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Do You Have a Favorite Greek Yogurt?
There is one only one - TOTAL - imported from Greece. I believe it is available in the US
Snapshots from Greece: Nescafe Frappe
Just use any instant coffee - you don't need anything special. Tupperware make shakers like this - called the 'quick shake' - google it.
You then just add water sugar (or splenda), a bit of ice, and if you like, a touch of milk or cream. Shake the heck out of it for 30 seconds, and pour into a glass (with ice if you want). There you go - instant Frappe.
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Who Likes Grape Soda?
The only thing that made my 3 hour wait at the US embassy in London bearable was the fact that they sold Welches Grape Soda at their refreshment counter. Yum!
Do You Have a Favorite Greek Yogurt?
There is one only one - TOTAL - imported from Greece. I believe it is available in the US
Snapshots from Greece: Nescafe Frappe
Just use any instant coffee - you don't need anything special. Tupperware make shakers like this - called the 'quick shake' - google it.
You then just add water sugar (or splenda), a bit of ice, and if you like, a touch of milk or cream. Shake the heck out of it for 30 seconds, and pour into a glass (with ice if you want). There you go - instant Frappe.
Snapshots from Greece: Assyrtiko Wine from Santorini
Santorini is beautiful. Easily my favourite Greek island.
Snapshots from Greece: Fage Yogurt
We get it in the UK too. Makes the best Tzaztiki ever!
Grilling: Buffalo Wings
I have a pretty easy recipe for wings - either grilled on the BBQ or baked in the oven.
Cut the wings into the constituent bits and get rid of the tips. Place them in a freezer bag, and cover with vinegar and either soy sauce, or Worcestershire sauce. About 1 cup vinegar to 1/4 cup of the other.
Allow to marinade for as long as you please - or (as I do), put this mixture in the freezer. When I feel like wings, I just take the wings out the night before to defrost, and in the morning put them in the fridge until the evening when I cook them - instant marinaded wings.
You can of course alter the flavourings to the marinade, but vinegar is a must.
Grilling: Pizza
I used a pizza stone on a grill once - it too burned the crust, but that is because I had coals directly beneath the stone. After a bit of playing around, I managed to get it to work with coals around the edges of the Weber so that there was only indirect heat, and putting the lid on too.
Of course, i'd rather have a wood fired oven, but this is second best.
The Greek Non-Breakfast
Its true - breakfast tends to be a cup of coffee, and maybe a biscuit/cookie.
Honestly, going to Greece this time of year just revel in all the best fresh fruits and vegetables. Try to eat out alot and try different things. Restaurateurs in Greece love foreigners as they eat early and are out of the restaurant before the locals start dining - so at least two sittings in an evening. Be sure to also have some good Greek fast food like a Gyros or Souvlaki sandwich.
How to Politely Take Food Photos in Restaurants
I think it depends on the restaurant. If it is a casual restaurant, then flash is not an issue. If you are going to a posh restaurant, then I think it really is not a good idea to use flash. At the end of the day, if more and more people are going to be obnoxious with their food photography in restaurants, then we will start seeing restaurants banning photography.
Be discreet - use a small camera with good high ISO performance and a fast lens (Lumix LX3 is probably the best for this right now). You can clean up high ISO images with software like Noise Ninja, or Noiseware (there is a free "community edition" - check it out - it is fantastic).
Cook the Book: Mama Voula's Spanakopita
Sure,
3 cups of flour, 1 1/2 cups of water, and about 1 or 2 tablespoons good olive oil (preferably Greek), and some salt. Just stick it all in a bowl and mix by hand or an electric mixer with a dough hook and work it until it becomes a dough ball.
Like all my moms recipes, they are not very precise - just go by feel. You should end up with a stiff dough. Stick it in a bag for a few hours to rest, then work the dough into a rectangle shape, add your filling, and roll it into a long sausage shape making sure the seam is on the bottom. Tuck the open ends under the pie (these crunchy ends are my favourite bits when they are cooked), brush with olive oil and (optionally) sprinkle some sesame seeds on top and cook as normal. Note this dough recipes makes enough dough for 3 or 4 large spanakopitas!
