Great Lent Gourmet

Day 47 - May 1, 2016 - Christ is Risen! Our Anastasi Meal, Visiting Friends and Roasting a Lamb on a Spit!

2016-05-01T23:59:00.001-04:00

Source of icon: https://lifeondoverbeach.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/resurrection-icon.jpg

Last night we decided to celebrate the Resurrection Service at the Hellenic Home chapel, a Greek Orthodox church in a beautiful seniors' residence in the eastern part of Toronto, Canada. There are many people whom we know who are residents at this quality facility, so all members of our family came together for the Anastasi service. It was beautiful to see so many younger family members present to be with their parents and grandparents (giagiades kai papoudes).

We have a kind of an unusual tradition in our family during Easter - a couple of members also like to have Kentucky Fried Chicken to go along with the more traditional items which we also prepare.

The kontosouvli was amazing! For the recipe, please see last year's entry (click here, and here).

Another one of our family's traditions is to make a small kokoretsi (see last year's links here and here).

This tsoureki was a gift from a kind neighbour. Please note that it doesn't have an egg in it, unlike the ones which we make. Nevertheless, it was delicious!

The cracking of the eggs went fair and square - no cheating by hitting the other's egg from the side! Although we don't have any close-up photos of last night's tasty magiritsa soup, you can see it at the top right of this picture.

What a great job the three cooks did in preparing this 35 pound (about 16 kg) Ontario lamb. We recently were surprised to hear from a New Zealand - based chef that Ontario spring lamb is a sought out meat in faraway New Zealand.

Today, there were not too many cooks. They each helped to make the lamb on a spit turn out perfect.

The cooked lamb was delicious, moist and very flavourful.

Here is Husband's plate. The family which hosted us this year made us feel very welcome. After our singing of "Christos Anesti!", we all sat down and enjoyed our meal of Lamb on a spit, Greek oven roasted potatoes, salad, home-made tzatziki and rolled tiropites. What a great way to celebrate the end of our Lenten fast!

Christos Anesti, by Serbian singer and conductor of sacred Orthodox music (in various languages), Jivna Ljubojevic.
Source of video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SPawFHZUjw

Christos Anesti! We would like to thank you for visiting our blog during this Great Lent period.

The Great Lent Gourmet team looks forward, God willing, to have you join us again next year!

DAY 46 - April 30, 2016 - Tonight's Activity: The Cracking of Easter Eggs - Το Τσούγκρισμα των Πασχαλινών Αυγών

2016-04-30T18:35:00.000-04:00

In this picture, Husband and I are cracking Easter eggs shortly after the 2015 Resurrection service.
I can't remember who "won" but it looks like maybe he is denting my egg.

It is finally here! After about 7 weeks of having no animal products (apart from fish (on March 25th and Palm Sunday), some shellfish, mollusks, squid or octopus), not much oil, or any egg or dairy products, we are finally at the night to share an Agape Meal that includes Tsoureki (sweet bread), Eggs, Magaritsa (Lamb Soup), and one tradition that we wanted to explore a little more -- Tsougrisma (Egg Cracking).

We spend our time to make our eggs. We boil them exactly for 8 minutes, make sure to rinse them after 10 more minutes so we don't get the overcooked dark green yolks. We research and shop for the very best egg dye, making sure that it will produce that lovely, deep red colour that shines beautifully to represent the blood Jesus shed for us. We also may add a little special decoration to our red eggs, such as crosses or mini icons. We spend all this time to make beautiful eggs,… by why? We are going to spend our night after church and our day tomorrow smashing up the beautifully coloured eggs and laughing about it in a game. What is that about?

We wanted to show you a little bit about the game that our family plays,as do many; and if you don't already have your own version of it, then we are going to explain how it goes. The game we are talking about is casually referred to as "Tsourgrisma " or "Cracking". With all the things the Greeks invented, nobody could invent a better name for this game. It is the game that represents Christ's resurrection and arising from the open tomb (the shell is the tomb, Christ is the egg).

For this game, you will need the following:

2 People, any age
2 Eggs, hard boiled, dyed red
1 Sense of Humor, as needed

There are very few rules with this game, although there are many within a family or a group. This game is about "Last Man Standing". So, two people hold their eggs in the same manner; meaning that both hold the pointed end upward and the more round end at the bottom. Then, each person takes a turn hitting the other's egg one hit at a time. Whoever has the broken egg Loses! That's it. The winner takes his/her egg and moves on to crack against the next person.

Tsougrisma becomes funny because there are often complaints like, "He hit too hard," "I wasn't ready," "He held his egg too close to the top," or, my favourite, "It was broken before we started." There are a million excuses as to why the losing egg was the losing egg, and telling someone that they are lying -- then, you would be walking on eggshells.

There could be other rules that families include, such as the oldest person at the table picks the first egg. Or, maybe each person is only allowed to use the egg he/she received upon leaving church (in place of antithoro). You will find many people who touch every single egg and examine it so closely, as if they can see inside the red shell. There are others who pick up whatever is closest and use that. In our family, if you break it, you must eat it. Oh, what a joy to be a loser!

Knowing that we are never losers in God's eyes, nor can we be losers in His care. Play and have fun.

Wishing everyone a Kalo Pascha! And, thank you for joining us this year. With all the challenges of time and family, we were able to let God's grace shine on us to survive the Great Fast. Hopefully, we have shared some useful recipes, dishes, methods, and information with you over the past 40 days. We pray that all have a loving and joyous Ressurrection tonight. Christ is Risen!

"Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you all days, even unto the consummation of the world."

-Matthew 28:20

Μ. ΣΑΒΒΑΤΟ. Η ΠΡΩΤΗ ΑΝΑΣΤΑΣΗ ΣΤΗΝ ΡΑΙΘΩ (2014)
Source of video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmuN3L4yVFY

This moving video, showing the amazing drama of the "Anasta O Theos" ("Arise O Lord!") hymn that takes place every Holy Saturday morning service. In our Toronto church this morning, the entire parish was banging on the pews instead. We are amazed at the joy of every member of this Greek Orthodox community (although the video doesn't elaborate where, exactly, Raitho is, our research revealed that this is a Greek Orthodox Monastery in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. Today, it is also mainly known as "El Tur").

Before leaving you today, may we share an excerpt from an interesting website about Easter customs in Cyprus:

"In the morning of Holy Saturday, the Resurrection Ceremony takes place. When the priest says out loud «Anasta o Theos», all the black clothes covering the icons fall to the floor and people strike hard on the church seats while at the same time the priest walks in the church throwing daphne leaves. All these symbolize the victory of life against death…"

Source of quote: http://www.slideshare.net/antoniettamarchese9/easter-traditions-in-cyprus-31227130

Day 45: April 29, 2015 - Simple Tasty Baked Macaroni with Tomatoes and Celery - Νόστιμα Ψητό Μακαρονάκια με Ντομάτα και Σέλινο

2016-04-29T23:51:00.002-04:00

My mother used to make baked macaroni. It was cheesy and tomato-y and served every other week while we were growing up. Now, if you say "baked macaroni", some people will think of the Kraft Dinner, and others will think of some sort of cheesy macaroni like at a traditional diner. Well, today, we are going to make baked macaroni without cheese. In fact, we are making baked macaroni without a lot of things -- there are only 5 ingredients in the recipe! Although, if you don't count the water, it is really only four ingredients. For a fast and easy way to make lunch or dinner, and one that is good reheated, too, this is a keeper!

For this recipe, you will need the following:

2 cups macaroni
2 cups water
2 cups tomatoes, peeled whole or crushed
2 stalks celery, chopped
A bit of oil, as needed

First, chop the celery into pieces. You want pieces that get lost in the flavours of the tomato sauce, so they should be small. We make sure to peel the celery to remove any strings, and that will make it easier to cut the small pieces. Put the chopped celery in a baking dish.

Now, add the tomatoes. We used canned San Marzano tomatoes. This is a personal preference. Some folks will use fresh, whole tomatoes that have been blanched, peeled, and cut. Right now is not tomato season, so we opted for canned. We left the tomatoes whole in the dish believing they will dissolve as they cook int he water. It is probably better to chop them a little and make smaller pieces. I liked the big chunks of tomato in the final dish, Husband preferred to pick those out of the macaroni. Either way, the flavour of the tomato is outstanding.

Add one cup of the water and mix the celery, tomato, and water in the baking dish. Ad, pour a bit of oil on top so it floats and makes the whole dish look greasy. Now, bake this. Yes, put it in the oven at 425 F for 25 minutes. Bake this until it is fully hot. You will see the tomatoes are starting to cook. But, at the 25 minute mark, take the dish out of the oven. Mmmm, can you smell the tomatoes?

Pour the macaroni into the baking dish. We chose to use elbow macaroni, but any short noodle will do. Elbows have a way of making everyone happy, and are versatile for noodles. Make sure that you keep to a small noodle, though, not the big or long ones.

Now, bake the macaroni for about 45 minutes at 425º F (about 220º C), or long enough for the water to evaporate and the macaroni to cook fully. If you like your noodles more al dente, then you may want use a little less water, or bake a little less time. You will want to try both to see what works for your specific oven. We cooked for 45 minutes and the macaroni was soft without being gummy. The end result was a rich, soft, and flavourful pasta dish with chunks of tomatoes and a little crispiness on top. Enjoy!

A photo from tonight's Good Friday Epitafio (April 29, 2016) from our home church

in Toronto, Canada.

Day 44: April 28, 2016 - Decorating Easter Eggs with Easter Egg Sleeves

2016-04-28T23:47:00.000-04:00

It is this time of year that you can look around and tell who the Orthodox people are by the red stains on their fingers from the red dyes used to colour the eggs. Other groups may choose different colours for their eggs, but ours are red. Once in a while it is nice to add a little variety to our red eggs, and this year, we found a lovely way to do just that.

While walking through the grocery store, we saw on the rack all the envelopes of egg dye packets. The store offered multiple colours, including red, blue, green, and yellow. Right next to the colour packets was another set of packages that instantly caught our attention. They were egg wrappers. Not like egg roll wrappers, but decorative sleeves to put on the boiled eggs. There were several themes of wrappers. For us, it is important to keep Christ in Pascha, so we chose the religious themes. We were so fascinated with the selection, and decided to try two packets to see how the eggs looked. Each packet cost $1.49 (Canadian), which we thought was a worthwhile investment.

The egg wrapper packets that we bought were Biblical themed and Icons themed. We thought those were the best choices for our needs. Other themes included Children, Animals, Flowers, and Traditional. They are a Ukranian company which claims, "As long as egg decorating continues, the world will exist." That was such a lovely thought that we wanted to be a part of keeping the world existence.

These were very easy to use. First, you open the package and see the sheet of sleeves. There is some work involved in cutting the strip of seven sleeves into the individual pieces. You have to be really neat in your cutting skills, and for us, it was hard to identify the exact line where one started and the other stopped. But, do the best you can with cutting.

Once the sleeves are cut and you have seven individual pictures, open each one to make a cylinder. The cylinder is surprisingly spacious. You put the egg into the middle of the sleeve (the opening). The plastic sleeve looks too big for the egg, but the next step takes care of that.

Using a slotted spoon, dip each egg, one by one, into a pot of boiling water. The egg should stay in the water for 5-10 seconds, or, long enough for the plastic to shrink and seal against the egg. You don't want to leave the egg in the boiling water for too long, since it is already cooked inside -- you don't want to overcook the egg.

Remove the egg from the boiling water, and set it aside to dry for a moment. Then, you are done. We started this process with our red-dyed eggs, but the dye bled into the boiling water, and made the tips a light pink (as in the pictures). That was okay this time, but we believe that using a plain, white boiled egg would be more practical. Also, we noticed that the red colour came through some of the pictures, which took away from the beauty of the sleeve. The details of the pictures is impressive, and we were pleased with how the plastic stuck to the egg.

The Pysanka Egg Sleeve was extremely easy to use. They offered a lovely alternative to our traditional red eggs. Now, we have to wait until Sunday to see if we can win the Cracking Game with one of these eggs!

Holy Thursday of Holy Week at Archangel Michael Greek Orthodox Church in Campbell, OhioSource of video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3BgCS787JE

Day 43: April 27, 2016 - Greek Cookies (Koulourakia) Made with Red Wine - Κουλουράκια Φτιαγμένα με Κρασί - (Originally posted on April 16, 2014)

2016-04-27T22:07:00.000-04:00

(Another very popular post, over the past five years of this blog, is our entry on red wine-based koulourakia (or "Greek cookies"). This entry was originally posted on April 16, 2014).

When we think about koulourakia (Greek rolled cookie), it is not often that we think about wine. However, with this recipe, we have both together. These are made from a simple recipe for koulourakia that is vegan and part of the liquid is red wine. It is the wine and the cinnamon that carry the flavour through these soft little bits of yummy.

Koulourakia with wine sounded rather odd when we first had them, but then, we thought about moustoukouloura, which are koulourakia made with the wine must or petimezi, a sweetener that Greeks have used since the Bronze ages. So, this recipe does not use the must, it uses the actual wine. And, in the end, the heavy wine flavour is lost. Instead, we had a lightly lingering hint of wine with a more pronounced taste of cinnamon. We thought they may be better named as spice koulourakia, but it is not our recipe. This recipe, in fact, came from one of our cookbooks, and we liked it enough to share it. These are great for the weekends when wine and oil are permitted. Or, they are good for other fasting times that are a little less strict than Great Lent.

We made only half a recipe, but are giving you the full amounts. You can make adjustments as needed.

For this recipe, you will need the following:

8 cups all purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups red wine

The directions are rather straightforward, so we will show you more in pictures than in words.

Start by mixing the dry ingredients together. Measure all the components into a bowl and mix them well. This includes the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and sugar. You will know they are mixed well when you no longer can differentiate between the individual ingredients and it all becomes consistent in colour.

In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients -- the oil and the wine. Okay, we know that oil and wine do not mix, but put them in the same bowl and mix to see the pretty patterns that the wine makes in the oil.

