Day 6: March 19 - Simple Salad of Tomato, Cucumbers and Dill - Απλή Σαλάτα με Τομάτα, Αγγούρι και Άνιθο

Salad is apart of almost every meal in our culture.  Not just for Greeks, but for many different ethnic groups, it is very common and expected to serve a salad with a meal.  The French eat the salad as the last part of the meal, whereas the English eat the salad first.  It doesn't mean that one culture is right and another is wrong, it just means that there are different ways to enjoy salad.

One salad that we often hear about in regards to Greek food is the Horiatiki Salata, also known as the Village Salad.  There are many variations of this salad, but many will typically  include tomatoes, cucumber, olives, and feta cheese (an no lettuce!).  So, can you have a village salad without feta cheese and/or without oil during Great Lent?  Of course!  And, the easiest way to do enjoy a salad without oil (if that is your preference) is to choose the ingredients you like the most, and put them all together and call it salad.  Even without dressing, salad can be light and refreshing.

While we were feeling a little more artistic, we sliced tomatoes and cucumbers thinking about making a traditional salad.  But, using no cheese, we added a little chopped onion to give a little kick of flavour.  Then, we realised it was an oil-free day, so we wanted an alternative to dressing.  That is when we decided that we could just eliminate the oil and allow the juices from the tomatoes to create the liquid in which we planned to dip our bread.  And, we needed some flavour  enhancer.  That is when the creative juices started to flow. When choosing a tomato, we chose a sweet, ripe variety that will provide great flavour, in the absence of oil.

Usually, we would use salt, pepper, oregano, oil, and vinegar and make a salad dressing.  We normally just sprinkle, free-hand, over top of the bowl using approximate measurements.  This time,  we used a little salt, pepper, and oregano and lightly sprinkled each one over the sliced tomatoes and cucumbers.  Then, we snipped some fresh dill.  Since Greek salads don't usually have lettuce, adding a deep green colour to the tomatoes and the peeled cucumbers really gave visual appeal.  The dill also gave a different note of flavour, something with less bite than oregano, but still a distinct flavour.  But, we needed something else.

In the past, we have just used lemon juice as a fasting dressing for a salad. That is the easiest answer, especially in a restaurant.  If you are ever in the position of eating with colleagues or clients and it is during Great Lent, order lemon wedges with your salad, and use that for dressing -- your company will think you are so clever and saving calories!  Plus, the lemon juice doesn't drip on your clothing where you have to worry about that big oil mark in the middle of your tie!

Today, we did not use lemon since there was no lettuce.  We chose to lightly drizzle some red wine vinegar over the salad.  It provided enough of a tartness to make the salad more salad like.  And, the juices from the tomatoes did contribute to make the perfect combination of dressing in which to dip the bread!  Yes, this was successful, and it is now going to be one of our go-to salad dressing during Great Lent. At this year's Clean Monday meal, the entire salad was eaten until there was not a single piece left.

"And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it."

Ecclesiastes 12:7

Day 5: March 18, 2016 - Fontanaki Soft Cookies with Almond Flour and Rosewater - Μαλακό Αμυγδαλοτό Φοντανάκι με Ανθόνερο (από Τριαντάφυλλο)

Today's recipe: Fontanaki soft cookies with almond flour and rosewater. They are very soft (not baked)
 and fragrant "cookies" which almost dissolve in your mouth.

We found this recipe title and the recipe in our most recently acquired church cookbook (The Ladies Philoptochos Favourite Recipes - Saints Panteleimon, Anna and Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Community, Markham, Ontario, 2008).

We bought the cookbook at a church we attended the other week, and one of our friends in Philoptochos told us about the book.   Supporting the various Philoptochos groups is important to us, and when we see a cookbook of contributed recipes, we like to try to support that effort.  After all, we understand that it takes quite a bit of work to put together a bunch of recipes with directions that people will understand, and sometimes with pictures.

Fontanaki sounded like a little fountain.  We think it refers to the fountain of flavour that fills your mouth with these little bites.  This is a Lenten cookie, and by the ingredient list is very simple and minimal.  That sounds like something we would like.  Who doesn't like a quick and easy treat?  And, as we read the directions in the cookbook, we are reminded that Great Lent and fasting is not just about the type of foods we eat or do not eat, it is also about the quantity, the prayer, the thoughts, and more.  Since we focus a lot on the type of food, this recipe forced us to focus on the quantity, too.  Minimal ingredients, minimal time, minimal effort, but great reward!

We want to give a thank you goes to Ka. Elena for sharing this little treat with us, and with all the people who bought this Philoptochos cookbook.

