Eftazimo tis Popi Trouli Kalymnos

 1 cup butter or oil sunflower oil, 

1 cup of milk 1 cup SUGAR 

1.1 / 2 cups of water 

5 bay leaves

 1/2 glass of Ouzo 

1 teaspoon salt

 4_5 pieces mastic 1

2 tbls  anise seed 

4 sachet dry Yeast

2kg of plain flour

Method 

 Place in a sauce pan the 1.1 / 2 cups of water to boil together The Bay leaves and anise boil until water becomes dark in colour remove all the bay leaves and amuse seed and bring back to a boil then remove from heat and add the rest of liquids Milk sugar ouzo melted butter or oil in a bowl. Let it cool to a body tempriture before you add the yeast as if it's too hot yeast will not rise. Place in a seperate large bowl the Flour with the Mix dry yeast and ground masti and separated flour to make a hole in the middle and pore in liquid to activate yeast and with your hands fold in to make a soft mixture  If necessary add a little warm water. Cover with plastic glad wrap and place in the hottest part of the house covered with a blanket to rise for about 1 hour. When dough has doubled in sized  we take out on a floured board and kneed  once more to let all the air out and then roll out to desired shape! Traditionaly we cut the dough in to one large piece and a smaller one then we roll the large one in a ball and flatten in to a well greased around tray then do the same with the smaller one and place on top of the large piece then rub top with an egg yolk sprinkle sesame and anise seed on top and stand covered until it rises again and bake In a pre heated oven 180 DEGREES CELSIUS  until it's golden brown.  ❤

Hot Cross buns for lent

Materials

3 glasses of orange juice

3 cups sugar

2 cups olive oil

3 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon powdered cloves

1 teaspoon cinnamon

little lemon zest (optional)

500 g. golden raisins

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

flour for all purpose, as it take to get a soft dough

For the Cross

75g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

• For the glaze

  3 tbsp apricot jam

Method 

In a large bowl, combine the sugar with olive oil to melt. Dissolve soda in orange juice and add to sugar mixture and oil.

Then add, while stirring well, all the other ingredients except raisins. When you obtain a soft dough, add the raisins.cover and let it rise for at least one hour. With your hands work the dough again and to share these somewhat evenly. 

Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Mix the flour with about 5 tbsp water to make the paste for the cross – add the water 1 tbsp at a time, so you add just enough for a thick paste. Spoon into a piping bag with a small nozzle. Pipe a line along each row of buns, then repeat in the other direction to create crosses. Bake for 20 mins on the middle shelf of the oven, until golden brown.

Gently heat the apricot jam to melt, then sieve to get rid of any chunks. While the jam is still warm, brush over the top of the warm buns and leave to cool.

Happy Easter to all my friends world wide (Καλό Πασχα )

How I love all the traditional build up to Easter! With the fasting and all those wonderful healthy foods the closeness of family and friends! Easter is so meaningful to all of us is in the christian community 

So my friends here is how we Greeks celebrate Easter and the risin of Jesues Christ ( Χριστός Ανέστη) I wish you all a Happy Easter!

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=353978061447749

http://youtu.be/Pm2HFFQR4Io

http://youtu.be/caenDwITD7E

Kalymnian eftazymo (from the monastery of Panagia Eleousa -Rotso)

MATERIALS:

For the dough: 1.1 / 2 kilo flour

1/4 pound of ground chickpeas 

3 chili peppers

1 tsp. Fresh Cut Salt

some bay leaves

little anise

1 jar with lid containing 1kg

For eftazymo:

4 kg flour

1 tsp. soup mastic crushed

100g. Anise

salt

EXECUTION:

take the bowl and place the ingredients for the dough - besides flour - and cover with warm water (as to tolerate in our power) and a height of 3 to 4 fingers from the lip of the glass. On closing the lid, to wrap a blanket and place in a warm place for about ten hours.

When you expose, you should see the gap between water and cap have filled foam! This foam is the basis for the leaven that will inflate the eftazymo!

Then in a bowl, sift the flour (half a kilo) and mix it with a little warm water. The mix, take with spoon the foam from the bowl and add the flour, continuing stirring. Soon we see that the bowl went back to foam, which we continue to add to leaven for the time still sees foam material of glass. After you prepare the dough, cover the bowl with a woolen blanket and leave in a warm place for several hours until it doubles in size. 

Once you are ready (has risen and the interior is like a sponge with many bubbles) pour into large mixing bowl,in which we sift the  4 pounds flour. Pour lukewarm water and knead thoroughly. During kneading, add the mastic, anise and salt.

Knead well-well until you get a fluffy and soft dough which is divided into two unequal parts.

In a well oiled round pan, lay the largest piece braided cross-shaped. Then the smallest to do make it round like a wreath and place on top. Spread the eftazymo with sugar water and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Cover and place in a cozy corner to rise. Having risen, bake for almost one hour in a preheated oven at 180 ° C.

If we want a variation to the holidays and make the eftazymo tastier, you can make it sweet by adding 1/4 kilo pure butter, 1kg milk, 1 cup sugar and glaze with a egg yolk.

