Greek yogourt cake with lemon

June 12, 2020December 4, 2020 ~ miakouppa ~ 28 Comments

A perfect snacking cake with a hint of lemon

If you’re looking for a basic, delightful, slightly tangy snacking cake, this is it. Nothing fancy, nothing complicated, and nothing else required. Although fancier cakes are often welcome, sometimes you want a cake that can easily pass for breakfast and we think that this one does.

It’s always ~~nerve-wracking~~ exciting to allow a bundt cake to cool and to then flip the pan over and see a thing of beauty emerge. That is, if the cake comes out in one piece. No matter how delicious your cake has the potential to be, if you don’t grease your pan thoroughly and carefully, you could wind up with a bit of a disaster. Don’t believe us? You should, we speak from experience.

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Orange muffins with dates and figs

April 27, 2020April 27, 2020 ~ miakouppa ~ Leave a comment

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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Plakopites

December 9, 2019 ~ miakouppa ~ 4 Comments

A traditional savoury crepe-like recipe from the Peloponnese

We have previously posted photos on our Facebook page of our dad making plakopites. Reading through the comments, we heard from so many people who were asking (begging) for the recipe, so we anticipate that this is going to be a pretty popular post. Most individuals told us that they remembered their parents or their grand-parents making these savoury crepe-like treats, which are typically served in a pile with grated mizithra and a bit of olive oil between each one. Many of the comments also suggested that this was a recipe people had forgotten about; plakopites are pretty regional, common in the Peloponnese, and very old-school fare.

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Bagels with “smoked salmon” and fried capers

November 18, 2019 ~ miakouppa ~ 2 Comments

A surprising and delightful vegan alternative to smoked salmon

Several weeks ago we received a complimentary review copy of The Buddhist Chef, 100 simple, feel-good vegan recipes written by Jean-Philippe Cyr, the creator of The Buddhist Chef. Published by Penguin Random House Canada, this book arrived at exactly the right time. We have just begun the Orthodox Nativity Fast, during which time we essentially eat a vegan diet (although there are certain seafood which are permissible during the fast). We were hoping that this book would offer new ideas and inspiration, and it did not disappoint.

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Tiganites (Τηγανίτες)

November 4, 2019January 2, 2021 ~ miakouppa ~ 18 Comments

Fried dough, sometimes called Greek-style pancakes, topped with honey

How fitting that we are posting this recipe for tiganites, sometimes referred to as Greek pancakes, in early November. Fitting, because November is when much of the olive harvesting in Greece is occurring. Our mother remembers that when the men of the village set out to begin their long and hard days of manually picking olives from the trees, they were sent off with their satchels loaded with tiganites. These disks of fried dough helped to sustain them and nourish them for the day. Tiganites, she explained, were a great option when options were limited as they are made from ingredients that even the poorest family likely had on hand.

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Zucchini bread (Κέικ με κολοκύθι)

July 18, 2019July 31, 2019 ~ miakouppa ~ 4 Comments

A wonderful, sweet way to enjoy summer squash

If you’ve been following Mia Kouppa since the beginning you’ll know that most of our recipes are inspired by our parents and their humble, authentic, and delicious traditional Greek cooking. Of course, our parents don’t use actual recipes and so our job has been to painstakingly and with great attention to detail, measure, document, photograph, video and share their wonderful way with food. We know that we owe much, if not most, of our success to them and we are so grateful.

No-knead bread with halloumi, mint and orange

June 10, 2019March 2, 2021 ~ miakouppa ~ 12 Comments

A crispy crust and a perfect crumb of cheese, herbs and citrus

Bread is life. We don’t care how many diets exist which denounce bread as an evil scourge on waistlines, we love it. For us, bread is what makes a meal complete, like when we make green beans with potatoes and use bread to sop up all of the delicious sauces. Or when we finish our horiatiki salad and use bread to soak up the liquid left behind; olive oil, oregano, the juices from the tomatoes and little crumbs of feta. Divine. Life is too short to be denied carbs.

Tiganopsomo with feta (Τηγανόψωμο με φέτα)

May 21, 2019July 31, 2019 ~ miakouppa ~ Leave a comment

Crispy and thin fried bread stuffed with feta

We suppose that there is a sub-set of the population, those who shun carbs and avoid bread-y things like the plague, who really won’t appreciate a recipe which not only stars dough, but fried dough at that! But we think that the rest of you (which includes us), will welcome this recipe for crispy, fried bread stuffed with feta and will thank us for every lovely calorie.