The Odd Fork

As named above, this frozen treat is definitely of ice and fire! The mingling of sweet and hot is common in sauces such as ketchup or barbecue sauce, so the Odd Fork thought it would be a good idea to add curry in the basic recipe of vanilla ice cream.

A summer dessert which is sweet, frozen and spicy! This ice cream is also egg-free and you don't even need to use full fat milk cream -important, if you watch your diet!

For about 900 ml of ice cream, you 'll need:

- 500 ml whole milk

- 3/4 cup sugar

- 1/2 tsp vanilla powder or vanilla extract 

- 1 & 1/2 Tbsp corn starch

- 250 g mix of evaporated milk and fresh, unsalted Greek Mizithra cheese*

- 1 to 2 Tbsp curry (depending how strong you want the flavor)

- 1 Tbsp good quality Greek honey

- a shot (or two) of dark rum

Whisk together 1/2 cup of the cold milk with the corn starch, making sure that there are no remaining lumps and set aside. In a pot, over medium to low heat add remaining milk, sugar, vanilla and corn starch - milk mixture. Boil whisking constantly for about a minute, until mixture thickens slightly. Remove from heat and cover cream with plastic wrap, pressing it flat across the cream’s surface so no skin forms. Let it cool completely.

*For the milk cream substitute, just measure 125 grams of Greek Mizithra or Anthotiro cheese cut into pieces and 125 grams of evaporated milk and process in your food processor until the mixture is smooth and thick, like fresh milk cream. Add this mixture in the previous cold milk - corn starch mixture, mix well to combine and place in the freezer. If an ice cream machine is not available, you can remove the ice cream every hour to process it in your food processor. This will give a better, smooth texture. On the second to the last time (the Odd Fork did this process 8 times, so it was on the 6th time) add into the ice cream mixture curry, honey and rum. Process everything together to incorporate and the color turns from white to dark yellow.

On the next day, the Odd Fork tasted the ice cream. The flavor had a slight hint of coffee, at least according to the Odd's Fork taste buds. The Odd Fork served its hot, spicy ice cream with some extra Greek honey and it was lovely, a scoop of ice and fire indeed!
Even Khaleesi heard the news and asked for the recipe 😉

Chamomile tea may be consumed for its relaxing effects or before going to bed to improve sleep quality, but fresh or dried chamomile can also be used as a spice, especially in cake and cookie recipes. Dried chamomile flowers made these common butter biscuits something special, with a special aroma of course! 

To make them, you 'll need:

- 175 grams good quality milk butter, softened

- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (and some extra sugar for rolling biscuits)

- 2 Tbsp dried chamomile flowers
- 1/4 cup Kumquat Liqueur
- 2 & 1/3 cup soft flour
- 1 tsp baking powder

Start by processing sugar into your food processor together with the dried chamomile flowers, until sugar becomes fine and chamomile flowers turn to powder (as much as possible).
In a large bowl, add the softened butter, the chamomile-flavored sugar and Kumquat Liqueur. Whisk with a hand wire whisk (no need for electrical) until the ingredients are well blended. Sift flour with baking powder and add into the bowl, mixing softly with a spatula and hands just to combine and a dough forms. The dough should be soft, smooth and it should not stick to your hands, so shape it into a ball, cover well with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least an hour.

Preheat your oven to 170 degrees Celsius / 325 Fahrenheit. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out to 0,5 - 0,7 thickness. Using your favorite cookie cutter, cut out the biscuit shapes and place them on your prepared baking sheet. Optionally, you can roll them in extra granulated sugar before placing them onto the sheet. They will have a chunkier texture this way.

Bake for 10 - 15 minutes (depending on your oven), until they have taken on a golden color. Remove them carefully from the baking sheet, 10 - 15 minutes after. Enjoy them with chamomile tea or any of your favorite tea. Of course they are lovely with coffee as well, especially if you' re an unrepentant coffee addict, just like the Odd Fork 😏

This cookie recipe combines two big loves, coffee and Corfu! Well, not the island itself but a great local Corfiot product, Kumquats! Bittersweet candied kumquats balance perfectly with the coffee intense flavor. These brown babies are chewy, moist and addictive as hell!

