Recipe-palooza
I've been cooking a lot on the weekends, and feeding as many people as will come over and eat with me. Dad told me I need to be a little old Jewish grandmother, since I never seem to be happier than when I am feeding people. It's true! I think it might come from having worked at the Hospitality House, but wherever it originated, I absolutely love to cook for others. Sharing food makes it better, and part of it might be just that I like to show off.
I had one particularly show-offy meal this week. Nate came over for dinner on Sunday, and it was a Greek/mediterranean/middle-eastern food fest. I got to use my new-to-me grill for the first time, and all the food actually turned out really well! It's always nice to feed someone who vocally appreciates one's efforts, and Nate was good at that.
The menu was: pork souvlaki (almost), quinoa tabbouleh, tzatziki, and flatbread. The flatbread I bought from Trader Joe's, and I wish I had a lot more because it was SO good. I'm thinking I need to make this again soon, maybe with some of the frozen chicken in our freezer. First though, I'll need to get all the rain water out of my grill...oops...
To spread around the deliciousness, here are the recipes. I stole bits and pieces from several different recipes around the internet, including Kalyn's Kitchen and my friend Gordon's mother. (Gordon and I were friends in Germany, and he just happened to be passing through Phoenix this week and stopped in to say hi. It's such a delightfully small world! I love when faraway friends are reunited. I find it humorous that he happened to stop by the week I was using his mother's recipe.)
Pork Souvlaki
Marinade:olive oil
garlic
red onions
red wine
summer savory*
lemon juice
Directions:
Stick on a skewer and grill! I added red peppers and yellow onions to my skewers, and it turned out alright even though the veggies cook faster than the meat. The coals were really hot, so it takes 10 minutes or less to grill everything, turning just a few times. I soaked my wooden skewers overnight, and they still burned up a lot, but they didn't actually catch on fire, which is good. The edges of the pork blackened just enough without overcooking that it was scrumptious. Most delicious when eaten wrapped in naan (which we toasted on the grill) and smothered in tzatziki.
*(oregano is more traditional, but we didn't have any)
Tzatziki
Ingredients:
2 cups plain Greek joghurt
1 1/2 cucumbers
fresh dill (about 1 Tbsp, but I used more because I LOVE dill)
one lemon's worth of lemon juice
one garlic clove, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1) Slice the cucumbers in half long-ways and scoop out all the seeds with a spoon. Chop them up and put them in the food processor.
2) Add the lemon juice, garlic, and dill. Mix it all up until it's chopped and pureed and smoothish.
3) Add the cucumber mixture to the joghurt and stir it all up. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and let it chill for a couple hours to let the flavors mix nicely.
Quinoa Tabbouleh
Ingredients:
2 cups quinoa (dry)
1/2 cup olive oil
juice of about one lemon
garlic clove, chopped
tomatoes
cucumber
red peppers
green onions
fresh mint
fresh parsley
kalamata olives
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1) Cook the quinoa - just like rice, it's a 1 to 2 ratio, and you cook it until the water's all absorbed. You can even use a rice cooker!
2) Mix the lemon juice, olive oil, and garlic clove as a dressing, and pour most of it over the cooked quinoa. Let it sit and cool to room temperature.
3) Chop up all the other delicious things and add them to the cooled quinoa. You want more parsley than mint, but the recipes I found called for like 1 1/2 cups sometimes. I don't like parsley near enough for that, so I used it more judiciously. Kalamatas are also not traditionally included, but they are the best part of the salad, so there.
4) You can keep it in the fridge, but it's normally served at room temperature. Having tried it both ways, room temperature is definitely better.
These are all really simple to make, very healthy, and delicious. It's one of the more successful meals I've made. I'm salivating just writing about it all, and I wish I had more leftovers. Nate's leftovers didn't even make it to Monday's lunch, since he snacked on them after leaving my place Sunday night. I managed to save mine till Wednesday, but I miss them already. I have lots of tzatziki left, and I need to figure out what else I can smother with it.
Oh, yum.
I had one particularly show-offy meal this week. Nate came over for dinner on Sunday, and it was a Greek/mediterranean/middle-eastern food fest. I got to use my new-to-me grill for the first time, and all the food actually turned out really well! It's always nice to feed someone who vocally appreciates one's efforts, and Nate was good at that.
The menu was: pork souvlaki (almost), quinoa tabbouleh, tzatziki, and flatbread. The flatbread I bought from Trader Joe's, and I wish I had a lot more because it was SO good. I'm thinking I need to make this again soon, maybe with some of the frozen chicken in our freezer. First though, I'll need to get all the rain water out of my grill...oops...
Pork Souvlaki
Marinade:olive oil
garlic
red onions
red wine
summer savory*
lemon juice
Directions:
Stick on a skewer and grill! I added red peppers and yellow onions to my skewers, and it turned out alright even though the veggies cook faster than the meat. The coals were really hot, so it takes 10 minutes or less to grill everything, turning just a few times. I soaked my wooden skewers overnight, and they still burned up a lot, but they didn't actually catch on fire, which is good. The edges of the pork blackened just enough without overcooking that it was scrumptious. Most delicious when eaten wrapped in naan (which we toasted on the grill) and smothered in tzatziki.
*(oregano is more traditional, but we didn't have any)
Tzatziki
Ingredients:
2 cups plain Greek joghurt
1 1/2 cucumbers
fresh dill (about 1 Tbsp, but I used more because I LOVE dill)
one lemon's worth of lemon juice
one garlic clove, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1) Slice the cucumbers in half long-ways and scoop out all the seeds with a spoon. Chop them up and put them in the food processor.
2) Add the lemon juice, garlic, and dill. Mix it all up until it's chopped and pureed and smoothish.
3) Add the cucumber mixture to the joghurt and stir it all up. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and let it chill for a couple hours to let the flavors mix nicely.
Quinoa Tabbouleh
Ingredients:
2 cups quinoa (dry)
1/2 cup olive oil
juice of about one lemon
garlic clove, chopped
tomatoes
cucumber
red peppers
green onions
fresh mint
fresh parsley
kalamata olives
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1) Cook the quinoa - just like rice, it's a 1 to 2 ratio, and you cook it until the water's all absorbed. You can even use a rice cooker!
2) Mix the lemon juice, olive oil, and garlic clove as a dressing, and pour most of it over the cooked quinoa. Let it sit and cool to room temperature.
3) Chop up all the other delicious things and add them to the cooled quinoa. You want more parsley than mint, but the recipes I found called for like 1 1/2 cups sometimes. I don't like parsley near enough for that, so I used it more judiciously. Kalamatas are also not traditionally included, but they are the best part of the salad, so there.
4) You can keep it in the fridge, but it's normally served at room temperature. Having tried it both ways, room temperature is definitely better.
These are all really simple to make, very healthy, and delicious. It's one of the more successful meals I've made. I'm salivating just writing about it all, and I wish I had more leftovers. Nate's leftovers didn't even make it to Monday's lunch, since he snacked on them after leaving my place Sunday night. I managed to save mine till Wednesday, but I miss them already. I have lots of tzatziki left, and I need to figure out what else I can smother with it.
Oh, yum.
Comments
Post a Comment