LENTIL, PEA AND ROASTED CHERRY TOMATO SALAD WITH TAHINI DRESSING

     Getting ready for summer is a never ending struggle for me, as I am one of those people who leave it at the last minute. I always have an idea about what I want to do and look for tickets, possible accommodation options and what the food situation is in the destination, but I have a hard time deciding on it. A very important factor on making plans for vacations are your companions. Are your companion/s ready to make a commitment? Are they adventurous or like to keep it safe? Numerous determinants and factors contribute to your ideal and final choice of destination.

     However, next month might find me in the middle of Italy, savouring a big slice of pizza or eating two scoops of Italian ice-cream. Visiting this county never gets old I have to admit and there is nothing like living the Roman Holiday à la Audrey Hepburn, don't you think? I will just have to do my little research of what to see and look for in Florence and Siena and then hope for a nice weather and delicious adventures ahead. 

     Summertime brings another flavour to our food. Gone are the heavy sauces and the cheesy dishes this time around. At least for me. I like letting my stomach to relax a little bit from digestion and eat dishes that are light, but tasty of course. Salads or roasted meet is a good choice for this season. But salads sometimes tend to be this boring mixture of tossed green vegetables accompanied by some equally boring dressing. No, no. Not the way to enjoy your meal. 

     When I was thinking of a proper salad to make, my mind came to lentil salad. Lentils are normally eaten in a soup with some feta for me and bread on the side. They are however a wonderful ingredient for a warm or later cold salad. This salad might need a little more effort than what you would give for a salad in other circumstances. That said it is a delicious dish I enjoyed making and eating, with a wonderful combination of ingredients and an amazing tahini dressing you won't stop eating.

Lentil, Pea and Roasted Cherry Tomato salad with Tahini Dressing

ingredients (for 2 to 4 people)

for the salad

1 cup uncooked brown lentils

2 cups frozen peas

2 gloves garlic

1 bunch of cherry tomatoes (with around 10 tomatoes)

olive oil

rosemary leaves

50 gr of good quality feta cheese

2 tablespoons pinecones 

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

garnish: avocado slices

for the dressing

2 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed butter)

1 tablespoon soya sauce

1 tablespoon honey

3 tablespoons white vinegar

1/4 cup water

1/4 garlic powder

How do I make it?

1. Preheat oven to 170C for the cherry tomatoes. Prepare a baking pan with some baking sheet and place the bunch of cherry tomatoes on top. Sprinkle some olive oil generously on top and place the rosemary leaves on top of the tomatoes. Place the baking pan in the oven and roast the tomatoes for around 25 minutes or until they become soft and their juices start coming out.

2. Next, cook your lentils. Normally I cook the lentils with a ration of 1:2 in salted water (1 cup lentils, 2 cups water) and then when they have soaked the first amount of water I taste them to see if they need more water. You don't need too much water for this as they won't be part of a soup. So imagine you cook them as you would cooke your rice. Taste the lentils to check for firmness. We want them soft but not too mushy. 

3. Place some butter in a medium pan and in medium heat. Chop nicely the gloves of garlic and transfer them into the pan. When the garlic has turned slightly brown, pour inside the frozen peas and some salt. Mix through the cooking of the peas and pour some water inside if they start to stick on the pan. The peas need around 10 minutes of cooking, not too much since they were frozen and not fresh.

4. Now that you have all the ingredients ready, let's assemble the salad. In a mixing bowl mix together 1 1/2 cup of cooked lentils and the peas together. Pour inside the chopped cilantro, the pinecones and mix again. Take a big serving bowl, then carefully place the salad on the center of the bowl. Take the cherry tomatoes out of the oven or where you had them cooling off, and place them on top of the salad. Then, with your hands (wear gloves if you want to) crumble the feta cheese on top.

5. For the dressing, mix all the ingredients in a bowl and using a hand mixer or with a spoon, mix very well everything. You are aiming for a creamy dressing, so no lumps should be left. I used a mixed I have for making frothed milk or frappe coffee. When you're done pour the dressing on top of the salad you had assembled in the previous step. Place some avocado slices or anything else on top to garnish. 

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES WITH ORANGE ZEST

    This time of the year arrived again. My birthday. Not very special, you may say, everyone has one, but my 29th birthday felt a little different than last year. This year it didn't feel as intimidating as it felt last year, although it set the time until 30 to only one year. Perhaps it was because I was in a better state in my life since last year, I was done with my thesis and lucky enough to get an internship. Or perhaps it was the love I got from the friends I invited over for some food and drinks. Who knows? Whatever it was, it felt good to celebrate my birthday and hope for an equal or even more celebratory 30th birthday.