For about 48 small cookies:

- 1/2 cup butter, melted

- 1/2 cup brown sugar

- 1/4 cup white sugar

- an egg

- 3 tbsp Kumquat Liqueur

- 5 tbsp instant coffee dissolved in 2 tbsp warm water

- 1/2 tsp baking powder

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 1 and 1/2 cup flour

- 1 cup candied kumquats, chopped

Preheat oven to 180* C (350* F) Fan. In a large bowl, mix butter with the sugars until well-combined. Stir in kumquat liqueur, coffee mixture and egg until incorporated. Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix dough until just combined.
Dough should be soft and a little sticky, a little thicker than cake dough. Stir in candied kumquats and mix softly to incorporate.

Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for 5 - 10 minutes or until cookies are set around the edges but still soft in the center. Don't over bake.

Let the cookies cool and enjoy them with -what else- coffee of course!

Red, ripe, sweet strawberries... Strawberry is more than a fruit, is the symbol of spring! The Odd fork got the season's first strawberries, so it made these lovely strawberry - chocolate whole grain muffins. Oh, they are vegan and sugar-free as well!

To make them, just blend a ripe banana with some non dairy milk of choice together with 8 - 10 small, ripe strawberries. Add self rising whole grain flour and some coconut. Mix well and add into the cake dough some extra chopped fresh strawberries and some sugar-free black chocolate pieces. Divide the dough evenly among muffin tins filling them with batter up to 3/4.
Bake in a preheated oven, air setting, at 350 C, for 20 minutes or until the top is slightly brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out dry.

Enjoy them warm with coffee or tea for breakfast, or anytime!

Fasolakia in Greece is a common, very popular, vegan comfort food. It is actually green beans cooked in tomato sauce with chopped onion, parsley or dill and potatoes or carrots.

As usual, the Odd Fork had the idea of stepping out of the ordinary and ended up adding... strawberries! The result was the most spring green beans ever!

For 2 to 3 servings:

- a big onion, finely chopped

- 3 carrots chopped into thin rounds

- 400 g canned chopped tomatoes

- 450 g green beans, fresh or frozen

- 1 bay leaf

- 3 whole cloves

- 3 grains allspice

- salt, pepper 

- 1/2 bunch fresh dill chopped

- 10 strawberries cut in cubes

Place a pot over high heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add onion and sauté until it softens. Add carrots and 1 - 2 minutes later, add tomatoes, green beans (thawed, if using frozen), a glass of water and all the spices. Cover pot with lid, lower heat to medium-low and simmer for 30-40 minutes, until beans and carrots are tender. 

Then increase heat to medium-high, take the lid off and cook stirring often for another 15 - 20 minutes so that the excess water evaporates and sauce thickens. About ten minutes before the end of cooking add dill and strawberries.

The dish is better served lukewarm or even at room temperature and it is definitely a spring meal, full of aroma and colors!

The Odd Fork lately pinched these yummy vegan cookies and came here to share the recipe. Carrots, orange and candied ginger contained in the cookie dough paired excellent with Greek Red Saffron a.k.a. Krokos Kozanis (Kozani is a city in Greece where Krokos is produced), which is probably the best Greek aromatic herb.

The flowery and fruity aromas that emanated during baking time, made all kitchen forks come alive!

For about 50 small cookies:

- 2 shot glasses white sugar

- 1 shot glass olive oil

- 1 shot glass warm water

- a sachet of Krokos Kozanis in powder (0,25 g)

- 2 large carrots peeled and grated

- zest of an orange

- 1 tsp baking soda

- 1 1/2 cup self rising flour

- 1/2 cup candied ginger chopped in small cubes

Preheat oven to 180* C (350* F) Fan. Dissolve Krokos Kozanis in warm water, stir and let sit for 10 minutes until water color turns to deep orange. In a medium bowl, combine sugar, olive oil and Krokos infused water. Add baking soda, orange zest, carrots, mix well and add flour mixing softly with a spatula until the dough resembles a kind of thicker cake dough (you can add some more flour if necessary). Add candied ginger last.

