Chicken Soup & Cheese Pies

Yesterday Dany was sick.  To be more accurate, he started being sick on Thursday night.  No matter.  D. was sick.  Poor guy felt like he was dying at some point. 

When things get that bad, you have to make chicken soup.  It's the ultimate comfort food, right?  That's what you eat when you miss mom, when you need to warm up on a cold day, or when you feel awful.  I don't know why, but this time around, the soup was especially excellent.  Usually I stuff my soups full of veggies.  This is my unashamed attempt to disguise/introduce various unknowns to M.  Over time it became a habit, I guess.  This time, I let it be.  I let it be just chicken noodle soup.  It turned out with a rich flavour, and yet it was a gentle tasting soup.

CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

7 chicken drumsticks

2 L water

1/2 cup angel hair pasta

Take off the skin from the drumsticks and trim the fat off.  Wash drumsticks under running water, place in pot and fill with 1.5L water.  Let boil for 1 hour, add rest of water and let boil for another 1/2-1 hour until the chicken is done.  Remove from heat.  Break angel hair into soup and let sit for 5-10 minutes.  Serve hot.

In other news, I found a cool new cheese to work with!  Last week, D. brought home a lovely Lebanese cheese called halloum.  It's a semi-soft, unripened cheese with a piquant taste similar to feta.  I knew it would be perfect for cheese pies!  I also knew I had to use it up fast, because M. loves eating halloum as is.  If I waited much longer, I doubt there would have been anything left. 

So we made bite-sized cheese pies together.  Oh, they were delectable!  The perfect cheese for these little darling pies. 

 M. was the master chef on this project.  He commanded the rolling of the dough, the adding of cheese and the final sealing of each crescent pie.  (He also made sure the oven light was on so he could "check" on them as they baked.)  It was great fun for the both of us and a much needed break from cleaning! 

MINI CHEESE PIES

1 lb feta cheese, crumbled
1 lb. mozzarella cheese, grated
1 recipe of Amira's Savoury Dough

Mix cheeses together in a bowl.  Take a ping-pong sized bit of dough, roll it out thinly in the shape of an oval on a floured surface.  Place large spoonful or two of cheese towards one end of the oval.  Fold the other end of dough over to cover cheese so that the pie is in the shape of a half moon.  Join edges firmly and seal firmly with a fork to prevent splitting apart during baking.  (I like to fold it over like a pie crust too for extra hold.)  Bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.  They should sound hollow when tapped.  Do not overcook or they will turn out hard.  (I cheat... I bake them for 10 minutes and then broil them for ~2 minutes.) 

Warm and savoury, we served them for a light supper with our red Paschal eggs and cuccumbers and tomatoes sprinkled with sea salt.  No complaints here. 

Secret Family Recipe

I have decided to share the recipe for my savoury dough.  This is the same dough I use to make zahtar (herb pizza), spinach pies, cheese pies, and a myriad of other things.  Why is this such a big deal?  Well, it was passed down to me from D.'s mother, who learned it from her mother, who learned it from... it's been in the family for generations.  When I first had my MIL's homemade zahtar, I just had to get the recipe!  Seriously, if I'd had any doubts about marrying D., they would have been assuaged by the promise of obtaining this dough alone!

I can't tell you how many people have asked for this recipe.  I've always told it as it was told me: a pinch of this and a tad of that (obviously not very reproducible...).  By and by I got to thinking: I wasn't really a part of the family until I married D, so I only got this recipe by dumb luck.  So, I finally took the time to measure those pinches and tads using standard measurements and now I have a hopefully replicable recipe!

To those who received the "rough" recipe, I apologize.  Let me make it up to you properly.  :o)  I've named this recipe in honour of my MIL.  Her name means "princess" and in my books, she is definitely a queen in the kitchen!

AMIRA'S SAVOURY DOUGH

3 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup vegetable oil (I use sunflower)

1 cup warm water

2 tsp active dry yeast

2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Add yeast to warm water and leave to dissolve.  Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.  When yeast foams on top, stir to mix well and add to dry mixture.  Add oil and mix  together.  If necessary, can add a little more water to achieve a dough-like consistency.  Dough should be cohesive but not sticky.  Knead well with hands for about 6-8 minutes. 

A little kitchen chemistry for you if you're:  Dough needs to be elastic in order to rise.  Kneading stretches the dough and forms gluten chains, which give bread it's chewy texture.  The more you knead, the chewier the final product will be (think pizzas).  The less you knead, the flakier the final product will be (think pies, pastries, etc.) 

