Home-made yogurt

Home-made yogurt (easy)

I learned how to make yogurt from my friend Aruna back in my early days in Kent, Ohio.  Marius doesn't drink milk straight, but he loves yogurt and when he opens the fridge he askes me, "Is this your yogurt?" meaning as opposed to the store-bought kind.  He loves to watch me cook and he often helps as well, especially when we make pancakes (recipe to follow soon). 

4 cups pasteurized milk (fat content of your choice)
4 tablespoons strained yogurt, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional)

Bring milk to a slow boil over medium high heat.  Remove from heat when it bubbles up and let stand uncovered until it is warm enough for your pinky to accept it comfortably.  Ladle some of the warm milk into a measuring cup and add the yogurt. Mix well. Pour back into the pot and mix thoroughly with a whisk.  Or alternately, use a second pot and pour the mixture from one pot to the other four or five times.  Pour either in a large glass container or in smaller ones, cover well, and let stand in a warm place, away from drafts for about eight hours. 

I usually make it late in the evening before going to bed so we can have fresh yogurt in the morning.  When it has "yogged" it will be firm and will not move around in the bowl or jars.  Refrigerate and use as you would use store-bought yogurt.  The longer the yogurt stays in the fridge, the tarter it becomes.

Tabouleh (Vegan)

Tabouleh (Vegan)

This middle-Eastern salad is not common in Greece but we all love it. I made it for the first time in the States many, many years ago and now it is a staple for us in the warmer months of the year and sometimes in the colder months if I can find decent tomatoes. 

1/2 cup bulgur
1 cup water

two ripe, firm tomatoes, cubed
2 spring onions or one small regular (dry) onion, sliced
juice of one lemon
2 tablespoons (or more) extra virgin olive oil
a handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
a handful of fresh mint, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

In a small pot, bring the water to the boil, pour in the bulgur, stir, and turn down the heat to medium-low.  Cook for about 6 minutes until all the water is absorbed. Do not stir. Remove from the heat, place two layers of paper towel on the pot and cover again with the lid. The paper towels will absorb the excess moisture, so the salad is not mushy.

When the bulgur has cooled off, place it in a big bowl, add the rest of the ingredients, mix with a fork, and refrigerate before serving.  If you will keep it in the fridge for more than an hour, save the onion to add right before serving, because the onion smell will become too strong in the fridge.

Tzatziki

Tzatziki

Our favorite summer dip and so easy to make. Despite the garlic, Marius loves it--so does John, so do I.  As I always say, if everyone eats garlic, then there is no problem. Seriously, the bite of the garlic combines beautifully with the cold yogurt and cucumber.

1 cup strained yogurt (if you can't buy it strained, put two layers of cheesecloth or paper towel in a colander and pour in the regular yogurt to drain.  Gather the whey by putting a bowl under the colander.)
1 long cucumber
2 cloves garlic, pressed
salt to taste
chopped fresh dill to taste
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Grate the cucumber in a bowl, sprinkle with the salt and let stand for the extra water to come out.  Squeeze excess juice and drain. 

Add the rest of the ingredients, mix well, cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving.

Gemista (Vegan)

Stuffed peppers and tomatoes (Vegan)

Another one of my all time favorites.  I eat them by hand, like fruit, sometimes as I even walk around doing other things.  Carolina rice is great here because it sticks together and will not spill out of its vegetable casing, no matter how you eat it.

4 tomatoes

10 medium green bell peppers (I buy them a few days in advance and set them out on a platter to “wither”, as my mom would say)
1 and ½ cup Carolina or Arborio rice (short and plump), soaked in water for 15 minutes
1 large onion, finely minced or grated
2 cloves garlic
a handful of pine nuts
a handful of black currants
1 carrot, finely cubed
1 zucchini, finely cubed
fresh mint, chopped
fresh parsley, chopped
salt, pepper to taste
a pinch of sugar
plenty of olive oil, extra virgin, as always

While the rice is soaking, wash the peppers and tomatoes well. Hollow out the tomatoes with a spoon and save the flesh.  Cut the tops off the peppers and remove the white seed pods.  Put them in a baking dish in a row.

Puree the tomato flesh and set aside.

