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Hello my dear friends. I hope this post finds you well and…hungry for something gourmet because today I have the ultimate gourmet snack for you. I always say that even with no more than two ingredients, if fresh and of … Continue reading
The summer is near and so is the need for a fresh, cool but not too fatty drink to keep us going. Let’s not forget that it won’t be long until out swimsuits leave our closet…
In that spirit, what could be more refreshing than a Greek homemade lemonade recipe, exactly the same way our grand-mothers used to prepare.
So, today, I’m giving you a very simple recipe, very easy and most of all healthy, free of all unnecessary ingredients like artificial colors, preservatives etc.
Just keep in mind that the starting proportions are:
1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of water, 1 cup of lemon juice
The secret to perfect a concentrated lemonade is the sugar syrup. Dissolving the sugar in hot water disperses the sugar in the lemonade, instead of having the sugar sink to the glass bottom.
Additionally, you might want to sterilize your bottle if you want to keep it in the fridge up to one year.
STERILIZATION METHOD:
Thoroughly wash the bottle with hot water and place it in the oven for 10 minutes at 100oC. Then, place it downwards on a dry and clean towel.
*For marmalade jar sterilization see my “The easiest orange jam” post here: http://fruitandcake.com/?p=966
INGREDIENTS:
For 6 persons
1 cup sugar (can reduce to 3/4 cup)
1 cup water
1 cup lemon juice
HOW TO:
Prepare your syrup by heating the sugar and water in a small saucepan until the sugar is dissolved completely.
While the sugar is dissolving, using your juicer, extract the juice from 4 to 6 lemons, enough for one cup of juice.
Pour the lemon juice into the pan with the syrup and leave it to cool down.
When the mix is cold enough pour it the sterilized bottle and put in the fridge.
You must always dissolve this lemonade with cold water everytime you want to serve it. The proportion for one glass is ½ lemonade and ½ cold water and ice cubes.
How to serve:
1) You can add a strawberry cut in 4 with two fresh mint leaves.
2) You can add sparkling water.
3) You may add a tbsp of honey (if your lemonade isn’t too sweet).
4) You may add some grenadine with fresh spearmint leaves.
Greek Spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pie) is one of the most well-known Greek traditional dishes. It is well-known to people who love the Greek Cuisine.
In Greece, you can taste Spanakopita practically everywhere, in a house, in the restaurant, as a snack to take out etc.
In my recipe the quantity of ingredients is large. I advice those of you who will venture it to do the same and enjoy a rich,
juicy spinach pie that can stand proudly in the dish. Any time is a good time to go for a Spanakopita together with your main course or as the main dish.
Not to mention that a piece of homemade Spanakopita is perfect for school or a day at work. Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 kilo of fresh spinach
1 cup of fresh dill finely chopped
1 cup of parsley finely chopped
1 cup of fresh onions finely chopped
1 large onion finely chopped
400-500 gr of crumbled feta cheese
1 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
1/2 a cup of evaporate milk
5 eggs
1 pack of fillo pastry
salt and pepper to taste
HOW TO:
First clean the spinach and discard all the hard outer parts,
leaving the leaves and the soft stems.
Wash it well under plenty of running cold water and cut it in small pieces.
Using your hands, squeeze the cut spinach to get as much water out of it.
Pour half of the olive oil in a large frying pan and sauté the chopped onion.
When the onion becomes translucent, add the chopped fresh onions to be sautéed a little bit as well.
Add the spinach, stirring and mixing with the sautéed onions.
Add the dill, parsley, salt and pepper to taste and mix with the rest of the ingredients.
Lower the heat and simmer until there is no more water in the spinach.
Remove from heat, transfer the spinach in a bowl and pour over the milk to cool it down a bit.
In another bowl, crack the eggs, beat lightly with a fork and add the crumbled Feta cheese and mix with the beaten eggs.
When spinach is half cold pour over the eggs (not sooner because the egg will fry), the feta mixture and mix together.
Divide the fillo sheets into two parts (eg. if they are 8 in total, put 3 at the bottom and the rest on the top).
Start placing the sheets at the bottom of the pan, one by one.
Make sure that you oil each fillo with a brush. If you don’t do that, the sheets will stick together…sheer disaster!
Pour in the mixing and finish with the last fillo sheets, oiling again each one, even the last one.
Sprinkle with a few drops of water on the top fillo to give it a little moisture and put the pan in the oven.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 30-45 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
Remove from the oven, let it cool down for about 30 minutes and serve.
Greek Spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pie) can also be done without sautéing the spinach.
The only deference is that is going to take about an hour to cook on lower temperature.
