Greek Recipes

Where has the week gone? Where have the months gone? It only feels like yesterday but five months ago I left my job of nine years as graphic designer/sometimes photographer for a large university here in Melbourne. Well, I didn't just leave it – the position was made redundant and there was a rather tidy redundancy payout on offer so I took the money and ran. The job was starting to take on a mundanity that was driving me mad anyway. Year in, year out, laying out the same publications, photographing the same academics. The routine was killing me and I needed more spontaneity and freedom in my life. Working from home as a freelancer was my plan, in between cooking, shopping and lunching with friends of course! The best part about my plan was that the go-away money would be enough to keep me going for another 12 months even if I made nothing from freelancing. The first few months were wonderful. I was glowing with positive energy and loving my new-found freedom. Tony and I don...

There's a scene in the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding where the Greek family is horrified that the man their daughter is about to marry, is a vegetarian. The news silences the room and everyone's faces drop with pity for the man. This is something I go through A LOT, with friends and family members thinking that I'm missing out on something that would otherwise make my life wonderful. That being a vegetarian is something that I must be really struggling with. That life without meat must be  devastating for me. So it's no surprise that the word "Orfana" is used at the end of a Greek dish title to indicate that it's a vegetarian version of a dish that would normally contain meat. The dish is considered "orphaned" without its meat component. This probably originated from a time when poorer families had to resort to eating meatless dishes when they couldn't afford to buy meat. Meat was for the fortunate ones, and if you couldn't afford it,...

Right now our fridge is full to the seal with the weight of two and a half men's worth of organic vegetables that I had delivered to my door yesterday. The box arrived with rather large quantities of 15 different varieties of vegetable, some of which I've never cooked with before but can't wait to get my kitchen tools into. There's more than Tony and I could get through in a week but I'm determined not to let any of it go to waste. Whether I make a batch of freezer-friendly soup or perhaps a stew, or share our bounty with the neighbours, everything in that refrigerator will be consumed. (I really should introduce myself to our neighbours. It's been almost three years after all and I'm sure they wouldn't mind me offering them a batch of pumpkin and feta croquettes since I'll have about 2,000 of them after I'm done with the massive pumpkin that's sitting in my fridge!) The first vegetables I really wanted to play with were the purple carrots....

This is a quick impromptu post with no recipe (sorry!) but I just had to show you this. LOOK WHAT I GOT TODAY! My first, organic, home-delivered veggie box! I love getting packages in the mail but getting a gigantic box of groceries delivered straight to my door is simply child-like exciting. Especially when I don't know what's in it. I love surprises, and this one did not disappoint with a box-load of fresh, crisp vegetables, some of which I've never even tried before! I'd never really thought about getting groceries home delivered but after being inspired by a post about organic veggie box deliveries on Liz's blog, I Spy Plum Pie , I decided to throw caution to the wind and see what might blow back my way. It was the not knowing what you might get that really got me interested in this. I always tend to get the same staple vegetables every time I go to the fruit and veg shop, only venturing outside of my comfort zone when something like a white zucchini appears be...

      Wine is widely used in cooking all over Europe,  red wine mostly, and, as expected, such recipes have been developed in wine producing regions. In the Peloponnese we grow both red and white varieties of grapes, either  local or French, but where I live white is the most often cultivated . This is true of our own  family vine yard as well.      We often use wine in cooking just for ''seasoning'' although there are recipes like the one presented here where wine is the star ingredient. Wine gives both taste and moisture to meat and you should never worry about the alcohol since it evaporates during cooking.      Wine is called krasi in Greek, so a dish with wine as the key ingredient is called '' krassá to ''. I use a dry white wine from the local variety '' roditis '' but you can use your own favorite  white wine, keeping in mind to buy an extra bottle for serving. And something important to remember:  neve...

I'm a vegetarian and my partner Tony eats meat. We've been living this way together for six years and by understanding the reasons why we've decided to eat what we eat, we have a mutual respect for each other and the choices we've made. Tony loves animals as much as I do, but he is on an eating plan designed for diabetics (Tony has Type 1 Diabetes) that includes a variety of proteins and very limited carbohydrates. I love my carbohydrates, and I don't eat meat, chicken or fish so it is rare for us to ever be eating the same meal. Our differences in food choices also means that we are cooking our meals separately which is a shame because we both love to cook and it would be nice to cook together more often. I don't give Tony or anyone else a hard time about their meat-eating choices, but I talked to Tony last night about an idea that I had, inspired by the desire for us to be a bit more creative in the kitchen so we can enjoy some cooking time together. The idea ...

