Moutzendra – Lentil Pilaf - Μουτζεντρα

I just walked into the house after taking care of my garden. As always, I also sat down leisurely in the garden to simply enjoy it. My garden is my refuge. I go out there to think, write, have my coffee, have my dinner and many times I also go out at night to simply gaze at the stars. I love it and I am out there a few times per day, every day. Last week I did so much gardening that my back was hurting but the result was all worth it!

The colors and the smells I enjoy are invaluable. Every day I am able to cut a few gardenias and sometimes roses. There are so many flowers on the plants that I can afford to cut a few for the vases.

Well now, I am in my other favorite place of the house which is my kitchen. I have to prepare dinner.

This is what’s for dinner tonight! A healthy and hearty lentil pilaf the way we eat it back home in Cyprus. Everyone talks about the Mediterranean diet and the healthy way of eating in that part of the world. Well here I will give you a recipe of a meal that’s like a dynamite when you eat it J

It’s very high in protein, fiber and also contains, folate, and vitamin B1.

This is also one my daughter’s favorite dishes. People are amazed when they hear her asking me to make lentils; maybe it’s because my mom fed her so many lentils when she was a toddler!

I modified the recipe to make it healthier. Traditionally with moutzendra we fry the onions separately and we add them in the end and we just stir them into the already cooked pilaf. I avoid frying the onions and I just add them along with other vegetables. I learned from my mom to add tomatoes, carrots and zucchini in this recipe which makes it a lot tastier.

I also like this dish because it’s a whole meal on its own. You can just have a side green salad on the side and you are all set. You don’t need bread or other side dishes.

1 cup green or brown lentils

½ cup long grain white rice

1/3 cup olive oil

2 cups chopped or puree tomatoes

1 medium yellow onion finely chopped

1 cup chopped carrots

2 cups chopped zucchini

3 cups vegetable or chicken broth

1 cup water

Salt

Pepper

Place the tomatoes in boiling water for 5 minutes or more to soften the skin. Peel the skin off and chop the tomatoes. Set aside.

Wash the lentils in cold water and place in a saucepan. Add the three cups of vegetable broth, 1one cup of water, two cups of chopped fresh tomatoes, the olive oil, rice, and the finely chopped onion.

You can use either fresh or canned tomatoes. Fresh tomatoes will give more flavor.

Add the rest of the chopped vegetables. Cover with a lid. Bring to a boil then turn the heat to low.

Cook for 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Stir all the ingredients together. Continue to cook on very low heat for 15 more minutes or longer until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice and lentils are soft.

While the pilaf is cooking stir occasionally so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

Turn the heat off. Place a towel under the lid to absorb all the extra liquid for a few minutes prior to serving.

Serves 6-8

  

Growing up we ate a lot of legumes in my family on a weekly basis so I got to love them. I hope more people learn to cook them other than just adding them plain into salads. There are a lot of delicious and versatile dishes having as the main ingredients, beans, lentils and chickpeas.

…. and I truly believe that it’s the ability to enjoy the simple things in life that makes happiness!

….. like cooking lentil pilaf and then sitting in the garden to enjoy it!  :-)

Καλη ορεξη

Delicious Plum Marmalade for All Year Round

Just before the harvest!

 Cooking and creating in the kitchen is quite therapeutic for me. Since my spirits have been on the low side the last couple of months, I opted in for the kitchen therapy!

Since my plum tree gave me lots of juicy and delicious plums as it has been religiously doing for the last four years I decided to make some marmalade; a good solution for using all that fruit which by no means I could consume it fresh! :-)

Getting ready for the marmalade production

 My tree gives me about 20 pounds of fruit which is amazing for this young tree!

I made enough marmalade to last me through the winter months and also give away to my friends.

You can use fewer plums so you don’t end up with such a production like mine!

Plum Marmalade

11 pounds fresh plums

14 cups sugar

Juice of 3 large lemons

Wash all the fruit well in cold water. Peel the skin off the plums if they are very ripe otherwise leave it on. Cut the plums and discard the pits.

