quick enough?

I am in a bit of a lunch conundrum, but first let’s rewind.

Leftovers save the day again! Last night’s dinner was a fun mishmosh. 

Stuffed tomater, pickled eggplants, last half-slice of bread (man the bread was good, I made two loaves and they got INHALED) with a little taramosalata, bit o’ cheese, a few olives, a few pickled veggies, bit more fennel salad. Adjust for more salad, less olives and eggplants (eyes were bigger than stomach!)

And stuffed tomato closeup, cause they were just so good!

 

They get better with age!

So here’s my conundrum. My lunch of leftovers yesterday was AWESOME!

Two raisin bran-apple muffins, a heavenly plum, and carrots with fava bean dip.

Here is my concern: at work, I typically have no time to eat lunch. At the loooooong end (like yesterday) I have about 10 minutes. Some days, I have literally thirty seconds. It’s a little crazy. Here’s what’s planned for today:

Risky, risky. Have to scoop out the avocado and peel the egg. Oh well, at least the sandwich’ll be fast. I won’t starve, anyway!

veg love

One of my favorite vegetables now adorns my kitchen:

 

My apologies, Grandma, for the less than stellar picture of your painting. My late grandmother was an art lover and a painter herself. Her house just sold and we’ve been cleaning it out. Depressing, sad, and weird, but at the same time we’ve gotten some awesome art, and this particular piece is now livening up our kitchen! SHE PAINTED THAT.

Anyway, there was more eggplant in our kitchen, but of the edible kind. So I made last night’s dinner with this:

We had a filling shortage for the roasted vegetables, so my mom kept aside three lil baby eggplants that had already been cooked (in, uh, COPIOUS quantities of olive oil) and I used ‘em to make one of my favorite eggplant dishes: curry!

I started with half an onion and about a tsp of fresh ginger, minced. I sauteed them in olive oil (probably about a tsp of that) on medium/medium low heat.

Then I added the chopped eggplants, half a huuuuuge tomato, and a teaspoon each of garam masala and curry powder. I threw in half a cup of water, brought to a boil, and covered and reduced heat and simmered for 20 minutes or so.

Here was the final product (I apologize for it being so dark):

To accompany, what but basmati rice?! Basmati rocks my world. We have brown basmati, but honestly white basmati is way more delicious, pluuuuuuus we had all gotten home from work and were tired and hungry.

Fresh ‘loupe. Mmmmmm. I was actually chopping up a cantaloupe that needed urgent attention before it went bad, and some of the chunks didn’t fit in the tupperware. Happy accident, because the flavor was fabbity fab with the curry.

  

My nice, colorful dinner plate of rice, curry, cantaloupe, and leftover fennel salad from last night.

Curry closeup:

It was aight. It was plenty velvety (that would be thanks to the tons upon tons of olive oil) but the flavor was a little… flat? It needed acid or more ginger or something. But a great, quick Monday dinner, so I can’t complain.

I ate more than pictured- first of all, I was huuungry, not having had a snack at work. Moreover I am in the unprecedented situation of feeling that I could stand to gain a few pounds (due to also getting from my grandma’s house a working scale, rather than our old one that we broke weighing suitcases to go on an airplane and was what we thought was 20 pounds off but was in fact… er… 14). Anyway, eating more calories than I burn- on purpose- is a HEADY thought!

farewell to Greece

This is the last Greece post :( But it’s a good one!

The last dinner I had in Greece was also one of my favorites!

So here’s what happened- the New York Times gave a place called Strofi a good review. Gorge view of the Parthenon, good food. What better for our last night in Greece, right? So we go. And.

THE NEW YORK TIMES RUINED THE RESTAURANT WITH A GOOD REVIEW! It was packed with Americans, the food was grody and they said straight up most of it was thawed frozen (in a country with the most beautiful fresh produce I’ve ever seen), and there were all these random taxes attached to things. UGH! So instead, we went here!

Fortunately, I’d gone for a rambly stroll through our neighborhood earlier in the day (my sister and mom were having an argument, hahaha), and spotted a block of charming outdoor cafes, wishing we had time to stop in on one. So we went there!

The place we ultimately went to was called Ambrosia, also known as the nectar of the gods, and it was great!

 

This is kolokithopita (squash pie). Typically this is quite a sweet, eggy dish (and quite delicious, I might add), but this one was actually really savory, and most of the flavor was of the summer squash itself, along with fresh dill (mmm). And of course, the phyllo was flaky and crisp and lovely!