      A friend of mine prepared an amazing gift, with two boxes containing gems inside. She had it all wrapped together with small details everywhere. I was in shock and utter happiness! For me, opening a present is half or even more of the total excitement. I felt like a kid again, savouring every item and every detail I discovered.  My friend (I will not say her name) has a talent for artistic things and I have to say I'm very grateful to call her my friend!

     Talking about presents and feeling loved, there is one person out there who probably deserves our love more than anyone else. Our mother, mom, mommy or whatever you call her. She is the person who will never stop loving us, who will drive us mad sometimes and who will in the end be right about most things. I'm not suggesting that our dads don't deserve our love or they did less of a hard work of bringing us up! But I feel that a child will always have a special relationship with their mother, an intimate connection.

     

   For this special person, a special gift is needed. I believe in handmade gifts for someone you really care for. So, for your amazing mum I have created a recipe for peanut butter cookies. But not just any peanut butter cookies! I know your mum must be elegant (and not a child), so I added some orange zest in the recipe to make it more adult appropriate. 

     You can be creative in the packaging of your gift as well. I used a beautiful ribbon that was part of the gift made me (which I mentioned above) and was perfect for wrapping together the cookies and making a small and cute bow. Pick something in a colour your mom would like, maybe get a plastic wrapping as well and give it to her. I'm sure she will feel happy and blessed!

Peanut Butter Cookies with Orange Zest

ingredients (for 12 cookies)

1/2 cup creamy pure peanut butter (100% peanuts)

2 tablespoons tahini

2 tablespoons honey

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons olive oil

zest from one medium orange

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

How do I make it?

1. In a bowl put together your dry ingredients, such as flour, baking powder, salt and orange zest. Pour and mix together in another bowl all of your wet ingredients: peanut butter, tahini, honey, olive oil and vanilla extract. Once you get a good mixture pour inside the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix well with a wooden spatula. At some point the mixing may not be so easy and you will need to use your hands. The mixture might be a little crumbly.

2. Preheat your oven to 170C and prepare a pan with a baking sheet. Then, start shaping your cookies! Take some dough with a spoon and slightly kneed it in your hands, flattening it out on the top and shaping it round. Place it on the prepared pan and using a fork start making a cross by putting some pressure on the top surface of the dough. I did it with the tip of the fork and made small  tip prints until I shaped a cross. Repeat the same ritual for all the resting dough.

3. Once you have your cookies ready, bake them for 10 minutes. You don't want to exceed this time as they will get too hard. We want them a bit soft.

4. Let the cookies cool completely before touching them as they will probably fall into pieces. Once they are cool, you can make your wrapping or transfer them anywhere.

5. Give your mum a kiss and the cookies!

Happy Mother's Day

BLISS BALLS WITH PUFFED AMARANTH, WHOLE WHEAT TAHINI AND COCONUT

     When life gets hard, we should get tougher! I was very excited the past few days for an upcoming pet arriving in our house. We were to have a wonderful husky puppy in our apartment a few days ago. But it seemed like it wasn't meant to be for now, there were a lot of problems from the beginning, and although we struggled hard, in the end we couldn't have the dog. We tried to stay positive about it and not give up! Because giving up means accepting that you are powerless and can only see the glass half empty. We may have been unlucky this time, but next time it will be better. I am sure of it!

     In other news, student and work life is getting pretty good. I have adjusted to it, only because I try to keep a fixed schedule of everything and keep myself fed well. For the later part, I have been making healthy lunch meals which I prep on Sunday and keeping myself energised by making some homemade protein bars. But what about snacks? Since I am a snack person, especially the days I work out, I need to have something easy and relatively healthy to munch on. Hence, the creation of bliss balls...

     Aren't they just the cutest? With one ball you can have a good amount of healthy fats (tahini and coconut oil) and complete source of protein (amaranth). I had to do some googling for this one, as I haven't used it before and didn't know what was its nutritional profile. 

     After some search, I learned that amaranth has some important benefits we need to be aware of:

• it's a complete source of protein, having all 9 essential amino acids
• it's a gluten free grain
• it can help with inflammation and high cholesterol levels (LDL) or triglycerides. 
• it's a very good source of vitamins and minerals

     

     I had some puffed amaranth hanging around my pantry and I wanted to give it a go in a recipe for a long, long time. Yesterday morning inspiration stroke! I created a very easy and simple recipe for a bite-sized snack that you can take with you anywhere. In this recipe I've added whole-wheat tahini, which I find pairs extremely well with coconut, but if you don't have it you can use simple tahini or almond butter.