Then, pour the flour mixture into the oil mixture (add dry to wet) and mix until the dough is well blended. Remember, when working with flour, you don't want to mix too long because you don't want to build the gluten too much.

Once the dough is combined, allow it to rest for 30 minutes. Lay a towel or plastic wrap over the bowl to keep the moisture in the dough. And, while the dough rests, you can too!

After 30 minutes have passed, it is time to roll the koulourakia. These are a going to be a little thicker and larger than a typical, buttery koulouraki because they have more baking powder and leavening than the buttery version. Shaping the koulourakia will be the same basic steps.

Divide the dough into small nuggets that are about even in size. Roll each nugget into a log, about four inches in length (10 cm long). Then, twist the log to make the shape that you want. If you want to relate these to Easter, especially for children, you make one twist in the log and explain that you wanted to make the koulourakia the shape of a bunny head!

Lay the shaped koulourakia on a lined cookie sheet. You will notice that we usually use a silicone baking sheet liner, but parchment paper would work just fine here.

Bake the koulourakia at 375º F (190º C) for about 15 minutes, until they are very lightly browned. You should not see too much colour on these koulourakia because the pink hue of the wine and the brown tint of the cinnamon. And, the longer that you bake these, the more dry they become. We like our koulourakia to have a softer texture, so 15 minutes seemed like a perfect amount. Ovens may vary.

Allow the koulourakia to cool on the cookie sheet. You can serve these warm or room temperature. Husband particularly enjoys these when they are warm. They will store in an airtight container for 1 month without affecting the flavour or the texture. Enjoy them with friends and/or family because that is when any food is best!

ΙΔΟΥ Ο ΝΥΜΦΙΟΣ ΣΟΦΙΑ ΜΑΝΟΥ ΚΑΤΕΡΙΝΑ ΛΕΧΟΥ (Behold the Bridegroom comes sung in
Greek. Sophia Manou and Katerina Lehoux).

Source of video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhPEMhwWDaY

Day 42: April 26, 2016 - Theia Betty's Fool-Proof Tsoureki Recipe, Easter Bread, Τσουρέκι, Sweet Bread (Originally posted on April 14, 2012)

2016-04-26T23:11:00.002-04:00

(Today's entry, which was originally posted on April 14, 2012, is one of our five most popular blog entries over the past five years. Theia Betty is delighted that her recipe has been enjoyed by so many people throughout the world.)

Tsoureki is a bread that we enjoy for Pascha. There are some families who make sweet bread and call it tsoureki (tsoo-reh-kee), but we are unclear whether or not these terms are interchangeable. For our families, the word "Τσουρέκι" referred specifically to the bread we ate for Pascha, whereas a sweet bread is just ψομί (psoh- mee). We recently learned that there is another term "lampropsomo" (λαμπρόψωμο; lum-broh-pso-moh) which refers to two words put together, bright light and bread (lampro and psomo). this refers to the bread for the bright light seen for Christ's resurrection.

Today, we made our tsoureki for the season. It took a while, but we did it! In fact, we were so excited about getting the tsoureki done, that we almost forgot to take pictures for you! But. don't worry, we did get a few pictures.

The recipe that we are using is from Theia Betty. She is known for having the easiest recipe for this bread, in some circles. She is not a fan of cooking or baking, but tells everyone that her recipe for tsoureki is fool-proof! We knew that was true, because we have made this recipe for Pascha every year and for New Year's Vasilopita every year. And, we give away many loaves along the way, which people love and comment about the lovely flavour. So, that is what we are sharing with you today. But, you have to give credit to Theia Betty, please. It is her recipe.

Let's start with a few features of the bread. First, there is that unique flavour. That is mahlepi. It is a flavouring that comes from the stone of a cherry tree that grows throughout the Mediterranean. When combined with the butter, sugar, and milk in the tsoureki, the taste of the mahlepi just lingers in your mouth and takes you on a mini vacation through your taste buds.

Some people don't like the mahlepi flavour. They choose other flavourings for their tsoureki, which is fine. Some of the more common substitutes are anise (like Ouzo) or orange (using the zest, a little juice, or a flavouring). We have also used almond flavouring, but then, you have to make sure to decorate the loaf with almonds. If you do not have access to any of these, then a simple vanilla would work, too. It is just a flavour to enhance the sweetness of the bread.

We should also make note about the look of the bread. Each loaf is carefully braided, and may be circular or linear. These are typically the only two shapes used for tsoureki. The braid is with three strands, which differs from a similar bread called Challah bread which is a six-strand braid.

Our bread with the three-strand braid represents the HolyTrinity. Then, in the middle of the loaf is the beautiful red egg. That symbolizes the blood of Christ (see Day 54, Dying Eggs). The bread can be sprinkled with sesame or almonds, and is generally baked to a dark brown colour.

So, can we make this for ourselves, or do we just fall into the easy way of going to a bakery to buy our bread? We said before, and we'll say again -- this recipe is fool proof! One time, we forgot to add most of the yeast because of a miscalculation when increasing the recipe. We added the yeast toward the end of the mixing, without having dissolved it, and the loaves still turned out beautiful and delicious. We got it right today, but that one time ...

Now, let's look at what you need to make this recipe. To make 3-5 loaves, depending on size, you will need:

1 cup butter (or margarine)
1 3/4 cup sugar
5 packets of yeast (each packet is 0.25 oz or 1 1/4 tsp.)
1 cup milk
about 3 pounds flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup lukewarm water
6 eggs
1 TBSP mahlepi (anise or orange flavours work, too)
You will also need:
sesame seeds, or slivered/sliced almonds (optional) for garnishing
1 red dyed raw egg (do not cook the egg before colouring it)

The first step is to dissolve the yeast in the cup of lukewarm water. The water should feel slightly warmer than your body temperature. A lot of people use the method of "check it on your wrist" where it is most sensitive, but we are all different like that. So, just above body temperature is a good level to know. If the water is too hot, you will kill the yeast, and if it is too cold, the yeast stays asleep and won't work. So, use lukewarm to tepid water. Then, feed the yeast a teaspoon of sugar.

Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water.

Feed the yeast with a teaspoon of sugar.

Add enough flour to the yeast/water mixture to make a thin batter. It should be about the thickness of a pancake batter. Then, cover this mixture and let it sit for about 30 minutes while you get the next few steps under way.

Add enough flour to make a batter consistency.

Notice that the yeast mixture "bubbles and doubles " -- it bubbles up and becomes foamy, and then the ixture had soubled and tripled in size while sitting aside.

Once you have the yeast mixed and sitting on the side, you should get the next steps ready.

Cream the butter, sugar, and salt together in the mixer.

Add the eggs, mahlepi, and the milk, and mix well.

When that is all combined, add about 2 cups of flour. Mix on low speed so not to make a powdery mess. You should have a mixture that looks almost creamy.

Then, you can add the yeast mixture to the bowl.

Once that is completely combined with the butter, egg, milk mixture, then, you have to start adding the flour a little at a time. We want to add about one cup of flour at a time. You cannot go faster than this because you have to see the point when the dough cleans the side of the mixing bowl without sticking to anything else. That's when you will be done adding flour, and that is why you can't just dump it all at once. So, little by little, here we go...

OH! And, change the attachment on the mixer to the dough hook now, too! It will make this process easier for you.

When the dough comes together and cleans the sides of the bowl as it turns, then you are done. At this point, the dough should have gone around and around in the mixer for about ten minutes. That is the kneading process. Take the dough out of the mixer, remove the attachment and put the big ball on the counter or table top so you can work with it.

Here is what you need to do. You have to make the dough into a pretty ball shape. It's a lot of dough, so it may take you a minute or two. First, fold in all the sides and tuck them in to the center of the ball. Now, repeat that same step -- turn in the new sides. If you do this four or five times, then you will have kneaded the dough until you see it is rather smooth. Then, turn the ball upside down, and this is what you should have:

A nice smooth ball of dough.

Take this ball of dough and put it in a big bowl that has been coated with a non-stick pan spray or a little oil. This prevents the dough from drying out and sticking to the bowl as it sits for the next couple of hours to rise. Also, you need to cover the bowl with a towel, some loose plastic wrap, something that allows room for the dough to grow, but stay covered.

After 2-5 hours of rising time (it depends how warm the room is -- the warmer the room the faster the time), turn the dough onto a working surface big enough for everything. We used the dining room table. You should see that the dough has doubled (at least) in size, and as you empty it on to the table, you will see that the dough took the shape of the bowl it was in.

Divide this dough into four pieces to make four loaves of tsoureki. If you want to make 6 loaves, then cut 6 pieces. If you want 2 loaves, cut this dough in half. We went with four loaves, so cut this into four pieces.

Now, cut each of those smaller pieces of dough into three sections. These three sections will be the parts you make into the braid.

Roll each little piece into long dough logs. The logs have to be the same length, but do not necesarily have to be the same thickness. If they are the same, that is better, but with a braided bread you can get away with different thicknesses in the pieces. But, keep them the same length!

To make the braids, it is like braiding hair. Although, some of you who are reading this may have no idea about that, some of you will understand. But, for those of you who do not, here is the basic outline of how to make a braid:

Start by pinching the top ends together. Pinch tight so they hold together. Spread out the pieces so you can control where each one will go when you start the braid.

Take the first (right) piece and bring it over the centre, between the other two pieces, but not over the third (left) piece. Go as close to the third piece as you can without crossing over it.

Next, take the left piece and pull that one over the first piece that you just moved. (see above). Go as close to that other piece as you can. Then, pull the second piece over the third piece so that it ends up back in the middle again. Then, repeat.

Pull the strands of dough left and right as you go down the length of the braid. This is what will give you a tight braid that holds its shape so well when rising and baking. See how the strands go left and right? Keep doing that until the bottom of the braid.

Continue this for the length of the bread logs until you reach the very bottom.

When you reach the bottom of the braid, pinch the ends together, the same way that you pinched at the top. Squeeze hard so it stays together. Some people will actually tuck the pinched part under the braid so it gets hidden under the loaf. You can do that, it looks pretty that way.

Then, if you want to make a circle, braid the bread like above, and instead of just laying it flat on the table, bring the bottom end around to connect to the top end.

You can connect these by either trying to braid together the two ends, or you can pinch the two ends together so they stick together.

Now that you have pretty braids, and you have the braiding mastered (it only take three loaves to master this), you have to know how to get them from here to the oven. So , what's next?

Next, we are going to allow the dough to rise one more time. Dust a little flour on the table, put the braided loaves on the flour, and then cover them with a clean, lint-free towel. When we have made double the recipe, we have had to use an apron to cover the bread.

Let these loaves rise for about one hour. You will see the dough become light, airy looking, and the loaves will become about 1 1/2 times the size of what they are now. Just leave them alone and do something else in this hour and a half.

See how they have grown! Now, get them on to a cookie sheet to bake. We use parchment paper underneath, like we usually do And, like we usually do, we reused the parchment paper that we used for the koulourakia (no sense in wasting good parchment paper!). We line the pans with parchment paper because it makes the clean up so much easier!

Next, you want to brush each loaf with egg wash. To make the egg wash, you mix one egg with 1/4 cup water or milk. Milk makes the bread more brown, water makes the bread more crusty. We chose milk for this batch. So, take the egg wash and brush it all over the loaves, and don't forget the sides, too!

Once the loaf is coated, sprinkle the sesame seeds all over the top. Of course, if you are using almonds or something else, sprinkle that instead. But, cover the top evenly with the seeds.

Then, put the egg in place. There are different ways to do this, and some people choose not to include it at all. We like the egg in the middle. First, make sure that the egg is raw and coloured. Yes, you can dye raw eggs... So, we had dyed our eggs earlier, and they are all ready for the bread. We washed the eggs prior to dying them, and then, let them air dry once they were coloured. So, they are ready to go. But, there are a couple of tricks that will help you to place the egg. Although, you should know that getting it to stay there is a separate secret all together.

To put the egg in place, you have a couple of options. The first option is to just omit it. For us, that is not an option. If you leave out the egg, then all you have is bread. With the red egg in the middle, then you clearly have Tsoureki.

So, you can take the red egg and push it directly into the raised loaf of bread. You don't want to place the egg before the dough rises, it will fall out. After the loaves have risen (ha ha, just like Christ), then push the egg into the loaf.

Choice number two is to take a pair of scissors and snip an opening in the loaf where you want the egg to sit. Then, just like option #1, push the egg in place. You can push kind of hard, but be careful not to break the egg -- it will ruin your tsoureki.

Lastly, if you have a round loaf, then you can just place the egg in the opening in the circle. The bread does expand while baking and will sort of grow around the egg. The difficulty with putting the egg is that people don't make time or want to make he time to colour the egg, make the bread, push the egg in place.

Heat the oven to 350º F (about 175º C). Put the pan with the tsoureki (or tsourekia if you are baking several) and bake between 50 to 60 minutes until the tsoureki is golden brown. Pull out the tray out of the oven and let the tsoureki cool.

Some people hate the discolouration around the egg after the tsoureki is baked. We don't mind the spread of the red. After it is all baked, smells lovely, and is wrapped in plastic, you kind of forget the colour is there. And, the tsoureki all gets eaten, regardless of what colour the centre was!

Then, because you have some extra loaves, and you want to share the easiest recipe for tsoureki that there is (Thank you, Theia Betty!), you will want to wrap a few loaves to share. We wrap ours in plastic wrap after the tsoureki has cooled and then put it in some tissue paper or a gift bag to give. It won't matter how you wrap the loaves, it is the point of sharing that makes the tsoureki beautiful. And, with this fool-proof recipe, you will want to share with everyone you know! Let us know when you want to deliver our loaf!