Homemade filo pastry can also be used, making two sheets,
one to use for the bottom of the baking pan and one for the top, having the filling in between.
Easter may be a memory but spring has already paid us a visit reminding us that the summer is at the door!
This could only mean one thing… I have to get ready for my bathing suit. I hope it still fits me…
Somewhere between panick attacks and “Stoicism” I found an old magazine with low-fat recipes.
However today’s recipe is ideal not only for a diet but for our-I hate fish and everything that smells like it-kids.
It’s a fact that most children hate fish, its smell and its fish bone. That’s why a clever parent must wisely “camouflage” it.
Here you could use a salmon fillet which has only a bone in the middle and hide it into lots of sesame seeds.
If you avoid to buy the ready tin can of mashed peas and go for the real thing, you will have an easy and healthy recipe
and a very nutritious dish because it combines fish and peas. Enjoy…
INGREDIENTS
For 6 persons
6 salmon fillets (200 gr each)
1 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 tbsp of lemon juice
1 tbsp of sweet paprika powder
200 gr. of sesame seeds
FOR THE MASHED PEAS
600 gr of frozen peas
2 tbsp of butter
1 wine glass of fresh milk
2 tbsp of fresh basil leaves, chopped (optional but recommended)
Salt and pepper
HOW TO:
Marinate the salmon into a bowl with the olive oil and the lemon juice.
Season with paprika and a pinch of salt.
Leave it in the refrigerator for about 1 hour .
Prepare the peas by boiling them into salted water for 15 minutes.
Drain them and mash them very well with the mixer, until they become like paste.
In a pot, melt the butter. Throw in the mashed peas and stir well. Slowly, pour in the milk.
Not too much milk because we don’t want it to be like soup.
Sprinkle with the basil leaves and season according to taste.
Grill the salmon fillets. When ready, take them out of the oven.
Sprinkle a layer of sesame into a dish. Place each fillet on both sides.
Place them into an oiled baking pan and continue to grill the fillets both sides
until the sesame takes a golden color.
When ready, serve in a dish along with the mashed peas.
It’s a very nutritious meal, ideal for your children.
And remember: when the fish doesn’t look like one, your kid loves it.
Today, I’m going to show you how to bake a healthier but delicious cake.
It’s true that cakes are everyone’s favorite treat, especially children’s.
There are numerous variations as far as the filling is concerned.
From desserts, the orange cake (together with chocolate cake) is my favorite one.
However, cakes do not always have to be extra fatty.
A clever trick is to change butter for olive oil.
Plus, if you could find an Extra Virgin Olive Oil (of low acidity),
you will favor you cake with an extra delicate aroma.
Last but not least, this is SUCH AN EASY RECIPE. Good luck!
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
4 eggs
1 cup of sugar
2 cups of flour
1 orange with the peel
3 tsp of baking powder
HOW TO:
In your mixer, put the orange, whole, with the peel but without the core.
Press the button for a few rounds and squash it well.
Take off the blade and put the stirrer in your mixer.
Add the olive oil, the eggs, the sugar and the squashed orange.
Press the button for a few rounds to blend the ingredients.
Then add the flour and the baking powder. Blend some more.
Take your baking mold (I use a round one of 22 cm/8.6 inches)
pour just a drop of olive oil and spread it all around,
using your hand or a brush.
This way your cake will come out easily, when it’s time to serve.
Bake your orange cake in a preheated oven at 180oC for 45’-50’.
If you want to see whether your cake is ready or not, take a pointed knife and dig it all the way into your cake.
If the blade comes out covered with the white filling that means the cake is not baked yet.
The knife must come out clean.
You may wonder if just one orange is enough for the entire cake.
Trust me it is more than enough. The aroma from the fresh orange is reinforced
by the aroma and the slight bitterness from the peel.
And all these are being “softened” by the extra virgin olive oil.
That is why I don’t recommend to use other kind of oil.
Well, that’s it. Decorate with some powder sugar or sliced almonds.
I really hope this orange cake will become your favorite, too.
Please, let me know what you think, ok?
EXTRA TIP:
You can pour on your hot-just came out of the oven- cake some orange flavored syrup.
This way you will have the juiciest orange cake ever…
For the syrup:
2 cups of water ,1 cup of sugar
The peel of one orange, 1 small cinnamon stick
Bring the ingredients to boil and let them for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let aside to cool down.
When your cake is taken off the oven, slowly pour the syrup on it.
The syrup must be used either cold on hot food or hot on to cold food.
If both the syrup and the food are cold (or hot), the syrup
will not be absorbed and you will have a “muddy” result.
Try it out and let me know what you think, ok? Bye, bye and good luck !
