Onions Make Me Cry.

Garden Yum!

2011-09-16T21:29:00.000-07:00

Tomato Yum!

2011-09-05T11:58:00.001-07:00

Birthday Brunch

2011-08-29T17:10:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of throwing a birthday brunch for my bff! We had eggs, bacon, croissants, sausages and homefries! For dessert we had amazing bourbon peach pies by Anne, and I made my first strawberry mouse. Yum!

Beach Eats

2011-08-21T17:53:00.001-07:00

After a great trip to the beach, we hopped over to restaurant we've never been to. Here's what I ate:

Coconut curry veggies over basmati rice, and a spinach salad. I loved the salad, and just thought the curry dish was OK. Ah well.

My husband's haddock. I wish I had ordered this instead, ah well. The nachos were disappointing though. I like to load mine up.

Overdue Pics

2011-08-20T20:07:00.001-07:00

Pork Souvlaki

Strawberry Cake

Honey Mustard Glazed Chicken
I made the glaze myself - just winged it!

Lazy Meal : Mushrooms with Egg Noodles & Garlic Bread

Veggie Quesadillas

Creamy Green Onion Mashed Potatoes with Grilled Lemon Chicken

Chocolate Cake for My Mom's Birthday

One of the Best New Year's Meals Ever! Thanks to my Aunt and Uncle!

My Vasilopita (Greek New Years Bread)

What happens when dough is placed on warm cookie sheets? Disaster!

My dessert plate over the holidays. I have a thing for custard! The little roll on the left is filled with bocconcini. Who knew?

My Mom's Lamb in Red Sauce.

Her "stuffing" -- which is a very tasty rice dish!

Her spanakopita.

Her roast lamb.

Grilled Haddock, oven baked salmon and spanakorizo.

My mom's famous galaktobouriko. No one gets their philo as crispy as hers, and her custard is perfect.

Turducken my brother in-law ordered.

Hilopites with Beef

2011-08-20T19:44:00.001-07:00

I absolutly love this sauce! I have done this red sauce with chicken, but this time, went with stew beef. This is a brief description, since its late and I'm tired after a tough workout! Nice to be back!

I sauteed onions with olive oil, and browned the meet, and then add some basic tomato sauce. I also added a few cups of water. I flavoured the sauce with salt, pepper, cinnamon and a few bay leaves. I was simmering this on the stove, but worried that the meat wouldn't be tender enough. I decided to put it in the oven, uncovered, at 300 degrees. After one hour, I added the hilopites and took the pot out after another hour. This sauce is also great over hand cut fries --my mom would make that for me. Yum!!

Enjoying the Harvest!

2011-08-20T19:38:00.001-07:00

So far, have picked 2 delicious cucumber, and picked our first zucchini today. Look a how SHINY that zucchini is! Still waiting for the tomatoes to get color...

Banana Bran Muffins

2010-03-19T13:15:00.000-07:00

This easy recipe was found here . I doubled the recipe, used a bit less oil and added an extra banana, and made a couple of minor changes. My variation of the recipe is below. They turned out great and were very moist and not too sweet.

2 c. flour
4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
2/3 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 c. All Bran, slightly smushed
2 c. skim milk
3 lg. mashed bananas
2 eggs
3 tbsp. vegetable oil

Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl, and hand mix the rest of the ingredients in another bowl. Let the wet ingredients sit for 5 min minutes, and then add the dry ingredients to them. Pour the batter in paper lined muffin tins and place in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until cooked through. Done.

Party at My House

2009-07-30T11:28:00.000-07:00

I love throwing parties. Sure, they can be a bit of work, but who cares about that once the food is served? Other then under seasoning the potatoes (my fault!) , everything was super delicious. My husband manned the grill with his bro cooking up some delicious Italian sausages. I also got to make beer can chicken -- loved it!

Hot Italian Sausages : We started off with some of these delicious sausages. They were spritzed with lemon and accompanied by grilled panini bread and tzaziki.

Mussels : My mom made these - for the first time ever! They were steamed with wine, garlic, tomatoes and onion. The juice was great for bread dipping too.

Mushrooms: I added onions, bell peppers and red chilies. They were further flavoured with salt, pepper, garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Salad : Mixed greens, peppers, onions, tomatoes, etc.

Zucchini Fusilli : A simple pasta with zucchinis, and a homemade sauce made of plum tomatoes and spices.

