When I was 9 years old I saw the Disney film, The Moonspinners, starring Haley Mills. It instilled in me a hunger to visit Greece, which has remained a dream for me up until this very present day. It is on my bucket list of things I want to do before I die and God willing one year I will actually make it!
Greece is set once more to become a prime holiday destination for Brits this summer, following an increase of 11% in the number visitors from the UK in 2013. Greek speciality foods producer Gaea has created a beautiful hat trick of recipes using it's authentic tapenades and top quality Greek olive oils to get sun seekers into Greek holiday mode!
Promising a heavenly taste of sun-kissed Greece, this three-course extravaganza features delicious offerings from the Gaea range, and offers a wonderfully unique chocolate mousse that combines chocolate and the finest Greek olive oil.
Enjoy your meal!
*Greek Salad Couscous with Kalamata Olive Tapenade*
Serves 4 to 6
Serves 4 to 6
extra virgin olive oil
the grated zest of one lemon
pinch of ground cinnamon
*Meat Balls with Sweet Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Tapenade*
Serves 4 to 6
This is an easy to make deliciously simple recipe!
500g of ground lean beef (a generous pound)
6 to 8 TBS plain dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted (small handful)
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
4 TBS finely chopped green bell pepper
salt and pepper to taste
2 TBS dried mint
2 TBS ouzo
140g flour (1 cup)
cooked, warm spaghetti (optional)
Homemade Tomato Sauce (optional)
Grated cheddar, Parmesan or Greek kefalograviera cheese (optional)
Once fried, the meatballs may be eaten along, packed inside flat breads, or served covered with tomato sauce with spaghetti and for extra Greek authenticity, sprinkle with kefalograviera cheese.
*Chocolate Mousse with C.O.P. Extra Virgin Olive oil*
Serves 4chocolate flakes and whipped cream for topping
Olive oil in Greece, which dates back 4000 years, is globally acknowledged for its purity and exceptional taste. More than 80% of the Greek olive oil is extra virgin, which is the top-ranked classification category in the world. This constitutes Greece as the world’s largest producer of extra virgin olive oil. Gaea’s extra virgin olive oil’s superior quality is appreciated by the international trade, which is the reason why Gaea’s exports to all markets are constantly increasing at a fast pace. Moreover, Gaea produces the 1st Extra Virgin Olive Oils in the world that have been certified Carbon Neutral!
Natural ingredients from Gaea – the Greek “Mother Earth” are finely chopped, crushed, or blended to make Gaea’s unique tapenades. They are flavoured with other ingredients such as garlic, herbs and lemon, and can be served as a Greek- meze, the typical Greek appetizer to savour and share. Gaea’s tapenades:
Are exclusively made from natural ingredients
Are combined by traditional, authentic recipes of the oldest and healthiest Mediterranean cuisine and serving suggestions.
For more recipe suggestions check out the Recipe Folder on the Gaea website.
I saw a photograph of this in one of my Donna Hay books the other day and it just spoke to me. She always presents her food so beautifully and it's usually pretty healthy.
She used heirloom tomatoes in hers. I do not have heirloom tomatoes, but I did manage to get my hands on some really lovely vine ripened tomatoes the other day that were the perfect size for this.
With something which is as simple as this you want to make sure you use the freshest and best quality ingredients that you can. I have fresh basil in my herb garden and I used a really nice mozzarella cheese.
Premium quality extra virgin olive oil (Gaea extra virgin Greek Kalamata), Malden sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper . . . premium quality balsamic vinegar.
Not the most expensive one, but not a cheap one either . . . good quality Spanish black olives.
I always make my own croutons. No stale loaf of good bread ever gets wasted in my house. I always cut it into cubes and then toss it with some olive oil and seasonings (a bit of salt, pepper, garlic powder, some herbs) and then I roast them on a baking tray in a hot oven until they are crisp.
I could eat them like potato chips. They are that good.
I did reserve the stems from my tomatoes so I could put them on top when I went to serve them, but I also saved some tiny sprigs of basil, which also looked lovely.
