Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Things You Can Do With Kalamatas

The other day I was surprised to note that I was going through my kalamata olives at a rather rapid clip. They were turning up more often in recipes that appealed to me, and once you buy a bottle you are caught in a vicious cycle of using it up and then buying more because you are always a few olives short of the next recipe.

Of course, I would never say you were a few olives short of the next recipe.

It turns out that kalamata olives have many uses. Uses you would never suspect of a kalamata, much less a generic black olive. I'm not talking about an appearance on a pizza or a salad. Kalamatas frolic in those playgrounds every day. I'm talking about roasted potatoes. I'm talking about orange zest. I'm talking about hot dogs. I'm talking about buttermilk bread.

You have no idea what I'm talking about because if you've had a kalamata, it was probably in a Greek salad with some feta, a cucumber, and a hefty dose of red onions. That is a perfectly good place to eat a kalamata. But once you're comfortable there, and you agree that the savory little fellow could get out a little more, here's four things you can do with kalamatas that you never knew you could do.

1. Dirty potatoes

Potatoes are dirty when they come out of the ground, and it's only fitting to serve them up dirty once in a while. Make some olive tapenade (blend up kalamatas, olive oil, and lemon juice or buy a bottled version like Trader Joe's) and toss it with roasted potato wedges.



2. Spaghetti with Orange Zest, Basil and Kalamatas

This is an easy weeknight pasta. Saute some chopped garlic in enough olive oil to coat your spaghetti. When the garlic is browned, add chopped kalamata olives and orange zest from 1 orange. Toss the oil mixture with the cooked spaghetti and sprinkle with salt, pepper, fresh basil and grated parmesan cheese.

3. Muffeletta Hot Dogs

From last month's Bon Appetit, an intriguing recipe for hot dogs turns them into a version of a classic New Orleans sandwich, the muffeletta. Make some more olive tapenade but keep it roughly chopped. Top the hot dog with the tapenade and sliced pepperoncini, and/or roasted red peppers.

4 Kalamata Olive Bread (Cooking Light)

The buttermilk in this bread makes it taste buttery throughout, it smells fantastic from the oregano and of course you get to have more kalamata olives. What could be better for a savory bread?
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 cup finely chopped onion
  • 9 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2 cups)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 2 large egg whites
  • 1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
  • Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until onion is tender. Set aside.

3. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Combine buttermilk, butter, and egg whites, stirring with a whisk. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in onion, olives, and oregano.

4. Spread batter into an 8 x 4–inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Pig Heaven


We are just back from a quick trip to Tampa to celebrate the birthday of one of my oldest and dearest friends.  I'm working on some additional posts, but for now I had to share this with you.

We drove down there on Saturday and it's about a 7-hour drive from the ATL.  Breaking up the drive with a lunch stop seemed like a good idea.  Except, we were on an interstate in southern Georgia which is pretty much a culinary wasteland.  Burger King, anyone?

That would be a negative.  But I will throw some of my standards out the window and eat at Chik Fil A.  I can easily make a meal out of a chargrilled chicken sandwich and a diet lemonade.  Of course, we're not going to talk about sustainability or anything else related to the way all that chicken is processed.  We won't talk about chemicals, either.  Still, if you're on the road, it's one of the better fast-food options.

Our stomachs told us it was time for that lunch break right around the time we hit Cordele.  We exited the highway and passed every fast food place you've ever heard of (and some you probably haven't) except ...  Chik Fil A.  Alrighty then.  No McDonald's or Taco Bell for us.  Onward to Tifton!

The 30-minute drive to Tifton gave us time to plan a new strategy.  Surely we could find some good local barbecue!  I unearthed my iPhone from the bottom of my purse (no driving and texting for me) and shook up the Urbanspoon app.  A few shakes and we hit on Hog-N-Bones Bar-B-Que.  With a name like that how bad could it be?  We found it and were relieved to see cars in the parking lot.  Then we realized it was a fast food joint with nary a smokehouse in sight.  Crap.

