Little Cooking Tips - Breakfast

Traditional Greek Easter Bread (Tsoureki)

littlecookingtips — Mon, 03 Apr 2017 13:43:27 +0000

Photo and text by Panos Diotis and Mirella Kaloglou.

Calories (per serving):

312

Servings:

12+ slices/pieces

Preparation Time:

4 hours

Cooking Time:

45 minutes

Easter is almost here! For all us Greeks, Easter (called Pascha in Greek) is the greatest religious holiday of the year. Celebrating Easter in Greece, is a beautiful event, even for the non-believers. The mysticism surrounding the days right before the Resurrection (which is celebrated on Holy Saturday, at midnight) is truly unique. Easter is a huge deal; a great social event, rich in traditions.

After the Great Lent, which starts 40 days before Easter (on Clean Monday), is the Holy Week, the week before Easter. This is a time when most Greeks, even the most secular ones, are fasting, abstaining from meat and dairy consumption. Churches are packed with people every night; the priests read the gospels that tell the story of Jesus’s last days and His path to the cross and the Resurrection. These days have a great sense of community, as everyone awaits Jesus’ redemption.

After all, Easter is always on spring, so there’s a great relation between Jesus’s resurrection and nature’s rebirth as well, after the long period of winter. Celebrating Easter in Greece is filled with the smells of flower blossoms, like jasmine and lilac. Most people celebrate Pascha in the country, in their villages of origin, so they’re getting in touch with their roots, meeting friends and relatives in a huge (and loud!) Greek celebration:)

Holy Week's Traditions

Some of the most popular Easter culinary traditions begin on Holy Thursday. This is the day of the beginning of The Passion, so eggs are dyed red, to symbolize the blood of our Lord. Most people dye hard boiled eggs at home; but they’re also available (already boiled and dyed) in super markets and grocery stores.

Another Holy Thursday tradition, is baking the Easter bread “Tsoureki”, which is very similar to Challah. It’s a braided sweet bread, that’s served after the Resurrection. Placing a red dyed egg in the middle of the Tsoureki is also common. The aroma of this sweet bread is truly unique; it’s a combination of ground Chios mastic (a natural resin) and ground mahleb (also called mahlab or mahlepi, it’s ground wild cherry pits). This is the recipe we’ll be sharing with all of you this Easter. As for getting those two ingredients, don’t worry; you can easily order them online and get them delivered to your doorstep; they are widely available:)

Many people are also baking Easter cookies, called koulourakia on Holy Thursday. They’re butter based, braided and glazed, and are usually served on Easter Sunday.
Both koulourakia cookies and the sweet Tsoureki bread are also eaten all year round, as they’re very popular with coffee and tea.

As the Passion progresses on Good Friday, the day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus, the fasting is much stricter. On this day, most people will abstain from any type of protein and fat (like olive oil). Most people eat simple salads, dried or fresh fruits, bread and nuts. It’s a day of mourning; the image of Jesus is put on a funeral bier and the bells toll solemnly throughout the day. The bier is called Epitafios (or Epitaphios/Epitaph), and it’s decorated by young girls with spring flowers. During this day, almost everyone will visit a church, after midday (when the decoration is over) to pay his or her respects to this symbolic Jesus’ bier, usually throwing some flower pedals on it, like you would do for a close person or a relative who has passed away.

In the evening, there’s the Perifora of the Epitaph. In every town or village, the Epitafios is carried on the shoulders of the worshippers, in a symbolic funeral procession which takes place in the main streets. The people carrying the Epitafios are constantly changing in this process, as it is a great honor to carry Jesus on one’s shoulders. The people following the bier are holding lit funeral candles, and chanting one of the most wonderful Orthodox hymns: "Ω γλυκύ μου έαρ" (O glyki mou e-ar), which literally means “My Sweet Spring”, mourning the death of Jesus on this most beautiful of seasons. Here’s the hymn:

On Holy Saturday, people are beginning the preparations for the dinner that follows the midnight service and the next day’s (Easter Sunday) feast. In this day, most people will prepare the Magiritsa soup. Magiritsa is a soup with dill or fennel, greens and lamb’s liver and/or other offal, in egg-lemon sauce (avgolemono). When we prepare this dish ourselves we only use liver, as we find that it tastes much better; but if you’re not into offal, don’t worry: there’s a vegetarian version as well, made with mushrooms that’s equally delicious!

At the same day, people prepare two of the main dishes for Easter Sunday: the lamb or goat, that’s usually whole spit-roasted, is prepared with spices and it’s put on a spit to drain. The other dish is the kokoretsi, that’s truly not for the faint-hearted:) Kokoretsi is lamb’s (or goat’s) offal, usually liver and lung, chopped in small pieces and placed in a spit, heavily seasoned and tightly tied together with the lamb’s small intestine (that’s thoroughly cleaned at least a day before). The reason for this, is leaving nothing to go to waste, but we do realize that it’s a tough sight for any non-Greek to see:)

On Holy Saturday evening, most people will visit a church before midnight, for the last Mass. This is a huge community event; everywhere you look, around midnight you’ll see families walking towards a church with lambades on their hands. Lambades are the celebratory candles (white or decorated ones), that will be lit with the Holy Fire just a few minutes before Easter. The children’s lambades are usually given to them by their godparents or their grandparents (if the godparents weren’t available).

The Holy Fire is miraculously lit during Mass on Jerusalem, on the actual site of Jesus’ tomb on Holy Saturday and it’s then flown to Greece and distributed to all the churches, a few hours before midnight (when Easter will be celebrated).

So, when the priest reads the gospel with the story of the Angel discovering that Jesus was resurrected, the Holy Fire is distributed to the people observing the Mass. The flame of the Holy fire is passed from person to person and all the lambades are lit and any other lights are turned off. It’s truly a mystical moment, that wins even the hearts of the most devoted atheists:) People you don’t even know (and probably won’t see again) light your candle and you exchange wishes with them (and then pass the flame, lighting the candle of the people next to you).

On midnight, the priest is chanting “Χριστός Ανέστη!” (Christos Anesti! – Christ is Risen!) and the Easter frenzy begins! :) First, you kiss and hug every relative that is with you in the Church. Second, you kiss and hug any neighbor or other familiar person from your town or village you see on the church as well:) The bells toll madly and joyously, in the ports the ships sound their horns, fireworks go off everywhere, in the villages people fire their hunting shotguns(!)…you get the picture :)

And then the people start walking back to their homes with the lit lambabes on hand. It’s a wonderful sight to see, with all the smiling faces eager to start their dinner.
When people arrive at home, the tradition is to make the sign of the cross with the smoke of the Holy Fire on the door sill. At least one candle with the Holy Fire is then placed at the center of the dinner table.

The two main items on Holy Saturday’s dinner are the magiritsa soup and the hard-boiled red dyed eggs. The reason for not serving something like grilled meat (since the Lent is over after the midnight service), is to prepare one, after having abstained from meat for so long, with something lighter. So, the protein from the soup and the eggs is perfect; after all, this dinner is served very late at night.