BBQ Potatoes : These poor guys were under seasoned. Woops.

Meat : T-Bone, Prime Rib and Strip loin steaks, and pork chops. Wicked.

Beer Can Chicken : My proud moment that day! It is best right out of the oven, but it was still delicious when company arrived. I used a Montreal chicken rub for the marinade.

Unfortunately, dessert was forgotten, picture wise. I will make up for that the next time around.

Paella

2009-07-30T08:33:00.001-07:00

My brother surprised us to a dinner invitation, which of course, we could not refuse. He said he was going to make paella for the first time. At first I was jealous, because I wanted to make paella but never got around to it. That night jealousy turned into pure joy, as it was one of the best meals I ever tasted. He got the recipe from a food show called The Main, and also referred to the recipe on the paella pan's packaging.

He first seared some chicken thighs, which were seasoned with salt and pepper.

He removed the chicken and sauteed garlic, onions and tomatoes with olive oil.

The chicken was then added back to the pan, along with the rice, some bay leaves and white wine. (My husband splashed some beer in when my bro wasn't looking!) Cumin and safron (American grown) were added for some great taste.

Ok, lost some steps here. I just couldn't take pics of all the steps that night. I was just enjoying the compilation come together. Basically, the pan was placed in the oven for a bit, and then the seafood (lobster, mussels, shrimp and scallops), were added, and then back in the oven for a short period of time. It was then topped off with parsley.

I can't wait to try this myself. believe me : it was AWESOME!

BB to the Q

2009-06-24T17:02:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-24T16:45:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-04T10:36:00.000-07:00

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.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Royal Icing

2009-04-20T07:46:00.000-07:00

At Easter I usually bring a trifle to add to the dessert table. I wasn't in a trifle mood this year, so I decided to make cupcakes. I used a recipe from the Joy of Baking website found here.

I thought these were good, but not super duper. The cake was very delicious, but maybe not as fluffy as I like. I did not have any cupcake liners, so I just buttered the pan, which made them nice and buttery. My younger brother was only so-so on these, saying it reminded him of corn bread. Weird.

I also used Joy of Baking;s royal icing recipe found here. My brother also wasn't into it, as he prefers a whipped frosting. I loved the icing, which had a refreshing lemon flavor.

I'll try a different recipe next time. There's always a good excuse to make cupcakes.

Easter Feast

2009-04-20T07:08:00.000-07:00

I'm very big on family dinners. I think its really important to surround yourself with great people and delicious food. This Easter, we went to my parent's place for the annual Easter feast. For some stupid reason I did not take photos of the desserts - woops. From mouth watering prime rib, lamb in red sauce, to the best roasted lemon potatoes, my mom did a great job feeding us all. And to think she kept apologizing for not making enough food!

Mom's Homemade Bread

Cheesy Pastries

Friends of the family always bring these delicious cheesy pastries. I was very surprised to learn that they use the Parmesan cheese in the green can! Seriously--they taste so high class, I was in shock.

Pork Souvlakia

Roasted Lamb

My mother has mastered this. I, on the other hand, have a lot of work to do.

Green Salad

Lamb in Red Sauce

Absolutely delicious! The meat just fell of the bone. I must learn this one. I believe there is some cinnamon and clove here.

Pasta with Red Sauce

Wonderful combo here - it uses the red lamb sauce! My cousin is vegetarian and I thought it was really cute how my mom suggested to his mother he have some, as she made the sauce very light. Ah well!

Shrimp

No skimping on quality here.

Spanokopita

Roasted Veggies

Yummy peppers, mushrooms, eggplants and onions roasted with the perfect amount of spices for a nice kick!

Tsoureki - Greek Easter Bread

2009-04-17T08:13:00.000-07:00

Every year at Easter time, my mother makes a truckload of tsoureki, or Greek sweet bread. I think she makes the best tsoureki in town, but maybe I am a bit on the biased side. With a baby in the family now, and celebrating our first Easter with him, I thought it was important to bake something traditional for the holiday.

I sat down with my mom, and she gave me the ins and outs of her recipe. She even gave me the unique Greek spices that I didn't have in my spice rack. As you can see, there are some odd measurements here : a water glass of oil and 20 soupspoons of sugar. That's just the way it is in a home recipe I think. I eagerly tackled this, and was overjoyed with the results! I can honestly say it is a mirror image of my mom's bread. Sure the braiding isn't as well done, but I never braided anything before, ok? In-fact, I Googled how to braid bread to get the design right. Gotta love Google.

