Peta

Peta

Filling                                                               Dough for crust

2-3 pounds spinach (fresh)                                1/3 cup butter

2-3 small onions                                               1 cup flour

½ cup olive oil                                                  1 egg

½ - 1 pound feta cheese                                   ½ tsp. salt

5-6 eggs                                                           ¼ cup warm water

dill (fresh or dried dill weed)

½ tsp salt

Italian parsley (optional)

Clean and cut up to 2-3 pounds spinach (fresh) and place in an extra large mixing bowl.  Set aside so spinach can drain free of water.

Chop up 2-3 onions.  Cook onions in sauce pan with ½ cup olive oil mixed with a little water.  Use about ¼ cup water.  Cook about 15 minutes or until onions are tender.

Crumble ½ to 1 lb. feta cheese.  A fork works well.  Also, you can use the cheaper feta cheese for peta.  The cheaper feta is usually stronger in taste and not as tasty to eat plain.

At this point, prepare the dough.  Melt about 1/3 cup butter.  Put about 1 cup flour, 1 egg, and ½ tsp. salt in a small bowl.  Add 2/3 of the melted butter and ¼ cup cup warm water to flour and egg.  (Reserve a little melted butter for the finished dough).

Mix until all flour is moistened (use hand or fork).  If dough seems too sticky, add a little flour.  Knead dough on floured surface until consistency is such that it does not stick to the surface.

Divide dough into 6 pieces.  Form each piece into a ball.  Roll each ball in the remaining melted butter.  Flatten first ball and place on a small plate.  Flatten ball 2 and 3 and place on top of ball 1.  Repeat this with remaining 3 balls, placing these 3 on a second plate.  Put plates in a warm (not hot) place.

Now complete mixing the filling-

Drain all water from the cut up spinach (place large plate on top of spinach and invert bowl to drain.  Some water will remain on leaves and this is all right)

Add 5-6 eggs to spinach.  Add crumbled feta cheese and the cooked onion mixture.  Add small bunch of dill (chopped) or ¼ to 1/3 jar of dill weed.  (I used Spice Islands brand of dill weed.  This is the ¼ to 1/3 jar measure.  The amount of dill added is strictly by taste and experiment).  Add ½ tsp. salt (again by taste).  A few sprigs of chopped Italian parsley is also good but optional.  Mix all ingredients with your hands.  It will be a little juicy but it should taste good enough to eat as is.  I never drained any of the juice because I feel that the juice helped the taste when baked.

Now you are ready to roll out the dough-

On a floured surface-

Place the 3 layers of dough.  Dust both top and bottom of dough well.  It must be able to spread easily on surface and should not stick to the rolling pole.  Using a long pole (18-24 inches long) or a sawed off broom handle, carefully start rolling the dough.  Roll dough from center out as you would pie dough.  If dough starts to stick, roll up dough on the pole and sprinkle more flour.  Unroll dough and continue rolling until piece is large enough to fit the large round peta pan or whatever pan you have.  You now have 3 layers of very thin dough rolled at one time.

Thoroughly oil the baking pan with olive oil or regular cooking oil.  Place dough in pan.  To place dough in pan, again roll the dough around the pole.  Unroll over the pan.  Put the side of the dough with the least amount of adhering flour toward the bottom.  This prevents unnecessary sticking.

Place filling in pan.

Roll out second set of 3 layers of dough.  Place on top of mixture.  Place floured side toward the mixture.

Carefully seal edges.  Moisten if necessary to make sure edges are sealed well.  This is important because the peta will be turned over half way through the baking.

Place peta in 375 degree oven.  Cook for about 25 minutes or until top crust is cooked to light brown.  Remove from oven.  Turn out the peta, upside down, on a cutting board or over sized platter (flip the peta onto board or platter so the bottom side is up).  Add more oil to baking pan if bottom seems dry.  Return peta to pan, bottom side up and return to oven.  Cook until crust is browned and cooked, probably about 25 minutes or more.

Remove from oven and cut.

I have tried to give you as much of the method as I can without being there.  What I have recorded here is just about the same as I took it down as when YiaYia did it.  I have had to try to put exact amounts to things that she did by feel.  I got so I could also do them by feel.  Get your feta cheese at Wegmans or at the Public Market on Railroad street at Roussos Market.  Roussos has 2 kinds.  A strong one which is cheaper I think and the other which is milder and more for eating plain.  I used the stronger for peta.