But you don’t simply crack the eggs open and eat them; nope! :) Where’s the fun in that? On Easter, there’s a sort of “competition” at the dinner table. Here’s the deal: everyone selects a red dyed egg. Then, in pairs, people tap each other’s egg, intending to break the other’s without breaking one’s own. The last person with his or her egg intact, is the lucky person of the night:) When one taps the egg of another, one says “Christos Anesti – Christ is Risen” and the other answers “Alithos Anesti – It’s true that he is Risen”. Isn’t this wonderful?

And then, before you know it, it’s Easter Sunday morning! Early in this day, the men in the family prepare the fire and start roasting the kokoretsi and the lamb. This is traditionally a men’s work. The women prepare different small plates with meze, like eggs, dips and other goodies. These are the appetizers served before the big feast, that will follow when the lamb is ready. Most people try to eat less of those, and drink less wine and beer as well, to enjoy the roasted lamb when the table is set for the Easter Lunch.

When the lamb is ready, roasted to the point that the meat is falling off the bone, it is transferred to a table and carved into portions. The Easter table is then prepared, again with eggs, dips and other meze, salads and breads and A LOT of wine and beer. People stuff their faces with lamb, tell jokes and stories, and everything that you’d expect from a loud Greek family gathering. :)

Did we mention the music? Traditional Greek country music is played through speakers all over the country, throughout the day. This is the day when the distant uncle you’ve never seen before, is pulling your hand to stand up and dance with the rest of the family, as a courtesy to him:) Happy times, right? :)

When the feast (and the dancing) is over, which can easily take up to 12 hours (oh yes), there’s time for more: club sodas and dessert are finally served. Yes, there’s dessert as well! It all starts with the sweet tsoureki bread and continue with syrup-drenched sweets like baklava, kataifi, galaktoboureko and many more (even the non-traditional ice cream!).It’s not rare to see strange combinations at this point (perhaps the drinking has contributed to this!), like ice cream on baklava, ice cream on tsoureki, ice cream in your coffee etc.

The Tsoureki Easter Bread

But let’s get back to the wonderful sweet Easter bread: Tsoureki. As mentioned before, this is the recipe we’d like to share in this post (besides the traditions you just read). It’s a fantastic, fluffy bread, made with butter, milk, eggs and flour. The aromas from the Chios mastic, the mahleb and the orange zest however, are what make this truly unique (and delicious!).

Like we mentioned above, tsoureki is very popular and is also eaten throughout the year; you can easily get it at any bakery or pastry shop. People also bake tsoureki at home and serve it as a snack or with coffee or tea. Our favorite combination though is with chocolate-hazelnut spreads like Merenda or Nutella. You really don’t know what you’re missing if you never tried a slice of tsoureki with such spread! Please do try it.

If you never tried Tsoureki or Challah (that’s similar) before, making one might sound a bit challenging. Please don’t be intimidated though; with our step by step instructions, we’re confident you’ll bake a magnificent Tsoureki at your first attempt. Feel free to drop as an email or comment below, if you have any questions; we’re happy to help.

The secret for a really great Tsoureki is choosing a high-protein bread flour. You should check the package, with the nutritional info. The protein percentage should be at least 13% and the higher it is, the better. We usually buy a 14-16% protein flour ourselves. Also, don’t ever bake Tsoureki in a hurry. You should give the dough the proper time to rise if you want a fluffy and chewy texture.

So, let’s see the recipe for the authentic, traditional Greek tsoureki!

Ingredients:

- 500g / 17.5oz / 1lb bread flour*
- 200g / 7oz granulated sugar
- 115g / 4oz (1 stick) butter
- 125ml (1/2 cup) milk, lukewarm
- 12g / 0.4oz (1 1/2 sachet) dry yeast
- 3 eggs for the dough
- 1 egg, beaten for brushing the loaf before baking
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground Chios mastic**
- 1 teaspoon ground mahleb/mahlab**
- zest from a medium sized orange***

* Choose the bread flour with the highest protein content; the more the better. We buy 14%-16% protein flour. The minimum for this recipe is 13%. Check the package to verify this.
** Don’t worry about finding these. If they aren’t available at your local supermarket you can easily get them online and have them delivered to your doorstep.
*** Take off only the rind of the orange's skin. Be careful not to take the white pith as well, as it is bitter.

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Preparation

Grind the mastic into powder, with a mortar and pestle. You can use 1 teaspoon (or 2) of the sugar to make this easier, as mastic tends to be sticky when ground (pic. 1-3).

Add the yeast (pic. 4) and 1/4 of the flour –that’s 125g / 4.5oz- (pic.5) to the lukewarm milk.
Mix well (pic. 6) and cover with film or a kitchen towel. Set aside, away from drafts. Let it rest for about 30minutes to 1 hour until it doubles in size. Melt the butter on low heat. Set aside to cool.

Use a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer and beat the 3 eggs, for a few seconds. Add the sugar (pic. 7) and whisk, on medium speed, for about a minute (pic. 8).

Add the salt, the mahleb (pic. 9) and the mastic (pic. 10),

the orange zest (pic. 11) and the melted butter (pic. 12). Whisk for a few more seconds.

Add the prepared yeast mixture (pic. 13). Replace the whisk attachment with the dough hook (pic. 14). If you don’t have one, you’ll have to mix well with a spatula.

Gradually add the flour, one tablespoon at a time (pic. 15), while mixing continuously. Knead with the hook for 10 minutes (pic. 16), on low speed. If you don’t have a dough hook, knead by hand for 15 minutes.

The dough must be firm, smooth and a bit elastic. Place in a bowl (pic. 17), cover with film or a kitchen towel and set aside for 2 – 3 hours to double in size.

Punch down to deflate the dough. Empty it on a working surface (pic. 18). You can also dust the surface with very little flour. Be careful though; too much flour will have an impact on your tsoureki. If the dough isn’t sticking much, don’t flour the surface at all.

Divide the dough in 3 pieces (pic. 19). Roll each piece to form a loaf-like shape. Hold the ends and stretch it a bit more, to form a rope-like strand (like the ones in the beginning, in pic. 20). When the 3 pieces are formed into strands, pinch their ends together at one end (again, like in the beginning of pic. 20).

Braid the strands, the way that is shown in the animated picture (pic. 20):
1. Take the right strand and bring it over the middle strand. Set this next to the left strand.
2. Take the strand that’s now on the right, and move it slightly further to the right.
3. Take the left strand and bring it over the middle strand next to the right strand.
4. Take the right strand and bring it over the middle strand. Set it next to the left strand.
5. Take the left strand and bring it over the middle strand next to the right strand.
6. Continue the process (left to the right-then right to the left), depending on how long your strands are.
7. Tuck the ends underneath the braided loaf.

Don’t worry if the above is confusing to you! Here’s an amazing video from Titli Nihaan that can make braiding super easy to anyone.

Repeat as many times necessary to get the idea (that’s what we did a few years back!)

Carefully transfer the braided loaf on a -lined with parchment- baking sheet. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and set aside. Let it rise, for 1 1/2 – 2 hours. Brush generously with the egg that’s left (pic. 21).