8 Eggs
20 soupspoons sugar
4 teaspoons yeast
1 water glass vegetable oil
1 water glass milk
3 teaspoons vanilla
1 lemon's zest
½ teaspoons anise
½ teaspoon mastihi
½ teaspoon mahlepi
sesame seeds
sliced almonds

1.Warm up the milk (not too hot!) , and add it to a medium bowl which has the yeast. Stir it up a bit. Add 1 cup of flour to that, stir and wait. This mixture is your proof, and will plump up in size and become all frothy and fluffy, in 15 minutes or so.

2.In a large bowl, combine your eggs, sugar, all spices, vanilla, zest and oil. Hand whisk to combine the ingredients together.

3.If your proof is ready, add it to the egg mixture.

4.With one hand, add flour to the mix, one cup at a time. With the other hand, mix the dough together. Keep adding flour until you get a nice soft dough. Your dough should be sticky, but also fairly smooth.

5.Cover dough with a clean cloth, and let rise for at least 2 hours, or until doubled.

6.Once your dough has risen, prepare your baking sheets. I used Silpat® sheets, but you could also line your baking pan with parchment paper, or use a non-stick spray. Sprinkle the baking surface with sesame seeds.

7.Knead the dough for 10 minutes. Divide the dough into 5 equal parts each part represents a loaf. Form each loaf into a braid or whatever shape you like, and place on baking sheet. (Try braiding, as it is the tradition, and looks impressive!)

8.Let these loaves rise another 2 hours, or until doubled.

9.Once doubled, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Apply an egg wash to the surface of each loaf, and sprinkle sesame seeds and sliced almonds on the top.

10.Bake for 22 minutes. (Test doneness by inserting a knife and making sure it comes out clear.) Do not over bake! If the bread browns to quickly, avoid burning by laying tin foil on top.

This bread is great for dipping in tea or coffee, or just simply munching on its own. You'll also love the aromatics that will fill your home – a very fond memory of my childhood.

Strawberry Soft Serve Ice Cream

2009-01-20T10:38:00.001-08:00

For Christmas, my younger brother bought me a Cuisinart Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker. With my brother in law and his family over, I decided to whip up some strawberry ice cream. The machine works great -- it takes about 15-20mins to make some pretty tasty ice cream. The first time I tried it, I made vanilla ice cream, and it was delicious, but too soft. So this time, I had the machine go for 30 mins. A half hour is too long though, as the ice cream becomes too thick to come out of the dispenser. Regardless-- very delicious and successful! I can't wait to try it for some frozen desert pies and cakes. Way to go, bro!

Recipe from the Manual:

Strawberry Ice Cream
Makes about ten ½-cup servings
8 ounces very red, ripe strawberries –
fresh summer berries or frozen
berries, thawed
²∕³ cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
²∕³ cup whole milk
1¹∕³ cups heavy cream

Mix the first 3 ingredients in a Cuisinart chopper, or blender to make a nice smooth mixture. Then add the cream. (I didn't have heavy cream--but coffee cream worked fine). Leave mix in the fridge until ready to use - delicious!

Vasilopita - Greek New Year's Bread

2009-01-04T07:48:00.000-08:00

On New Year's Day, the Greeks have a really tasty tradition: You are served a delicious Vasilopita! There are 2 forms of this: a cake and a bread. Both are super yummy, and also share a lucky surprise - a coin! Whoever gets the coin is considered the lucky one for the year. (My mother in law got it this year, by the way!)

Although I do like the cake, I chose to make the bread version for my first attempt at Vasilopita. This is my mother in law's recipe. She showed me it during a spanakopita and bread lesson. My mother also makes a very tasty bread version, but I did not have some of the ingredients that she uses, so I opted for this recipe. The only thing is, I never got any really accurate measurements. Instead of 1 cup or 2 cups, my recipe lesson called for 1 water glass of this and 1 soup bowl of that. I couldn't remember exactly how big my mother inlaw's water glass and soup bowls were, so I played it by ear.

My sister in law was also making a bread version, and it was fun calling each other to see how our doughs were rising. I can tell you we both weren't fully confident until it got out of the oven. Not to worry, we both came up victorious in this sweet holiday adventure!

