Vegeterian Middle Eastern Zucchini Fritters (Ejeh)

Little Miss 4 hates green. No, not green in nature, or her clothes or the colour itself, she hates green in food.

She will spot the tiniest micro spec of green no matter how much I blitz or puree herbs or green vegetables into her food. Really, she has a knack for it!

Ejeh (and fresh cucumbers too but we’ll get to that another day) is the exception. She will demolish and devour a fritter in 6 seconds flat especially if I serve it up in fresh Lebanese bread teamed with her favourite pink pickles .

This is one of those recipes that is both frugal, adaptable and seems a little too simple however don’t be fooled, the combination of garlic, zucchini and fresh herbs team up beautifully and when fried properly, it is both crunchy and soft at the same time. Magic!

Ejeh is as amazing served piping hot straight from the pan as it is eaten cold the following day.

Middle Eastern Zucchini Fritters (Ejeh)

• 2 large zucchinis, grated
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup plain flour
• 1 large bunch dill finely chopped
• 1 large bunch flat leaved parsley finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Pepper to taste
• Olive Oil to shallow fry

Squeeze excess liquid out of the grated zucchinis by either squeezing it over a sink which is both therapeutic and messy or place the grated zucchini into a muslin cloth, twist and squeeze the liquid out. Discard the liquid. Add the remainder of the ingredients and mix well. Shallow fry large tablespoons at a time until golden brown.

Armenian Ich or Eech Salad.

I mentioned in my last post there will be recipes that give you parsley teeth. This is one of those recipes.

My husband calls this one ‘Armenian Sang Choy Bow’ because its best enjoyed in a lettuce parcel. I call it ‘Reverse Tabouli’ because its a little bit of parsley and a whole lot of bulgur. The actual name for this traditional Armenian salad is Ich. Or Eech Salad. Or just get in my mouth salad.

Its gloriously delicious, and its one of those salads that gets better with time. Make it and leave it overnight and see how gorgeous it is the next day. Possibly (if there is any left) even better on day 2.

Be sure to use the finest bulgur you can buy. And if you really want to be adventurous, you could even substitute it for quinoa, cous cous or any other fine grain. The main flavour here though is the combination of the pastes, lemon and the fresh herbs.

• 1 – 1 ½ cups fine bulgur ( #1)
• Hot water – enough to cover bulgur in a bowl
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons pepper paste
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons dry mint
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 lemons
• ½ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• ½ cup fresh mint, finely chopped
• ½ cup green onions/shallots, finely chopped
• 2 tomatoes finely diced

Place the bulgur in a large bowl and cover it with hot water. Leave for 30 seconds then drain well. Add all the ingredients and stir well. Cover with glad wrap and place it in the fridge for at least an hour for all the ingredients to make love. Serve and enjoy with crunchy iceberg lettuce.

Slowly but Shortly, I’m back!

So my ‘short break’ was a 2 year hiatus.

A lot has happened in 2 years!

I popped out my second daughter who is now a walking talking little person in her own right, and as our family has expanded, I found myself busier than ever. If I’m not working my full time job, I’m a full time mother. There has been a lot of new recipes trialled and tested on the family and I can’t wait to share them all with you.

Slowly but shortly.

Bear with me and stay with me dear readers, for there is a journey ahead. A Woggy one, full of great food, that may give you garlic breath and parsley teeth, but boy oh boy will it taste extraordinary.

Much love,

Lisa

My girls!

Menulog, a night in, and a Giveaway!

Being the huge pregnant lady I now am, everything is getting hard. Like everything.

When getting off the couch these days, my body makes noises. I grunt and moan like some sort of wild beast. It is hardly attractive I can assure you.

I am now 33 weeks pregnant and with 7 weeks to go, some days getting myself into the kitchen is just too hard. Home delivery and take away food is becoming more and more prominent on our dinner table

Enter Menulog.com.au a nifty website that allows you to search and book and search nearby restaurants with a click of a button. The website is home to 3500 restaurants with full menu’s, 11,000 specials and over 100,000 restaurant reviews.

