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Lent and Lenten Recipes

You might be wondering, exactly what is Lent? Most people associate Lent with a period of “abstinence” from foods, and following Lenten recipes. Fasting just by itself has no real meaning. Its role is supposed to be a part of the attainment of Christian virtues. These virtues include:

Faith
Hope
Wisdom
Honesty
Humility
Patience
Courage
Faithfulness
Generosity
Gratitude and
Love, the greatest virtue of all.

So, Lent is a time for self-examination and preparation, and of taking an inventory of your inner, spiritual life. Fasting is just one part of Lent .

“Let us fast an acceptable and very pleasing fast to the Lord. True fast is the estrangement from evil, temperance of tongue, abstinence from anger, separation from desires, slander, falsehood perjury. Privation of these is true fasting.”
A Hymn of First Monday of Lent By St. Basil the Great

I have several cookbooks of my Mother’s and many of them have Lenten recipes. My Mother had definitely attained many of the virtues I listed above.

If you are interested in learning more about Lent and Lenten recipes, simply Google “Lenten recipes”. I did, and here’s what appeared at the top of my search:

Valentine’s Day Recipes

Looking for romantic Valentine’s Day Recipes? You’ve got 12 days to plan for a delicious treat. Here are some quick and easy drinks and desserts, two that include Greek yogurt, that I’ve collected for you.

Valentine’s Day Drink Recipes

Persephone

This drink is named after Persephone, who in Greek mythology is the daughter of Zeus. To prepare a Persephone, muddle mint leaves with simple syrup and pomegranate juice in a cocktail shaker. Add ice cubes and all of the remaining ingredients and shake well. This is a non-alcoholic recipe, but you might want to add a bit of the bubbly!

Greek Mojito

This mojito is made with Greek Metaxa brandy in place of rum. In a cocktail shaker, muddle mint with brown sugar and lime juice. Add Metaxa, lemon juice and ice. Shake well and strain into an ice-filled highball glass. Top with the club soda.

How about a recipe mash-up that’s a drink and a dessert?

Valentine’s Day Dessert Recipes

Bourbon Peaches and Cream Popsicles

The crushed peaches in this popsicle recipe are soaked in Bourbon. I would use plain whole-milk Greek yogurt. Since peaches are out of season, I would substitute frozen peaches whizzed in a blender, even though the recipe suggests canned. These pops will need to set until the mixture is completely frozen, about 5-6 hours.

Thinking of maybe a quick and easy pie for your Valentine?

No-Bake Berry-Yogurt Pie with Sugar Cone Crust

One of the ingredients for this no-bake pie is plain whole-milk Greek yogurt. The pie will need to chill until the filling is set, at least 8 hours or overnight.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

My 4 Favorite Greek Food Blogs

Kali Xronia! My first post for 2016 is about my 4 favorite Greek Food Blogs. These are blogs from which I draw inspiration, and bonus… they are all written in English.

1. Diane Kochilas “Greek Food for Life”

Diane is a Chef, and TV cooking show host, cookbook author and one of the world’s foremost authorities on Greek cuisine. Her beautifully photographed cookbook, Country Cooking of Greece, was reviewed as a “masterpiece” by the New York Times 2012, 100 best books. I’ve made Diane’s Greek Feta & Red Pepper Dip recipe and blogged about her expertise and latest book on the Ikarian diet.

@DianeKochilas

2. Peter Minaki “Kalofagas | Greek Food & Beyond”

Peter is one of Toronto’s finest Greek food experts and author of Everything Mediterranean Cookbook. He teaches Greek cooking classes, does private catering, and hosts Greek Supper Club “pop-ups”. I’ve made Peter’s pork chops recipe, and am lucky to call him my friend.

@Kalofagas

3. Ivy Liacopoulou “Kopiaste.. to Greek Hospitality”

Ivy is a Greek-Cypriot home cook, whose passion for cooking started much like mine, by watching her mother cook. She is the author of Greek Home-style Cooking, and teaches private and group cooking classes.

@IvyLiac

4. Mary Papoulias-Platis “California Greek Girl”

Mary is is a native Californian, born and raised in San Diego. Her blog is about the beautiful California coastline, as well as her enjoyment of Greek cooking, and sharing recipes. She co-authored Cooking Techniques with Olive Oil .

@CalGreekGirl

I hope you visit and enjoy all of these Greek food blogs. If you try any of their recipes, please let me know which are your favorites. Kali Orexi and Happy New Year! 🙂

Beef Stew

This blog post is about a beef stew recipe that I created after a bit of online research, and how I made a beef stew for Sunday dinner. Google “beef stew” and read through a few recipes. You’ll get a sense of the measurement of the ingredients. Pick your favorite recipe or a combo of a few. It’s pretty easy to come up with your own take on this hearty recipe.

TIP: Always read all of the way through any recipe(s) and get your ingredients ready before you start cooking.

Here are some of the fresh ingredients I used; 2 pounds of beef, 3 medium size carrots, 3 celery stalks, one 24 ounce package of fingerling potatoes, 1 large onion, 5 cloves of garlic…

… and 4 cups of broth (beef or vegetable), 1/2 can of tomato paste, and 3 to 4 tablespoons of olive oil. You see how I diced all the carrots, celery and potatoes to be pretty much the same size. That’s so they cook evenly.

Here are a few more ingredients; 1 teaspoon of salt, fresh ground black pepper to taste, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of paprika, and 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce.

You’ll want to dice the onion and the cloves of garlic. You’ll need a large pot, or a dutch oven. Add your olive oil to cover the bottom of the pot, heat the oil, and brown the beef.

Once browned, remove the beef from the pot, and throw in the onions and garlic, and cook until softened, a few minutes should do it.

When the onions and garlic are translucent, add the tomato paste and stir, then pour in the broth and continue to stir until all the ingredients are mixed well.

Oh! I almost forgot! I added a bottle of Bells Oberon beer too. Pick your favorite bottle of beer. Return the beef to the pot, cover and simmer on low heat until the meat is tender, 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours.

Add the veggies and continue to simmer until the veggies are tender, about 20 to 25 minutes.

This is where I embellish my recipe just a bit. I add frozen pearl onions and Lima beans. Keep simmering another 5 to 10 minutes, until the frozen veggies are cooked through. If your broth is too thin at this point, remove a cup of the cooking liquid from the pot to a small bowl and add 2 tablespoons of flour and mix well. Try to mix out all the lumps. Add that mixture back into the pot and simmer for 10 more minutes. That should thicken it up.

Serve with a big crust of bread, or with croutons, which is the way I like to serve it. I think beef stew is the perfect comfort food for Autumn.

Enjoy! 🙂 🙂 🙂