Bliss balls with puffed Amaranth, whole wheat tahini and coconut

ingredients (makes 14 to 16 small balls)

1 cup Medjool dates 

1/2 cup almonds

1 1/2 cup puffed Amaranth

2 tablespoons whole wheat tahini

1/2 cup coconut flakes

1 tablespoon coconut oil

how do I make it?

1. If the dates are a little dry or hard, let them soak in cold water for 1 hour beforehand. Then, in a food processor put all of your ingredients apart from Amaranth. Let everything mix very well together. 

2. Step by step start adding the puffed Amaranth into the food processor. Once you have pour it all in and a soft sticky mixture is created, it's time to start shaping those bliss balls.

3. Take a tablespoon of the mixture in your hands and start forming a ball shape. Be a little thorough with this step, as you want the balls to stay sticky and not fall apart once you let them out of your hands. 

4. Place the balls on a plate or small pan and put them in the fridge to chill.

5. Enjoy every bite!

TAHINI AND COCONUT GRANOLA BARS

     Hello dear friends. I hope your week was just as wonderful as mine was. I did a lot of things, met with some friends and prepared a lot of food. A lot of friends and people I meet always ask me "how do you find the time and energy to make so many things"? I am known among my friends as the one who always bakes, cooks or makes something in the kitchen. This week I made some chickpea curry (as usual), hummus and tried a new recipe for red lentil fallafel (recipe for this baby soon). And I always say that I enjoy the sense of accomplishment I feel after I made all those things. I believe in making your own food from scratch and try to avoid as much processed foods as possible.

     This kind of change towards homemade and as much as possible natural food, happened I think about 5 years ago, when I really started paying attention to what I eat and not how much I eat. I don't know about anyone else, but I am concerned about what goes into my body. Of course I won't go crazy, because really you can't control everything,

 although you might think you can. You buy something that says organic or natural, and quite soon you read an article or find out that it's not so organic and natural after all. The only way to achieve that is if you immigrate to a virgin area, where no human presence has ever been...which is impossible.

     What I can suggest you do, if you want to take care of your nutrition, is to make most of your food yourself and when you buy something, look at the ingredients. Like for example there are so many granola bars out there. Some are pure sugar, in which case you better eat a candy bar instead, and other contain very few ingredients that makes them almost homemade. So, if you love the taste of homemade granola bar and have some time in your hands, I have the perfect recipe for you...

    These bars I made on Thursday are pure magic. Very simple to make and they don't require baking them, so actually they are not so heavy on your stomach. For me sometimes raw food is better for my stomach issues. They only thing you need is some good quality tahini or sesame butter, coconut flakes and some other few ingredients. I found that tahini pairs well with coconut, however, some of you might find the taste a bit too strong. You can substitute it for almond butter, which gives the bars a lighter taste.

Tahini and Coconut granola bars

ingredients (for 10 to 12 bars)

1 cup tahini or almond butter

1 cup coconut flakes

1 3/4 cup rolled oat flakes

1 cup roasted and roughly chopped almonds

1/2 cup raw honey or good quality honey

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

how do I make it?

1. First, in a large bowl put the oats, roasted almonds, cinnamon, coconut flakes and salt and stir a bit.

2. In a small sauce pan, pour in the honey and tahini on medium heat. Stir continuously until the honey melts and is incorporated with the tahini. Be careful to mix it all the time as you don't want the mixture to burn. 

3. Pour into the large bowl and with a big spatula or spoon, mix very well all the ingredients until you get a soft mixture that resembles a dough.

4. Prepare a medium pan with some paper sheet (leaving some paper on the sides) and pour in the granola mixture. Using your hands, press the mixture until it covers all the pan and has a somewhat smooth surface. 

5. Cover the pan with a transparent sheet or a clean towel and refrigerate for two hours or better overnight.

6. Using the sides of the baking paper, pull the mixture out and using a sharp knife, cut into desired shapes of bars.

HOMEMADE HUMMUS (ΧΕΙΡΟΠΟΙΗΤΟ ΧΟΥΜΟΥΣ)

     I am the type of person who procrastinates, a lot! It begins with little things like cleaning my room to bigger ones, which are too embaracing to share. This happened with a few things I want to try in the kitchen. There are so many... but I never get around doing them because either life gets in the way (it's summer right now, so you get the point) or I am watching Scandal and can't be bothered with doing anything else. So, I have always heard of people eating hummus and how chickpeas are full of protein and it's actually really good for you. I even tasted it a while ago when I was out eating with a  friend and we had some falafel and hummus together. Oh dear Lord that was fun!

