Cherries with feta

Home.  

There are many ways to interpret where 'home' is.  For some people, it is where they live now, for others it is where they were born, where they grew up, or where their parent's live.  As for me, I am still not sure where 'home' is.  You see, I was born in Oklahoma, grew up in Oklahoma, and still live in Oklahoma.  But I have never felt that I belonged here.  As a kid, once a year my parents would take me with them to California, Florida, or Mexico once a year in the summertime for a little vacation.  I think at the time I was too young to appreciate being in those other places.  Of course, even by the time I was 8 years old I knew a good filet mignon from a bad one, but I was not yet able to appreciate any of the local foods and cultures.   

There were a few years in between our family vacations and my going to Europe for the first time.  Fortunately, I was much older (17 years old) and already completely food obsessed.  I remember almost everything I ate and how it all tasted.  I can remember just experiencing so much while I was there that I didn't want to leave.  I kept a journal to make sure that I never lost any of those memories and took photos as well.  Since then, I have enjoyed vacations in Montreal and Bulgaria, the latter being my most recent.  Bulgaria in the summertime is spectacular.  Their produce rivals even that of the freshest you could find at any farmers' markets in America.  The cities are so large and yet so compact that it only makes sense to walk the one or two miles to the restaurant that you will be having dinner at.  Everyday, our hotel rooms were stocked with cherries, apricots, and strawberries that were so sweet, juicy, and ripe.  Walking around the city, you will find the fruit stands just overflowing with fruit, the tables groaning under the weight, just begging you to come and buy some.  

I felt what they call 'culture shock' not when I entered Bulgaria, but when I came back to America.  They are such different lifestyles, and I feel even the same when returning from France, Italy, and Montreal. Those, to me, are where home is.  Those are the places that I have been happiest, and thankfully, I am able to visit them and pretend to live there, at least for a few days.

I know that you might think me crazy for finding inspiration from a hotel's breakfast buffet, but this hotel did things right.  Sure they had toast, bacon, and scrambled eggs, but they also had ruby red tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese, yogurt, and tons of fruit out every morning as well.  The second day that I had arrived at my house from the airport, I walked to the grocery store, for the first time, and bought a bag of cherries, among other things.  After a day or two of eating them as they were, I thought back to the breakfast buffet, and after a second of ice box rummaging, obtained a bit of feta. I took the pits out of the cherries and set the feta ontop of them and savored every bite.

Please, taste cherries before you buy them, as their ripeness and sweetness can vary vastly, especially when your only supplier is the super market.  When you have a bag of perfectly sweet and juicy cherries, I urge you to get ahold of some good feta (not the pre-crumbled kind, please) and marry the two in a bowl or on a plate of straight off of the kitchen counter.  It is sweet and salty, but in a very fresh and summery way.  

Lima beans in broth

There is something to be said about those meals that can be started the moment you walk in the door, with out even taking off your coat.  Sure you could easily just make a salad or perhaps a peanut butter sandwich, but when I am tired, I want more flavor than that.  Those things are nice, but they seem more appealing to me as lazy lunches rather than dinners.  I have mentioned before about keeping a stash of certain this and that in the freezer and nary a week goes by that frozen lima beans don't save the day in one way or another.  Their cheery bright green colour make for a nice pick-me-up at the end of a long day as well.

Straight from the freezer and into the pan with some water to cover, a bit of garlic and oregano set on a simmer, you'll have plenty of time to change out of the days work attire and maybe even have some time to spare to smoosh some feta on half a pita.



1-1.5c. frozen lima beans

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4t. dried oregano

*enough water to cover

-In a small sauce pan, combine the ingredients and bring to a simmer.  Let this cook for 20 minutes, or until soft and fragrant. 

-Serve and relax.

Lima Bean and Feta Salad

Fall backs:  we all have them.  From peanut butter to soup, from tuna salad to omelettes, every one has at least one meal that they can make on a whim.  My fall back?  Frozen lima beans.

I can not tell you how many times these little green gems have saved me.  More often than not, there is at least one day a week that I have forgotten to prepare lunch the night before.  Yet, I remain unphased every time this happens because I take comfort in knowing that after a brief simmer on the stove and a toss with oil and vinegar, I have lunch for the day.

 

1c. frozen lima beans

~1oz. feta cheese

1/2t. olive oil

1/2-1t. red or white wine vinegar

dill, fresh or dried

oregano, dried or fresh

salt & pepper, to taste

-Fill a pot half way with water and put in the beans.  Let this come to a boil, cover, and remove from heat.  Let this sit for 4-8 minutes, until they are tender. Drain.

-Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl, the herbs and salt to taste, and toss in the beans. 

-Pack this away or enjoy immediately.

Spanikopita

Why is it that the term 'labor of love' automatically brings up negative connotations?  I am on a mission to change that.  Starting with this recipe for spanikopita.  I mean, I understand that phyllo dough can sort of make perfectionist want to rip out their hair and curl up in a ball in the corner and cry for a while, and I imagine that if I was a complete perfectionist, then that would have been me every time that I have worked with it.  But it is really good and makes for  such an interesting texture that, for me, is nice when you're in a bit of a food rut.  Or if you're just hungry.

  It is some seriously delicate stuff.  We are talking, wafer-thin, so much so that you could probably see through it in the dark.  Maybe. 