Day 41: April 25, 2016 - Baked Chick Peas from Syfnos - Ρεβύθια από την Σίφνο - (Reposted from April 12, 2014)

2016-04-25T22:09:00.001-04:00

(This hearty dish, a dish which we eat several times a year, is a favourite of ours. This repost, originally from April 12, 2014, can be simplified by using ready made canned chick peas. So, instead of soaking the dried chick peas overnight, use a well drained can of pre-cooked chick peas instead. Kali orexi!)

This recipe is really a two day project. One day is needed for soaking the dried legumes, and the next day is needed for baking the soaked, seasoned dish. If we lived in a smaller village in Greece, this would likely not be an issue. We would then have two days to visit with the neighbours as we all gather around the community oven with our pots in hand, not just once, but twice! We would start our visit when we dropped off the pots, and then, knowing that the pot would bake for several hours, we would go off to do whatever we needed, only to return after those hours and continue to visit while picking up the finished (cooked) dish. That would be a lovely way to pass a day. Too bad for us we do not live in a samll Greek village right now, and we had to do this by ourselves.

For this recipe, you will need the following:

2 cups dried chick peas
1 onion, chopped
2 to 3 bay leaves
1 Tablespoon flour
4 cups of water
salt and pepper to taste

So, we started on the first day by soaking the chick peas in 4 cups of water and 1 Tablespoon of flour. The flour helps to keep the skins in place during the cooking process. This small amount of flour is not mixed into the recipe, it is there just for the soaking process.

After a day of soaking has passed, drain the water from the chick peas. You can see that the flour we added to the water has settled at the bottom of the container. Do not add this to the recipe. Also, please do not rinse the chick peas. Leave them strained from the water, but do not rinse anything to disturb the skins. Once the chick peas are drained, put them in a pot (preferably one with a lid). Add to the pot only these other ingredients: the bay leaves, onion, oil, and water. Notice there is no salt and pepper in this step. Those are added much later in the directions, so they do not interfere with the cooking process of hte chick peas. Cover the pot and put it in a 400º F oven for 2 hours.

The timer buzzed and the first two hours are done, take the chick peas out of the oven. Stir them once or twice, just to make suire that everything still moves. Add the salt and pepper to your liking. We added about 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. You can taste the cooking liquid to decide if you have added enough salt and/or pepper.

Now, cover the pot again and put it back in the oven. This time, turn the heat down to 350º F, and let the chickpeas cook undisturbed for another 2 hours. When the timer buzzes again, turn off the oven and let the chick peas stay there in the oven, undisturbed, for another 1 hour. This allows all the ingredients to settle and conjeal into one amazing dish. Adjust the salt and pepper once more before serving.

See how all the components blended together, and the onions started to carmelize in the pot. The bay leaves have brought so much flavour -- you can tell by the aroma that is travelling through the kitchen while this is stirred. And, at the bottom of the pot, you see the flavourful oil that is just waiting for a piece of crusty bread! This with a little bread would make a perfect meal.

Serve this warm or tepid. It is a perfect dish to set in the oven and do all the other things you have to becasue it will take a while! Or, pretend that you are in the Greek village and have a coffee visit with a friend! Either way, you will build your appetite for this healthy, delicious meal that is simple, clean, and authentically Greek!

"The Lord, before His Incarnation, let mankind experience all the bitterness of sin, all their powerlessness to eradicate it; and when all longed for a Deliverer, then He appeared, the most wise, all-powerful Physician and Helper. When men hungered and thirsted after righteousness, as it grew weaker, then the everlasting righteousness came."

From St. John of Kronstadt (My Life in Christ:Part 1, Holy Trinity Monastery pg. 266)
Source of quote: http://theodorakis.net/orthodoxquotescomplete.html

Day 40: April 24, 2016 - Palm Sunday: Fried Whiting - Κυριακή των Βαΐων: Τηγανιτά Μπακαλαράκια

2016-04-24T22:32:00.000-04:00

March 25th is one of the days that we can eat fish during Great Lent. We did! We enjoyed some traditional fish.

Today, however, is Palm Sunday; this is the other day during Great Lent when eating fish is permitted. For today's recipe, we made fried whiting (Μπακαλαράκια). We followed the simple flour and fry method that our parents and grandparents have used for years, and it is the method that is difficult to do wrong, and it is usually quite tasty.

Whiting is a name that refers to a variety of white fish. It is a small (6-8 inches length, 1-3 inch diameter) fish with one, connected, central bone that is easily removed when the fish are cooked. Some Greeks refer to these whitings as Bakalarioakia (small cod fish), which is not exactly a correct name, but it makes us think about the dry, salted fish that we enjoy.

You can addd seasonings that you like to this recipe as there is nothing written in stone for this recipe. However, we will give you some of the pointers that might make your selection of fish and seasonings even tastier than it was before this entry.

We start by purchasing the fish. When you buy fish at the store, make sure that the eyes look clear and whole. If they are cloudy eyes or sunken into the head, the fish is older and will have a stronger smell and taste. You can have the fish cleaned like we did, which removed the stomach and guts, and should scrape off the scales. We took the next step of cutting off the heads and removing the black film inside the top of the fish body. When we have left the black film in place, we found that it gave the fish a very bitter and unappealing flavour. The easiest way to pull that film off is with your fingers, grab one end and pull -- it comes off like a piece of tape!

Rinse the fish well after removing the black film to make sure that there is no residue inside or outside the fish.

We then removed the fins on the top and bottom of the fish. They are small and hard and come off very easily with scissors. We cut these off because of our personal preference of not having to eat around them. The fish is nice and clean and seems to have more meat when these are removed. Since the side fins had been removed at the initial cleaning at the store, we took a few minutes to remove the dorsal fin (on top) and the pelvic fin (under the body). Scissors made this really easy to do, but you can use a knife if you are more comfortable with that. And, if you leave them on, that is fine, they are like getting cartilage in your mouth when eating.

Rinse the fish again to make sure that there are no residual pieces of anything on the fish. And, as they sit in the colander dripping, get your flour ready.

We used a self rising flour to dredge the fish. Of course, all purpose flour works quite well, but we find with self rising flour, the fish will have a lighter, more crispy coating. It is a similar comparison of tempura, which is light and crispy, to traditional deep fried, which is a heavier, thicker coating.

We used about 2 cups of self rising flour for 24 fish. This was more than we really needed by about 1/2 cup. So, you can use 1 1/2 cups flour for 24 fish.

We put seasonings in the flour because this is what will stick to the fish. We used about 1 TBSP of each: Montreal Steak Spice (there is no steak in the spice), Oregano, Salt, and Garlic Powder. If you have garlic salt, then omit the salt and just use the garlic salt.

Some people will salt the fish before dipping it in flour. We find that was more difficult to judge the amount of salt when we did that. For us, we can control our salt intake if we know exactly how much we are putting in the mix. And, if you like other specific flavours with your fish, then add some to the flour. For us, and for feeding a crowd, we stayed a little traditional. Our addition of Montreal Steak Spice is the non-traditional factor here, but we put that in most of our dishes. It has pepper, paprika, garlic, onion, coriander, salt, and dill mixed together. We like the combination and finds it adds a little oomph to many dishes. One Koumbaro grinds the steak spice to a powder and adds it. We left ours in the larger crystals.

Add the seasonings to the flour and mix it well so that you cannot identify one form another.

Now it is time to dredge the fish in the flour. You do not want to dry your fish before putting it in flour. You have to have a bit of moisture for the flour to stick well to the fish. Toss each fish around in the flour to fully coat the inside and outside.

One person suggested putting the flour in a large zipper seal bag, dropping the fish in the bag and shaking to coat the fish with flour. That is a clean and practical method, but harder to show in pictures, so we, again, stayed traditional with a bowl. As long as the fish is fully coated inside and out, use the method that suits you.

Allow the coated fish to sit aside while the oil heats.

Heat about 1 inch of oil in a frying pan. You want to make sure that the pan is big enough in diameter to fit the entire fish without having to bend or cut the body. You will know when the oil is ready when you sprinkle a little flour in the hot oil and you see it dissolve and you hear the sizzling noise of frying. Then, it is safe to start to add the fish.

Using your hands or tongs, lay the fish into the hot oil. Don't drop it in the oil because the oil is hot and if it splashes, you could get hurt. We don't want that for anyone. One by one, lay the fish in the pan without touching any of the bodies together. Allow enough space in between each fish for the hot oil to get to both sides of each fish.

When you see the edges turning golden brown -- that nice fried colour, then it is time to turn the fish. To get to that golden colour, this will take about 4 minutes. You can see in thenext picture the golden sides and the white top of the fish. Once you turn the fish over to the second side, you can admire the even colouring.

Fry the fish on the second side for about 3 minutes, until the second side is equally brown. These are small fish and do not take too long. Six to seven minutes to fry fully will give you a crispy outside with a flaky, soft inside. If you prefer a chewier fish inside, then allow the fish to cook for another two to three minutes. You will see the colour outside get darker, too.

Once the fish is fried, remove them from the oil and lay them on paper towels to drain off any excess oil. Again, try to keep a space between the fish to allow all the oil to fall to the paper towels instead of onto each other.

We, then, ground some finishing salt on top of the fillets. You want to do this while the fish is hot so the salt will adhere to (stick to) the coating. This step is optional, but does add that little saltiness that is expected with a fried fish.

Continue these steps until all the fish is fried.

When all the fish is fried, it is time to eat. Serve these hot with lemon wedges and skordalia. Don't forget that there is one bone in the middle of the fish that should come out very easily. And, with that bone being attached to the tail, it provides a natural skewer so you can enjoy the fish like a kebab. To keep the fully fried fish warm while you continue to cook the entire batch, turn the oven on at 200º F (about 93º C) and put the fish in there on an oven-safe dish or a pan. Leave the paper towels in place while keeping the fish warm so they can absorb any more oil from the fish. Serve with your choice of side dishes and enjoy.

Source of video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPLW9Ft9qVw

Bridegroom Matins Icon Procession - Palm Sunday Evening - 2016 (from the Formation Greek Orthodox Church, Vermont).

Day 36 - April 20, 2016 - Vegan Greek Bean Soup (Fasolada) - Νηστίσιμη Φασολάδα (Originally posted on Feb 27, 2015)

2016-04-20T23:55:00.001-04:00

(Each week, even during non-fasting periods, we prepare a bean soup (fasolada) similar to the recipe below. This popular post from February 27, 2015, is a favourite of ours and we would like our new readers to see why we love it so much).

Fasolada is something that my mother in law makes regularly. She often sends a container over to our house to make sure that we get some. On occasion, when we are visiting with the parents, she will heat some soup for us all, just like some people would serve coffee. It is endearing and generous. The nicest part about being served soup when visiting, is that you don’t have to go through the work to make it for yourself at home. But, today, we did.

The real work comes in taking the time to cut up all the ingredients. With Fasolada, there are only a few ingredients to prepare, and then it is a matter of the time needed for the soup to simmer to perfection. And, regardless of what time of year it is – Great Lent, Winter, Autumn, or whenever, having a bowl of Fasolada is comforting and warming.

Surprisingly, Greek bean soup - also known as fasolada (or fasolatha) is considered by many the national dish of Greece. It is a very flavourful and highly nutritious dish that is very inexpensive to make. In fact, most Greek homes will have fosolada at least once a week as the main meal (usually Wednesday or Friday) with some bread, olives and a green (such as dandelion greens with oil and lemon).

We started to make this with a phone call asking my mother in law how she makes hers. Husband loves his mother’s Fasolada, so why not learn from “the master” of the soup? We called and asked for directions. Of course, in the expected Greek Mother way, we were told, “Oh, come over, I will make you some.” And, even though that was not the purpose, we did. We went, we ate, we chatted, and we were given verbal directions, complete with hand gestures and a container full of soup to go!

What we needed to do was decide how much “some”, “a little”, and “a handful” meant this time, and as we did, we realized that everyone will define these amounts differently, and they are negotiable when making Fasolada, so we are giving you the basic amounts to serve 4 people.

For this recipe, you will need the following:

1 can white beans or ½ pound dried (soaked, rinsed, and boiled)

½ cup oil

1 onion

1 carrot

1 celery stalk

1 bay leaf (we used a large Greek bay leaf, as shown above)

7-8 oz (about 225 g) diced tomatoes with liquid

1 TBSP tomato paste

salt and pepper to taste

First, cut up all your vegetables and drain and rinse the canned beans. If you are using the dried beans, they would have been soaked overnight and you should have boiled them for about 30-45 minutes to make them mostly soft. Assuming that the beans are ready, we are starting with the vegetables.

We chopped one onion, one carrot, and one stalk of celery. Often on cooking shows, you will hear this combination referred to as “The Holy Trinity”. That may seem fitting, since in Orthodoxy we do many things for the Holy Trinity, but it may also seem offensive, depending on your opinion. The combination of diced onion, diced carrot, and diced celery is called Mirepoix (pronounced meer-pwah). It is a French term that basically means a mixture.

Have all your ingredients ready to go, since once you start cooking the vegetables, things move along through the process rather quickly. The longest part of the process will be at the end, waiting to eat!

Start the cooking with heating some oil in the pot. You need enough oil to coat the bottom of the pot. Bring the oil to a hot temperature, but not smoking hot.

Put the mirepoix in the pot. You can put them all at once, or one at a time. We did one at a time to show for pictures, but we were told that you just put everything in the pot at once and turn it on, and you get Fasolada.

Cook the vegetables long enough to make them soft. This should take about fifteen minutes. You can check the softness by tasting them or feeling them. Just make sure that they are soft without being mushy. Season with some salt and pepper. Then, add the tomato paste. When you put the paste in the pot, make sure it coats all of the vegetables, and allow the tomato paste to cook for a few minutes. We found that by allowing the paste to cook, we got a more rich and deep tomato flavor in the end.

Then, add the diced tomatoes. Add the bay leaf, too. We use a Greek Bay Leaf, which we will discuss on another day. It is much more flavourful than the small non-Greek ones. My mother-in-law tells me that she sometimes uses crushed tomatoes in a can, or she will get the tomatoes that have been put in the freezer from the summer garden, and she will spend her time to grate the frozen tomatoes for this recipe. The tomatoes from the garden do give the soup a different taste, and if I knew how to spell my mother-in-law's description, I would; but I can tell you that it is similar to, "Yummm."

