Chickpea fritters with a lemon tahini sauce (Ρεβυθοκεφτέδες με σάλτσα ταχίνι)

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Chickpea fritters with a lemon tahini sauce

Vegan fritters made of chickpeas and fresh herbs, served with a tangy lemon tahini dipping sauce

Hungry people everywhere seem to be flocking, more than ever, to menu items which feature plant-based goodness and stuff-that-isn’t-meat-but-is-made-to-taste-and-look-like-meat.  Because of that, we think that this vegan recipe for chickpea fritters served with a lemon tahini sauce is going to make many of these hungry people, very, very happy.  Why?  Because these chickpea fritters are naturally beyond delicious.

Continue reading “Chickpea fritters with a lemon tahini sauce (Ρεβυθοκεφτέδες με σάλτσα ταχίνι)” →
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Peach and habanero pepper jam

~ miakouppa ~ 2 Comments

Peach and habanero pepper jam

A fiery and sweet jam which lets you enjoy peaches all year long

Bring on the heat!! We love to combine sweet and spicy, fresh and fiery, and this jam does all of that.  This year, for the first time, we opted to plant habanero peppers in the garden instead of our usual jalapenos.  So many habaneros meant we had to get creative, and so we decided to make a jam which combines the summer fresh taste of peaches, with the fiery heat of habaneros.  And it’s delicious!

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Sugar doughnuts (Ντόνατς με ζάχαρη)

~ miakouppa ~ 3 Comments

Sugar doughnuts

A traditional Greek doughnut: large, light, and perfectly sweet

Do you know how excited we are to share this recipe with you?  We’re not sure you can fully appreciate our glee; we are so proud that we are finally including this classic Greek dessert (and often breakfast), into our repertoire of Mia Kouppa recipes.

Large, light, and perfectly sprinkled with crunchy sugar, these are the classic Greek doughnut.  Confused?  Curious?  Maybe, and we don’t blame you.  It seems that often, when someone refers to Greek doughnuts they are talking about loukoumades, those  fried balls of dough that are typically covered in honey.  Loukoumades are delicious!  But, just like pastitsio is not Greek lasagna (we’re practically begging you to get on board with that) we argue that referring to loukoumades as Greek doughnuts does a disservice to both.  Loukoumades are loukoumades, and Greek sugar doughnuts, are these!

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Cactus pear, orange and Metaxa cocktail

~ miakouppa ~ 4 Comments

Cactus pear, orange and Metaxa cocktail

A summer cocktail with pureed cactus pear, fresh orange juice and Metaxa

This drink is inspired by our desire to make something special using our dad’s favourite fruit, the cactus pear.  The plants of cactus pears, also known as prickly pears, or fragosyka in Greek, can be found in the rocky terrains of Greece across much of the country, including the Peloponnese where our family is from.

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Spanakopita no. 2 (Σπανακόπιτα no. 2)

~ miakouppa ~ 6 Comments

Spanakopita no. 2

Home made phyllo dough filled with spinach, herbs and feta

Spanakopita no. 2

 

Summer is almost over! How can that be?! As always, the months when school is out, the days are at their longest, and the sun smiles down warmly, pass all too quickly.  We try to hold on to the season by enjoying every moment left and by looking back at our June picnics, July getaways and August pool parties and barbecues, recognizing that although quick, our summer was blessedly full.

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Salted sardines and anchovies (Σαρδέλες)

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Salted sardines and anchovies

Salt preserved sardines and anchovies prepared for meze

Salted sardines and anchovies

 

We are grateful to our parents for so many things.  They supported us, financially, emotionally and nutritionally, throughout all of our schooling.  They showered us with love, attention and encouragement every day, and they balanced their praise with enough well-deserved disapproval to keep us humble and in check.  This of course does not mean that we are perfect, but as parents, they kind of are.

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Cretan dakos (Κρητικός ντάκος)

~ miakouppa ~ 8 Comments

Cretan dakos

A traditional Cretan salad of tomatoes, feta and herbs on top of a barley rusk

Cretan dakos

 

Oh Crete, how we love you!  We’ve both had the great pleasure of visiting this largest and southernmost island of Greece,  spending weeks exploring the cities, beaches, gorges and of course, the tavernas and restaurants.  Cretan cuisine, like all Greek cooking, is based on fresh, local ingredients and the regional specialties often showcase food items you can only find there.  Fortunately however, much of what is loved and devoured in Crete can be replicated off the island, and this dakos salad is a perfect example of that.

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Frappé float (Φραπέ με παγωτό)

~ miakouppa ~ 2 Comments

Frappé float (Φραπέ με παγωτό)

Cold coffee the Greek way, with the addition of vanilla ice cream.

This post is sponsored by Ice Frappe.  All opinions on this post are ours.

Frappé float (Φραπέ με παγωτό)

 

We were recently gifted a beast of a machine; a powerhouse of froth-making which produces the most extraordinary frappé we have ever had.  Add to that the addition of amazing Nektar coffee, and you’ve got yourself a very happy situation.

Our Kalko Frappe machine was something we didn’t realize we were missing, until we used it.  Not only does it make an amazing frappe, it can also be used to mix other cold drinks, and cocktails! Are you as thirsty as we are?  Thank you Ice Frappe for the gifts!

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Vegan stuffed eggplant (Παπουτσάκια νηστίσιμα)

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Vegan stuffed eggplant (Παπουτσάκια νηστίσιμα)

A vegan version of a classic Greek dish made with eggplant, lentils and olive oil mashed potatoes.

We wish you could all read Greek! Because if you did, you would realize that the name for this recipe is so much more wonderful in Greek.  The literal translation for παπουτσάκια (pronounced pa-poo-tsa-kia) is little shoes. How utterly adorable and perfect is that! And how much more charming than stuffed eggplant.

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Honeydew ouzo cocktail

~ miakouppa ~ 6 Comments

Honeydew ouzo cocktail

Frozen honeydew, mint, lime juice and just the right splash of ouzo for your drinking pleasure

Our daughters are smoothie lovers.  Breakfasts, snacks, and late night hunger pangs are often addressed with a medley of frozen fruit blended together with either milk or juice.  So easy, they’ve been in charge of their own smoothie-making for years.  Our job is to ensure that there is enough frozen fruit available, and to supply a lovely, colourful variety to keep things interesting.

Although we purchase bags of frozen fruit there are some choices that you just can’t find easily. And so, we cut up things like papaya, cantaloupe, passion fruit (yes, we are exotic over here), and freeze the chunks on baking sheets before transferring them to a freezer bag.  One afternoon, feeling inspired and thirsty, and needing to free up some freezer space for the spanakopita we had made for another day, we decided to make some adult smoothies.

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