Culinary Adventures with Camilla

The Baking Bloggers have taken to their ovens to bake up a Greek, Turkish or Cypriot recipe. Hosts Sue and Wendy said, "[It's your] choice of sweet or savory. It can be whatever you like, as long as at least part of it is baked- breads, baklava, oven roasted potatoes, casseroles (such as moussaka or pastitsio) and so on." Here this month's bread basket... Alevropita (Greek Thin-Batter Feta Pie) from Tara's Multicultural Table  Apricot Sekerpare (Turkish Thumbprint Cookies) from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice Baked Kabak Mücver from Sneha's Recipe  Cypriot Lamb Tavas from Pandemonium Noshery  Flaounes (Cypriot Cheese Pastries) from Culinary Adventures with Camilla  Kalo Prama - Cypriot Semolina Cake from Food Lust People Love  Kreatopita from A Day in the Life on the Farm  Sekerpare from The Schizo Chef   Simit (Turkish Sesame Bagels) from Karen's Kitchen Stories  Tiropita (Greek c...

Back when we cooked Cypriot during our Cooking Around the World Adventure , I tried - and failed - to find halloumi cheese for grilling. But when I saw it at Trader Joe's this week, I picked it up. Halloumi originated in Cyprus, during the Medieval Byzantine period, and gained popularity throughout the Middle East region. The cheese is often used in cooking and can be fried or grilled until brown without melting, owing to its higher-than-normal melting point. Since Cypriots like eating halloumi with watermelon in the summer months, I decided to do the same...with some fresh tomatoes from Belle's garden. herbs and mixed greens watermelon slices tomato slices grilled or pan-fried halloumi dressing of your choice freshly ground sea salt freshly ground pepper

I love Pi Day...almost as much as I love pie. And instead of last year when I only realized it on 3.14, I'm planning ahead. Looking for inspiration. What's your favorite pie? Here are some possibilities for my table on Pi Day... Savory Pies Seafood B'stilla Cypriot Olive Pie Sweet Pies Chocolate Silk Pie Apple Pie with Gingerbread Crumbles

We've made  Eliopitakia  (Cypriot olive pies) at home, but today I made them with a dozen 3rd through 5th graders. And they did an amazing job. Too bad I didn't get to try any! They feasted, then they asked if they could take some home. At the end of the class, there was nothing left for me to try. Must have been good. Thankfully my boys were up to v.2 and we made another one for dinner tonight at home! Pastry 3/4 C orange juice 3/4 C olive oil 4 C white whole wheat flour 2 1/2 t baking powder Filling 2 C pitted black olives (avoid olives preserved in vinegar) 1 onion, peeled and sliced 1 C fresh herbs, thinly sliced (we used Italian parsley and rosemary today) 4 T olive oil Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, mix all the pastry ingredients and knead to make a soft dough. Let stand while preparing filling. Caramelize onions. Mix olives and mint to onions and toss with olive oil. Split dough in half and roll out each to 1/2 i...

Triantafyllo is a thick, concentrated dark pink syrup made from the extract of the Cyprus (Damascus) rose. During the summertime, Cypriots mix it with cold milk as a refreshing sweet cordial. As it's the first day of summer - Happy Summer Solstice! by the way - I figured I'd muddle my way through a Camilla-version. I know that everything I read differentiated Triantafyllo from rosewater. But I had to use what was in my cupboard. And I used fresh berries for that gorgeous pink color! 1/4 rose water 1 C fresh raspberries 1/2 C organic granulated sugar   Boil those into a syrup. Push the raspberries through the strainer to get all of the liquid out of them. Reserve.   When you're ready to serve. Use 1 ounce of syrup and top the cordial glass off with cold milk.   Dylan was delighted. "Mom, these taste just like the raspberry-rose cupcakes from ButtercupCakes! Good job!" Well, that wasn't quite what I was going for, but that was a nice...

Eliopitakia (olive pies from Cyprus) are typically hand-sized. But D, kitchen elf o' the day, decided that he wanted one big pie...and he wanted it to read 'Mann' and have a heart on it. Okay!    Ingredients Pastry 3/4 C orange juice 3/4 C olive oil 4 C white whole wheat flour 2 1/2 t baking powder Filling 2 C pitted black olives (avoid olives preserved in vinegar) 3-4 pearl onions, peeled and sliced 1 C fresh mint, thinly sliced 4 T olive oil Procedure Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In medium bowl, mix all the pastry ingredients and knead to make a soft dough. Let stand while preparing filling. Caramelize onions. Mix olives and mint to onions and toss with olive oil. Split dough in half and roll out each to 1/2 inch thick circle. Spoon the filling onto one of the circles, lay the other circle on top. Press the edges to seal tightly. And pinch together to make a design.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 4...