E.A.T World: Greece! What you mean he don't eat not meat?!


Welcome to Greece! The first thing that most people probably associate with Greece is the Parthenon, or maybe Mount Olympus, or ancient Greek Mythology, or that it's the birthplace of the Olympic Games. Unless you're me. Then you think about this...



I can very much relate to the main character, Toula. We both grew up with in-your-face families and without much wiggle room to develop our own personalities, which is probably the main reason why we are both a little deficient in the self-confidence and self-esteem departments. One of my favorite scenes of the movie takes place when Toula announces that her fiancé is a vegetarian...



That scene always makes me laugh! Here is something else that just happens to be vegetarian: Fasolatha!


E.A.T World: Greece, Fassolatha


Fasolatha (though I have seen it spelled fasolada and fasoulada) is a white bean and vegetable soup made with lots of olive oil. Lots of it! It was very tasty but extremely filling, if I make Fasolatha again I probably won't use as much oil. I used this recipe and this recipe as my guides. It's not something I'm anxious to try again very soon, I think the idea of olive oil exorbitance sounded better in theory, but it was too heavy for my poor tummy.

Don't worry! My Greek adventures didn't end there! Raise your hand if you want some cookies!


E.A.T World: Greece, Koulourakia


These pretty ladies are called Koulourakia and they are beyond exquisite! The combination of anise seeds and orange zest should be the next "P.B and chocolate". Sorry Reese's, you had a good run.

This is the recipe that I went with, but I used Earth Balance instead of butter, flax eggs, and orange zest instead of lemon zest. These beauties will grace our Christmas cookie trays forevermore! :)


E.A.T World: Greece, Koulourakia
Extreme close-up!


More Greek goodness ahead! Marion, a super sweet reader from Greece, offered to send me some of her favorite recipes. How could I pass on an inside scoop?! The first recipe is called Riganada, which consists of toasted bread brushed with olive oil and topped with tomato, oregano, and cheese. Yes, please!


E.A.T World: Greece, Riganada


You're supposed to toast the bread in the oven, or a toaster if you must. Our hotel didn't have a toaster, let alone an oven, but we did have a single burner and a frying pan, so I "grilled" my bread instead. Marion said that the cheese should be feta or another soft, white variety, so I used Tofutti slices and they worked just fine. This is something that I will be eating quite frequently, because it was very easy to make and so so delicious! Toasted bread + olive oil + tomato + oregano + cheesy topping = *drool*

Miss Marion sent me another recipe that was also very easy to make and very tasty. Cinnamon toast, anyone?


E.A.T World: Greece, Cinnamon Toast
Sorry about the poor hotel lighting


It's like a sweet cinnamony treat! So simple too, it's just toast with margarine (Earth Balance) and a good sprinkling of cinnamon sugar on top. Awesome!

Thank you again, Marion! :)

I would love to receive more suggestions for my upcoming E.A.T World posts, so if you are reading this and you think that I should most definitely try one of your favorite recipes from wherever you might be from, please do send me an email or leave me a comment to let me know! Even if your recipes aren't vegetarian or vegan, I can always play with them to make them fit my dietary choices. :)

There will be another "G" post in a couple of weeks. The recipes will come via Mihl's blog... of course! I'm so proud of myself for not abandoning my blog while we travel! *happy*


One more thing before I sign off - have you heard that Ricki is campaigning to get on The Ellen Degeneres Show? How awesome would it be to help a fellow food blogger get on the best daytime show ever?! It's no secret that I want to be Ricki's groupie, so I have already contacted The Ellen Degeneres show asking them to please have Ricki as a guest. If you want to help too, all you have to do is either tweet Ellen at @TheEllenShow or send her an email asking her to invite Ricki Heller to her show. If Ricki does get invited, every commenter who participates in this campaign will win a FREE copy of the ebook version of Sweet Freedom, which is exactly the same as the paper copy! Woo hoo!! Ricki's cookbook rocks! I already have a copy of Sweet Freedom and I have already raved about it here, but if you're missing out, then hop on over to Ricki's blog to participate.



Elsie, one of Ricki's girls has also joined the campaign!
(Picture via Diet, Dessert and Dogs)


Get up, have a little fun today... Get up, give a little love away!♫ :)

Comments

  1. Me! Me! I want cookies! Thanks for linking to the recipe; everything looks awesome!

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  2. absolutely gorgeous cookies! And the toast reminds me of childhood. Very impressive that you are blogging and cooking on the road!

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  3. Yum! And I love that line in the movie. We always hear, "You don't eat meat? I'll make some fish for you.' Ugh.

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  4. awwww, i absolutely loved My Big Fat Greek Wedding. i think i need to watch it again! that was super sweet of Marion to send you some recipe, River - she's too awesome! i loooooove your koulourakia - they're so pretty and sound great with the anise seeds 'n orange zest! the fasolatha looks lovely, i see what you mean by a lot of olive oil. 1 cup was listed in the first recipe - WOWZERS! i have a feeling my tummy wouldn't have been most happyfaced either. can't wait to see what you make from Mihl's blog, and i saw Ricki's Ellen post and totally sent in an e-mail to the show. fingers crossed!!!!

