Greek Food Rocks my Socks

One of my favorite cuisines in the world is greek food. Whenever I'm given a choice between greek and anything else (even my native and beloved Puerto Rican), I will invariably choose a really good greek hole in the wall over whatever's being offered me. I still haven't mastered the cuisine, but I do have a handful of tried and true dishes that I can whip up whenever I'm feeling the need for Greeky Goodness.

Mediterranean Chicken Gyros

Lemony and delicious, these chicken gyros are sure to make pretty much anyone happy :-)
Ingredients:

•  3-4 chicken tenderloin cutlets
• juice of one lemon
• 1 package of crumbled feta cheese
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1 for cooking the chicken
• 1/2 tablespoon oregano, plus enough to season chicken
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• Good quality flatbread/pita bread
• Salt and pepper
• Romaine or butter lettuce
• 1/2 thinly sliced red onion
• Aluminum foil
• Tzatziki sauce (see recipe below)
  

Process:

1.   Season chicken with salt, pepper and oregano. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in skillet over med-high heat. Add chicken and cook until nice golden brown on both sides and until just barely before cooked all the way through. Remove from heat and cover, let sit for about 10 minutes. Chicken will continue cooking while it sits.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine juice, remaining olive oil, garlic, feta and 1/2 tablespoon oregano. Mix well.
3. Check chicken to see if it's done. If it's done, cut into bite sized chunks and add to the lemon/feta mixture. If it still needs some cooking, go ahead and fire the skillet back up and finish cooking your chicken. Once done, let sit for a couple of minutes before cutting into bite sized pieces and adding to feta mix.
4. Stir the chicken to coat with the feta blend. Let it sit for a couple of minutes while you prep to assemble your pitas.
5. Place your pita on a square of aluminum foil. Assemble your pitas in this order: tzatziki sauce, chicken, lettuce and red onions. If you have any leftover feta, you can add that as well if desired. Fold it up, using the foil to hold it closed. Serve and enjoy.

Tzatziki sauce

This is so good. Sometimes I daydream about plates of dolmades (stuffed grape leaves) and pools of tzatziki sauce. I'm starting to see it premade in grocery stores now, but none of those lifeless blends can hold a candle to a homemade batch of delicious and incredibly good for you T-sauce.

Good for you AND delicious? Why yes, you did hear right. Greek yogurt, cucumber, garlic, EVOO, lemon and dill combine to make a health nut's tastebud's dream come true. So enjoy this delicious treat, guilt free!

Ingredients

• One container plain greek yogurt
• One cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped or grated
• 1-2 cloves minced garlic
•  a good squeeze of lemon juice, about 2 tablespoons
• 1.5 teaspoons dill
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste

Process:

1. Squeeze cucumber between two paper towels to get excess water out. Place in a bowl. Add all other ingredients, mix well. Delicious in gyros, on turkey burgers, toast, etc.

Greek Green Beans

I'll be the first to admit this is a bit of an odd recipe that may not be to everyone's liking. I first had a similar version at a greek restaurant and agonized when I moved away, realizing only after several hundred miles separated us that I really really really liked these. They're very good in a vegetarian pita with thick slabs of feta, onions and green peas, although I like them best when paired with an herb and olive-crusted chicken breast.

Ingredients

• 1 bag frozen green beans
• 1 can stewed tomatoes
• 1/2 clove garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

  Process

1. Heat oil in a skillet. Add the green beans. It's ok if they're frozen, they sure won't stay that way for long. 
2. Add garlic and stewed tomatoes. You may want to chop them up a little with a spatula or knife. Add spices and sugar. As you cook it will start to thicken up a bit. Once that happens and the beans are cooked through, the beans are ready to go.

