The Odd Fork

The Odd Fork likes all legumes. Lately, it has an obsession with lentils. They are cheap, easy to prepare and like all legumes, packed with protein and all the good stuff.

Greek lentil stew is a traditional winter dish, the Odd Fork though made its own version with the addition of carrots, paprika and wild, Greek oregano and loved it!

To serve two to three, it used:

- a cup of dried lentils

- 2 to 3 bay leaves

- 2 to 3 whole cloves

- a medium onion

- 3 to 4 cloves of garlic

- 3 carrots

- 2 to 3 tbsp tomato paste (or 70 grams)

- one tbsp paprika

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- salt, to taste

- half a tbsp dried oregano

The Odd Fork added water in a pot (about twice the amount of the lentils and as much needed to cover them well in the pot) and when it came to a boil, it added bay leaves, cloves, lentils (well rinsed and drained), onion chopped, garlic chopped and carrots cut in thin slices. It simmered everything for about half an hour until lentils and carrots where tender.

After that it uncovered the pot, increased the heat and added tomato paste, paprika, olive oil and salt and cooked stirring from time to time, so that big part of the liquids evaporated and sauce was thicker. Just a little before removing from heat, it added oregano. Oregano should be added in the end, to prevent its aroma from fading.

The Odd Fork likes in this dish the contrast between the sweetness of the cooked carrots and the intensity of paprika and dried oregano. More creative legume recipes are yet to come of course!

The Odd Fork hates to stay indoors for a long period of time. It likes to walk around, to pinch and discover new tastes and new things in general. But when due to bad weather it stays home, it usually spends its time cooking! So, today's recipe was made on a rainy day with whatever was left on the fridge, since the Odd Fork couldn't stand to go out in the rain and buy more things.

For a big serving, the Odd Fork used:

- a chicken breast, skin removed
- a wine glass of Greek ouzo
- a small onion finely chopped
- half a green apple cut in slices
- 2 small bay leaves
- half a tsp of dried basil
- 2 whole cloves
- half a tsp of mustard powder
- half a vegetable stock cube
- salt and pepper
- about a dozen of lettuce leaves (not so fresh to become a salad)
- a shot of evaporated milk
- a handful of almonds, coarsely ground
- rice for serving

Start by marinating the chicken breast in ouzo for about an hour, sealed in a plastic bag into the fridge. Remove it from the ouzo marinade, but keep the ouzo. In a pot over high heat, add a tbsp of olive oil and sauté the chicken until is white. Add onion and the apple slices, stir with a wooden spatula for a couple of minutes and deglaze with the ouzo.
Wait until the alcohol evaporates and add bay leaves, dried basil, cloves, mustard powder, stock cube, salt + pepper, stir once again and add water to half cover the chicken. Turn heat to medium, cover the pot with its lid and boil for about 30 - 40 minutes, until chicken is tender.

Then, uncover the pot, add the lettuce leaves chopped by hand and let the juices evaporate on high heat. Add the evaporated milk (a cheaper substitute for milk cream here) and the almonds and stirring carefully, let sauce thicken.

Serve this different creamy chicken with rice or a short type of pasta. Ouzo adds a sweet note to the chicken and is paired well with the creamy sauce. Another cooking improvisation in the Odd's Fork kitchen that was pinched with joy!

One day (fading to night), when the Odd Fork walked through dark forests and strange, secret gardens, it came across this pumpkin:



And because it immediately realized that the pumpkin was enchanted, with great care not to awake the malicious forest spirit, the Odd Fork cut it and brought it home! When it cut it with a knife in the middle, the magical aromas that emanated and the pumpkin's lovely taste - something like fresh melon and carrot together - led to the creation of a wonderful salad with raw pumpkin!

A sachet of fresh, tender rocket and baby spinach leaves from the supermarket (no way of going back again in the enchanted forest!) were the base of the salad.
In a cup of aromatic tea (no sugar added of course), the Odd Fork soaked a few black raisins. It cut a pumpkin piece, removed the peel and grated it. The pumpkin strips should be neither too thin, nor too thick, almost like matchboxes in order to make the salad crunchy!