Now, add the beans and the water. You will have to judge how much water to add by how your soup looks. You want to add enough to make it soupy, but not enough to cancel out the tomato flavor. We added about two and a half cups of water to our pot. As it was explained to us, “You know, Fasolada is soup. You make it like soup.”

Now, let this mixture simmer on the stove. Depending on your beans and how long you cooked the vegetables, this should simmer between 30 and 60 minutes. Oh, and as my mother-in-law tells us, “You know it is done when it tastes just right!” It is such a joy and a gift to be given directions like this.

Serve the fasolada with some crusty bread, red wine vinegar, and maybe some olives. A few dashes of the red wine vinegar provides a nice flavour accent to the fasolada. That’s how they eat it in Greece, and that is how we eat it with the family. Either way, it is a comfort food that warms every home and every heart.

* A note: When we sat down to eat this today, husband and I agreed that this recipe was not exactly like my mother-in-law's. According to husband, another can of beans to the recipe could have made the soup more like his mother's. He did, however, give two thumbs up for the dish described in this post as "Absolutely delicious!"

A certain monk told me that when he was very sick, his mother said to his father, "How our little boy is suffering. I would gladly give myself to be cut up into pieces if that would ease his suffering." Such is the love of God for people. He pitied people so much that he wanted to suffer for them, like their own mother, and even more. But no one can understand this great love without the grace of the Holy Spirit.

(St. Silouan the Athonite, Writings, IX.10)

Source of quote: http://orthodox.cn/patristics/300sayings_en.htm

Day 35: April 19, 2016 - Husband's Easy Fancy Rice with Salsa - (Originally posted on April 7, 2014)

2016-04-19T22:10:00.004-04:00

(Today's entry was originally posted on April 7, 2014. It is a very popular post and it just so happens to be a favourite of Husband's. It's very easy to make, tasty and can be used as a side dish for a variety of meals).

Everyone who cooks has one or two dishes that he or she will become known for making, and that dish becomes a signature item for that cook. In our house, Husband is the one who is in charge of making a fancy rice as one of his favourite dishes that need to be made in a pinch. And, the only reason that we call it fancy is because it looks beautiful when served, goes with many dishes, and seems like something special to serve. But, our secret is revealed! Fancy rice is really easy to make.

To start to make fancy rice, you just have to have three things on hand -- rice, oil (olive is our preference) and salsa. That is the ingredient that can make or break this dish! Salsa is another term for sauce. The main ingredients in salsa vary, depending on the brand or the heat (spiciness) of the salsa. The main ingredients include tomatoes, onion, chili peppers, and cilantro. Some salsas have different kinds of tomatoes, or different types of chili peppers which can change the overall flavour of the salsa. There are many salsas on the market that have corn, black beans, green tomatoes, some are cooked, others are raw. You have to decide which one you like the best, but for our fancy rice, we use a typical tomato salsa. In fact, we used Chi-Chi's brand salsa (medium heat).

We used to love going to Chi-Chi's restaurant when it existed. It was a good salsa then, and being able to sit there and enjoy some chips and salsa while waiting for dinner was always a special treat. When we found the Chi-Chi's salsa in the store we had to buy it to bring back our memories. Of course, our reminiscing was great for the first portion of the bottle, but it was a big bottle, so we had to make something else. Fancy rice seemed like the right answer.

For this recipe, you will need the following:

2 cups rice
3 1/2 cups water
1 cup salsa
a little olive oil (about 2-3 tablespoons)
1/4 teaspoons salt
optional: two dashes Montreal Steak Spice

First, Husband rinses the rice very well. Put it in a strainer and let the cold water run through the rice to wash away any residue and to help sort out if there are any stones in the rice (that happens sometimes). Then, put that in a large, microwave safe bowl (we used a large Pyrex measuring cup because it has a handle to make it easy to lift).

Add the water to the rice. Allow the rice to soak in the water for about five minutes. You will see the water turn a cloudy colour, and that is okay. That is likely just some of the starch from the rice. The typical ratio for making rice is 1:2, which means 1 cup of rice needs 2 cups of water to cook properly. There are some recipes that will use a 1 : 1 1/2 ratio, and that usually means there is another liquid involved to compensate for the lost water -- like this recipe. The amount of water that "seems to be missing" is to make space for the salsa to become part of the cooking liquid. This gives you a little more than a 1:2 ratio in measurements, but remember that the salsa also has solid chunks in it to make up for some of that inequity.

Allow the rice to soak in the water for about 5 minutes before adding the salsa.

Add the salsa to the water and rice and mix well. You want to make sure that the salsa is mixed well through the rice. Then, it will be time to make a little magic happen!

Now, it is time to add a bit of salt. Now, we say it is a bit, without an actual measurement, we shook the salt about three times. You want to add enough salt to enhance the taste of the salsa, as if you were making regular rice. For some, one shake of salt is too much, and for others, three shakes will not be enough. Add a little salt to this recipe to help with the cooking process of the rice. It does make a difference in the end dish.

Then, add a drizzle of oil. We made a circle around the top of the measuring cup -- just one circle around. You do not need more than one circle of oil. The oil will rise to the top and look useless in the recipe, especially since many salsas have oil in them. But, this little extra oil adds to the creamy, moist texture of the final product. It is a little oil, probably not more than a tablespoon.

This next step is optional. Husband added a sprinkle of Montreal Steak Spice. This may not be something that you have in your spice rack, so you can omit it. If we did not have the Steak Spice, we would have omitted this completely. But, in our house, Montreal Steak Spice is something that Husband adds to EVERYTHING! Yes, every recipe has a little steak spice. It is a combination of peppers, garlic, onions, and seasonings. It has a unique flavour, a coarse texture, and a memorable impact. One of our friends tells us how he grinds the steak spice in a coffee grinder and sprinkles it in everything. He grinds it because it is less noticeable and less obvious, but still gets added to everything he makes. So, if you have some sort of steak spice, sprinkle some in the rice. This is our secret ingredient.

Once all the ingredients are in the microwave safe bowl (our measuring cup), mix one more time and put the bowl into the microwave. Use a cover over the bowl or measuring cup. We used a typical microwave plate cover, so you know you don't need a fitted lid, just something to stop any splashing. It is a good idea to use a lid of some sort over anything you put in the microwave oven.

At full power (level 10), cook the rice in the microwave for 15 minutes. The rice will not be fully cooked at 15 minutes, but you will see the progress of the cooking process and be able to judge how much more time is needed. We used a Pyrex measuring cup which actually made the cooking process a little longer than if we had used a regular glass bowl. For some reason, Pyrex being as thick as it is, makes the cooking time longer. If you are using a typical ceramic or glass bowl, you may be closer to done than we were at this point. Mix the rice and make that decision.

After mixing the rice well, to make sure all the ingredients are distributed, continue to cook the rice in the microwave for another 5 minutes. You will now continue to cook the rice in 5 minute increments until the rice is fully cooked and soft. Of course, you will be looking for the liquid to be fully absorbed, which would indicate that the rice should be done. But to be sure, taste the rice and make sure that there is no crunch left. We took a total of 25 minutes to cook 2 cups of rice. We cooked on the full power of the microwave.

When the rice is soft, mix it well one more time to make sure all the little chunks from the salsa are evenly distributed. Allow the rice to sit for about 5 minutes to set up. It will be moist, almost creamy when it comes out of the bowl. Then, you serve the rice either in a bowl, or as we did -- a moulded shape. It will be dry enough to hold its shape, but moist enough to enjoy. You can see the little bits and pieces of tomato and pepper from the salsa, and you can see the flakes from the Montreal Steak Spice. This rice becomes a festival on a plate!

To make the rice extra fancy, warm a small amount of salsa to top the rice. It adds a little more zing, a little more colour, and a few more memories to talk about later in time. We wanted to be extra fancy for ourselves, so we put the rice in a mould and added salsa on top. It is nice to do something special for yourself once in a while.

"As Christians we are here to affirm the supreme value of direct sharing, of immediate encounter —not machine to machine, but person to person, face to face."

Bishop Kallistos Ware "The Mystery of the Human Person"

Source of quote: http://theodorakis.net/orthodoxquotescomplete.html

Day 34 - April 18, 2016 - Papoutsakia a.k.a. Imam Bayildi: Eggplant at its best! (Originally Posted on March 20, 2012).

2016-04-18T21:50:00.000-04:00

(Today's entry is a very popular post which was originally published on March 20, 2012. Everyone in our family loves Imam Bayaldi and understand why this recipe is so well liked by our readers).

Papoutsakia is a cute Greek word that means "little shoes." It is the name of a food that is one you either love or hate. I don't know many people who think that eggplant is just okay. Some of us love the strong, bitter taste of eggplant. We don't mind the soft, almost slimy texture of cooked eggplant, whereas others may find that same texture offensive. There are some substitutes for eggplant in different dishes. For example, you may want to use zucchini instead of eggplant to make moussaka. With the addition of a layer of potatoes, the different vegetable is barely noticeable.

If you are one of the people who are unsure about how much you like or do not like eggplant, you may want to try a different type or variety. There are several varieties that are readily available in the market, including the long, Chinese eggplant, the white eggplant, the stout Italian eggplant, or the typical, oval-shaped black eggplant. Each one has a different level of bitterness, and offers a little variety in overall flavour and colour to a dish.

Today, we have chosen to use the long, slender Chinese eggplant. These are, in our opinion, the closest resemblance to a shoe -- and for making a dish that is called "little shoes," we thought this would be most appropriate. Also, we have found that these are less bitter than the large, black eggplants. So, what is the story of papoutsakia, exactly?

Traditionally, this dish includes a meat filling and a cheese topping. Some may describe it as individual moussaka because of the similar ingredients (meat, cheese, eggplant...) Obviously, we are abstaining from both meat and cheese, so we have decided to simply omit them from the recipe. But, how could this be the same dish? Well, that's easy. There is another dish, that is the vegetarian version of papoutsakia, known as Imam Bayildi. There is no meat and there is no cheese in the recipe, therefore making the dish completely appropriate for Great Lent and any fasting time. We chose to use the Greek name instead of the Turkish because we are Greek-proud. The name Imam Bayildi means "the imam (Muslim cleric) fainted." Some folk lore states that the priest had fainted from his shock of the amount of olive oil used in this dish. Some say that the priest wept instead of fainted. Either way, the common factor in the two dishes is that there is a lot of oil used here.

We chose to follow the recipe from the superb coobook by Susanna Hoffman The Olive and the Caper: Adventures in Greek Cooking. This is the first time we are making this dish from this cookbook. There have been many times that we have made this dish from memory, from other cookbooks, but we are always looking to improve and perfect our techniques and recipes, so we wanted to try this one. As mentioned, we have simply omitted the meat and cheese from this recipe.

This is a lengthy process, so be prepared to spend an hour getting all of the ingredients ready. To feed 6 people, you will need the following: 3 medium eggplants (we have 6 small), 1/2 cup olive oil, 2 medium onions sliced finely (we used both red and white onions for the sweet and colourful combination), 10 to 12 garlic cloves, chopped, 3 Tablespoons tomato paste, 2 teaspoons dried Greek oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt, some ground black pepper to taste, 1 cup dry red wine (we use whatever bottle of dry red wine that we are drinking at the time).

First, cut the eggplant in half lengthwise. (we also cut ours to make the pieces shorter, so they were easier to handle in the pan and in the baking dish; and this gave us more pieces to feed the whole family!)

Scoop out the center of each half, leaving a thin layer on the skin. Keep the scooped parts! (this was not easy -- we tried a melon baller to scoop and a knife to cut out the flesh; they were equally difficult)

Chop the scooped eggplant pulp. (we believe that this is easier with big eggplants, but the slender ones still worked fine).

Next, heat 1/4 cup of the oil in a large pan. Cook the onions and garlic until they are soft.

Add the eggplant pulp, tomato paste, oregano, salt, pepper, and wine. Bring this to a boil.

Simmer the filling until the liquid is reduced by half -- about 45 minutes (for us, this took a little less time because we used a shallow frying pan and a little higher heat than just a simmer).

While that is cooking, heat another pan with the remaining1/4 cup of oil. Fry the eggplant shells in the pan until they are brown on both sides and very soft. (about 10 minutes each side -- some took longer, some took a shorter time; we found that the more meat that was left on the skin fried nicer and looked better).

When they are done, line them in a baking dish so they are packed well with the cut side up. Keep this to a single layer (we found that alternating the stem side helped to pack these into the baking dish).

Fill the eggplant shells with the onion mixture. Pour any extra filling on top of the eggplants (there was not that much extra after actually filling the shells).

Pour some water around the eggplant until it reaches about 1/4 inch deep. Do not cover the eggplants (just enough that the eggplants won't stick to the baking pan).

Bake in the oven at 350º F (about 175º C) for one hour until everything is soft and the filling is bubbling (and it will smell scrumptious!)

Serve hot, or cool completely in the refrigerator for an hour and serve cold.

So, what did we think about the recipe from The Olive and the Caper: Adventures in Greek Cooking? This recipe from the book was easy enough to follow. There are nice stories to go with the recipe, and a little history about almost every dish. The steps are numbered to make it easy to identify. We did find that the directions are clear, but we needed some more specific details about a few steps. For example, the directions tell us to fry the eggplant shells until browned and wilted. We found "browned" produced a result that was too well done, and "wilted" did not seem done enough, so we had to find the happy medium. You can see by our photographs that the first few eggplant pieces were cooked until browned -- but they were outright crispy. Then, as we got to the second batch, we went to "wilted" doneness, and that was okay, but the "meatier" shells looked raw. So, we cooked the eggplant until the edges started to brown, and that seemed to be right. Once we filled the eggplant shells with the vegetables, the baking dish looked full and plentiful. However, we followed the directions and baked the pan for one hour and burned the top of the dish. This did not look appealing, but the flavour was delightful. It was really just the natural caramelization of the tomato sauce that made the dark colour. This is the same thing we were trying to avoid when cooking the filling -- that's why we stirred occasionally. So, next time, we may bake it for less time or cover it with foil to prevent that dark colour.

