BB to the Q

Our summer so far has been a pretty wet one, so when I heard of a sunny day coming up, I thought of 3 things: B - B - Q ! There was a great deal on strip loin (or was it sirloin?) steak, so off I went! I picked up five thick juicy steaks, and some other barbecue treats. My husband bought a great spicy Italian sausage, but there is no pic here, which is a damn shame. He also picked up some pork chops. For sides, I made a salad and some rosemary potatoes. It was a great and simple impromptu meal , and I definitely want another one just like it soon.

Great Steaks & Chops




We simply add salt, pepper, garlic and oregano to these.





I think the bbq is one of the many reasons I could never be a vegetarian!



I do, however, appreciate my veggies. We cooked these potatoes on the bbq, wrapped in tin foil. They were coated in olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, rosemary and onions. Absolutely delicious!



This is my plate. My husband perfectly cooked my steak - much to the horror of my in laws and best friend! The next day I had a leftover steak, cooked the exact same way, and it was like butter ; not bad for being nuked in the microwave.

Banana Bread

Let's face it: banana bread isn't bread, it's cake. Regardless, it's a great way to use up those poor bananas on your counter. I had five bananas ripening away, so I figured I had to use them. I quickly Googled this recipe and made some pretty tasty loaves. Other than the quantity of bananas, I doubled the recipe. Sorry about the crappy pic!

Recipe found here .

Feta Pie with Homemade Filo Dough

My in laws gave us a tonne of feta cheese - A TONNE! So, I decided to make a feta cheese pie using the filo dough I make for my spanakopita. This is the first time I made it, and it turned out really well. Next time however, I will add more cheese, and will cook the pie longer. Once again, I don't have exact measurements to off .. woops.

Dough
1 soup bowl flour
1/2 cup vegetable oil
some salt
1 table spoon vinegar
warm water

Filling
10 eggs
lotsa feta cheese
pepper
parsley

1. For the dough I use my trusty Kitchen Aid mixer, but I have done it by hand as well. Add the flour, salt, vinegar and oil to the mixer and slowly mix with he dough hook attachment. Slowly add the water until a nice soft dough is formed. Set aside.

2. For the filling, whisk all the eggs and then crumble in your glorious feta, and then add the parsley and pepper. Set aside.

3. Now the fun part - rolling the dough! I was using a smaller baking sheet for my pita, so I divided my dough into 4 balls the size of a tennis ball.You will need 2 sheets of dough for the bottom, and 2 for the top.

4. Until this site has video, the description here may be a bit vague. You will need to roll the dough out as thin as you can, rotating the dough, and flouring it in between turns. Lay the first sheet on the bottom of the baking sheet, and drizzle some olive oil over it, and spread it around.

5. Make your 2nd sheet, and place it over the first one.

6. Pour the egg mixture over top.



7. Roll out your 3rd sheet, and place it over top the entire pan. Let the edges over hang. Drizzle with olive oil.

8. Roll out your final sheet and place over top. You can crimp the edges if you like.




9. Place the pie in a 350 degree oven.



See how it is bubbling up? When the egg mixture becomes more solid, you can pre-slice where your pieces are to let the steam escape.



This is before I cut the pieces...



.. and after. Now back to the oven to finish cutting.



Ideally, it should be a lot more brown, but i was worried the filling may be too dry. The entire pita was very moist, tasty and flaky. Definitely a recipe I will do again.