Category: Uncategorized

Halva with apple and raspberry (Χαλβάς με μήλο και βατόμουρο)

~ miakouppa ~ 6 Comments

Halva with apple and raspberry

A semolina based vegan dessert flavoured with apples and raspberry 

Halva with apple and raspberry

 

This is an example of what happens when you take basic principles, and then let your imagination run free.  The basic principle here is halva-making.  Semolina based halva (not to be confused with the tahini based dessert which goes by the same name) is really versatile, and once you understand the basic premise of how to put one together, it becomes very easy to make it your own.  We have already shared with you our parents’ basic halva recipe, flavoured with orange and studded with raisins.  It’s delicious and it’s a very popular dessert during periods of lent (halva is both dairy and egg free).  We’ve also shared with you a vegan chocolate halva, which is a bit more decadent, because, chocolate.  But the halva story does not end there.

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Pizza

~ miakouppa ~ 2 Comments

PIzza

We’re not really sure where this recipe came from.  True, it comes from our parents’ kitchen, but before that is anyone’s guess.  We also don’t know where the pizza inspiration came from.  Growing up, homemade pizza was not something that we remember having in our home, and then one day, on a day that we don’t really remember, our parents announced that they had made pizza…and there was no looking back.

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Oven-baked chicken and rice (Κοτόπουλο με ρύζι στο φούρνο)

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Oven-baked chicken and rice

A complete and delicious meal of lemon chicken and vegetable studded rice

For us, this is the ultimate comfort food; a meal where the ingredients cook together slowly so that the flavours meld and develop, while you sit back and spend quality time with family and friends as things get perfect in the oven.  This oven-baked chicken and rice dish is that kind of food.  Although there is some active stove top work to do before you can pop everything into the oven and forget it, the work is minimal, and easy.  The result, is most definitely worth it.

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Upside down apricot and molasses cake

~ miakouppa ~ 4 Comments

Upside down apricot and molasses cake

A classic cake which tastes of gingerbread and happiness

Upside down apricot and molasses cake

 

There is something so old-fashioned about an upside-down cake; whenever we make this dessert we feel that we should wear long, flowery dresses with embroidered aprons and then serve it with Salada in vintage tea cups and conversation about good books and family values.  We’re not actually sure when the first upside-down cake was made, but we’re pretty sure it was a long time ago and that it created quite a happy commotion.

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Mia Kouppa Baking Workshops: Nov 24 and Dec 1, 2018

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Hello Montreal and Laval friends (and those willing to travel!),

Join us for our first series of Mia Kouppa Baking Workshops where we will teach you how to make classic Greek Christmas cookies. On November 24, we will be baking melomakarona and koulourakia. On December 1st we will be baking kourabiethes and koulourakia. There will be demonstrations, hands on learning, taste-testing, and each participant will be able to take a portion of dough home to test baking times in their own kitchen.

Your ticket also includes:
A light nistisimo (vegan) lunch

Please note:
SPACES ARE VERY LIMITED.
Recipes on both days contain nuts.
Your ticket is non-refundable, however it is transferable. Let us know if you pass your ticket on to someone else prior to the event.

Click on the link below to purchase tickets, and for more information.
Looking forward to baking with you!

https://e.sparxo.com/Mia-Kouppa-Baking-Workshops?fbclid=IwAR3y-VSF_wu663aLNm3tWl3ri-GlL11X7LeuirAgK1bq5j76P-mCxhDbe3E

Loukoumades (Λουκουμάδες)

~ miakouppa ~ 6 Comments

Loukoumades (Λουκουμάδες)

Loukoumades: the original Greek doughnut hole 

Loukoumades (Λουκουμάδες)

 

Growing up there were a few things that we enjoyed watching our parents make almost as much as we enjoyed eating them.  The production of their homemade loukaniko (sausage) for example, was fascinating to watch.  We were captivated by the ways they found to stuff the sausage filling into the casings, manually and without any fancy kitchen gadgets.  Then for days afterwards we would walk into the kitchen to find loukaniko hanging on homemade racks, and we would see them dry as time passed.  Watching them make avgolemono soup was another treat;  listening for that famous air smooch at the end always had us giggle with delight. Making diples was another fun recipe to watch come alive; it was usually a production which involved several people and of course ended with one of our favourite desserts.  But perhaps one of the things we loved to watch most was the making of loukoumades.