For questions with this, list them out on a separate piece of paper with space for answers and I will return immediately.  You have no idea how long it took to get all of this down and to try to make sure I did not forget anything.  I probably did anyway.

GOOD LUCK AND GOOD EATING!

I found that you can freeze this with ease.  Just wrap well.

Fresh Vegetable Soup with Lime

Ingredients

Extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion, diced
4-6 cloves chopped fresh garlic
2 medium zucchini squash, trimmed, sliced into coins, and quartered
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 heaping cup thinly shredded cabbage -- or coleslaw mix
2 14-oz cans  roasted tomatoes  with juice
1/2 cup chopped roasted green chilies -- mild or hot, to taste
2-3 cups light broth, as needed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil or cilantro
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
Hot red chili pepper flakes, to taste
A dab of  agave nectar , to taste (this cuts the acid of the tomatoes)
Juice of 1 fresh lime
Lime slices for garnish

Instructions

Drizzle a tablespoon or two of olive oil in the bottom of a Crock Pot or slow cooker and toss in the chopped garlic, red onion, and fresh vegetables. Add the diced tomatoes and roasted green chilies. Stir to mix.

Pour in enough broth to cover the veggies by an inch of liquid.

Season the soup with gluten-free Worcestershire sauce, fresh herbs, sea salt, and pepper. Cover and cook according to your manufacturer's instructions for vegetable soup.

Taste test for flavor adjustments and add a drizzle of agave and the juice of a fresh lime; taste, stir, and warm through.

Total Servings: 4

Nutritional Information Per Serving

Calories: 185
Carbohydrates: 24.4g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Fat: 110.g
Saturated Fat: 0g
Fiber: 3.9g
Sodium: 342mg
Protein: 3.3g

Greek Style Vegetable Pasta

Ingredients

1/3 cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and very thinly sliced
2 tomatoes, seeded and finely diced
12 Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
6 scallions, very thinly sliced
2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh dill
1 cup finely diced feta cheese
Salt and pepper
1 lb. penne or rotini pasta

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients except the pasta and the salt in a large bowl. Toss and let sit for at least 30 minutes, or up to 4 hours.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes. Carefully scoop the pasta out and add to the bowl with the veggies. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve warm or at room temperature.
Adapted from Main Course Vegetarian Pleasures
Total Servings: 8

Nutritional Information Per Serving

Calories: 317
Carbohydrates: 35.9g
Cholesterol: 58mg
Fat: 15.1g
Saturated Fat: 4.3g
Sodium: 289mg
Protein: 10.1g

Baked Garlic and Thyme

In this version of baked garlic, we season fresh bulbs of fragrant heirloom garlic with thyme. If you can’t consume six bulbs of garlic right away, you can easily freeze the cloves for later use and they keep for several weeks in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

6 bulbs fresh garlic
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch fresh thyme
unrefined sea salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400° F.
Gently rub away as much of the papery outer skins of the garlic bulbs of you can, but take care to leave the skins encasing the garlic cloves intact.
Using a good sharp and sturdy knife, chop the very top of the bulbs of garlic off so that you might expose the tops of the individual cloves of garlic.
Place the bulbs of garlic in a clay baker or casserole dish, root-side down.
Dot each bulb with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Cover the garlic with fresh thyme and sprinkle the bulbs with unrefined sea salt.
Bake the dish, covered, at 400° F for 30 to 45 minutes.  If you don’t have a covered casserole dish or clay baker, you may tent the bulbs of garlic with aluminum foil.
After about 30 to 45 minutes, when your home becomes fragrant with the rich scent of garlic and thyme, remove the garlic from the oven and allow it to rest and come to room temperature before serving it.  Baked garlic is perfect on its own or with a slice of bread, but it also adds a beautiful, deep richness to any dish in which you would customarily use fresh garlic.
Total Servings: 6

Nutritional Information Per Serving

Calories: 127
Carbohydrates: 4.1g
Cholesterol: 8mg
Fat: 8.0g
Saturated Fat: 3.8 g
Fiber: 0.9g
Sodium: 81mg
Protein: 0.7 g

Zucchini and Olive Salad

Thanks, WebMD Daily Bite!

