I thought I would start a fun new little series about my life in Greece, it will be a little bit of education mixed in with some humor. I hope you enjoy it, and if you have a topic you would like discussed, for example: Gas Prices, then just let me know in the comments.
FOOD:
Greek food is known to be good for you, there is even the Mediterranean Diet that is a diet fad. The only problem about living in Greece is that Greeks think the ONLY thing to eat is Greek food, it kills me, I miss my International cuisine. Here are a few fun facts that perhaps you don't know.
Hummus IS NOT GREEK, but you will find it in all of the Greek Restaurants in the States, but you will not find it here in Greek Restaurants. Hummus is a Middle Eastern Food, think Arabic, but the main ingredient Tahini IS Greek, it is a dip all on it's own it is a paste made from ground hulled sesame seeds, but I think it is pretty gross and would rather have it made up into in Humus or better yet Halva. http://travelthrugreece.
Tzatziki: τζατζίκι [sounds like -za-ze-key] IS GREEK, my kids LOVE Tzatziki and eat a plate of it every day, they eat it with just bread, but there favorite is to dip french fries inside, it even wins over on ketchup and is so much healthier. Here is the recipe for you to try.
TZATZIKI RECIPE: (The more I spell this word the more I think I am spelling it wrong, lol)
Greek Yogurt (I believe the most common size to buy is 16 oz., is that correct?)
1 medium cucumber (grated and strained of all liquid)
3 garlic cloves-minced (less if you don't like garlic so much, more if you do)
1 tsp. of salt (salt to taste)
a dash of olive oil
a dash of red wine vinegar (we have homemade vinegar)*
- MIX
- REFRIDGERATE
- SERVE CHILLED
*substitutions: lemon juice, regular vinegar, or nothing.
Okay I found a video, now she strains her yogurt, if you buy regular yogurt you will need to do this, but Greek Yogurt is so readily available now that I wouldn't even bother, if there is a lot of liquid on the top of the yogurt just dump it out. I also just grate my cucumber on a plate, salt the cucumber and then tip the plate a little with the cucumber at the top and let it drain itself, you can squeeze it too like Eva does, I'm not a big fan of touching food if I can help it.
This is how my Mother In Law sounds, lol.
Please do not add anything else, no mint, or dill, I hate it when American Greek Restaurants do that, and my kids did too. You won't find any of those herbs in a Greek, Greek Restaurant's Tzatziki sauce.
I hope you enjoyed a little "taste" of Greece ;)
FOOD:
Greek food is known to be good for you, there is even the Mediterranean Diet that is a diet fad. The only problem about living in Greece is that Greeks think the ONLY thing to eat is Greek food, it kills me, I miss my International cuisine. Here are a few fun facts that perhaps you don't know.
Hummus IS NOT GREEK, but you will find it in all of the Greek Restaurants in the States, but you will not find it here in Greek Restaurants. Hummus is a Middle Eastern Food, think Arabic, but the main ingredient Tahini IS Greek, it is a dip all on it's own it is a paste made from ground hulled sesame seeds, but I think it is pretty gross and would rather have it made up into in Humus or better yet Halva. http://travelthrugreece.
Tzatziki: τζατζίκι [sounds like -za-ze-key] IS GREEK, my kids LOVE Tzatziki and eat a plate of it every day, they eat it with just bread, but there favorite is to dip french fries inside, it even wins over on ketchup and is so much healthier. Here is the recipe for you to try.
TZATZIKI RECIPE: (The more I spell this word the more I think I am spelling it wrong, lol)
Greek Yogurt (I believe the most common size to buy is 16 oz., is that correct?)
1 medium cucumber (grated and strained of all liquid)
3 garlic cloves-minced (less if you don't like garlic so much, more if you do)
1 tsp. of salt (salt to taste)
a dash of olive oil
a dash of red wine vinegar (we have homemade vinegar)*
- MIX
- REFRIDGERATE
- SERVE CHILLED
with grilled meats, bread, tortillas, pitas, chips, french fries, carrots, you name it, dip it!
*substitutions: lemon juice, regular vinegar, or nothing.
Okay I found a video, now she strains her yogurt, if you buy regular yogurt you will need to do this, but Greek Yogurt is so readily available now that I wouldn't even bother, if there is a lot of liquid on the top of the yogurt just dump it out. I also just grate my cucumber on a plate, salt the cucumber and then tip the plate a little with the cucumber at the top and let it drain itself, you can squeeze it too like Eva does, I'm not a big fan of touching food if I can help it.
This is how my Mother In Law sounds, lol.
Please do not add anything else, no mint, or dill, I hate it when American Greek Restaurants do that, and my kids did too. You won't find any of those herbs in a Greek, Greek Restaurant's Tzatziki sauce.
I hope you enjoyed a little "taste" of Greece ;)
7 comments:
o yum! we love Greek food and tzatziki is one of my favourites!! thanks for the recipe--will HAVE to make this one of these days!
interesting, i enjoyed learning, thanks
Fun post! Thanks for the recipe, it sounds yummy!! And perfect for our summer weather. Hope your back is continuing to feel better!
Now we're talking, nothing better than big thick cut fries and a plate of tzatziki....yum!!! I would like to try this recipe :)
She is so sweet:-)
I have made yogurt 'cheese' since I was a young girl - my mom always had fresh yogurt in the making. It surprises me that Americans are paying so much for greek yogurt , which has hit the markets with a craze.
My hubby and I just had tzatziki last night, with homemade hummous, leftover chicken, extra cukes, yellow peppers, on pitas. And mine had avocado as well. One of our favorite meals :-)
This is such a fun idea! Thanks for sharing with us. I love me some Tzatziki. :)
Do you have date syrup in Greece? It's common in the middle east, and if you can get it in Greece, I have an amazing tahini cake recipe (no, really. Mind blowing).
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