Bake in preheated oven at 190C/370F (in convection oven - fan assisted baking) for 35-40 minutes, until browned. Allow it to cool completely before cutting it.

Kalo Pascha! (Happy Easter!)

Tips:

1. You really must try a slice of tsoureki with some fruit preserves or Nutella. The combination is divine!

2. Always wrap the tsoureki in film after cutting the slices you want to serve, in order to keep it moist, as it tends to dry out.

3. In case that’s rare!- there’s some tsoureki left after a couple of days, you can broil or toast it and make rusks. Those are perfect with your coffee or tea.

4. Choose a high-protein bread flour for this recipe. The more protein, the better.

5. If you liked tsoureki, and you like authentic bread recipes, you should also check out Karen Kerr’s amazing blog “Karen's Kitchen Stories”. Her food blog is one of our favorites and we often visit it to learn techniques and discover tips; especially those related to baking, as she's one of the top bakers out there. Take a look at this beautiful Challah for instance. Isn’t it wonderful?

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Limited time? Make these easy, healthy avocado tuna sandwiches!

littlecookingtips — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 18:51:56 +0000

Photo and text by Panos Diotis and Mirella Kaloglou.

Calories (per serving):

394

Servings:

serves 2

Preparation Time:

10 minutes

Cooking Time:

10 minutes

It seems that the winter is over in Greece. Like we mentioned in our last post, we got to enjoy a little bit of snow in late January and again, in early February. But this only lasted for a few days. Most of February was (and still is) like it was April this year. The temperatures are higher than normal this winter, and this must‘ve confused nature, as the flowers are blooming and the trees are getting greener and greener, like in the spring!

On February, we visited another mountain village, called Seta. Like Steni, mentioned in the last post, this one is also located high up in Dirfi Mountain, in Evia (yeah we know; we’re obsessed with this mountain!). That’s where the photos with the snow that you see in this post are from.

Unfortunately the road was closed right after the village, and we couldn’t visit a spectacular place nearby, with wild cherries, walnut trees, a medieval church and natural springs. But it was really nice to take a walk along the mountain range and breathe some fresh air. After all, we only get to see snow for only a few days each winter.

The good thing about this mild and warm winter we’re having is that it allows for long walks in the city and its groves nearby. Moreover, there were wonderful exhibitions and festivals we got to visit taking advantage of those high temperatures. We also visited a unique farmers market which takes place about once a month, where producers sell amazing vegetables and other products, like jams, honey, rusks, cheeses, olives, wine, handmade sausages and many more delicacies.

The prices are very low, as they sell directly to customers, and there’s tons of people visiting the venue and leaving it with big smiles and packed bags of goodies. We always try to limit our spending when we visit this particular market, but somehow we always buy more than what we originally planned for!

So, we bought delicious homemade-style marmalades, honey, various olives, like the ones you see in the photos of this post, cheeses, fresh sausages (most of them were put right in the freezer for BBQ parties and spetzofai , Chios mastic halva, excellent pasta and other yummy products. There’s nothing like buying fresh stuff straight from the producer. By the way, if you never tried quince or fig marmalade before, you’re missing out. They’re our new favorite choices for breakfast.

But let’s get back to cooking; it’s been some time since we posted a recipe for something simpler than a main dish. We noticed that all our posts in the last months are main dishes, which often take some time to cook; our online friends on the other hand, sometimes want quick and easy recipes, something they could use for a delicious, quick lunch. So, this time we are posting a healthy tuna sandwich, enriched with avocado! If you're looking for healthy sandwich ideas, you hit the spot.

Avocados are rarely used in Greek households, as they're an exotic fruit for us here. Up until a few years ago, all the avocados in the market were imported from the Americas or Africa. This started to change though recently, with wonderful domesticly grown avocados, produced in the island of Crete. They’re mostly Sharwill or Hass avocados (the rounder varieties) and they’re much more interesting than those imported, which were usually Fuerte (pear-shaped).

We only started using avocados about a year ago, after learning how important they are for one’s health. Avocados are actually one of the healthiest foods you can eat. There are numerous studies that associate avocado consumption with cardiovascular benefits, and that’s because avocado is high in good fats (like omega 3), antioxidants AND it’s anti-inflammatory! So, even though avocados are not a common in Greek dishes, we try to eat as much of them as we can; we make a lot of delicious guacamole (in countless variations), we add them in salads, in sandwiches...you get the picture!

In this avocado recipe, we combined the avocado with canned tuna. Avocado and fish in general, work really great together. We often serve our grilled salmon with guacamole and make avocado tuna fish sandwiches. Those are rich and yummy tuna salad sandwiches that are perfect for a filling breakfast, a picnic lunch, or a creamy snack you can enjoy throughout your day.

For this recipe, we peel and slice avocado quarters and dip the slices in fresh lemon juice. This enhances the flavor and keeps the avocado from browning. If you haven’t tried to slice avocado before, here’s a great video with wonderful instructions for this.

The tuna used, is simple canned tuna. You can use tuna in oil or tuna in water. We prefer tuna in olive oil ourselves. We open the lid and press it into the can, squeezing the tuna, to drain it from the oil. We then mix the tuna with mayonnaise, a little lemon juice and paprika. So far it's a straight forward, tasty tuna salad recipe right? We used smoked paprika for this recipe though, as it adds a lot more flavor. If you never tried smoked paprika before, buy some and give it a try, you won’t regret it. You’ll be adding it soon in sandwiches, dips, stews and even pasta. Amazing stuff!

For a healthier sandwich, you can also use Greek yogurt instead of mayo. Simply substitute part of the mayo with yogurt, the result is equally delicious. You can also ditch the mayo all together and go full Greek yogurt.
If you want a rich, decadent snack though, you can also substitute the mayo with sour cream. It also makes for an amazing tuna sandwich!

We also added a few salad leaves in the sandwich; you can use any type of lettuce, arugula or salad greens. After all, you only add a few of them, to add some crunchiness.

You should’ve seen our faces, stuffed with those sandwiches right after we finished taking some shots for the blog; pure happiness! This truly is one of the best tuna salads we ever had.

We bet that if you have any kids and are looking for tuna sandwich ideas, this one is one they'll love. Plus you get to give them something tasty AND healthy, without fuss!

So let's see how to make these easy, delicious avocado tuna sandwiches!

Ingredients:

- 4 bread slices (115gr/4oz), preferably rye/whole wheat/multi-grain, toasted
- 125gr/4.5oz (half) ripe avocado, cut into thin slices
- 100gr/3.5oz tuna, canned (drain the water or oil from the can)
- 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 teaspoon paprika, preferably smoked
- a few salad leaves
- salt and pepper

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Preparation:

Put the lemon juice in a small container (pic. 1) and keep a teaspoon from this apart (you will need it later in the tuna mix). Slice the avocado in half, then cut the half in two quarters, and peel them (pic 2).

Slice each quarter into thin slices (pic. 3). Put the slices in the container with the lemon juice (to keep them from browning). Toast the bread slices (pic. 4). You can use a toaster or you can broil them in the oven broiler.