Spanakopita

Spanakopita is one of those things that is very easy to get wrong, but when it's right it's very very right. It's a spinach and feta filling in a flaky phyllo pastry. Now, before you go wrinkling your nose at the idea of "spinach" and "delicious" in the same sentence, let me tell you that when done right, the flavors of spinach, feta and dill blend together in a creamy bit of heavenly bliss wrapped in a lovely flaky pillowcase of phyllo dough goodness. If you've ever had spanakopita and hated it, I can pretty much guarantee that whoever made it just wasn't doing it right. Here to remedy that dreadful situation is my favorite recipe for this super yummy pastry. I don't remember where I found this, but the author clearly had greek blood in their veins. Enjoy! :-)

Ingredients

• 1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
• 1 large onion, diced (get prepackaged for convenience if you want. It's ok, I won't tell.)
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
• 4 ounces feta cheese
• 1/4 cup EVOO
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 package phyllo dough
• 1 tablespoon flour
• half a stick of butter, melted

Process

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat oil in a skillet. Cook onions until soft and transluscent. Add spinach, dill and flour. Cook until   moisture evaporates.
3. Remove from heat and add feta, eggs and S&P.
4. Place phyllo in a stack next to you and cover with a clean damp towel. Take one sheet and put in front of you. Dip a basting brush or paper towel in the melted butter and brush the entire surface of the sheet with the butter. Add another sheet, cover that one with butter. Add a third sheet, cover with butter. With a sharp knife, cut into 4 equal squares. Put a good spoonful of spinach mixture into the center of each square and wrap them up. Traditionally you'd made triangles, but I have terrible luck with that and couldn't begin to tell you how to do it correctly, so I just make little dumpling-like sacks instead.
5. Repeat the process until either the phyllo or the filling is all used up. Place on a baking sheet, brush with butter and bake for about 1 hour until golden brown.

Chicken Tacos, Corn and Black Bean Salsa and Fried Ice Cream

It's Mexican Night!

Ok, so it's 12:15 am and if there was going to be a Mexican night in this household it would have happened about 8 hours ago, but at 12:15 am no one should be keeping that kind of score, right? Anywho, here are some really yummy ideas for your next south of the border inspired menu. Let me know what you think in the comments below! :-)

Chicken Tacos

I was skeptical when I first saw this recipe. There just didn't seem to be anything very "taco-ish" about it... I mean red wine vinegar? C'mon!

I'm really glad I went for it though. It's a deliciously light and citrusy take on the usually spicy mexican favorite. I personally prefer the cleaner and fresher flavors in Mexican food, and this really delivers a lot of unexpected bright flavor. Try it and see!

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/8 cup red wine vinegar
•  juice from half a lime
• 1 teaspoon of white sugar (or a pinch of powdered Stevia/2-4 drops liquid Stevia)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 3-4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 chopped green onion/scallion
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• a few healthy dashes of dried oregano
• homemade flour tortillas (see recipe below)
• corn and black bean salsa (see recipe below)
• avocado slices
• shredded cheese
• shredded lettuce
• any other taco toppings you like

 Process:

1. Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken, cook until browned.
2. Add vinegar, juice, S&P, herbs, garlic and sugar. Cook for another 5-10 minutes.
3. Serve with homemade tortillas and corn and black bean salsa (see below). Top with your favorite ingredients.
4. Enjoy! :-)

Corn and Black Bean Salsa

Super simple and very delicious, this corn and black bean salad has a light clean flavor thanks to the lime and fresh cilantro.

Ingredients:

• 1 can of sweet crisp corn.drained and rinsed
• 1 can  black beans, drained and rinsed really really well
• 2 tablespoons diced red onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• a couple of good squeezes of lime juice

Process:

1. Combine everything in a glass bowl. Cover and chill for at least 20 minutes.

Homemade tortillas

These little beauties stay soft and pliable, and will pretty much make sure you never go back to store-bought again.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons shortening (I like butter-flavored crisco, but you can use margarine in a pinch)
• 1/12 cups hot water
• extra flour for rolling

