Cooking with Care

I was fortunate enough to grow up in a family that exposed me to foods from around the world. When my sister and I wanted McDonald’s, Dad was dragging us to Indian, Greek, Thai and Korean BBQ places. It left me not only with an appreciation for their food, but a diverse palate. Today I’ll eat pretty much anything, anytime and the spicier and funkier the better!

One of my favorites cuisines is Greek. It doesn’t get better than Tzatziki, hummus and feta. If you haven’t seen “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” its a hilarious movie that dives into a Greek’s families crazy fun lives when their daughter is married.

Here’s a few Greek basics to know:

Dolma– grape leaves stuffed with rice and veggies

Hummus– chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic all blended to a creamy sauce/dip

Spanakopita– phylio pastry stuffed with spinach, feta, onions

Tzatziki– Greek yogurt with cucumber, garlic puree

Gyro– (pronounced like hero) meat roasted vertically served with Tzatziki and garnishes like feta, tomatoes , usually in a pita

Moussaka– layered meat and eggplant casserole topped with a creamy sauce

Baklava– phylio pastry layers filled with nuts and drenched in syrup.

This week I tackled a Greek Gyro sandwich at home for the first time. Here’s what you’ll need:

Ingredients

• Gyro meat (Sprouts sold it sliced in thin pieces near the meat counter)- could also use chicken!
• Tzatziki sauce (I buy mine at Costco and use for dip with veggies)
• Feta crumbles (I buy mine at Costco too- huge container and is great in salads)
• Chopped tomato
• Pita bread, tortilla, or anything else you want to put it all in (I used corn tortilla that I warmed up in a dry skillet)

 Directions

Opa!