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Greek pasta salad

Greek pasta salad

Take your taste buds to the Greek Isles without leaving home by tossing together the flavorful ingredients to make our Greek Pasta Salad. This easy taste of the Mediterranean can be on your table as a change-of-pace go-along or light main dish.

What You’ll Need:
  • 1 (12- to 16-ounce) box radiatore or ruffles pasta
  • 1 (10-ounce) bag fresh spinach, rinsed, drained and coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 pound (8 ounces) feta cheese, crumbled
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
  • 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, drained
  • 1 cup bottled Greek dressing
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
What To Do:
  1. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain, rinse, then drain again.
  2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients; add pasta and toss gently until evenly coated. Serve, or refrigerate until ready to serve.

 

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EPLEPAI, A NORWEGIAN APPLE CAKE

A nice new apple cake

Ingredients:
1 Egg (63g)

2 Tbs Milk
3/4 Cup (158g) Castor sugar
1 Tsp Pure vanilla extract
1 Tsp Baking powder
1/3 Tsp Fine sea salt
1 Tsp Ground cinnamon
1/3 Tsp Ground cardamom
1 Cup + 2 Tbs (158g) All-purpose flour
1/2 Chopped almonds/or almond sticks (50g), toasted
3 Medium-sized tart apples
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 180° C (350° F), line a 18cm (7-inch) springform cake pan with baking paper and then butter it.
2. Peal, core, and dice the apples.
3. Stir all the ingredients together (the mixture will be similar to that of muffins).

4. Spread into the pan.
5. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

6. After 1 minutes, run delicately a knife along the side of cake to loosen, then remove from the side of springform pan.
7. Place a cooling rack upside down over the cake. Turn rack and cake over. Remove the bottom as well as the baking paper of the springform pan. Place back on the rack.
8. Cool completely before serving.

Comments:
I used Belle de Boskoop apples (my favorite eating and baking apple) for this cake, but Bramley, Reine Des Reinettes, Braeburn, Granny Smith, Gravenstein apples, etc… are also ok.
Serving suggestions:
Cut into wedges and serve with either sweetened whipped cream, sweetened thick yogurt or ice cream.
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Moist and Easy Cornbread

Nice and easy recipe. The best when fresh or toasted.

Ingredients

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus butter for baking dish
1 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly grease an 8-inch baking dish.

In a large bowl, mix together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, buttermilk, and butter. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the cornmeal mixture and fold together until there are no dry spots (the batter will still be lumpy). Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish.

Bake until the top is golden brown and tester inserted into the middle of the corn bread comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the cornbread from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before serving.

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Tomato Bisque

The very first soup we made together.
Ingredients

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon minced bacon (about 1/2 ounce)
1 Spanish onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 cups chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned
1 (28-ounce) can whole, peeled tomatoes (with liquid), roughly chopped
3 parsley sprigs
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
1 cup heavy cream
1 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Heat the butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring, until crisp and most of the fat has rendered, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Lower the heat to medium, add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until soft and fragrant, about 8 minutes.

Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Pour in the broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil while whisking constantly. Tie the parsley sprigs, thyme, and bay leaf together with a piece of kitchen twine and add to the pot. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

When the soup base is cool, remove and discard the herb bundle. Working in batches, transfer the mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Using a sieve over a large bowl, strain the tomato puree. Return the puree to the pot and reheat over medium heat.

Whisk the heavy cream and salt into the soup and season with pepper to taste. Divide among warm soup bowls, garnish with the crispy bacon, and serve immediately.