This is a simple, nutritious snack. Just get some dried figs (most health/whole food stores carry them) and some almonds. Cut the figs open, taken care not to completely cut it, and stick some almonds in the opening. Of course this works with other nuts also.
Here is a picture from the Spice Market in Istanbul where I saw this kind of snack among many other goodies.
We had quite a few of these little sticks while in Turkey. They are very easy to make and fun to eat.
Meat: You can use whatever you prefer: beef, pork, chicken, lamb, I’ve done similar once even with shrimp. Just marinate the diced meat with some olive oil, salt and onion juice for a minimum of two hours, over night is preferred (Shrimp are an exception, they only take 15 minutes). To get onion juice slice onions very thin, sprinkle some salt on, let sit for 5 minutes, and then squeeze out the juice. For the example in the picture I used about 2lb of pork, half a cup of olive oil and the juice of one medium onion.
Grilling: Put meat on skewers and place on grill. At the same time grill some vegetables like onions, tomatoes and bell peppers. In the example here I cut the vegetables into pieces and put them on the skewers alternating with the meat.
These kebobs go well with Greek salad as seen in the picture below. Note the thick slice of feta cheese, that’s how the salad was always served to us in Greece. We’ve never liked the crumbled feta in Greek salads as it is often served in the US. For more on Greek Salad see here.
Here is a picture form Turkey. We had the Kebobs this guys is preparing here in the picture for lunch.
Shrimp are always good :) and bring some nice variety to our dinner salads.
Shrimp: Simply pan-fry the shrimp with salt and pepper.
Salad: I used the store bought mixed salad again with the addition of radishes, little sweet peppers, basil and tomatoes.
Dressing: I mixed some lime juice, olive oil, a little honey, salt & pepper, chopped onions and chopped basil.
A quick, healthy and delicious dinner!
Can’t believe how much time past since my last post. One reason is our recent trip to Greece and Turkey. While over there I got to taste a lot of good food. So I came home with a few new cook books and plenty of ideas for things to try.
Here is the first example. We saw this pie all the time, usually for breakfast or fast food snack in bakeries. It’s pretty easy to make, particularly if you buy ready made filo dough (like I do)
Filling: Cook the spinach in a little water and then squeeze out any liquid as good as possible. Now mix the spinach with some crumbled feta cheese, chopped green onions, 1 Tbsp. dry dill (or use fresh if you have any), 2 lightly beaten eggs, salt && pepper.
Assembly: Grease the pie pan (I used a cast iron pan), gently put one sheet of filo dough in the pan, spray or brush with some olive oil. Let some of the dough hang over the side of the pan (you will need this later). Since the filo dough is very thin add another 4 sheets, applying some oil on each layer. Add the filling and now fold the overhanging dough over the filling to form sort of a package. Again apply oil on each layer as you fold.
Baking: Put the pan in the oven at 375 F for 40 minutes or until golden brown.
This pie actually tastes best when cold.