     Είμαι το είδος του ανθρώπου που χρονοτριβεί, πολύ! Ξεκινάω με μικρά πράγματα, όπως τον καθαρισμό του δωματίου μου μέχρι μεγαλύτερα, τα οποία είναι πάρα πολύ ντροπιαστικά για να μοιραστώ. Αυτό συνέβη με μερικά πράγματα που θέλω να δοκιμάσω στην κουζίνα. Υπάρχουν τόσα πολλά ... αλλά εγώ δεν καταφέρνω ποτέ να τα κάνω είτε επειδή η καθημερινή ζωή μπαίνει στέκεται εμπόδιο (το καλοκαίρι είναι εδώ, οπότε καταλαβαίνετε) ή βλέπω τη σειρά Scandal και δεν μπορώ να βρω το κουράγιο να κάνω οτιδήποτε άλλο. Έτσι, είχα ακούσει για αρκετούς φίλους να τρώνε χούμους και ότι τα ρεβίθια είναι γεμάτα από πρωτεΐνες και είναι πραγματικά πολύ καλή τροφή. Είχα μάλιστα δοκιμάσει πριν από λίγο καιρό, όταν ήμουν έξω για φαγητό με μια φίλη και είχαμε φάει λίγα φαλάφελ και χούμους μαζί. Ω Θεέ μου ήταν φανταστικά!

     

     It turns out homemade hummus is so easy to make. You can use fresh chickpeas that you boil yourself or canned ones (after you drain them). Tahini sauce goes so well with the creamy chickpeas and the garlic and lemon juice lift it up. After you've made it I am sure you will start eating it in numerous ways. With bread, vegetable sticks, a spoon... It tastes so good I wouldn't judge you! Plus it's a healthy food to snack on in moderation. You could also use it in some sauce for salad. It would be perfect for that.

    Όπως αποδείχτηκε το χειροποίητο χούμους είναι τόσο εύκολο να το φτιάξετε. Μπορείτε να χρησιμοποιήσετε φρέσκα ρεβίθια που θα βράσετε οι ίδιοι ή ρεβίθια από κονσέρβα (αφού τα σουρώσετε). Το ταχίνι ταιριάζει τόσο πολύ με τα κρεμώδη ρεβίθια και το σκόρδο με το λεμόνι το απογειώνουν. Αφού το φτιάξετε είμαι σίγουρη πως θα ξεκινήσετε να το τρώτε με πολλούς τρόπους. Με ψωμί, με στικς λαχανικών, με κουτάλι... Έχει τόσο υπέροχη γεύση που δεν θα σας έκρινα! Επιπλέον, είναι υγιεινή επιλογή για σνακ με μέτρο όμως. Μπορείτε ακόμα να το χρησιμοποιήσετε σε σος για σαλάτα. Θα ήταν τέλειο.

Homemade hummus 

ingredients

2 cups cooked chickpeas (boiled or canned)
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons tahini
juice from 1 lemon
1 small garlic clove smashed
salt, pepper

how do I make it?

1. Put all of your ingredients in a food processor. Start mixing until a cream starts forming. Using a spoon scrape the sides of the processor if needed. Continue mixing for almost 2 minutes until everything is processed and a light creamy paste is created. Taste for salt and pepper and add some if needed.


Xειροποίητο χούμους

υλικά

2 κούπες μαγειρεμένα ρεβίθια (βρασμένα ή κονσέρβας)
3 κουταλιές ελαιόλαδο
3 κουταλιές ταχίνι
χυμός από ένα λεμόνι
1 μικρή σκελίδα σκόρδο λιωμένη
αλάτι, πιπέρι

πώς θα το φτιάξω;

1. Βάλτε όλα τα υλικά σε ένα μπλέντερ. Ξεκινήστε να πολτοποιήτε μέχρι να σχηματιστεί μια κρέμα. Χρησιμοποιώντας ένα κουτάλι ανακατέψτε ότι υπάρχει στα πλαινά του μίξερ εάν δεν έχει ανακατευτεί. Συνεχίστε την πολτοποίηση για περίπου 2 λεπτά μέχρι όλα τα υλικά να έχουν πολτοποιηθεί και μια κρεμώδης πάστα να έχει δημιουργηθεί. Γευτείτε για αλάτι και πιπέρι και προσθέστε λίγο εάν χρειάζεται.