Using two same teaspoons drop dollops of the dough onto a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, until cookies are golden and firm around the edges.

Let them cool and store them in an airtight container. Enjoy with tea for a light, sweet breakfast or a delicious, vegan evening snack!

The Odd Fork created another unusual ice cream! It was about time since April is considered to be the first month of Spring, so what's better than a creamy, rich parfait? The combination of carrot with orange and ginger flavor is definitely a successful one!

For the carrot - ginger jam:

- 4 big carrots and a smaller one

- a lemon, zested and juiced

- 2 small oranges, zested and juiced

- a small piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated

- a whole star anise

- granulated sugar

For the ice cream:

- 500 ml milk cream, full-fat (35%), cold from the refrigerator

- a can of sweetened condensed milk (397 g)

- 380 g of the above carrot - ginger jam

- 1/4 cup of orange liqueur

- 1 tsp orange extract

- 1/4 tsp ground ginger

- 1/3 cup candied ginger finely chopped

Start with the carrot - ginger jam, as it should be totally cooled to use in the ice cream. Wash, peel and coarsely grate the carrots. Place in a bowl the grated carrots, orange and lemon zest and juices, ginger and anise and measure the mixture. If for example carrot mixture is 200 g, then you should add 150 g of sugar (not the same weigh, but the 3/4 of it). Boil carrot mixture and sugar for about 15 to 20 minutes or until most of the liquids evaporate and jam thickens. Set aside and let cool.

For the ice cream, add in the bowl of your mixer the cream and whisk on high speed until it resembles strained yogurt. Remove the bowl from mixer and by mixing softly with a spatula, add remaining ingredients and incorporate everything in a nice, thick and smooth cream. Empty this cream into a container suitable for the freezer, cover it and freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight before serving. 

On the next day, scoop ice cream into an ice cream bowl and enjoy! You can substitute candied ginger with ground nuts of choice or coarsely ground ginger cookies.

Dried cod fish is very popular in Greece, usually eaten fried with a delicious dip of mashed potatoes, olive oil, lots of lemon and garlic. It is also a basic ingredient in several mediterranean vegetarian stews, replacing the meat or poultry. 

So the Odd Fork made a vegetarian curry in its own odd way, using dried cod and pineapple! 

To make it, first soak the dried cod fish from the previous night in water. 

The next day, add chopped to your blender the following: A small onion, a clove of garlic, 2 small green hot peppers, some fresh ginger, the zest of a lemon, one teaspoon of tomato paste and 2 teaspoons of turmeric powder. 

Set the above mixture aside, clean your blender and blend a small can of pineapple chunks in natural juice -blend liquids and chunks together but keep aside some whole chunks.

Sauté the first onion-pepper mix in a little olive oil for a few minutes. Add the second mixture with the pineapple puree, the whole pineapple chunks, the cod pieces drained and a small can of coconut milk. Lower the heat, cover your pot and simmer for 15-20 min. Uncover, increase the heat and let it thicken, stirring often. Add salt, pepper and some fresh chopped basil. 

Serve with basmati rice if desired.

This apple pie was created thanks to the last cup of bulgur wheat left in the Odd's Fork kitchen. Boiled whole wheat with raisins, pomegranate seeds, almonds and cinnamon is a traditional dessert in Greece, called "Koliva" and offered in funerals. OK, this is kind of spooky but the Odd Fork always loved the earthy taste of wheat combined with nuts, raisins and cinnamon.

What if you could mix all the above in a vegan, healthy, sweet pie? Instead of pomegranate the Odd Fork used 2 red apples, walnuts instead of almonds and the result was an apple pie like no other! Oh, it is also sugar-free!

For a medium casserole or about 8 big squares:

- 1 cup bulgur wheat

- 3 cups water

- 3 whole cloves

- a whole star anise

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon

- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

- 1 1/2 cup finely ground walnuts

- 2 red apples

- 2/3 cup black raisins

- 1 1/2 tsp mix of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger

- 1 Tbsp corn flour

- 1 Tbsp tahini (to grease the baking pan)

Add water in a pot and when it comes to a boil add whole cloves, star anise, cinnamon, nutmeg and the bulgur wheat. Simmer for about 20 - 30 minutes stirring often with a wooden spatula, until water is absorbed and mixture resembles a thick porridge. Remove from heat and add half the amount of walnuts. Mix to combine and place half of this mixture (as obvious, it is the "dough") onto a well tahini greased baking pan, pressing with your fingers to layer bottom of pan.

