perfect summer side

orzo = love. roasted veg = love. so why not combine them? that's exactly what i did in my roasted vegetable orzo salad. nothing too exciting, but with good, basic flavours. you really can't go wrong. this is a very versatile recipe that can be made with an array of veggies (mushrooms, asparagus, tomatoes, onions, etc), you can any add fresh herbs and it can be served warm or cold! soooo many options!

what you need:
1 globe eggplant, cut in cubes
1 zucchini, sliced
2 bell peppers of any colour (i used red and yellow)
1/4 cup of sun dried tomatoes
1.5 cups orzo (whole wheat if you can)
nice hunk of feta cheese
juice of 1 lemon
olive oil
salt + pepper

step 1:
preheat oven to 400. i like to cut and salt my eggplant for ~30 minutes, but you don't have to. next, go ahead and chop all veggies in bite sized pieces, toss on baking trays with some olive oil and roast till caramelized, approximately 40 minutes, turning once.
step 2:
while your veggies are roasting, cook the orzo according to package instructions, drain, and put into a large bowl. cut your sun dried tomatoes into small pieces, and add to the bowl.
step 3:
once your veggies are done cooking, add them to the bowl along with the orzo. add a squeeze of lemon juice, a little olive oil, salt and pepper and toss.
step 4: 
when ready to serve, crumble some feta cheese over the top, and voila!


makes ~5 servings
i've eaten this alone for dinner, but would be great along with some grilled souvlaki and tzatziki! 

super easy, super quick zucchini pie-quiche thing

my faaaavourite veggie of all time has to be zucchini. it's basically a must have in my fridge! its yummy, cooks quickly and pretty much can be used in anything. this is why i love it so much! anyways, this is a really quick and super delicious dish that i discovered this summer while staying at my yiayia's house. christina and i both ate massive, massive, massive amounts of this over the summer. it was an issue. buuut now i have the recipe.. which makes it a bigger issue. it's pretty healthy so that makes it a bit better i guess...?

mmm goldeny brown ooey-gooey bits

what you need:
2 large zucchini
6 eggs
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint and parsley
spring onion (i omitted this... not a fan!)
1.5 cups flour
1 cup low fat grated cheese

step 1:
pre-heat oven to 350. dice your zucchini into small, bite sized pieces. chop your parsley, mint, and spring onion.
step 2:
mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and pour into a baking dish. cook for ~35 minutes, or until nice and golden brown.

i had mine with avocado and sriracha sauce!

that's it! see how easy it was? you can eat it warm or cold (i personally prefer it cold) and made enough for 4-5 servings.

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!

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.

chili weather, aussi

mhmm last week i defs had a limited pantry and decided it would be smart to just buy a few things and make a meal that would last a long time. this way, when my famjam came over for a couple of days i didn't have to worry about veggies going wrinkly. i got this recipe for a chilli bake-moussaka type thing from my friend the english girl in bc. it looked really yummy, so i decided to try it out myself. i made a couple of changes, but nothing big. it was reaaalllyy nommy!

what you need:
1 eggplant
1 medium zucchini
1/2 a large onion
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 medium package of lean ground beef
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chilli flakes
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup grated cheese
salt

step 1:
pre-heat oven to 375. cut up your eggplant and zucchini into slices (around 0.5 inches thick) and lay in a sieve. lightly salt both and lay out for 15-20 minutes. by then, you will see large drops of liquid sitting on top of the veggies. to get out as much water as possible, i decided to lay out the veggies on a couple sheets of paper towel.

the towel will soak up lots of extra liquid

step 2:
chop up your onion and garlic. saute in a large pan with olive oil till translucent. then add in your ground beef and cook. since i used an eggplant and a zucchini, i had leftovers of both. so i took the extra slices and finely diced them up.
step 3: 
once your beef is brown, drain the fat - you want to have as little liquid in the mix as possible. add in the tomatoes (sans liquid), diced up eggplant and zucchini, cumin, chilli flakes, paprika and chilli powder. simmer for a few minutes until there's less liquid in the mix. i scooped some of it out with a spoon just to make sure it wasn't so watery when i went to put it in the dish.
step 4:
put your first layer of veggies down in a oven-proof dish. spoon in your first layer of meat mix on top, and if you have enough cheese, you can put some on the top of this layer. then repeat as many times as you like. on the very top layer, add extra cheese. it makes it uber gooey!

just starting the second layer of nommy-ness

step 5:
lay some tin foil on the dish and put in the oven for ~40 minutes. take the foil off in the last 10 minutes so the cheese gets all nice and brown and bubbly. then you're ready to eat!

the finished product!