Set dough aside in a bowl and cover with a damp tea towel.  Let rise for about 90 minutes.  Punch down dough until there's no more air left.  Use to make cheese pies, zahtar, etc.  As a bonus, here is how you make zahtar.  :o)

ZAHTAR

A delicious Middle Eastern Herb Pizza

To make zahtar, you'll need 1 recipe of savoury dough as written above.  Divide dough into palm-size balls.  Roll out each ball on a floured surface until about 1 cm thick.  Place on baking tray.  Take about 4-5 Tbsp zahtar - a blend of sesame seeds, sumac and thyme - which can be found at Middle Eastern markets, place in a small bowl and add about 1/4 cup of vegetable oil until it forms a runny paste.  Cover surface of dough with zahtar mixture.  Bake in over at 350 for approximately 15-20 minutes until the bottom is golden.  Serve with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, mint and olives. 

A Tea Party

Today is M.'s birthday.  He is officially 2 years old!  To celebrate this milestone, we made a cake and ate it with our morning tea.  (Yes, I defied conventional parenting rules and fed my child cake before lunch!)  We also read poetry together and sang songs.  (M. is so obsessed with poetry that it would make any English professor proud.)  I have typed his favourite poem below for your enjoyment. 

Animal Crackers

by Christopher Morley

Animal crackers and cocoa to drink,

That is the finest of suppers I think.

When I'm grown up and can do as I please

I think I will always insist upon these.

What do you choose when you're offered a treat

When mother says, "What would you like best to eat?"

Is it waffles and syrup or cinnamon toast?

It's cocoa and animal crackers that I love most.

The kitchen's the cosiest place I know;

The kettle is singing, the stove is aglow.

And there in the twilight, how jolly to see

The cocoa and animals waiting for me.

Daddy and mother dine later with Kate

Mary to cook for them, Susan in wait

But they don't have nearly as much fun as I

Who eat in the kitchen with Nurse standing by

And Daddy once said he would like to be me

Having cocoa and animals once more for tea.

The whole morning reminded me of an old fashioned and slightly eccentric tea party, something along the lines of Alice in Wonderland.  Anyhow, M. had a blast and J. slept most of the morning, which left us time to start and finish the tyropitakia.  They are now wedged snugly in the freezer and ready for Sunday.  See recipe below.  (I can't remember where I modified this recipe from...)



A few of the many different cookies we decorated.



We also decorated our Easter cookies.  That was somehow draining for me, so I'm glad it's over and done with.  Thankfully, there are enough leftovers in the fridge that I don't need to make dinner, hence the reason for all this activity in the kitchen.  Here is the recipe for the royal icing.

ROYAL ICING

2 large egg whites

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

3 cups powdered sugar

Beat egg whites with lemon juice.  Add sugar and beat on low until smooth.  Add food colouring as desired.  Keep airtight when not using or the icing will harden. 




The finished cookies make perfect gifts!

 

TYROPITAKIA

500g feta cheese, crumbled

300g ricotta cheese (or 1 cup graviera)

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

1 pkg thin phyllo pastry dough sheets

2/3 cup olive oil (or melted butter)

Defrost the phyllo dough in the fridge the day before.  Bring eggs and phyllo to room temperature (about 3 hours).  Preheat oven to 350.  Mix the cheeses, eggs and pepper in a bowl.  Cut the phyllo sheet lengthwise into strips (about 2 1/2 - 3 inches wide).  Should give you 4 strips per sheet.  Using a pastry brush, brush strip lightly with oil, place a spoonful of the cheese mixture centred 1 inch from the end.  Fold the corner closest to the cheese over in a triangle and then continue turning over the triangle to the end of the phyllo strip (like folding a flag).  Brush each triangle with a little oil and place on a lightly greased or non-stick baking sheet.  Bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.  Remove from oven, cool slightly and serve warm.  Makes about 50 pieces.

If desired, the tyropitakia can be stored in the freezer for future use.  Finish brushing each triangle with oil as written above, place in airtight container with wax paper between each layer and put in freezer.  To use after freezing, simply place directly in warmed oven for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.  Do not defrost prior to baking. 

Enjoy!

Easter Crafts

I am dying to write about the Easter crafts we've been working on!  Before we started, I wasn't sure exactly how craft-y I was going to get this year what with two kids now instead of one and all.  However, my creativity warred with my fatigue... and this time creativity won.  Huzzah!  :o) 

SOCK BUNNIES

The first craft we tried was a bit of an accident.  M. is going through a growth spurt and his socks can't keep up.  Most of them are worn through the heel and toes and while they can be fixed, he's clearly outgrown them.  I thank Canadian Family magazine for my inspiration here in transforming them into sock bunnies!  These are pretty simple to make: take a clean sock, fill it with dried beans, tie at the neck and the head, cut the ankle section in half for ears and presto!  :o)  We made a few so we could use them as a bean-bag toss game. 





Easter egg animals

 

A few cards to go with the gifts.