And that way you don't have to worry about anyone eating them.
This was a beautiful salad. Pretty to look at. Simple to make. Delicious to the taste.
Well presented. I would make this again, and again. It made the perfect light summer lunch.
*A Simple Caprese Salad*
Serves 2
Proof positive that simple ingredients beautifully presented can actually be quite impressive.
2 large vine-ripened tomatoes (reserve the stems if you can)
1 large ball of fresh mozzarella cheese
80g good black olives (1/2 cup)
2 fresh sprigs of basil
1 1/2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp good quality balsamic vinegar
coarse sea salt and cracked black pepper
crisp croutons to serve (I make my own)
Bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Cut a small x on the bottom of each tomato and immerse them into the boiling water for about 30 seconds. Scoop out and place into a bowl of ice water to cool. Using a sharp knife, and beginning at the x, peel away the skin and discard. Cut a thin sliver from off the bottoms of each tomato so that they will stand upright.
Have ready two chilled salad plates. Arrange one tomato on each plate. You can either garnish the top with reserved tomato stems or some small basil leaves which look like a stem. Arrange the mozzarella, torn around the tomatoes, placing half on each plate.
Add half of the olives to each plate and a basil sprig. Make a little pile of the salt and pepper. Place half of the olive oil and half of the vinegar into a very tiny bowl and place onto each plate. Add a pile of crisp croutons. Serve immediately.
Drizzle with the olive oil and vinegar to eat, along with a sprinkle of the salt and pepper.
I would serve this to my favourite people without blinking an eye! I am sure they would love it. Some other favorite salads of mine are:
I would serve this to my favourite people without blinking an eye! I am sure they would love it. Some other favorite salads of mine are:
Almost Fried Chicken Chopped Salad - This salad proves you can make a salad out of just about anything you have in the house.
A fabulous mix of textures and flavours with a tasty dressing drizzled over top. This is a meal salad.
Bacon and Egg Salad - Another whole meal salad, this salad is light and delicious with a fabulous rich creamy dressing, and yes, you CAN have your bacon and eat it too!
Turkey, Sour Cherry & Almond Pasta Salad - This is a lovely salad with beautiful flavours, colours and textures. I like to serve on a bed of shredded lettuce.
Do you buy your herbs and spices online? If you do, when you
buy spices do you think about their nutritional qualities? Some have great
health benefits; you could even call them miracle flavours!
Here are 5 herbs and spices that have great health benefits:
Okay, so we don’t suggest eating this raw (we’ve all seen the
YouTube videos) but cinnamon tastes lovely in desserts or on toast. And while
you are enjoying the strong spicy taste you may be improving your health.
Cinnamon will:
- · Help fight fungal and bacterial infections
- · Improve glucose and lipid levels in diabetics
- · Help prevent Alzheimer’s
- · Possibly be effective against HIV
- · Help to stop the destructive process of multiple sclerosis (MS)
- · Reduce the effect on the body from high fat meals
Oregano is a perennial herb that belongs to the mint family.
It can be served fresh or dried and has a warm but slightly bitter taste.
Oregano is a favourite in Mediterranean cuisine and is commonly sprinkled on
pasta or pizza dishes. It tastes great on cheese on toast too!
This herb is somewhat of a superfood, as in one teaspoon it
has the same antioxidant power as three cups of broccoli.
Oregano can also be
used in the treatment of:
- Cold •Allergies
- Muscle pain •Intestinal parasites
- Acne •Earache
- Dandruff •Fatigue
- Toothache •Repelling insects
- Bronchitis •Menstrual cramps
- Bloating
- Headaches
- Heart conditions
Rosemary has long been used alongside meats for its woody
flavour, but we like to use it when we steam bass. It tastes amazing! It is
also pleasant in desserts.
