Greeko

Everywhere that we went in Greece the Greek salad was delicious and served sans lettuce which made it so much better. Also, depending on the region there are a few differences in some of the things that go in the salad. For instance in Crete they use fresh mint in the salad and dress it with fresh olive oil and what I believe was white balsamic vinegar. In Santorini they added capers and fresh dill and used lemon juice as their acid instead of the vinegar. All were delicious though.

While we were there I got inspired to create something when we got home that took something very common here in Texas, pico de gallo, and give it a twist. Through my very creative new husband, the name Greeko (Greek pico) was born!

Okay so here it goes. This actually makes A LOT so it is great for a party. It would also be a great relish for chicken or fish or you could toss it with some pasta and serve it as a pasta salad. I also think it would be pretty easy to half.

Ingredients

10 Roma Tomatoes

3 Cloves of Fresh Garlic

1 Green Bell Pepper

1 White Onion

1 Cucumber

1 Anaheim Pepper

2 1/2 tablespoons of Capers

2 teaspoons Fresh Dill

2 cups of Crumbled Feta Cheese (I used the blocks packed in water and crumbled myself)

Juice from 1/2 of a Lemon

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

White Balsamic Vinegar

Salt and White Pepper (if you don't have it you can use black pepper) to taste

First get the seeds out of your tomatoes so that they do not over juice your Greeko. Cut each tomato in half and and squeeze the seeds out of them. This will make them easier to dice.

They will look like this on the inside when you are done.

Next, dice the tomato, bell pepper, onion, cucumber, anaheim pepper, and mince the garlic. Add the capers. Mix them all in together in a mixing bowl. Then squeeze the juice of half of a lemon into the bowl. Drizzle with olive oil (I did it about 2 and half times back and forth across the bowl) and then with the white balsamic vinegar (one time over the bowl).

Add the feta cheese.

Mix well. Season with salt and white pepper to taste.

I found this pico to have released a lot of liquid from the vegetables so I strained it with a fine strainer.

Serve with pita chips.

We brought this to a pool party and it was received very well! I hope you enjoy it if you try it, we certainly did.

Happy Memorial Day!

Katie

Téleia Mí̱nas tou Mélitos sti̱n Elláda (Perfect Honeymoon in Greece)

Patrick and I have talked forever about a trip to Greece. When it came time to decide where we would go on our honeymoon, there was absolutely no question about the location. It was probably the easiest decision we made during the year of our enagement (regarding the wedding at least). This trip was absolutely fantastic! I could never have imagined it to be as good as it truly was.

While in Greece there were several things that happened to us that made me think I was meeting a character straight out of the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which frankly I loved. On the plane from Frankfurt, Germany to Athens I was seated next to two Greek men. One man was now living in Vancouver and going home to visit his family and the other was actually from the village in Crete right over the hill from the one where we were going to on our first leg of the trip, Agios Nikalaios. When I told them that I was a little concerned about not knowing a lick of Greek, the man told me that I could give him any word and he will tell me how it comes from the Greek language and that I should have no problem because so many English words are Greek based. Then he proceded to give me several words that he knew off the top of his head that were clearly copied by the English language from Greek. So if we got lost in a random village, at least Patrick and I would know how to ask about the state of democracy, or where the theatre was, or hey-do you have the name of a good plumber? As small talk continued and they learned that we were on our honeymoon, each man made it very clear to me that if I "become pregnant" it is customary to give the baby a Greek name. Well thank goodness that didn't happen. I'd hate to have to introduce my son, Panagotis Flynn (pronounced Pan-uh-yot-is) or my daughter, Voula Flynn. Call both of them Nick, Nicko, or Nicki for short-this really was an unbelievably common name.

The highlight of our trip was definitely our sailing trip on the Agean Sea around the island of Santorini. It was the most spectacular day. Our captain, Captain Ted, is an American Greek from Jersey who is now married to an Australian Greek woman and lives six months out of the year in Santorini. He makes a living participating in the main local idustry fishing. As Captain Ted puts it, he specializes in "catching sucker tourists!" In all seriousness, he has several catamarans that himself and other former corporate slaves turned full time Skippers take tourists for the right price on incredible tours around the island. The day provided an open bar, and a homemade meal of fresh Greek fare, and front row view to one of the most beautiful sunsets on the entire planet. If you are ever in Santorini, I strongly encourage you to take one of these trips.

The food in Greece was also very delicious. We tried tons of different things and ate enough octopus that I would not be surprised if we each sprouted six more legs. Our two favorite things were the Greek salad and the domatokeftedes (tomato fritters) which is a local to the island of Santorini.

The tomato fritters were Patrick's favorite so I've promised that I would find a recipe to prepare them at home. They are almost like crab cakes, but instead they have tomatoes, onions, garlic, and I think dill. Delicious with the classic yogurt sauce tzatziki. The Greek salad is unlike what we have here. There is no lettuce, all chopped vegetables. It has given me idea for an easy new recipe that I think I'm going to call Greek pico. I figure I will make it this weekend for some Memorial Day festivities and I will post the recipe here in a few days. Until then have a great holiday weekend!

Yia sis! (prounounced yah-sis, hello and good bye in Greek)

Officially Mr. and Mrs. Flynn!

After 8 and half years of being together, Patrick and I finally tied the knot! I cannot believe how fast our wedding day went. However, it was the most unbelievable and perfect day. We had such a blast and are still pinching ourselves about the fact that we are actually married!

The intention of this blog is to share one of our favorite hobbies to do together, cooking, with everyone. Over the years we have grown and changed so much. We are always eager to find fun hobbies that we can share but one thing is for sure, we love to cook together. It will also share recipes and anything else we feel like sharing about our lives here in Houston. We are surrounded by a wonderful family and incredible friends that I am so greatful for.