your ouzo!

Enjoy!!!


*Love for ever and ever

Risotto a la greque (a ha!) with tomato

I guess after all these recipes, you have already noticed that all , all, all, or maybe most of the all, recipes in the greek  cuisine start like that "We fry one chopped onion.."! It literally means to put 2 table spoons of olive oil into a pan or a casserole (depending the recipe), put it in medium fire, chop the onion, throw it in the oil, stir it a bit and leave it there for 2 minutes!!!
It's true!
Do you wanna learn to say it in greek and make fun at your friends?
"Tsagharizoume ena kremidi.."
Ok, we laughed enough for today, let's start cooking..

Risotto a la greque with tomato

1. Tsigharizoume ena kremidi and one green pepper (both chopped of course)
2. Add 2 cups of rice (for risotto). Season with salt and pepper. Stir the rice for 3-4 minutes.
3. Add 2 tomatoes cut julienne style. It would be better to peel off your tomatoes.
4. Add 4 cups of water for every cup of rice. So here, 8 cups of water!!
5. Ruffle (a new google translate word!) the food so as it doesn't stick to the bottom of your casserole.
6. It's ready when there is no water left; the mixture has to be thick and mushy.
7. Finish with some parsley before you remove it from the fire.
8. Serve with some sheep cheese, it's delicious!

Enjoy!!!