Rosemary’s health benefits include:
- Rosemary contains carnosol, a strong anti-cancer compound
- Protection against Alzheimer’s and improved memory
- Improved mood
- Migraine treatment
- Pain relief
- Anti-inflammatory properties
- Immune booster
- Antibacterial properties
- Improve digestive health
- Stimulated hair growth
- Better circulation
- Many more…
Turmeric is the spice of choice for many curry chefs, thanks
to its bright colour and strong flavour. Thanks to this bright colouring,
turmeric is also used in natural dye for clothing and body paint.
Of course there are medical benefits to eating turmeric too.
Some believe that turmeric is a great herbal remedy to relieve the itching
caused by skin cancer, and a chemical in turmeric (curcumin) may also help
reduce the effects of rheumatoid arthritis.
As well as this turmeric may also be used to treat:
- Jaundice
- Hepatitis
- Diarrhoea
- Fibromyalgia
- Ringworm
- And many others
Rosemary and thyme belong together, so it is no surprise that
this herb also appears on this list. Thyme, like rosemary, is often used to
flavour meat, but it also tastes delicious on roast vegetables or fish. It’s a
pleasant addition to a stir fry too!
Thyme offers significant anti-oxidant protection and is also commonly
used in the treatment of acne. It can even be more effective than some acne
creams! It has also been linked to reduced blood pressure and the treatment of
colon and breast cancers.
So next time you buy your herbs and spices online, stop and
think: Can you fit these into your diet more? You could improve your health if
you do.
Just
Ingredients seek out the best herbs and spices from the top producers around
the world and promise to deliver them straight to your doors. With over 100
spices and herbs to choose from, whether you are looking for
rosemary, thyme or any other herb or spice, take a look at the wide variety of
spices and herbs at Just
Ingredients.
When I was a child we ate only very basic foods. There really wasn't much out of the simple or the ordinary on our dinner table. Meat and potatoes . . . vegetables. A chicken a couple of times a year, turkey at Christmas, ham at Easter.
The only vegetables we had were carrots, swede, peas , green beans . . . sometimes my mom would shake it up a bit and we might have a tin of corn, or mixed vegetables.
Usually they were tinned vegetables, except for the carrots and the swede. What is it about lima beans? You know . . . they were always in the mixed vegetables.
Nobody likes them, but they're always there. I used to eat them first to get them out of the way.
When I was about fifteen or so, my mother discovered "Eye" talian spaghetti. A box of spaghetti cooked to death . . . and served with "Eye" talian spaghetti sauce. A pound of cheap beef mince fried and stirred into a tin of "Catelli" spaghetti sauce.
It was not my favourite meal to be perfectly honest. (Sorry mom!) I couldn't stand the texture of the meat with the mushy pasta, and that sauce. UGH . . . When you know better you do better.
Once I got out on my own I started experimenting and trying my own thing. I think jarred pasta sauces these days are really quite good compared to that original sauce my mom used.
A good tomato/bolognese sauce is so easy to make from scratch, I would never use a jarred one, except in a pinch. From scratch is the best of all, and it is such a simple sauce to make.
This recipe that I am showing you today is the result of probably thirty or so years of my trial and testing of what worked for me and what didn't.
An Italian purest would probably say it's not Italian. I am no purest. I only know what tastes good and this tastes mighty good. Trial and error.
This is how I used up some of that bottle of red wine which came in that Wine and Cheese Feast gift hamper from Hampergifts.
They say you should never use a wine to cook with that you wouldn't drink. I don't drink wine, but I believe that to be true. In any case that bottle of wine went very well in this sauce.
The secret is to brown the meat, onions and garlic off and then add the wine and allow it to almost evaporate until adding the remaining ingredients. This really concentrates the essence of the wine into the flavour of the sauce and makes for a really delicious sauce indeed.
Other than that I have experimented through the years with my own combination of herbs and spices and I do believe that this is one of the best bolognese sauces anyone could ever hope to eat. Authentic or not. It is beautiful. Simple.