RECIPE - more or less!
2 bowls of flour (cereal/soup bowl)
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 cup vegetable oil (I used a dry measuring cup)
1 bowl warm water
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1 shot and a half of ouzo
some sugar
sesame seeds
icing sugar to dust

Get the Yeast Going
Fill your bowl up with warm water, and a little bit of sugar. I added close to a teaspoon, I think. Then add the yeast.

Mix the Dry Ingredients
While the yeast gets ready, add the flour, cinnamon, ground cloves and brown sugar. Stir it up and add the vegetable oil. With your hands, mix the ingredients together to form a crumbly mixture.

Forming the Dough
You can mix by hand, but with a baby in the house, I find it easier to use my beloved Kitchen Aid Mixer! With the dough hook going, add the water and yeast mix and then add in the ouzo. If the dough looks a bit dry, add some more water. I also added another swish of vegetable oil. Get this mixed until it forms a bowl and nothing sticks to the sides of the bowl.

Rise Dough, Rise!
Flip this fragrant dough on to a larger bowl, and add a drop of vegetable oil on top, so a skin does not form. Cover with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place for 2 hours, or until doubled.

Punch and Rise Some More!
After this first rising, hand knead and punch away at the dough for a good 5-10 minutes. Save some dough for decorations later, and use the rest to form a nice sized loaf. I used I spring form pan for mine, but you can use a baking sheet too. I rubbed a bit of vegetable oil on the sides and bottom of the pan, and dusted the bottom with some flour and sesame seeds. Once you get your loaf in there, cut a slit into the top, and hide your coin, making sure to seal the dough again.

Some Coin Advice
Instead of a regular coin, try going to the coin shop and picking up an inexpensive collectible that no one is used to seeing. You can get some neat ones for less than 5 bucks! Wash the coin well, and wrap in tin foil. (I hate it when dough gets stuck on the coin, so this is a good tip!)

Decorate and Rise Again
Now you can decorate! Brush the loaf with an egg wash of beaten egg and water. Take the extra dough you saved and make whatever decorations you want to cover the top of the bread. I made some swirls. Once fully decorated, brush the loaf with the egg wash again, and top with sesame seeds. Set loaf aside for an hour and a half, or until doubled again.

Bake and Wait
After the second rise, place in a preheated oven, at 350 degrees for an hour. TIPS: keep an eye on it! If it rises a lot, you may need to lower the rack. Also, if it browns too quickly, lightly cover with foil.

Sugar Shower
Once the bread is baked, let it cool, and dust with icing sugar. I spritz the top with water to make a bit of an icing. This also helps the sugar from falling off the cake.

Now, cut and enjoy - on New Year's Day of course! Happy New year's and have fun finding the coin.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Confetti

2008-12-03T11:43:00.000-08:00

To prepare for the holidays, I decided to get my treats ready early and freeze them. My family and I are doing a cookie swap, and I wanted to make sure there was no stressing over what to bake for Christmas. I turned to the Company's Company cookbook series, and selected this square from Best Loved Treats. The recipe was called Butterscotch Confetti, but I altered it to resemble another square that I had tried before. FOr a colourful and tasty treat, try this out.

1 Cup Semi Sweet Chocolate (or 6 baking sqaures)
1/2 Cup Smooth Peanut Butter
1/4 Cup Butter

8oz package of multi-colored min marshmallows

Melt the first 3 ingredients. I accidentally used 1 cup of peanut butter--but it still worked! I melted these items in a saucepan at a low temperature. Remove from heat once everything is melted. When the pan is cool to the touch, add the marshmallows and stir evenly. Firmly press mixture into a 9 by 9 inch pan, and chill to set. Delicious!

Nice N' Easy Biscuits

2008-12-01T12:43:00.000-08:00

Today I was making chile, and of course I needed something to dunk in there. Now, what goes good in chile? bread. What goes great in chile? Biscuits! So I just googled my way to a simple biscuit recipe, and was very pleased with the results. They were super easy and took practically no time to make. So you if you have time to make chile, then you got time to make these - yum!

Thank you Joy of Baking Website!

Recipe:
2 1/2 cups (350 grams) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon (12 grams) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 grams) salt
1 tablespoon (14 grams) granulated white sugar
1/2 cup (113 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup (180 ml) milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Topping:
1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon milk

Preheat oven
to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (use pastry blender, two knives, or fingertips). Add the milk and slightly beaten egg and stir until just combined. (The texture should be sticky, moist and lumpy.)

Place mixture on a lightly floured surface and knead the dough gently until it comes together and is a smooth dough.