Sauté the onion and garlic in three tablespoons of olive oil until soft but not brown.  Add the carrot and zucchini and cook for 2 minutes, add the pine nuts and currants and turn a few times with a spoon to coat with the oil.  Add the tomato puree and herbs and spices and let cook for about 2 minutes.  Turn down the heat to medium and add the drained rice, stirring it in so it doesn’t stick to the pan. Cook for only 3 minutes.

Using a metal soup spoon stuff the tomatoes and peppers with the rice mixture, filling to about ¾.  Cover with the caps and place snuggly against each other for support. 

Pour olive oil over the peppers and tomatoes, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and pour in a cup of water in the pan (not on top of the vegetables).

Bake in a 200 C oven for about 30-40 minutes until the rice is soft and the peppers and tomatoes are nicely brown in places.

Serve at room temperature (never hot!) accompanied by feta cheese or tzatziki.

 

 

 

 

Polenta with summer vegetables

Polenta with summer vegetables

An unexpected favorite with friends when I cooked it for the dinner party in the back yard of our Bulgarian abode to celebrate the end of the school year. 

For the polenta

2 cups water

2 tsps salt

about 1 cup fine cornmeal (kachamak in Bulgarian)

1 tablespoon butter

 

For the vegetables

1 large onion chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 small zucchini
4 mushrooms
(other seasonal vegetables, like eggplant)
4 juicy tomatoes, peeled and chopped
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt, pepper and cumin powder to taste
parsley
a pinch of sugar (to counter the acidity of the tomatoes)

In a medium size pot bring the water to a boil. Add the salt and slowly pour in the cornmeal a few tablespoons at a time, stirring constantly and vigorously because the cornmeal will thicken very quickly. You may not have to use the whole amount of cornmeal.  Stop adding the cornmeal when it is thick enough to stay on the spoon.  Be careful because it will start bubbling very quickly and you may get your hand burned.  Remove from the heat cover and let stand for a few minutes.  Add fresh butter and stir thoroughly.  Place wax paper in a bread mold and pour in the polenta, spreading it evenly with a spatula. Cover and let cool until it sets. Do not refrigerate.

Now for the vegetables.  Sauté the onion in the olive oil. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Add the zucchini and cook for 2 minutes, add the mushrooms (and eggplant) and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and spices / herbs and cook covered until the vegetables are soft.

TO SERVE:  Turn the polenta out on a platter and remove the wax paper.  Pour the vegetables around it and some on top.  Cut the polenta into slices like bread.

Artichokes with peas (Vegan)

Artichokes with peas

My favorite spring dish since I was a little kid--wouldn't eat the usual meat and potatoes, but went for everything exotic and strange.  I prefer to shell fresh peas and peel the artichokes to get to the heart, but here is a much simpler version.

1 kilo frozen peas
500 gr. frozen  artichoke hearts
1 onion
2 spring onions
a handful of washed and chopped dill
salt, pepper, 1/4 tsp sugar
water
3 tablespoons olive oil
lemon juice

Chop the onion and the spring onions.  Saute them in a pressure cooker (or a regular pot) in the olive oil.  When soft, throw in the peas and turn them around a few times for the oil to coat them as much as possible. Throw in the artichokes and do the same.  Sprinkle over the dill, salt, pepper and sugar, pour in just enough water almost to cover but not quite.  Pressure cook for 15 minutes. If you use a conventional pot, you will need about 45 minutes. In this case, check to see if you need to add water during cooking.  Serve with lemon juice.

Fruit cobbler, very quick

Quick Fruit Cobbler

Marius (Marios) loves this and I make sure I make a cobbler for him at least once a week in the summer.  I use whatever fruit is available according to season.



For the fruit:
2 cups strawberries
1 banana in slices
4 tablespoons sugar
sprinkle of cinnamon
2 tablespoons melted butter

For the batter:
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon melted butter

Wash strawberries, remove stems, and cut in half (if big cut in three).  Layer them on the bottom of a souffle dish.  Sprinkle them with sugar. Layer the sliced banana and sprinkle with cinnamon.

In a bowl beat the egg, add the sugar, the milk and the baking powder. Mix well.  Add the flour a little at a time until it is smooth but still kind of runny.  Add the melted butter and mix in thoroughly.

Pour the batter over the layered fruit.  Bake in a preheated 180 C overn for 45 minutes.