This time of the year is known for baked apple. The peeled apple is baked in the oven with cloves, nuts and cinnamon until it is soft. It is served hot as a desert. I figured that this taste would do well as a jam. So one could enjoy this blend of flavors also in the morning on a slice of bread.

When preparing this jam the house smells of Christmas! Enjoy!

Preparation time: 5 minutes

cooking time: 50 minutes

difficulty: easy

Preparation:

Peel the apples, cut them into quarters and clean them. Mix sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Mix the apple pieces in with the sugar mix. Place on a baking pan and bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 392 F.

Melt the butter and pour it over the apples on the tray before putting them into the oven.

Once the apple are well done and the sugar has caramelized put the apples and the liquids in the pan into a pot. Add the white wine and bring to boil. Add the cloves, the cardamon and some cinnamon. Let it boil for a couple of minutes. The spices I crush in a mortar before adding them to the apples.

Now add the content of the pot and the marzipan to a blender and blend until smooth. Return to the pot, add the Gelling sugar and the lemon juice and boil for 6 minutes.

Fill into sterilized glasses. I boil them in some water to do so.

Before the summer ends I want to post my favorite breakfast. Greek yogurt with fruits is something I can always eat. On Sundays this is what I usually prepare in the morning.

I like using Olympos yogurt. It just tastes better than Total. I like all sorts of fruit but with the yogurt I prefer melon, peach, pear, grapes and figs. I also like bananas but only the small ones that can be found in Crete and Cyprus.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

difficulty: easy

Preparation:

Put the yogurt into a bowl and let it get room temperature.
Meanwhile cube the fruits in 2cm cubes. Half the grapes. Put the fruits on top of the yogurt.

You can add walnuts or almonds to it. It is also nice to pour some honey over the fruits and yogurt.

The court yard is full with grapes. They have seeds though and I prefer to eat the grapes without seeds. The idea came up to turn the grapes into jelly and it proved to be a good one. The jelly looks good on a piece of toast and tastes great..

Preparation time: 20 minutes + time to let it rest

difficulty easy

Preparation:

Soak the gelatin in cold water to dissolve.

Wash the grapes and remove them from the vine. Put them into a big pot with 2 cups of water. Heat slowly and boil on low heat for 10 minutes.

Drain the grapes to separate the liquids form the skin. return the liquid to the pot. Add the sugar, gelatin and lemon juice. Stir well to mix.

Pour the grape juice into boiled jam jars. Add some Jasmin blossoms if you have. Close the jars, let them cool down, then fridge them.

preparation time: 5 minutes
baking time 20 Minutes
difficulty easy

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees centigrade.
Cut the white of the leek in stripes. Fry it with some butter for a couple of minutes. Put the leek into ovenproof bowls. Add 2 eggs per bowl. Pour a sip of cream over it and place it in the oven.
Bake for 20 minutes to have entirely boiled eggs. if you want your eggs less done, 15 minutes are enough. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

This bread spread was a great discovery. Once I had finished preparing the Tahini and honey spread I tried with a piece of rusk. Amazing taste i though, that something so simple can be so delicious…

I spent some time in a Greek Orthodox Monastery lately in order to learn some more about recipes used during lent. While we were cooking I asked the abbot what the monks are eating for breakfast as fasting prohibits all animal products. The monks, unlike most Greeks that only have a Nescafe for breakfast, the monks do eat in the morning.

What is eaten in for breakfast varies form monastery to monastery, but in this one it is a spread made from Tahini and Honey. Tahini is often used to replace oil or butter during lent and honey is the only animal product allowed during lent.

As there are several days of fasting per week throughout the year, this Tahini and honey spread is part of the regular diet in the Monastery.

Preparation time: 3 minutes

very simple recipe

Preparation:

Put all ingredients into a bowl and mix with a spoon until you have created a thick paste.
Add honey according to your individual taste. You can also add ground walnuts or almonds to the paste.
Can be stored in a jar for several days outside of the fridge.

When I arrived in the house on the top of the hill, I was stunned by how full the lemon tree in the garden was. I had never seen so many ripe lemons on the tree and I observe it since many years. It almost was a pity to harvest all of them. I ended up having almost 20 kilos of lemons which I had to use. I quickly decided that jam would be the best thing to turn them into. Aunt Bina who was in Hydra as well, told me her simple and great recipe for lemon jam and lots of cutting began.

Preparation time for 1 kilo of lemons: 20 minutes

boiling time: 35 minutes

very simple

Preparation:

Put the lemons into a big pot with cold water and bring to boil. Simmer for 30 minutes, then drain them. Let the lemons cool down, then cut them into halves.

Spoon the pulp out of the fruit and put into a colander. Press the pulp with a wooden spoon through the colander and collect all liquids dripping down in a bowl.

Spoon the white out of the skin (if existing) and throw it away.

Slice the skin very finely, then put it into a pot. Add the liquid, the sugar and the gellant and bring to boil for 5 minutes. See the instructions on the pack of the gellant in case that they differ. Fill the jam into glasses and close tight.

The season for the bitter orange is over but still I had a few oranges left on the tree. As I had failed previously in making marmalade, I consulted my neighbour Ms. Roula. The obstacle is to leave the marmalade with a hint of bitter taste but not have a truly bitter marmelade.

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours (and over night)
Easy recipe

Ingredients:

Preparation :

Cut the oranges into small pieces. Remove the pits. Put the oranges into cold water and let it sit over night.
Remove the water the next day. Add plentyfull fresh water to the pot and let it boil for 30 minutes. Remove the water once more. Repeat this step for 3 times. Both soaking and changing of the boiling water, take away the bitterness.

The 4th time add the sugar and less water. Still the oranges should be well covered with water. Let the marmalade boil for 30 minutes on low heat. Stir occasionally. Fill the marmelade into jars and let it cool down.

Tip: This marmelade tastes great if you add some fresh pepper to the last boiling.

Find the German version “Marmelade aus Bitterorangen” here.

Keik me fraoules

The Greeks are not known for their breakfast. They do not really eat breakfast this is as well the reason why you don’t really find breakfast in Greek coffee shops. Except in touristic coffee shops on touristic islands. Having said that, there are exceptions of course. One of them is the “keik” a soft cake.
As strawberries are in season I decides to so a cake with strawberries. I got inspired to bake this “keik” when reading the Kali Orexi blog.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Baking time: 40 minutes
Easy recipe

Ingredients:

Preparation:

Pre heat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade.
Put the butter in to a big bowl and add the sugar. Whip the butter with a whisk until it blends well with the sugar.

Add one egg after the other while stirring well.
While continuous stirring the mixture of the bowl add the baking powder, the salt and the vanilla. Spoon by spoon add the yoghurt.

Now carefully add the flour while you continuously stir the mixture.
Finally add the sliced strawberries.

Pour the mixture into a buttered baking form. Put into the oven and bake for 40 minutes. You may want to reduce the heat towards the end of the baking time. Check the colour of the cake.

Let the cake cool down before removing from the baking form.

Read this recipe in German language here