worst greek alive

 ok. i have this thing i need to get off my chest: am possibly the worst greek ever. i don't speak the language (unless greeklish counts, i'm pretty fluent in that), i only really like the traditional music, i don't go to church that often, i let feta cheese go mouldy, and i hate (HATE) olives. the latter is especially bad considering my relatives make a living by actually farming olives in delphi. it's in my blood. oh, i must really be offending my ancestors. when i visited them in 2004 i was forced to have some (i didn't want to be offensive) and i just couldn't keep a straight face. it was just such a strong flavour! ick! but i really love greek cuisine. so, i have to make some modifications. two awesome greek dishes, dakos and horiatiki both have olives. i feel like i'm massacring part of my history, but i gotta take the olives out.

olive trees in the valley below delphi, town of itea in the distance

anyways, let's start with dakos (ντάκος). it's a traditional cretan meze or appetizer, kind of like a greek version of bruschetta, with a rusk, cheese, tomatoes, and greek olive oil and oregano (plus an olive on top but as mentioned above, i leave them out). i went to crete for the first time ever last summer, and i had the most amazing time of my life. i hiked the 18km samaria gorge in keds that weren't broken in, swam in the crystal clear waters of elafonissi, thwarted masses of stupid tourists at the palace of knossos, made friends with fishies at the cretan aquarium and felt odd peace at the arkadi monastery, where thousands gave their lives in the cretan revolt against the ottomans. after seeing so much of crete, i've decided you can't know greece without knowing crete and you can't go to greece without going to crete either. it's a very unique place, the dialect is so so strange, and the history is so different from the mainland. i love that island. i think the city of chania is one of my favourite places in greece, at least the old part of town. streets lined with cute shops, octopus drying in the sun, the old venetian lighthouse in the harbour, awesome naval museum and of course, the crazy restaurateurs complimenting you just so you eat at their place... anyways.. that was a bit of a ramble.

monastery of arkadi, town of loutro - only accessible by boat and the cute and noble kri-kri

dakos is one of cretes signature dishes, and i love love love it. simple, delicious, and it only takes 2 minutes to make. that's my kind of food!

what you need:
cretan rusks (you can find them at any greek or mediterranean grocer, if not you can use melba toast)
hunk of crumbled myzithra or feta cheese
1 tomato
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp greek oregano
step 1:
if you are using the cretan rusks, sprinkle a bit of water on top. this makes it easier to tear into pieces. remove the skin off of the tomato. you can cut it into really small pieces, or grate it into a bowl. spread the tomato with the liquid onto the rusk.
step 2: 
add the cheese, oil and oregano on top of the tomato and enjoy!

 now for the horiatiki (xωριάτικη). for those of you that know what it is hooray! if you don't recognize the name, thats ok, because you most certainly will in english. the classic greek salad. i didn't go one day without eating it while in greece - it's the perfect mix of veggies to relieve you from the heat of the day (umm 45 helloo, not so fun). the really important thing for horiatiki is that you have really, really good quality feta. go to the greek grocer, and get 100g of the greek feta. it'll only set you back about 2 bucks. totally worth it. if they have a good selection they will probs give you pieces of each to try. i always ask for that!

what you need:
1/2 a cucumber, skin off
2 vine ripe tomatoes
1/2 green pepper
extra virgin olive oil
dried greek oregano
red wine vinegar
slice of good feta cheese
step 1: 
cut all veggies into bit sized pieces and put in a bowl. mix together oil and vinegar (a 3:1 ratio is classic, but i like mine with more zing so i put more vinegar)
step 2: 
pour dressing on top of veggies and toss. top with feta and a sprinkle of oregano.

no feta? but it's so important! nope. i let it go mouldy  : (

Καλή όρεξη!
kali orexi!

orzo shmorzo

truth be told, i forgot about orzo for a while, even though it's one of my favourite pastas to eat! orzo/kritharaki is a rice shaped pasta traditionally made of barley, but now mostly made with wheat. they're so cute! i really couldn't find it anywhere in the grocery store, but it turns out i just wasn't looking in the right places. finally one day i had to ask for some, and it was in the pasta isle the whole time! i don't know. i'm a bit blind i guess. you can also find it in any greek shop, but don't look for orzo, look for kritharaki. one of the best, best ways to make orzo, in my opinion, is in youvetsi, a greek beef or lamb stew with tomato sauce. i'm going try and make it soon... i can't wait!!

kritharaki means 'little barley' in greek

what you need:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup orzo
1/2 a zucchini cut thinly into quarters
4 cloves garlic (i like a lot of garlic!)
1 tsp thyme
lemon juice
1 tsp chili flakes

step 1:
put a pot of water on to boil for the orzo. it should only taken about 10 minutes to be al dente. strain into a colander.
step 3: 
in the same pot set to medium heat, add in the olive oil and garlic. cook down for a few minutes and then add in your thyme, chilli flakes and zucchini slices. once the zucchini is cooked, add your orzo back into the pan and mix. squeeze a nice bit of lemon juice over the top and set aside.
step 4: 
the orzo can be served warm, or as a cold salad. i served mine with lemon/thyme salmon and it was delicious!