I was contacted by the wonderful people at Menulog to give the service a try and boy am I glad I did. You enter your postcode and up pops all the restaurants nearby that deliver to your suburb. Each has their menu’s listed, with most offering discounts for 1^st purchases through Menulog, offers and deals often not found if you contacted the restaurant direct.

Ordering through Menulog is fool proof, and makes it almost too easy if there was such a thing. Log in, select restaurant, order off online menu, pay and almost immediately you receive a sms confirmation of your order and an approximate delivery time.

When I was going through the list of restaurants, we discovered new restaurants I’d never even heard of within a 5km radius and I’ve been living at our current address for 4 years! The hardest part of ordering through Menulog is seriously choosing which restaurant you want food from!

We decided to try somewhere new, and given I am back to eating tomatoes, a good pizza was being craved. I ‘discovered’ Valentine Woodfire Pizza & Café  in nearby Narraweena and boy am I glad we decided to brave a new restaurant instead of going back to our usual.

I am THE WORLDS FUSSIEST PIZZA EATER. EVER. Or so my husband likes to exaggerate and claim. Pizza HAS to be woodfire. It has to be super thin. The type that flops if you tried to hold it. The traditional Napoli type. The base must have that woodfire taste, and be slightly charred underneath but not burnt, overcooked or dry. The toppings must be fresh and generous. I am fussy on pizza base sauce, and garlic quantity. You can see my hesitation in trying somewhere new.

Well, let me tell you. I have found my new local. Not only did the pizza tick all the boxes but it was delivered piping hot within 30 minutes, with a smile and I just can’t wait to eat from Valentines again.

We ordered 2 pizza’s and an entrée of the Calamari Fritti, served with Lime Aoli, and it was steaming hot, perfectly soft and so Moorish.

Our pizza’s of choice were the Capricciosa and Misto Mare. Both mouth-watering.

super thin, and slightly charred woodfire base, just the way I like it!

If you do live around Sydney’s Northern Beaches, I urge you to try Valentine Woodfire Pizza and Café. What a true local gem!

161 Alfred st, Narraweena NSW 2099.

COMPETITION TIME!

Thanks to the generosity of MenuLog.com.au I have $10 vouchers to give away to 2 lucky winners. All you have to do is ‘like’ GourmetWog and Menulog’s facebook pages then come back here and be sure to comment ‘I don’t feel like cooking tonight’ below. 2 winners will be chosen at random to receive $10 off their next MenuLog order.

T&C’s:Competition is open to all residents of Australia only, the winner will be notified via email and given 48 hours to respond. If no response in this time, a new winner will be drawn.

The winner must ‘like’ both GourmetWog and Menulog’s facebook pages and comment ‘I don’t feel like cooking tonight’ by 5pm Friday 11th July 2014.

Total prize pool is valued at $10 each and is to be used with a local Menulog restaurant of the winner’s choosing (where valid) and cannot be redeemed for cash.

The winner’s details may be forwarded to Menulog for prize distribution.

A voucher code will be emailed to the winner as supplied by Menulog and will be valid for 1 month after winner selection.

The voucher code will be valid for delivery only and balance payments via credit card.

The voucher is valid for one use only.

Zucchini and Tomato Dolma (meat and rice stuffed vegetables)

You say Sarma, I say Dolma.

In the ‘Armenian Wog World’ there is a bit of confusion over the name of this dish, however all will agree their Mum makes it the best. It’s highly subjective however all will agree it’s a classic and there is nothing better than coming home to a big plate of mixed vegetable dolma smothered in garlic yoghurt mopped up with Lebanese bread.

Essentially it is minced meat, onion and rice and herbs stuffed into your favourite vegetable of choice. Traditionally Lebanese zucchini is a must, and then really you can add whatever is in your crisper. I often stuff tomatoes, capsicum, baby eggplants, and even cabbage leaves.

