Honey Sweetened Raisin Rolls

Plan ahead... needs to chill...

7 oz. wheat flour
4.5 oz. flour, plus more for kneading
1/2 Tbsp. yeast
4 oz. raisins
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. honey, warmed
1 oz. butter, melted
7.4 oz. milk, room temperature
half an egg
oil for greasing
cooking spray

2 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 Tbsp. honey

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large bowl, add flours, yeast, raisins, and salt. Mix with a spoon.

In a separate bowl, add the 1/4 cup honey and 1 ounce butter, and milk. Whisk.

Add in the half egg. Whisk again.

Pour wet ingredients into dry. Mix.

Knead on a lightly floured surface about 2-3 minutes. This dough is sticky. Do not add more flour. Make sure you have floured hands while kneading. It gets a little frustrating, but just keep dusting your hands with flour and knead as best you can. You want the dough sticky.

Coat the inside of a bowl with oil. Add the dough. Sprinkle with a bit of flour. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.

After an hour, turn dough out onto floured surface. Split into 8 pieces. Form into rounds.

Place the rounds on the prepared baking sheet.

Spray the baking sheet and dough rounds lightly with cooking spray.  Drape plastic wrap over the dough. Lightly tuck the wrap under the baking sheet. Chill overnight in the fridge.

The next day, remove the baking sheet from the fridge and set on the counter for about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Combine the 2 Tbsp. melted butter and honey together.

Bake the raisin rounds for 10-15 minutes until lightly golden.

When they are done baking, remove from oven and brush with the honey butter mixture. Allow to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

So delicious. 

Here is a link to the recipe I adapted: http://www.mygreekdish.com/recipe/raisin-bread-perfect-healthy-snack-stafidopsomo/

Pasteli

1 c. sesame seeds
1/3 c. pistachios, chopped
1/2 c. honey
1 inch lemon peel slice
1 tsp. lemon juice
dash or two of sugar

Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.

Brush olive oil onto a spatula. Set aside.

Add the sesame seeds to a small pan, and cook over low heat until lightly golden. Takes about 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat. Set aside.

Add honey, lemon peel, juice, and sugar to a pot. Heat over medium heat until simmering. Then stir continuously for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and carefully remove the lemon peel. Discard the peel.

Immediately add sesames and pistachios to the honey mixture. Mix well. Empty onto prepared baking pan.

Flatten the mixture with the prepared spatula.

Cool at room temperature about 20 minutes until semi hard. Cut into bars. Wrap each bar in wax paper. Store in an airtight container.

Makes about 10-12 bars

The recipe I adapted is from lemonandolives.com.

Greek Chicken

Plan ahead... needs to marinate...

1 lb. chicken, diced
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 Tbsp oregano
2 1/2 Tbsp. Greek yogurt
salt and pepper
Hot cooked rice

Combine everything except the cooked rice into a large ziplock bag. Make sure the chicken gets coated in the marinade. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes, or up to 24 hours.

Remove the chicken from the bag into a skillet. Throw away the rest of the marinade.

Cook the chicken over medium heat until cooked through. Serve over the hot rice. We'll definitely be making this again.

Kolokythokeftedes (Zucchini & Feta Balls)

3 c. zucchini, grated and squeezed with a paper towel
1/2 c. feta cheese, crumbled (or more!)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 sprigs mint, chopped
dried dill, coriander, parsley, sprinkled very liberally
salt & pepper to taste
1 egg, lightly beaten
pinch or two of Parmesan cheese
breadcrumbs
flour
oil for deep frying

Mix the zucchini, feta, garlic, mint, dried spices, salt and pepper, Parmesan, and egg in a large bowl. Mix in enough flour and breadcrumbs to be able to form the mixture into balls. Form the mixture into balls, and then roll in flour. Fry in oil until golden brown. Allow to cool. Serve with marinara or tzatziki sauce.

Here's a link to the recipe I adapted: kolokythokeftedes

Pseudo Tzatziki Sauce

This is usually made with yogurt, but I decided to use sour cream instead, and took tips from several different websites.

All ingredients but the sour cream

1 c. sour cream
1 c. cucumber, chopped
2 Tbsp. mint, chopped
1-2 Tbsp. lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
3-4 garlic cloves
1 tsp. olive oil

Add everything to a food processor. Process until smooth. Pour into a bowl and store in the fridge for 30-60 minutes until ready to serve. Use with a pita falafel sandwich. Spread the tzatziki sauce on the pita, then top with your choice of toppings such as spinach, red onion, olives, bell peppers, cucumber, feta cheese, and fried falafel. Delicious.

Falafel sandwich

Tzatziki Sauce

Hummus

2 cans garbanzo beans
juice of one lemon
5 cloves of garlic (or more!)
1/2 c. tahini
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cumin (at least!)
black pepper (lots and lots!)
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tbsp olive oil

Drain beans, reserving the liquid. Add all ingredients to food processor, and process till smooth. Add reserved garbanzo bean liquid until desired consistency. Sometimes I'll add more tahini or spices depending on the taste. We usually serve hummus with saltines and baby carrots, but you can use whatever you want!

Recipe courtesy of Joel Kimsey