license to snack

here's a quick post that i thought was very necessary seeing as i love, love, love snacks. i am a very guilty snacker. i try to stick to healthy things, like fruit or smoothies, but that definitely doesn't work all the time (hellooo, jalapeno pringles!) one of the main reasons that i don't actually mind snacking is that i never feel deprived of anything - a huge reason why many diets fail. if you say to yourself, you can't eat this or that, or can only eat at this time, you'll end up craving those specific foods and eating all day. the trick to snacking is to think about what you're eating, how much you're eating and why you're eating it.

here are some simple rules about how to make snacking healthy.
-   eat slowly! i am naturally a slow eater, sometimes i get self-conscious about it. but in the end, it's the best way to eat. it allows your body time to send signals to your brain that you're full, and you eat just what you need. 
-   keep portions small. don't eat out of a bag! biggest mistake you can make, and of course i speak from experience! take a single serving of the snack item and put it into a container.
-   have an indulge day. sometimes you just need that sugary bit of goodness. pick one day (mine are usually fridays) and let yourself have that bit of chocolate. as long as you don't eat the whole bar, you're fine.
-   snack smart. if you're a snacker like me, have healthy options available at all times. i always have frozen fruit in the freezer for a smoothie, almonds, multigrain crackers for hummous and fresh fruit in my kitchen.

here are a few of my favourite foods to nibble on!

pita - yumminess, calcium and monosaturated fats (aka the good stuff)
what you need:
1 pita bread
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (my grandparents gave me some they imported from greece.. it's amazing)
2 tsp greek oregano or zaatar
hunk of crumbled feta cheese
step 1: 
stick pita bread in the oven to toast, or if you're just too hungry to wait you can cut it in half stick it in the toaster until crispy.
step 2:
drizzle on the olive oil, oregano and the feta cheese. yumm.

peanut butter two ways - protein, potassium, and some more protein!
what you need:
2 tbsp organic natural peanut butter (cashew and almond butter are really good too)
1 apple or 1 banana
step 1:
peel banana and cut into rounds. cut the apple into little wedges. take the peanut butter and spread onto each piece of fruit.

edamame - protein, essential fatty acids and fibre!
what you need:
handful of frozen edamame (shells on or off are both fine)
spices - i like cayenne, cumin or just sea salt
step 1:
put the edamame in a bowl, and put in the microwave until thawed. sprinkle on your spices and toss until evenly coated.

loukoumadopolis

well, i'm back to the grind after having a week off for reading break. instead of actually reading, i got on a plane and headed out east to visit my grandparents in montreal. it was COLD. first four days was all snow, and -17 degrees! by the time i got to ottawa to see penny, it had warmed up quite a bit. too much cause they closed the rideu canal the day penny and i went to go skate : (  when am i ever going to be back in ottawa it february?! (hopefully never...) anyways, i devoured tons of yummy greek food (including deer that my papou shot while hunting in the fall) ate my weight in montreal bagels, and was spoiled with having several glasses of my papou's homemade wine every night. it was beyond glorious.

my papou and yiayia, montreal 2008

one of the highlights of my trip was making loukoumades with my yiayia. it's no secret to anybody that knows me that i love loukoumades. it's an addiction. and now that i actually have my yiayia's recipe, it's going to be actually be problem. if you don't know what these golden balls of deliciousness are, i pity you. i really do. they're basically a greek version of a doughnut: batter fried till crisp, then drizzled with greek honey and cinnamon. penny, christina and i basically die anytime we eat them. see video below.

bites penny. bites are good.

sometimes loukoumades that you get from a bakery or festival can be quite dense. my yiayia's recipe is anything but. its light and fluffy on the inside, but crispy on the outside - the perfect loukoumades. oh, and i know, i know, this blog is supposed to be somewhat healthy, and deep fried batter doesn't exactly fall into that category. well, this blog is also for me to share a bit of my heritage for those who care, whether healthy or not! so, here we go, my yiayia's recipe:

what you need:
~ 1 cup self rising flour
~ 1 cup of lukewarm water
2 tbsp greek honey
pinch of cinnamon
oil for frying
2 sheets of paper towel

step 1:
pour oil into a pan and heat up. take a mixing bowl and pour in lukewarm water. slowly stir in the flour until it forms a slightly goopy mixture. it should kind of resemble a thick pancake batter.
step 2:
while waiting for the oil, take honey and heat up in the microwave so it is more liquidy. this makes it easier to cover the loukoumades.
step 3: 
once oil is hot, take a spoonful of mix and pour it into the oil. only fry a few at a time or they will take longer to cook. once one side is golden brown, flip over. they should take a few minutes per batch.
step 4: 
place the crispy loukoumades on a few sheets of paper towel to soak up the oil, then serve. pour greek honey on top and sprinkle with some cinnamon. if you want, you can add sesame seeds too  : )

light, fluffy, crispy and down right yummy loukoumades