Overall, we did like the information that this book offers about the history of a dish, or the tale or story that involves the food -- that's part of the charm of this cookbook that is fast becoming a family favourite. Its excellent research into obscure, but very important, texts that explain the origins of many Greek foods is greatly appreciated by us. There is a lot to read and the pictures that are in this book are not just about the food, so that made the reading a little more interesting.

We would use this book again for some classic recipes. And, who knows, we may just make this recipe again -- maybe even with the meat and the cheese!

Source: http://orthodoxwiki.org/File:John_Cassian.jpg

"I shall speak first about control of the stomach, the opposite to gluttony, and about how to fast and what and how much to eat. I shall say nothing on my own account, but only what I have received from the Holy Fathers. They have not given us only a single rule for fasting or a single standard and measure for eating, because not everyone has the same strength; age, illness or delicacy of body create differences. But they have given us all a single goal: to avoid over-eating and the filling of our bellies... A clear rule for self-control handed down by the Fathers is this: stop eating while still hungry and do not continue until you are satisfied."
(Source: http://orthodoxwiki.org/John_Cassian)

Day 34: April 17, 2016 - Red Pepper Dip

2016-04-17T22:54:00.000-04:00

A simple dip or sandwich spread is always good to have in the fridge during Great Lent. It is helpful to have so you can use the spread on some toast, add lettuce and call it a sandwich. If you are one of the people (like we are) who likes a simple sandwich to eat, then we have a good spread to use as a base with either lettuce, roasted vegetables, avocado slices, or even alone on some toasted bread.

Red peppers are available in so many forms. You can buy them in the store in brine, in oil, or in the raw form and make your own. We usually have a jar of roasted red peppers in our pantry, and today, we are going to blend it to make it a sandwich spread that goes with everything.

We used about three whole peppers for this recipe, and think this is best made in medium sized batches to last a few days -- up to a week at a time. And, although there are few ingredients, you can tell the difference of when it is fresh to when it has been in the fridge a while. So, keep it simple and keep it fresh.

For this recipe, you will need the following:

3 roasted red peppers
2-3 TBSP oil (we used vegetable oil)
2-3 TBSP balsamic vinegar
3-4 cloves garlic
salt and pepper as needed

This is simple. Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blend. We used an immersion blender and started with the peppers. Puree the peppers and the garlic together. Add one third of the oil and blend. Add the balsamic vinegar and blend. Check the seasoning and adjust if you need salt and pepper. Now, add the remaining two-thirds of the oil slowly to the peppers, blending as you add. This will incorporate air and oil together to make a thicker spread (like making mayonnaise). You will notice the lighter colour as more air is incorporated. Blend until this becomes a smooth, thick spread that you can use with bread, serve as a dip with crackers, or eat with a spoon if you really like red peppers! That's it. It's easy. But, it is worth having on hand as a versatile dip and or sandwich spread.

"Falsehood - and only falsehood - separates us from God ... False thoughts, false words, false feelings, false desires - Behold the aggregate of lies that leads us to non-being, illusion, and rejection of God. "

By St. Nicholas of Serbia, Thoughts on Good and Evil

Source of quote: http://orthodox.cn/patristics/300sayings_en.htm

Day 34: April 16, 2016 - Pasta Flora - Πάστα Φλόρα

2016-04-16T21:55:00.002-04:00

Pasta Flora is one of those desserts we had seen a hundred times at festivals and various church bake sales, but never really understood how it was a Greek food. We thought it was just a large pie or tart that made its way into the culture, but was not typically ethnic. Surprisingly, it is a Greek food!

Pasta Flora (Πάστα Φλόρα) is a shortcrust tart that can be filled with any jam flavour, but is typically apricot. It is similar to a Linzer Torte (Austria), and can be made large or small, and will delight anyone with a sweet tooth. The beauty of this recipe is that it is appropriate for the season of Lent, and can be used throughout the year with ingredients that are typical in a household. The lattice work on top will make it a little fancy, and only you will know how easy this actually was to make. This treat can be served with coffee, breakfast, snack, or any time of day. If you have leftover dough, you can make shortbread cookies from the dough, without the jam. This is a typical treat in the Greek bakeries, and we are delighted to share with you our version.

For this recipe, you will need the following:

1/2 c oil
6 T orange juice
1 tsp brandy or cognac
1/2 jar jam (about 8 ounces)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla powder (optional)
1 tsp orange zest
1 1/4 cup flour (maybe a little more as needed)
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking powder
slivered almonds, (optional) as needed

First, get the flavours all mixed together by combining the jam or jelly with the brandy. Mix so the jam is thinned and has a hint of flavour. Allow this to sit off to the side while making the dough.

A note: We believe that you could omit the brandy and use just straight jam, or use a little lemon juice or orange juice in the jam to thin it a bit so it is spread-able.

Start by combining the dry ingredients -- the flour, vanilla powder (if using), baking powder, and salt. Combine well so you cannot differentiate between one and the other.

In a separate bowl, mix the orange juice, sugar, orange zest, and the oil. Mix well so it is well combined.

Add the dry ingredients to the liquid juice/sugar combination. Add a bit at a time so you have no lumps and you do not over mix the dough. Get all the ingredients mixed together to form a wet, but pliable dough. You may be surprised at how oily the dough feels, but that is typical and acceptable. If the dough does not stay together, add a little more flour. The dough should feel like a very soft cookie dough. Be careful to not add too much extra flour, though, because that could ruin the final product and make it too dry.

Cut away one third of the dough, and set that aside. This will become the lattice on top of the pasta flora. Then, take the 2/3 amount that you have and press it into a tart pan. You may be able to roll it with a rolling pin, but it is just as easy to use your hands, give this dough a press, and it will form against the sides of your pan. You also get that homemade look since it will not be smooth. Some say that the "bumpy" texture of hand-pressed dough holds the jam better than if the dough had been rolled out with a rolling pin. Fill the cracks and crevices all around the tart pan and make sure the dough is pressed along the sides, too.

Now that the shell is in place, fill the shell with the jam/brandy mixture. Spread it evenly around the tart pan. This way, you assure a little jam with every bite. If you have chosen to use slivered almonds, you can sprinkle them on top of the jam at this point, before laying the lattice work on top. Otherwise, wait and sprinkle them on top of the lattice.

The one third of the dough that we had set aside, we are going to break apart into walnut sized pieces. You should have about 8 or 10 pieces. Each one of these is going to be rolled into a long "snake" or "log" or "rope". Roll each piece so the log is the length of the tart pan. The log is to be laid across the top of the tart, and some of them will be smaller, since they are on the end. So, one by one, starting in the centre, lay the long rope across the top of the tart. Next, lay ropes across the top of the jam, about one inch apart, and continue to do that until you have striped the top of the tart pan.

Now, lay the remaining snake rolls across the first ones, so the pattern becomes a criss-cross or a lattice. Press the ends of each snake/log against the sides of the tart pan to seal the edges of the Pasta Flora. The nice thing about this is that if the snakes are not long enough to reach both sides of the pan, that is okay -- they do not have to be perfect because once they bake, the logs will look nicer than they did when they were uncooked.

Bake this at 375° F (about 190° C) for approximately 35 minutes. You will know it is done by the lovely golden colour that the top will have, and the jam filling will look firm and solid. Allow this to cool before serving. It will be well worth the wait!

We knew that this was a very traditional treat for many parts of Greece. We are happy to learn that several of the people we shared this with have had others and preferred our recipe over others. It is not too sweet. We are not certain, but it could also be the flavour of jam used. We used a no-sugar added Mixed Berry flavour jam by the Canadian company E.D. Smith. It spread beautifully in the tart, has a nice flavour, and became this lovely dark, rich colour which really stood out against the light golden dough. We are going to make this again with the traditional apricot jam, and maybe a third time with a strawberry or raspberry filling, as per the request of Husband's Mother. We like Pasta Flora and are thrilled to know that others like it, too!

By the way, here is our Theia's lovely Pasta Flora which she had made for our cousin's Agiasmo (Home/Business blessing - please see this entry by clicking here). As you can see in the photo above, it was made with a different filling; hers is also Lenten (vegan, in fact) and, if we may add, totally delicious!

“I can live on 100 grams of bread. This bread is blessed by God because it is necessary, but not 110 grams. That 10 grams is cursed because it is stolen and it belongs to him who is hungry.”

By St. Kosmas Aitolos, The Life of St. Kosmas Aitolos Together with an English Translation of His Teaching and Letters, Translated by Nomikos Michael Vaporis

Source of this quote:

http://www.orthodoxchurchquotes.com/2013/12/18/st-kosmas-i-can-live-on-100-grams-of-bread/

Day 33 - April 15, 2016: Cuttlefish with Spinach - Σουπιές με Σπανάκι

2016-04-15T20:57:00.002-04:00

In our many adventures reading through Greek cookbooks and various websites about Greek food, we kept coming across this one recipe that had only a few ingredients, and we thought we should try it. It just so happened that we had cuttlefish the other day, and we reserved one so we could try this specific recipe. And, we always have some greens in the fridge, whether it is spinach, rapini, dandelions, or vleeta (amaranth), we always have greens. Today, we had some Chinese spinach, and we figured that would work fine with our cuttlefish.

This recipe that we are discussing is from a website called All Corfu.com /Corfu Recipes
Corfu is known for much of the seafood, and cuttlefish are easy to come by. You can make this with squid or cuttlefish, and both will give you a similar result.

For this recipe, you will need the following:

1 cuttlefish, cleaned and cut into pieces
1/4 cup oil
approx. 2 cups spinach, washed
1 onion, chopped
salt, pepper, lemon to taste

Since the cuttlefish was already cleaned and cut into pieces, we are not going to review that process. Please see our April 6, 2016 entry for instructions on how to clean a cuttlefish.

Start with the cut up pieces of soupies. Put them in a dry pot on medium heat and cover them. Allow this to simmer on medium heat for 15 minutes. Do not put anything in the pan with the soupies. They will release water all by themselves.

In a separate pan, sauté the onions. Once the onions become somewhat see through, add the spinach to the pan. Toss the spinach in the hot onion pan enough so wilt the spinach. You don't want to cook this too much -- just wilted. You can see the dark colour on the spinach; that is how you will know it is done. Now, season those with salt and pepper.

Next, combine the two pans -- add the spinach and onion to the cuttlefish pan and mix well. Season with some lemon juice. Allow the flavours to cook together for about 10 minutes, and serve. It is light, fresh, and rather simple. Over a plate of rice or noodles, or even as is, this can be a filling and nutritious dish to enjoy any time of the year.

“As a moth gnaws a garment, so doth envy consume a person.”

-St. John Chrysostomos
Source of quote: https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/4589154.John_Chrysostom

Day 32 - April 14, 2016 - Lazy Day "Stuffed" Peppers - Εύκολες Γεμιστές Πιπεριές

2016-04-14T20:49:00.001-04:00

While growing up, many families will have a certain dish that rotates into the weekly menu planning regularly. It may be a pasta night, or a chicken night. Your family might have included a pizza night. In our family, every other week my mother would make stuffed peppers. I remember sitting at the kitchen table helping her fill each and every pepper. And, I also remember my sisters and I would change the lids around so that we would have different coloured peppers with mismatched lids. My mother hated that! But, we were having fun, and she appreciated that we were helping.

At some point in time, my mother decided that cooking was too much work and she wanted to spend her time with other things. So, she found various dishes that would free her schedule and she did not have to spend the time stuck in the kitchen. My mother also made sure that we each learned to cook something so she could rotate cooking duties amongst the children. But, I give her credit -- my mother found ways to make some dishes that even she calls the Lazy Way.

Stuffed peppers is one of the dishes that my mother made into a Lazy Day dish. It is a meal that goes a long way to feed a big family. It is also a great side dish. Really, if you look at the Greek way of eating, we put rice with many different things -- shrimp, leeks, peas, artichokes, potatoes… why not peppers? Or we would have a more traditional yemista (stuffed veggies), where the pepper is stuffed with the rice. But, when you are feeling a bit lazy, stuffing each pepper (or vegetable) may be too much work. So, how does my mother do it?

Well, she shared with us her method. The amounts will vary depending on how many you are feeding, and whether it is a side dish or a main dish. We are making this to feed 4 people as a main dish.

For this recipe, you will need the following:

1 cup rice
1 onion, chopped
3-4 bell peppers, cleaned and cut
2 heaping TBSP tomato paste
1 TBSP parsley
1 tsp garlic powder
2 cups water

Saute the onion in one oil. Make sure you have enough oil to fully coat the onion pieces. Cook this for about 10 minutes for the onions to become soft and fragrant. Sprinkle the rice into the pot and mix well. All the onion and all the rice should be coated with oil. Now, add the seasonings.

My mother never used fresh herbs, except for mint which grew in abundance in our yard. Nor did she use fresh garlic. Everything was powdered or dried spices. That may be because my mother always preferred (and still prefers) mild flavoured food. She is not one for spicy or tangy flavours at all. So, use the garlic poser and the dry parsley, and add some flavour to the rice. Again, mix this well to make sure the ingredients are well distributed.

Now, add the tomato paste. We used two very heaping spoonfuls. Give that a minute to cook in the pan so the tomato becomes rich and flavourful. Mix this well to make sure that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. Then, add the cut pepper pieces. We have a variety of sizes in our cuttings because the pepper swede different sizes. Cut up the peppers into six or eight pieces each and add them to the pot. Mix again so the ingredients are well combined. And, remove the pot from the heat.