The insides are very much like the recipe above except I don't use eggs. Also don't feel like you have to use spinach or even baby spinach (which can be expensive). I use frozen spinach which I defrost and remove the excess water from. Frozen spinach needs a bit of cooking, so you can do that when you cook your leeks/onions or even pop it in the microwave just to soften it up. You may also need to give frozen spinach a bit of a rough chop (not too much).
Most important part of the insides of the spanakopita are the herbs, I would personally double or even triple the amount in the recipe above - depending on the freshness and strength of the herbs.
Cook the Book: Mama Voula's Spanakopita
You can make a simple pastry of flour, olive oil and water with a bit of salt. This is how my Greek mother and grandmother used to make their pies. Just roll it out, put the ingredients inside, then roll it up and tuck the ends in. Brush with a bit of olive oil and optionally sprinkle with some sesame seeds.
Tayberries Are Now In Season
These are popular at Pick Your Own Fruit farms here in the UK. Tayberries taste a bit like wine to me - very yummy. One thing that i've noticed though is that they do not last long after picking. You can visibly seem them start to deteriorate hours after picking. Just an excuse to eat them all of course!
How to Cold-Brew Iced Coffee
What's wrong with a good old fashioned Frappé? Just some instant coffee, water, ice and (optionally) a dash of milk or creme and sugar. Put it in a shaker, and shake away for about 20-30 seconds, and pour. Lovely.
Ikea Groceries: Some Assembly Required
Our Ikea's here in the UK sell alcohol, beer, wine, and liqueurs (I think). For me the best buys are the dill flavoured potato chips, the mini cinnamon buns in a bag, and those big wheel shaped cracker breads. Usually at Christmas time we buy some reindeer sausage, and always get the yummy cheeses. I particularly like the cheese and shrimp mix which comes in a toothpaste tube.
I actually had very good luck with the bread in a carton - came out very well indeed.
Do You Have a Favorite Greek Yogurt?
Cabot's Plain Greek Style Yogurt is absolutely wonderful! The price is right, too....much less expensive that Fage. Trader Joe's brand yogurt is also very good....especially the Honey flavoured. I like plain yogurt with a dollop of lemon curd....YUMMY!
Fage is fine but way too expensive.....rather make it myself than pay that amount. Oixos and Chobani, not so much.
Who Likes Grape Soda?
I stopped drinking soda about 20 years ago.
But I miss Fanta. Grape Fanta. Fanta Uva. Very cold, with two straws, straight from the glass bottle.
So I've had Boylan's once. It's nice, but too grown up. Not sweet enough.
Who Likes Grape Soda?
Love the grape Crush pop, but it's the only one I'll drink.
Who Likes Grape Soda?
Love, love, love fruit sodas. I've weaned myself off non-diet soda after 39 years, now I'm a Coke Zero drinker.
But when I want a treat? I reach for a Welch's.
And if they still made Strawberry soda, I'd reach for that too.
RIP Welch's Strawberry. You are much missed.
Who Likes Grape Soda?
I like all sorts of soda. I guess I rarely drink grape because typically I'm looking for "cold caffeine" and less sugar. But, if we are at a cookout or other event where tubs of sodas are iced down and I find a grape, I'll go for it.
Now, if you want to find most of the grape soda lovers in the world, head to South America, especially Brazil. Fanta orange and grape are big sellers there - if you need a break from the guarana ...
Who Likes Grape Soda?
Love love LOVE grape soda! Transports me instantly back to my grandparents house where it was always stocked in their fridge (still is). There's something about the artifical grape taste, the fizz, the pretty purple can that makes my mouth water. It's a, oh semi-annual treat for me but each time I have it, I fully appreciate all it has to offer. :-)
Who Likes Grape Soda?
The best part of grape soda is the strange blue foam it produces when you pour it over ice....
Who Likes Grape Soda?
There was a rock service station on the road from Wichita Falls to Greenville, Texas when we were kids. They had one of those big boxes full of almost frozen water in which were suspended glass bottles of Grape and Orange Nehi sodas and Coca Colas. These were the best things ever when you were driving the 1955 Chevy with no AC in the summer to see Grandmother. They also had a nifty cage with squirrels in it and of course.