Roll out dough to 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) thickness. Cut out biscuits with a lightly floured round cookie cutter. Place on prepared baking sheet and brush the tops with the beaten egg and milk mixture and bake for about 10 - 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the biscuit comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack. Serve warm with butter.

Makes about 12 3-inch (7.5 cm) biscuits.

Chicken in Red Sauce

2008-09-28T11:33:00.000-07:00

Recipe coming soon.

French Bread

2008-09-28T11:21:00.000-07:00

Ahh bread! You know, I am not a huge bread eater - unless I am at a restaurant, or if it is straight out of the oven. I do however, love working with dough, and get a kick out of seeing it rise successfully. I have made bread before, using a recipe from my mother in law, but this time I chose to make French bread, with Google as my guide. I still have to work on my food photo skills, but I think you can get the idea from the pic - this recipe rocks! Not only was I amazed at how great the bread was, but I was also impressed that I could do this with a 3 month old around. Luckily for me, my husband was home to watch the little guy between risings. I highly recommend this recipe - very easy and well worth the effort!

French Bread

From: Baking Desserts . Suite 101

* 2 packages dry yeast
* 2-1/2 cups warm water
* 1 tsp. sugar
* 6 cups all purpose flour
* 1-1/2 tsp. salt

Make sure water temperature is 110 to 115 degrees F. Place water in a large bowl and sprinkle with yeast and sugar. Let stand for 5 minutes until yeast dissolves and starts to bubble. Stir in 2 cups flour and salt. Cover and let rise for 1/2 hour.

Then gradually stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. (Knead by pressing on the dough, then folding over and pressing with the heel of your hand.) Then clean the large mixing bowl, grease it with solid shortening, and place the dough in the bowl. Turn it in the bowl so the dough is greased (this prevents the top from cracking as it rises).

Cover the dough and let rise at room temperature for about 2-1/2 hours, until doubled in bulk. With your fist, punch down the dough. Divide in half and place one half on a lightly floured surface.

Using a rolling pin, roll dough to a 12x6" rectangle. Starting with the 12" side, roll up tightly. Seal seams and edges by pinching. Repeat with remaining dough.

Grease a cookie sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place loaves on prepared sheet. Cover and let rise at room temperature until doubled, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray the loaves with a bit of water, then using a blade, made a few slashes across the top of each loaf. Bake at 425 degrees F for 25-30 minutes until loaves are golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet and let cool on wire rack.

Karythopita - Greek Walnut Cake

2008-09-23T07:53:00.001-07:00

For a long time I have never been a successful cake baker. I think I have been rushing the recipes, and therefore not giving the poor cake a chance to become what it should be. My other dilemma is that I do not make enough Greek dishes or desserts, which is a real shame considering both my husband and I are proud Greeks. So armed with a Greek cookbook (that my sister in law lent me), I was ready to tackle a Greek dessert.

Karythopita is a spiced walnut cake topped with a sugar syrup. It is a truly moist and delicious treat that my mom has mastered , thanks to a great recipe from one of my aunts. Unfortunately, I don't know that recipe, so I used a recipe found in Greek Cookery - 200 Mediterranean Flavors. I really needed the recipe to workout since I was going to serve it to my aunt who was in from Greece, and lucky for me, it was very successful -- phew!

Beat 1 cup of olive oil with 1 1/2 cups of sugar. To this, add 6 eggs, 1 cup milk,3 cups ground walnuts, 1 tbs cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves. Then add 2 cups of flour that have been mixed with 2 tsp baking powder. Add this batter to a greased baking dish and bake in a 350° oven for about 45 minutes.

While the baked cake is still hot, poke a bunch of holes over the top with a toothpick for the syrup to soak through.

For the syrup, bring 2 cups of water to a boil, and then add 2 cups of sugar. Boil for 5 minutes to create a light syrup. Pour the syrup over the cake while the cake is still nice and hot. Let sit, and cut after it cools.

I was really happy with this recipe. I used a Corning Ware dish, but I would suggest using a real cake pan or Pyrex dish for better results. As well, I think I should have left the cake in for a bit longer (for some reason I removed it after 35 mins, but another 5-10 mins would have been fine) My mom also mentioned that she uses semolina in addition to the regular flour, and the cake turns out more airier. I will definitely keep all of this in mind for Karythopita : Part 2!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

2008-09-20T15:01:00.000-07:00

One of the easiest cakes to make is Pineapple Upside Down Cake. I decided to make this as a dessert for a little brunch I was doing, and it was a tasty and simple decision! It's topped with a brown sugar and butter combo that goes great with pineapple, and the cake is always super moist. Needless to say, you should definitely keep some pineapple on hand so you can make this in lightning fast speed.