It is time to add the water. We used the ratio of 1 rice to 2 waters. So, we added two cups of water to the pot. Mix again to combine everything. You may notice the oil and seasonings floating to the top of the pot, and that's okay. We are going to cover this pot with a very tight aluminum foil wrap. Make it air tight.

Bake this at 375ºF (190ºC) for 30-45 minutes. You have to know the efficiency of your oven to know if the rice will cook in 30 minutes, or if it will take 45. Our convection oven took 35 minutes to cook this in full. When you open the aluminum foil, check to see that the rice is soft and fluffy under the layer of peppers. See how the peppers rose to the top of the pot? Serve this hot directly from the pot, or scoop it into various bowls to serve individually. You want to make sure that the peppers are distributed to each serving. That will be the most work you have to do with this lazy day dish. Enjoy!

"A clear rule for self-control handed down by the Fathers is this: stop eating while still hungry and do not continue until you are satisfied."

By St. John Cassian

Source of quote: http://www.azquotes.com/author/23687-John_Cassian

Day 31- April 13, 2016 - Vegan Eggplant and Bean Soup - Νηστίσιμη Σούπα με Μελιτζάνες και Φασόλια

2016-04-13T21:08:00.000-04:00

There are times that we are reading a recipe that makes us wonder how those ingredients would taste together. And, the more we think about putting some foods together, the more intriguing that recipe becomes. This soup was one that we had thought about for weeks before trying to make it. Eggplant soup sounded weird. But, then, we thought about the little bite of the eggplant and the creamy nature of the white beans and thought these things may be tasty together. So, we tried it. And, sure enough, the flavours worked together so well, and with a splash of lemon, this was a delightful, filling soup. It was a perfect answer for a freezing fasting day!

There are several variations that can be taken with this soup. We are providing a basic recipe, but you could add a variety of ingredients here and make this a base for any kind of soup you like.

For this recipe, you will need the following:

2 eggplants (we used 6 small)
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
water as needed

The longest part of this recipe was roasting the eggplant. We used six small purple eggplants this time. In the past, we have used 2 large eggplants, or 4 slim Chinese eggplants. We fins that the small ones and the large ones have the stronger flavour which you need for this soup. The slender Chinese eggplants are very mild.

Roasting the eggplant takes about 30-45 minutes. You have to remove the stem section of the eggplant, and then slice each eggplant in half. Lay the sliced eggplant on a parchment lined cookie sheet, and put that in the oven at 425 F for 30 to 45 minutes, depending on your oven. You are looking to cook the eggplants long enough to be soft and gooey in the middle, and fully cooked. They may form a skin on the cut part that is against the cookie sheet, but that's okay, the centre will be creamy.

While the eggplants are in the oven roasting, prepare the rest of the ingredients. Chop the onions. Keep the size rather small so they do not take long to cook. Now, sauté the onions over medium to medium high heat. Add some chopped garlic. Cook this for about 10 minutes.

Add the pepper flakes if you are using them. You could add red pepper flakes, you could choose parsley, dill, or even ground rosemary. We like a little spice in our food, so we chose the red pepper. It is the next step that brings a lot of flavour.

Now the eggplants are out of the oven, and they are soft and cooked through. Using a spoon, scoop out the centres of the eggplant, leaving behind the skin. You will scoop and collect the eggplant pulp, and that is the part we are adding to the soup. Add the pulp to the pot with the onions.

Mix this around a bit to make sure that everything is coated and evenly distributed. Cook this for about 5 minutes before adding the beans.

Now, add the beans. They should be rinsed and drained. Mix them into the pot and make sure that all the ingredients are evenly distributed. Now, it is time to add the water. Add enough water to cover the beans fully. You will see the oil start to float on top and you may see some of the seasonings surface. That's okay. This mixture needs to come to a boil, which will take about 10 minutes on medium high heat. Allow this to boil for about 10 more minutes to make sure all the ingredients are soft.

To thicken the soup:

Remove half the amount of soup and put it into a separate container. We chose to use a measuring cup because it pours easily and we could watch the puree process. Once you have half the soup in the separate container, use an immersion blender or put it in a food processor. Now, puree that half of the soup, while leaving the other half intact. We have pureed the full amount in the past, but we like a little variety in texture, so we pulsed half the soup only.

Add the pureed portion back to the pot and bring that to a full simmer for 10 minutes. This will give all the ingredients to settle and combine. Serve this hot after those 10 minutes, and serve with a small wedge of lemon. The flavours that come through on this soup are amazing.

The final product is a very tasty, vegan soup which has the texture of a cream-based soup. It is inexpensive, relatively quick to make and a joy to share with your family and friends.

"The bond between friends cannot be broken by chance; no interval of time or space can destroy it. Not even death itself can part true friends."

Source of quote: http://www.azquotes.com/author/23687-John_Cassian

Day 30 - April 12, 2016 - We went to an Agiasmo (Blessing) Today - Σήμερα Πήγαμε σε Αγιασμό

2016-04-12T22:16:00.004-04:00

It seems that during each of the last five years of writing this blog, we have attended a funeral during Great Lent. This year, so far, we have not been to a funeral. Instead, this year, we attended a joyous event, an Agiasmo -- a blessing for a new office. Cousin John moved his business into a brand new construction, 2 story office complex. He bought the unit, and we think it is a wonderful space and wish him much success. And, as any good Orthodox Christian would, John arranged for the priest to come to bless the new office with prayers and holy water. That is what the Agiasmo is.

There were about thirty people in the office. There were seats for everyone, and in the middle of the room was a long meeting table with two icons, a bowl of water, a bundle of fresh rosemary and a candle. That was set up for the priest. The priest will provide the incense, the incense burner, and the bundle of basil or rosemary, or whatever beautiful herb bundle is available at that time. John made sure that everyone was together when the priest arrived so we could pray together.

In traditional fashion, the priest chanted his part, and the people provided the response. We do not usually see a Psalti (chantor) for house/office blessings. That was fine since the 30 or so people in attendance knew the responses, the prayers, and the process. The priest blesses the water by dipping a cross in the water and dipping the bundle of herbs in the water. He then goes around the home (office in this case) and sprinkles holy water all over each room while chanting a prayer.

Then, at the end of the prayers, Father took his bundle of rosemary leaves and his cross and blessed each individual on the head, and gave everyone a chance to kiss the cross. The blessing was over. That's what we thought, until the moment when Cousin John opened the front door and two men walked in carrying four big trays of food. What a surprise!

Knowing that we are in the middle of Great Lent, John respected the fast and went for a menu that excluded meat and cheese. The offerings included french fried potatoes, calamari rings (squid), tossed salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuce, and grilled pita bread. He did also offer cocktail sauce on the side for the calamari.

In typical Greek fashion, everyone brought something along for this gathering. We supplied some cut fruit, one Theia made Pasta Flora, another made Melamokarona, and someone brought Halva, and another family made some Lenten Koulourakia. Yes, this was a wonderful family event, not just an Agiasmo for our cousin's new business. We enjoyed being included, and with the sweet endings to the meal, we had a sweet ending to this Agiasmo. Not everyone makes an Agiasmo into an event, but Cousin John did. And, he did it in a way that respected our faith, and brought together our family for a positive, beautiful blessing. We pray that this will bring a positive effect on his new enterprise.

A Lenten semolina and nut based halva in a Bundt cake pan (see our own entry from March 31, 2012).

Our theia's Pasta Flora. It was delicious, fruity and a perfect accompaniment to our coffee and tea.
Soon we will post our own entry on this tasty Lenten desert.

Moustokouloura (vegan cookies using grape must).

Source of this prayer: http://www.goarch.org/chapel/liturgical_texts/house

Day 29 - April 11, 2016 - Cuttlefish (Soupies) with Red Wine Cooked in a Pressure Cooker - Σουπιές με Κόκκινο Κρασί Μαγειρεμένο σε Χύτρα Ταχύτητος

2016-04-11T22:04:00.004-04:00

For the last several years, Husband has talked about soups -- not just any recipe, but one made by Kyria Katy from Church. A while back, we had asked Ka. Katy, and she laughed to say, "It is nothing special. It is how my mother made it." So, we had to find out if we could duplicate such a recipe. We did ask a million questions to get all the information that we could so we could try to satisfy Husband's memory of this wonderful dish.

Soupies are cuttlefish. They are similar to squid or octopus, but are different all together. The similarities end in that the cuttlefish, squid, and octopus are all part of the same family, and they all have to be cleaned in similar ways. You can buy cleaned and prepared soups, or you can do it yourself. As a side note, this recipe will also work with squid or octopus. We are giving you rough estimates for amounts, and they may vary slightly. We are also taking the step that Kiria Katy told us she started doing a few years ago which really made this an easy dish to make, and took minimal time to prepare. We used a pressure cooker!

Some pressure cookers are the kind that sit on the stove and build heat and pressure right on the burner. Some have sensors that tell you how much pressure is built up inside, and you time the pressure to the food inside. Ours is an electric pressure cooker and we set the timer on the front and hope for the best! The nice thing is that our electric pressure cooker turns to warm and holds when the timer is done, so you really can just walk away from it as if it were a slow cooker. You absolutely can make this without a pressure cooker, it will just take longer. We are giving the directions for both -- the pressure cooker first and a traditional stove top version second.

For this recipe, you will need the following:

1 cup red wine
3 pounds cuttlefish
1 onion, chopped
3-4 tomatoes, peeled, chopped (1 cup canned)
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
salt, pepper, water as needed

We started by cleaning the cuttlefish. We removed the insides and rinsed well. Remember to remove the hard cartilage that is like a piece of plastic that runs down the back of the cuttlefish. Separate the tentacles section (the head) from the body. Remove the beak (that black thing inside the head) and the eyes. This will leave two cleaned parts -- the body, which we opened so you can see the whole thing, and the tentacles, which we will separate into pairs.

Let's start the recipe. Separate the tentacles into pairs. Using a scissors was easiest for this. Also, cut the body into pieces. I started to cut smaller pieces, Husband said that Ka. Katy cut large pieces so they were more filling. We had a variety of sizes, but should have stuck to the medium size pieces which would be 2 bites per piece of cuttlefish. That made this dish feel hearty, too!

Once the soupies, onion, garlic, and tomatoes are ready to use, then we can start the cooking process. Begin by frying the onion in a little oil. Cook them for about 10 minutes to make sure they are nice and soft. We are cooking on a medium low heat so the onions do not turn brown. As they start to turn translucent, add the garlic. Allow this to cook for about five minutes so the two flavours combine well.

Add the cuttlefish pieces to the onions. Mix this around so the soupies get coated with the oil and the onions. Leave this to cook for about 10 minutes. You will see that the soupies will start to turn pink and rich in colour. This is good. Now, it is time to add the tomato and wine and season with salt and pepper. Mix this well and get all the ingredients evenly distributed.

Kiria Katy reminded us to add a little water to make sure that the tomato and onion is not sticking to the bottom of the pot. You may see a little liquid that came from the cuttlefish, since it does release water as it cooks. But, add a bit to be safe. It is better that this is too thin rather than too thick and stuck to the pan. She said she has more sticking problems when using the pressure cooker than when she uses a regular pot, because you can watch the pot more closely than you can a pressure cooker.

Mix this well. Add a bay leaf to the mixture and put the lid on the pot. Now, you want this to cook at a medium to medium-high temperature for 40 minutes in the pressure cooker, or 1 1/2 hours in a regular pot.

You want to adjust the amount of wine, garlic, and salt in this recipe to fit your likes. Kiria Katy likes her soupies heavy in wine and garlic, whereas Husband liked heavier wine and salt flavours. If you like the red wine more, then add a little more. We added a bit more garlic by using a little garlic powder at the end, and that really boosted the flavour a lot! Serve this over rice, pasta, or serve it with a lot of crusty bread to absorb some of that lovely liquid. Any way you eat it, we hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

"Fasts and vigils, the study of Scripture, renouncing possessions and everything worldly are not in themselves perfection, as we have said; theyare its tools. For perfection is not to be found in them; it is acquired through them. It is useless, therefore, to boast of our fasting, vigils, poverty, and reading of Scripture when we have not achieved the love of God and our fellow men. Whoever has achieved love has God within himself and his intellect is always with God."

-St. John Cassian
Source of quote: http://www.azquotes.com/author/23687-John_Cassian

Day 28: April 10, 2016 - Steamed Clams - Αχνιστά Μύδια

2016-04-10T20:22:00.003-04:00

As we talk to people about food, we find that there are many folks who are not sure about cooking mollusks, shellfish or crustaceans. When we ask about mussels, clams, oysters, or lobster, we often hear, "I don't make those at home." That makes us wonder "Why not?". They are easy to make, often do not need a lot of ingredients, and even if they are overcooked, they can be tasty. So, we want to make it easier for you, and we are going to share a simple, flavourful clam recipe that we use whenever we can get good clams.

First, let us be clear that there are many different types of clams. You may hear different names for each type, and that in itself can be intimidating. Simply put, there are hard shell clams and soft shell clams. Hard shell clams come from deeper waters, and soft shell clams live near the shoreline. Folks who live near the beach can go digging for clams at low tide. In fact, when I lived in the East Coast, my friends and I would go for clam digging and we would bring them home to have an amazing steamed clam meal. We often stayed at the beach and cooked them right by the shore.

So, how does one gather clams for steaming? Well, you look in the sand and you will see the air holes in the smooth sand surface. That is where you dig. Otherwise, you go to the fish monger and you ask for some clams. Many are named by the region from where they came. Ask the person at the counter and he or she will tell you which are the better ones for whatever you are making. We went with a typical variety, easily found Cherrystone Clam today.

Start by checking the clams. They have to be alive! But, how can you tell if they are? If you touch the shell at the hinge (the connected part where the shell opens and closes), you will be able to see the clam close up tightly. In fact, if the clam is alive, the shell should be shut. If it is already open when you buy it, that clam is dead and you need to discard it. Let's get to cooking them when they really open up!

