31st OCTOBER, 2015

Two tragedies have shocked the world, today .

Many Thanks to the B.B.C for the Map.   The site of the crash is near El-Arish

A Kogalymavia passenger jet Airbus A-321, travelling from Sharm el-Sheik to St Petersburg, crashed, today, on the rocky mountains of central Sinai, with 224 passengers and crew aboard.  The Egyptian government announced, unfortunately, that there are no survivors.    Jihadis, connected to ISIS, claimed the destruction of the flight, but the Russian authorities firmly denied this statement.

In Bucharest, there were 27 dead and at least 200 injured in a fire, at a night club, where a popular light music event was taking place.    Unfortunately, panic was one of the reasons for this terrible tragedy   Three days  official mourning was announced by the Roumanian authorities.

The Greek Islands where Immigrants find Sanctuary and Refuge

The interminable odyssey of the immigrants and refugees crossing the stormy Aegean waters, in flimsy boats, usually end with dramatic results.  More than 60 dead, including children and babies, have been washed out on our island shores, during the last two days.   What could be done to prevent this unbearably  painful disaster?   Of course, 300 refugees have been saved by Greek Coast Gards and local fishermen who with tireless energy and bravery work day and night, from island to island to save people from drowning.

 Our thoughts, prayers and condolences to the families of the victims of all these tragic events.

 The President of Turkey, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan proclaimed  snap elections for the 1^st November 2015.   The governing AKP party is struggling to reach a majority, despite the financial deterioration, the evidence of corruption and the intimidation of the media by the government.   We shall see tomorrow. 

Eleftherios Petrounias Gold Medalist

The good news of the day:

The Greek athlete, Eleftherios Petrounias won the gold medal in the Gymnastics World Championship in Glasgow.






My sister-in-law and very dear friend, Dolly Cocali, invited us for afternoon tea.   She offered us delicious sandwiches, scones, cakes and biscuits with the finest bergamot tea.

Afternoon Tea 

                                                  CUCUMBER SANDWICHES

Dainty Cucumber Sandwiches

You could prepare cucumber sandwiches, spread with cream cheese and mayonnaise, and sprinkled with finely chopped dill and white pepper.   I prefer them made in a simple way.  The bread slices spread with softened butter and covered with crunchy, paper-thin cucumber slices, a delicious, refreshing and elegant treat.

One cucumber, peeled and very thinly sliced

Salt

One 500 g (1 lb) white loaf, sliced (get the best sandwich bread, possible)

Butter, softened

White pepper

Place the cucumber slices in a colander, sprinkle with little salt and leave to drain for 30 minutes.   Taste a cucumber slice, and if it is too salty, rinse to remove the excess salt.   Then pat, completely, dry with kitchen paper. 

Meanwhile, spread the bread slices thoroughly with softened butter, top with the prepared cucumber slices, slightly overlapping each other and sprinkle with freshly ground white pepper.    Cover with another slice of buttered bread, press down, remove the crust with a sharp knife and cut crosswise into four dainty sandwiches.     Complete all the sandwiches, and arrange them attractively on a pretty plate.

                                       HAM AND WILD ROCKET SANDWICHES

My Sons' Favourite Sandwiches

This is a sandwich that my boys used to love when they were teenagers.   I think they still do.

One 500 g (1 lb) whole meal loaf, sliced

Butter, softened to spread over the bread

6 slices smoked ham

A little mayonnaise

250 g (½ lb) wild baby rocket, stalks removed

Spread each slice of bread thinly with butter.    Cover with a slice of ham of equal size, brush with very little mayonnaise and place wild rocket leaves over to cover.   Top with the second slice of bread, remove the crust with a sharp knife and cut the sandwich into four pieces.   Prepare all the sandwiches and serve garnished with extra rocket.

                                                                SCONES

Yogurt Scones 

Scones with Jam and Clotted Cream

A South African friend, Athena Papamichael. gave me this recipe for scones, so many years ago.

390 g (3 cups) self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp soda

Pinch of salt

Pinch of sugar

90 g (3 oz) cold butter, cubed

3 eggs

180 ml (6 fl oz) milk

1 tbsp Greek yogurt

Egg-wash:

1 egg yolk

2 tbsp water

Reheat the oven to 190 C (175 F).

Mix the first five ingredients together and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs.

Whip the eggs with the milk and yogurt until well combined and pour into the flour mixture.   Stir until a soft dough is obtained.   Roll out to a 1 ½ cm thickness and “with the help of a small wine glass cut out rounds and place them on a baking tin” lined with baking parchment, brush each scone with egg wash and bake for about 10-15 minutes or until well risen and gold.