 

Hope you enjoy the fruits of our labour.  M. is pretty satisfied with the results anyhow.  (He had a hard time giving them away...) 

Dough!

Since I have nothing better to do with my life than make dough, this morning I decided to go all out.  M. and I made cookie dough, pizza dough, zahtar dough, and dough for spinach pies.  The kneading was my favourite part (and yes, I'm being sarcastic).  On the bright side, I guess I don't need to go to the gym these days.  No wonder our forefathers didn't suffer from high obesity rates!   Anyhow, here is my recipe for pizza dough. 

PIZZA DOUGH

• 2 1/4 tsp yeast
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 3 cups flour (if you use whole wheat, you'll need a little more water)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp salt

Measure water into large bowl and add yeast.  Stir and set aside for 5-10 minutes until foam forms.  Stir in sugar, olive oil and salt.  Add flour.  Knead dough for 8-10 minutes.  Coat ball of dough lightly with olive oil.  Cover with a damp tea towel and place in warm place to rise for 90 minutes.  (I leave it inside my warmed oven.)  Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down to get rid of the air and divide into two balls.  From here you have several option: 1) you can roll them out and top them tradional-style; 2) you can use them for Pizza Balls 3) you can roll them out, top them, roll up the pizza into a log, cut it into rounds and bake Pizza Bites.  I'm sure the possibilities are endless...

The best part about pizza making?  Customizing the toppings!  Here are some of our favourites: mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, olives, onions, tomatoes, green peppers, cheddar cheese, feta cheese, marscapone cheese and zucchini.  My sister uses kale, which packs a huge nutritional punch, to top her pizzas (and pastas) and the kids can't even tell because it takes on the flavours of everything else.  Bonus!



Rolling up the pizza to make "Pizza Bites"

  

In other news, we've been spending the past couple of days gearing up for Pascha (translation: Easter) and the week prior to it.  Palm Sunday is always big where we come from and so that means dresses and suits and elaborate candles.  It's really quite a festive time and gives us a foretaste of the celebration to come the following Sunday.  Last year, after being caught off guard (M. tried on his suit for the first time the day of...), I vowed that this year I'd be prepared.  Everyone is fitted and outfitted!  I just finished washing their clothes and I just need to hem M.'s new pants, which were pinned yesterday. 

Of course, Pascha also means special goodies from the kitchen.  Dyed eggs, Tsoureki bread, decorated cookies, tyropitakia, etc.  Most of these will be prepared on Holy Thursday, with the exception of the cookies and the tyropitakia.  Actually, M. and I finished the cookies yesterday and will decorate them tomorrow.  I will say that he had a blast with the cookie cutter.  I've never seen a child more disappointed when we ran out of dough.  :o)  We used a sugar cookie base and modified it so that the cookies would be softer in the middle.  They turned out great and we'll post pictures when they're all decorated.

SOFT SUGAR COOKIES

1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
4 Tbsp plain yogurt

Cream butter, sugar eggs, yogurt and vanilla together.  Add dry ingredients and mix well.  Place in fridge for about 20 minutes until firm enough to shape into cookies.  Heat oven to 350.  On floured surface, roll out dough, cut into shapes with cookie cutters and transfer to baking sheet.  Refrigerate trays for 15 minutes (prevents spreading).  Bake 8-10  minutes until they start to look golden around the edges.  Let cool before removing from tray. 

Perfect for an afternoon tea!  Enjoy them plain or, to decorate them, see my recipe for royal icing!  :o)

Clean & Fresh: green DIY ideas

Spring is here again and winter weather on its way out, which in my book means spring cleaning!  Ever since I became a mom, I've had to look for ways to childproof my life and my home.  This most especially applies to cleaning products!!  How can you clean your floor with Mr. Clean when you have a baby who likes to lick the tiles?  You can't.  At least, I couldn't. 

So, delving deep into the lastest eco-craze and a little into my chemistry background, I've found a few effective and non-toxic cleaners right from the pantry!  It's remarkable what you can do with soap, vinegar, baking soda and a spray bottle!  Depending on what I have available, I have two variations of all-purpose cleaners I use. 

Solution 1

This is excellent for disinfecting and deoderizing your home.  Just don't use it on marble as it will destroy the protective coat.

• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 tsp dish soap

Mix ingredients in a spray bottle.  Use to clean and disinfect bathrooms, floors, sinks, windows, walls, etc.  The vinegar smell evaporates once the surface is dry.  If you need a more concentrated solution for toilet rings and the like, just use undiluted vinegar.  For wood floors: reduce the vinegar to 1/2 cup and omit the dish soap.  Use this solution to wash windows as it won't streak.

Solution 2

I use this when I'm running low on vinegar.  Especially good at neutralizing odours and freshening up the home!