*A Really Good Bolognese Sauce*
Makes 6 servings
Just the way I've always done it. Simple. Delicious. Easy. A hearty sauce that can be used on top of spaghetti, in lasagnas and bakes, or as the my husband enjoys it, ladled over potatoes.
500g of extra lean ground beef mince (a generous pound)
1 TBS olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 green pepper, trimmed, seeded and finely chopped
3 fat cloves of garlic peeled and minced
225ml of good red wine
1 (400g) tin of chopped Italian tomatoes in juice (14 ounce)
1 (500g) carton of tomato passata (tomato sauce about 2 cups)
1 TBS tomato puree (tomato paste)
1 tsp good balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dried oregano flakes
2 tsp dried basil flakes
1 TBS parsley flakes
1 TBS sugar
pinch ground cloves
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 large bay leaf, broken in half
the rind of one wedge of Parmesan (never throw those away!)
(alternately you can use about 2 TBS of grated parmesan cheese)
pinch of hot pepper flakes (optional)
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and peppers. Cook, stirring for several minutes, until softened. Crumble in the ground beef and garlic. Dry scramble until the beef is no longer pink. Pour on the wine. Bring to the boil and then boil it until the wine has almost evaporated. Add the remaining ingredients, with the exception of the Parmesan.
Bring to the boil, then reduce to a very low simmer. Set a cover on top, slightly ajar. Simmer over very low heat for about an hour, stirring occasionally. If you think it is getting too thick you can thin it with a bit of beef stock if necessary. Add the cheese rind, or grated Parmesan.
Cover again and cook for another half an hour. Prior to serving discard the rind and the bay leaf. The sauce is now ready to use as you wish.
Note: Any leftovers can be frozen in containers for up to six months. Just thaw and reheat as needed.
My husband had his ladled onto a pile of fluffy mash. There is just no accounting for taste I guess! In any case he was quite happy with it that way and I was happy with my nice bowl of pasta. You can't ask for much more than that!
This is a recipe I have been eyeballing in a baking book for a while now. It's one of those e-books. Good Breakfast and Brunch Food from Murdoch. There is a recipe in it called Sky High Cappuccino and White Chocolate Muffins. It looked really good and I have long wanted to try it out.
I don't drink coffee, but I do like the flavour of it in baked goods. I normally use Camp which is a British product, composed of water, sugar, 4% caffeine-free coffee essence, and 26% chicory essence. It makes an excellent substitute for those who don't drink coffee. I used about 1 TBS of it in these.
In the e-book, they made baking paper tube, tying them and then lining the ramekins with them. That just did not work for me, and so I crossed my fingers and just baked them in ramekins which I had buttered really well. I also lined the bottoms with baking paper rounds. Worked a charm. I was really pleased.
I used Green and Blacks quality White Chocolate, cut into nice chunks. You can see the flecks of vanilla in this chocolate. It's the white chocolate which I like the best. It worked beautifully in this recipe.
I also dusted mine with some sifted icing sugar to serve. I did that for several reasons. Number one I thought it would look really pretty, and number two, it enhanced the coffee/cappucchino flavour of them, with just a tiny bit of sweetness. You could also glaze them with a coffee flavoured drizzle which would be nice. Look at that lovely chunk of white chocolate you can see there . . . scrumdiddlyumptious!
They were beautifully moist as well. We both really enjoyed these. I also cut the recipe in half because there are only two of us. That worked fine, no problemo. If you are looking for a nice muffin recipe with moist muffins that are beautifully flavoured and textured, I highly recommend this recipe. I hope you will give it a go.
Oh yes, there is a brown sugar and butter mixture that you swirl into top of them prior to baking as well. It kind of sinks in and caramlizes. Scrummo!
*Jumbo Cappuccino and White Chocolate Muffins*
Makes 8 large or 12 medium muffins
This recipe makes eight beautifully flavoured muffins. The sugar swirl in the top is a delightful surprise!
