I have finally made it to my dream island, Santorini. I felt like I was in a story book or in an imaginary doll house on the edge of the world waiting to wake up. Random roof tops to sit and see the sunset where it felt like we were literally in the clouds because there were puffs of white surrounding us (we were touching them!)

Not only was the island incredibly dreamy, the food was great too. We went to a small restaurant called Aktaion a family owned restaurant from grandfather, father to son right by where we stayed in Firostefani, Santorini. It had amazing homemade traditional Greek dishes. This was one of the restaurants that was a quaint hole in the wall with food to die for. One word for this place: Moussaka. Their moussaka had the perfect amount of spices and was baked in a clay dish to add more flavor.

For those of you who are wondering what exactly this strange dish is it is a mouth watering combination of cinnamon spiced lamb and or ground beef mingling with thinly sliced eggplant topped with a delicious cream sauce (bechamel) and baked to a golden perfection. This is a dish I strive to perfect and test over and over until I get it just right. Test number 1 has been completed and tasted his brother..they said they approved but I want to get it just right!

MoussakaDoll House

Sunset while touching the clouds…. haha

Yasas!

~Niki

 In Greek: ντάκος, Dakos

I love it when I’m anxious about something and I can effortlessly pull together something amazing to eat. I get lost in the art of making Greek inspired recipes. When I can cook with ingredients that are in season and organic while creating something that nourishes people and brings a smile to their face- tada! 🙂

Today dakos for lunch and tonight a Greek cooking class for dinner! Traveling has been so fun and eye opening. All of the different cultures amaze me and the various ways of living teaches me new concepts about how to live a healthy sustainable life. Greeks sure do things differently! From enjoying the small things in life to eating a healthy Mediterranean diet, Greeks do many things right (even though it may not seem like it with the current economic crisis ;))!

Dakos, delicious, healthy and a great representation of the Mediterranean diet, straight from Crete. It’s similar to the common bruchetta but definitely has its own personality. Dakos refers to a recipe that uses Cretan barley rusks (paximadi).

Enjoy and Yasas!

~Niki

I’m so excited to spend some time in my swim suit with the new friends I have met in Greece. Here are a few things I have done during my time in Greece along with what has caught my eye this week, many of which have been inspired from the amazing Greek culture I have had the opportunity to surround myself with~ Opa and happy forth!

 View from hotel in Poros, Greece~amazing

Favorite cold treat~ light and healthy coconut frozen yogurt. It’s not hard to imagine the light and fresh taste, yet rich flavor of this yogurt from the photo alone. Via anjasfood4thought

Exploring island of Poros on a 4-Wheeler with Spyros

Cheers~ happ 4th Via julieblanner.com

Lamb~ Greece is full of tasty lamb Via Donna Hay

Whats in the News~ The banks in Greece have been closed for 5 days now. It’s hard to find an ATM that works and if we do the Greeks can only take up to 60 euro out a day. Difficult times but everything is fine for now. We will wait until the weekend to see what will happen next.

Have a great 4th of July!

~Niki

There are few things in this life that I don’t have to think about. In terms of enjoyment thank goodness for those few things, right? By thinking I mean those things you have to dig away at in order to unpack it to make sense of something, it feels a bit forced. I don’t have to think about how to season a piece of meat the right way, my faith, what kind of food nourishes me, right VS wrong and risks to take. I do, however, have to think about algebra equations and scientific puzzles….sounds stupid?…oh well.

When I start over thinking what comes easiest to me I find I ruin it. Simplicity wins.

I have arrived in Athens, Greece where I will be living until September 5 traveling to various parts of Greece and Europe (above is a picture of Poros where we stayed last weekend on a small island). I asked myself after a couple weeks of being here, did I have to realllly think about moving here? No. I knew it was something I needed to do and wanted to do whether it turned out to be horrible or great. How did I know? I just knew I would’ve always looked back.

I’m hitting all of the hot spots I can during my travels. Pastichio, a Greek-style lasagna is one of the most popular foods made in Greece.

A warm creamy rush with rich bechamel sauce and nutty spices makes for the perfect authentic Greek dish to bring to your lips and melt in your mouth.

From family to family and generation to generation traditional Greek recipes are the BEST! Zoe (my boyfriend’s mom) taught me this one as we worked away in her kitchen at home. It’s full of life!

Zoe= life in Greek

What do you have to think about? What are your natural gifts God gave you to sharpen and what are your challenges?

Stay tuned for the pastichio recipe! ( I have to test the amounts to make sure you have the best recipe! Zoe knows her recipe by heart and what she does measure is by weight) …For the cooks who have to “think” about what they are doing stay tuned, otherwise simply create 🙂

-Niki

  1 pot. easy ingredients. new flavors.

I tried this a few nights ago, its now one of my top 5 favorites to make for my family. The flavors blend together~ its pure harmony! The main thing I like about this is its a switch up from your regular hearty beef stew that everyone loves to have in the winter. This goes great with winter weather and the summer heat.

