Back to School, Greek Style

Today was my husband’s first day of Greek class. No, we are not talking about My Big Fat Greek Wedding kind of Greek classes, but language classes. You see, my husband is in seminary, and Greek is the language of the New Testament.

It wasn’t until I had already made dinner plans for tonight that I thought, “I should have made a Greek dinner!” You know, lamb kebabs or moussaka, a greek salad, and baklava for dessert? However, I have never made any of these except the salad, so I’ll stick with what I had planned for dinner, and whip up one of my husband’s favorite after-school snacks—hummus and pita bread. It’s not Greek, but middle-eastern, so close enough!

The hummus is very easy, but the pita bread can be a little time consuming. It’s worth a try, if you are willing to put fourth the effort. If not, whip up the hummus and buy some pita bread from the store. It’s a great after school snack!

Hummus

2 (15.5 ounce) cans of chickpeas, drained, liquid reserved

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 cloves garlic

¼ cup tahini paste

2-3 lemons

2 tablespoons liquid from chickpeas

2 tablespoons olive oil

cayenne pepper (to taste)

Put the garlic in a food processor; pulse until it is well “chopped.” Add all of the other ingredients and blend until desired consistency.

Note: I sometimes add olive salad mix, or kalamata olives, or whatever kind of olives that I have on hand. It's really good, and you should try it. But, of course, it is not mandatory.

Pita Bread

2 ½ cups warm water

1 packet active dry yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons)

1 tablespoon honey

2 cups whole wheat flour

3 cups white flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon olive oil

In a small bowl, stir the flours and salt together.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add yeast and honey to 1 cup of warm water and stir until dissolved. Mix in ½ cup of flour mixture and let stand about 20 minutes, or until bubbly. Slowly add the rest of the flour and water mixture and mix on low speed for about 10 minutes, scraping down the side of the bowl when necessary. Allow the dough to rest for about 10 minutes, and mix on low speed for about 5 more minutes.

Transfer the dough to a well-oiled bowl and turn to coat the top of the bread (or I used Pam spray to spray the top of the dough). Cover the bowl with a damp towel, and let rise in a warm spot for about 1 hour (or until doubled in size).

Preheat the oven to 500º and place a cookie sheet in the oven.

On a well-floured surface, turn out the dough (sprinkle some flour on top; the dough will be sticky and a bit difficult to work with). Using a knife or a spatula, cut the dough into 12 equal pieces. The dough will stick to the counter, so make sure that you use plenty of flour and coat the pieces. Using your hands, spread each piece into a 6 inch round, like a small pizza crust. Let the rounds rest for 10 minutes. Working with two rounds at the time, transfer them to the oven and cook for 4 minutes. Flip them over with a spatula and cook for 1-2 minutes more.

**The pitas are supposed to “puff,” but only one of the six that I made puffed. If it does puff, press down with your spatula until it is mostly flat. If yours do not puff, and you want it to puff (so that you’ll have a little pita pocket to make sandwiches, etc.), try spraying the round with water 2-3 minutes before you put it in the oven.

Progress, and another Versatile Salad

Here's a little bit of what I've been up to lately:

We bought this bookshelf from Ikea. I think that it looks pretty, don't you? Those two frames at the top hold two tiny little paintings that my husband and I bought in Montmartre.

This is some of today's handiwork. We hung all of these frames!

Our little kitchen table.

Our "hutch" and the plates that I hung last week.

Another part of our kitchen, and a painting that I also hung last week.

I've decided that I work best when I'm working on one thing at a time, or in this case, one room at a time. So, today...the hall. Tomorrow, I think I'll work on our bedroom. Hopefully I'll have some more progress to show soon!

Saturday night we went to a "mixer" for incoming students. It was a barbecue, and we brought a salad with us. I also made a similar salad last week, so I'll give you both variations here.

Mixed Green Salad with Pecans, Goat Cheese and Fruit

10-12 ounces mixed salad greens
8 ounces crumbled goat cheese (you could also use blue or feta cheese)
Fruit--I use 2 pears, cut into slices, or 1 pound strawberries, hulled and halved
1/2 cup pecans
1/4 cup white sugar
pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
salt
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (I used "Pear Infused White Balsamic, you could also use Cider Vinegar or Red Wine Vinegar)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
fresh ground black pepper, to taste

For the Pecans:

Place a piece of parchment or wax paper on the counter. In a skillet over medium heat, heat the 1/4 cup sugar until it just begins to melt. Add the red pepper and pecans. Stir until the sugar is melted and the pecans are coated. Transfer to the parchment paper and sprinkle with salt. Allow the pecans to cool completely and break into small pieces.

For the dressing:

Mix the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, mustard, sugar, salt and peppers in a small bowl. Whisk well.

To serve, toss the greens with 1/4 cup of the salad dressing. Put the pecans, fruit and cheese on top, and toss lightly. Add more dressing sparingly, if needed.

A summer salad

To me, summer just aches to be celebrated with good food. I take that back--I love celebrating every season with good food. I love the change in the seasons, when I get to dust off those recipes that haven't been visited in a year.

This year, with our recent upheaval, we haven't had too much time to celebrate summer. We had a short stay at the beach with my parents, just before we moved. Those few days, plus the wonderful going away dinner with all of it's homemade indulgences that my family gave us (barbeque, home-made baked beans, old-fashioned potato salad, oh my!), have really been the extent of our summer bliss.

So, now that we're some-what settled, it's time to enjoy the season. I decided to try out Ina's "summer garden pasta," which I made more into a salad. Here it is:

Summer Garden Pasta Salad
adapted from Barefoot Contessa at Home

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 small cloves garlic, minced
5 basil leaves, julienned
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
pinch or two of kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 oz dried pasta (I used campanelle, but fusilli would work well too)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (fresh, please)
several handfuls of mixed baby greens



Mix the first seven ingredients in a medium bowl. Cover and allow this to marinate at room temperature for about four hours.

Cook the pasta in boiling water with salt until al dente. Drain and add the pasta to the bowl with the cherry tomatoes. Add the cheese and toss well.

Place a handful or two of baby greens on a plate. Put a few spoonfuls of pasta on top, making sure to drizzle a little of the olive oil marinade over the salad, and sprinkle some extra cheese on top. Enjoy!