Back to the app and we came up with Pit Stop Bar-B-Q and Grill.  By now, I didn't have high hopes for anything, but we called and it was open so we backtracked a highway exit and found the place.  It looked pretty ordinary but by this time we were famished and needed to get out of the car.  And then we spotted their smokehouse in the back.  Done deal.




People, we got lucky!  The pulled pork was delicious - tender without being too fatty, with lots of those little burned, smoky bits that make it delicious.  The sauce was good, too.  Tomato-y, but not too much so, just a hint of sweetness (I loathe sweet barbecue sauce), good acidity and just spicy enough.  What a find!

The woman who owns it spent a fair amount of time at our table, telling us about the history of the restaurant.  She and her husband started it 15 years ago.  They take great pride in everything they do and she spends a lot of time in the dining room, talking to everyone to make sure they are happy.  (Trust me, they are)  Sadly, her husband died a few years ago, but she continues to take great joy in running the restaurant, in part because she wants to carry on his legacy.  She's doing a great job of it.

Oh, but check out their T-shirts!  I couldn't restrain myself and bought three of them (look out Andy & Eric, guess what's showing up in your respective mailboxes?)  Hilarious!


So if you find yourself on I-75 near Tifton and need a decent barbecue fix, remember this place.  Pit Stop.  Exit 63-B.  You won't regret it.  We liked it so much that we stopped in on our way back from Atlanta yesterday and bought a couple pounds of their pulled pork to bring back with us.  Had to get-us some!

Tuesday, the lonliest day.

Poor Tuesday, everyone forgets about you. I found a great personal blog online of another girl's life, and it has inspired me to use this blog for more than just my artsy crafty place. I will be posting more about me and my everyday life, new stuff, old stuff, reflections on stuff & probably some boring stuff that no one will want to read about.

I'll start off with this...it's HOT here. Not just like " oh man its hot outside, I think I'll step in the shade for a bit." But more like " dear god, what have I done to be punished by this oppressing heat, it feels like hell's oven outside!" I never thought I'd end up living here, never in a million years. Florida is one of those places the Midwesterners like to go for spring break, or family vacation. Alas, here we are trying to survive the sun's ultra violet rays. It really is just how I felt in Michigan while growing up. I longed for the summer days in the winter, and here I long for the winter days in the summer. What gives!?!?

I'm complaining today, because I LOVE to be outside as much as possible, but I just feel trapped inside with the rumble of the air conditioner. It's even to hot to lay out by the pool, ha ha. No really, it is!

So I've been working on some new crafty things lately, back to jewelry. I made a necklace out of metal and beads that I covered in cloth. Turned out cute!


I also made a cute pair of earrings from a bracelet Courtney gave me. I think her mother made it for her. Maybe I should give her the earrings! I love them, but I think they'll mean more to her.  



I would also like to share a picture of my flowers with you. I buy flowers every two weeks, a bundle of them, organize them how I like, and enjoy the view. I have some on my kitchen counter, some on my coffee table, and I always like to have some on my desk, this is where I spend the majority of my day.
Oh yeah, in case you don't already know...I'm obsessed with birds and branches. This little guy is so cute I could just eat him. He's the newest addition to my nest.

Rocket and Brazil Nut Pesto



We waited weeks for the truly good growing conditions to arrive. A late frost gave us cause for concern and we thought for a few days that we’d lost the entire crop of potatoes - not to mention numerous salads.

Thankfully the sad looking leaves survived and thrived into lush green offerings. The rows of potatoes now stand tall and proud, a thick carpet of the distinctive green leaves cover half the garden like a layer of cloud.

Two lines of lettuce look perky and happy and we’ve already devoured three or four, one with a simple roast chicken with warm bread, some runny mayonnaise and freshly chopped lemon thyme.

The rocket is looking healthy as well: too healthy in fact. We returned after a couple of days away to find it reaching skyward in a manner that would please NASA. Thinking quickly we harvested as many of the oversize leaves as we could and pounded them along with some basil into a fresh, summery pesto.