Zucchini and Olive Salad

By Dana Treat
WebMD Recipe from Foodily.com

How can something that tastes so amazing be so very simple? Guests show up unannounced and you with nothing to put on the table? No problem. You can whip this dish together in under 15 minutes.

Ingredients

3 medium zucchini, ends trimmed, and sliced into 1/8-inch rounds
1 tbsp. lemon zest
½ cup Kalamata olives, pitted and very finely chopped
Olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
½ cup basil, julienned
Sea salt

Instructions

Arrange the zucchini in an overlapping pattern either on a rectangular or circular platter.  Scatter the lemon zest and olives evenly over top.  Carefully drizzle with olive oil (use a light hand here, otherwise it will get soggy), and then squeeze lemon juice over the zucchini.  Sprinkle with sea salt and scatter the basil over top.
Inspired by "Bon Appétit"
Total Servings: 4

Nutritional Information Per Serving

Calories: 48
Carbohydrates: 7.7 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Fat: 2.1 g
Fiber: 2.4 g
Sodium: 278 mg
Protein: 2.1g
Sugar: 3.0 g

AB's B and B's

I made these pickles today from cucumbers Heather and I got at the farmer's market this morning.  I can't wait to taste them tomorrow!  Recipe courtesy of Alton Brown.

Ingredients

• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 medium cucumbers, thinly sliced
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• Pinch kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon pickling spice

Directions

Combine onion and cucumber slices in a clean spring-top jar.
Combine the remaining ingredients in a non-reactive saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 4 full minutes to wake up the flavors of the spices.
Slowly pour the hot pickling liquid over the onion and cucumber slice, completely filling the jar. Allow the pickles to cool to room temperature before topping off with any remaining pickling liquid. Refrigerate.

Lemony Chicken Salad in Tomato Shells

These small, stuffed Roma tomatoes make a colorful and flavorful appetizer. The chicken salad contains celery and toasted almonds, which provides a little crunchiness to the stuffed tomatoes. You can share this recipe with others that are looking for good appetizers to serve.

ingredients

• 3/4 cup finely chopped smoked chicken or turkey
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped celery
• 1 tablespoon thinly sliced green onion
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise or salad dressing
• 1/4 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 10 to 12 small Roma tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped arugula, watercress, or fresh spinach
• 2 tablespoons chopped toasted almonds

directions

1. For salad, combine smoked chicken or turkey, celery, and green onion in a small mixing bowl. Stir in mayonnaise or salad dressing, lemon peel, lemon juice, and pepper. Cover and chill up to 4 hours. Cut tomatoes in half lengthwise. Scoop out and discard the tomato pulp, leaving 1/4-inch-thick shells. Place tomato shells, cut sides down, on paper towels to drain. Let stand for 30 minutes.
2. Just before serving, stir watercress, arugula, or spinach and almonds into the chicken mixture. Spoon some salad into each tomato shell. Arrange on a platter. Serve immediately or cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator up to 1 hour. Makes 20 to 24.

recipe source

BHG.com

Zucchini-Pepperoni Pizza Frittata

A frittata is a traditional Italian egg specialty that is similar to an omelet except that it isn't folded over. In this recipe, the frittata is given a lively twist with a pizza-like rendition filled with zucchini, tomato, pepperoni, and mozzarella.

ingredients

• 3 cups thinly sliced zucchini
• 4 eggs, slightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 teaspoons snipped fresh oregano
• 2 teaspoons snipped fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons snipped fresh marjoram
• 2 teaspoons snipped fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 1/4-inch-thick tomato slices
• 6 1/8-inch-thick pepperoni slices
• 4 ounces thinly sliced mozzarella cheese

 directions

1. Cook zucchini, covered, in a small amount of boiling water for 3 minutes; drain.
2. Combine eggs, flour, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Stir in oregano, thyme, marjoram, basil, and zucchini; set aside.
3. Heat olive oil in an 8-inch broilerproof skillet over medium heat. Carefully transfer zucchini mixture to hot skillet. Cook over medium heat about 15 minutes or until egg mixture is mostly set (surface will be moist). Do not stir.
4. Layer on tomato, pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese. Place skillet under the broiler 4 to 5 inches from the heat. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes or until top is set, cheese has melted, and pepperoni is sizzling. Cut into eight wedges. Makes 4 servings.
5. Menu Suggestion: Make it a meal with citrus greens salad and coffee or tea.

recipe source:

BHG.com