The Odd Fork

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.