Edo Montreal

http://greek-taste.com/

Edo Montreal

Litsa Bolontzakis,Author of "Take the taste of Greece with you" and "Boukia Boukia" 2 wonderful books about Greek cooking and entertaining is very Happy to announce that she is a part of Edo Montreal the TV program that focuses on the life of the Greek community of Montreal.


A delightful Hour full of excitement and useful information.

Entertaining with Litsa,at Edo Montreal,Sundays at 6:30 and Tuesdays at 2:00

PARIS JULY 1 2009

PARIS JULY 1 2009: .-CANADA WINS IN PARIS!

Canada wins 6 medals this year at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards against 10 last year.

102 countries entered books.
The best in the world winner this year is for Foreign Cookery, encouraging one of the many small independent publishers from Canada, who manages to be well distributed internationally:
- Take the Taste of Greece with You
Litsa Bolontzakis ,
(Humming Bird Publications)

Litsa Bolontzakis published Boukia Boukia in Greece. She can be considered as one of the builders of the cultural bridge between Greece and Canada.

There were 26 countries competing in this category.

In this picture excepting the award by Mr Cointreau junior.

PARIS JULY 1 2009

PARIS JULY 1 2009:

Taking it all in and really enjoying the event.
The Comedie Francaise theatre was packed to capacity
 with 800 guests from all over the world!
What a great privilege was to be able to attend.!
Many thanks to the Gourmand group and especially to
Mr Edouard Cointreau for being such a  gracious host.
Litsa!

GREECE WINS IN PARIS!
Two books from Greece won Best in the World at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.
The first (ladies first!) is from Canada, by Greek author Lisa Bolontzakis with a perfect title:
- Take the Taste of Greece with You
Litsa Bolontzakis
(Humming Bird Publications)
Litsa Bolontzakis published Boukia Boukia in Greece. She can be considered as one of the builders of the cultural bridge between Greece and Canada.
It gets the award for Best Foreign Cookery Book in the world. It is an excellent book, with an outstanding international marketing, which is unusual for small publishers. All small publishers should see how it is done, and search all international distributors for this book"

YouTube - Greek Island Skopelos,Mamma Mia movie Location

YouTube - Greek Island Skopelos,Mamma Mia movie Location

Almond cookies

2 cups butter unsalted (room temperature)
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs
5 ½ cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp almond extract
3 cups crushed almonds
1 egg for the egg wash

Place butter in mixer bowl and beat adding the sugar gradually until nice and creamy about 3 min.
Add the eggs and continue beating.
Replace the beaters with the paddle and add the almonds and the dry ingredients and knead until you have firm dough.
Take about 2 tbsp. of the dough in your hands and form into round balls, flatten and with a cookie cutter cut into the shape you like.
Place in a pan with parchment paper apply egg wash and bake in preheated oven at 350 for 15-20 minutes.
Let cool and enjoy them with a nice cup of coffee.
Love Litsa!

Artichokes in Greek cooking

Artichoke the European plant of the daisy family,it's history goes back thousands of years in Ancient Greece.
An exotic green vegetable with nutty flavor and healthful nutrients.

It is a perennial plant, tall and wide and it is cultivated for its large thistle like flower heads.
To look at the plant with its prickly appearance it makes you wander who had the intelligence and courage to investigate this beautiful wild plant and find something so precious to enjoy!

The artichoke is a flower that is not allowed to bloom, an immature flower head.
When allowed to come to fool bloom it is magnificent tall and proud with it’s amazing purple color a haven for honey bees and other flying creatures.

Native to the Mediterranean the time to enjoy fresh artichoke is in the spring, from March to May.
Rich source of vitamin C, folate, dietary fiber and a multitude of minerals.

Today we can enjoy thorn-less variety’s like the Imperial star.

Did you know that the Jerusalem artichoke is cultivated for its potato like tubers and they are used for livestock feed the production of sugar and alcohol? Fascinating indeed.

Many feel intimidated by this unusual plant but it does’t have to be this way.
Here is my delicious recipe to enjoy this exotic vegetable.