For this recipe, you will need the following:

2 1/4 cups crushed fine almonds
1/1/4 cups icing sugar (powdered sugar/confectioner's sugar)
1 TBSP brandy
Rosewater, as needed
Granulated sugar, as needed
Cloves, as needed

In a bowl, mix the almonds, icing sugar, and brandy.  We were able to buy ground almonds at the grocery store, but if you cannot buy them this way, then your first step would be to crush the almonds as fine as you can -- with a food processor, blender, mortar and pestle, or a zipper seal bag and rolling pin.  The crushed almonds we purchased are very fine, almost powdery.  They would have a little more texture if we had ground them by hand.

Mix those ingredients together.  Start adding a little rosewater at a time while mixing.  Add enough rosewater until the mixture becomes a dough that you can form into balls.  If you add too much, and the dough is super sticky, add a little more ground almond and a little more powdered sugar until you get to the consistency you want.

Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes.  This gives all the flavours a chance to blend.  If you are in a hurry, you do not need it to rest, but it may help the dough bind.

Roll the dough into small balls, the size of a walnut.  The easiest way to do this is with damp hands.  The dough is moist -- not like bread, so you will find that the more you work with it, the more sticky it becomes.  If your hands are damp, the dough does not stick to you, and it will absorb some of the granulated sugar, since the next step is to take each ball and roll it in the granulated sugar.  Cover the entire ball and set on a serving dish.  If you have small paper cups, you could put the cookies right in the cups.  Then, poke a clove in the middle of the ball for decoration.

These are similar to rum balls, but Lenten.  Some may eliminate the brandy and use only the rose water.  This will still result in lovely flavour.  There are other flavours of water that will go well with the almond, including orange water (we have tried orange blossom water but we found the flavour and aroma too intense).  You could also change the brandy to other liquors like ouzo or spiced rum.  The recipe which we have shared today is a base recipe to which you can make changes.  We also thought that these would look beautiful using the coloured sugars available for cookies and decorating (or using sprinkles, instead).  The cookie balls are moist enough to hold onto sprinkles or heavy sugar.  Also, these could be holiday treats using different colours, or you can use white granulated sugar and tint the dough using different colours.  We also thought about all the things that we would do to replace the clove -- small pieces of liquorice, cinnamon hearts, even a chocolate.  This is a basic recipe with basic ingredients, but it opened up so many possibility for future use.  We are delighted to have tried this, and hope you are too!  We would enjoy reading what you made, whether or not you used variations or the given recipe.

Day 4: March 17, 2016 - Delicious Spiced Fava Dip (Yellow Split Peas) - Πεντανόστιμη Φάβα με Κρεμίδια και Μπαχαρικά

To start, this recipe does not use any of the beans known by many as Fava beans (Vicia Faba-read this article to read about this pulse). Instead, it is the name of the final dish made by another pulse (more about this below).

Fava is one of the foods that we have made before (Day 6: Fava Fever, March 23, 2013).
It is a puree or spread made from yellow split peas.  When cooked, the peas become mushy and soft.  The interesting part about this dip recipe is that there are undertones of garlic, lemon, and even some onion flavourings.

With every dish, there are several ways to prepare it, several variations, and several different seasonings.  We like to experiment with those differences and we like to ask a variety of people how they do it.  It is amazing how each person has a completely different recipe for the exact same food.  It is like asking every Yiayia how to make  coffee, each one has a different method.  But, now, by trying all these different methods, we have found a few that have the "wow" factor that makes us want to share those recipes.  If we walk away saying, "Wow, this is good!" then we expect one of you will, too.

Back to today's Fava recipe.  When we made it here in 2013, we used the most common method that we had found: boil the peas with the onion and garlic, strain out the onion and garlic, and you have fava puree.  This sounds so easy and classic.  But, today, we did something else.  We sauteed the onion and garlic, carmelizing the onions, added the peas, and, then, we added the water and boiled the peas.  That means we boiled all that carmelization on the onions, and we de-glazed the pan a bit and picked up all the flavours from the crispy bits of garlic and onion on the pan.  Then, we brightened the flavour with lemon juice, and WOW!  Yes, that was the key to making this recipe a top recipe.  And, for you to be able to catch the attention of some others, here are the steps with pictures:

First, gather your ingredients.  For this recipe, you will need the following:

1 TBSP oil
1 1/2  onions, roughly sliced/chopped
500 grams yellow split peas
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 1/2 cups (more or less) water
2 TBSP lemon juice
1/2 tsp.  oregano, thyme, or marjoram
salt to taste

To get this dish started, you need to rinse the yellow split peas with running water for a few minutes.  By rinsing, you are able to see the black, dark green, discoloured peas to discard, along with any stones that you may find in the mix.  This is our first step with many peas, lentils, beans, and pulses.  Let the peas sit to the side while preparing the next steps.

