The island of Crete has one of the lowest rates of heart disease anywhere in the developed world; this is often attributed to the islanders’ very healthy diet. Cretan dishes often contain freshly-grown produce including tomatoes, olives, peppers and various leaf vegetables. Many people consider the cuisine’s greatest strength to be its simplicity. The widespread use of wild herbs, olive oil and local cheese is legendary throughout Europe and is one of the reasons people continue to return every year. There are some excellent deals on travel and accommodation online that will allow fans of Greek cuisine to sample the latest twists on classic Cretan dishes.

Dakos is one of the island’s specialities and is usually served as a starter. It is made with a baked bread base and topped with cheese, tomato, olive oil and oregano. Fasolakia is another local delicacy that can be served as a main course or a side dish. It is a simple combination of beans with crushed tomato and, of course, a substantial drizzle of olive oil. Sarikopitakia is one of the island’s most iconic dishes and takes its name from the scarf worn by local men on the island. Sarikopitakia consists of delicately fried pastry parcels filled with sheep’s cheese. The dish is usually served as a starter and comes with sea-salt and a choice of fresh dip.

Psitos is a park dish that is cooked over a number of hours in a wood-burning oven. The pork is cooked in the airtight oven and served with roasted potatoes which are cooked in the juices of the meat. Coclious me hondro is a traditional Cretan delicacy and is a very popular dish with the locals. It consists of freshly caught snails which are cooked in a stew of olive oil, red wine, salt, cracked wheat and onion. Many restaurants award a special prize for tourists that eat the entire dish! No trip to Crete should pass without trying a dessert called loukoumades. Deep-fried balls of doughnut batter are coated in local honey and topped with assorted nuts.

Your local agent could also provide a number of vacation options on the island of Crete. An expert team of travel advisers can suggest the best places to stay in relation to the traveller’s budget. The service is ideal for people who want to find the best possible prices available, or for those who don’t want the hassle of booking the various elements of a holiday themselves. Using various travel booking sites to arrange a stay in Crete will give holidaymakers time to think about the wonderful Cretan cuisine they are going to try.

When I talk to friends about making Mayonnaise at home they tend to tell me either that it is too much of a hassle or that they fear the risk of catching salmonella when using raw egg in the Mayonnaise. I want to show how fast Mayonnaise can be made and how easy the risk of salmonella can be avoided.

What is Mayonnaise? It is an emulsion of water and oil. Usually the lecithin in the egg yolk enables the reaction. This can be also done with the protein in the milk.

Preparation time: 3 minutes

difficulty: easy

Preparation

Use a mortar to grind the mustard seeds. Pour the milk into a slim container. Add the mustard seeds, salt, pepper and lemon juice. If you can’t find mustard seeds use some mustard.

Use an immersion blender on high speed while slowly dripping the oil into the milk. Be patient and add the oil drop by drop. If you don’t do this carefully the emulsion will not get thick. Once the liquid thickens you can add the remaining oil faster. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste.

Preparation time: 3 minutes

baking time: 20 minutes

difficulty: easy

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 356 F.

Cut the pumpkin into 1 inch cubes. Place a metal baking tray onto the stove and heat it up. Add some olive oil. Mean while grind the spices in a mortar. Season the pumpkin with the spices, make sure it is covered well with the spices.

Now fry the pumpkin cubes for 3 minutes. Make sure that the side with the peel faces down. Then place the tray in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt.

The German version of the oven baked pumpkin is here.

One can not imagine the Levant region without Falafel. The same goes for Egypt, Palesine and Lebanon. The Falafel is a classic snack or Mezze that is served in a flat bread or with salad. It is sold at little stands on the streets but also in Taverns. This vegetarian snack is versatile as it can be seasoned in many ways. The main ingredient is pulses. Often lentils and chick peas are used. The Falafel often is fried, I prefer to pan fry it though.

This recipe is just one of many possible ways of doing Falafel.

Preparation time: 5 minutes

cooking time: 20 minutes

difficulty: easy

Preparation

In case you use dry lentils and chick peas, soak them in water over night. Then boil them in water until al dente. This will take you between 10 and 20 minutes according to the product.

Peel the onion and the garlic and chop up in a kitchen blender. Add the herbs and chop those up too. Then ramove all from the blender.