Bake the pie crust for 10 - 15 minutes, remove from oven and let it cool.

Prepare the filling: Peel the apples and remove the core and seeds. Grate them using the large blades of the grater and mix with remaining walnuts, raisins, corn flour and spices. Spread evenly the apple mixture onto the half baked pie crust and top with the remaining bulgur wheat "dough", pressing and spreading with your fingers to cover the apple pie filling as possible. Sprinkle the surface with extra cinnamon and bake in a preheated oven at 375 F for 30 minutes until is set and color slightly changes.

Let the apple pie cool, slice and serve! You can keep any leftovers in the fridge inside an airtight container for about a week.

Everything started when the Odd Fork discovered a forgotten pack of bulgur wheat in the kitchen closet. It may seem strange, but the Odd Fork wasn't so familiar with bulgur until now. OK, it was time to fix this!

For a first try, what else could be better than a nice tabbouleh salad full of color and vitamins? Of course, it couldn't be made the usual, typical way, but according to the Odd Fork's different way!

If you want to try it too, just boil the bulgur in twice amount of water (e.g. 1 cup bulgur, 2 cups water) for 10 - 15 minutes, until it softens and there are no liquids, like rice. Meanwhile, peel a medium pomegranate and remove the seeds. Wash and chop some fresh parsley, wash and grate 2 medium carrots and mix with the bulgur adding also some chopped mini tomatoes and some black raisins. Add olive oil and lemon to taste. Add salt if desired and mix everything very well.

Ready! It was so delicious that the Odd Fork didn't add any salt at all. It proved to be ideal after the Odd Fork's evening workout, as a light dinner.

The origin of the cheapest, easiest and most aromatic salad that the Odd Fork has ever pinched, is lost in the depths of time and the branches of its family tree. The once little Fork would often see its grandmother preparing this salad for a light dinner. Since then, the whole family loved her recipe. 

It is already revealed from the tittle that the basic ingredient, is orange! And a couple of more stuff easily found at home.

For the plate in the photo above, the Odd Fork peeled and sliced two medium oranges. Greek Merlin oranges are the best. It drizzled with good quality virgin Greek olive oil and seasoned with salt and sweet red paprika, the spice which is widely loved in the beautiful island of Corfu. The Odd Fork  also added some Greek black olives from Kalamata (a.k.a. Kalamon Olives) and the salad was ready!

With this as a base, some people in Corfu or Epirus add onion (fresh spring onion or bulb onion) and Greek feta cheese. Odd Fork's favorite option is with no onion, just with olives and feta cheese. It loves to dunk fresh bread into the salad juices while eating the salad, the orange - paprika flavored olive oil is so perfectly matched with the feta cheese and the salad is a full, balanced meal for it.

Of course, you can serve this salad with fish or chicken fillet and drink with it a nice, fruity white wine!

After a nice, hearty meal, a chocolate dessert is more than welcome! In this chocolate log, the sweetness of white chocolate balances with the bittersweet Kumquat taste. The Odd Fork used local Corfiot candied Kumquats and Kumquat Liqueur and local Corfiot orange cookies and the result was fantastic!

For a medium rectangular silicone mold:

- 300 gr cream cheese

- 200 gr white chocolate

- 8 medium Greek style butter orange cookies, chopped in pieces by hand

- 100 gr dark chocolate shavings

- zest of an orange

- 3 tbsp Kumquat Liqueur

- 2/3 cup chopped candied Kumquats

Melt white chocolate in a small pot, over boiling water. Remove from stove and mix melted chocolate with cream cheese, whisking to combine. Add all remaining ingredients, mix well and pat mixture firmly into your favorite silicone mold or a pan covered with plastic wrap. 

Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

To serve, sprinkle with dark chocolate shavings and garnish with whole candied Kumquats.