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  5. Your description of the olive oil
    soup reminded me of a Greek dish, tourlou tourlou, that I made for a brunch. The recipe had at least one cup of oil but I just couldn't bring myself to add that much. Even with half the oil added to a double recipe of the veggies, it was still delicious. I would use even less next time. My stomach turns over at just the thought of that much oil, though I'm sure the result would taste good.

    I can't believe you cook these things in hotels. Impressive.

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  6. Oh! I've always wanted to go to Greece! Everything looks delicious..I'm craving a batch of vegan tofu feta now...

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  7. Ooooh yum! I love fasolada (I actually have a Southern-style version for my cookbook...sort of fusion cuisine). And those cookies are adorable. I'm a fan of anything swirly.

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  8. Danielle - You didn't quite make that clear... do you want cookies? :P

    Lisa - It's misleadingly impressive really. Many of our hotels have little kitchenettes that make cooking pretty easy. When we don't have kitchens we eat pretty simple meals that can be cooked in a single burner or a microwave.

    Krys - Don't you know that fish grow from trees? Yep. It's called a Fish Tree and they grow all over coastal areas. Mwahaha!

    Jessy - I should have known that it was too much oil! It sounded so yummy that I didn't really care what my tummy thought... until it was sadfaced. Fingers crossed for Ricki!! :)

    Andrea - It's not that impressive, really. I should do a whole post with pictures of some of our hotel's kitchen areas and maybe pictures of our "kitchen suitcase" that has all our pots, pans, cooking utensils and food. Our hotel today even has a dishwasher (score!), and the rates are lower than many regular hotels (double score!) I just googled tourlou tourlou and it looks so yummy, it reminds me of ratatouille.

    Amanda - You should go to Greece! Do you think the Goos would like it there? :D

    Bianca - You do? YAY! Is it posted in the tester blog? *runs to check it out*

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  9. I do really love that movie so much, I think it is time for me to watch it again! :)

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  10. Got to love soup with 1 c of oil in it! My favorite chick pea soup, which is also Greek, also has that large amount - but so good, it's worth it!

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  11. River, you are totally amazing! LOOK AT THOSE COOKIES! Wish I could have one--right now. :) I am enjoying all the EAT World posts so much! And THANK YOU for the shout-out re: Ellen! I am thrilled that you're participating and can't wait to send out all those ebooks (because giving stuff away is so Ellen-like, isn't it?) With posts like this, how can I NOT get on the show--?? (Hear that, Ms. D??) xo

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  12. Michal - Me too! I'm thinking about getting it from swapadvd.com so I can watch it whenever I want.

    Susan - Chickpea soup with a ton of olive oil sounds good! I wish my tummy could handle that much oil... when did it become such a wimp? :D

    Ricki - Giving away stuff is very Ellen-like. We should send ellen daily messages with "reasons why she should have Ricki on her show". #1 You both like to give away cool stuff! :D

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  13. Everything looks delicious! Lots of olive oil in the soup is quite tempting and you have another pic that looks straight from the bakery, you're so clever with your designs. Man, that's wild that cinnamon and sugar on toast from Greece. We group on that one ;)

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  14. Hi Again River! Miss Marion is sooo flattered by your kind words! I'm glad (once more) that you liked the recipes and I'm so sorry you hadn't told me earlier that you intended to make fasolatha because I would have warned you about its effects!! I usually try to avoid it because its filling but my mom makes often so I found a little trick: I pour some lemon juice in it. It makes it lighter. Anyway, I'm surprised that the people who made the above comments seem to like fasolatha that much!

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  15. My hand is raised, do you see it? What lovelyness, can't believe you can make all that goodness in hotel rooms. Amazing!

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  16. haha i love that film.

    those cookies are so cute and sound awesome.

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  17. Sorry it's taken me a few days to reply. Travelling is kicking my butt this year!

    Cassie - Thank you! That's what got me, the massive amounts of olive oil that sounded really yummy! Oy! :)

    Miss Marion - Thank you for the lemon juice tip! I did add a little bit of lemon juice to the soup but it was so little that it didn't really make it lighter. I will have to make it again and add more, if it worked for you it will probably work for me! :)

    Shelly - I see it! *hands you a cookie* I have a blog post in the making that will have pictures of one of our hotel kitchens. I feel like an impostor letting everyone think that I make all these foods with only a microwave and a single burner. The truth must come out! :D

    Sal - When I was typing the blog title I thought of you, because your post titles are often a line from a movie! :)

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  18. Those are some cute cookies! Nothing will ever beat PB and chocolate though!

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  19. those cookies look amazing! mmmm...

    Looks like Greece has some great vegan food.

    Elsie is really cute!

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  20. Kiersten - Maybe I got a little carried away with the PB and chocolate thing. :P

    Bethany - Elsie is a big cutie patootie! I bet she would like to be part of one of your worm piles! :D

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  21. YES! I love My Big Fat Greek Wedding. So good. That soup looks fantastic!

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  22. Great post, River!

    I really want to try making those Koulourakia biscuits, they sound and look lovely! And who doesn't love cinnamon toast? I wish I had a few slices right now!

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  23. Gauri Radha गौरी राधाMay 7, 2011 at 1:27 AM

    Those Greek cookies look delicious :-)

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