Greek Yoghurt & Mustard Salad Dressing

Ingredients:

Greek Yoghurt
Mustard
Stevia (if preferred, to taste)

Method:

Mix yoghurt and mustard to preference, until well blended. For a sweeter taste, sprinkle in Stevia to desired taste.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2 ¼ Cups All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/8 tsp Ground Cinnamon
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp of Unsalted Butter (Room Temperature)
2 tbsp Vegetable Shortening (Room Temperature)
3/4 Cup of Granulated Sugar (Try half cup in future)
3/4 Cup of Brown Sugar (Try half cup in future)
1 cup Chocolate Chips

Method:

Combine together the first 4 ingredients and set aside.

Cream together the butter, shortening, and both sugars. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix together until all creamy and combined.

Add the dry ingredients and mix just to combine. Add the chocolate chips and mix just to distribute them through the batter. Try not to over mix.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Using a small ice cream scoop, drop the cookie dough 2 inches apart onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly golden brown around the edges.

Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet then remove onto wire rack and cool completely. 

Banana Cake

Ingredients:

3/4 Cup Butter (6oz)
2 Cups Sugar
3 Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla
3 Cups Flour
1.5 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
1.5 Cups Buttermilk
2 tsp Lemon Juice
1.5 Cups Ripe Mashed Bananas (3 medium bananas)
Walnuts (optional)

For The Frosting:

1/4 (2oz) Cup Butter (softened)
100 gr Cream Cheese (softened)
2 Cups Icing Sugar
1/2 tsp Vanilla (optional) Leave out if you have the powdered form that burns mouth when eaten raw

Method:

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. In a small bowl, mix mashed bananas with lemon juice, set aside. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy*. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Stir in banana mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 60-90 minutes  or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place directly into freezer for 45 minutes. This will make the cake very moist.

For the frosting: In a large bowl (for splatter) cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Add icing sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high until frosting is smooth (if runny, slowly add more icing sugar/cream cheese until desired consistency). Spread on cooled cake.

Can be eaten as is, or topped with chopped walnuts.

* The KEY is in the creaming of the butter and sugar. I used a stand mixer and creamed for 4-5 minutes. If using a hand mixer, you just need to mix longer. The butter/sugar mixture should be very light yellow and airy/fluffy. If you do this, your cake WILL NOT be dense.

Trahanas

Ingredients:

Trahana (Soaked for 1 hour in cold water)
Halloumi (Cubed)
1 Stock Cube

Method:

Boil water with stock cube until boiling and add the trahana along with the water it soaked in. Add the halloumi and boil for around 20 minutes.

About:

Tραχανάς is a dried food based on a fermented mixture of grain and yoghurt or fermented milk. The Greek trahana contains only cracked wheat or a cous cous-like paste and fermented milk. In Cyprus, it is considered a national specialty, and is often served with pieces of halloumi cheese in it.

Trahana is made by mixing flour, yoghurt or sour milk, letting the mixture ferment, then drying, and usually grinding and sieving the result. The fermentation produces lactic acid and other compounds giving trahana its characteristic sour taste and good keeping properties: the pH is lowered to 3.4-4.2, and the drying step reduces the moisture content to 6-10%, resulting in a medium inhospitable to pathogens and spoilage organisms, while preserving the milk proteins.

Kolokasi

Ingredients:

Taro (diced)*
Celery (sliced)
1 Tin Chopped Tomatoes
1 Onion (chopped)
1 Stock Cube (dissolved in hot water)
Lemon Juice (fresh, according to preference. Optional)
Some celery leaves (chopped)
Olive Oil**
Salt

Method:

Add just enough olive oil to cover the base of a large pot and fry the onions until soft.** Add celery, tomatoes, stock, leaves and salt. Stir all the ingredients well. Add the taro and enough water to cover, add lid of pot and cook until taro is soft enough to eat and sauce is reduced (around 1 ½ hours). If sauce is reduced and the taro needs more cooking time add more water. When cooked, turn off heat and add lemon slowly to taste.

* Smaller pieces will reduce cooking time.
** Healthier alternative is to sauté in water.


Health Benefits Of Taro

Taro corms have more calories than potatoes. 100 g provides 112 calories. The calories mainly come from complex carbohydrates. The roots are very low in fats and protein than in cereals and pulses. Their protein levels can be comparable to that of other tropical food sources like yam, cassava, potato, banana, etc.


The corms are free from gluten. They feature a high-quality phyto-nutrition profile comprising dietary fiber and antioxidants in addition to moderate proportions of minerals and vitamins.


It is one of the finest sources of dietary fiber. Together with slow digesting complex carbohydrates, moderate amounts of fiber in the food help gradual rise in blood sugar levels.


It also contains good levels of some of the valuable B-complex vitamins such as pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), folates, riboflavin, pantothenic acid and thiamin.


Taro is also high in vitamin E with 3.87 mg in a 1-cup serving. Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin best known for its antioxidant activity, protecting cells from oxidation by free radicals. Including foods rich in antioxidants may offer protection against heart disease and certain types of cancer.

The corms provide healthy amounts of some important minerals like zinc, magnesium, copper, iron and manganese. In addition, the root has very good amounts of potassium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that help regulate heart rate and blood pressure.