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Cream of tomato soup (Ντοµατόσουπα βελουτέ)

~ miakouppa ~ 5 Comments

Cream of tomato soup (Ντοµατόσουπα βελουτέ)

Smooth, creamy and packed with flavour 

Cream of tomato soup (Ντοµατόσουπα βελουτέ)

 

We each have vivid memories of returning home after spending time at a non-Greek friend’s house and telling our parents about the unusual and often delicious foods we had eaten there.  We were both pretty adventurous and rarely refused anything which was offered to us.  We were especially intrigued by food which came from a can…because this was not something you ever saw in our childhood kitchen.  We were amazed at the convenience, the variety, the flavour, and the colourful labels and whimsical names that were stacked high in our friends’ pantries.  When we went grocery shopping with our parents we would search for these cans in the aisles and try to convince them to buy them for us.  It rarely worked.  Instead, our parents would read the labels, (often asking us to translate what was written) and say Θα το κάνουμε καλύτερα (We’ll make it better).  This was how we ended up with Greek-style beef ravioli, home-made alphabet noodle pasta, and this cream of tomato soup.

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Pita bread

~ miakouppa ~ 7 Comments

Pita bread

Soft and kind of fluffy pita bread

Pita bread

 

The French have the baguette, Mexican cuisine has the tortilla, Indian aloo gobi gets sopped up with soft, pillowy naan bread, and if you’ve every treated your palate to Ethiopian food you’ll likely remember using the pancake-like bread called injera to scoop up every bite you took.  Every culture, every cuisine seems to have a variation of some cereal or grain based bread that is quintessentially their own.  For Greeks, that is the pita.

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Mia Kouppa Workshop – Sept. 8, 2018

~ miakouppa ~ 5 Comments

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Hello Montreal and Laval friends (and those willing to travel!),
We are so excited to announce our first Mia Kouppa workshop; an evening of delicious food and fun. During this event you will learn how to make pork souvlaki, tzatziki, Greek salad, and baklava… and then get to eat it all!
There will be demonstrations, opportunities for hands-on learning and interaction, lots of eating and we’re pretty sure, a lot of laughs (there may even be some dancing going on!)

If you are going to be in Montreal or Laval on Saturday September 8th, we would love to meet you, and cook with you.

Your ticket includes:
– Cocktails and mezes prior to the active part of the workshop
– Dinner and dessert
– Wine
– Thank you token
– Lots of fun 😉

We look forward to seeing you there!

—————IMPORTANT—————

– Space is limited, don’t delay! 🙂 Click on the link to secure your spot: https://e.sparxo.com/Mia-Kouppa-Workshop-September-2018
– Please note that this menu includes nuts, gluten and dairy
– Please inform us on the members of your party (miakouppa@gmail.com) in order for us to arrange seating as best as possible
– Your ticket is non refundable. However, it is transferable! Please inform us on the name swaps

Oatmeal and chocolate chunk ice cream sandwiches

~ miakouppa ~ 6 Comments

Ice cream sandwiches

Oatmeal and chocolate chunk ice cream sandwiches: summer held in your hands

Oatmeal and chocolate chunk ice cream sandwiches

 

During the summer, the internet spaces occupied by Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest are replete with images of perfect, refreshing ice cream sandwiches.  All manner of cookie seem to be sandwiching all manner of creamy, cold filling, and they all look pretty darn delicious.  And so, we figured that we should feature our own take on ice cream sandwiches on Our Kouppes; after all, we love baking cookies, we enjoy ice cream, and we hate being left out of the loop.

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