For this recipe, you will need the following:

1-2 pounds clams
1/2 cup white wine
1 onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1 cup water

This is straightforward and should 15 - 20 minutes from start to finish. It will take five to ten minutes to chop the onion, garlic, and parsley, and to scrub the clams. Make sure to choose a pan with a lid!

Everyone talks about scrubbing the clams. We are going to do that. You want a soft bristled brush and under running water, rub the clams in the same direction as the groove on the shell. This will remove and release any stuck sand or dirt particles. Rinse these well under cool running water. Allow the clams to sit to the side while preparing the next steps.

With a little oil in the pan, sauté the onions and the garlic. Cook these long enough that they are translucent, without adding too much colour (if any).

Add the wine to the onions and garlic and mix well. Allow this to cook for about 5 minutes which allows all of the flavours to blend well. Now, add the parsley. Mix that around so it is well distributed in the pan.

Add the clams. Do not drop them from a height. Make sure that the clams are spread around the pan forming a single layer. Add the water to the pan. Now, put the lid on the pan and watch the magic.

Watch the pan as the liquids start to boil. You will see the steam build inside and you will see clams starting to open wide. It becomes more exciting. Boil this mixture long enough for all the clams to open.

Then, remove the clams from the pan, and leave the liquid on the stove to reduce. Spoon the clams into a bowl and set them aside. Reducing the liquid takes about 5-6 minutes. You want all the flavours to come together, and when the liquid is cooked away so there is half the amount left in the pan., that is when you can move on.

Pour the reduced liquid from the pan over the clams. You may note that all of the pieces of parsley and onion will settle into the open shells of the edible clams. Good thing we used a bowl! Serve only the open clams. (We had to discard two of our clams since they did not open.) This can be served with a crusty bread to absorb the liquid, or serve it over pasta or rice, and use the clam cooking liquid in place of tomato sauce. Then, you can share how easy this was to make with your dinner company. Enjoy!

"The Doctor of our souls has placed the remedy in the hidden regions of the soul."

By St. John Cassian
Source of this quote: http://www.azquotes.com/author/23687-John_Cassian

Day 27: April 9, 2016 - Greek Style French Fries -Ελληνικές Τηγανητές Πατάτες

2016-04-09T21:02:00.002-04:00

When we were young, we would visit with Yiayia and Pappou every week. In some lucky families, these visits are more frequent since Yiayia and Pappou live in the same house! But, one of the things that we remember very clearly is that Yiayia always had something to eat in the oven, on the stove, or laid out on the table. If we were lucky, she would be in the process of making something yummy when we arrived, and we would get the freshest of fresh food. One of our all time favourites was the fried potatoes.

Today, we may just refer to fried potatoes with a generic title of French Fries. But, what about Greek fries? Is there such a thing? In some restaurants, there are Greek Style Fries, which typically have a plate of fries topped with feta cheese and oregano. After all, once you add feta cheese, food automatically becomes Greek, right? We are making fried potatoes like Yiayia used to make -- and they are real Greek fries made by Greeks for Greeks and eaten by Greeks, but we are not using any feta cheese!

The first thing that we want to do is introduce our new gadget. You have seen all through this blog that we like various appliances and gadgets to make cooking easier. Well, this gadget does that for us, too. This is the Curtis Stone Chop Chop Deluxe Food Chopper. We love the red colour, and more so, we love the ease of cutting potatoes. With the different attachments, we can have a variety of shapes including potato sticks (fries), wedges, or slices. Yiayia, of course, cut her potatoes by hand, and you can do that, too. We thought it would be fun to use the tool!

Some people will say that you have to choose the right kind of potato to make fries. They say the same about having the right kind of potatoes for baked potato. For us, we lean toward Russet potatoes for baked or fried potatoes, and yellow or Yukon Gold for other dishes. The 'drier' potatoes make for fluffy fries. Yiayia would have chosen potatoes that were in the kitchen already -- the one she bought on her weekly shopping trip, whatever colour or type they were. Regardless of the type of potato she sued, her fried potatoes were always yummy.

For this recipe, you will need the following:

Potatoes
Oil for frying
Salt, Oregano, Lemon Juice to taste

Wash the potatoes. You can wash the potatoes and cut them with skins on, or you can peel the potatoes, wash and cut them. Regardless of which one you choose, please make sure to remove any eyes, blemishes, and dirt.

Cut the potatoes into stick shapes (fries). You can cut them thin or thick, but they should be as even as possible. Our Chop Chop Deluxe cuts pieces uniformly. If we had square, uniform veggies, we could have perfectly uniform pieces. Since nature does not produce uniform, perfectly shaped food, cut the pieces as equally sized as possible.

Rinse the potato pieces one more time and allow the water to drain. You don't want the fries perfectly dry, but they cannot be dripping wet, either. Once you shake the colander and allow it to sit there while you heat the oil, the potato pieces should be dry enough for cooking.

Heat frying oil in a pan so that it is just deeper than the potatoes. You want the top of the oil to skim over the top of the potatoes. Yiayia would use a deep pot and deep fry the potatoes. We find it is easier to manage in a frying pan. This is a personal preference, and you will have to choose whichever cooking utensil you prefer or have handy. Either pan will work, and you will know the oil is hot enough when you drop a small piece of potato into the oil and it fries on contact, or when the oil reaches 325º F (about 163º C).

Put enough potato pieces in the hot oil so the pan is full but the potatoes are not touching too much. You may want to do this in smaller batches.

Cook (fry) the potatoes for 5-7 minutes, moving them around the pan regularly. You will see the first side of the fries turn that beautiful golden brown. Make sure to turn the fries over so that each side has a chance to tan. After the potatoes cook and have uniform colour all around, remove them from the oil and place them on a bundle of folded paper towels to collect any excess oil.

While the fried potatoes are draining, sprinkle them with salt, oregano, and lemon juice. The residual oil from frying will hold the salt and oregano on the potatoes. And, the lemon juice will drip all over the outside of the fries. Toss the fries around to make sure that all are coated with some of each seasoning. Then, put them on a serving dish and serve. In some houses, the fries never make it to the serving dish, we eat them off the paper towels. Enjoy!

When this photograph was taken, there was a cluster of salt (bottom left) which we
distributed by tossing the paper towel lined container for about a minute. Although the lemon is seen being squeezed here, we actually put the lemon after the salt and dried oregano had been evenly distributed.

“Let the mouth also fast from disgraceful speeches and railings. For what does it profit if we abstain from fish and fowl and yet bite and devour our brothers and sisters? The evil speaker eats the flesh of his brother and bites the body of his neighbor. "

St. John Chrysostomos

Source of quote: https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/4589154.John_Chrysostom

Day 26: - April 8, 2016 - Lenten Orzo and Lentil Dish - Νηστίσιμο Κριθαράκι με Φακές

2016-04-08T22:32:00.004-04:00

We were first introduced to this dish by some Cypriot friends of ours. We are told that in Cyprus, people make this for a quick meal, a side dish for meats, or for children who may be picky eaters. The flavours are so gentle that this is sure to please any palette. We were impressed by how easy it was to make, and we wanted to share our version which has been slightly adapted from what our friends make.

Lentils, Orzo, and Onions are typically found in the kitchen. We use lentils regularly to make Fakes, but we use them in salads and in other dishes. Orzo is one of those pastas that is a nice alternative to rice without feeling heavy like a typical noodle. There are so many variations to make with either of these ingredients, but when putting these two versatile ingredients together in one dish, it is a thrill to have one masterpiece. Oh, and the onion, well, if you haven't noticed, onions go in most Greek recipes.

For this recipe, you will need the following:

1 cup lentils

1 cup orzo

1/2 onion, chopped

1-2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tsp oil

about 2 cups water

sal and pepper

chopped parsley to garnish

Start by washing the lentils. Wash them and sort them to remove any stones or bad lentils. Then, put them in a pot to boil. You want to boil until the lentils are just more than half way cooked. Rinse the lentils and drain all the brown water. Then, return them to the pot and get the onions ready.

In a separate pan, sauté the onions and caramelize them. That means cook the onions long enough that they become soft and golden brown. We diced our onion, in the past we have sliced it in small slices and that worked better for caramelizing, but it is your choice. Once the onions start to gain colour, add the garlic and cook it fully with the onions. This will take a few minutes.

Once the onions are ready, turn off the heat and leave them in the pan. We want to put the water in the pot with the lentils, and bring that to a boil one more time. Add the orzo to the boiling lentils. Then, add the onions to the lentils/orzo pot. Mix this all together to make sure that all three ingredients are well distributed.

Next, cook this on a medium heat, stirring occasionally until the orzo and the lentils are fully cooked. If you need to add a little more water because all the liquid has been absorbed, then do so, but you have to stir every few minutes so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.

Adjust the seasoning to your liking. We use only salt and pepper. Our friends would add a bit of tomato paste here, but we like it without. You could also squeeze a bit of lemon juice to lighten up the flavours, but we like it just a little salt and pepper so we can taste the onions and the garlic. Sprinkle with some chopped parsley before serving, and enjoy this dish hot.

It is a 30 minute meal if you like, or a dish that can be made in advance and served at room temperature. You will find whatever variation works for you. If Cypriots can have this light and healthy meal regularly, so could we!

“Happiness can only be achieved by looking inward & learning to enjoy whatever life has and this requires transforming greed into gratitude.”

-St. John Chrysostomos

Source of quote: https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/4589154.John_Chrysostom

Day 25: April 7, 2016 - Quince Spoon Sweet - Κυδώνι του Κουταλιού

2016-04-07T23:38:00.001-04:00

Quince is a different kind of fruit -- you don't eat it raw. While everyone touts the benefits of raw fruit, this is one that just does not fit in that category. Quince has many unique properties, and today we are focusing on two of them.

So, why don't you eat quince in the raw form? Well, it could be because of the grey fuzzy outside of the fruit, or it could be because of the tough, yet spongy flesh. It is an unconventional type of fruit. You can taste it, but may find that it is bitter and hard. Or, you may find that it is like a raw potato. Either way, you know they may be perfect for cooking, and that is when the quince will become an amazing fruit.

Cooking will bring a new light to your enjoyment of quince. Most people use quince for jams, spoons sweets, or baked goods to add a new flavour to a pie, or a pita. We followed the traditional formula for making a spoon sweet. The ratio is 2 fruit : 2 sugar : 1 water. That translates into 2 cups fruit, 2 cups sugar, and 1 cup water. You can adjust the actual quantities to fit the amount of fruit that you have -- just keep the same ratio.

For this recipe, you will need the following:

2 cups quince, peeled and chopped or grated
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup water
a few (5) cloves (optional)
a squeeze of lemon juice

Start by cleaning the quince. You have to peel the skin, then core the fruit. The centre core is hard, hollow, and never looks good. Make sure you take away the residual white skin that surrounds the middle seeds. This will get very hard when cooked and can ruin the overall soft texture. When chopping the quince, cut it into pieces that you like. Often, people will grate the fruit on a box grater or with a food processor. We like the larger chunks and find them more satisfying when enjoying a spoon sweet, so we gave our quince a rough chop.

Soak the fruit in water with a squeeze of lemon juice. This will prevent the fruit from turning brown while you get ready the other ingredients. Before you cook the quince, you will need to drain all the water.

In a pot, put the drained quince and the sugar. Then, pour the water over the sugar and mix it up until the sugar is somewhat dissolved.

Add the cloves. We chose cloves to enhance the overall flavour. You can use vanilla, or lemon zest, or something else. We have seen recipes that use masticha or geranium leaves. But, cloves are something that most people have on hand, and are easy to pick out in the end. We have also tried putting the cloves in a tea strainer and allowing that to sit in the pot. You have to make sure that he tea strainer is fully submerged in the water, and that can be difficult sometimes. So, add the enhancing flavour and mix everything together.

Now, turn the heat on a medium high and bring this mixture to a boil. This will take a few minutes. Allow it to boil for about 10 minutes. You will see the fruit start to change colour and it will look softer than where it started.

After ten minutes of boiling, turn the heat down to a simmer, and put a lid on the pot. You are going to keep in all that moisture, flavour, and heat. Allow the mixture to simmer for 30 minutes. Stir it occasionally to make sure the heat is evenly distributed.

As you check the mixture and you are stirring, you will notice that the syrup (sugar and water) will thicken. You want to cook this long enough to have the consistency similar to that of thick honey. It may take longer than 30 minutes, depending on your stove and the type of pot used. Continue to check the mixture and stir every 5 minutes until it reaches the consistency you want.

Put the lid back on the pot, turn off the heat, and allow this to sit for 30 minutes to slightly cool. Then, it is time to put it in a glass container to keep and serve guests. Serve the glyko at room temperature or cool, not warm. Typically, glyko tou koutaliou (spoon sweet) is served with a glass of cold water.

"Pleasant words are a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."

Proverbs: 16:24

Day 24 - April 6, 2016 - Calamari Kokkinisto (Calamari with Red Sauce) - Καλαμάρι Κοκκινιστό - (Originally posted on March 26, 2014)

2016-04-06T22:05:00.003-04:00

(The delicious recipe below is one of our favourite dishes during Lent; it was originally posted on March 26, 2014)

Tonight's dish, our calamari kokkinisto (Calamari with red sauce),
on top of one of favourite pasta varieties - Scooby Doo!

Some people really love kokkinisto! In fact, in our house, it is a topic of conversation regularly. We talk about the many foods that we can make kokkinisto - the famous Greek red sauce, including vegetables, seafood and even meats. We are trying to find the best kokkinisto out there. We have tried various cookbooks, family recipes, friends' suggestions-- and we like many of them. But, we are in search of the best. Today, we are adding to our research by trying another recipe, this one from an online source at FoodReference.com. The recipe was for Octopus (Octapodi Kokkinisto), but we had kalamari (squid) and thought that was close enough. It's funny how the two are very different animals, but cook in a similar way. You can use various cooking methods to get squid or octopus to turn into a delicious, velvety seafood dish.

