Grate the cucumber using a cheese grater and grate on large blade setting. Put grated cucumber in a bowl and add a pinch of salt and 1 tbsp. of white wine vinegar - stir and set aside.
Pulverize the garlic with olive oil in a food processor.
Put yogurt into a bowl and add the pulverized garlic, 1 tbsp. of white wine vinegar, and seasoning - mix until combined.
Next, put the cucumber into a cheesecloth or kitchen towel and squeeze out liquid. Then stir into the yogurt sauce.
Finally, add in the chopped dill and stir to combine.
Also, you can use the "standard" cucumber, if you can't find an English one (the long cucumbers that usually come wrapped).
Or look for a variety of cucumber that contains smaller seeds and aren't too watery.
Make Your Own Greek Yogurt
If you can't find Greek yogurt, you can make a thicker yogurt by draining off the whey from a whole yogurt.
Place the yogurt in a sieve (lined with cheesecloth or a coffee filter) and put the sieve over a bowl to collect the whey.
Place in your refrigerator or leave on your kitchen counter for a few hours.
Removing the whey will thicken up the yogurt and it will resemble a Greek yogurt which will give your Tzatziki recipe a creamier base.
Greek Spices
The herbs typically used in Greek foods are dill, oregano, bay leaves, thyme, mint, sage, and parsley.
Greek cooking is very simple and relies on the taste of fresh ingredients and on the use of spices.
And some other Greek spices used in the past and in the present are sea salt, black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, and cumin.
Recipe for Marinated Onions
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds of White Pearl Onions (peeled)
1/4 cup of Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 Tablespoons of Red Wine Vinegar
1 tsp. of Dried Oregano & Sea Salt to Taste
Optional: Chop up fresh parsley to top your marinated onions to add some extra Greek flavor
Instructions:
Combine all of your ingredients into a glass or ceramic bowl and mix to coat your onions.
Marinate for a few hours before serving.
Instead of using pearl onions, you can use sweet onions such as the Vidalia, Maui Onion, or Walla Walla.
Greek Appetizer - Dolmathes Recipe
StuffingIngredients:
Ground Grass-Fed Lamb
Long Grain Organic White Rice (or try using cauliflower rice)
Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Organic Black Currants
Organic Pine Nuts
Sea Salt & Black Pepper
Organic Cumin & Cinnamon
Organic Dried Oregano
Fresh Organic Mint (finely chopped)
1 Lg Free Range Egg
Organic Grape Leaves (in a jar)
Stuffing Instructions:
Adjust ingredients to suit your particular needs and mix together (except for grape leaves).
Then put mixture in the refrigerator until it's time to stuff the grape leaves.
Remove grape leaves from the jar and rinse off the brine by soaking in cold water for about 15 minutes.
Then place the ribbed side of the leaves facing up and the smooth side facing down.
Remove the stuffing from your fridge and place a rounded tbsp. of mixture in the center of leaves.
Fold in the leaves (over the mixture) and roll (not too tight) to the tip part of the leaves.
Additional Ingredients:
Freshly Squeezed Organic Lemon Juice
Free Range Chicken Stock or Broth
Zest Shards of a Fresh Picked Organic Lemon
Cooking Instructions:
To cook the stuffed grape leaves, oil a large stock pot and cover the bottom with the extra grape leaves.
Then arrange the stuffed grape leaves on the bottom of your pot (tightly packed, but leaving room to expand).
Squeeze lemon Juice and drizzle olive oil over the stuffed grape leaves and put a plate on top to weigh them down while they cook.
Pour on some chicken broth to cover the Dolmathes.
Turn on the heat to med-high and when the broth starts to simmer - reduce the heat to low and cover the pot with a lid.
Cook for approximately 35 minutes and then remove the plate. Check to see if the rice is cooked by testing with a fork.
And if needed cook for an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until rice is tender.
You can serve Dolmathes cold or warm. Garnish with lemon zest, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a drizzle of Greek olive oil.
If you would like a very traditional Greek appetizer made from grape leaves that are filled with meat and rice, check out
Dolmathes with Avgolemono Sauce.
The types of chickens that are good egg laying breeds will produce anywhere from 250 to 300 eggs per year. Which will also depend on environmental conditions and their diet.
Composting ideas and learning how to make compost with the correct ratio of nitrogen to carbon helps you to create healthy soil which is essential for growing a garden.