Saturday, February 28, 2009

It's all Greek to us

Yesterday, after taking several months off, we finally "toured" another country.  The country was Greece. Hannah taught her siblings various things about the country, even giving them a quiz over what they had learned.  They also watched a video from the library which let them visually tour various places in Greece.  My job was to prepare the food.

I had planned on making pita bread on Friday, but David and I went to the home of friends and played a game which lasted the entire evening and we arrived home around midnight, too late to start bread.   Oh well.

For breakfast I had intended to serve pita bread, rice pudding, and fresh fruit. But since I didn't make the pita bread, we ate regular ole wheat bread, and since I overslept, it was too late to make the rice, so option three was fresh fruit, cheese, and bread.

Sorry, no pictures of breakfast, I was still half asleep at the time.

For Dinner we ate:
Salata (Greek Salad)

Arni Souvlakia (skewered lamb) served atop a bed of.............
Pilafi (Rice Pilaf)
David and I enjoyed a glass of red wine, which complimented the lamb wonderfully.  The lamb was very delicious.  It had marinated in olive oil, salt, pepper, and Greek Seasoning I had bought from Penzeys awhile ago.  I also used it to make the dressing for the salad. David couldn't praise the salad enough.  He admitted he was a little concerned about having Feta cheese in the salad, fearing it would taste like bleu cheese, but once he tasted it, he loved it.

For Supper we ate:
Cut up vegetables and Tzatziki(Cucumber and Yogurt Dip)
In the book I used (Cooking the Greek Way by Lynne W. Villios) it said that many Greek people eat appetizers in the late afternoon to ward off hunger (it also said that they eat supper late - around 10pm).  Our supper was later than normal and I cut up vegetables for us to snack on prior to sitting down for supper.

The dip is very good.  I used my homemade Greek yogurt and added the seasonings: cucumber chopped, garlic, scallions, olive oil, vinegar, and dill.
Soupa Avgolemono (Egg and Lemon Soup)
This might be a number one soup in Greece but it ranked the lowest in this household.  No one really cared for this soup, although I was quite proud of all the children. They all tried one to two bites before eyes were turned pleading to not have to eat the rest.

Psari Plaki (Baked Fish)
This was very good.  Normally we eat fried sunfish (graciously caught by members of the church who want to fish more and give us some so they are under the legal limit).  It has been a long time since I've tried a white fish recipe as most of them we haven't liked enough to try again. This one though is a keeper.  I used cod.  The seasonings on top were olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice, thinly sliced onion, parsley, and a can of diced tomatoes.

Patates Fourno Riganates (Baked Potatoes Oregano)
These were yummy, although some of the children didn't like them.  First I boiled potatoes with the skin on for about 20 minutes.  Then I drained them and let them cool to room temperature before peeling them, slicing them into a baking dish, adding olive oil, lemon juice, oregano and salt and then baking them for about 20-25 more minutes.

For Dessert:
Baklava (Walnut-Honey Pastry)
This tasty treat is very delicious and it is easily understandable why this is a favorite and best-known Greek dessert.

The nuts and sweet honey taste are mmmm mmmm good.  Perfect with a cup of coffee.
We had a wonderful taste of Greece and I have added new recipes to my book.  I didn't try spanikopita (spinach pie), although I am copying the recipe and plan to try it another day.


5 comments:

Elephantschild said...

Bravo! Wonderfully done!

I am SO impressed.

Presbytera said...

Oopa! Great job korimou! If David liked the feta, add it to spinach the next time you cook it. I also like it spread on toast. You really went all out. We add cooked rosamarina to our soupa.

Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake said...

Greek food is amazing.

Moussaka and pastitsio are two of my favorite dishes.

And balkava! What a meal.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful meal!
Everything was so pleasing to the eye.
We love greek salad in this house.
I feel it hitting the menu plan soon!
Love your food posts and the memories that you are shaping for your family.
Way to go!

Dakotapam said...

That looks like a yummy and fun day!