Category: Vegetarian

Apple and almond salad

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Apple and almond salad

Mixed greens tossed with apple wedges and slivered almonds, tossed with an apple cider vinaigrette

We try to have salad for lunch almost every day. It’s easy, nutritious, generally low-calorie and the options are limitless. In the summer, when the garden tomatoes are at their finest we tend to eat a horiatiki, or Greek salad, every day. Other seasons, we try to incorporate different ingredients, like apples in the fall.

This super simple salad is a breeze to make, but don’t let its few basic ingredients fool you; the flavour is big.

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Potato Salad (Πατατοσαλάτα)

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Potato Salad

A light and delicious potato salad full of wonderful textures and flavours

We went to a lot of picnics when we were kids. In late spring, summer and early fall, when the weather was inviting, our family would spend Saturdays on the mountain. If you’re from Montreal, you know that the mountain refers to Mount Royal. Declared a heritage site by municipal authorities and the Government of Quebec, the mountain covers 10 square kilometers, right in the heart of Montreal.

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Bagels with “smoked salmon” and fried capers

~ miakouppa ~ 2 Comments
Bagels with "smoked salmon" and fried capers

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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Artichokes and peas in an egg-lemon sauce (Αγκινάρες με αρακά αυγολέμονο)

~ miakouppa ~ 3 Comments
Artichokes and peas in an egg-lemon sauce

A stew of artichokes, peas and potatoes in a rich and tangy egg lemon broth

This recipe is pretty intense. Not in preparation; you’ll see that it’s no more difficult than many of the other recipes we’ve posted. No…it’s intense in the feelings and thoughts it elicits. Some good; this dish is delicious and today we love to eat it. But some, less good; when we were kids we thought it looked and tasted like throw up, and cried when it was for dinner.

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Fide soup (Fithe soup) (Σούπα φιδέ)

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Fide soup

A simple pasta soup made with thin noodles and flavoured with a touch of olive oil

Growing up Greek, our chicken noodle soup was called fide. To be honest, it was a little different than your traditional chicken noodle soup; for one thing, it had no chicken. It also had no chicken broth, no vegetables and no herbs. In fact, fide (also spelled fithe) is nothing more than a noodle soup, cooked in water, flavoured with olive oil, sometimes sprinkled with a bit of mizithra, and ready to comfort every bit of your soul.

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Peach and habanero pepper jam

~ miakouppa ~ 4 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!

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Spanakopita no. 2 (Σπανακόπιτα no. 2)

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Spanakopita no. 2

Home made phyllo dough filled with spinach, herbs and feta

Spanakopita no. 2

 

Summer is almost over! How can that be?! As always, the months when school is out, the days are at their longest, and the sun smiles down warmly, pass all too quickly.  We try to hold on to the season by enjoying every moment left and by looking back at our June picnics, July getaways and August pool parties and barbecues, recognizing that although quick, our summer was blessedly full.

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Cretan dakos (Κρητικός ντάκος)

~ miakouppa ~ 8 Comments

Cretan dakos

A traditional Cretan salad of tomatoes, feta and herbs on top of a barley rusk

Cretan dakos

 

Oh Crete, how we love you!  We’ve both had the great pleasure of visiting this largest and southernmost island of Greece,  spending weeks exploring the cities, beaches, gorges and of course, the tavernas and restaurants.  Cretan cuisine, like all Greek cooking, is based on fresh, local ingredients and the regional specialties often showcase food items you can only find there.  Fortunately however, much of what is loved and devoured in Crete can be replicated off the island, and this dakos salad is a perfect example of that.

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Beans and rice

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rice and beans edited-2

This post, and recipe for beans and rice is sponsored by Purolator Tackle Hunger.  We were compensated for our time, and all opinions in this post are our own.

Beans and rice

 

How wonderful is it when the stars align? That’s exactly what happened when we were asked to participate in the Purolator Tackle Hunger game day food drive, which partners with the Canadian Football League to help raise hunger awareness and collect non-perishable food items and cash donations for food banks across the country.  Since its beginning in 2003 the Purolator Tackle Hunger® program has helped deliver the equivalent of more than 13 million pounds of food to food banks across Canada.

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Grilled vegetables (Λαχανικά στη σχάρα)

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Grilled vegetables

A medley of marinated and grilled vegetables 

Eat your vegetables!  Who hasn’t heard this, or uttered it, over and over again.  Sometimes getting your kids, your spouse, yourself to eat vegetables seems like an uphill battle.  Let’s face it, not everyone goes crazy for luscious greens like vlita or okra, or is satisfied with a meal whose main star is cauliflower. In fact, today we crave vegetables but there was a time when we would plan covert operations to stealthily dispose of the grossness that our parents put before us; our spanakorizo disposal tactics were legendary.  Still, even in the throes of our vegetable-hating youths, we never rejected vegetables that were marinated and grilled, and which usually happened to be served along with grilled souvlaki or steak.

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