Now, if you’ve been following my blog, you’ll know that I’m pregnant and tomatoes have been a no go due to their acid and my terribly sensitive belly. Hubby dared to groan about pub food again so I decided to be a good wifey and cook him a good Dolma. The smell floating through the house was so divine and I just HAD to give it a try, knowing truly what the consequences would be. Well I am SOOOOO happy to say, I mopped up a big plate of Dolma, popped a few Mylanta’s (ok so I double dosed on the chewable tablets) and I managed to keep this dish down! Hooray!

Zucchini and Tomato Dolma.

• 10-12 Lebanese Zucchini’s
• 10 large tomatoes
• 400g minced lamb or beef
• 1 cup long grain white rice, rinsed
• 1 large onion
• 1 ½ teaspoon dried mint
• 1 bunch fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• Water, salt and pepper

Garlic Yoghurt to serve

• 1 cup Greek style yoghurt
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 large clove fresh garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Using a sharp knife or spoon hollow out each zucchini and tomato.

In a bowl, grate or finely dice (as small as you can) the onion, and add the meat, rinsed raw rice, dried mint, chopped fresh parsley (I used a tablespoon of dried parsley because I didn’t have fresh on hand but if you do go fresh), a teaspoon of salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and use the mixture to stuff each vegetable.

Place all stuffed dolmas into a large saucepan and in a separate bowl, combine the tomato paste, enough water to completely cover the dolmas so that they are submerged and a teaspoon of salt. If your pot is quite large, you may need another teaspoon of salt. Pour the tomato paste and water mixture into the saucepan and if you find the dolmas are floating to the top, use a dinner placed upside down into the saucepan to keep them under the water level.

Bring the pot to the boil for about 5 minutes; reduce the heat to medium and simmer for a further 25-30 minutes until the rice and meat is cooked through.

To Serve, combine all the ingredients in the garlic yoghurt and mix well to combine. Drizzle over the top of the hot steamy Dolma or serve on the side. Whatever floats your boat? Enjoy!

Sorry for the awful photo and sauce smudges! I just couldn’t wait a minute further dig in

In My Kitchen – June 2014

I’m baaaaaaack!

And hopefully here to stay!

Its been a tough few months, this pregnancy has been so different to my first, any complaints or groans I made when I was pregnant with my daughter now in retrospect seem like mere exaggerations. I wish I bit my tongue!
At 27 weeks now, I am only just starting to eat things and have been enjoying the smells of food again. I hope this feeling lasts because it’s been a rough 6 months food wise.

There haven’t been too many cravings, more aversions than anything. I normally LOVE fish. Well apparently bub doesn’t so that’s a big no go. As are tomatoes.

Now as most Wogs would know, tomatoes are present in pretty much every dish! Whether they be in sauce form on a pizza, present in salads, or the base ingredient to a good stew or casserole.

So we’ve been enjoying meat and three veg for dinner pretty much every night. My husband groaned the other day and said ‘oh pub food again’. Yes honey, pub food. Then I reminded him that men aren’t the ones pushing watermelons out of their penises so he should just shut up and eat what I make. He quietly dug into his meal and claimed it to be the best meal ever.

I digress.

Its June, it’s a fresh start, a fresh season, and I’m feeling better. So good to be back and can’t wait to catch up on the blogosphere.

In My kitchen this month: Fresh Pink Lady apples, picked from the orchard.
We took a day trip to Bilpin and visited Pine Crest Orchard so our fridge is full of delicious apples picked straight from the orchard. At only $3.50 per kilo, the price is a steal compared to the $5 I often see at the markets or grocers. And you can’t beat biting into a fresh crunchy apple you’ve picked yourself.

In My kitchen – Is Easter Armenian Choreg.
The beauty of freezing freshly baked breads is that you can eat it any time of the year. That said, it’s no crime making choreg in June, but it just doesn’t feel right to me. Traditionally choreg is baked between Good Friday and Easter Sunday and the smell and aroma from the sweet freshly baked bread screams Easter is coming. I have no problems thawing a frozen loaf though and lathering it with Nutella or sour cherry jam and devouring it for breakfast!