Cakespy: Pizza Pie Dessert
Dessert pizza is tough but when everyone is full and you got all this dough then you gotta think of something! Everytime I have people over for pizza this fresh fruit dessert pizza makes an appearance. Its fun and its a fan favorite. I guess its like a fruit tart but its fresh and has a MUCH better crust. Check it out at the link below. Its in the middle of the second row...
Thanks and FORZA PIZZA!!
-Alberto
PS - I also tried a nutella and banana dessert pizza with crumbled graham cracker but havent perfected it yet. Its on my site somewhere too. I'm thinking about adding marshmallows to it...we'll see.
Who Likes Grape Soda?
I wish I had more access to Fresca from Mexico. While it is also part of the Coca Cola family, the recipe is completely different as it is sooooooo not a diet drink. Mexican Fresca has an addictive, fresh grapefruit flavor that blows our homegrown version and Squirt right out of the water.
Who Likes Grape Soda?
AHH the essence of my childhood! Seeing that photo reminded me of drinking grape soda at sleep away camp in peconic dunes, while eating a grape ice pop during snack time--sandals in the dirty sand, sitting on a log, grit from the ground clinging to the condensation on the bottom of that cold purple can of Welches. You nailed it on the head...I am not a soda gal these days. When I get the urge I prefer a limonata or a trader joes grapefruit soda, but I still LOVE a grape soda now and then. Boylan's does a nice version of grape soda (even diet when your feeling sugared out) and if you live in the burbs, Fuddruckers has it on tap.
Do You Have a Favorite Greek Yogurt?
oikos w/ honey!!
Grilling: Buffalo Wings
I had the same burnt skin problem when I tried cooking my wings over direct heat. I spent the whole cooking time flipping, moving, and jockeying the wings around. A few were blackened anyhow:
Grilled chicken wings with spicy asian glaze
I agree with you, that indirect heat is a better way to go. My only problem with the indirect method is you can't put as many wings on the grill:
Do You Have a Favorite Greek Yogurt?
Greek Gods Yogurt - Honey Flavor
Do You Have a Favorite Greek Yogurt?
Fage with honey is fantastic
Tried Oikos and didn't care for it, same with Chobani.
Cabot's is hard to find but I did and it was a dissappointment. There is a local European, Turkish, Greek foodstore around here that I hear makes their own that I need to try. That said however, I really only like Fage as far as grocery store Greek yogurts are concerned.
Do You Have a Favorite Greek Yogurt?
Liberté Méditerranée or Astro Balkan Style - but maybe only in Canada?
Do You Have a Favorite Greek Yogurt?
It's Fage or Trader Joe's for me.
Do You Have a Favorite Greek Yogurt?
I think Oikos, Chobani, and pretty much all the others I have tried taste vile.
Do You Have a Favorite Greek Yogurt?
Cabot's Greek Style yogurt - their low-fat vanilla bean is our current favorite, and gotta love that it's made in Vermont!
Do You Have a Favorite Greek Yogurt?
The Greek Gods honey flavor. One of the best things I've ever eaten.
Do You Have a Favorite Greek Yogurt?
I agree with Oikos being running. I buy TJ's simply because it's cheaper, but I love Fage.
Do You Have a Favorite Greek Yogurt?
@jay27 - I agree with you; Voskos is my favorite too! I can't believe it hasn't been mentioned more than once in this thread...
3 Greek Gods is my second choice, after Voskos.
As for the Oikos (Stonyfield), I don't really care for any of them except for the strawberry flavor... the plain, vanilla, and honey flavors all have a strange, chalky consistency; I don't know how the strawberry flavor managed to escape the same fate, but it is the only Oikos flavor that I ever buy.
Do You Have a Favorite Greek Yogurt?
I'm curious about the Stonyfield - I usually grab TJ or Fage, just because they're so prevalent.
Do You Have a Favorite Greek Yogurt?
I get TJ's regular goat's milk yogurt, and strain it down to a Greek yogurt consistency. Its a little work for outstanding results.
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The only thing that made my 3 hour wait at the US embassy in London bearable was the fact that they sold Welches Grape Soda at their refreshment counter. Yum!