Showing posts with label feta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label feta. Show all posts

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Savory Spinach and Feta Cake Ispanaklı ve Beyaz Peynirli Kek



























In several previous posts I have mentioned the importance of afternoon tea time in Turkey and the snacks that we would have with our tea. This cake is a total green deliciousness that my mom used to make for our lazy afternoon tea hours. Years later during another tea gathering with her friends she learned a recipe for sweet spinach cake (I know it sounds weird, but it doesnt taste anything like spinach. Spinach is there just to make it green and distract the ladies from gossip by causing curiosity for the source of its color), and unfortunately stopped making this one. I never cared much about sweet cakes, so this one is definitely my most favorite green cake.

As you can see from the ingredients, it is a very flexible cake. You can add more herbs or take out the ones you dont like; use feta or grated mozzarella or cheddar; use crushed pepper flakes and make it spicy or very spicy. Its all up to you. Because of the spinach puree and the amount of flour this is a moist, spongy cake, not a dry one.



























serves 6-8 people

1 lb spinach
2 cups flour
1 cup oil (olive, canola, or vegetable; I used half olive and half canola)
3 eggs
1/3 cup Turkish white cheese or feta cheese, crumbled
1/3 cup black olives, sliced (you can use canned olives but they wont bring any flavor to your cake)
1 green bell pepper or 2 green chili peppers, fınely chopped
2-3 green onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped
1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 tsp oregano leaves
1-2 tsp salt (depending on how salt the cheese is)
2 tsp baking powder


























-Put washed spinach in a food processor with a couple of tbsp of olive oil and make into a puree. You should have approximately 2 cups of spinach puree.
-Beat 3 eggs with salt in a mixing bowl until it doubles in volume.
-Add remaining oil, spinach puree, dill, parsley, peppers, green onion, sliced olives, and cheese to eggs and mix with a spoon.
-Add flour and baking powder to this mixture and mix.
-Grease a baking pan, any shape you prefer, with butter. Pour the mixture and bake in a preheated oven at 350-360F for 45-50 minutes. Baking time might vary with different shapes and ovens. Check with a knife or wooden skewer/toothpick.

Wıth all its greenness this is my contribution to Weekend Herb Blogging that was started by Kalyn of Kalyns Kitchen and is now organized by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once, and is hosted this week by Katie of Eat This.
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Saturday, April 12, 2014

Pumpkin Seed Flatbread with Feta and Sweet Onions A Delicious Treatment for Insomnia Anxiety and Fear of Public Speaking!

When I filmed this video recipe for a pumpkin seed flatbread, I thought I had just found a delicious and relatively healthy way for my viewers to enjoy raw pumpkin seeds. I had heard they were a very nutritious snack, and wanted to try them, instead of pinenuts, on various recipes. Little did I know, I was really inventing an alternative medicine treatment.

Thats right, as I researched the health benefits of these pretty green seeds, I discovered that not only did they have lots of nutritional benefits, but also contained large amounts of tryptophan, yes, that tryptophan, the "turkey valium" that you read about every year. While that nap you take after the thanksgiving meal is probably more from the massive amount of starchy food, than the tryptophan, there is a definite sleep/relaxation connection, as it aids in the brains production of serotonin.

The following is from the Whitby Mental Health Centre website:

"A new study released in the Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology suggests that a Functional Food made primarily of pumpkin seeds could be an efficacious treatment for anxiety disorders… The study, entitled “Protein-Source as an Efficacious Treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder”, describes that gourd seeds contain the highest concentration of tryptophan, the same amino acid found in milk and turkey, but at much higher levels. "

"One single gram of pumpkin seed protein contains as much tryptophan as a full glass of milk. In this study, subjects suffering from Social Anxiety Disorder were significantly less anxious when asked to speak in front of others one hour after eating the Functional Food rich in tryptophan in comparison to placebo. This finding demonstrates that tryptophan does more than induce sleep. In high light conditions, it is quickly converted to serotonin, which significantly reduces daytime anxiety levels."

So, if youre all tense about that big presentation, forget popping pills - go with a few slices of this flatbread recipe! I also believe it treats hunger as well. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
cornmeal
prepared pizza dough (enough for 1 large thin pizza)
1 large onion
2 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
black pepper
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds, or as much as you like
4 oz Greek feta
1/3 cup Parmesan


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