going greek

Greek food is one of my absolute favorites. The fresh herbs, amazing fish, roasted vegetables, and salty briney cheese and olives are just so delicious. A few of my favorite restaurants in my neighborhood are Greek restaurants. You just absolutely can not go wrong with Greek food. These days, you can easily make Greek food on your own, and find some delicious ingredients at your supermarket. Greek food is not only delicious, but also very healthy. You've heard it time and time again, the Mediterranean diet is one of champions. Apparently, those who live in the Mediterranean, eating lots of fresh, healthy foods are doing it right. So who am I to protest that?

Last week one of my closest friends came over for dinner. She and I always cook up delicious dinners together. We love re-creating our favorite restaurant dishes, and trying new recipes as well. When I asked her what we should make, she sent me a recipe for Greek quinoa burgers. Greek+Quinoa...what is not to love? If you haven't caught on by now, I love quinoa- a delicious "grain" (actually in the nut and berry family), quinoa has amazing flavor and texture, and is packed with protein! I was super excited to take this recipe and make it our own. Modifying to make it gluten free friendly, and using the ingredients that we had on hand, we made a delicious dinner together! I hope you enjoy these burgers, they were incredibly easy to put together and very delicious. Have a friend over and get your hands messy making these burgers!

Greek Quinoa Burgers with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

1 cup quinoa
2 medium carrots, cut into chunks
8 scallions (greens and whites), thinly sliced
1 can white beans, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup feta cheese
1 large egg
2 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

1 cup greek yogurt
1 medium cucumber, chopped
1 splash lime or lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

yum.

Bring 1 cup quinoa to boil with 2 cups water. Season with salt and pepper, and bring down to a simmer
Cover the pot and allow quinoa to cook on low for 15 minutes or until fluffy
Grate, or food process your carrots until they are shredded
Combine carrots, scallion, beans, and feta with the quinoa. Season with salt, pepper, cumin and garlic; Taste before you add your egg!!
Add in the egg and food process (or use a stick blender) the burger mixture
Heat a sauce pan to medium high and add olive oil to the pan
With your hands, form 1/3 inch thick pattys and press them flat into the pan
Cook on either side for about 6 minutes or until they brown
Allow to cool on a paper towel to soak up any extra oil

In a small bowl, combine yogurt, cucumber, juice, salt and pepper
Stir to combine and top your burger with your sauce!

Enjoy! We served ours over a simple salad of arugula, peppers, and avocado!

after a long hiatus...one of my favorite classic combos

After a long hiatus, it is great to say, blogging is back! Thank you to all of my wonderful family and friends who have continued to bug me about new posts. I know it's been awhile, but unfortunately work and future aspirations of grad school have been occupying all of my free time. That being said, I'm back and ready for action. Needless to say my baking and cooking has not ceased during the very busy past few months (thank goodness), and I have been storing up just a few recipes to share with all of you. Now that my blog is back in action, keep checking for new regular posts--lots of yummy sweets to fill your belly during the cold months!!

One of the wonderful things that I do with friends is have little dinner parties. I know I've talked about this before, but I absolutely love having friends over for dinner, or going to a friends apartment with a few dishes in hand. I ALWAYS volunteer for dessert, along usually with another dish, because it's just impossible for me to a. not want to make an amazing new dessert, and b. not want to eat dessert, and not everyone makes gluten free desserts. Plus, tasting along the way and having leftovers is never a bad idea in my opinion!

One of my favorite Halloween candies from when I was younger is butterfingers. Both my sister and I really like anything with peanut butter (who doesn't love Reece's?!), and butterfingers are an amazing blend of crispy crunchy peanut-buttery goodness, coated in chocolate. As you all know, I make a lot of recipes with this flavor combo, but this one was seriously a winner. I wanted to bring back the flavors and texture of this amazing childhood candy memory, and I found a delicious, easy, and gluten free way to do it! I hope you enjoy, and hopefully you'll see some other candy bar-recreations soon on the blog. Happy eating and reading, look for many more posts, soon to come!!

delicious!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Butterfinger Bars

4 tbsp unsalted butter (or margarine would work fine here)
1 cup chunky peanut butter
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/3 cup brown sugar
4 cups corn flakes, lightly crushed
1/4 cup chopped salted peanuts
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

crunchy, peanut buttery

chocolatey!

Line an 8x8 inch baking pan with foil
Melt butter in a saucepan. Add peanut butter, agave, and sugar and cook over medium-low heat, stirring until melted and smooth
Stir the cornflakes into the peanut butter mixture, and add vanilla. Stir until just combined
Spoon the coated cornflakes onto the prepared pan and smooth over the top
Place a heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water and add the chocolate chips
Heat chocolate until just melted and spread over the top of the cornflakes
Sprinkle the top of the dish with peanuts and chill for at least 2 hours before cutting into squares and eating!
enjoy!!

it's good to be back