Mediterranean Miss

Archive for the ‘Something-new Sunday’ Category

Kalimera blogloves!

Here’s another Monday morning post that will attempt to recap all of the days that I’ve missed. I really miss blogging about my days here when I don’t get the chance to. As I’ve said before, blogging to/with you makes me feel like we’re all out grabbing a cup of coffee together. I really look forward to “chatting” with you every day!  I’d like to say thanks again to the lovely Jess for letting me guest post, and an enormous welcome to my new readers. It’s a pleasure to have you on board!

I’d like to begin by dedicating this post to my grandmother. It’s her birthday today. She passed away a few years ago and I miss her so much. She was such an incredible lady.

σγαπώ γιαγιά!!

I spent the majority of this weekend with Andrew’s family, which is honestly one of my favorite things in the world – next to spending time with mine. They’re such a wonderful group of people, and when they all get together it’s just a mess of hilarious conversations, amazing meals and the cutest little cousins and nieces you’ve ever seen. I also totally have the biggest crush on his Nono ❤ that man knows his way around a girl’s heart.

Anyway, on to the recap. Friday night was a sushi date followed by The Karate Kid. Have any of you seen this movie? It’s wonderful. We watched the original a couple of weeks ago and I’ve got to say that this one was almost better for me. I found the Chinese culture intriguing – I’d love to go there, sometime. They seem to really respect everything that they dedicate their time to. I wish I could inject that dedication and passion into ~my~ life. The sushi itself was pretty lackluster and I wasn’t very hungry, something that didn’t much help. I did enjoy a seaweed salad though, that they cutely arranged for me like so:

Seaweed is quite the superfood. It’s filled with vitamins and nutrients, and it compliments a slice of salmon sashimi like no other ^~ While we were eating our sushi, I got one of those life changing foodie ideas. I like sushi rolls as much as any other miss, but I’m not a fan of white rice’s lackluster nutritional stats. Cue my idea: what if you could make sushi rolls with cooked QUINOA!? I will be trying this stat and posting it here as soon as I find a recipe that is worthy of you. I’ll make veggie rolls so that my veg/vegan readers can give these a try. I’m so excited!!

On Saturday I was up super early to go and pay OSG darling Angela a visit at a flea market in Oakville. I arrived at the flea market with my camera and bags in tow and headed straight for the sign we all know so well from her blog:

I always get such a kick out of meeting bloggers in real life. Angela is such a sweet lady and she totally lives up to the glow we know and love her for online. Eric was there too! It was such fun to meet him. These bars were totally worth the drive out to Oakville, and when I came home I gave Andrew a few things to sample. The glo dough was an especial hit – he liked it just as much as raw cookie dough! Success. I am very slowly ninja-ing my way into his diet and making those healthy changes the blogworld is so good at suggesting.

Because it was so close, I felt it was completely necessary to stop in at one of my favorite stores:

I picked up some Amazing Grass Chocolate Meal, some Cocoa Nibs, some Organic Shampoo & Conditioner (goodbye, sulfates!) and some gluten-free tortillas. Yum. While I was there, I walked by the bulk-bins and saw a container filled with dates. Now, let me explain. I’ve been reading about them on here as “nature’s candy” for the longest time.  Everybody seems to love them but I was too intimidated to buy them; they look like huge crazy raisins! I talked to somebody who worked there, and he promptly gave me one to try.

Oh. My.

Dates > most things.

• How can I use them, other than just eating them one by delicious one out of the bag? They are so crazy good, I want to incorporate them in as many new things as I can!!

On Saturday night we decided to have a date – at home! It’s one our favorite things to do together, and I highly recommend it. Cooking together is such fun; you learn new recipes, you’re in control of your ingredients and if you add your favorite playlist in the background and a glass of wine, you’ve got a party! We decided to try and make one of our favorite meals out – mussels. They’re very cheap to buy compared to what you’d be paying in restaurants. We used simple flavors and kind of made things up as we went along, but it turned out beautifully.

This is my favorite thing about cooking in the Mediterranean way. Everything is inspired by what is freshest, and by not loading up the recipes with too many finicky ingredients, each individual flavor really shines through. Here are some fairly accurate steps for you if you’d like to try making this yourself. You could also use a white wine/garlicky sauce for something lighter, or go crazy and make a beer-based one:

Flex Those Mussels

Meanwhile, Andrew and I got busy in the kitchen:

Slice up 1 tin of mushrooms, 2-3 gloves of garlic and half an onion. Throw it into a pot with some fresh parsley, olive oil and sea salt.

Next, add 1 can/box/bottle of pureed tomatoes. Look for the one that has only tomatoes listed as its main ingredient. Thin this out with some vegetable broth (about 1/2 cup) and red wine (again, about 1/2 cup.) Optionally, add in some sliced fresh tomatoes. Throw your mussels into the pot when the sauce has reduced:

Throw some salad together, grab your glasses of wine, some gluten-free bread for the essential dipping, and go to town. I turned around after I had finished tidying up and Andrew had set the table up for us:

There you have it! I do hope you give this a try. It was special, but so easy to make. Going “in” for dates is quickly becoming one of my favorite Friday night activities. It’s much cheaper than eating out, the food is almost always better, and I’ve heard that the waiter will accept kisses as tips

I hope you had great weekends, and that your Mondays are off to a great start. See you soon!