In a large bowl add: the mayo, the lemon juice (the 1 teaspoon you saved earlier), the paprika, salt and pepper and the tuna (pic. 5). Mix well with a fork (pic. 6) to mash the tuna and combine the ingredients.

Assemble the sandwiches:

Add a few salad leaves on a toast (pic. 7). Add half of the tuna mixture (pic. 8)

Add a few avocado slices (pic. 9), from those left in the lemon juice. Add a little extra paprika (optional, pic. 10).

Cover with another bread slice and press lightly (pic. 11). At this point you can also carefully slice the sandwich in half (into triangles).

That’s it! Make the 2nd sandwich with the rest of the tuna mix and ingredients and enjoy them! Kali oreksi!

Tips:

1. You can also use 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise and 2 tablespoons of sour cream or Greek yogurt. The result is equally delicious!

2.Try to use smoked paprika in this recipe, it’s so much flavorful than common paprika.

3. You can use the rest of the avocado, sliced, with some salad leaves and a simple vinaigrette to make an easy, healthy salad side.

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Easy homemade cinnamon cookies

littlecookingtips — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 17:25:08 +0000

Photo and text by Panos Diotis and Mirella Kaloglou

Calories (per serving):

Servings:

12+ slices/pieces

Cooking Time:

1 hour

One of the things we've learned this autumn is that sometimes the harder you search for something, the less likely you'll find it, especially in this economy. As you may know from our previous post, we're looking for a new place to move into, but nothing good came up so far.

So, it seems we'll be staying at the same apartment for the winter (after all, who wants to move in the winter, during the Holiday season!). We won't let this bring us down of course! :)

We will keep cooking and doing all the things that make us happy! As a couple, we always try to have a positive attitude and see the good side of things. Well, one of the good sides of staying at the same place is that we'll continue to live close to a wonderful grove where we often take long walks. As you may see from the photos in this post, the place has pines, sycamores and even a small vineyard!

While walking you can listen to the birds singing, enjoy the smell of the trees and see all the wonderful colors of the autumn in the leaves. You may stumble upon a turtle here and there, mushrooms popping up from the ground, bushes of wild thyme with tireless bees around them... This is really a place to relax and get in touch in nature while staying within the city limits.

The autumn always make us crave for comfort food and one of the things we love is baking cinnamon cookies. Greece has its own versions of cookies which are called koulourakia. There are many variations of those, but all of them are crispy, with the exception of moustokouloura (yes we know; how the heck is any non-Greek supposed to pronounce that!), which are made with grape must and may also be soft and chewy.

So, we grew up with crispy cookies ourselves and aren’t big fans of chewy soft cookies. Don't worry if you like them this way though, there's a trick; if you keep the time suggested in this recipe, your cookies will be crispy, but if you prefer them softer, simply reduce the baking time by 5 to 6 minutes (depending on your oven of course).

This is actually an older, easy cinnamon cookie recipe, which is perfect for those who aren't used to baking and want to make their first batch of cookies. We posted this recipe a couple of years ago and it was very popular, but both the text and the photo were…well…let’s just say we weren’t very proud of them. It was of the posts we had on our list for a redo. So this time we'll show you how to make cinnamon cookies from scratch, with clear, easy to follow, instructions, so you won't have to worry about a thing.

These are cinnamon cookies without eggs and only contain the essential ingredients of the basic cookie dough: butter, sugar, flour and baking powder. To those we added cinnamon (we LOVE this spice, plus it's good for your body) and a little brandy. Almost all the alcohol will be vanished while baking. Feel free to leave it out though, if you want to share those cookies with your kids and add a teaspoon or two of vanilla extract instead. We don't have any children (yet) ourselves, so we added the brandy with a big smile on our faces :)

You can also make those cookies with brown sugar; it won't mix with the butter very well, but you don't have to worry, as the sugar will melt during baking.

Make sure to refrigerate this dough for 20 minutes before using it. It will make it easier to handle and you'll be able to cut the cookies without any issues. As for rolling it out, you can either do that with your hands, by pressing with your palms in an outward direction from the center of the dough, or use a -dusted with flour- rolling pin. Do not press the pin hard on the dough; roll it gently over to spread it. Then, you can use a cookie cutter or even a glass to cut the cookies and place them on a lined with parchment baking pan/tray. Make sure to leave some space around each cookie (about an inch) as they'll expand while baking.

This recipe is for 25-30 cookies (depending on how large you cut them), so you'll either bake those in the same pan/tray in two sequential batches, or you'll bake them at the same time in two pans/trays (in this case switch them over halfway through).

Your home will smell amazing while those are baking; the cinnamon aroma will make it very hard to wait, but don't open the oven door often, you know this isn't right! Right? :) And the -even hardest- part is waiting for a few minutes after you remove them from the oven, while they cool in a rack. But after part is also over...pure heaven! Yummy goodness in each bite! We love dunking those cookies in hot coffee of warm milk; they soak it up and become even more amazing!

So let’s finally see how to make these wonderful cookies!

Ingredients:

- 200gr/7oz (1 cup) granulated sugar

- 170gr/6oz butter or margarine (1 1/2 stick or 3/4 cup), in room temperature

- 250gr/9oz (2 cups) all-purpose flour

- 60ml (1/4 cup) brandy

- 1 tablespoon cinnamon powder

- 6gr/0.4oz (2 teaspoons) baking powder

- 1 tablespoon caster sugar (for serving, optional)

- a little flour to dust the surface and handle the dough

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Preparation:

Add the sugar and the butter in a large bowl (pic. 1) and whisk using a handheld or kitchen stand mixer. It's better to leave the butter out of the fridge for half an hour before using it, to allow it to soften. Always start the mixer at a low speed and gradually increase it. Use circular motions to combine the materials easier. Whisk for 8-10 minutes. The end result should be a soft, smooth mixture (pic. 2).

At this point, lower the speed and add the brandy, the baking powder and the cinnamon (pic. 3). Whisk at low speed for a few seconds, until they are incorporated into the mixture. Start adding the flour, one tablespoon at a time (pic. 4).

Once you have added half the flour, remove the mixer. Continue adding the rest of the flour, mixing with a spatula, until all of it is incorporated into the dough (pic. 5). Cover with film and put it in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. Sprinkle some flour on a clean, flat surface, also put some on your hands; empty the bowl with the dough on the surface (pic. 6).

Using an -also sprinkled with flour- rolling pin (or your palms) flatten the dough to about 1cm/0.5in thickness (pic. 7). Don’t press the pin hard on the dough. Gently roll it over. Using a 5cm/2in diameter cookie cutter -or even a glass of the same diameter- cut the cookies from the dough (pic. 8).

Start placing them on a lined with parchment baking tray/pan (pic. 9). When you cut the first 15 cookies, mold the remaining dough into a ball and roll it flat (on surface dusted with flour again) to cut the rest of the cookies from it.

You’ll make two batches, in order to leave enough space between the cookies (about 15 cookies will be placed on each sheet). Don’t overcrowd the pan/tray, and make sure there’s at least 3-4cm/1 inch of space between them. As mentioned in the beginning of the post, you'll either bake those in the same pan/tray in two sequential batches, or you'll bake them at the same time in two pans/trays (in this case switch them over halfway through, to allow them to bake evenly).