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ΜΠΙΣΚΟΤΑ ΜΕ ΤΑΧΙΝΙ, ΣΟΚΟΛΑΤΑ ΚΑΙ ΚΑΡΠΟΥΣ ΜΑΚΑΝΤΑΜΙΑ - COOKIES WITH TAHINI, CHOCOLATE AND MACADAMIA NUTS

Χθες είχα έμπνευση! Πρόσφατα είχα δει μια συνταγή για μπισκότα με φουστικοβούτυρο και άλλα 2 υλικά μόνο. Μου φάνηκε υπέροχη σαν ιδέα και αποφάσισα να το δοκιμάσω με μια ελληνική εκδοχή του φυστικοβούτυρου, το ταχίνι. Επιπλέον, έχετε δοκιμάσει ποτέ ταχίνι με σοκολάτα; Ο συνδυασμός είναι εκπληκτικός και συχνά αλείφω μερικές φέτες μπανάνας με αυτό. Είναι το τέλειο γλυκό σνακ μαζί με τον καφέ (ή χωρίς). Η συνταγή είναι πανεύκολη και δεν θα σας παιδέψει καθόλου. Πρόκειται για "γεμάτα" σε γεύση μπισκοτάκια, τα οποία περιέχουν κάτι το τραγανιστό εξαιτίας των μακαντάμια.

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Inspiration hit me yesterday! I had recently stumbled on a recipe for peanut butter cookies with another two ingredients only. I thought it was a great idea and decided to give it a go with a little more greek version of peanut butter, tahini. Also, have you ever try tahini with chocolate? The combination is explosive and I often like to spead some of it on top of banana pieces. It's the perfect sweet snack along with a cup of coffee (or without). The recipe is super easy and will not bother you at all. It's about "full" is taste cookies, which have the crunchy effect coming from the nuts.

Μπισκότα με ταχίνι, σοκολάτα και καρπούς μακαντάμια

υλικά

(για 14-16 μεσαία μπισκότα)

1 βαζάκι ταχίνι με κακάο 

1 αυγό

1/4 ζάχαρη κρυσταλλική

10 μακαντάμια

100 γρ κουβερτούρα

πώς θα το φτιάξω;

- Προθερμάνετε το φούρνο σας στους 175 βαθμούς. Σε ένα μεγάλο μπολ ανάμειξης αδειάστε το περιεχόμενο του βάζου μαζί με το αυγό και τη ζάχαρη. Ανακατέψτε καλά με τη βοήθεια ενός μίξερ για 1-2 λεπτά. Τέλος προσθέστε 10 μακαντάμια που θα έχετε ψιλοκόψει σε μούλτι.

- Ήρθε η ώρα για πλάσιμο! Αφού καλύψετε ένα μεγάλο ταψί με χαρτί ψησίματος, πλάστε μικρές μπαλίτσες και τοποθετήστε της στο ταψί σε αρκετή απόσταση μεταξύ τους, ώστε όταν θα ψηθούν να μην κολλήσουν μεταξύ τους.

- Ψήνετε για 10-12 λεπτά και έπειτα τα βγάζετε από το φούρνο και τα αφήνετε να κρυώσουν. Όσο κρυώνουν, λιώστε την κουβερτούρα σας σε μπεν μαρί ή στο φούρνο μικροκυμάτων. Με ένα κουτάλι και αρκετά ψηλά από τα μπισκότα περιχύστε τη σοκολάτα με παράλληλες ευθείες κινήσεις  ώστε να έχετε ωραίες ευθείες γραμμές.

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Cookies with Tahini, chocolate and macadamia nuts

ingredients

(for 14-16 medium cookies)

1 jar of tahini with cocoa

1 egg

1/4 granulated sugar

10 macadamia nuts

100g dark chocolate

how do I make it?

- Preheat your oven to 175 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, pour the contents of the jar along with the egg and sugar. Stir well using a mixer for 1-2 minutes. Finally add 10 macadamia you get chopped in a food processor.

- It's time for kneading! After you fill a large baking dish with baking paper, knead small balls of cookies and place them on the dish at a sufficient distance from each other, so when cooked they do not stick together.

- Bake for 10-12 minutes and then remove from the oven and allow to cool. Until they are cooled, melt your chocolate in a double boiler or microwave. With a spoon and quite high off the cookies pour the chocolate with parallel straight motion to have nice straight lines.