Process:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Mix in the shortening with your hands. This will be kind of a messy process, you're looking for something that resembles cornmeal. I find squeezing and pinching helps.
2. Add water and mix until the dough forms. Flour your kneading surface and place the dough on it. Knead until smooth and elastic. 
3. Divide dough into 12 pieces and roll them up into a ball. Put the balls into a bowl and cover with a damp paper towel to keep the moisture in. Heat a skillet over med-high heat.
4. One by one, take each ball and roll it out into a thin tortilla shape. Most of your tortillas will probably be oblong instead of round, that's ok. Just make sure that they're as thin as you can get them, though they'll still be thicker than store-bought tortillas.
5.   Place the tortilla into the skillet and cook each side until golden and kind of bubbly. Put the tortillas into a large ziplock bag to keep nice and fresh while you roll out and cook the rest. Enjoy warm.

Fried Ice Cream

These babies require a lot of planning, anywhere from 4-24 hours. Lucky for us (not so lucky for our waistlines), each step is quick and easy, with most of the time just spent waiting for the delicious goodness to be ready.

You can drizzle them with regular chocolate syrup, but if you're feeling fancy schmancy give the amaretto-infused dark chocolate creation below a try.

Ingredients:

• Vanilla ice cream
• about 2-3 cups Corn flakes
• cinnamon to taste (about 2 teaspoons)
• nutmeg to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon)
• 2 egg whites, beaten until foamy
• chocolate syrup (see below for killer recipe, store-bought is ok too)
• whipped cream (see Peach and Blackberry Cobbler post for recipe)
• oil for deep frying

Process:

1. Scoop out ice cream and shape into balls with your hands. They should be roughly the size of a tennis ball. Place on a baking sheet and put into your freezer for at least one hour, or overnight is possible.
2. Put your corn flakes, cinnamon and spices in a large ziplock bag. Close the bag and squeeze it to crush your flakes. Shake it up to mix the spices in well.
3. Dip ice cream balls in egg whites, and then shake in the corn flakes mix. You may have to do it a few times to make sure they're completely covered. 
4. Freeze balls again, for about 2-3 hours. You want them as frozen hard as possible so that they'll withstand frying.
5. Once firm, heat oil over high heat. Using a slotted spoon or a frying basket, fry the ice cream balls 1 or 2 at a time for just a few seconds until golden. Drain, drizzle with chocolate sauce and whipped cream and serve immediately.

Dark Chocolate Amaretto Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 squares dark chocolate (at least 70% cacao)
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla
• a dash of cinnammon
• A splash of amaretto liquor (optional)

Process:

1. Melt butter in a medium sauce pan. Add cream and chocolate. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula until chocolate and cream have blended.
2. Add sugar and keep cooking and stirring until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Add vanilla, cinnamon and the amaretto. Serve immediately.

Peach and Blackberry Cobbler with Homemade Whipped Cream

Peach and Blackberry Cobbler

Of all the desserts in the world, this is one that I can't make, for the simple reason that I WILL EAT THE WHOLE ENTIRE THING AND YOU'LL HAVE TO PRY IT OUT OF MY COLD DEAD HANDS IF YOU WANT TO GET A TASTE OF IT!

See? It brings out the stark raving cobbler-addicted lunatic in me. I've been known to eat everything except one solitary spoonful, left behind just so I can say I didn't eat the whole dish. It's a sad sad thing, because it's just that amazingly good.

A couple of things you can do here to make this a little less bad for you:

Subsitute 1/4 of your flour for 1/4 cup of almond meal or almond flour. It has substantially fewer carbs, adds fiber and more protein.

Substitute 1 cup of sugar for approximately 1 teaspoon of Stevia (in powdered or liquid form). You may end up with a little less cake, but you'll also end up with a lot less of an insulin problem.