Bake on preheated oven, in 180 C/360 F, for 18 minutes, using the fan setting. Remove (pic. 10) them and let them cool for at least 5 minutes on a rack (pic. 11) before serving them. You can also dust them with some caster sugar.

Kali oreksi!

Tips:

1. You can also use brown sugar instead of granulated. Don’t worry if it doesn’t combine perfectly with the butter, it will melt during baking.
2. In order to sprinkle some caster sugar, you can use a small strainer.
3. Keep them in an airtight container or a cookie box/jar, lined with parchment. They will keep for 5 days, but you probably won’t be able to let them in the box for that long! :)

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Low Cost

Step by Step Traditional Homemade Apple Pie

littlecookingtips — Thu, 20 Nov 2014 20:55:18 +0000

Photo and text by Panos Diotis and Mirella Kaloglou.

Calories (per serving):

641

Servings:

Preparation Time:

Cooking Time:

This is a favorite dessert worldwide: Homemade Apple pie! A universal sweet having millions (if not billions) of fans all over the globe.

Yes, we’ve seen the expression “as American as Apple pie” but the truth is the Apple pie is a centuries old dessert, that remains extremely popular on both sides of the Atlantic.
Millions of Americans and Europeans have so many memories of their moms (and grandmas) baking delicious apple pies and their selves as kids being impatient to taste them :)
We are part of that tradition ourselves, so we couldn’t resist sharing our traditional apple pie recipe with all of you through our website.

Our version is very simple. The dough is a classic French dough, called Pâte Sucrée that contains flour, eggs, butter, water and sugar. As simple as that. Perhaps you ‘ve also seen it as Pâte Brisée. The Brisée type doesn’t contain any sugar and it’s therefore also suitable for savory pies.

Our filling is made with apples, cinnamon, a bit of clove, raisins, sugar, lemon and –if you like-a bit of Grand Marnier. Grand Marnier is a liqueur which pairs amazingly with this pie. If you want your pie to be more kid-friendly, you may omit this of course.

Instead of simply making the top crust by adding another disc of dough and slitting it, we prefer to make the Lattice crisscross pattern. This pattern allows the pie to ventilate better and therefore, bake better. Plus, it looks beautiful! Many people are intimidated by this pattern, but trust us, it’s VERY easy to make. You can find our method in the pictures below, or you can browse for videos on YouTube for tutorials. It’s really easy though.

The difference in this recipe in comparison to others in our site, is that we offer easy, step by step instructions for making the pie. This way, even if you never baked an apple pie before, if you read the instructions and follow the pictures below, we are confident you will be able to make a perfect pie.

Take a couple of minutes to read the instructions; we think you’ll get it at once. Even the Lattice crust. Then, give it a try! :)

So let’s see how to bake this delicious, traditional homemade dessert!

Ingredients:

For the dough (Pâte Sucrée):

- 450gr / 16oz / 1lb all-purpose flour (you can also measure using 3 cups plus 4 tablespoons of flour)
- 250gr butter, unsalted (Do NOT use margarine instead of butter in this recipe!)
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon salt

For the apple filling:

- 1kg /2.2lb / 35.3oz apples, peeled and chopped (see steps below)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 170gr / 6oz (1 cup) brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 20gr / 0.7oz (3 tablespoons) all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 35gr / 1.2oz (1/4 cup) black (Corinth) raisins
- 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier (optional)
- 1 egg, beaten with a tablespoon of water (egg wash)

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First start making dough:

Sift the flour into a large bowl (pic.1). This will help incorporate some air in the dough, which will make it fluffier.
Add the salt and the caster sugar (pic.2).

Add the butter (pic.3) and mix with the flour and the caster sugar. If you have a special wire tool dough cutter you can use this here, otherwise use your hands (like we do).
Mix until all the flour becomes crumbly (pic.4).

Add the beaten eggs, mixed with the 2 tablespoons of water (pic. 5) and mix all with a spatula until you get a nice dough (pic. 6). You can always use your hands of course.

The end result will be a beautiful dough. Form into a ball (pic.7), cover with film (pic. 8) and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

While the dough is resting, start making the apple filling:

Peel the apples and cut in quarters. Remove the core part from each quarter (pic. 9). Cut each quarter into strips (pic. 10). The strips can be as thick or thin as you like.

Slice the strips in 2 or 3 pieces (pic 11). Add them in a large bowl and add the lemon juice (pic. 12). Mix well. The point is to get some of the lemon in all the apples, in order to prevent them from browning.

Add the brown sugar (pic. 13), the cinnamon powder and the ground cloves (pic. 14).

Add the flour (pic. 15), and the raisins (pic. 16).

Mix well with your hands (pic. 17), and drizzle the Grand Marnier (pic. 18, optional). Set aside.

Remove the dough from the fridge and cut in half.
Dust your kitchen counter/table with some flour and put the first half on.
Using a rolling pin create a circle rolling from the center outwards, all around (pic. 19). You want to create a disc wide enough to cover a 28cm/11in round pan/pie dish (4-5cm/1.5-2in deep). We prefer using a tin metallic non-stick pan ourselves.
When the disc has formed, roll the dough on the pin (pic. 20).

If there's too much flour on the dough, you can dust it out with a brush (pic. 21).
Roll out the dough on the pan/dish (pic. 22).

Gently push the dough into the pan/dish, to take its form (pic. 23).
You can use the rolling pin at this point to cut the excess dough from the edge of the pan (pic. 24).

Add the apple filling (pic. 25). Gently spread it equally into the pan (pic. 26).

Take the second half of the dough, dust the counter/table with flour and again using the rolling pin form a similar disc as before. Cut the top and bottom parts and keep aside (pic. 27).
Using a pizza cutter or a knife, cut the dough into strips (pic. 28). The strips can be as many or as little as you prefer, depending on the width you want for them.

Add some of the strips vertically (pic. 29). Trim the edges (pic. 30) and set them aside with the excess dough.
Now it's time to form the Lattice (crisscross) crust. It's VERY easy, even though it seems complex.
Here's our method, which we call "Odds and Evens".

Pull the Even strips on the far edge towards you. In this pie, it's the strips 2,4,6,8.
Add a strip horizontally (pic. 31).
Put the Even strips (2, 4, 6, 8) back into their position, on top of the added strip (pic. 32).

From this point on, you lift the strips the other way. Away from you, instead of towards. And you select the Odd strips (1, 3, 5, 7, 9). Add again a horizontal strip (pic. 33).
Cover with the Odd strips.
Then do the same with the Even strips. Lift them, put a horizontal strip and put them down on top of it.
Then the Odd strips again, etc.
The final result is the wonderful crisscross pattern.
Now, take the excess dough you set aside before and form small strips to add them around the edge of the pan/dish (pic. 34).

Brush the crisscross pattern with egg wash (pic. 35) and sprinkle with some more brown sugar (pic. 36).

