Spanakopita

I love Greek food!! Now that we're eating mostly vegetarian again, I thought turning to Greek food would be a good place to start.

I've always loved spanakopita. What's not to like? I mean, it has feta cheese in it!

2 packages of frozen spinach -- thawed and drained of excess liquid
1 C of ricotta cheese
1 C of feta cheese
1 onion - chopped
2 cloves garlic -- minced
10 sheets of phyllo dough
4 Tbls of melted butter
1 Tbls olive oil
1 egg -- beaten
cayenne pepper to taste
Salt and pepper

Cook the onions in the olive oil until soft. Add garlic and salt and pepper and cook for a couple more minutes. Transfer to a mixing bowl and let cool. In the hot pan add the drained spinach, break apart, and cook for a couple of minutes. In the mixing bowl, add egg, feta cheese, and ricotta cheese and cayenne pepper. Once the spinach is done add to the bowl as well and mix well. Taste for salt and pepper.

In a small square baking dish, add one sheet of phyllo (keep the rest of it moist, as it will dry out in no time). Brush with melted butter and add another layer of phyllo. Keep doing this, making sure to brush with melted butter between each layer until five layers have formed. Add the spinach mixture and top with another five layers of phyllo dough, buttering each layer in between. The top layer of the dough should also be brushed with butter.

Bake in a 350 oven for 45 minutes. You'll know it's done when the dough is a golden brown and the spinach mixture is piping hot. Let it cool for a minute and serve.

Very good!!

Hummus "Pizza/Tostada"

I'm now cooking vegetarian meals. Don't ask. I was a vegetarian for years and did cook that way, as well. After several years on the meat wagon, I have forgotten what I had made before! I'[m adding new recipes and trying new things. This is what I came up with a few weeks ago and it is delicious!

1/2 C Hummus
4 Pita Bread
2 tomatoes seeded and chopped
3 scallions chopped
Handful of kalamata olives chopped
Handful of crumbled feta cheese
Cucumber chopped
Whatever else you may want to add


Warm the pita breads in the oven for five minutes. Mix all the vegetables together with the cheese. Spread hummus on the warm pitas and top with the vegetable medley. Devour.

I literally just ate two and half of them for lunch in about 20 minutes flat.

No Go

B did one full day of his juice fast. He's done with it for now. I, of course, did not buy groceries to cook with as this was a No Cook Week for me. Great....

Bright Side

I love mushrooms. B hates them. I make this creamy mushroom pasta that I absolutely love and B will not touch. I rarely make it now. I am so excited to make it while he is on his juice fast. Is that wrong???

ETA: B just announced that it may not be a 15 day fast. It might be shorter. Would it be wrong to feel disappointed? Don't judge.

Rolling with the Punches

Well, I explained in my previous post about B's new "diet". To my utter delight he's changed it again. He informs me last night after I just went food shopping for this week, that starting Saturday night, he'll be on a 15 day juice fast. Joy! He's done this a handful of times since we've been together. He does drink only fruit and vegetable juices. By the end of the 15 days, he's an emaciated mess. He insists he feels great, but looks like shit.

I looked at the bright side of this. I will save a crapload in grocery money. I only have to shop for myself for the 15 days and I'm happy with simple meals, then I'm good to go!

Of course, now I won't be able to surprise him to his great brunch place we've been dying to try. He said we can still go and I told him I will not be spending that kind of money for him to drink orange juice until his heart's content. Nope.