Serve  the scones warm.   Split in half and spread with clotted cream and jam, or as we do in Greece, spread them with butter and jam or Greek honey.  If you prefer a savoury scone, just spread  them with butter and cover with a slice of your favourite cheese. 

                                               LEMON CAKE WITH LEMON ICING

Lemon Cake with Mock Lemon Curd Filling and Covered with Lemon Icing

This cake has a lovely texture and aroma.   You could either cover it with icing or cut it in half and fill it with lemon curd.  

Cake:
260 g (2 cups) self-raising flour sifted with
1 tsp baking powder and
Pinch of salt

150 g (½ cup + 1 tbsp) butter softened

250 g (1 1/4 cups) sugar
2 tsp grated lemon zest

3 eggs
200 g (1 tub) Greek yogurt

Lemon Icing:

4 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp water

Grated rind of a small lemon

Enough icing sugar to make a smooth runny icing (about a 1¾ cup)

Mock Lemon Curd Filling:

395 g (13 oz plus) 1 tin sweet condensed milk

3-4 tbsp lemon juice

1½ tbsp grated lemon rind

( Mix all the ingredients very well together until smooth and creamy)

Cream butter, sugar and the lemon zest until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat each egg until well incorporated ,before adding the next.   Then add the flour mixture, in three stages, alternately with the yogurt

Pour the batter into a prepared tin, and bake in a moderately hot oven, preheated to190 C (275 F) degrees for about 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.

While the cake is cooling, mix all the ingredients for the icing together until a smooth, runny icing is obtained.   Prick the warm cake all over with a skewer and pour the icing over.  Leave the cake in the tin until completely cold.

Alternately, cut the cake in half.  Spread one half, lavishly, with the lemon curd filling, sandwich it with the second half and refrigerate. Serve either sprinkled with icing sugar (I prefer this version) or spread  with lemon icing.  Garnish with very fine strips of lemon peel.

       

                                           SPICY FIG AND APRICOT CAKE

Spicy Dry Fig Apricot and Prun Cake

This is a recipe for a lovely, rich cake which keeps fresh for over a week.

For the figs:

½ kg (1 lb) dry figs, stems removed

250 ml (1 cup) water, mixed

250 ml (1 cup) Mavrodaphe or any other sweet, red wine (or any red wine with 2-3 

                         tbsp honey or sugar)

2 thin lemon slices

Ingredients for the cake:

115 g (½ cup) butter

200 g (1 cup) brown sugar

2 eggs

300 g (10 oz) self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

½ tsp powdered cinnamon

¼ tsp powdered cloves

¼ tsp grated nutmeg

¼ tsp ginger powder

125 ml (½ cup) fig liquid

1 tbsp METAXA brandy

200 g (almost 7 oz) 1 tub strained Greek yoghurt

2 cups poached figs, diced

About 75 g (2½ oz) dried apricots, diced  (you could use half prunes and half apricots)

About 60 g (2 oz) roasted, chopped Greek pistachio nuts (unsalted) or walnuts.

Place the figs in a single layer in a saucepan, cover with the water and wine solution and add the lemon slices.   Poach the figs until tender, then strain and dice them, reserving the figs and the liquid for further use.   Discard the lemon slices.

Cream sugar and butter until the mixture is light and fluffy.   Beat in the eggs, one at a time.  Mix the flour with baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices and sift it over the batter in 3 parts, alternately with the fig liquid, yoghurt and brandy, beating well after each addition.   Finally add the figs, apricots, and nuts and mix thoroughly.   Divide the batter between two buttered loaf tins and bake in an oven preheated to 170 C (325 F) for about 50 minutes to 1 hour or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.   Reverse on a pretty cake dish and enjoy.

                                          LACE COOKIES OR FLORENTINES

They Resemble Expensuve Lace and are from Florence

Delicate like lace, crispy and delicious, these elegant biscuits are fun and very easy to prepare.   Also, one can change the flavours by adding various spices and by drizzling icing or melted chocolate over.

400 g (2 cups) butter

100 g (½ cup) caster sugar

62.5 ml (¼ cup) Greek honey

A pinch of salt

¼ cup finely ground toasted almonds

Preheat oven to 190 C (375 F.).

In a saucepan, heat butter, sugar, honey and salt, over very low heat, and stir until the sugar dissolves and the butter melts.  Raise the temperature, bring the mixture just to the boiling point and remove from the stove.    Stir in the flour and ground almonds until incorporated.  Do not over mix.

Drop teaspoonfuls of batter, 12 cm (5 inches) apart, on prepared tins lined with baking parchment, and bake until golden.   Cool on the tins for 8-10 minutes until the biscuits harden, then transfer them with a spatula, on racks to cool completely. 

Store the florentines, in tin or plastic containers, with baking parchment in between the layers.