More heavenly summer beans! These were fresh and flavorful, and the sauce was rich and robust with tomato, onion, and olive oil.

So those were the veggies. Now for the Friday night goodness!

Calamari :D Because is there anything better than fried food on a Friday night? The Greeks actually seem to take deep frying really seriously- none of the fried food I had in Greece was at all greasy, and this batch was hot, crisp, and well seasoned, especially with a squeeze of lemon.

Bread beautifully crisped up on the grill! I have to try this ASAP.

Finally, for dippage… tyrokafteri. OH MY GOD. The name literally means “spicy cheese”, and from what I can tell all it is is feta, hot peppers, and a little bit of olive oil.  But what happens when you combine those things… absolutely magic. Creamy and tangy and zesty!

To accompany?

Krasi! Otherwise known as wine. GREAT wine. I actually had a ton of delicious wine in Greece, but this is the first time I managed a picture.

Anyway, for all intents and purposes, Greece has no drinking age limit (my relatives, when pressed, thought MAYBE the official age MIGHT be 16). Wine is just a part of the culture- they start moderate drinking, with food and company, at a very early age. And, while obviously this is not a scientific study, at no point did I see anyone in Greece who had overindulged. I think moderation is the way to go.

And that refers to everything. Work and do your job, but save energy to rewind at a fabulous outdoor cafe with your coworkers and friends on a Friday night! Eat fruits and vegetables (in Greece, they’re perfect anyway!) but there ain’t nothin’ wrong with some fried food and spicy cheese from time to time.

Aah. Greece. I need to remember Greece, particularly when I’m getting too type A! Hope everyone has enjoyed my recaps as much as I enjoyed writing (and experiencing!) them!

dinner party whoo!

The way some college kids get about keggers, I get about dinner parties.

Especially Greek recreation dinner parties! We miss Greece. We miss Greek eats. So we made some!

The antipasto tray (! so fun, I think my mom got it as a wedding gift or something) of goodies from the Greek store (Aphrodite Greek Imports, for those in the DC area)

The upper right and lower left corners are pickled vegetables (carrots, spicy peppers, and very unique TURNIPS!)

The upper left corner is mixed olives, next to that is feta, under that is Bulgarian cheese that was Gruyere reminiscent, under that is taramosalata (fish roe whipped up with lemony goodness), and finally the lower right corner was DELICIOUS pickled baby eggplants.

Psomi!

This is the BEST BREAD I’VE EVER MADE.

Lookit that friggin’ gorgeous crumb.

I used this recipe, and I’d actually been planning to bite the bullet and use all all-purpose flour in the interest of authenticity, but I ran out! So I was forced to add whole wheat (mind you, it was 1 and 3/4 cups out of 6 cups total, but still). And it was THE BEST EVER.

Crusty and coarse but absolutely not dry. This recipe also incorporated some interesting bread techniques: warming the flour in the oven before adding it to the yeast, putting a pan of boiling water under the baking sheet. Anyway, it produced FABULOUS bread!

And to dip it in…. drool. Remember the fava bean teaser from yesterday? Behold the final product.

Adorned with simply paprika and fresh parsley. HEAVEN! IT WAS SO GOOD OH MY GOD!

For the main course, salad for refreshing cool crunch:

And the piece de resistance, what we ate so much of in Greece and desperately missed, STUFFED VEGETABLES!

We used the recipe from, of course, Flavors of Greece (I promise I don’t have a sponsorship deal or anything, I am just completely in love with this cookbook at the mo). The filling was absolutely heavenly, with the flesh from the tomatoes cooked meltingly in olive oil, rice (we used brown which was beautifully nutty), crumbled chickpeas, currants, herbs (including allspice, which added an amazing touch). You broil and peel the peppers before cooking, which made for a better texture in the finished product.

  

Un. real. They were unreal.

Finally, dessert laid out on the coffee table.

Galaktoboureko! It’s a pastry of phyllo wrapped around a custard of milk, eggs, sugar, and farina (with a bit of lemon zest!) You may have had it in the typical style where it’s made as a layered dessert and cut into slices (like spinach pie, but sweet), but my mom makes it rolled up. It’s taaaaaaaaaaasty!

And a good time was had by all.

Another great thing about this was that EVERYTHING was make ahead. The dip I made yesterday, Mom roasted and filled the veggies yesterday and just baked em today, we made the custard and rolled the pastries yesterday and baked them today, the salad I chopped all the vegetables for in advance and dressed at the last second, and the appetizers we took some help from the sto'!

