yogurt-cool

Feeling the heat from the warm summer days, I started thinking of all the possible cool lunch meals one can enjoy. The choices were endless but one product kept coming up; yogurt!

Arjani-drink, yogurt and tzatziki

Many of my yogurt recipes come from my mother who got them from her grandmother who got them from her Asia Minor ancestors. These foods have a long history and have been enjoyed by generations. Although yogurt is a basic and modest ingredient it scores a lot of 'good-for-our-health' points. 

Yogurt is better than milk; not only it includes the same calcium properties as milk but it also gets digested easier than milk. Yogurt is a great option for recovering digestive illnesses such as diarrhea as it helps recover important elements lost through the illness. Unlike milk, yogurt helps other foods and their properties be absorbed more effectively by our system. 

Whether one wishes to help support their system and improve their health or just needs something cool and fresh, yogurt is an excellent and healthy choice. 

Try some of my traditional recipes like 'mantu' (yogurt with pasta) and 'purani' (yogurt with courgettes) or simply enjoy a glass of 'arjani' (cold yogurt drink).  

Give yogurt a chance and enjoy the goodness it provides. 

Fresh summer food

I recently traveled to my home country, Greece. Due to limited internet access I was unable to blog on the spot. However, now I am back at my base and able to share with you the fresh food ideas from back home.

The hot summer days in Greece do not allow heavy eating. In fact the less the better since digestion and scorching heat are not a good match. While for some a cold coffee or milk chocolate is enough as a start up 'breakfast', others marry them with cheese pie (tyropita) or other Greek pies. Around 10am the mercury rises to 30 degrees Celsius and the last thing on one's mind is food. Consumption of water and other beverages is preferred and recommended throughout the day. A dive to the cool waters of a nearby beach is the best weapon against the blazing sun. Nevertheless, all the 'splishing' and 'splashing' somehow helps our appetite. 

At lunchtime the mercury has already risen to 38 -and sometimes 40 degrees Celsius- which means only one thing; being next to a hot stove is the last thing on ones mind. A Greek salad or Green salad (marouli) and feta cheese are good and light lunch options. One of the favorites is fresh fish like nnular seabream (sparos) or Gilthead seabream (tsipoura). The first one can be fried in sun-flour oil and the second one is excellent baked in the oven. Here below is a gilthead seabream my dad caught on one of his fishing trips_

Of course many people like grilled food. The best options are homemade sausages with leaks from the village and pork fillets (psaronefri). If one bothers enough to heat up a grill one should not forget to grill green or red peppers and other veggies like aubergines and courgettes. Grilled food is healthier. In addition, vegetarian options like lady fingers (mpamies), fasolakia and stuffed green peppers are excellent options for a hot summer's day. Last but not least, side dishes such as boujiourdi, strapatsada and tzatziki paired with lovely Greek bread will do the trick as well. 

All in all, I was happy to eat more vegetarian food, fish and occasionally some grilled meat like the fillets we grilled a few days before I left Greece. 

If you visit Greece don't hesitate to ask for some of those dishes. 

Enjoy!

   

Bite-Size Home-Made Chocolates

The other day I was browsing for books and cooking ideas in one of the bookstores in the city center of Helsinki. There is a plethora of beautifully illustrated books on cooking and baking available. Bookstores are my heaven and I could easily loose track of time when I am in one.

Like a kid in a candy store I don't know which book to grab first and which next. I end up with a bunch of books in Finnish or English in my hands wondering which one to buy. Looking down I realize that although I entered my heaven to get an educational gift for a friend's kid I, surprise-surprise, am holding more cook books than gift options.

I decided to purchase the book Kotona tehdyt Suklaat published in Finnish by WSOY and written by C.Jausserand. At first the book caught my eye due to its rather unusual packaging. It comes in a plastic see-through box along with 30 silicon cooking molds. Reasonably priced, this little discovery turned out to be a treasure! 

The book includes ideas on some 20 chocolate recipes with illustrations and clear instructions. I had a go as soon as I had time to allocate to cooking. They are easy to make although one has to pay close attention to the temperature of the perspective chocolate used (i.e. dark, milk, white or 70% etc). 

I put to the test one of my favorite types, the dark hazelnut ganache chocolate. My little dark temptations turned out just great! 

You can find this recipe in the desserts section.

Have a go and enjoy the rich flavors of pure dark chocolate made at home.