At this point cut some aluminum foil strips (pic. 37), and cover the dough on the edge of the pan (pic. 38). This helps it not being burned. You can also use some special metallic pie rings that exist in the market.

Place into the oven at the lower third rack, at 220 degrees Celsius/425 Fahrenheit and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil from the edge and continue baking for 30 to 45 minutes more.

IMPORTANT: Do not cut the pie for at least 3 hours after removing from the oven. This will help the pieces to stay together when you cut them, and will allow the juices to be absorbed.

Serve with whipped cream or ice cream. You can also dust with some caster sugar.
Kali oreksi!

Tips:

Use a variety of apples (at least 2 types); your pie will taste so much better!

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Open faced Spinach and Mushroom Sandwiches

littlecookingtips — Sun, 12 Oct 2014 08:00:58 +0000

Photo and text by Panos Diotis and Mirella Kaloglou.

Calories (per serving):

539

Servings:

serves 2

Preparation Time:

10 minutes

Cooking Time:

15 minutes

Are you tired of scrambled eggs and omelets? Would you like a different way to start your day? Are you having people over for a Sunday brunch?

Then, this is the ideal recipe for you: Open faced Spinach and Mushroom Sandwiches!

We like making these sandwiches on those lazy Sunday mornings, when we're having a late breakfast or a brunch. The result is always filling and delicious!

Toasted bread is the base for this recipe. It's the base for any classic breakfast after all.

The main ingredient in this recipe is the humble, common mushroom. Mushrooms have protein and are a great replacement for meat. They're cooked with spinach, which adds texture and flavor. Spinach is also a great food, rich in iron and antioxidants.We recently read a great study by Well-being Secrets, which you can find here if you want to know more about spinach and its health benefits. But back to our recipe dill is also added, to enhance the flavor and help combine the flavors. Finally, the mixture is cooked with the addition of a little sweet white wine which offers some extra aroma.

The final step is deglazing the pan we cooked in, with some heavy cream which is transformed into a delicious white sauce, incorporating all the flavors of the previous pan's contents.

The three parts of the sandwich, bread-mushroom mixture-sauce are then assembled and served with a little grated Parmesan. We often like to serve hard boiled eggs to accompany those sandwiches as well.

Of course this recipe is suitable for vegetarians and doesn't lack anything in taste. It's healthy, delicious, filling and great way to start your Sunday mornings!

Ingredients:

- 200gr / 7oz common mushrooms (8-10 pieces), sliced

- 140gr / 5oz baby spinach *

- 1 small spring onion (25gr / 0.9oz), sliced

- 20gr / 0.7oz dill, finely chopped

- 1/3cup / 80ml sweet white wine **

- 2 1/2 cups / 200ml heavy cream

- 1 tablespoon butter or margarine (20-25gr / 0.7-0.9oz)

- 4 bread slices, broiled/toasted (100gr / 3.5oz)

- A pinch of nutmeg

- salt, pepper

- 4 teaspoons grated Parmesan (optional)

*If you can't find baby spinach, select tender spinach leaves and use them coarsely chopped

**You can also use a sweet brandy

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Preparation: Toast the bread slices. You can also use your oven broiler if you don't have a toaster.

Add the butter in a large skillet and put it on medium to high heat.

Once the butter starts to foam up, add the onion and stir for half a minute. (pic.1)Add the mushrooms and stir for 3-4 minutes more (pic.2).

Add half the spinach. Once it's reduced in size, add the rest as well and stir for half a minute (pic.3).

If you're not using baby spinach, stir for 1 full minute instead of half.

Add the dill and stir to incorporate (pic.4). Add salt and pepper. Pour the sweet wine and cook until it completely evaporates.

Remove the mixture from the pan. At this point, the mixture must be relatively thick and dry (pic.5).

Pour the heavy cream into the pan and deglaze with a wooden spatula. Cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently until it's reduced about 2/3 in volume (or to your desired thickness). (pic.6)

Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Divide the spinach-mushroom mixture on the 4 toasted bread slices and add the creamy sauce on top.

Serve as it is, or add a little grated parmesan on top and some hard boiled eggs on the side.

Kali oreksi!

Tips:

1. The baby spinach is usually available washed and packed in the salads section of the super markets.

2. You can also use different mushrooms to get a different taste.

3. You can omit the sweet wine if you don't have any or you don't like using it. The end result is also delicious in this case!

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Fast&Easy

Low Cost

Vegetarian

Greek scrambled eggs with tomatoes (Kagianas or Strapatsada)

littlecookingtips — Tue, 01 Jul 2014 20:13:51 +0000

Photo and text by Panos Diotis and Mirella Kaloglou.

Calories (per serving):

611

Servings:

serves 2

Preparation Time:

10 minutes

Cooking Time:

10 minutes

This recipe is one of the most popular here in Greece during the summer.

Strapatsada, or Kagianas as it is called here, is a quick and easy recipe made with simple ingredients: Tomatoes, eggs and olive oil. Basically, you scramble the eggs with some grated tomatoes and olive oil and serve. As simple as that; yes, it sounds very simplistic (after all this was a peasant's food), but its taste is not! This end result is a food with a complex, amazing flavor!

Of course, as with many simple Greek recipes likes that, there are dozens of variations.

The usual way of serving this, is with a little crumbled feta on top and some fresh baked or toasted bread. What can you add in this recipe? Some onion or bell peppers, sautéed before adding in the rest of the ingredients. You can also add herbs, like dry oregano, fresh mint, fresh dill, fresh parsley, fresh or dry thyme...You can add spices, like a pinch of cinnamon in the grated tomato. The combinations are endless.

This is a recipe used for breakfast, lunch, or a quick and filling snack. You only need about 3-4 minutes of preparation (grating the tomatoes) and less than 10 minutes of total cooking time.

That's why this is a comfort food that many of us grew up with. Most of us have wonderful memories of a quick, delicious summer lunch with eggs and tomatoes scramble, when the family returned tired from the beach.

In this recipe, we suggest our favorite version of Kagianas, where we add coarsely chopped onion, dry oregano and feta. We think this way the recipe remains simple, and the taste is fantastic!

So, now that the summer is here and the tomatoes are ripe and tasty, let's see how to make this wonderful tomato and egg scramble!

Ingredients:

- 2 medium sized tomatoes (400gr/14oz), coarsely grated

- 1 small red onion (60gr/2oz), coarsely chopped

- 1 teaspoon dry oregano

- 2 eggs, beaten

- 90ml/6 tablespoons olive oil

- salt*, pepper

- 50-100gr/1.7-3.5oz crumbled feta for serving (optional)

*Don’t add much salt if you serve with feta

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Preparation:

Remove the green core from the center of each tomato and cut in half (pic.1). Using a hand grater (box is better), coarsely grate each half (pic.2-3-4).

Pour the olive oil in a medium or large skillet and put in on medium to high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and sauté for a couple of minutes, until translucent.

Add the tomatoes and the oregano (pic. 5) and cook until most of the moisture is evaporated (pic. 6). Add the eggs (pic. 7) and cook until they set, about a couple of minutes.