When buying squid, there are a few things you want to look for. First, try to get the squid cleaned. It really is so much easier for you. And, unless you are making a squid ink pasta or squid ink sauce, then why suffer the smells from your garbage can when the fish monger can clean the squid and dispose of the icky parts for you? Also, look for fresh looking squid. The fresh ones will have clear eyes and moist flesh. The smaller squid are going to cook faster. Some may say that the smaller ones are more tender, but we believe that the tenderness generally has to do with the cooking method. This time, we bought just the tentacles. If you can buy fresh seafood, that's great. If not, then buy the frozen stuff-- it is really just as good in the end! If you cannot find squid, octopus, cuttlefish, even conch are good substitutes.

For this recipe, you will need the following:

4 large calamari tentacles (squid)

12 ounce (355 ml) can whole tomatoes (we used canned San Marzano plum tomatoes)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 bay leaves

1 1/2 cups white wine

1 Tablespoon basil

First, wash the calamari well, removing any residues. If the squid was not cleaned for you, then make sure to remove all the cartilage and the ink sack. We cut out the beak and any remaining cartilage that was attached at the top of the tentacles. You will be able to feel these pieces -- they are like plastic. Use kitchen shears to work your way around the cartilage. Rinse the calamari very well and feel carefully to make sure you removed all the cartilage bits. Then, put the calamari in a dry pot.

There is no oil or water in the pot, just calamari. This is to allow the squid to stew in its own juices for a moment. We want those juices to flow out of the calamari so we can add flavour to our sauce. Allow the calamari to cook for a few minutes until it is bright pink in colour and the juices are collecting in the pot. You will even see that the ends of the tentacles start to curl.

Next, take the calamari out of the pot and set it aside. Also, set aside the liquid. We want to return to having a dry pot to make the sauce. It is fine if the squid and the liquid are aside together, we want them both to cool a bit.

Now, prepare your onion and garlic. Both should be chopped. We are going to start the sauce with the first step of sautéing the onion in the oil. Add the garlic and allow this to cook for three minutes. You should smell the onion and see it turn translucent.

Add the bay leaves. We put the bay leaves in now so they have a chance to heat and infuse the oil into the onions and garlic. The bay leaves actually cook a little, too, and will add more flavour. Allow the bay leaves to simmer for two minutes. Then, add the basil. The aromas in the kitchen will be powerful, but lovely.

At this point, add the liquid from the canned tomatoes. Add the liquid first because this gives you a minute of simmering the sauce to reduce it a bit before adding the solid tomatoes. We removed the whole tomatoes from the can, put them on a plate, and chopped them with our kitchen scissors. This was an easy, clean way to chop the tomatoes. You could use canned chopped tomatoes, but if you cut the whole ones yourself, you can control how big the chunks of tomato are. Many of them will cook down to paste, but some will remain in chunks. Once they are all cut up, put the tomato pieces into the sauce and allow this to simmer for about 20 minutes. And, add the wine to the pot.

While the sauce is cooking, this is the time to continue preparing the calamari. We have it sitting aside in its juice, but now, we have to prepare the calamari into the size of pieces we want to eat. So, pour the liquid from the cooked calamari into the pot so it has a chance to simmer while we cut the calamari tentacles. We first cut the calamari's tentacles where they are connected, separating all the tentacles from each other. Then, since many of these were quite long, we cut the tentacles into small pieces of various sizes. Afterwards, we put the pieces of cut, semi-cooked calamari into the sauce.

Allow the sauce with the calamari to simmer with a lid on the pot for the next thirty minutes or so, until the calamari is tender. As the whole dish is cooking, you'll notice that the sauce becomes increasingly thicker and the flavours more concentrated.

While the kokkinisto is stewing, get ready the rice or pasta or bread that you will be serving with this rich and delightful dish! Then, enjoy!

"Fasts and vigils, the study of Scripture, renouncing possessions and everything worldly are not in themselves perfection, as we have said; they are its tools. For perfection is not to be found in them; it is acquired through them. It is useless, therefore, to boast of our fasting, vigils, poverty, and reading of Scripture when we have not achieved the love of God and our fellow men. Whoever has achieved love has God within himself and his intellect is always with God."

St. John Cassian

Source of quote: http://theodorakis.net/orthodoxquotescomplete.html

Day 23: April 5, 2016 - Quick Fried Peppers - Γρήγορες Τηγανητές Πιπεριές - (This is a repost from April 9, 2014)

2016-04-05T20:11:00.001-04:00

(Today's entry is a repost from April 9, 2014. This is one of our favourite food items during Lent, particularly when we can find them - as they are usually unavailable in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area during the period of Great Lent).

One simple, yet gratifying dish is fried peppers. There is no difficult prep work, no fancy tools, and no fuss to this dish. You need only a few ingredients and about 20 minutes to make this from start to finish. In fact, it is so simple, delicious, and light, that we are going to show you mostly in photos without too many words.

For this recipe, you will need the following ingredients:

peppers (any kind) - we used Cubanelle (sweet long green peppers)
oil for frying
oil for drizzling
salt
an optional ingredient is vinegar

Just to mention, you can use whatever kind of pepper you like. We chose cubanelle peppers because of the elongated body and slight spice. We had a red bell pepper, too, which gave us a sweeter, juicier result. We have done this with banana peppers when we want a little more spice, and have tasted jalapeno peppers which are transformed when fried this way. Choose what you like or what you have on hand. You want to plan a serving of one pepper per person.

Start by washing the peppers well, as we do with any produce. Then, using a fork, poke holes all over the peppers. This is to allow the steam to escape as the peppers cook. It is necessary since you leave the peppers whole, without removing seeds or pith.

Heat the frying oil in a pan. You will need about one inch of oil to fry these well.

Place the peppers in the hot oil. Stand back because they will spatter! Fry the peppers on every side, turning to make each side equally brown.. You will see the skin of the pepper turn brown in colour and blister, and the meaty part of the pepper will wilt and become soft. Try to fry the pepper to equal colour on every side, turning as needed. You can even stand up certain types of peppers on the stem side to cook the top cap of the pepper.

Once the peppers are fried, sprinkle a little oil and salt on them. If you like, sprinkle a bit of red wine vinegar on them, too. We chose just salt and oil for our dish. You want just enough to enhance the flavour without making the peppers salty. Serve hot or warm as whole peppers and enjoy.

"A man who is wrathful with us is a sick man; we must apply a plaster to his heart - love; we must treat him kindly, speak to him gently, lovingly. And if there is not deeply-rooted malice against us within him, but only a temporary fit of anger, you will see how his heart, or his malice, will melt away through your kindness and love - how good will conquer evil. A Christian must always be kind, gracious, and wise in order to conquer evil by good."

St. John of Kronstadt, "My Life in Christ".

Source of quote: http://theodorakis.net/orthodoxquotescomplete.html

Day 22 - April 4, 2016 - Enjoying the Tasty Cactus Pear - Απολαμβάνοντας το Νόστιμο Φραγκόσυκο

2016-04-04T23:01:00.001-04:00

This is a cactus pear, or frangosyka (φραγκόσυκο). It is also known as cactus fruit, prickly pear, tuna, or Indian pear. The "figs" (they aren't really figs, but part of the family of succulents) are also grown in Cyprus, where they are known as papoutsosyka or babutsa (cactus figs). They are prickly on the outside, and seedy on the inside, but they are always juicy and delicious!

Originally, this fruit is from Central America but has spread throughout many parts of the world, including Greece and Cyprus and other parts of the Mediterranean basin. It is a food with a great deal of refreshing qualities and possesses a large number of nutritional attributes (see the bottom of this entry for a chart that summarizes its nutritional profile). Some people even refer to the prickly cactus pear as a nutritional powerhouse and superfood (see this link for a summary of its nutritional qualities). Because it has such high fiber, some nutritionists advise people to gently ease into the fruit (to quote Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.) of mayoclinic.org : "If you'd like to try prickly pear cactus, consider easing into it. Side effects for some people include mild diarrhea, nausea, increased stool volume, increased stool frequency and abdominal fullness." (click here to see from where this quote originates).

Husband has many fond memories of his pappou "Klis" << Κλής >> in Greece who would demonstrate to him how to select the frangosyka ("the figs of the Franks"), pick them up without getting the pricks on you and how to clean them safely and easily.

There are videos and directions on the internet that instruct viewers to use a knife and fork to handle the pears. That is because they have small, hairlike prickles all over the outside. As the fruit ages, the prickles disappear. Some people have used thick gloves to handle the fruit to avoid the prickliness, but we are here to tell you that there is another way!

Below is a YouTube video which demonstrates how to harvest a cactus pear (it is in Greek).

Source of video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKwon_cuM7I

When you handle the cactus pear, touch it with your fingertips in between the prickles. There is enough space to hold the fruit. Then, using a knife, cut off both top and bottom ends. Now, you have two completely smooth surfaces to hold the fruit.

You can use a knife to peel the fruit, as you would a melon, cutting down each side of the fruit, removing the skin. Do this all the way around, then you have a cleaned fruit to cut and enjoy.

Another way to clean the skin is to make slits all around the outside of the fruit. Do not cut through to the skin, but if you cut a little deeper than expected, that may be okay. Next, peel each section of skin with your fingers, making sure to grab the inside of the peel and the safe spot between the prickles on the outside. The skin pulls away from the fruit rather easily. If you are cutting the cactus pear into segments for cooking or for wedges to eat, then the knife marks on the fruit will not matter.

These can be eaten as is -- peeled and ready to eat. Or, you can use the cactus pears in a variety of recipes including sauce, beverages, soups, salads, or whatever you like. We prefer the plain fruit. Sometimes, it is nice to experience the simplicity of something that is juicy and delightful, straight out of nature. So, if you haven't ever tried this delicious fruit, give it a try!

Below is a snapshot of Wikipedia's article about the nutritional profile of the cactus pear

“The Holy Scriptures were not given

to us that we should enclose

them in books, but that we should

engrave them upon our hearts.”

St. John Chrysostomos

Source of quote: https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/4589154.John_Chrysostom

Great Lent Gourmet

Day 47 - May 1, 2016 - Christ is Risen! Our Anastasi Meal, Visiting Friends and Roasting a Lamb on a Spit!

DAY 46 - April 30, 2016 - Tonight's Activity: The Cracking of Easter Eggs - Το Τσούγκρισμα των Πασχαλινών Αυγών

Day 45: April 29, 2015 - Simple Tasty Baked Macaroni with Tomatoes and Celery - Νόστιμα Ψητό Μακαρονάκια με Ντομάτα και Σέλινο

Day 44: April 28, 2016 - Decorating Easter Eggs with Easter Egg Sleeves

Day 43: April 27, 2016 - Greek Cookies (Koulourakia) Made with Red Wine - Κουλουράκια Φτιαγμένα με Κρασί - (Originally posted on April 16, 2014)

Day 42: April 26, 2016 - Theia Betty's Fool-Proof Tsoureki Recipe, Easter Bread, Τσουρέκι, Sweet Bread (Originally posted on April 14, 2012)

Day 41: April 25, 2016 - Baked Chick Peas from Syfnos - Ρεβύθια από την Σίφνο - (Reposted from April 12, 2014)

Day 40: April 24, 2016 - Palm Sunday: Fried Whiting - Κυριακή των Βαΐων: Τηγανιτά Μπακαλαράκια

Source of video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPLW9Ft9qVwBridegroom Matins Icon Procession - Palm Sunday Evening - 2016 (from the Formation Greek Orthodox Church, Vermont).

Day 36 - April 20, 2016 - Vegan Greek Bean Soup (Fasolada) - Νηστίσιμη Φασολάδα (Originally posted on Feb 27, 2015)

Day 35: April 19, 2016 - Husband's Easy Fancy Rice with Salsa - (Originally posted on April 7, 2014)

Day 34 - April 18, 2016 - Papoutsakia a.k.a. Imam Bayildi: Eggplant at its best! (Originally Posted on March 20, 2012).

Day 34: April 17, 2016 - Red Pepper Dip

Day 34: April 16, 2016 - Pasta Flora - Πάστα Φλόρα

Day 33 - April 15, 2016: Cuttlefish with Spinach - Σουπιές με Σπανάκι

Day 32 - April 14, 2016 - Lazy Day "Stuffed" Peppers - Εύκολες Γεμιστές Πιπεριές

Day 31- April 13, 2016 - Vegan Eggplant and Bean Soup - Νηστίσιμη Σούπα με Μελιτζάνες και Φασόλια

Day 30 - April 12, 2016 - We went to an Agiasmo (Blessing) Today - Σήμερα Πήγαμε σε Αγιασμό

Day 29 - April 11, 2016 - Cuttlefish (Soupies) with Red Wine Cooked in a Pressure Cooker - Σουπιές με Κόκκινο Κρασί Μαγειρεμένο σε Χύτρα Ταχύτητος

Day 28: April 10, 2016 - Steamed Clams - Αχνιστά Μύδια

Day 27: April 9, 2016 - Greek Style French Fries -Ελληνικές Τηγανητές Πατάτες

Day 26: - April 8, 2016 - Lenten Orzo and Lentil Dish - Νηστίσιμο Κριθαράκι με Φακές

Day 25: April 7, 2016 - Quince Spoon Sweet - Κυδώνι του Κουταλιού

Day 24 - April 6, 2016 - Calamari Kokkinisto (Calamari with Red Sauce) - Καλαμάρι Κοκκινιστό - (Originally posted on March 26, 2014)

Day 23: April 5, 2016 - Quick Fried Peppers - Γρήγορες Τηγανητές Πιπεριές - (This is a repost from April 9, 2014)

Day 22 - April 4, 2016 - Enjoying the Tasty Cactus Pear - Απολαμβάνοντας το Νόστιμο Φραγκόσυκο

Source of video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPLW9Ft9qVw

Bridegroom Matins Icon Procession - Palm Sunday Evening - 2016 (from the Formation Greek Orthodox Church, Vermont).