Pre-heat your oven to 350°F.

Lightly butter an 8inch cake pan. Melt 1/2 cup of butter and to it, add 1 cup of dark brown sugar and stir to blend. Add this to the bottom of the cake pan. On top of this tasty layer, place some pineapple rings. Set aside.

For the cakey goodness, separate 4 eggs. Whisk the egg yolks lightly and add the juice of one lemon. Set aside.

Beat the egg whites, and add a pinch of salt. Once the egg whites become stiff, gradually fold in 1/2 cup caster sugar, and then the egg yolk mixture. Sift 1 cup of flour and 1 tsp baking powder. Carefully fold this into the egg mixture.

Pour the fluffy batter over the brown sugar and pineapple layer and bake for 30mins, or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked in the center.

While the cake is still hot, invert onto your prettiest of plates, and enjoy savoring this tasty tropical treat.

Recipe from: 1000 Best Every Recipes by Martha Day

Welcoming Myself Back

2008-09-16T08:40:00.000-07:00

Well-- 3 months have passed since giving birth to my son, so it is now time to return to normal life! Things have settled quite nicely and I can't wait to learn more recipes and post them here. You know, like many others, I have loads of cookbooks but never USE them. The time is now -- yeah!

Hokey Pokey

2007-10-29T11:53:00.000-07:00

Today I made Hokey Pokey! I was watching my number one food idol, Nigella Lawson, and she was whipping up a collection of fast eats. Since I had 10 minutes to spare, I decided to give hokey pokey a try -- a honey comb candy that is like sponge candy or the inside of a Crunchie Bar. Mine turned out not bad at all -- very tasty and sticks to your teeth! The problem I had was that the top was very sticky. How can I stack pieces in a container if they stick? I may have used too much syrup, and perhaps spreading it out was not a good idea. You should just plop it on parchment and let it be. I will try again next time, and will cover it in chocolate. I want to make the next batch drier and less sticky. Either way, it is a fun thing to make!

Hokey Pokey, Foodnetwork
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons dark corn syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Put the sugar and syrup into a saucepan and stir together to mix. You can't stir once the pan's on the heat, though.

Place the pan on the heat and let the mixture first melt and then turn to goo and then a bubbling mass the color of maple syrup - this will take 3 minutes or so.

Off the heat, whisk in the baking soda and watch the syrup turn into a whooshing cloud of aerated pale gold. Turn this immediately onto a piece of baking parchment or greased foil.

Leave until set and then bash at it, so that it splinters into many glinting pieces.

Tomaso's Pizzeria

2007-10-24T05:19:00.000-07:00

Tomaso's Pizzeria
276 Bedford Highway, Halifax
902-457-2277

My husband and I have been enjoying Tomaso’s delicious pizza for a couple of years now, and we have rarely been disappointed with it. The nice thing about this place is the variety of pizzas and the option for traditional or thin crust. Last night we ordered the usual: deluxe, which is not to be confused with the works. It is like a traditional works pizza, but they add olives (which I get them to hold), pineapple and hot peppers. On occasion they don’t brown the pizza enough, much to my husband’s dismay, but last night this pie was perfecto! I have also enjoyed The Inferno, Greek Style and Spinaci & Galo Arrostito. In addition to great pizza, their wings are awesome … when they have them available...

Thanksgiving 2007

2007-10-22T07:07:00.000-07:00

The Greeks aren't huge Thanksgiving celebrators, but we always have someone throwing a nice dinner on that day. In this case, we ate really well at my parent's house. There was no turkey, but my mother made her mouthwatering prime rib roast. I don't know alot of people who would chose turkey over prime rib.

My mother's yemista are delicious stuffed zucchini, tomatoes, eggplants and peppers. They are juicy vessels of goodness that are covered with tasty crispy hats - my favorite!

These are the smoothest mashed potatoes in the world. Honest.

This plate of spanakopita was made using puff pastry - quite tasty, but lets be honest, nothing beats the kind with homemade philo...which I make!

Tiropites are tasty triangles filled with a feta cheese mixture. My mom's are great because they are generously stuffed and she does not go overboard on the butter!