Stirred into spaghetti it made a wonderful and very quick supper: fresh, peppery, warm with garlic and zingy with lemon. Sometimes a glut is a wonderful thing.

Spaghetti with rocket and brazil nut pesto




Although usually made with pine nuts, the Brazil nuts we found in the back of the cupboard proved to be an excellent substitute. The slightly creamy texture added a slight richness to the pesto.

Two large handfuls of rocket leaves, washed and dried
One handful of basil leaves
9-10 Brazil nuts
2 cloves of garlic
One lemon, zested and juiced
Olive oil
20g Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese, grated
Salt and pepper

Chop the rocket and basil leaves enough to make them fit into a pestle and mortar. Pound the Brazil nuts into a coarse powder then add the garlic and a pinch of sea salt and pound some more. Add the lemon zest then the rocket and basil leaves and continue mashing with the pestle until it begins to look like pesto. Add the olive oil until it is a certifiable sauce then stir in the grated cheese.

Season with sea salt, black pepper and lemon juice and stir through warm spaghetti.

Photographs by @photolotte (flickr)

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The Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010 - Greece

The group stage of the FIFA World Cup 2010 begins to conclude today and for the next four days, four teams each day will be eliminated from the tournament and make the journey home in disappointment. I am happy to say, however, that this does not apply to the Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010 and we are going to be here for what is nearly the three full weeks which remain of the tournament. Today on the Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010 it is the turn of Greece to feature and Helium.com's Internet Channel Manager, Rena Sandou, favours us with a traditional dish from her native land.

Mediterranean food as a whole is of course renowned for its fresh, healthy properties and attractive, colourful presentation. This Souvlaki with Pita Bread which Rena has devised for us is a perfect example of such fine cuisine.

As Greece prepares for what is a huge challenge tonight in that they are required to defeat the might of Argentina to progress in the FIFA World Cup, her players are likely to require every bit of nourishment and goodness their national cuisine can provide...



Souvlaki with Pita Bread

Greeks have a unique, Greek way, of celebrating big sporting events! And Mundial is definitely one of them! By combining tasty and colorful ingredients and good Greek mood, we know how to live the special moments of the national football team and enjoy traditional flavors!

Souvlaki with pitta is a famous, traditional dish, highly appreciated by millions of tourists that visit Greece during summer season each year. There is no doubt that Greek cuisine is ranked among the best in the world and souvlaki has become one of most famous words around the globe!

If you don’t have the chance to visit Greece and taste souvlaki in a traditional taverna on a beautiful Greek island, while enjoying the view of crystal clear waters and pure white scenery, you can always taste souvlaki at home.

Here are the simple steps on how to prepare souvlaki at home (wherever that is!):

Ingredients

* 2lb pork cut in 1 inch cubes
* 2-3 potatoes
* 2 tomatoes
* 2 onions
* 6 pita bread
* Mustard, ketchup and/or tzatziki
* Salt and pepper to taste
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* Lemon juice
* 6 wooden skewers



Preparation

- In a large bowl, mix together pork, olive oil, oregano, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Stir until all ingredients, blend together. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.

- Remove meat from the refrigerator at least 45 minutes before cooking. Put 5-6 pork cubes in a wooden skewer. Do the same with the rest skewers until there is no meat left.

- Cook over a barbeque, gas or oven grill. Turn souvlaki regularly for even cooking. Keep in mind that pork meat is tender and does not require too much cooking time; 10-15 minutes will be enough!

- While cooking meat, put pita breads on the grill rank and cook until they become crunchy. Pita breads need only a couple of minutes!

- In the meantime, cook french fries to add them later in your souvlaki.

- When all souvlaki are cooked, place them on a cutting board and sprinkle with salt, pepper, oregano and lemon juice. This is not a required step and it is all up to personal taste!

- Take a pita bread and put the skewer in the middle of it. Fold it, hold the pita tightly and remove the skewer from the meat. Add mustard and ketchup (if you wish), tzatziki, french fries, tomatoes cut in slices and onions.

Serve with a cold glass of beer and enjoy! Bon appetit!