The Odd Fork mixed the greens leaves with the grated pumpkin, added a few pomegranate seeds, some chopped walnuts, the raisins, a little salt and finally it drizzled the salad with a light and very aromatic dressing which it prepared very easily by whisking olive oil, white vinegar, a little of orange juice, a teaspoon of honey, some orange zest and a little bit of freshly ground ginger.

All the ingredients matched perfectly with each other and the salad was fantastic. It could be even served as a Christmas salad -the Odd Fork thought that it would be ideal.
So do yourself a favor and next time you'll buy a pumpkin to make a pie, keep a piece of it aside and make this salad -you will not regret it!

Every time the Odd Fork pinches something edible, it wonders what could be the strangest thing to make with it? Besides, it wouldn't be odd if it thought any different!
Cucumber is by far the most refreshing vegetable, usually eaten raw in salads. Therefore, the Odd Fork thought to experiment by trying to cook maybe the only vegetable which needs no cooking. But it didn't just cooked the cucumber, the bigger challenge would be to make a dessert with it!
And here it is: An aromatic spoon sweet with cucumber instead of fruits, fresh dill and lemon, excellent for hot summer evenings or after lunch/dinner.

For a small jar:

- a small, baby cucumber or half a cucumber if it's big
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
- some fresh dill
- a little of dill liqueur, or some ouzo

Wash the cucumber thoroughly and peel it, keeping though some of the peel. Slice it and set aside. Add water, sugar and lemon juice in a pot and when it comes to a boil, add cucumber slices and cook on high heat for a couple of minutes until syrup thickens -but you don't want it to caramelize.
Remove pot from the stove, add some dill fronds and cover. When cooler, add dill liqueur or a shot of ouzo if dill liqueur is not available.

Transfer cooled cucumber spoon sweet into a clean, glass jar with a lid. Keep it in the fridge.
It tastes better the next day, or some days after and it is also well paired with white cheeses. The Odd Fork tasted it with Greek Katiki cheese and loved it!
And of course, it is also excellent with Greek ouzo! 😏

The Odd Fork hates programs. It likes to be spontaneous and when it comes to cooking, the result of mixing leftovers with no recipe just being struck by inspiration, has often been a success!

The sweet pie above tasted -thanks to the spices, like Greek grape must cookies, a.k.a. moustokouloura. This big "cookie" though, is stuffed with a delicious sweet zucchini - raisin mixture, low in fat, vegan, high in fiber and excellent for the Odd's Fork morning coffee!

For the pastry:

- half a packet of whole grain self-rising flour (about 250 - 300 grams)
- a shot of olive oil
- a shot of cognac (or rum/whisky, anything available)
- half a cup of coconut sugar
- mix of ground cloves, ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon

For the filling:

- 4 to 5 small, tender zucchinis
- half to 2/3 cup of black raisins
- some sunflower seeds
- 2 to 3 Tbsps coconut sugar, or to taste
- a shot of cognac
- mix of ground cloves, ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon
- 2 Tbsps corn flour

The Odd Fork started with the filling first and all it had to do, was to wash and shred the zucchinis using a cheese grater. It mixed the shredded zucchinis with all the remaining filling ingredients and set the mixture aside. Someone can taste and adjust the amount of sugar and spices.
For the pastry, the Odd Fork  added  olive oil, cognac, sugar and spice mixture in its blender and mixed on high speed until sugar dissolved (as possible). It added flour to the liquid mixture and kneaded to form a soft dough that could be easily rolled by hand. Again, someone can adjust the amount of flour or use some of the filling liquids if dough is too thick.

The Odd Fork rolled half of the dough on a pan lined with parchment paper stretching it with hands, placed over it the zucchini filling and covered with the remaining half dough stretching it again by hand and carefully sealing the pie edges. It pinched the pie's surface so that steam could evaporate during baking time.
It baked in a preheated oven at at 375 F for 30-40 minutes (depending on the oven), until pie was golden brown but just to make sure, it pinched an edge and when the fork came out of the baked dough clean, it was a good sign that the pie was ready.

The Odd Fork let pie cool before cutting it. It tasted it happily and was also pleased enough to trick some little forks into actually eating their green veggies with no complaints. 😏
That's because zucchinis are well "masked" in this sweet pie and due to raisins and spices, someone can easily pass it for an apple pie!