Use fresh peaches instead of canned. The cobbler will just taste a whole lot better, you'll have none of that nasty canned syrup stuff, and it's actually kind of neat to peel and slice your own peaches in a back-to-nature kind of way. I even tell you how in the steps below. 
 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• a few healthy dashes of cinnamon
• a few healthy dashes of nutmeg
• 1 cup milk (I use almond milk but any milk is fine)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• about 5 peaches (do not use canned if at all possible)
• 1 cup fresh blackberries (you can sub raspberries)
• Water for boiling peaches
• Ice water bath for peaches

Process:

1. Pour the butter in a rectangular glass baking dish.
2. In a mixing bowl combine 1 cup sugar, flour, milk, baking powder, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and mix it well. Pour it over the butter in the dish.
3. Fill a large pot with water, bring to a boil. Add a little lemon juice, about 1 lemon's worth. Place the peaches in the boiling water and boil for about 1 minute, then dunk into the ice bath. They will now be very easy to peel.
4. Slice the peeled peaches and arrange the peach slices over the batter. Add the blackberries; you should end up with a very fruit-dense cobbler. 
5. Sprinkle the 1/4 cup of brown sugar over the fruit.
6. Bake at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes. Serve warm with homemade whipped cream.

Homemade whipped cream

Ingredients:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon stevia (or 2 tablespoons sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Process:

1. On a low setting of your hand mixer, whip the cream just until peaks start to form. Then fold in the vanilla and sweeteners. Try to avoid overmixing to avoid a tough texture to your cream.

Kale: the Rock Star in my Garden

Kale is such a rock star, isn't it?Not only does it help protect against prostate, colon, lung and a host of other types of cancer, boost the immune system, protect against macular degeneration and retinal detachment, protect your bones and help treat Alzheimer's disease, but it also contains 200% of your daily intake of Vitamin C, 512%of your Vitamin A, and 700% of your Vitamin K. Our cabbagey friend Kale isn't happy with that though, oh no... it also packs a wallop of B-12 complex vitamins like niacin, thiamin, B-6 , etc. Just to finish putting every other green leafy thing to shame, this overachiever is also a rich source of copper, calcium, potassium, iron, manganese and phosphorus.

In a nutshell, if you have to pick only one leaf to buy this week, pick up some kale. Nothing else comes close.

I love cooking with kale. Unlike most leaves, it doesn't get all wilted, slimy and disgusting when you cook it, so it's fantastic in soups and sauteed in herbs and meat broth. You can even turn them into chips for a very easy side dish packed full of natural goodness. To celebrate the wonderful thing that is kale, I give you three of my favorite recipes.

Recipe #1: Crown Soup

My son named this crown soup because he thinks it's the best... soup... EVER! ... and because he has this totally adorable way of naming everything in ways that make no sense but Momma has to remember anyway. You'll probably recognize it as a soup you can get at a well known Italian chain, except this version has a lot more of everything in it (more kale and meaty stuff, yay!) and I think it just tastes a lot better.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound hot italian sausage ( I buy the bulk sausage, but if all you can find is the links that's fine too, just remove the casings.I also try to get it at the farmer's market, where it's organically grown. Again, if you have that option it's really nice, but if not no biggie. Get what you have available.)
• 1/4 pound of bacon, cut into small slices, kind of like big bacon bits (again, farmer's market bacon from pigs raised in a pecan grove is WAY better than grocery store bacon, but any bacon is always better than no bacon!)
• 1 32 ounce package of chicken broth
• a handful of diced red onion
• a couple of russet potatoes, sliced (optional, I leave them out to keep the carbs low)
• About 3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 2 or 3 big handfuls of chopped kale
• a couple of teaspoons of minced garlic, add more or less depending on taste. I usually use the stuff in a jar for convenience.
• A few dashes of fennel seeds to taste
• salt and pepper to taste

 Process:

1. Heat up a big pot. Throw the bacon in.Cook it up until crispy, then add the onions. Cook them together until the onions are caramelized and deliciously bacon-flavored.
2. Throw in your sausage and your garlic and mix it all up with the bacon and onions.Cook it through, breaking up any big chunks of sausage. Keep cooking past that initial sickly gray color until it's a delicious-looking golden brown. Remember, gray meat isn't cooked meat. It's just gray meat.
3. Pour in your broth and your potatoes. Stir it up, cover and reduce heat to medium. Cook until the potatoes are fork tender, maybe 10-15 minutes depending on thickness.
4. Pour in your cream, salt/pepper and fennel, stir it up. Then throw in your 2-3 handfuls of kale (don't be shy!). Stir it in, it will look like a lot at first but as it heats up it will wilt down just a little. Cook for about two more minutes, just until the kale is a deep pretty green. You'll find it won't really wilt, it will retain a great somewhat firm texture.
5. Enjoy! :-)

Recipe #2: Mexican Kale Salad

Yum is all I have to say about this bit of deliciousness. This is a great way to use leftover taco meat.