We typically show you pictures of our slicing the onion and the garlic.  Today, you will chop the garlic and roughly chop or slice the onion.  You want them small enough to cook along with the peas without mincing them.  They will be pulverized in a food processor near the end of this dish, so your goal should be manageable sized pieces.  Also, juice a lemon and set that aside

After everything is cut, rinsed, and ready, you can start cooking.  Heat the oil in a deep pan.  Start by cooking the onion and garlic together.  You want the onions to caramelize and take on a beautiful deep hue.  The garlic may turn a darker colour than the onion, and that is okay.  Let these caramelize and become very soft.

Add the rinsed peas to the onion/garlic mix and coat them very well in the pan.  Add a little oregano or thyme, or marjoram.  We used oregano today because that is what we had on hand.  Sprinkle the seasonings lightly because if any of these herbs are cooked too long, they become spicy and bitter and can ruin the gentle flavour of the Fava.  Once the ingredients are combined in the pan, add the water and allow this mixture to come to a boil.  Cover the pan and allow this to simmer for about 45 minutes. If you notice the pan has dried, and all the water has been absorbed, but the peas are not soft, then add a little more water and continue to sumer until the peas are soft.  They should be soft as if they came from a can, or softer than that.  The mixture will become mushy as the peas are cooked more.  Add the lemon juice now and some salt.  Adjust the salt and lemon to your liking.

Once the peas are soft and all the ingredients are mixed in, turn off the heat and grab your food processor.  We chose to use our Ninja blender for this, but use whatever appliance you like.  We cannot mash this by hand as we have with other Fava recipes because of the cooked onions and garlic in the peas.  You need everything to become a puree.  So, put 2/3 of the mixture into your blender or food processor and pulse until smooth and creamy.  We reserved one third of the peas to keep a little texture in the final dish so it is not completely like baby food.

Puree the mixture and then mix it back into the boiled, non-blended portion.  Check the seasoning of salt and lemon, and make adjustments if needed.  Serve this rich pea puree warm with some bread, crackers, a meal, or a spoon.  The deep colour is indicative of its rich flavour, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we all did. We have already made this dish two days in a row during this Great Lent! That is how delicious and popular this easy to make dish really is!

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." 

Galatians 5:22-23

Day 3: March 17, 2016 - Quick'n'easy Mildly Spiced Cauliflower - Γρήγορο και Εύκολο Κουνουπίδι με Αροματικά

Cauliflower is one of the vegetables that we find most people like.  It is nutritious (click here for its nutritional values), filling, and very easy to prepare.

Recently in Toronto, due to the fall of the Canadian dollar and bad weather in Florida, the price of a medium-sized cauliflower had reached the unbelievable price of $8! Fortunately, in Toronto, where we live, a large cauliflower has returned down to a reasonable price of around $2-3.

But, sometimes, having just steamed or boiled vegetables can be boring and redundant.  So, we went on a mission to find a method to prepare this veggie that would be as easy as steaming it, but a different flavour from our typical oil and lemon.  We were inspired today!

With a little effort, we found a flavourful, beautiful cauliflower recipe that put a twist of flavour on our table.  It was almost as easy as boiling the head of cauliflower for ten minutes, but gave us a much different result.  This can work with a full head or several pieces of cauliflower that may be leftover.  We have many times cut a head in half and used only one half at a time.  The spices and the amount of cauliflower can be adjusted for large or small quantities.

For this recipe, you will need the following:

1 head cauliflower
1 tsp cumin -- ground or seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric
2/3 cup water
salt to taste
a Table spoon of lemon juice (optional)

Clean the cauliflower of the leaves, any blemishes, and cut it into large florettes.  Cauliflower is easy to cut into the large pieces, and it is always attractive on a plate.  Measure the seasonings, and have everything ready to use.  This recipe will take about 11 minutes to make start to finish, so you can make this last minute for the dinner table.

Start by putting the cumin in a dry pan on medium-high heat.  There is no oil in this recipe; do not add any.  Heat the cumin or the cumin seeds until it is fragrant.  This takes about 1 1/2 minutes.  The kitchen will smell delightful for the next half hour.

Once the cumin is hot in the dry pan, add the cauliflower.  Mix the florets around the pan to make sure they are coated with the cumin.  Now, add the water.  Put a lid on the pan and allow the water to come to a boil.  For the next 8 minutes, steam the cauliflower with the lid on the pan.

After 8 minutes, remove the lid, and add the turmeric to the cauliflower.  Mix well to assure that all the cauliflower has turned that beautiful yellow colour that turmeric offers.  We chose to put the lid back on the pan and shake it to make sure that everything was evenly coated.  Do it the way you are comfortable to make sure all the cauliflower is coated.  Sprinkle a little salt over the mixture, and then test one piece of cauliflower to make sure it is cooked all the way through.  If it is fully cooked to the softness that you like, then turn off the heat and serve this dish.  Otherwise, allow this to steam for one or two more minutes until your cauliflower is cooked the way you like.