I find commercial yoghurt here in Australia just a bit yuck. The flavoured varieties are sickly sweet and most natural yoghurts are just too sour for my liking. But commercial Greek yoghurt from Greece. Now that's another story. Let me tell you, the Greeks know how to make yoghurt. Thick, creamy, silky smooth dollops that send you to yoghurt heaven with every devouring mouthful. No sour taste, no sugary flavours. This is the stuff that I would give up chocolate for. Unfortunately, finding somewhere in Melbourne that imports this precious pot of velvety goodness is not an easy task, and even if you do happen upon it, the chances of it still being fresh are pretty slim. The next best thing, and based on some of my own results sometimes even better thing, is home-made Greek yoghurt. Yes! You can make this gorgeous stuff at home, and very easily I might add. Once you've made your own yoghurt, you'll never go back to store bought (unless you live in Greece!). Home-made Greek Yo...

Well, just when I thought it wasn't possible, my love for animals has hit a new high. After spending the day volunteering at Edgar's Mission last Sunday and meeting so many beautiful creatures, Tony and I came home feeling nothing but blissful happiness and overwhelming love for the animals we'd met that day. The reason I'm a vegetarian is because I love animals so I'm afraid this is going to be a rather long post about our day at Edgar's Mission. But please bear with me as I do have a recipe for one of the most heavenly delicious Greek desserts to tell you about as well! Edgar's Mission is a not-for-profit sanctuary for rescued farm animals. They rely solely on donations and the help of volunteers. Anyone can get involved by participating in one of the dedicated volunteer days which are held once a fortnight. The volunteer days are open to all who want to come and help with cleaning and tending duties on the property. It was a hard day picking up goat poo...

Before I get to today's recipe, I just wanted to say that after only a few weeks of blogging I've been really humbled by the response I've received. It's so nice to know that people are reading and relating to my posts. It really motivates me to want to build this blog into something that not only provides me with a creative outlet, but inspires others to embrace Greek vegetarian cooking, or perhaps persuades those that are thinking of becoming vegetarians, to go all the way. I know there are just a handful of you so far, but I want you all to know how much I love reading your comments and how happy it makes me that you are enjoying what you see here :) And one more thing before I tell you about Greek Briam. Tony and I are very excited about a little job we will be doing together today. We will be volunteering at Edgar's Mission – a sanctuary for rescued farm animals. I will be writing a bit about our day in my next post, but for now, let's get making some Gree...

White Zucchini Obsession Day concluded with this refreshing summer salad that I had been dying to make ever since my last trip to Greece. Now don't be scared but it involves boiled zucchinis that are served cold with lemon juice and olive oil. Boiled zucchinis can be revolting – I've tried many times with the dark skinned variety and they often turn out water-logged, bitter and sometimes even slimy. But in Limnos last year Tony and I experienced a very different kind of boiled zucchini, using the beautiful white variety of zucchini that I have been incessantly raving on about for the last few days. When I was growing up the only relatives my sisters and I knew about were my mum's sister, my mum's father, my mum's Aunty Betty and one cousin. That was it. And that was VERY unusual for a Greek family. Only four extended family members. But that was in Australia. Little did we know there were more of us back in Greece. My dad's parents, his two sisters and a brothe...

Well I have calmed down a bit since the excitement of yesterday . And as hard as it was to see them go, my precious stash of white zucchinis found their purpose today – two purposes in fact! Baked Stuffed White Zucchini (Papoutsakia), and a White Zucchini, Avocado and Cos salad which I will post in the next day or so. One of the very few Greek dishes I remember my very non-traditional Greek mum cooking for us as children was stuffed zucchinis. It was a dish she also enjoyed as a child in her equally non-traditional upbringing. I think not having a whole lot of Greekness drummed into us as kids has only made me more keen to know about my Greekness now. I appreciate and love my culture in a way I may not have wanted to if we'd been brought up differently. I've seen the same phenomenon happen with my own father, and even my you'd-never-believe-she's-Greek mother. My dad's new-found Greekness started around ten years ago when he developed an interest in a family house ...