Ingredients:

• a few big handfuls of kale (general rule, at least one handful per person, but the more the better!)
• Some taco meat, about one 3-4 tablespoons per person (see below for recipe)
• fresh salsa, make your own or get from your deli (I like the Garden Fresh brand a LOT)
• fresh guacamole or avocado
• sour cream
• olives
• fresh jalapenos or red chilles
• sliced red onion
• green, red and yellow peppers, sliced lengthwise. (you can also add the mini red and yellow sweet peppers, delish!)
• oregano
• shredded cheese
• a little olive oil

Process:

1.  Heat up a little olive oil in a skillet. Add the peppers and onion, sprinkle with paprika. Cook until the onion begins to caramelize and the peppers turn black in some places. Remove from heat.
2. Add the taco meat and warm about halfway through.
3. Add the kale and sautee it with the taco meat until the meat is completely  warmed through if using leftovers. Otherwise cook until the kale is deep green and slightly softened, but not wilted.
4. Plate the kale and meat mixture and top with peppers, onions and everything else on the ingredients list. 

Taco meat:

Ingredients:

• Ground beef (grass fed is best, but use what's available)
• Cumin to taste
• Chilli powder to taste
• Paprika to taste
• salt/pepper
• dried oregano to taste (about 5 vigorous shakes of the spice jar)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons finely diced onion (I throw it in a food processor for a few seconds to save time)
• 2 cloves minced garlic

Process: 

1. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until translucent and caramelized.
2. Add meat, garlic and all seasonings.
3. Cook, stirring occasionally until the meat is a deep dark brown. If it's still gray you haven't been at it long enough, just keep going. 
4. Taste and add spices accordingly until it's just right.

Recipe #3: Kale Chips

Ingredients:

• Kale, the leaves cut away from the stems, washed and thoroughly dried. Use curly kale to cut down on bitterness.
• Olive oil
• Salt & Pepper 

Process:

1. Heat oven to 425. 
2. Arrange the kale leaves on a shallow baking dish or cookie sheet. Leaves should not overlap.
3. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Bake about 13-14 minutes, or just until they start to crisp up and turn brown at the edges. Timing is very important, too little time and they'll be limp, too much time and they'll taste burnt. One minute is all it takes to go either way.

 So there you have it. Three super easy ways to cook with kale. There are a million other ways to enjoy this superstar vegetable... what's your favorite way?

And so it begins...

Let me start off by saying that most of what I learned in the kitchen was through trial and error, gleeful (and sometimes not so gleeful) experimentation, and the thoughtful pondering and tweaking of countless recipes. I didn't go to school and I haven't taken any classes, so to any trained folks reading this, I apologize for any major rule breaking in advance ;-)

Now that that's out of the way, I bring you... Belen's Kitchen! A collection of culinary experiments in my quest to keep cooking fun, creative, and as close to paleo/primal as possible. For those not yet in the know, paleo and primal diets rely on keeping food as natural as possible, and cutting out sugary things like pasta, bread and potatoes. I won't bore you with the science of it all, but if you're interested check out http://www.marksdailyapple.com for some seriously great info on living a primal lifestyle. It's great stuff, and I highly recommend it.

I'll begin posting recipes soon (maybe even.. today?), just keep in mind that you'll see the occasional "fistful of this" and "mad dash of that" measuring units. I'll try to keep it as exact as I can, but sometimes really good food is the result of a very happy accident :-)

Til then!

XOXO,
Belen