Deviled eggs

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Deviled eggs

The perfect appetizer; seasoned deviled eggs with a briny kick.

The summer months tend to make life seem simpler. Maybe it’s the longer days, the warmer weather, the fact that the school year is done, or the simple breezy summer dresses that make getting dressed, well, a breeze! Whatever the reasons, we find that summer entertaining always seems easier than hosting during the other seasons. If you’re fortunate enough to have an outdoor space, where food like souvlaki or grilled veggies can be thrown on the grill and you don’t have to worry about tidying up your house, all the better. But even if you entertain indoors, summer fare is usually lighter, easier and quicker; who wants to spend hours in the kitchen cooking when there are summer cocktails to make and sip?

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Pasta with Nea Fytini (Mακαρονάδα με Νέα Φυτίνη)

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Pasta with Nea Fytini

Pasta tossed with the classic Greek vegetable shortening and kefalotyri cheese

Mediterranean cooking prides itself on wholesome, nutritious food. Fresh ingredients, balanced diets heavy on fresh vegetables and just the right amount of animal protein. We love that we have been able to offer you so many of these healthy meal options, foods like Greek lentil soup, green beans and potatoes and spanakopita. Vitamins, minerals, and goodness, oh my!

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Roasted bone marrow

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Roasted bone marrow

A luxurious spread for crackers and crostini

If you consider the current bone broth craze you might conclude that deriving food from animal bones was a new phenomenon. It’s not. Bones, and more specifically bone marrow, have been consumed in Europe and Asia long before their present popularity in mainstream North America. Even within our continent however, Native Americans and the Indigenous people of Canada have included bone marrow in their diets for ages. And long before this there is evidence that our paleolithic predecessors chomped on animal bones; it’s no surprise that proponents of the bone broth movement are following the Paleo diet.

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Spinach and potato stew (Σπανάκι με πατάτες)

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Spinach and potato stew

A hearty vegan stew made with potatoes and greens in a tomato based sauce

This spinach and potato stew, also called Bonamatsi (Μποναμάτσι), is a dish common in the northern part of Greece, and not necessarily where our parents our from. Still, this was a meal that we would occasionally have growing up, particularly on fasting days. In fact, it was most often served in the days before Christmas, probably because a bowl of bonamatsi was filling and warming, perfect for the December in Canada. Holiday fasting periods aside, this was also a dish often made on Fridays, competing with the other simple vegan meal, fakes. By Friday, we now understand that our parents were relying on simple and straightforward meals to end the work week with.

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Orange muffins with dates and figs

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Orange muffins with dates and figs

Delicious muffins filled with dry fruits and bursting with citrus flavour

Our mother used to make a citrus bundt cake when we were young and she would puree an entire orange, peel and all, and then add it to the batter. One day we had a neighbourhood friend over while she was getting ready to bake this cake and we all decided to keep her company in the kitchen; our motivation being to lick the batter from the bowl and spoon before they got tossed in the sink for washing. As we settled in to watch her progress, we were surprised by our friend’s reaction to watching her blend the orange. She leaned over and whispered, “You’re not supposed to eat the peel!”.

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Banana and chocolate tsoureki french toast

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Banana and chocolate tsoureki french toast

Tsoureki french toast stuffed with chocolate hazelnut spread and banana

Whenever we go out for breakfast or brunch with our family one thing is certain; if there is a menu option which combines bananas and chocolate, someone will be ordering it. Everyone else will try to sneak a taste between bites of their own fruit cup and egg white omelet.

This winning combination of flavours can be enjoyed in so many ways. And in this post-Pascha period, when we are lucky enough to have some tsoureki left over, it only seemed natural to come up this!

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Vegan oatmeal cups

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Vegan oatmeal cups

Baked oatmeal mini-muffins filled with healthy, vegan goodness

Who doesn’t want a healthy snack that satisfies a need for something sweet, a bit of crunch and just the right amount of chocolate? We certainly think that a recipe which checks all those boxes should be in everyone’s repertoire.

What we love most about these vegan oatmeal cups is that they can be whipped together in only a few minutes, require very little baking skill, and can be enjoyed by almost everyone. Vegan? These are good for you! Gluten-free or Celiac? These are good for you too! Extremely picky? Well there’s no guarantee, but we think you’ll find these pretty okay!

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Chickpea wraps

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Chickpea wraps

Quick and easy vegan chickpea wraps

It’s 7:00 pm on the evening that we have planned to post this recipe. The recipe itself is already written, but this part, well….it’s a work in progress. Like, at this very moment, the writer half of us is trying to write something interesting, relevant, and chickpea wrap worthy…while ignoring the messages from the photographer half of us who is wondering if the post is done, so that she can go in and add the photos.

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Red lentil soup (Κόκκινες φακές σούπα)

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Red lentil soup

A gorgeous bowl of orange! A vegan soup full of beta-carotene and protein.

What a treat this soup is! Although our usual lentil soup is fakes, that classic Greek soup made with brown or green lentils, this red lentil and vegetable soup is a vibrant alternative.

Like other lentils, red lentils are highly nutritious filling, inexpensive and versatile. Their subtle flavour makes it easy to incorporate them into all kinds of dishes, and the fact that they don’t retain their shape when cooked is sometimes an added bonus.

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Mia Kouppa Lenten Meal Plan 2020

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Mia Kouppa Great Lent meal plan

A meal plan to take you from Kathara Deftera all the way to Pascha!

MiaKouppa2020LentenMealPlanDownload

We are so excited to be able to share with you our Lenten Meal plan! We’ve worked hard to offer you ideas for daily breakfasts, lunches and suppers as well as desserts and snacks. We know that the period of Sarakosti can be busy, sometimes stressful and occasionally overwhelming, and so we hope that our Mia Kouppa Lenten Meal Plan will help lighten the load.

Planning ahead is key to ensuring that you can keep your fast, however you decide to do so. We are not preaching that you fast in any particular way, but are simply offering you a reference tool should you need a bit of inspiration and help.

We’ve tried to make our Lenten Meal Plan as user friendly as possible. Here are a few ways we’ve tried to do so:

  1. Most recipes have a link which will take you directly to the recipe post. Hover over the name of the menu items which are written in blue and are underlined, and double click to get to the recipe.
  2. We have taken into account leftovers. So, for example, you may have Yemista one day for supper, and you’ll see that we suggest you have Yemista the next day for lunch.
  3. We realize that many of you (like us) work during the day, so suggested lunches are items which can be reheated or enjoyed cold or at room temperature.
  4. Most of our recipes do contain olive oil; this can easily be substituted with another type of oil. If you are abstaining from oil altogether on most days, then it may be a little challenging to use these recipes.
MiaKouppa2020LentenMealPlan-1Download
Mia Kouppa Great Lent meal plan