Middle Eastern Roasted Eggplant Dip

I am back!! 2.5 months, 5 casts, 1 surgery, 1 cancelled overseas trip and a bit of drama later - but I am back. I can't even begin to tell you how much I have missed my kitchen, my camera and this blog. Not to mention, having a shower with a shopping bag tied around your arm is the least fun thing in the world. EVER. Like seriously.

As you can imagine, it's been baby steps back in the kitchen. This Mediterranean eggplant dip is so easy - the food processor does most of the work. This recipe is inspired by a zucchini dip that one of my best friends made for me years ago. The true benefit of this dip is that it keeps vampires away. That's right - a small mountain of garlic, yogurt and really good quality extra virgin olive oil and you're home free.

Note - I added dried mint to this dip but it is actually better without it, so I don't recommend it in my ingredients list.

Yield - Serves 6
Prep Time - 10 Minutes
Cook Time - 40 Minutes

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2 comments LABELS: Appetizers, Dips and Spreads, Mediterranean, Vegetarian

Baked Falafel with Garlic Mint Yogurt Sauce

About 3 months ago when the Southern Hemisphere was entering the dead of winter, I decided that I wanted to grow my own herbs in a container garden. This is not the smartest thing I have ever done and I knew it while I was shopping for seeds, seedlings and soil. I picked plants that I thought were going to survive a few frosty nights. I got coriander seeds (I never have any luck growing cilantro in summer, they just bolt and die so I thought winter might do it some good), garlic chive seeds, rosemary plant, peppermint plant and fennel plant. My strategy has been, largely, to keep my fingers crossed.

Rosemary is still alive (really, I can never tell with rosemary if it is going to kick the bucket), the fennel plant has been threatening to die from the start . So far, the mint plant has been the one that's really thriving. The mint kick I have been on lately is largely as a result of this (Exhibit A - Minty Cilantro Chicken Kebabs). Cilantro is doing fairly well too but I am keeping my fingers crossed. I love all the greenery in my balcony and on my plate. These fresh minty falafels would have been quite healthy if I hadn't devoured almost all of it. I am sure you have better self control and discipline than I do!

Yield - Serves 4
Prep Time - 10 Minutes + 1 Hour Refrigeration
Bake Time - 20 Minutes

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2 comments LABELS: Appetizers, Mediterranean, Vegetarian

Tim's Homemade Wood Fire Pizza with Step by Step Dough Recipe

There are very few things better than getting together with wonderful people and creating wonderful food. One of my work colleagues, Tim, is an IT manager by day and pizza chef extraordinaire by night! He has a wood fire pizza oven in his front yard and graciously invited a few of us over to his lovely home for a wood fire pizza making crash course. He didn't even mind me following him around like the paparazzi with my camera and even provided me with an SD card when I realized that I had forgotten to bring one along (D-oh)! 

The happy chef with his pizza oven 

Before I get into the pizza making extravaganza, can I just quickly draw your attention to the little baking dish full of tomatoes next to him?

Yep, that one! Tim's lovely wife, Tracy, picked some beautiful vine ripe cherry tomatoes from their garden, drizzled some extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar and tossed it all together and cooked it in the pizza oven for just a few minutes. I can honestly say that I haven't known tomatoes to be more delicious! 

Now moving on to one of the most important part of pizza making - the dough. We cooked thin crust pizzas and here is Tim's recipe for the perfect pizza dough.

Tim's Pizza Dough Recipe

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Leave a Comment | LABELS: Mediterranean, Pork, Seafood

How to make Baklava like a pro!

Before you learn how to make baklava like a pro, you will need to keep 3 things in mind:

• Do not start making baklava at 7:30 pm on a weeknight

• If you do start at 7:30pm, do not then run to the store to buy a pastry brush because you just realized you don't have one

• Do not start making baklava at 8:30 pm on a weeknight

My workplace recently hosted Cuppa for a Cause to benefit Alzheimers New Zealand, and I decided to bring homemade baklava.

And so my old love story with Baklava was rekindled.

Baklava

Okay let's get right to it!

First thing you need to do is to get all your tools and ingredients together because you DO NOT want to run to the store to buy a pastry brush when the butter is melting.

Things you need

A large rectangular baking tray
A small sauce pan (to melt the butter) and another to make the syrup in
A pastry brush (!)
A good sharp knife, preferably a chef's knife
A large chopping board 

Ingredients

1 package, Phyllo Pastry (A.K.A Filo Pastry), thawed
1 LB (450 g) raw, Walnuts 
2 sticks (200g), Butter
1.5 Cups, Sugar
1.5 Cups Water
2 Tablespoons Orange blossom water (this is optional, but so good!)

Method

• Start by melting the butter in a small saucepan, on medium to low heat. Take care to not burn the butter.

• Crush the walnuts in a food processor. You don't have to crush them down to a complete powder.

Assemble it!

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2 comments LABELS: Dessert, Mediterranean

Bulgur Salad with Chickpeas, Garden vegetables and fresh herbs

This salad will save your life on a hot summer's day. It will. Trust me!

Especially if you live in Florida and it is July or August. (I am in New Zealand now and it is neither July nor August, but I still remember good ol' too-hot-to-be-anywhere-near-the-kitchen Tallahassee in the summer)

How you ask?

1) No stove. (On a hot day this is reason enough)

2) Refreshing minty goodness.

Do I have your attention now?

Here goes!

Yield: 4 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Refrigeration: 30 minutes or longer

Bulgur Salad with Chickpeas, Garden Vegetables and Fresh Herbs

Ingredients

Bulgur- 1 cup
Carrots- 3 (shredded)
Chickpeas- 1 can (drained and rinsed)
Red Bell Pepper - 1 (diced)
Parsley - 1/2 cup (chopped)
Mint- 1/2 cup (chopped)
Hot Water - 1.5 to 2 cups**
Lemon- 1 to 2
Olive oil- 2 tablespoons (Optional if you are cutting down on fat, but I love the flavor)
Salt and pepper to taste


This salad is extremely versatile, I like this combination of vegetables and herbs most to my taste.  You can add tomatoes and cucumbers too. You can also add more or less of any ingredient depending on what you have!

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Leave a Comment | LABELS: Mediterranean, Salads, Vegan, Vegetarian

Super Easy Hummus Recipe

Hummus is such a convenient thing to have in the refrigerator for those evenings when you want to come home and snack on something healthy, spread it on sandwiches or dip some veggies or whole wheat pita bread and you have a guilt free snack in under a minute. It is also incredibly easy to make. This is just a very basic recipe for hummus, you can make your own substitutions, additions or omissions based on flavor preferences. 

Homemade Hummus

Ingredients

1 can (small) Chickpeas (Garbanzo beans), drained

1 Lemon (Juiced)

Splash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Cloves Garlic, chopped (Optional)

2 Tablespoon Tahini (Get it here)

Water ( as needed)

Salt to taste

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Leave a Comment | LABELS: Dips and Spreads, Mediterranean, Vegan, Vegetarian