Cretan Dakos

Rusks, hard dry breads made from barley and whole wheat, have been an essential part of the Cretan diet for many years. Lauded for its high fiber content, the locals praise its digestive qualities and have perfected the art of baking these delicious breads. If you are lucky and have access to a store that sells these rusks, as many specialty Mediterranean food stores do, be sure to look for ones with a high barley content as the whole wheat rusks are less hard and will become soggy quite quickly. Look for the brand 'To Mavva' (pronounced 'Toe Mahnah') with the green labeling (the blue labeled ones are whole wheat) as I considered these to be the best barley rusks from Crete.

What you will need:

Barley Rusks*
Sea Salt
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Grated Ripe Tomatoes
Goat Cheese (Feta, Myzithra, or Soft Goat Cheese)
Oregano
Kalamata Olives

Depending on the size of the rusks, use as many as your hunger requires. Take the barley rusks and run them under tap water until the whole rusk is wet (a few seconds will do). Do not skip this step - they are VERY hard and will break your teeth if you don't! However, if you are using a whole wheat rusk, or bread you have dried out on your own at home, skip this step to avoid ending up with a plate of mush. Once the bread is wet, generously sprinkle the bread on all sides with sea salt, place on a serving dish, then pour your finest, freshest Extra Virgin Olive Oil over the bread. If you have a Greek Koroneiki variety, use it! The flavor of the oil really shines in this dish.

Next, grate the tomato (one medium-sized ripe tomato per piece of bread) and pour on top of the bread, then take the goat cheese and crumble as much as you like on top. Take a pinch of dried oregano and sprinkle over the cheese and place a few kalamata olives on top. Now take your bottle of olive oil once again and drizzle some more over the entire dish for a final touch. Serve right away.

The outcome should be bread that is not too hard nor too soggy - think 'softly crunchy'. By the time you serve the dish, the combined flavors of the oil and tomato should have soaked into the bread and be absolutely delicious!

* If you cannot find barley rusks, wheat rusks are ok too, just do not wet them with water before you cover with the oil and tomato. You can also dry out thick pieces of whole wheat bread at home in your oven on low heat.

Shrimp Pasta (it's all about the sauce!)

Ever wondered how a gourmet Italian restaurant creates that perfectly light tomato sauce that you can never seem to recreate at home? Well I did, and the secret is as simple as having a quality bottle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a juicy ripe tomato. Never buy that thick, sugary, canned pasta sauce again! Impress your friends with your own home made sauce - and they never have to know how effortless it really is!

Here is what you'll need for a meal for two:

Pasta noodles - I prefer a long noodle like Spaghetti or Fettucini
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 medium-sized clove of garlic, chopped
Fresh or frozen, cooked or uncooked shrimp - as many as your heart delights
2-3 Tbsp white wine
1 large ripe tomato
Pinch of sugar
Salt
Fresh cracked pepper
Parmesan cheese

First, get your water boiling for the pasta. Cook the noodles 1 minute less than al-dente according to the directions on the package. I find you can cook the sauce in the amount of time it takes to boil the water and cook the noodles, so get them going first. In the meantime, work on your sauce.

Heat enough olive oil on medium heat to coat the bottom of your skillet (you'll want to use a skillet that's large enough to hold all the pasta when it's ready). Add the chopped garlic and let sizzle for a minute, careful not to let it brown. Next, add the shrimp. Sauté until pink if uncooked, or if cooked, sauté until warmed, then add the white wine and turn up the heat just a tad to a slight boil. While the shrimp is cooking in the wine, grate your tomato and stir in with the shrimp. Sprinkle a pinch of sugar then add as much salt and pepper to your liking and continue to let the sauce thicken until noodles are ready.

Once the noodles are cooked, drain and add them to the skillet to stir in with the sauce. The idea is to let the noodles cook in the sauce for another minute or two so they soak up all that tastiness, but be careful not to overcook - you still want them al-dente, unless of course you prefer your noodles soggy.

When the pasta is all ready, the final touches are up to you. You can add some grated parmesan cheese and more fresh cracked pepper, and if you're a true olive oil lover, lightly drizzle your finest over the top just before serving.

On a side note, sliced Kalamata olives, artichoke hearts and crumbled feta cheese (in which case you would omit the parmesan) added to your sauce just before stirring in the cooked noodles, make a great hearty addition.

Cucumber Water

Now I know this has absolutely nothing to do with olive oil, but it does have to do with my second favorite natural consumable liquid: Water! Being that summer is now in full-force, I just wanted to share what I have been drinking by the gallon to keep hydrated. Just slice up a small cucumber, drop the slices into your favorite pitcher, and fill it up with some cool filtered water. I sometimes even add a sprig of fresh basil as the two flavors complement each other well. I find drinking cucumber water to be extra refreshing than plain 'ol water after a long afternoon in the sun. The best thing is that you can continually refill the pitcher with cool water using the same cucumbers and toss them out at the end of the day.

More olive oil recipes coming very soon!