A family member insisted that we use a small splash of lemon juice while the cooking was taking place to brighten up the recipe. Indeed, the flavour was light and bright and not sour at all!

This recipe can be made quickly and easily.  It can also be eaten quickly and easily.  We found that the turmeric did add a beautiful colour, and the cumin gave just enough flavour to make this different.  One family member squeezed some lemon on top of the cauliflower which brightened the flavour and brought this up to another level of eating.  For oil-free fasting days, this was a nice change to make a difference with a common vegetable.


"Better is a dish of vegetables where love is than a fattened ox served with hatred."

Book of Proverbs 15:17

Day 2: March 15, 2016 - Homemade Flatbread with Zatar seasoning - Σπιτίσια Πίτα με Ζατάρ

Yiayia Maria used to make all kinds of things with her one bread recipe.  We were often treated to paximadia, dinner rolls, loaves of bread to slice, kaltsounakia, and flat breads with different spreads and seasonings.  We have tried repeatedly to replicate Yiayia's recipe for bread, but have not mastered it yet.  However, we found that this already made dough that we bought at the bakery was similar in texture and size when we baked it to what we expected from Yiayia's recipe.  So, we thought that we could make a variety of things with this dough, just like Yiayia Maria!

After working with the dough to make dinner rolls, we realised this was better off as a flat bread, since it did not rise quite as much as we wanted or needed for the other foods.  But, for a flat bread, this was perfect!  Our guess is that this dough was more similar to pizza dough which is much less rich than a traditional bread recipe.  That did not stop us, though.  we made flat bread anyway!

When trying to decide what kind of flat bread to make, we tossed around the ideas of using oregano, olives, sun-dried tomatoes,  mushrooms, or just some sesame seeds.  We couldn't decide what flavour or which spices, and then we decided to just keep it simple with a nice flavour, and we chose to use Zatar (Za'tar).  This is a Middle-Eastern spice that is as versatile as our beloved Montreal Steak Spice.  It can be used on or in any savoury dish, and is sold in many different venues.  Zatar is a mixture of spices, including (not limited to) oregano, thyme, and sesame seed.  There are different varieties that use other spice varieties with these basics, the variety changes with each part of the Middle East.

Our container of Zatar was a gift from a Persian friend, Nicki.  She loves Greek food, and likes to share her culture with us through food.  This is great to have a foodie-friend, because that is one way to find out about interesting things like this seasoning.  Anyway, Nicki was thrilled to learn that we make our own bread, and we are adventurous in our recipes.  She insisted that we taste bread the same as it was while she was growing up.  And, one day, she brought her mother's homemade bread, a bottle of olive oil, and a container of zatar so we could taste one of her comfort foods.  She put some zatar in a bowl and mixed in the olive oil to make a paste.  Then, like butter, she spread it on each chunk of bread that she broke from the loaf.  For each one of us, we were each given a chunk of bread (hand-torn from the loaf) with zatar spread.  From the first bite, it was delicious.  And, after four of us ate a loaf of bread, Nicki promised that she would bring us some zatar to keep.  She kept her word, and now, we use it on our own flat bread!  And, here is what we do:

For this recipe, you will need the following:

about 1 pound of home-made or store-bought pizza dough or bread dough
3-5 teaspoons of tatar seasoning (this can be bought in any Middle Eastern, Persian or Armenian market)
2 TBSP olive oil (or any vegetable cooking oil)

Start by rolling out the dough.  We made ours circular, like a pizza.  Make sure that thickness of the dough is even all the way around so you don't have lumpy flat bread.  Roll the dough to be about 3/4 inch thick and in the shape you desire.  Ours were round, but you could make rectangles or spares if you like.

Allow the dough to rest for a few minutes after rolling it flat.  You want the dough to shrink if that is going to happen before adding the seasoning.

Now, generously brush the dough with some oil.  You want to make sure the entire top of the bread is coated, so the seasoning will stick to all the oily spots.  Then, sprinkle the seasoning over the bread.  You will note that we have done this all by hand, but there are multiple ways to coat with oil or sprinkle seasoning.  Just make sure that the entire top surface is coated and covered.

Bake the bread in the oven until it is golden brown.  We placed our flat breads on a pizza stone that had been heated in a 450 F oven.  To make the bread an even, golden colour, we baked for 16 minutes.  But, remember, ovens vary!

Allow the bread to cool for a moment before cutting or eating.  We used a pizza cutter to make four wedges for two of us.  These may be small enough to count one per person, or you can decide how to split it up.  It is the joy of being together to break bread that really mattered to us.


"Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart..."

Book of Acts, 2:46