when life gives you lemons, make αυγολέμονο

damn, life has given me lemons this week. not only is it the week before midterms - which is stressful enough on its own - now plus the fact that i'm all sickly-ickly. to make me feel better, i made avgolemono (ahv-goh-lem-oh-noh), a traditional greek soup with eggs ("avgo") and lemon ("lemoni"). it is the ultimate nommy nommy soup. i am eating it right now, and am in awe that i managed to make something soooo delicious. this is probably the best thing i've made. ever. now, i don't know if that's me and my cooking, or just the awesomeness that is greek food. who knows.

so, i did make some changes to the traditional version. mainly because i lack the equipment (a kitchen aid), but i also wanted a thick soup to help me feel not so sick. in the traditional version, you whip the egg whites until they form peaks, then add it to the broth to make some kind of foamy thing. another traditional version of this soup is magiritsa, made with lamb and served at easter to break the 40 day fast. if ya want it really traditional, you put in the icky bits of the lamb (intestines, heart, head, neck, liver.. ewwies). buuuut since i didn't want any of that lovely stuff, i added normal chicken breast to make some weird, but awesome greek version of chicken soup.

my version of the traditional soup

so, here's what you need:
2 chicken breasts or 3 thighs
2 tsp canola oil
salt and pepper
7 cups chicken broth
3 eggs
juice of 3 1/2 lemons (note: i like mine really lemony, but if you're not a fan, add less)
1 cup kritharaki (also known as orzo) or rice.
1 tsp water
1 tsp corn starch
1 scoop greek yogut
note: you don't need the corn starch, the eggs act as a natural thickener. i just wanted mine a bit thicker than usual.

step 1:
pre heat oven to 350 degrees. pour oil into an oven safe dish and then place both chicken breasts in. add salt and pepper over top and stick in the oven for ~45 minutes, depending on the size.
step 2:
while waiting, juice your lemons into a bowl. set that aside and then put a big pot on the stove. set to high heat and add in all the chicken broth. bring to a boil. once boiling, add in your orzo. it should take ~15 - 20 minutes to cook.
step 3:
when your chicken is done, take it out and slice into small, bite-sized pieces and put into the pot.  set it to low heat. crack your eggs into the bowl with the lemon juice and whisk. set aside. get a small bowl and mix the corn starch and water together to form a slurry.
step 4:
this is the hardest part: tempering the eggs. with whisk in hand, slowly ladle the hot broth into the egg and lemon mixture, whisking quickly. if they scramble, start again. add into the pot, along with the corn starch. stir for about 2 minutes until it thickens and serve with a dollop of greek yogurt!

rich but light, hearty and yummy  : )

as a side note, you can make avgolemono sauce as well, to put over meat or vegetables. it's the same recipe just with no chicken, no orzo, and less chicken broth. a traditional greek way to serve it is over celery and pork which is also really, really good! or of course, on top of dolmades (which hopefully i will be making at some point!)

a hot mess

as i mentioned earlier in my dad recently came over to vancouver to visit, and we defs hit up costco, where i bought a big pack of skinless and boneless chicken thighs! finally, i don't have to live off tofu for the rest of the year! now, i know chicken thighs have a bit more fat than chicken breast, but i like them better because they don't dry out as easily, plus they are less expensive! the difference between breast and thigh is the fibre type of the muscle. i could go on a huge rant about muscle types but i'll try and keep it as simple as possible (that's hard for an HKinner who likes muscles...) and just for your knowledge, there are tons of subcategories for fibre types, these are just the basics!

different muscle fibres: dark spots are type I; light spots type II

so, to start. chicken thighs are dark meat, and are made up of type I or slow-twitch muscle fibres. this fibre type is special because of its resistance to fatigue, which is important for basic movements (think: posture, walking etc). they also contain more myoglobin than type II fibres. these proteins provide a more efficient way of oxygen transportation, which, as you can imagine, is important for muscles that are constantly in use.
on the other hand, chicken breasts are white meat, and are made up of type II or fast-twitch muscle fibres. these fibres fatigue quickly, but can exert more force and energy than type I. and... that's all i have to say about them because they're just kind of boring.

in my books, dark is better. it's got more iron (3x as much as raw spinach), zinc, riboflavin, niacin and thiamin than white meat. plus, the little bit extra fat content in dark meat really just makes is juicy, and furthermore contain omega -3 and -6 fatty acids.

anyways, i made some hot honey brushed chicken thighs, and they were sooooo good! the recipe below was enough for my dinner and lunch the next day. so, this chicken is super spicy, and also super messy. i ended up with the powder mixture all over the kitchen table.. i guess my tossing skills aren't quite there yet? needless to say, i will definitely be making this one again!

what you will need:
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp crushed chili flakes
1 skinless, boneless chicken thigh
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp chicken broth (or cider vinegar)
1/2 zucchini
1 cup frozen green beans
2 tsp olive oil

step 1:
pre-heat oven to 375. combine the first 5 ingredients into a small bowl and stir. cut up your chicken thigh into small, bite-sized pieces, cleaning off any extra fat. plop the chicken pieces into the bowl and toss, ensuring they are completely covered.
step 2:
chop up the zucchini and place into a cooking dish with 1 tsp olive oil and place in oven. take another cooking dish and cover the bottom with 1 tsp olive oil. place in chicken and put in the oven as well. combine honey and broth (or cider vinegar) into a little dish.
step 3:
after 3 minutes, flip chicken over. after another 3 minutes, take chicken out and brush them with honey-broth mixture then put them back in. repeat in 1 minute intervals until mix is gone, then add 1/4 cup of water to the pan. add in the cup of frozen green beans into pan.
step 4:
when chicken is crispy and the beans and zucchini are cooked, take out and plate. enjoy!

