Fasolakia (green beans with potatoes and zucchini)

I know, summer is almost over and I'm just now offering you an idea for what to do with the bounty of green beans and zucchini many of you are growing in your gardens right now - or finding at your local farmers market.

Either served as a light meal or as a side, fasolakia is a traditional Greek vegetarian dish consisting of green beans, potatoes, and that fertile garden vegetable that you always seemed to have planted too much of - zucchini.

This is all you will need for this simple summer recipe to serve the family (it makes great leftovers too!):

2 lbs. fresh green beans (I've used frozen in the winter as well)
2 - 3 large juicy ripe tomatoes, grated
1 onion, chopped
1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and cut into large cubes
2 - 3 Zucchini - I know these things range greatly in size, but you want to cut them into halved 3 inch pieces
salt/pepper

First, prepare the beans and wash them well, taking off the ends. If you're patient - which I not always am - you can remove the strings down the center of the bean as well, depending on how fresh or tough they are. Next, in a deep pot, heat the olive oil on medium heat and add the chopped onion, sautéing until tender. Now add the beans, grated tomato, and good amount of salt and pepper to taste along with 1 cup of water. Simmer over medium heat. After about 20 minutes, add the potatoes and zucchini and simmer for another 25 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

The trick is to get the water content just right - you want to add only enough water as needed to cook all the veggies. They do release more water as they are cooked, so usually there is no need to add more. And as always, serve this dish with some fresh baked bread to soak up all that tasty sauce left on your plate!

Hearty Lentil Soup

Who can't get enough homemade hot soup this winter? It has certainly become my staple for these long cold winter nights. Well, the days are getting longer now, right?

This lentil soup is a go-to favorite. With minimal ingredients and very little prep time, it's a great recipe to fall back on when the fridge and cupboards go bare. This soup is also very easy to add things to - as that's the beauty of soup. Have some veggies in the fridge that are on the verge of making their way to the garbage? Why not chop them up and throw them in the pot. But really, why change a good thing? You won't believe how good this soup is with nothing but the following ingredients:

2 cups of lentils (green or red, it's your choice)
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 large cloves of garlic, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 medium ripe tomatoes, grated
Salt, Pepper
(Crusty buttered bread optional)

If you know you're going to be having this soup for dinner, feel free to soak the lentils a couple hours ahead of time as it will speed-up the cooking process.

In a large pot, sauté the chopped garlic in the olive oil over medium heat for about one minute. Add the grated tomatoes and simmer for a couple more minutes. Add the lentils and about 4 cups of water. Stir in the bay leaves along with salt and pepper to taste. I like to add about 2 teaspoons of salt, as with all soups, salting is key. Simmer for about 30 minutes, perhaps a bit longer if you did not soak the lentils beforehand. Be sure to keep an eye on the soup, adding more water if necessary.

To top off the soup, I like to add some hard crusty bread at the end. When my favorite loaf of sourdough gets hard enough to break my teeth, I know it's good enough for my soup. Just lay it in your bowl with a little butter on top and let it soak up the broth.

Classic White Bean Soup

Ah yes, the mercury is dropping, perhaps you've broken out the hats and gloves, and for most of us, the sun has long disappeared by the time we return home from the office. We're slowly eating less fresh berries, salads, white wine and fish, and are now craving steak, baked potatoes, red wine and roasted lamb - or maybe that's just me. If there is one signal my stomach gives me that the cold weather has officially arrived, it is my sudden craving for the most classic of cold-weather food - soup!

Now I wasn't much of a fan of soup growing up. Whenever I would hear we were having soup for dinner, my aching, growling stomach would let out a small groan of disappointment with the anticipation of the bowl of hot water and vegetables that was about to hit it. It wasn't so much that the soup wasn't any good, it was more the lack of satiation I would feel eating bowl after bowl.

How I've changed my mind! I've since realized you can get so much more out of your soup! It's more than just boiled vegetables floating in hot water - it can be rich, creamy, full of complex flavors while remaining simple, and most importantly, it can fill you up as good as a steak and baked potato any day.

