Fresh cranberries crunchy muffins

My program is very heavy this period, so I am not cooking and baking so much and when I do, I do not have time to describe it here... But I have discovered by chance (looking for something completely different) a blog recently that I liked and that I think that has the same philosophy with my blog. I am talking for the blog "Les recettes de Virginie".
So, I could not resist and woke up very very early this morning to make one of it's recipes to surprise my family for breakfast. I will share with you the result only in photos as I am telling you, no time for more :)

Cake pops!

I was resisting in falling into cake pops mania until ... one day I opened my door and dear John and his girlfriend came holding a bunch of cake pops in their hands ! And you can imagine the rest :)
Kids were crazy, and they kept asking me when I will do them again. So, we went and bought a silicone mold and sticks and here we are making them again and again. I continue to think that it's too much hassle but what the hell :) Let's share this mania with you, dear readers...

Ingredients (check also my cupcake recipes)
113gr of butter
113gr of sugar
113gr of self-raising flour
3 eggs
some cocoa powder (optionally, if you want a chocolate flavor)
Topping: 100gr of chocolate, some colorful decoration

"Tigania" or fried pork

"Tigania" is a fast and tasty way to prepare a starter for a nice dinner. Actually these starters in Greece we call them "mezes" and we can eat several starters like this instead of following the classic procedure of a dinner.
Once again, a Greek recipe that in old times, people were cooking in villages with meat coming from their own pigs and instead of olive oil, they were using the pork fat. Not so healthy, but soooo delicious! Even the modern version is very tasty, so do not hesitate to try it :)

"Karydopita" or moist walnut cake

Classic Greek cake, "karydopita", is a moist walnut cake that smells cinnamon and clove and is rich in walnuts. It's quite sweet, so adapt the recipe to your style but I will give here the one that is the typical that you will be served in a Greek house.

Recipe reminder

Have you seen my recipe for a "quiche"?
I have done it recently and I though to remind you of this easy and tasty solution for a starter.
This version is with feta, tomatoes and ham cubes and some grated yellow cheese.
But you can use whatever you have in the fridge in general...
Especially for John that tried it and liked it :)

Dolmadakia "yalantzi"

"Dolmadakia" are stuffed grape leaves and it is a very popular dish as it is very tasty and once you try it, you get addicted :)
You can find it in several countries and even at the supermarket in small cans.
I will share with you today one of the greek versions that is called "yalantzi" and it is the vegetarian version using rice.
I could not miss from this blog a traditional greek recipe like this one...

Feta & dried tomatoes cake

I promised to give you the recipe of the mozzarella cake with feta and I always keep my promises :)
So, find today another version of this salty cake with a greek touch this time ...
Just replace the mozzarella with feta cheese and fresh tomatoes with dried tomatoes and add more flour so that in total will be about 250gr. Try it! 
See some photos from the preparation below...

Chicken curry

I will share with you my favorite chicken curry recipe that a dear friend of mine has given me years ago. It had been quite some time that I did not do it, as my kids where pretty young and such recipes were too exotic for them.
Thanks to an indian friend that brought me recently some of the ingredients, I decided that it was time to indulge myself. Not a bad idea, as kids really liked it, and it was a nice change.
I serve the chicken with some basmati rice and the trip to India starts... (ok with some chinese touch :)

Greek tzatziki!

Tzatziki is the famous greek dip that is actually a white sauce made with strained yoghurt, cucumber and garlic. It's easy to make, veeeery tasty, great for your bbqs, and is the perfect condiment for "souvlaki", the greek skewers. Find today, how easy it is to make it at home in just a few minutes!

Raisin bread

An easy and light cake today without eggs, butter, milk and such!!! Still delicious, though. Sounds great, non? If I tell you that has raisins charmed by cinnamon, what would you say? It's greek name : "Stafidopsomo".
When I was a child, I did not like raisins, so despite that my mother was making often this "cake" I was spending my time trying to take out all the raisins before attacking to the cake :)))
But it was smelling sooo nice that I could not resist, I wanted still to taste it, although it was making my life difficult, kind of a torture.

I kept asking my mother whether she could make the recipe without the raisins and I remember that my question was always shocking her. I did not know anything about cooking at that time. Now that I see the recipe, years after, I can see why ... it does not have much this cake, so if you take out the raisins there is not much to be left there :))) So, here it is today, full of raisins, and in preference greek if you can find at your place (Corinthian raisins are among the best!). 

Tomato-mozzarella-oregano cake

Summer is coming soon and I would like to urge all the fanatic ones with cakes like me to calm themselves down by doing salty cakes ! I start the sugar banning :) today by proposing to you a tomato-mozzarella cake that has my favorite oregano to boost it. Easy, fast and excellent starter for a nice dinner or a fancy aperitif.
I would add feta cheese instead of mozzarella to be honest, but I live far from Greece and feta is a precious cheese at home, especially for my daughter :)
As far as it concerns the sugar banning... it was a joke ! I am addicted to sugar, so it's not easy to ban it, for the time being, I can only lower my daily intake ...
Ready? Let's go for it then!

Bugs Bunny's cake or Carrot cake :)

If you want to change from the classic chocolate cake then this tasty carrot cake would do :)
It's simple to do, just mix the ingredients, bake and taste! Try it and you will be addicted as it tastes really nice.
The problem is, that I am not very concentrated these days and although I did 2 times this recipe I made a mistake with the ingredients :)
In the first version (as I call it in the photos :) I added one more cup of flour. Taste was amazing but texture was not very good I have to admit ... We ate all of it in a few hours though! No-one could resist to the smell of cinnamon and the sweet touch of the carrots.
In the second version, I forgot to add the sugar and I came up with the idea to add a light syrup (made by boiling for 5 min 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water) and add it once the cake has cooled a bit down after baking.

See photos of both versions and judge for yourself. Imagine still, that if I am persisting so much in doing this cake it has to be very good in taste :))) I am still working the looks though and once I have a better one I will keep you informed !   

The greek focaccia with feta ("tyroklouri")

Want to try a different focaccia, this time with feta? Actually it is a traditional greek recipe from my region Thessaly, that looks like focaccia but more to the crunchy side.
It is very tasty and for the ones that like focaccia style breads, you will love this one!
It takes time to make it, so choose a cold day that you will stay at home, as you will have to wait for the dough to rise.
The result will reward your patience :)