Dandelion greens and grilled bread

July 5, 2021July 5, 2021 ~ miakouppa ~ 2 Comments

An open-face sandwich of dandelion greens and grilled bread flavoured with lemon, olive oil, garlic, oregano and feta

Χόρτα με ψωμί στη σχάρα. This post for dandelions greens and grilled bread is really just a composite of two other recipes we have already posted, with some small modifications. Still, we could not not share this recipe, because this open-faced sandwich is one that we grew up on, and it is all sorts of delicious!

The concept here is simple; after dandelions greens are cooked, Greeks like to toss them with a healthy amount of olive oil, fresh lemon juice, and a bit of salt and pepper. Often, that’s it! Sure you can add some dry oregano if you like, but that would usually be the extent of it.

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Spinach, arugula and strawberry salad

July 2, 2021July 2, 2021 ~ miakouppa ~ 2 Comments

A delightful summer salad made with baby spinach, fresh strawberries and tossed with a slightly sweet vinaigrette

Σαλάτα με σπανάκι, ρόκα και φράουλες. What a delightful salad this is! When we’re in full blown strawberry season, which in Quebec lands between June and October, we prepare this spinach, arugula and strawberry salad often, like every-few-days often.

We first had this salad, or something similar, at a friend’s home. In the center of the table, surrounded by all sorts of grilled meats, dips, potatoes and other salad sat a large bowl of green and red. It was the first thing to go, and almost everyone returned to get a second helping of the salad which was made with spinach and sliced strawberries. Since then we’ve seen variations at various gatherings, including those which we host.

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Traditional Greek recipes

June 22, 2021June 22, 2021 ~ miakouppa ~ 2 Comments

A compilation of 10 traditional Greek meals for anyone interested in cooking Greek food.

Παραδοσιακές ελληνικές συνταγές. Anyone interested in learning more about Greek cooking and traditional Greek recipes will welcome this post! We’ve compiled a selection of traditional Greek foods which go beyond the better known, and amazing moussaka and pastitsio (don’t worry, we’ve included those too!). We hope that this will help inspire you to make Greek main meals that you may not have heard of, but that we think you will certainly enjoy.

Traditional Greek recipes are very regional; depending upon what area of Greece you are living and eating in, recipes will vary. Our parents are from the Peloponnese, Messinia to be more exact. So, some of these recipes, and their specific preparation are specific to that area, and to our family. We hope that you will enjoy them as much as we do!

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Growing chives and making chive blossom vinegar

June 3, 2021June 3, 2021 ~ miakouppa ~ 2 Comments

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.

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Dandelions

May 18, 2021May 18, 2021 ~ miakouppa ~ 6 Comments

Learn why you should love and appreciate dandelions.

Is your lawn like ours, a beautiful sea of yellow dandelions? Yes, beautiful! Although dandelions are often considered to be a vile weed that gung-ho gardeners attack with gusto, we’re here to tell you that you should leave dandelions alone, or mostly! Once you learn about the benefits of these lovely plants, you’ll realize that they are nature’s gift to you, to your soil, to spring wildlife, and to children everywhere who happily collect yellow bouquets and offer them with sweet enthusiasm, as signs of love.

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Vegan moussaka

April 26, 2021April 26, 2021 ~ miakouppa ~ 8 Comments

A recipe for a plant-based, soy-free version of the classic Greek moussaka.

Νηστίσιμος Μουσακάς. Settle in guys, this is going to be a long one. No, not the post…don’t worry about that. If you’re here only for the recipes, you’ll be happy to know that this particular blog entry doesn’t come with any nostalgia, no family stories, and no personal anecdotes that some people seem to find annoying on food blogs. Also, some people love them and if you happen to be in that group of people, head on over to posts like Horta and How to dye really cool Easter eggs…and Thea Voula’s cheesecake. Heck, most of our posts come with a healthy dose of, well, US!.

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Vegan apple cake

April 20, 2021April 20, 2021 ~ miakouppa ~ 6 Comments

A wholesome apple cake which is vegan, fat-free, and sweetened with maple syrup.

Νηστίσιμη μηλόπιτα. A classic Greek dessert is milopita, a cake loaded with apples that is perfect with a nice Greek coffee, or a tall glass of cold milk. We could have milopita every day of the week, it’s that good! Although our original recipe is great, we do like to have options and so we have come up with an apple cake that can be enjoyed anytime, by almost anyone!

During periods of Orthodox lent, or when we are baking for vegans we love, this vegan apple cake is a sure winner. And its got even more going for it! This vegan cake is full of apples, uses both regular all-purpose and whole wheat flour, it’s sweetened with pure maple syrup and it contains no fat. We often joke that some desserts are healthy because they contain a vegetable (carrot cake anyone?) or a fruit (strawberry shortcake friends?) , but in this case, it’s actually true!

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Vegan shortbread cookies

April 16, 2021April 16, 2021 ~ miakouppa ~ 4 Comments

Very simple shortbread cookies that are perfect for Orthodox lent.

With these vegan shortbread cookies, what you see is what you get! We have lived the disappointment of using cookie cutters to shape cookies just the way we want them only to find that they have flattened, spread, or risen while baking. Cut out flowers, kittens and firetrucks end up looking like blobs. Still delicious, but blobs. Not these cookies! These cookies come out of the oven looking pretty much the way that they went in. No surprises!

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Chocolate and orange cake

April 12, 2021April 13, 2021 ~ miakouppa ~ 4 Comments

A vegan chocolate and orange cake served with an orange glaze

Νηστίσιμο κέικ σοκολάτας με πορτοκάλι. Do you sometimes feel that baking is for weekends, when you have more time to scoop, measure, mix and bake? That’s probably true if you’re thinking about making a samali which has a significant resting time. It may also be true if you’re planning to make bougatsa, given the phyllo folding that’s involved. But if you’re craving something sweet mid-week (which is frankly when we need it most) then pull out your apron, because we’ve got the cake for you.

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Minestrone soup

April 5, 2021April 13, 2021 ~ miakouppa ~ 4 Comments

The easiest and best vegetable minestrone recipe with beans and pasta.

Σούπα μινεστρόνε. Minestrone soup is one of those things that can quickly become a disappointment. We’ve had many in our day and although none have been horrid, the vast majority have been kind of blah. A little bland, a little uninspired, a little too unremarkable. The best minestrone soup that we’ve had, one that is full of flavour and pretty remarkable, has come out of our parents’ kitchen.