• 2 cups warm water
• 2 Tbsp baking soda

Dissolve baking soda in water.  Apply to surface, rinse lightly with water if needed. 

Cleaning Tips:

• wash windows in the evening, or on a cloudy day since the sun dries the solution too fast and unevenly causing it to streak
• to banish odours from carpets, sprinkle baking soda onto rugs, let sit for up to 24 hours, brush with dry brush then vacuum
• soak tea kettle in a dilute solution of vinegar + water to remove the calcium carbonate deposits inside
• add 1/2 cup vinegar to rinse cycle when washing towels to deoderize and soften them
• scrub sinks and pots with slightly moistened baking soda for a non-abrasive shine
• for pots with baked on residue, make a paste of baking soda + water and let sit on surface for 20-30 minutes
• to clean cutting boards, mix lemon juice and baking soda into a paste, let sit on surface for 10-30 minutes then rinse

Orange Vanilla Cake

Yesterday M. was sick and kept us up all night, so needless to say we were pretty bushed today.  I mean, a sick toddler and a 2 month infant are hardly a recipe for restful sleep.  I have to say though that being up all night does weird things to me. During the day, I went on an obsessive cleaning spree.  (Like I said, weird.)  Dusting, laundry, changing sheets, vacuuming, you name it.  And even weirder?  When all was said and done, I felt excellent.  Go figure.

In the evening, M. decided he was sufficiently well enough to bake a cake.  I mean, what is it about kids and cooking?!  Even when he's ill, M. heads for the kitchen!  I wonder if it's the same with every child...?  Now anyone with sick kids knows that you don't feed them dairy when they're congested, right?  So how do you reconcile that rule with a cake?  Easy!  Don't use dairy.  After a few minutes of brainstorming, we came up with the recipe for a scrumptious orange vanilla cake.  Creating the cake was super easy and after sampling a piece, D. promptly approved. 

I feel compelled to insert this small footnote: I am not an anti-butter advocate.  On the contrary, I love the stuff, especially in baking!  That rich, moist, buttery taste when you first bite into fresh shortbread, or a piece of warm pound cake.  Yes sir, you really can taste the difference.  I'm not saying I slather my toast with butter (I much prefer jam), or use copious amounts in every dish.  My motto: everything in moderation. 

So if, like me, you enjoy butter and don't have sick kids to deter you, feel free to substitute butter for the margarine and 2 eggs for the soy milk.  It tastes delicious either way.

ORANGE VANILLA CAKE

• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 3 cups white flour
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 2 cups fresh squeezed orange juice (with pulp)
• 1/2 cup organic soy milk
• 2-3 tsp orange zest (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly coat two loaf pans with a pat of margarine.  Cream margarine and sugar.  Mix in the vanilla and baking powder.  Add flour, orange juice, soy milk and orange zest if desired.  Mix well.  Divide batter between the two loaf pans and bake for 50 minutes, or until golden brown.  Let cool before removing from pans. 

I will say that M. enjoyed his cake with a cup of camomile tea.  A little man after my own heart...

Great Balls of Pizza!

M and I had great fun making "pizzaballs" in the kitchen yesterday.  The plan was just to make a couple of regular pizzas.  I made the dough early in the morning and we waited for it to finish rising.  Actually, we went outside to play while we waited.  After spending a solid hour searching for sparkly rocks and running up and down the hill (with J asleep in her stroller), we came inside inspired.

 To be fair, it was M who decided that he didn't want regular pizza, he wanted "little pizza".  Hence we created this yummy and toddler-friendly variation!  It's not hard to make, but since we made everything from scratch it took a little while longer.  Forgive the lack of measurement; with some ingredients, you just have to play by ear depending on your taste (ie: we love cheese, so we used lots of it as you can see).

PIZZA BALLS

• 1 recipe of pizza dough
• 1 cup pizza or pasta sauce
• cubes of mozarella and/or cheddar cheese
• several fresh mushrooms chopped up 
• any other preffered toppings (zucchini, peppers, olives, onions, pepperoni, etc.)
• a mixture of: 1 tsp sea salt, 3 tsp basil, 4 tsp oregano, and 1 Tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 400.  Cover a large baking pan with waxed paper and coat it lightly with olive oil (or spray with cooking oil).  Take a ping-pong-sized amount of dough and flatten it into a circle.  Spoon a small quantity of sauce and mushrooms (*and any other veggies) into the middle.  Add a cube of cheese on top and fold up the edges of dough into a ball.  Place the balls seam side down on the waxed paper.  Brush them with the spice mixture and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown on top.  This recipe makes about 30 balls, and they're delicious both warm from the oven and as cold leftovers from the fridge.  :o)