Sprinkle with feta and serve with lots of toasted bread! Kali oreksi!

Tips:

1. If the tomatoes aren't sweet enough (not very ripe), you can add a pinch of sugar when you add them in the skillet.

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Cinnamon scented energy bars

littlecookingtips — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 17:55:21 +0000

Photos and text by Panos Diotis and Mirella Kaloglou.

Calories (per serving):

200

Servings:

12+ slices/pieces

Cooking Time:

30 minutes

Energy bars (also known as power bars) are increasing in popularity everywhere in the world in the last few years. The same goes for Greece.

For us Greeks it was very normal to start eating energy bars, as we already had a similar snack for decades, called "pasteli". Pasteli is a traditional bar with nuts (usually sesame, peanut or pistachio) with honey and/or sugar. It's still sold everywhere here.

Energy bars have partially substituted pasteli, as a more complex solution for a snack, as they contain more grains and other wholesome ingredients, making it a healthier choice.

If you're trying to control your weight and boost your metabolism you can also use energy bars. They are great snack option for any time of day, so they're very useful for those long periods between meals.
They're also perfect for breakfast if you're in a hurry or on the go. Having an energy bar is a wholesome way to start the day! Depending on what you'll add in the bar, they can be very nutritious.

So, after having tried many store-bought energy bars, we had to come up with our own versions. The reasons for making your own homemade power bars are many. Let's see some:
- If you create your own bars you control the ingredients you'll use.
- They don't contain additives and preservatives.
- They're much more affordable.
- You can experiment to create the flavor and texture you prefer.
- If you have food allergies, you will only use what you can eat.

The recipe we'd like to share here, makes a delicious cinnamon-scented oats, all bran and walnuts energy bar. It's iron-rich, it's flavorful and far from boring! For sweetness we added a little brown sugar that adds a caramel flavor and a little honey that's beautifully combined with cinnamon and vanilla.

The recipe is for 12 large 200 calories bars so it’s perfect pre or post work out. If you want to cut back on calories you can slice the same quantity in smaller bars (like half the size with only 100 calories per bar). They are very filling in any case.
Each bar is individually wrapped in some cling film and put in the refrigerator to retain its freshness. We find this very convenient as we can grab a bar and go any time of the day.

And here's the best part: It's very easy to make them! You only need a medium sized saucepan or a small pot (use non stick cookware) to melt the butter and mix all the ingredients together. You bake for 20 minutes and you're ready!

Of course you can experiment with many different seeds (you can add chia seeds or flax seeds for example), nuts and cereal to make those bars your own. You can also use different butters (like almond, peanut), especially if you're a vegan. The possibilities are endless!

So let's see the recipe for those delicious energy bars!

Ingredients:

- 65gr (1 cup) all bran (minimum 40% fiber)
- 50gr (1/2 cup) rolled oats
- 110gr (1 cup) walnuts kernels
- 35gr (1/4 cup) sunflower seeds, shelled, unsalted
- 70gr (1/2 cup) raisins (Black Corinth or Sultanas)
- 80gr (2/5 – 0.4 cup) brown sugar
- 80gr (1/4 cup) wildflower or thyme honey
- 50gr (3 1/2 tablespoons) butter
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 8gr/0.25-0.3oz vanilla sugar. You can also use 1-2 teaspoons of vanilla extract or vanilla powder

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Preparation:Add the walnuts and the all bran in a food processor and pulse for about 10 seconds (pic.1). Do not grind into powder; you need small pieces of bran and walnuts in your bars for better texture.

Line a 26cmx18cm / 11inx7in baking pan (medium sized, preferably ceramic or glass) with parchment. You can also use any baking pan with the same area.

Over medium heat, melt the butter in a saucepan and add the sugar and the honey. Stirring continuously for 2 minutes, until the mixture bubbles (caramel is starting to form) (pic.2).

At this point add the oats, the sunflower seeds, the raisins, the cinnamon and the vanilla. Stir well and add the bran-walnuts mixture.
Mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until no dry spots remain. It takes a couple a minute or two. Don't worry, all the ingredients will mix together if you keep stirring. (pic.3)

Spread the mixture in the baking pan. You can press some parchment on top and roll a hard glass to spread it (as a rolling pin). (pic.4)

Bake in the middle rack at 180 degrees Celsius/360 Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.
Remove and let it cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing the bars. Use a hard spatula or even a pizza cutter to slice the bars.

When in room temperature, wrap each bar in film and keep in the refrigerator. They can easily last for 1 week without any issues.

Tips:

1. As mentioned before, you can substitute with the ingredients you prefer. In this case, make sure the butter is enough to glue the ingredients together.
2. To slice the bars in 12 pieces, slice in the middle horizontally and vertically, creating a cross and then divide each quarter into 3 strips.

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Greek yogurt with honey and walnuts

littlecookingtips — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 17:03:24 +0000

Photo and text by Panos Diotis and Mirella Kaloglou.

Calories (per serving):

505

Servings:

serves 1

Cooking Time:

10 minutes

This time we’d like to share with you one of the best and simplest dishes of the Greek cuisine: Giaourti (or Yaourti) me Meli, which literally means Yogurt with Honey. A simple, filling food you can snack throughout the day.

This -rich in protein- creamy sweet treat is a staple in Greek cuisine and it's extremely popular; us Greeks are eating this for breakfast, or snack or for dessert! It's actually so common here, we don't even have to publish this recipe in Greek as we do with all our posts.

If you ever visited Greece, you may have already tried this, as it's often served in taverns & restaurants in tourist destinations. All of us here LOVE this stuff as much as the folks in the States love ice cream, or perhaps the French love croissants.

Here’s the good news now: you don't need to cook or bake anything! This is a super-fast and super healthy combination of 3 wonderful ingredients: Greek Yogurt, Honey and Walnuts.

The honey variety, is usually thyme or wildflower honey which combines perfectly with the subtle sour taste of the Greek yogurt. A few walnuts add depth, complexity and texture to the dish, making it a food for the Gods. If you have a bit more time, you can also toast the walnuts to enhance their flavor.

This is hardly a recipe; as mentioned before, it's a simple combination of great, healthy ingredients. We will provide the instructions for the way we make this for ourselves, but feel free to adjust the dish to match your personal preferences. Keep in mind one thing though: since this is a very simple dish, the quality of the ingredients is critical. Choose high quality Greek yogurt and a good wildflower (or thyme) honey for this dish.

We really can't stress enough how good this is! If you never tried it before, please do it. Today. It will become a staple in your home as well.

Ingredients:

- 200g / 7oz Greek yogurt
- 30ml (2 tablespoons) thyme or wildflower honey
- 2 tablespoons crumbled walnuts

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Method 1 (traditional):
Add the yogurt in a bowl or a short, wide glass.
Drizzle with the honey and sprinkle the walnuts.

Method 2 (layered, our favorite):
Add half of the yogurt in a bowl or a short, wide glass.
Drizzle with half the honey and add half of the walnuts.
Repeat with the rest of the ingredients on top.