20g (1/4 cup) instant espresso coffee powder
1 TBS boiling water
310g (2 12 cups) self raising flour
115g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
2 large free range eggs, lightly beaten
375ml (1 1/2 cups buttermilk)
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g (2/3 cup) melted butter
100g (3/4 cup) chopped white chocolate
2 TBS butter
3 TBS soft light brown sugar
icing sugar for dusting (optional)
icing sugar for dusting (optional)
Preheat
the oven to 200*C.400*F/ gas mark 6. Butter 8 ramekins well. Line
the bottoms with baking paper. Place onto a baking tray. Alternately
line a 12 cup medium muffin tin with cupcake papers, or butter really
well.
Dissolve the coffee powder in 1 TBS
boiling water. Allow it to cool completely. Sift the flour and sugar
into a bowl. Beat together the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and melted
butter. Stir in the coffee mixture. Add all at once to the dry
ingredients. Roughly mix together along with the chopped chocolate.
Divide between the muffin cases.
Heat the 2
TBS butter and soft brown sugar together, stirring to dissolve the
sugar. Spoon a portion of this mixture onto each muffin and then swirl
it into the top of the muffin using a toothpick.
You may or may not dust these with icing sugar prior to serving. It's up to you!
What do you get when you cross a beautiful gift basket with a bit of cook's ingenuity and acumen? Well, I'll show you what you get. Hang on to your hats! You're in for a delicious ride!
I just have to show you what I recently received. This isn't a great photo of it because of the plastic wrapping, so I will show you the one from the gift site . . .
It is a lovely gift hamper from the people at Hampergifts, makers of gift baskets and luxury Christmas hampers. The one I received was their Wine and Cheese Feast, and it was chock full of lots of lovely goodies!
It was presented in a lovely wicker basket with wooden handles and everything was packed perfectly so as to make sure nothing got broken.
It contained a lovely assortment of biscuits, chocolates, chutney's, spiced nuts, crackers, a bottle of wine and two lovely cheeses.
With Graces Irish Shortbread Biscuits (shaped like shamrocks), Border's Black Forest Biscuits, a lovely box of Baronie Belgian chocolates, some Cairnsmhor Sea Salt Crackers, Cottage Delight Old English Chutney with Cider . . .
Edinburg Preserves Rosemary Biscuits for Cheese & Pate, Cottage Delight Spicy Mango & Ginger Chutney, Olives-et-al Chilli Harissa Almonds, some lovely chocolate caramels, again from Baronie . . .
EDinburg Preserves Quince Jelly and two lovely rounds of cheese from the Snowdonia Cheese Company, a Little Black Bomber Cheddar(with attitude) and a Little Red Devil (Red Leicester with Chilies and Crushed Pepper).
Also included was a bottle of Merlot from Kleine Zalze.
We were able to enjoy some of that cheese earlier this week as a traditional Ploughman's lunch picnic supper! I do so love a Ploughman's lunch/supper. They are so easy to throw together. All you need is some crusty bread, some nice pickle/chutney, a couple of good cheeses, some fruit (apple in this case), a bit of veg (cucumber and lettuce on this occasion) and some chunky bits of ham. You end up with a feast fit for a King or Queen!
Afterwards we feasted on some delicious Black Forest Cookies and Cream Sundaes! Oh boy were these really easy to put together and so fabulously scrumptious!
I quite simply crumbled several of those lovely chocolate biscuits that were in the hamper into the bottom of two dessert glasses . . .
dropped a scoop of really good vanilla ice cream on top of the cookies . . .
Drizzled over top some warmed cherry jam and a homemade chocolate sauce . . .
And topped them off with some squirty cream . . . and a couple of milk chocolate wands . . . the end result being something which was totally delicious, yet had taken me next to no time at all to put together.
*Black Forest Cookies and Cream Sundaes*
Serves 2
I did something totally delish with that bottle of wine too, but I'll save that for another day! In the meantime I would like to thank Sophie along with the people from Hamper Gifts for sending me this lovely Gift Hamper. This post was written in collaboration with Hampergifts, makers of gift baskets and luxury Christmas hampers.
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