Category: Dips and Spreads

Growing chives and making chive blossom vinegar

~ miakouppa ~ 2 Comments
An easy way to enjoy beautiful chive flowers

An easy way to enjoy beautiful chive flowers

We’re so excited to share this post on growing chives and making chive blossom vinegar. It is the first of a series of posts which will focus on growing herbs and then showing you interesting and easy ways to use them, where they are the star!

Growing up our parents always had a garden. When there was little outdoor space available, tomatoes and eggplant were grown in buckets on the balcony. As soon as they had access to a back yard, their garden exploded and they grew everything from asparagus to zucchini. They still keep a massive garden and we are all the benefactors of their harvest.

Continue reading “Growing chives and making chive blossom vinegar” →

Skordalia (Σκορδαλιά)

~ miakouppa ~ 4 Comments
Skordalia; Greek garlic spread

Greek garlic mashed potatoes or potato spread

Is it a puree? Is it mashed potatoes? Is it a spread? We’re not really sure what the best word is to describe skordalia. So, instead of trying to label skordalia, let’s just describe it. This is a recipe that mixes boiled and mashed potatoes with a lot (like, A LOT) of mashed garlic, vinegar and oil. Skordalia is creamy, tangy, definitely garlicky, and one of those recipes that we always think we should make more often.

Continue reading “Skordalia (Σκορδαλιά)” →

Baked feta wrapped in filo dough (Φέτα σε φύλλο κρούστας)

~ miakouppa ~ 12 Comments
Baked feta wrapped in filo dough

Feta wrapped in filo, baked and then drizzled with honey and sesame seeds

Have you ever had a cheese ball appetizer? Neither have we! Although we think that they sound pretty good, we’ve never gotten around to trying one, and you can be sure that our Greek parents never served such a thing either.

We think that you can forgive us for not experimenting; we already have a slew of cheesy appetizers to choose from when we want to indulge. Whether we opt for halloumi fries with a citrus mint dipping sauce or a baklava baked brie, there is no shortage of cheese mezes to compete with unknown cheese balls.

Continue reading “Baked feta wrapped in filo dough (Φέτα σε φύλλο κρούστας)” →

Peach and habanero pepper jam

~ miakouppa ~ 10 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!

Read more

Olive oil dip

~ miakouppa ~ 14 Comments
Olive oil dip with balsamic

In Partnership with GeoEvoo Inc.

One of the easiest appetizers to whip together at a moments notice!

We were never a bread and butter family.  If bread was going to be served with lunch or dinner (and let’s face it, it usually was), it was used to sop up all of the delicious sauces and juices which came with our great meals, like green beans with potatoes, stewed green peas and horiatiki salad.  No butter required.  And even if the meal was not bathed in rich delicious sauces, butter was unnecessary because our parents would either drizzle our pieces of bread with olive oil, or create an aromatic olive oil and vinegar combination that we could then dip our bread into.

Read more

Eggplant dip (Μελιτζανοσαλάτα)

~ miakouppa ~ 11 Comments

Eggplant dip (Μελιτζανοσαλάτα)

Eggplant dip (Μελιτζανοσαλάτα)

A Greek eggplant spread made with roasted eggplants, and a few other simple ingredients. Full of flavour!

We don’t know about you, but in our homes, melitzanosalata often plays second and third fiddle to some of the other, more popular Greek dips like tzatziki and taramosalata.  This is a shame, and every time we do have melitzanosalata, we vow to make it again very soon; it is so good, so easy, and pretty good for you too.  It is also a great way to use up any eggplant surplus from the garden when you don’t feel like eggplant chips (actually…we always feel like eggplant chips), or you don’t have the time to invest in making moussaka.

Read more

Tzatziki (Τζατζίκι)

~ miakouppa ~ 25 Comments
Greek Tzatziki

The classic Greek yogourt dip flavoured with garlic, cucumber and herbs.

When we were young, we didn’t have all of the gadgets and gizmos that kids today have to keep us amused.  We made our own fun, often out of nothing.  One of our favourite games was dubbed “Try to make the other person laugh”; one of us would be seated, and the rest of us would take turns, using a variety of tactics, trying to make that person laugh, without touching them.  The person who could hold out the longest without laughing was declared, The Winner!  We especially liked playing this game when our family was visiting from Ontario, as their visits usually prompted a larger get-together, with more aunts, uncles and cousins.  With so many kids, this meant hours of silly fun. It also meant that there was, of course, plenty of food.  Along with the pitas, keftedes, salads and grilled meats, there was always tzatziki.  Aside from being delicious, this garlicky dip provided more amusement. Invariably, a few of us would sneak a generous helping before the meal was served. We would then get really close to our cousins and siblings, preferably backing them into a wall, and breathe into their faces.  Oh, how we laughed and laughed, as they practically choked on the noxious garlic breath they were forced to inhale.  Good times.

Read more