Spanakopita, Greek spinach pie

New camera :-) Thanks Els!

I have always been crazy about phyllo dough, which I first had as a sweet (I think it was a banana pie). I never got over it. It is visible on how often I make spanakopita.

Can you imagine someone baking spinach pie 3 times in a week?

That's me, when I like something I have to make it for days in a row until the juice runs out, and then I forget about it for a month or a year. It costs my husband's enthusiasm with certain dishes sometimes (buckwheat soup again???) but I can't help it, it takes over me. One thing I know it will stay in in my kitchen repertoire is buckwheat, but it will certainly be easy to tell each buckie recipe apart. When I make spinach pie it is always mostly the same.

Anyway, I made this a lot whn I was pregnant (my husband got enthousiast for longer than usual, because, well, it is spinach and crumbly feta wrapped around with a soft-in-the-middle-crunchy-in-the-top layer of phyllo dough. Loads of spinach. Tastes nely cheesy. It's a pie. What else could you ask?

Eggs. The eggs hold the spinach together so it doesn't jump in all directions when you bite. It's a clean pie, of the kind you can eat with your hand sitting on a park and not thinking very much about the fact that your pants are white. You can never forget that your pants are white, just admit it. Whatever you eat or drink will rmind you even more. Except for this pie, when you get used to it and trust it like your best friend.

I have no idea where I got this recipe from, I'm sure it was on the internet though; it was a year and a half ago so it's pretty hard to remember; whoever posted it, thanks!

I've added fenugreek and halved the amount of phyllo (I find it just as nice with three layes but the traditional recipe says six, see what you prefer).

I just ate half the pie. Be warned.

Spanakopita (Greek spinach pie)

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp fenugreek
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• 3 onions
• 750g (25 oz) spinach, blanched, or frozen and thawed
• 225g (8 oz) feta cheese
• 3 eggs
• 5 tbsp butter
• 3 phyllo dough sheets, fresh or frozen and thawed

Cooking Directions

1. Squeeze all the water you can from the spinach (and drink it, it's healthy). This is very important to avoid a soggy bottom; if it is your thing thn squeeze almost all the water, otherwise it becomes soupy.
2. Fry the onions and the fenugreek until the onions are transparent, stirring constantly.
3. Add nutmeg and spinach and keep stirring. Don't add salt, the feta will take care of that.
4. Let it cool and meanwhile prepare the dough.
5. Phyllo is very delicate, separate them carefully. Nobody is going to care about a couple of rips though (I ripped mine big time on this batch, it is still awesome).
6. Melt the butter and brush it with a culinary brush into one of the phyllo sheets, or with your fingers, very gently. Make sure it is well spread.
7. Put another layer of phyllo on top.
8. Repeat.
9. Transfer the three layers of phyllo to a round baking pan, open, with thcenter of the phyllo in the center of the pan with 22 cm (9 in) diameter (can be square too but round looks better; I've made both).
10. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F).
11. Add the feta to the spinach, mashing everything with your hands (the next time you make it I'm sure this step will drive you crazy, thinking of what is about to come)
12. When the mixture is cold, add the eggs, mixing it with everything (for that I use a fork).
13. Add that to the center of the phyllo dough, spreading it evenly.
14. Wrap the tips of the phyllo around the top of the filling. it doesn't need to cover everything.
15. Bake it for 50 minutes (check at 45)
16. Serve and enjoy!

How to make the perfect omelette, every time

There is nothing better than nasi goreng leftovers and an omelette for breakfeast.

Yes, breakfeast. Started as a typo but i just realized that maybe whoever wrote the word first, this one, had a serious typo. It's just the best meal of the day (alright, dinner too...). I can't grasp that I grew up eating white bread with margarine for breakfast. These things you just don't do to yourself. Do yourself justice.

Anyway, eggs will keep you full and load you with protein so you can have a great active day without craving food after two hours, and a nasi goreng loaded with veggies will help you in the kick. The rice is just yummy :-) I fry the omelette, put it in my plate, and follow with addind the nasi goreng to the hot, buttery pan and let it sizzle for a bit while stirring, and smelling all the warm spicyness in the air.

I had a lot of unintentional scrambled eggs before I saw Kris, a friend of our best friend making an omelette; I based my method on his (it's almost the same). Thanks :-)

The perfect omelete recipe (amount per person)

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 bit salt
• 2 tbsp butter
• A bit of filling (optional)
• A spatula
• A skillet, plain, inclined sides, flat bottom. Very important!

Cooking Directions

1. Add butter to the skillet, enough to cover the pan bottom with minimal swirling.
2. Beat the eggs in a bowl with a tiny bit of salt. Make it 3 at a time if you are making for more people to ensure equally sized omelettes.
3. When the butter is very hot (after it has been crackling for a while, careful to not to burn too much (a bit is fine), pour the beaten eggs in and wait until it's almost completely solidified.
4. Add then the fillings of your choice if any. If you want to fold the omelette, add fillings only to half of it. You can even make an omelette pizza with tomato sauce, cheese and whatever :-)
5. If you want to fold, this is the time. If you want flip, throwing it in the air, do it at your own risk - better train with pancakes first until you get the hang of it, they don't break as easy.
6. Let it fry a few seconds more (if with cheese, make sure it's melted)
7. Slide a spatula underneath to make sure it's all loose and slide into your plate.

Enjoy! What is your favorite omelette filling?

Tantalizing leftovers recipe, or pizza rice :-)

Cheesy goodness

That was one of the only two ways my mother would get me to eat rice as a child. I was and still am a picky eater, even though my pickiness has changed through the years (I still do run away from pickled cucumbers!).

I like foods that taste real. Tasting real for me is using only ingredients that are unprocessed (veggies!) or very little processed (cheese). Things that you throw together and make you ask yourself why haven't you made that before, and why on earth people buy boxed macaroni and cheese and why do they eat it after the first bite (hunger is the best pickle, they say).

Well, food taste apart, I think everyone needs to figure out what they really love. I have been in culinary blindness for the first 17 years of my life, because all I ate was made in the same way with th same ingredients. And then I took my little backpack and went out in the world and learned what to do with veggies (about time!). I was already interested in healthy foods, and put my foot in to test the waters before I went roaming around, but it was still fairly limited, and that is one of the things that I felt like keeping from then (with my own addition, my "secret" for nearly everything that tastes good, ahem, veggies!)

This is easy like boiling an egg. You can make that with buckwheat or quinoa too, it is a great way to introduce these foods into your life if you find them odd tasting. Do not underestimate their taste power when you add tomato sauce!

Rice and veggies casserole

Ingredients

• 1 part leftover rice (I used brown)
• 1 part veggies (leftover or frozen mix)
• 1/2 part cheese in cubes
• Tomato sauce
• Herbs of your choice

Cooking Directions

1. Mix everything in a casserole pan (hopefully containing one of the leftovers already to save some dishes!).
2. Turn on the oven at 350F (180C) and bake for 25 minutes or until cheese melts.
3. Serve warm.

Well, that is it :-)

I think I start getting the hang of making food photos but there is still a long way to go. Living and learning!