Greek cooking is seasonal and I love that about my Greek heritage it makes it possible to enjoy the seasons to the fullest, what a great gift!

Artichoke medley with lemon and dill.

Perfect vegetarian meal or a delicious side dish.

½ cup olive oil
2 potato’s peeled and cut in 4
2 carrots cut in pieces
2 large onions sliced
1 bunch green onions finely
1 small bunch dill finely cut
Salt and pepper to taste
Water for cooking
1 lemon the juice
1 tbsp flour ½ cup water

Prepare the artichokes by removing the outer leafs, with a sharp knife remove the hard outer part of the artichoke cut in half and remove the fuzz from the heart carefully not to remove the meat of the artichoke, cut the remaining ends and place in a bowl with water and the juice of ½ a lemon to prevent oxidation.
In a large pan add the oil and the onions with the dill.

.Cook for 3 minutes on low heat until translucent.
Add the rest of the vegetables and artichokes and cook together turning the vegetables for a few more minutes.
Put enough water to cover, the lemon juice salt and pepper and cook on medium heat for 30 minutes or until you pick with a fork and you feel the vegetables are cooked.

The last step is to add the flour to thicken the sauce, in a small bowl add the flour and ½ cup water stir to dissolve the flour and pour in the pan with the vegetables, let cook 2 more minutes and your amazing artichoke medley is ready.

Have a glorious spring!

Visit our site for a unique experience

Home made chicken soup!

We welcome your visit on our site

.How about a recipe for chicken soup
With actual chicken and vegetables.
I have a very funny story about chicken soup.

A young lady was sick with the flue and I volunteered to bring her some chicken soup.
I made my favorite soup and i brought her some.
I will never forget her reaction,she said "Oh it has chicken"
At first I could not understand but then I realized can soup has traces of chicken and probably she never had home made chicken soup rich and delicious a meal on it's own.
 Needles to say she loved it.

Here is my favorite recipe.

I would use 1/2 of a chicken
.Wash chicken and remove all visible fat.
Place the chicken in a large pot with water to cover.
Start the cooking proses ,when it starts to boil froth will accumulate on the sides,remove it with a large spoon.
The more you remove the better your soup will be
.At this point you can add ;
1 onion cut in 4
 2 carrots and 2 celery stalks diced.
3 cloves of garlic(helps to take away the smell of the chicken).
2 potato's diced
I love to add 1 lemon the juice.

Season with Salt and pepper,adjust the heat to low and let simmer for 30 min
.At this point debone the chicken, cut in small pieces and put back in your soup
.If you like add some noodles,and you have a delicious soup made from scratch that you will love.

OK.OK. Avgolemono everyone is raving about avgolemono the Greek way of making the soup and they thing I am hiding something.
This is my way for avgolemono.
What is Avgolemono any way?
It means egg-lemon and the instructions follow.
Let the soup cool down for about 5-6 minutes .

You will need 2 eggs separated.
The juice of a large lemon
1/2 cup soup broth

With a hand mixer beat the egg whites until picks form , add the yolks beat another minute and then slowly add the lemon broth to the soup and stir gently.
Never boil soup after this point.
This is the famous Avgolemono and it makes the soup stand out from the ordinary.
It gives it a rich and velvety texture
.Greek chicken soup Avgolemono traditinaly is done with rice.
Enjoy this very famous Greek recipe for chicken soup!














.

Why snack on almonds

Almonds are a wonderful delicacy!
Almonds and honey what an amazing combination!
They are little bundles of energy always ready to do their magic.
Their composition covers all 4 food groups.
They are high in protein and other essential nutrients.
Almonds are easy to carry with you for a delicious and very healthy snack!
Almonds are indispensable in Greek cooking and baking.