The star of the show was the prime rib. This was melt in your mouth, fall off the bone perfection. I love a dinner table where people can have huge amounts of meat attached to a bone, Flintstones style. no shame in that!

Beef and Bean Burritos

2007-10-19T11:24:00.000-07:00

I am not one to claim that I know what an authentic burrito tastes like. All I can says is that my recipe is pretty damn good! I haven’t made these in a while, and they were well worth the wait!

1. In a skillet sauté some finely chopped medium onion and a red pepper in some olive oil.
2. To the pan add some ground beef and brown it. When it is nice and browned, drain the excess grease from the pan.
3. Create a spice mixture of salt, pepper, garlic, cumin and chili powder. Add this to one cup of water and then add this mix to the pan. (You can also use Taco Seasoning).
4. Make sure to stir the pan once and a while.
5. Add 4 chopped small tomatoes and a can of red kidney beans which have been drained.
6. Simmer for about 15 minutes.

Once the filling is done it’s time to roll the burritos! Set up accordingly:

1. Take a larger tortilla, add a couple tablespoons of shredded nacho cheese, and 2 table spoons of salsa.
2. Add a generous helping of the hamburger mix…but don’t go overboard!
3. Roll up the burrito – fold the 2 sides, then the end facing you, and then roll!
4. Place seam down on a cookie sheet.
5. Top each burrito with some taco sauce and nacho cheese.
6. Pop in the oven for 30mins, at 375 degrees.

I never made these with beans before, but they sure turned out great! Server with a salad or some rice and you are all set. I also do a chicken version with corn – also awesome!

Better Pictures

2007-10-08T07:17:00.000-07:00

Taking good food pics is HARD! SO I pledge to improve the quality of the pics in later posts. I am finding it difficult taking pics in between cooking I guess.

Greek Style Lemon Chicken and Potatoes

2007-10-08T06:56:00.000-07:00

Every Greek person has grown up eating lemon chicken and potatoes, and I am no exception. No matter how good the chicken is, I think everyone's favorite part of the dish is the potatoes. They are like flavor sponges that suck up this delicious lemon flavor that is incredible. So here we go:

I preheated the oven to 350 degrees. I bought a whole chicken already cut up, and marinated it in olive oil, lotsa lemon juice, a generous amount of salt, pepper, garlic and oregano. I added the chicken to a lightly oiled roasting pan. I then cut up some potatoes and added the same type of marinade to it. After adding the potatoes to the pan I added some whole small onions, which are always delicious.

To the roasting pan I added a low sodium chicken stock that almost reached the top of the chicken and potatoes, but not quite. You could do this without it, and use water instead, but IT IS NOT THE SAME! And into the oven it goes. After 30mins, flip the chicken, potatoes and onions and cover lightly with tinfoil. This will make the contents of the pan nice and steamy ... consider it a flavorful sauna for the delights you will be eating later. After another 30mins, remove tinfoil and cook for another 30mins.

If you see that there is no more liquid in the pan, add a little more stock or water. In the last bit of cooking, turn the broiler on and get the chicken and potatoes nice and crispy, and you're done! This really turned out great and if you make a lot you will not have to worry about making supper the next day---wonderful!

Bread Attempt #1

2007-10-08T06:34:00.000-07:00

Well here's the scoop on my first serious attempt at bread making. I couldn't find the exact recipe I wrote down after a lesson with my mother in law, so I went by memory. Next time I will show the exact measurements, but for now, heres only a list of ingredients. This is a white bread recipe consisting of flour, water, vegetable oil, yeast, some sugar and salt, and then sesame seeds and an egg wash for the top.

I hand mixed the dough, so at first I was concerned that it wasn't as smooth as it was supposed to be, but I left it as is. I was quite satisfied with how it grew after the first rising of 2 hours.Seeing your dough rise successfully is quite a moment for a new baker. It's a really good feeling that soemthign did indeed go right! After the first rising I punched the dough down and then kneaded it again. Then I formed my loaves.I let them rise for another hour and again, they did me proud! I gave them a nice coat of an egg wash and topped them with sesame seeds.So in to the oven my beloved loaves of goodness went. The oven was set to 350 degrees and I kept them in for 45 mins, and then lowered the heat to 300 for the last 15 minutes.All and all the bread turned out really well. My husband, brother in law and his kids were my tasters and they all liked it! The only problem was that they spread out a bit and could have been higher in height. My mother said that I needed to knead the dough ALOT more after the first rise, and then the dough would have kept its shape more.