spicy and slightly messy dinner

all the fanciest dijon ketchups

yummmyyyyy

ok folks, i finally have some time to write you about this kind of epic meal i made last week. it was really easy and didn't take long, plus it was pretty healthy. i will definitely be making this again! i had some unused chicken from when i made the pomegranate-baslamic chicken, so i wanted to use it. this is what i made! 

curried honey dijon chicken with ginger and soy roasted veggies

what you need:

       chicken:

1 chicken breast cut up into small pieces (i only used 4 pieces)

1/3 cup honey

1/3 dup dijon mustard (ok - i cheated here. i had grainy mustard so i used that instead)

1 tsp curry powder (i definitely used more!)

1/2 tsp cumin

sprinkle of crushed pepper flakes

       veggies:

any vegetables you like (i used 1/2 red pepper and 1/2 a zucchini - leftover from the night before)

1/2 onion chopped

1 tbsp ginger

1 clove garlic

1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

step 1:

pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. mix together mustard, honey, curry and pepper flakes into a bowl. put chicken into a freezer bag and pour in mixture. marinade for ~30 minutes in the fridge (but the longer the better).

step 2:

while waiting for your marinade and oven, roughly chop up your veggies and add them to a dish. add crushed garlic and ginger,  soy sauce and onion to the dish and mix with your hands. put into the oven.

step 3:

take chicken out of the fridge and lay it on a greased baking dish. pour out the marinade into the dish as well. bake for about 15 minutes, then flip the chicken over and cook for another few minutes. at this point, check your veg. stir them around for a bit and put them back in the oven.

step 4:

when the juices start to brown, add about 1 to 1 1/2 cup of water or chicken broth to the pan. this will create a nice sauce to go with your dish. [note: i only added like, 1 tbsp of water and thought it would be enough. it wasn't. add lots!]

step 5:

after a few minutes more of cooking the chicken, take it out as well as the veggies. plate it up and enjoy!

so, that's it! not a terribly interesting recipe or blog post, but i am trying to procrastinate from working on the sport psychology case study due thursday... i should really go and do it!

persephone's fruit

pomegranates. i love them. and in the last couple of years the pomegranate has soared in popularity due to it's health benefits (hellooo antioxidants!) with juices and concentrates in almost any supermarket you walk into.

in reality, the pomegranate is an ancient fruit with a rich history in myth, religion, medicine, symbols and art throughout many cultures. for example, ancient greek mythology tells the story of how persephone was kidnapped by hades. once in the underworld, hades tempted persephone with a pomegranate (a sign of marriage). by eating some of the arils before her rescue, persephone tied herself to the underworld. persephone's mother, demeter, was so upset at the loss of her daughter that she prevented the earth from bearing fruit unless she saw her daughter again. zeus arranged a compromise: persephone would spend 1/3 of the year in the underworld with hades, and the rest of the year with demeter. this myth was used by the ancient greeks to try and explain the changing of the seasons.

my favourite kore - thought to represent persephone

in modern greece the pomegranate still holds strong symbolic meaning. you can find cute little pottery pomegranates to decorate your home in any crafts store. in fact, our house in victoria is known as the 'pomegranate house' by my mum's friends because we have so many. this summer on our trip to greece i was lucky enough to pick up some for my own apartment.

one of my hand crafted pomegranates

pomegranates also grow everywhere in greece - the mediterranean climate is perfect for them. anywhere you went you could find little pomegranate trees.

a pomegranate outside out hotel room near chania, crete

anyways, back to my point. i was grocery shopping last weekend and stumbled upon a pomegranate and was so excited that i just had to buy it! when i got home, i decided that i wanted to make something interesting with the fruit. and so, here's what i made - pomegranate balsamic chicken with grilled vegetables and brown rice.

add a few fresh arils for a pop of colour and texture

what you need:

          chicken:

1 chicken breast

1/2 cup pomegranate juice

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/8 cup honey

1 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp grainy mustard (i used maille ancient grain)

1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock

pinch of thyme

          grilled vegetables:

half a zucchini

half a red pepper

any other vegetables you want to put in (i recommend butternut squash)

1 tsp olive oil

salt and pepper

step 1:

cut chicken breast into small pieces. pour pomegranate juice, honey, vinegar, sugar, mustard and thyme into a freezer bag and add in the cut up chicken. refrigerate for 20 minutes. during these 20 minutes, roughly chop up your veggies, and pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.

step 2: 

put your veggies, oil, salt and pepper into a dish and mix together. put in the oven. lightly greas a glass dish and add in your chicken, put in the oven. cook for approximately 20 minutes, depending on how thick you cut your chicken. save the marinade.

step 3:

add remaining marinade to a small pot and bring to a boil. add chicken stock and allow time to thicken. about 10 minutes into cooking, turn over your veggies and chicken.

boiling the marinade ensures any bacteria are killed

step 4:

when veggies and chicken are done cooking, heat up your pre-cooked* brown rice and add all onto plate. sprinkle on your sauce and enjoy!

*hint: i cook about a cup and a half of dry brown rice every sunday night so that it's ready to go during the week. since it takes longer than white rice (umm yeah 55 minutes..) it's much easier to cook ahead!

*hint: i used a whole pomegranate to get about a 1/2 cup of juice. it was a time waster! buy POM pomegranate juice instead, and save the fresh pomegranate arils as a quick, healthy snack and as a garnish for this dish!