Tips:

1. You can also use any low fat Greek yogurt.
2. You can add dry or fresh fruits, raisins, craisins and any other nuts you like.
3. If you liked this recipe, we recommend another quick and easy one, that's also served in a glass, a sour cherry no-bake cheesecake

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Cherry “Cheesecake” French Toast Sandwich

littlecookingtips — Wed, 12 Feb 2014 17:26:18 +0000

Photo and text by Panos Diotis and Mirella Kaloglou.

Calories (per serving):

255

Servings:

serves 2

Cooking Time:

10 minutes

This French toast recipe is one of our top ones. We love having it for breakfast but also sometimes as a quick, easy and delicious dessert :)

French toast, also known as eggy bread, is one of the simplest things you can cook of course;
You just soak some bread slices in beaten eggs and milk and fry it in butter. You can have French toast as a sweet dish, adding sugar, vanilla or cinnamon or a savory one, adding salt or bacon and/or other delicious condiments. For many people (us included), French toast is one of the first things we tried when we were learning how to cook.

The advantages of French toast? You can make it very quickly, you need just a few ingredients, it's affordable, and you can also make some use of any stale or leftover bread.
And of course, it’s DELICIOUS!

Also, if you 're looking for a wonderful breakfast in bed for you special someone, like in Valentine's day, this is the recipe you can use to surprise him/her with. Even if you don't celebrate Valentine's Day, you can still use this recipe to make something scrumptious for your significant other on a day of your choosing. You can also serve this as a more "festive" breakfast with your family, starting their day with a delicious treat. This breakfast will surely be remembered.

When you make French toast, the range of possibilities is endless. In this version, we suggest a stuffed French toast recipe. We mixed cream cheese with a wonderful organic cherry jam, and made French toast sandwiches using milk, vanilla and sugar, dusting them with powdered sugar and cinnamon before serving.
Of course, you don't need to prepare anything the day before. You just mix the 2-ingredient cheesecake-like stuffing and use it right away!

There are two easy methods to create the French toasts in this recipe:
The first one is Mirella's favorite: In this version, you fry the soaked bread slices and then you add the stuffing, making the sandwich. This version is a bit crispier.
The second one is Panos' favorite, where you add the stuffing in the bread slices, making the sandwich, and then you dip the whole thing in the milk-egg-vanilla bowl to soak before frying it. This is a less crispy perhaps version, but it’s juicier.
Both versions are completed by dusting some powdered sugar and cinnamon. And both are delicious :)

So let's start making this easy, simple and yet so special breakfast.

Ingredients:

For the filling
- 45g (2 tablespoons+1teaspoon) cream cheese
- 45g (2 tablespoons) cherry jam

For the batter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla powder
- 1 egg
- 20g ( 2 tablespoons) sugar
- 60ml (1/4 cup), milk

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Preparation

Mix the cream cheese and the jam in a medium sized bowl, until smooth (pic.1, pic.2).

Beat the eggs in large bowl (pic.1) and add the milk (pic.2), the sugar (pic.3) and the vanilla (pic.4). Whisk to combine (pic.5).
Add some butter (2-3 tablespoons) on a large skillet/frying pan and put it on medium heat. When it melts, swirl to coat.

Method 1 (crispier):

Dip a bread slice in the egg-milk mixture to soak. Make sure every part of the bread is soaked (pic.1).
Put it in the skillet and cook until golden on both sides (2-3 minutes). Flip halfway through (pic.2).
Remove from skillet and put on a plate. Cut in half diagonally to form triangles.
Put some of the filling (about 1 tablespoon, pic.3) on one half and top with the other to form a sandwich.
Dust with some powdered sugar and cinnamon (use a small strainer).

Method 2 (juicier):

Cut a bread slice in half (diagonally) to form triangles.
Put some of the filling (about 1 tablespoon, pic.1) on one half and top with the other to form a sandwich.
Dip the sandwich in the egg-milk mixture to soak. Make sure every part of the bread is soaked (pic.2).
Put it in the skillet (pic.3) and cook until golden on both sides (2-3 minutes). Flip halfway through (carefully, use a spatula).
Remove from skillet and put on a plate.
Dust with some powdered sugar and cinnamon (use a small strainer).

Kali oreksi!

Tips:

1. You can use a cookie cutter to cut shapes out of your bread slices for various occasions (Christmas tree sandwiches, heart sandwiches for Valentine’s Day etc.).
2. If the bread slice turns brown very quickly (under 20 seconds), or the butter starts to smoke, it means the heat is still too high. Remove the skillet for a while, lower the heat further and then put it back on.

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Fast&Easy

Low Cost

Vegetarian

Delicious fruit salad with Greek yogurt and dried cranberries

littlecookingtips — Tue, 05 Nov 2013 18:12:57 +0000

Photo and text by Panos Diotis and Mirella Kaloglou.

Calories (per serving):

367

Servings:

serves 4

Cooking Time:

15 minutes

This fruit salad recipe is one of the best, tasty, healthy recipes we ever made. It’s an easy healthy food recipe that is ideal for breakfast, dessert, or as a snack served any time of the day.

Its main ingredients are banana, apple and pear, combined with honey. We added walnuts for crunchiness, Greek yogurt for a fresh creamy topping, and dried cranberries for their sweet fruity taste.

The result was sooo delicious, that made us add this nutritious delight in our menu for at least 2 times a week!

Besides being a healthy snack idea, this recipe is very very simple, and quick to make. It has beautiful colors, making it a pretty dish to serve as a dessert if you have people over.

If you were wondering how to make a fruit salad that is great both for adults and children, this is a healthy choice you cannot afford overlooking. Each bowl is a superb healthy boost, full of vitamins, antioxidants and fiber. If you are not a big fruit lover, this specific recipe will make you rethink fruits as a part of your diet.

If you can’t find or don’t like the cranberries, you can also make this salad with raisins with a different, also interesting result. You can also try any fruit combination you prefer, like orange for example instead of pear. Feel free to adapt the recipe, adding your favorite fruit combinations. But make sure you add the honey and the yogurt with the walnuts when you serve.

Ingredients:

- 200gr (7oz) Greek yogurt
- 1 banana (150gr / 5oz), peeled and cut in slices
- 1 apple (300gr / 10.5oz), peeled and cut in small pieces
- 2 pears (250gr / 9oz), peeled and cut in small pieces
- 4 tablespoons (30gr / 1oz) walnuts, crumbled
- 3 tablespoons (30gr / 1oz) dried cranberries*
- 2 tablespoons honey

If you can't find dried cranberries, you can also use raisins.

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Preparation

Put the fruits in a bowl. Add the honey, stir and let it marinate for 10 minutes.
Place an equal amount of the fruits in 2-4 smaller bowls and add the yogurt (about 1-2 tablespoons per bowl).
Garnish with the walnuts and the cranberries and drizzle with a little more honey. Kali oreksi!

Tips:

1. You can adapt this recipe using any fruits you like.
2. You can also add some orange juice along with the honey in the marinade and some vanilla extract in the yogurt.
3. If you are allergic to walnuts or dried fruits, you can omit them.
4.If you can't find cranberries, you can also use raisins, the result is equally great.

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