Think Greek!

Did you know . . . that there are only two vegetables that we humans regularly consume that are perennials? They are asparagus and rhubarb. I didn't know that. All other vegetables have to be reseeded each year for a new crop, asparagus and rhubarb continue to grow back without reseeding. Good to know!

My daughter, Whitney, always tells me that she knows when I'm trying to teach her something, because I preface it with, "Did you know. . . ?" Now, it's a catch phrase, that I am aware of, and still use. What is something you tend to repeat?

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Think Greek: Food of the Gods.

My husband signed us up for an International Cooking class, so that we can share a fun activity together. The class is at a private home in Lake City Way. The house has a spectacular view of Lake Washington; which they can see close up through the telescope they have in their large bay window facing the water. The home is surronded by beautiful plants, most of which are flowering and fragrant right now. As we pass all of this beauty we enter the always open door to the kitchen/classroom area. This is a large room at the back of the house leading into her private gardens, where the thyme, bay, and other herbs flourish among the ornamental and flowering plants. As we gather for the class we sit in chairs arranged in 4 rows facing a large kitchen that has two stoves, two sinks, an amazing amount of space, and an endless number of tools for this creative and wonderful cook to share her craft with us. I'm all ears ready to learn and tastebuds tingling for the Greek fair that is on the menu tonight. Mike is right this is fun.

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The menu that Louise our instructing chef, demonstrated for us included: Avgolemono Soup, Spanakopita, Moussaka, Ionian Salad, and Rizogalo. What I learned was that the Greeks tend to be light with the garlic unlike their other Mediterranean neighbors, and more heavy handed with the citrus flavors and other herbs such as sage and rosemary that grow wild on their hills. I now have the recipes for some amazing Greek dishes that are surprisingly light and unique to our American pallet. I thought I would share the Avgolemono Soup. That was one that surprised both my husband and I, it was so refreshing and simply good! It would be good for a light lunch, before a meal, or even for someone who has been sick. The soup is a chicken stock base, with rice and eggs, and a bright lemon tang. It has the proteins, the easily digestible rice, and the lightness of a broth type soup. It's easy to make. I've changed the recipe to make it my own so as not to infringe on Louise's copywrited recipes, but the recipes are easy to find on-line if you're interested.

Avgolemono Soup

2 quarts chicken stock (The boxed broth from the store works great.)

2 cups chicken cubed, shredded or left overs (Optional, but if you have it throw it in.)

1/2 cup uncooked white rice

4 eggs at room temperature (They whip better at room temp.)

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (Louise says that fresh is far superior. Some recipes call for up to a cup of lemon juice, adjust this to your preferance.)

salt as needed (boxed broth will need a lot less than fresh chicken stock, beware!)

white pepper, freshly ground (it really does have a different taste than black pepper if you've never tried it.)

Thin lemon slices for garnish, if desired.

Minced parsley or chives for garnish, (This adds a lot to the flavor and the pleasing appearance of the soup.)

Bring the stock to a boil. Add the uncooked rice. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer the stock for about 15 minutes or until the rice is just done. Season the soup with salt to taste, over salting slightly won't hurt the soup with the addition of the egg lemon sauce it should be close to perfectly seasoned. (Remember, it's easier to add than to take salt out!)

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs until they are thick and lemon colored (about 2 minutes). Beat in the lemon juice. Very gradually add about 2 cups of the hot soup to the eggs while beating constantly. (This will temper your eggs, and you won't end up with scrambled eggs. So go slowly, adding the broth a little at a time to the eggs, not the other way around.)

After adding about 2 cups of hot broth to the beaten eggs, finish by slowly pouring the egg mixture into the remaining hot but not boiling broth. (Yes, the reverse.) Stir the mixture in a figure eight pattern with a wooden spoon. (I don't know why it has to be a wooden spoon.) Heat the soup, it will thicken slightly, be careful to not boil the soup. Add more salt and pepper if needed. Garnish each serving with a lemon slice and a sprinkling of chives or parsley.

This soup is best served immediately. This will serve about 6-8 people.

Look for the recipes on Google, they are easy to find.

The Spanakopita is a Greek spinach pie with a Phillo dough crust, Moussaka is a casserole of ground lamb and eggplant (you can use beef if you are squeamish about lamb.) The Ionian Salad is a green Romain salad with a citrus dressing and orange pieces that is amazing. And the Rizogalo is a rice pudding with orange zest! My husband hates rice pudding, and he loved this one.

If you want to know more about any of these recipes just drop me a line, or leave a comment. I'd love to hear what you think, or even better if you tried the soup!

Hello Blogger's World

New experiences, new recipes, new adventures, new crafting projects, including a new English class has led me to this point of endeavoring to embark into the world of cyber society and chatting on the web. The topics covered in this blog will be new things that I learn; random things I want to share with you. Sometimes, I find amazing big ideas, but more often, I find something that is small and more trivial than new to the world, quite possibly it is interesting just to me. Sometimes it is just observations that will stop me and I wonder at the intricacy and the beauty of the world, like the ripples on the sand left by the receding waters. Come see the world through my eyes.

One trivial thing I learned not so long ago is that eggplant, you know that big, shiny, purple, vegetable with the dull brownish green capped stem on top? That huge royal purple thing is a berry, that’s right a berry, related to a tomato! It grows on bushes, and not only that it comes in various sizes from small to large, and are common to most of the world. I have cooked eggplant, I love Eggplant Parmesan, but I’ve not been able to sell it to my husband as a favorite food choice. Maybe you’d like to try this dip, Roasted Eggplant with Garlic Puree, it’s good as a dip for vegetables, and it’s great on pita bread. You can put it on a pizza crust or a whole pita for a gourmet pizza, top with some ripe red tomato slices, and fresh mozzarella cheese, and sprinkle with a little bright green, fragrant cilantro for a real taste treat. Bake at 400 degrees F. till the cheese is bubbly. This easy recipe for eggplant takes a bit of time, time you could be using to learn something new!

Be green with me; be willing to learn. I’d love it if you would share what you’ve learned today in the comment space. Tell me of your personal experiences with eggplant. Was it a positive egg-perience?

Garlic Roasted Eggplant Puree

1 eggplant, weighing about 1-1/2 pounds
4 large garlic cloves, sliced
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1+ tablespoon virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon cilantro or parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon Greek unsweetened yogurt (any unsweetened plain yogurt will do but Greek is best)
Salt
Pepper
Cilantro or parsley leaves, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. With a sharp knife, make incisions all over the eggplant and insert a sliver of garlic into each one. In a baking dish, bake the eggplant until it is thoroughly soft and wrinkled all over, about one hour; then set into a colander to drain for 30 minutes.

After the eggplant has drained, slice it open and scrape the meat and the garlic slivers out of the skin, discard skin. Chop the eggplant meat and garlic finely with a knife or work it in a food processor to make a coarse puree. Stir in the lemon peel, olive oil, herbs, and yogurt. Season to taste with lemon juice, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Mound it in a bowl, and garnish with some whole cilantro or parsley leaves. Serve with wedges of fresh pita bread, pita chips, or fresh vegetables.