With some extra dough I made a little flat bread like my mother in law does, and it surely did not disappoint! I added some salt to the top, after applying the egg wash and sesame seeds, and voila - a very tasty flatbread---delicious!

Grilled Haddock

2007-09-23T18:03:00.000-07:00

I try to eat seafood at least once a week. If I am not the one making it, then I can just go to my parent's fish and chip shop and satisfy the craving there. Grilled haddock is easy, good for you and delicious. So there's no excuses for not being able to make it at home.

1. Get 4 haddock fillets. On both sides add plenty salt and pepper and olive oil.
2. To bread them, have 2-thirds flour and 1-third non-flavored dry breadcrumbs in a dish. (Sometimes I use the Italian ones too.)
3. In another dish, have an egg or 2 and a little bit of milk.
4. Lightly coat the fillets in the egg mixture and then lightly bread it in the flour mix. 5. Take the haddock to a preheated grill or pan that has been brushed with olive oil.
6. Don't flip or mess with it until one side is nice and golden - 3-5 mins.
7. After the flip, add some lemon juice -- from a real lemon -- not that plastic coffin thing! You can also drizzle some olive oil on the top too.

The haddock turned out great --- it has never really failed me. We had some veggies, bread and a salad to complete the meal...beautiful!
I didn't have any feta for the salad...but it was still great for dunking the bread!

Garden Veggies - Greek Style

2007-09-23T15:50:00.000-07:00

My husband tells me that when I cook zucchinis, green beans or broccoli, it is never soft enough. The Greek way of cooking these veggies makes them very very soft. I myself like veggies bursting with color and some texture to it. The crispier approach to oven roasted and boiled vegetables often falls on deaf ears with the older generation. My mother, mother in law, and grandmother always says its tastier when it is softer. Since they have been cooking longer than me, and since my husband grew up in Greece, once in a while I give in. (And by the way...the zucchinis and eggplants were grown in my parent's garden --- wicked!)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cut up some potatoes, zucchini, eggplant in nice big wedges.
3. Quarter up 2 medium onions and add all veggies to roasting pan.
4. Generously add salt, pepper, oregano, garlic powder and drizzle with olive oil (from Greece, ofcourse), and toss.
5. Add a 14oz can of tomato sauce and fill the can halfway with water, and add that.
6. Pop it it in the oven.
7. After 30mins, lightly cover with tinfoil for the veggies to steam.
8. It depends on your oven, but the veggies need to be nice and soft ... remember, this recipe is to please the unchangeable Greek generation that loves the softness of super cooked zucchini, eggplants, etc.
9. After an hour and a half or so, I crank the broiler for a few minutes to crisp the veggies up.

In my opinion the vegetables were too soft, but my husband and best friend loved them, and said they were perfect. They were indeed tasty, so I will probably fix them up again. Some nice bread, olives and some feta cheese would definitely make the Greeks happy about this one.

Prime Rib Roast

2007-09-15T15:19:00.000-07:00

Since today was full of rain , I figured a nice roast would warm up the house. After consulting my mother via phone, I picked up some prime rib roast. Since my house has only 2 people, I picked up 2 nicely sized rib roasts instead of the huge ones my mother buys for the family. This is a good portion for plenty of leftovers. I tackled it this way:1. Preheated oven to 350°
2. Add a little olive oil to roasting pan.
3. Generously add salt, pepper and garlic powder to roasts. Add a little olive oil on top and rub all the spices and oil into the meat.
4. Cut up 2 medium onions, quartered, and add to pan.
5. Add a 14oz. can of tomato sauce to the pan and meat.
6. Put in oven.
7. Once the meat starts to brown, cover with tin foil. Unfortunately I did this 30mins in. I think I may have waited too long to cover the meat.
8. Add some potatoes and baby carrots at this point. Another mistake was adding too much salt to the potatoes.
I removed the meat after 2 hours--way too long. The meat near the bone was quite good, but a good portion was way too dry. The potatoes remained in the oven for another 30mins, but I cranked the heat to 400°.
After putting the broiler on for 3 minutes the veggies were done. The meal was still a good one, but I definitely have lots to learn in the roast department. A simple side salad and bread accompanied the meat and potatoes, so all and all, a satisfying night in from the rain.