Nothing fits this bill more than a classic white bean soup. Rich in soluble fiber, iron and protein, white beans add such a richness to soup that you won't miss the meat. They also provide a real creaminess to the broth that one would be hard convinced no dairy was added. Nothing but minimal, simple ingredients in this soup, but it tastes like so much more!

What you will need (serves 2):

1 cup dry white beans (Navy or Great White Northern work fine)
1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 large carrots
2 sticks of leafy celery
1 large ripe tomato, grated
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh pepper
Peeled skin (with the rind) of half an orange

Soak the dry beans overnight, or as long as you can before you plan to cook - the longer you soak them, the faster they'll cook. Bring the soaked beans to a boil and simmer for 5-10 minutes then drain and set aside. Pre-boiling the beans is key in that it helps take some of that pesky 'air' out of the beans, if you get my drift. Next, heat the olive oil in a large pot. Adding the carrots and celery, sauté for a couple minutes, then add the grated tomato and cook for about 5 minutes. Now add the beans, salt, pepper and orange peel - the secret ingredient, detrimental to the flavor of the soup - and it works best to just add it in one big piece. Last, add the water depending on how thick you like your soup. I usually add enough water to come up about 2 inches above the beans and keep an eye on it as it boils. Cover and simmer for about 40-50 minutes, until the beans are soft.

Choosing Your Olive Oil

One of the most common questions I receive from a someone curious about olive oil is, "How do I know how to choose a good olive oil?" In light of an article posted in the Huffington Post this week: Olive Oil 'Virginity' Questioned in California Lawsuit, I would like to give a little advice on what you should be looking for when you find yourself caught in bewilderment in the Olive Oil isle at your local supermarket.

First let's talk Italian oil. If the bottle says it's a product of Italy or that it is produced or packaged in Italy, it means just that - the oil was literally filled into the bottle in a factory in Italy. Now where that oil actually came from is another story. Because Italy is the top player in the Olive Oil market, meaning, most people recognize Italy as being known for producing olive oil above any other country, they are required to put out massive amounts of production, right? The problem is, Italy cannot possibly grow the amount of olives on their own soil to produce the amount of oil needed for export. So what do they do? They buy oil from Spain, Tunisia, Morocco and other surrounding countries that can offer them a large quantity of bulk oil for a good price, and unfortunately, that often means lower quality. So that fine bottle of Italian oil you have sitting in your kitchen? Yes, it's a pretty good bet it's actually a cheap oil from Spain.

Another good indicator of a high quality oil is the price. Again referring mostly to Italy, if the price is too good to be true, it probably is. Now, that's not to say there aren't some great reasonably priced oils out there, you just have to know what you're looking for. I'm sorry to be picking on the Italians so much, as they do produce some of the most astounding oils in the world, unfortunately you just have to pay for it.

For a more affordable high-quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil, look to Greece. Yes I know, I do love Greece, that is true, but because the Greeks dedicate 60% of their cultivated land to growing olives, they actually produce most of their own oil, and because Italians have been savvy for years in selling delicious food products, the Greeks tended to just sell their good oil to the Italians only to be labeled as 'Product of Italy'. Well now the Greeks are trying to get into the market themselves and show-off their local golden nectar. So next time you find yourself looking at a Greek oil in the supermarket, chances are, it is actually a real Greek oil. This could be true for many other countries that don't have the massive production demands that Italy has. So all I'm saying is, watch out for those Italian oils.

Another way to know that the oil in your bottle is produced where it says, is by looking for the PDO certification on the label. This stands for Protected Designation of Origin which is a European certification that the oil in the bottle does in fact come from the specific region it states. Other versions of this certification are PDI or Protected Geographical Indication, DOP or Denominazione di Origine Protetta and AOC or Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée. These certifications are becoming more common on products exported to the USA so you should keep an eye out for them.

Great news is that in October the US Department of Agriculture will be implementing new standards for labeling olive oils more comprable to the International Olive Oil Council, which has been setting the standards for olive oil in Europe for years. Hopefully this will make it a little easier on us all next time we're faced with that great wall of olive oil at the local grocery.

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!