In My Kitchen: Is a brand new sparkling oven.
Well its not brand new, but its definitely sparkling! The last IMK post I featured the bun in the oven announcing my pregnancy. The lovely and wonderful people at Oven Express must have tsk tsk and shook their heads at the state of my oven because next thing I know I had a call and a prompt van pull up with the offer of a clean oven.
What a God send! Being pregnant, lethargic and over it, the last thing I wanted to do was to get on my fours and inhale awful chemicals found present in those supermarket ‘oven bomb’ cleaners. You know, the type that you spray and close the door only to return to a mini nuclear cloud hanging over your kitchen.

Before. Shocking!

Well this experience was nothing like that! The wonderful oven cleaner Matt arrived, promptly on time and without further ado, he had removed the door and got to work using the old fashioned ‘elbow grease’ method. Being pregnant and hypersensitive I was a bit concerned about toxicity but it just happened to be some ‘super strength dishwashing liquid’. Nothing more. My kitchen didn’t smell at all and there was no white residue left like the supermarket bomb varieties. Matt was super friendly and didn’t mind having a little apprentice on hand to hand him equipment and keep him company!

Matt and his apprentice

I can’t recommend Oven Express highly enough. The whole service from start to finish was an hour and the end result is better then any oven cleaner you can buy or do yourself. He was so precise and even offered to change my faulty oven light bulb. I’m ashamed to say I didn’t even know my oven had a light! Oven Express is a Sydney wide mobile service and can be contacted on 1800 325 773.

After. A sigh of relief! Sparkling new!

The In My Kitchen is thanks to Celia at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial. Please do take a sticky beak at the other kitchens listed around the globe! My previous IMK posts can can be found here.

In My Kitchen – March 2014…and an explanation

This morning I woke up excited at the prospect of blogging again. Hooray, I was going to get in on the first day of Autumn and submit my first blog post in over 6 weeks.

Then I checked the date. The 4th Of March. Oops.

Not sure how, but I convinced myself that today was the 1st. Maybe it’s because it was a short February. Maybe it’s because when you’re at home with a child all day every day you forget what day of the week it is let alone the actual date.

So I owe you all an explanation. You, my fellow loyal readers, and you, my fellow gorgeous blogging friends who I enjoyed frequenting your blogs on a daily basis and lately haven’t been able to do so.

Actually, I’ll tell you what’s in my kitchen this month first, then the explanation.

The In My Kitchen series is all brought to you by Celia at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial, a collection of posts from around the world, and a sticky beak into the bloggers kitchen that month. So without further ado,

In my Kitchen: Are pickled Armenian Cucumbers.

Armenian Cucumbers are often labelled ‘wild cucumbers’ and have rippled or ribbed textured skin and are deliciously crunchy. I buy it from my local Middle Eastern deli. These pickles are a  wonderful compliment to any meal.

In My Kitchen: Is Indulge Coffee Mocha Ice Cream from Aldi’s.

This would have to be my ultimate indulgence at the moment. The coffee flavour is absolutely gorgeous and actually quite strong like you were sipping on a double espresso. Throughout the ice-cream are large chunks of bitter dark chocolate. My local Aldi’s brings it in weekly and you have to get in quick, it disappears off the shelves in a flash.

In My Kitchen: is Ginger beer.

I got hooked onto ginger beer on the South Pacific cruise we recently travelled on. Ginger is a great way to curb sea sickness or nausea and God knows just how sick I was this time around. We’ve been back a few weeks now but I’ve become accustomed to the taste and my fridge is now nicely stocked with this non alcoholic beverage.

So…..

Pickles, ice-cream and ginger beer….

Have you guessed it?

In My Kitchen: A bun in the oven…

I’m beyond elated to advise we’re expecting our second bubba on the second day of Spring!

Which brings me to explain and apologise to you all.