Dear Guardian Angel, I believe in God’s time all wounds will be healed… I pray that he should remain in my heart and you, most loved guardian angel, will always be with me through all obstacles through all accomplishments and all of life’s journeys.

Chicken Stew in White Wine Sauce

Recipe adapted from Donna Hay

*Try to purchase all ingredients organic 🙂

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound chicken breasts

11/2 cups brussels sprouts

sea salt and black pepper to taste

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 pound baby potatoes, cut into 2 inch slices

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup dry white wine

4 sprigs thyme

2 tablespoons lemon juice

finely grated pecorino cheese, to serve

Instructions

Heat oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper and cook for 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove from pan; set aside.

Add brussels sprouts and cook for 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add potatoes, broth, wine and thyme; bring to a boil. Top with chicken and cover with a lid. Reduce heat to medium. Cook for 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are tender and brussels sprouts are cooked through but have a nice crunch. Add lemon juice and stir until combined. Top with cheese. Enjoy!

Happy Cooking!

~Niki

 Essential for our current health and our future…change is possible!

A plethora of  ingredients are banned across the globe because they are considered unsafe for human consumption.  It seems like common sence, you know, to ban something that could harm us? …in the USA it’s not. Coloring agents (blue 1, blue 2, yellow 5, and yellow 6) and Olestrea found in fat free potato chips are still being put into our food. From Food Babe, “41% of Americans are projected to get cancer in their lifetime!  Americans are sicker and die younger than other people in wealthy nations. The United States spends 2.5 times more on health care than any other nation, however, when compared with 16 other nations we come in dead last in terms of health and life expectancy for men and near the bottom for women.” We need HELP.

I have been struggling with trying to think of various ways I can contribute to improve the USA’s corrupted food system. From volunteering on organic farms, spreading the word and eating organic food I still feel like there is more to be done. As I dive into Food Babe’s amazing blog as I mentioned her above, (a blog investigating what really is in our food which is causing cancer and obesity among a plethora of other issues and diseases) my heart is aching for the consumer’s of this food, that being the person reading this right now, me and loved ones. We are being tricked into eating foods that are contaminated. Tricked by people with power. People who don’t have the morals and values that we hope for. Our food system is hurting many families as it hurt mine.

Many large food companies don’t care about our health they only care about making money by adding additives, genetically modified organisms and pesticides to our foods to make production go faster and save money. I hope you will stay up to date on Food Babe’s findings and try to eat local and organic whenever possible. Remember, eating healthy and organic is not only good for you, it is good for your mind, body and our environment!  

Enjoy the recipe below. I pray it will help you and your family eat healthy and stay nourished!

Food Babe’s Blog: http://foodbabe.com/ 

Ingredients: 

* For each ingredient the amount depends on how many sandwiches you’ll be making. Feel free to add any additional ingredients to make it how you want it! This recipe is simply an idea that hopefully helps spark more creativity and healthy eating! I pray and hope you will try to use organic and local ingredients. 

• Whole Grain Bread
• Garlic Hummus
• Avocado
• Tomatoes
• Cucumber
• Oregano
• Shaved pecorino or parmesan cheese- optional
• Lemon wedges -Optional
• Fresh Dill

Instructions: Assemble to you liking and look to the picture above for guidance. Eat as an open faced sandwich and squeeze the lemon on top just before eating. Enjoy!

  Happy and healthy eating!

~Niki

Full of olive oil and wholesome ingredients! 🙂

Fresh kale from my dad’s garden. So good!

My latest memories of pesto is from Italy. I had everything from pasta, paninies, meats, and pizza with pesto there. ITALY IS THE LAND OF #1 food. If you can master your favorite pesto you  can incorporate it with just about anything. This recipe is full of antioxidants and will help energize you. I used South Union Bread to serve this recipe as an appetizer. Whole wheat works well and their Olive Ciabatta is great with this. Enjoy, it will go far!! 🙂 * Feel free to add any additional herbs!

My  top 5 favorite ways to use pesto, it’s not just a pasta topping:
Sauce, condiment, spread, marinate

1. Zucchini  Pasta (recipe coming soon)
2. Sandwhiches (paninis) learned from Italy yum!
3. Spread for breads
4. A top of salmon or shrimp
5.  Dressing in salad

Ingredients

Kale Pesto

• 2 cups kale
• 2 cups spinach
• 1 1/2 cups fresh basil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 cups parmesan or pecorino cheese
• 2 T lemon juice, optional
• 1/3 cup-3/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t pepper
• 1/4 t cayenne pepper (1/2 t for spicer) optional

In the bowl of a food processor, combine spinach, basil, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice and garlic cloves. Process with on-off turns, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary, until ingredients are starting to combine. With food processor running, drizzle olive oil until desired consistency is reached . Serve tossed into pasta, spread onto bread, as a sandwich spread or dip for veggies.

Happy cooking!

-Niki