I think entertaining is the best thing ever, and a lot of people are unnecessarily intimidated by anything bigger than burgers on the deck. But it's easy! Good company, great food, good conversation. All things I loved about Greece, all things I was happy were included in this Greek recreation get together. The best “dinner parties” (a term I have fun using but honestly find genuinely antiquated) are like this one: we were laid back, we hung out sipping drinks and noshing then ate outside on the deck.

You can still keep your chats informal and goofy: at this particular party, the younger members of the group made fun of the older members’ facebook ineptitude.

You know what the best part is? LEFTOVERS! I am eating well all week!

coming attractions

We’re having a clarsy dinner party tomorrow night. Our aim is to recreate some of the more delicious dishes we ate in Greece for our loved ones. Here’s a preview of one of the things we’re serving! (Remember this lunch?)

It’s fava bean salata, courtesy of, again, Flavors of Greece.

Fab favs! Alas, there was no fresh, but we went to Lebanese Butcher (a very cool place that will definitely merit further investigation in the future) and found these:

The aromatics:

 

Onions, celery, carrot, and bay leaf, cooked in olive oil until the whole house smelled like rich melting sweetness!

At which point I added the drained and rinsed fava beans and fresh parsley.

Meanwhile, I soaked some crusty brown bread in olive oil.

And into the blender they went! The beans, the veggies, the bread, and some lemon juice and water and, just for good measure, more olive oil!

The final product? You’ll just have to wait and see :D

Meanwhile, I had some nice eats today.

Breakfast I badly wanted oatmeal, but no ripe bananas. But wait! Gorgeous ripe sweet heavenly blueberries! Crisis averted.

For two (Ma had some too) I made it with 1 cup oats, 1 cup milk, 1 cup water, 2 diced apricots. Slow and steady stovetop, mm. Then I topped each with 1 T walnuts, chopped, and oh my oh my those blueberries.

Post-gym lunch was an awesome mishmosh.

The last of the Ethiopian :(

I’ll miss you, baby!

A great salad of spinach, avocado, chickpeas, and red onion.

This flavor combination rooooocked.

Finally, some sweet potato pie:

Otherwise known as a sweet potato with Greek yogurt and cinnamon. So tasty!

love muffin

The teenagers I work with like to make fun of me for not having a boyfriend. If they only knew that I spend this particular Friday night staying in and baking muffins… yikes! In my defense, those teens (and kids, and adults, and everyone) are the same people who made me so ZONKED OUT!

Back to the muffins:

Apple-Raisin Bran Muffins!

an adaptation from the recipe on the Raisin Bran box

The cereal and wet stuff:

2 cups raisin bran

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons orange juice (mine was fresh squeezed- my recipe calls for orange zest later, so I zested then squeezed)

Combine these, then let them sit while you do everything else.

The dry:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Combine.

The fruit products:

1/2 cup applesauce (nasty presweetened cause it’s what my mother buys… whatev)

chopped up apple (this is about 3/4 of a HUGE one that needed using… 1 regular sized apple is the equivalent)

1/4 tsp. orange zest

Add to the cereal/milk mixture:

- your applesauce, apple, and orange zest

- 1 egg, slightly beaten

- 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

- 1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar (may want to increase slightly if using unsweetened applesauce)

Then add to the dry and stir until just combined.

It’ll be lumpy!

Scoop into greased muffin tins, 3/4 or so of the way full.

Into a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or until browned to your. Wait as the good smells of baked good permeate your home :D

Tada!

Crumby and scrummy!

   

Interior shot:

Because of my recipe tweaking, I had leftover batter. Rather than waiting to let the muffins cool in the pan, take them out of the pan, refill the pan and bake for another twenty minutes, I made muffin cookies, just on a cookie sheet with cooking spray-ed foil. Into the oven, started checking after 10 minutes but it ended up being like 15:

Thank goodness I am so lazy, because they were DELICIOUS!

They BROWNED UP ON BOTTOM and became SWEET AND COOKIE-Y!

The entire recipe, using 1% milk just cause of what we had, but skim would be fine, is about 1771 calories. Therefore, if you make 14 muffins like me, each is approximately 127 calories. If you make 12 giant ones, each is about 148.

My adorable friend Farhana and I, in high school, decided that baked goods like “muffin” and “cupcake” were overused as terms of endearment and branched out to calling each other “pancake” and “pie.” Anyone else have any good creative pet names?