Greek Souvlaki at Home

Greek Souvlaki

Greek Souvlaki - THE Greek Feasting Dish of summer - or perhaps of any season.


Souvlaki is traditionally made over charcoals outdoors, and requires advance marinating and threading onto skewers - so it can be a wee bit of extra work.

I've simplified this just about as much as anyone can simplify it!

I don't relish dealing with raw meat. So, I usually buy "Country Style Ribs" for this dish - or else the pre-cubed and sliced varieties (depending on prices). If I buy the "Country Style Ribs" - I only have to make a few cuts to turn them from strips into the traditional cubes. If it's pre-cubed, all the work is already done : )

Once I have the cubes, I put them in a Zippered Freezer Bag with the Marinade, and toss them in the freezer (unless I'm using them the next day - in that case I toss them in the fridge, in a plastic box to prevent drips)

Then, the day before I want to use them, I bring them down to the Fridge and thaw 24 hours. Then, I remove the meat from the marinade and discard the marinade. I thread the cubes onto skewers, and then I grill on an electric indoor grill till well-done, about 20 minutes on my grill. (We live in a neighborhood where charcoal grilling is illegal - if you are able to charcoal grill, you can use the same recipe, just grill over your charcoals!)

Souvlaki Marinade
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Lemon Juice
1 teaspoon Garlic Salt (or to taste)
3/4 teaspoon Dried Oregano
A Few Dashes of Pepper

Souvlaki may be served with the following: 
Salad Made of Shredded Cabbage, Cilantro, perhaps some Lettuce, and Tomato
Tzatziki Sauce (Greek Yogurt Sauce)
Onion Wedges
Lemon Wedges
Pickled Peppers
French Fries  (or Greek Style Oven Fries)

Pita Bread (purchased or Homemade)

Tip for Dining with Vegans or Vegetarians:
Make Manitarakia for Vegans!

Greek Tahini Sauce:

For Vegetarians, Halloumi Cheese, Sliced 1/4" thick (1 cm) and grilled is a great option.


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Summer Vegan Lunches for a Week

As the weather turns warmer, it's good to have some ideas for lighter, easy meals that can serve as lunches or as light dinners. I hope you find these useful!

First, a bonus breakfast idea:

Breakfast Bowl, Cool & Creamy Maple Sunrise

 A Week's Worth of Summer Lunches:

Greek Style Black-Eyed Peas ( Louvia )

Fattoush

Hummus with Capers in Naan with Tomatoes

Mix & Match Italian Rice Salad

Veggie Burgers

Veggie & Olive Sandwich

Asian Peanut Wrap

 And for Dessert?

Brownie Batter Dessert Dip 

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Lentil Spaghetti

Lentil Spaghetti

We LOVE this recipe! It's the epitome of frugal, healthy comfort food.

It was originally recommended to me by a friend who had a VERY tight budget and a family of 7 - including several teenagers! She said it got an extra meal out of the leftovers from Lentil Soup - for just the price of some Spaghetti.

But, once we tried it, we liked it for how it tasted - more than how frugal it was!

It's the ultimate Lenten Dining, too - Oil free even : )

Just make the soup, make the Spaghetti, and put them together. I particularly enjoy this dish with Salad, and Green Olives and/or Capers. Avocados are also nice. Garlic Toast is also nice on the side.

My Lentil Soup
Doubles well, but needs very large pot

There are about 20 kinds of Lentils! This recipe uses the standard
Grocery Store lentil - sometimes called "Green Lentils" despite
the Brown color.

1 (12oz) bag mirepoix mix OR 1/2 c diced onion, 1/2 c sliced celery, 1/2 cup sliced carrots

1 spoon garlic (about 3 cloves)
Add
2 1/2 cups sorted and  rinsed lentils (1 1# bag)

1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes

1 package (10 to 12oz) frozen chopped spinach
Water to cover, plus some (to equal 4 quarts total soup)

1 tsp dry mustard*

1 tsp dry ginger (or fresh)*
1/2 T salt
Boil 45 minutes, till lentils are tender
OR, cook in slow cooker on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Freezes very well. This is a great recipe to double and freeze half for later.

Tip for Dining with Omnivores: This dish is also good with Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese over the top.

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Easy Asian Noodles

Easy Asian Noodles

This is a delicious noodle dish that can be made in about 10 minutes. Cooking time for this kind of noodles is only 3 minutes - so the time includes the amount of time it takes to bring the water to a boil!


It's so easy - and delightful - and frugal - and vegan : )

It uses a kind of noodles that some people refer to as "real" Ramen - not to be confused with Instant Ramen that college students are known to live on!

I identify these noodles more by how they look in the package than by any writing outside the package - and by the ingredients. Wheat Flour. Water. Salt. (and sometimes Sodium Carbonate). That's all! When you look at the noodles, they're flat instead of curly, and are dried in a sort of "fan" shape.

These are the noodles you're looking for - notice they're not curly and have a characteristic fan shape fold.

"Instant Ramen" in contrast is often packed with chemicals and is usually deep fried before its dried and packaged. They're curly noodles. They're not what you want!

My usual brands are Wei-Chuan Guan Miao Ramen Noodles, made in Taiwan

This is a good brand

or Yih Noodles by Fu Cheng Noodle Mill/Qiao Wei Food Co. - Also from Taiwan.

This is another good brand.

So, this is how you prepare this amazing - and amazingly easy dish.

Easy Asian Noodles

Fill a pot of water

Add to the water your favorite veggies with an Asian theme (authenticity is up to you). I use what I have on hand, selecting from the following: Broccoli, Green Beans, Peas, Carrots, Baby Corn, Bok Choy, Water Chestnuts . .  . well - you get the idea.

While you're waiting for the boil, make the sauce:
1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Sherry or other Dry Wine (whatever you've got on hand!)
1 Tablespoon Dark Sesame Oil
2 teaspoons Ginger Paste
2 teaspoon Minced Garlic
2 teaspoons Sugar
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Pepper


When the water boils  (if you like your veggies more tender, let them boil till they're how you like them before adding the noodles), add the noodles to the water and vegetables and boil 3 minutes, till done.

Drain

Toss with sauce.

Place into bowls.

Top with Sriracha and your Choice of Peanuts or Cashews, if desired.

Enjoy!

Tip for dining with Omnivores: This dish can also be topped with a sliced boiled egg, or with some sliced beef, pork, or chicken. If you have leftover meat from a recent Asian meal just slice it and toss it on top : )

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