Now add the lentils and chop them in the blender. Do the same with the chick peas. Try to create different textures so the Falafel have some bite.

Now mix the pulses with the herbs, add the egg and the spices, season with salt and pepper. Now you can form with you hands little balls and fry them in some olive oil. 3 minutes on each side.

Preparation time: 5 minutes

cooking time: 25 minutes

difficulty: easy

Preparation

Add the washed rice to the rice cooker. Chop up the washed carrots into thin slices. Chop up the nuts with a knife and add them to the rice. Now add all the remaining ingredients and the water. Stir well, close the rice cooker and switch on.

Season to taste with some salt.

Serve as side dish or as main.

The German version of the recipe can be found here.

There were no posts on this blog for quite a while but Christmas has put me back into the mood of posting here. The Almond Ginger Bread Cookies fit the season very well. I baked them several times lately and I must say they go away fast. Not only that they are easy to make, they also last in a Tupperware pretty well.

Preparation time: 5 minutes

baking time: 15 minutes

difficulty: easy

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 356 F.
Put the eggs, honey, salt, baking powder and ginger bread spice into a bowl and blend with a ixer until creamy. Then slowly add the almonds. The mixture will turn into a thick pure like tough. Season season with a few spoons full of rum.

Place some baking paper onto a baking tray. Scoop a spoon full of dough onto the paper and even it with wet fingers. Repeat until the tray is filled.
Bake for 15 minutes.

Feel free to decorate them with lemon frosting or chocolate.

Klick here to see the german verison of the recipe.

dates in bacon

Dates in bacon are the ideal Tapa or Mezze. They go perfectly with wine. Ideally you serve them right out of the oven when the bacon is crispy and the dates are still warm inside.

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Baking time: 10 minutes

difficulty: very easy

Preparation:

Heat up the oven to 392 F.
Cut the dates up length wise with a small knife and remove the stone.
Cut the bacon slice into half’s. Wrap a piece of bacon around a date and secure it with a tooth pick. Place on a baking tray. Repeat until all dates are warped.
Bake for 10 minutes until the bacon is crisp. (Air and broiler)

This recipe in German.

This is a very comforting salad. Beet Root served in warm yoghurt has a fabulous intense colour. The mint gives it a fresh touch. If you like colourful food, this is your dish.
I got some ready boiled beets at the market. If you can only find raw ones you have to add approx 30 minutes to the preparation time.

Preparation: 30 minutes

difficulty: easy

Preparatioin:

Mix the egg and the corn starch in a small bowl until it turns into a smooth cream. Then pour it into a small pot and set onto the stove. Add the joghurt and heat up slowly.

Cut the boiled beet root into slices and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with some lemon juice and olive oil.

Keep stirring the egg mixture while heating it up. Make sure it does not boil. It will turn into a very thick cream. Then add the beets to the pot with the egg mixture and let it warm up for a few minutes. Add the chopped mint and season to taste.

Serve warm.

I am not too much of a cabbage fan but this recipe tastes great. The cabbage has lots of taste due to the blanching and the capers add a lot to it as well. A simple warm salad dish with a unique touch of the Mediterranean. I serve it also as a starter.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

difficulty: easy

Preparation:

Wash the capers and drain them well. You don’t want them to have too much acidity or salt.

Bring lightly salted water to boil. Remove the stalk from the cabbage, it won’t get soft fast enough. Don’t cut too much though, the leafs should stay together.

Boil the cabbage for 5 minutes. Then drain the water.
Meanwhile peel and chop up the garlic. Heat up some oil in a pan and fry the garlic. Stir well then add the chopped up capers.

Cut the cabbage into quarters and fry in the pan for a minute or two. Season with Ras el Hanut, salt and pepper. Serve.

My colleagues from the Hüttenhilfe blog invited me to try their new organic hemp oil. They produced a great oil in a neat bottle. I like the nutty taste the hemp oil has. It goes well with fruity salads.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

difficulty: easy

Preparation:

Cut the cellery into slices. Peel the apple and cube it. Mix both with the tuna fish in a bowl.

Drain the beans and add them to the bowl.

Use a cup to mix the lemon juice, salt and pepper and the mustard. Finally add the oil and mix well.

Mix the sauce with the salad and serve.