The Odd Fork was once a little fork and not so odd yet. At the time it used to pinch mom's food, as all little beings do. It's favorite mom's meal were baked stuffed vegetables, like tomatoes, green peppers and zucchinis. The little fork just loved the tender, cooked rice with the flavors of summer vegetables and aromatic herbs like basil or spearmint. This traditional vegetarian Greek meal was -and still is- for The Odd Fork, the epitome of comfort food.

So when The Odd Fork found in the local open fruit market nice, fresh summer zucchinis it remembered the old, mom's stuffed zucchinis. But since now it's big and odd, it made something similar to mom's recipe with a twist though -it just couldn't do it any other way! 😏

For a medium rectangular casserole, it used:

- olive oil

- an onion finely chopped

- a clove of garlic finely chopped

- salt, pepper, some dried spearmint leaves (powder)

- half a packet of risotto rice (about 200 to 250 grams)

- 2 medium carrots finely shredded  

- some black raisins and some sunflower seeds

- a bunch of fresh dill finely chopped (only the top, tender parts)

- zucchinis (so many as needed)

- some extra olive oil, dried spearmint leaves (powder), salt + pepper

To make this simple yet unusual meal, do like The Odd Fork the following: In a large sauce pan, sauté onion and garlic in a tbsp of olive oil. Add the rice, salt, pepper and dried spearmint (even better fresh spearmint if you can find it) and stir with a wooden spatula.
Add enough water to cover the rice and when it boils add carrots, raisins and sunflower seeds, cover and simmer for about 15 - 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Then increase the heat, uncover and stirring often let the mixture thicken, just like making risotto. Add dill just before removing from the stove and mix well.
Set aside.
And now is the odd thing about the recipe: You' re gonna need a peeler, so that you can cut large strips of each zucchini. Arrange zucchini strips onto an oiled rectangular baking casserole in such a way as to cover the bottom and the sides of the casserole. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and dried, ground spearmint, drizzle with olive oil and bake in a preheated oven, at 400F, for 10 - 15 minutes until zucchini strips are tender and slightly, light brown.

Place the rice mixture over the almost baked zucchini strips and cover the surface again with new, raw zucchini strips. It' s like making a pie with zucchini strips up and down, instead of pastry! Again drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper and dried, ground spearmint and again bake in a preheated oven, at 400F for almost 20 minutes, or until top zucchini strips are tender and slightly, light brown.

Let cool for 30 - 40 minutes before cutting in square pieces. The Odd Fork paired this meal successfully with white, Greek wine (Greek wine types like Malagousia or Moschofilero are excellent for this) and enjoyed its lunch to the maximum. The soft texture of the cooked rice with the mild flavor of zucchinis and carrots contracted by the intensity of pepper and dried spearmint and the sweetness of black raisins together with dill's freshness, made the meal balanced and delicious!
That different kind of zucchini pie was so reminiscent of mom, summery and unusual, as the Odd Fork wished it to be!

Greek summer surely brings several good things in mind; Blue sky, sandy beaches, sunlight, romantic sunsets and of course, amazing food and drinks! Summer without seafood and ouzo is just The Thing That Should Not Be, for both Greeks and visitors.

The Odd Fork, odd as it is, stepped out of tradition making with the traditional Greek ouzo an unconventional cocktail. Since its recipe lacks both rum and mint leaves, it can be called mock Mojito with ouzo or simply Ouzo Mojito with fennel fronds!

To make it, you'll need:

- a small bunch of Greek, fresh, wild fennel fronds

- a lime, cut into wedges

- 2 tbsp brown sugar, or to taste

- 1/4 cup Greek ouzo

- 1/2 cup soda water

- 1 cup ice

Place some fennel fronds, lime and sugar into a sturdy glass. Use a muddler to press, crush and mix them all together. The fennel and lime oils should be released into the drink this way. 

Add just some more fennel fronds and lime wedges, put the ouzo, ice and fill the glass with soda water. No need to strain. Stir, taste to add more sugar if desired and serve!

Wild fennel found in abundance in the Greek countryside, gave the Odd Fork the idea for this cocktail. Since ouzo is an aniseed infused spirit, walking through green fields where fennel is grown, is like visiting an ouzo factory! 😊

Lemon and lime can also be paired well with fennel and anise, so Mojito the Greek way (or something like that) is born!