 Anyway, it most generally comes frozen and even when properly thawed can be difficult and definitely fiddly.  The sheets of this stuff are so thin that it takes about a blink to dry out, but that can mostly be avoided by leaving a damp cloth over the part that you aren't using.  

Still, though, I find that I can never peel away a whole and perfect sheet of the stuff, which is the part that if I were a perfectionist I would have my freak out; however, it doesn't matter.  

Yes, you read that correctly.  It. just. doesn't. matter.  

Who cares, or can event tell, to be honest, that each piece of phyllo was not one perfect sheet when there is spinach and feta cheese to distract them?  

Years ago, when I worked for a restaurant in my city, one of the caterers would make spanikopita for most of her parties.  Her version was a bit different than mine in that the filling was much creamier (I think she used a bit of ricotta cheese and eggs in the stuffing as well.)  and she made the spanikopita in little individual sort of triangular packets.  Talk about fiddly.

This version is much easier, just let the phyllo thaw in the ice box the night before you plan to make it.  When it comes time to make it, saute some onion and garlic, adding the spinach and feta cheese at the last minute.  Measure out some olive oil and brush in between each sheet of phyllo as you layer them into a baking dish.  After a few layers of phyllo (the laborious part,if you will, hence, labor of love) and spread half of the spinach and feta mix in an even layer.  Repeat this method a couple more times and bake until it goes crackly and golden ontop.  Eat it cold, room temperature, hot, however you feel and while I am sure the left overs are fabulous (top that with a fried egg....) however we ate the whole thing.  It was that good.

1/2 of a sweet onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, minced....
2 boxes of frozen spinach, thawed
....
1c. feta cheese, crumbled
....
1/3c. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 box (or there abouts) phyllo dough, thawed


-The night before (or morning of, whichever is easiest) put both the phyllo dough and the spinach in the ice box to thaw.
-When it comes time to make the dish, preheat the oven to 400f.
-Saute the onions in a swirl of olive oil in a pan until they begin to soften and take on a light golden hue; to this add the garlic and spinach. 

When using formerly frozen spinach, it is imperitive that you make sure to squeeze all of the water from the spinach.  If you have never done this before, there may be a surprising amount of moisture residing within the green pulpy mass, but you'll know when the water is gone.  Usually people just put the spinach into a tea towel and squeeze that, but I just put it in my sturdy sieve and, using a silicone spatula, press upon the spinach until no more water comes out.

-Once the mixture is heated through, remove from the heat source and mix in the feta.
-Now for the somewhat tricky bit- the layering.  I used a 6x10in. baking dish that I sprayed with oil.  Measure out the olive oil into a small bowl.  Roll out the phyllo dough on a completely flat surface and cover immediately with a damp cloth, to prevent drying.  If the sheets break, just keep in mind that you are just looking for a flat layer, so if you end up having to use several sheets sort of like you would in paper mache, its perfectly fine and won't noticeably effect the finished dish.
-Place a sheet of phyllo in the bottom of the pan, folding if necessary.  Brush this with a bit of olive oil, being gentle.  Don't freak out if it tears, because you will repeat this about 6-8 times so any tears or rips will eventually be covered up. 
-When you have finished the first 6-8 layers ('one layer' meaning one olive oil brushed sheet of phyllo dough) spread on half of the spinach feta mixture.  Repeat with the phyllo (6-8 layers), spinach, and finish with another 4-8 layers of phyllo.  By this time you are liable to be bored, so I wouldn't blame you for stopping at four layers but 6-8 is preferable here.
-Brush the top with olive oil and bake for 30-40 minutes, until the top is gorgeously crackly and golden.  Let this cool for about 10-15 minutes and eat cold, room temperature, or hot.

I served mine with some roasted tomatoes which was lovely because they cook at the same temperature and take about the same amount of time as the spanikopita.  After their roasting, they are filled with a tomato-y butter that is gorgeous alongside the spanikopita. 

Tomato, Leek, and Feta Bake

There is something special about using a new dish for the first time.  You might not remember the specific event for a lifetime, but for some, at least, it can make that evening's meal just a little bit more special.  This time, I even went the extra mile and made a new recipe to go with my new dish.  How appropriate, no? Well, maybe I am just an odd duck. Either way, I dare you to bake up some tomatoes, leeks, mushrooms, and feta cheese in any old dish and tell me that it isn't fabulous. 

2c. white onion, chopped
3c. leeks, cut into half moons and sliced
1c. mushrooms, cut in slices or quarters
2 cloves garlic, minced
1.5c. stewed tomatoes, drained of their canning liquid
2T. tomato paste
3-4oz. feta cheese, crumbled
(dried oregano, salt, and pepper to taste)

-First things first, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
-In a very, very large pan saute the onions and leeks together, and once they begin to colour, add the mushrooms and garlic. 
-When this has cooked through, add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and seasonings.
-Carefully tip this hot mixture into a baking dish (~12x8inches), strew with the snow white feta and bake for 20 minutes*.  
-If you find that the top hasn't browned enough for you in this time, drizzle with some olive oil and put under the broiler.
-This will make about 6-8 luscious mounds of caramelized vegetables that I urge you to drizzle with a touch more olive oil upon serving.

*Alternately, you could prepare everything up to the baking, wrap, chill and bake later.  However, if you do this in a ceramic dish, please let it come to room temperature as the sudden temperature change from the chilly icebox to the hot oven could cause cracking or breaking in the dish.