Recipes I absolutely love using almonds


Kourabiethes (butter cookies with icing sugar)

Bake at 350 20-25 min. 35-40 pieces


2 cups good quality unsalted Butter (room temperature)
½ cup Icing sugar
1 Egg
2 tsp.Vanilla
2 tsp Baking powder
1 cup Almonds (blanched roasted and coarsely chopped)
5 cups Flour
Icing sugar for dusting

Place butter in mixing bowl and with mixer at high speed beat butter with icing sugar for 10 minutes.
Add egg and continue beating another 5 minutes.
Add the rest of the ingredients except flour and mix well.
Change the mixer element and use the paddle to work in the flour.
Slowly add the flour a cup at a time checking the mixture.
Mixture has to be soft and easy to handle.
Form small round balls, lightly indented with thumb and bake in medium heat .
When done and while warm put icing sugar in a flat container and gently place the cookies on top.
Dust icing sugar over cookies to cover them completely.
When cold place in a beautiful platter and enjoy your” Kourabiethes”.

Litsa's Tip:The softer the dough The better
your Kourabiethes will be.

.

Lemon pasta and a movie

Friday night special meal for one with your favorite movie.

How about lemon pasta with shrimp?

A very delicious and refreshing way to enjoy pasta after a long week.
And remember tomorrow is another day.( A little bit of Scarlet never hurts.)

Here is how I make it.

In a heavy skillet add 2 tbsp. butter and 3 tbsp olive oil.
Crush 2 cloves garlic and saute for 1 min.add the shrimp and continue until shrimp changes color and it becomes a nice pink.
Deglaze with 1/2 cup white wine and the juice of 1/2 a lemon salt and pepper shrimp and add your prepared pasta with a little pasta liquid.

You can use some red pepper flakes and some lemon zest if you like more spice.
Sprinkle with some good quality grated cheese and you are ready to enjoy a 20 $ meal for fraction of the price.

Time alone is not a curse it is a blessing even for the young.

It is a time for reflection and evaluation.

.

Please suggest an easy seasonal desert

You can make individual trifles with the fruit you like
like strawberries with brandy,caramelized apples or bananas and
so on.
I always get pound cake from the super market plain or chocolate.I love to have it available.
Get a nice fancy glass and start layering.
Begin with pieces of pound cake,sprinkle a little liqueur of your choice add whip cream and continue with a generous portion of fruit.
Add a dollop of whip cream decorate with some crushed nuts and you have a delightful desert with the minimum effort.

To caramelize apples:In a heavy skillet add 2 tbsp butter and 2 apples,golden delicious my favourites peeled and sliced.
Saute for 2-3 minutes add 3 tbsp sugar continue until sugar dissolves and deglaze with a little brandy,ready to use.

For the strawberries wash them and slice them add sugar and a little brandy mix well and refrigerate for 1 hour so the flavors can come together
.Bananas can get the same treatment as the apples

Amazing flavors and a fantastic presentation !

Cooking with Crystal and Haley
What a gift! What a pleasure!
That's how I describe my experience of cooking with Crystal, age 16 and Haley age 10.


The idea was to have a nice afternoon together doing what all three of us love, cooking and enjoying the labor of our "hard work"and perhaps learning a thing or two from each other along the way.

To do what I love is not really "work" for me. It is pleasure and satisfaction all wrapped into one.



Haley was always raving about her grandmother's pierogie recipe and I was skeptical at first, she is after all only 10. Crystal just became a vegetarian and is always looking for new recipes to try, so the recipe of Orzo (Greek pasta) salad with feta cheese, Kalamata olives and all kinds of yummy veggies seemed to be the ideal choice. It's a complete meal-in-one, no matter that a lot of prep work is required.
What was my contribution to the afternoon? My very favorite Biscotti with chocolate chips, almonds and much more!



What a wonderful combination of flavors!
I was amazed by the incredible maturity of these two young ladies. Their disposition and willingness to help one another and learn from one another was a joy to see. They loved what they were doing and it showed. With the music of Mama Mia in the background lending a special note to the atmosphere, an unbelievably good time was had by all.



As parents we have to capture the gifts our children possess and encourage them to use and cultivate them. We want our young ones to make the right choices, because if they love what they do they will do it with joy and in the long-run will be happy with their decisions.
My special ingredient when I work with young people,I don't know everything and I am willing to learn even from the young ones this way they feel free to express themselves and their talents and special gifts shine through!!
Thank you girls for a fantastic afternoon!

Filakia Litsa!