Place in a deep saucepan. No water is needed if the fruit is ripe.

Let is come to a boil on medium-high heat. Stir a few times with a wooden spoon.

Reduce the heat to low. Stir more frequently so that the fruit doesn’t stick or burn at the bottom. Cook until all the fruit is puree.

I like having pieces of the fruit in my marmalade so I don’t put it through a sieve.

Measure the fruit to determine how much sugar you will add.

For every cup of fruit puree I add a cup of sugar.

Place the measured fruit and sugar in a deep saucepan. Turn the heat to high and stir with a wooden spoon. Once it comes to a boil reduce the heat to very low. Continuously stir the mixture so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.

The fruit mixture will start to thicken.

After about 15 minutes add the juice of the three lemons.

Cook for another 30 minutes or until the marmalade thickens a bit.

It should drop from a spoon but not as liquid.

To make sure that it’s ready place one teaspoon of the marmalade in a small plate and let it cool off. Once you can separate it and it’s not completely liquid the marmalade is ready.

Let it cool off completely before placing into sterilized jars.

Marmalade is ready!

 Makes 22 jars – approximate size 3 ½ inches height and 2 ½ width

Love the Outcome!

 Enjoy and share the abundance!

Litsa - Λιτσα

Summer Fig Salad with Halloumi - Σαλατα με συκα και χαλλουμι

 After a long absence I am back to start sharing with you some great summer recipes and update you on my food related projects!

Since the last time I posted a blog I traveled back to Cyprus for one more time (shortly after my trip during Easter) where I stayed there with my family for a few weeks.

I flew back home urgently to see my father who was gravely ill. A day after I arrived, my very dear father passed away. The loss is huge but life goes on.

How do you say a final good bye to someone you love so deeply?

Personally, I can’t so I continue living with the many fond memories I have of my father and I continue to keep him in my heart.

On a daily basis, my father continues to touch me and speak to me through the flowers and trees in my garden (most of them he has planted) and through my cooking. Thanks to him,  I learned to love both of these…

Today I will share with you a simple but yet tasty and healthy salad that my father loved.

Some of the figs on my fig tree are already ripe – the few figs that usually get ripe early on in the summer, are called Maggiles - ματζιλεs in my Cypriot dialect.

Green Salad with Halloumi and Figs

Growing up I had figs and halloumi with my father in our garden many times. We would cut the figs right off the huge fig trees, peel them and then pair them with a bit of halloumi and have a hearty but healthy breakfast. We would do the same thing at my father’s grocery store but there my dad would go to the vegetable stand and pull a few strands of fresh cilantrto, arugula and lettuce to eat them along with the fruit and the halloumi.

What a better combination of the pungy taste of the arugula, to be paired with the aromatic cilantro and the crunchiness of lettuce. Then the to pair two opposites tastes such as salty from the halloumi and sweet from the figs gives an unparallel taste.

1 cup chopped cilantro

1 cup romaine lettuce

3 scallions

1 cup chopped arugula

Pepper

225 grams halloumi(approximately half of the halloumi)

6 fresh figs

For the dressing

½ cup virgin olive oil

1 lemon

Wash all the vegetables in cold water.

Get rid of any excess water on the leaves.

Finely chop the arugula, cilantro, lettuce and scallions.

Slice the halloumi and cut into small cubes.

Peel the skin off the fibs. Cut in the middle. If the figs are very large, cut into quarters.

Place all the chopped vegetables in a large salad bowl.

In a separate smaller bowl whisk well the lemon, olive oil and pepper.

Drizzle over the salad.

Add the halloumi.

Toss well. Add the figs on top of the salad.

Serves 4 - 6

Enjoy with your friends and family!

Καλη Ορεξη

Tip of the day

Here is a tip on how to “force” figs to ripe faster. :-)

Take a small food brush, and brush their bottoms with some olive oil. This will help figs ripe faster!

 

Enjoy the Summer – Καλο Καλοκαιρι