this was a really, really yummy and filling meal. it over all didn't cost too much and it ended up lasting me a good 4 days! next time i may try it with some of the veggie stuff that looks like ground beef, and maybe add some more veggies in. possibly some strips of whole wheat lasagna too?

the just right girl

urgh. today as of 11:30 i finished four out of my five final exams. needless to say, they didn't all go as planned. luckily, my next one isn't until friday, plus its the easiest one i have, so i'm taking the day off to do nothing and relax!  pajamas: ✓   greasy food: ✓    nap: ✓    hot chocolate: ✓   blog post: here we go! as many of you know, i turned 20 a few weeks ago - halfway to 40! i guess if anything it was the perfect year to learn to cook for myself, now that i am so old. i mean, i can't be old and not know how to cook or bake really yummy desserts. i would be the worst old person ever!

i've come to terms with the fact that this will be me soon

i thought it would be a nice time to do a little reflecting on my cooking experience this semester. i've cooked meat. i've touched raw meat. i've become addicted to spicy foods. i haven't made anything that was super gross. while i'm not the best and still don't know a lot, my cooking has come a long way. i think the coolest thing about cooking for yourself is that you can cook what you want, when you want, and you don't have to offend anybody while doing it. i've realized i like my food ridiculously spicy, something i couldn't really try much at home.

so, to celebrate me officially becoming an old person (with new cooking skillz), my dad got me this really nice vegetarian cookbook for my birthday. not only is it full of really creative recipes, it's also got super detailed nutrition info, as well as little bits of info about healthy eating. defs my kind of book, thanks dad! ♥  : )

no doubt i will try these recipes out next semester

so, i tried out one of the recipes from the book last week - i tweaked it a bit because i have a limited fridge and pantry atm as i am trying to clear things out before christmas break. i was staying up late studying for my exercise physiology final and decided a late night snack was in order. here comes my version of the spicy kidney bean tostada:

what you need:
1/2 can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp chili flakes (to taste)
1/2 jalapeno pepper (to taste: i used jarred - they're way easier)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 an avocado
1/4 cup grated cheese
2 tbsp water
2 small tortillas

step 1:
set oven to 375 degrees. in a pan set to medium heat, add 1 tsp olive oil. once hot, add in garlic and let saute for a few minutes. then add in your kidney beans, spices and jalapeno pepper. mix, and add in water. let cook for a few minutes.
step 2:
when oven is warm, add in tortillas for ~5 minutes or until nice and golden brown. cube your avocado.
step 3: 
when water is gone, you're ready to eat! take tortillas out of the oven. scoop the mix onto the tortilla, and place avocado pieces on top. take cheese and scatter around. you can either put it back in the oven to melt the cheese, or put in the microwave for 30 seconds.

the perfect gooey late night study snack!

soupa trahana

this is one of my favourite greek soups. it's simple, hearty and perfect for a cold, rainy fall day. this is the first time i've made this on my own, from my yiayia's (ya-YAH) recipe. i have to say, it didn't turn out too bad! i did change a couple things from the original recipe. i used low-sodium, low-calorie broth, i used skim milk, i added more tomatoes, and i only used a bit of feta. while i could have gone with a low-fat feta, i felt that a really good quality cheese was just worth it to splurge.

trahana soup

now, τραχανά (trah-hah-NAH). what the hell is that, you ask? to be honest, i'm not reaaallyy sure. it's some type of cracked wheat thing, but all i know is that it's super super tasty! you can find it at any mediterranean specialty shop, along with some really good feta. we brought back 5 pounds of the trahana made in my mum's village, Desfina, (english wiki site here) but somehow i forgot it at home. sad. so, instead, i went to Minerva's Mediterranean Deli on west broadway. 

sweet trahana from minerva's

anyways, at minerva's they have sweet trahana (made with milk) and sour trahana (made with yogourt or traditional buttermilk). i literally just stood there for 10 minutes trying to figure out which one to buy. before this, i didn't even know there were 2 types!? well, i'm going to save you those 10 minutes of your life by telling you to get the sweet one. i'm not really sure why they call it sweet, cause it's not sweet at all. so, without further ado, here's the recipe!

you will need:

5 cups water

1/2 cup milk (i used skim)
1 cup stock (i used no soduim stock, the feta adds all the salt you need)
1/2 cup diced tomatoes (i used canned cause that's all i had, and i added extra)
4-5 handfuls of trahana
chunk of feta
step 1:
add water, milk and stock into a large pot and bring to a boil
step 2:
once boiling, add in tomatoes and trahana. cook for 30 minutes, stirring often to avoid trahana sticking to the bottom or sides of the pot

30 minutes into cooking process

step 3:
crumble in the feta cheese and cook for another 30 minutes, stirring often.
step 4:
serve in a bowl, add extra feta cheese on top if desired

enjoy!