Eftazimo from Kalymnos by Popi Trouli

 1 cup butter or oil sunflower oil, 

1 cup of milk 1 cup SUGAR 

1.1 / 2 cups of water 

5 bay leaves

 1/2 glass of Ouzo 

1 teaspoon salt

 4_5 pieces mastic 

2 tbls  anise seed 

4 sachet dry Yeast

2kg of plain flour

Method 

 Place in a sauce pan the 1.1 / 2 cups of water to boil together The Bay leaves and anise boil until water becomes dark in colour remove all the bay leaves and amuse seed and bring back to a boil then remove from heat and add the rest of liquids Milk sugar ouzo melted butter or oil in a bowl. Let it cool to a body tempriture before you add the yeast as if it's too hot yeast will not rise. Place in a seperate large bowl the Flour with the Mix dry yeast and ground masti and separated flour to make a hole in the middle and pore in liquid to activate yeast and with your hands fold in to make a soft mixture  If necessary add a little warm water. Cover with plastic glad wrap and place in the hottest part of the house covered with a blanket to rise for about 1 hour. When dough has doubled in sized  we take out on a floured board and kneed  once more to let all the air out and then roll out to desired shape! Traditionaly we cut the dough in to one large piece and a smaller one then we roll the large one in a ball and flatten in to a well greased around tray then do the same with the smaller one and place on top of the large piece then rub top with an egg yolk sprinkle sesame and anise seed on top and stand covered until it rises again and bake In a pre heated oven 180 DEGREES CELSIUS  until it's golden brown.  ❤

Rusian Tsoureki Easter bread

 Ingredients 

• 170 gr.sugar(5.9 oz)
• Thin, orange or lemon crust(half orange)
• 80 gr.margarine(or butter)(2.8oz)
• 100 ml.milk(3.3oz)
• 4 eggs
• 40 gr.yeast(1.4oz)
• 600 gr.of all purpose flour(21,1oz)
• 1 tsp baking powder

Preparations:

• Blend the margarine, the sugar and the orange. Then add this blended mixture in a deep bowl, add the milk and 3 eggs, mix for 10 seconds, then add half of the flour, the yeast, the baking powder and mix again.
• Then add the rest of the flour and make a nice dough.
• Put it aside for one hour until it has doubled in size. Afterwards, take the dough, divide the dough into 3 equal parts, and each one of them into 2 more, so you ‘ll have 6 dough balls.
• From every ball make circle, roll the circle into rope. Pinch 3 pieces together on one end to secure, than braid the ropes, pinch  the other end of the ropes to secure the braid.
• Take a baking paper and cover the baking  pan. Preheat the oven at 180 celzious(350 F) degrees.
• Put the braids into the pan, cover it, leave in for half an hour, with a pastry brush, evenly brush the 1 egg over the risen dough.
• Bake for 35 minutes, until it turns golden brown.
• Then decorated with Easter eggs.  

Home made Tomato Sauce

Ingredients 

6kg of red capsicums

3-4 kg of ripened tomatoes 

4 tbls of brown sugar

1-2kg of brown large onions 

1 bunch of Celery

200g of fresh red chillies 

5-6 gloves of garlic 

2 tbls of dried oregano 

2 tbls of dried Basel 

2 tbls of garlic powder

 1 cup of olive oli 

Salt and freshly ground pepper to your taste

6 sterilised jars or bottles 

1 very large sauce pan 

Water to boil 

Method

 Wash and chop tomatoes capsicums onions chillies garlic and celery and place in a blender until well blended.pore in the olive oil oregano Basel garlic powder salt and pepper and Brent to mix. 

Pore sause in to sterilised jars or bottles and seal with their leads very tightly and place them in the the large pan upside down. Fill pan with water to cover all jars or bottles  be careful as it will be havy. Best to place the pan on stove before filling it up. Cover and cook on low heat at least for 1-2 hours. 

This method will help to cook sauce and seal and heals to preserve for at least a year in our pantry! 

After sauce has been simmering for max2 hours turn heat off and leave jars in over night if possible and take out the next day. Wipe jars and it's ready to put in pantry. When jars are open and not all us used then make sure to but in the fridge. Thus sause is great for making any pasta or meat dishes including as a pizza base enjoy! 

Patsas Greek Easter Tripe Soup from Kalymnos)

Materials:

• 1.5 kg tripe chopped 
• 4 legs of Pork ( trotters) 
• 3.5 liters beef broth 
• Oregano
• 1  large onion
• 3 bay leaves
• 10 cloves of garlic 
• pepper fresh coarsely ground 
• salt and pepper powder 
• thyme 

For the egg and lemon sauce

2 whole eggs

juice of 2 lemons

1 cup of Broth

Method 

• Blanch the tripe : Place tripe in a pot with water and let it boil for 20 min then drain and put back in the pot with the pigs trotters 
• Wrap a piece of thin cloth garlic, oregano, thyme and crushed pepper and onion
• Take one string and  wrap one end to a parcel that you have compiled and the other on the edge of the pot. Add the salt and pepper add the beef broth and
• Cook the tripe with broth of beef and herb parcel with spices for 2-3 hours 
• When cooked remove Trotters and separate meat from the bone and cut  tripe into chunks Place them back in the pot with the broth and boil for 10-15 minutes more 
• Remove the parcel with spices, 
• In a blender or milk shaker add the eggs lemon juice and a cup of the broth
• Mix well until it becomes white and frothy. Pore in to the rest of the soup and stir while you pore! Serve with a sprinkle of fresh ground black pepper and some crusty bread enjoy! 

Some like it with out the egg and lemon sauce and serve it with a dash of olive oil and black pepper! I personally like it with the egg and lemon sauce!