I apologise for the lack of posting. The truth is I’ve been so lethargic and nauseous this time around, I’d feel like a fraud speaking about food if even the thought of it started to make me gag. I’m 14 weeks along and the nausea has only just started to get better. It was the opposite with my daughter, I had a very easy and problem free pregnancy with her and this around it has been so different. We have been eating out a lot because handling slimy chicken or meat, and then cooking it has made me sick. The smell has made me sick. I’m only just starting to get any thing close to an appetite back and hope that things improve from here.

The 2 weeks on the cruise ship was interesting to say the least. Try combining sea sickness (rough seas leaving and returning to Sydney) with morning sickness when every step you take is some sort of restaurant on a cruise ship. It’s like food is literally thrown in your face on-board. Relax, eat! Relax, eat! Have fun, drink then EAT! Food, food glorious food everywhere you turn but not so fun when you’re feeling green.

The other fun unknown fact about pregnancy is that it makes your eyes dry and often blurry. I haven’t been able to sit at a computer for longer than an half an hour at a time because it makes my eyes hurt. I refuse to take eye drops because during pregnancy something happens to me that my husband refers to as ‘anally retentive’. I refuse all sorts of drugs, paracetamol, antibiotics and in this case eye drops. My theory is ‘just in case’ and regardless of what any doctor or study says that conclude it safe, I just cant bring myself to do it.

So there you go folks. I hope to be back in full spirit and mode soon! I also look forward to sharing this experience with you (the good parts!)

xx

 

 

 

A break…

 

Can someone give me back my motivation?!

It’s late January and you’d think I’d be over the silly season festivities but alas not.

It’s incredibly hard to get back to it both physically and setting the correct mind frame

The month of January has so far proven to bring a few unexpected challenges for me personally. More on that in a few weeks’ time.

In the meantime I was looking at old photos of what a wonderful time me and my family had on board P&O’s Pacific Jewel this time last year. One telephone call later and another cruise was booked.

So, Bon Voyage for me, I’m off to sail the high seas, eat incredibly good food, chill poolside, explore the South Pacific and do absolutely nothing else.

I’ll be sure to let you all know about it on my return.

As our good friend John would say, ‘The Kitchen will reopen Mid February’.
xo

Garden Share Collective – January 2014

The weather’s been hot, like REAL summer scorching hot these last few weeks. I haven’t tended to the garden at all except to go out at sunset and give the poor buggers a drenching.
No liquid fertiliser, no food, no added nutrients. Just water.

And you know what? The patch has been very forgiving.

Remember my cucumber/zucchini/leek patch last month?

cucumber, zucchini and leek patch, Dec 2013

That is what it looked like in December. Now, 4 short weeks later here is the same patch, gone a bit mental!

Cucumber, zucchini and leek patch, Jan 2014

We have lots and lots of beans. Dwarf beans, French beans and Purple King beans. I can’t remember the last time I actually bought any vegetables!

Our fairy tale eggplant is going a bit berserk too. There are over 25 eggplants on a plant about 30 cm tall!

We have tomatoes coming out of our ears.

I’m also trying my luck with potatoes again after our kipfler and Pontiac experiment last year. This time there are Gabriella potatoes I bought from my local farmers markets. They started sprouting after a week. This time, I plan to bank up the soil and mulch as the plant grows and hope for a better harvest in 3 months’ time.

So the garden continues to thrive, through the humidity and heat wave! The Garden Share Collective is thanks to Lizzy at Strayed from the Table, a collection of vegetable patches across the globe.
To see my vegetable patch’s growth before your very eyes, please take a moment to view my previous posts here.
Happy Gardening!
xx

In My Kitchen – January 2014

Happy New Year to all my wonderful readers!

I vowed to keep the laptop switched off over the silly season and just enjoy myself, the company of my family and friends, do some gardening and enjoy the outdoors, so apologies for the blogging absence. I so look forward to sharing my delicious recipes and wacky stories throughout 2014 with you. Thanks for joining me on this journey.

So without further ado, I start the New Year with a new addition to the In My Kitchen series, a collection of bloggers around Australia and the world who give you a sneak peak to the contents of their kitchens. It’s all thanks to Celia at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.

In My Kitchen: Was a Christmas Day feast.

We had the family over to our house on the 25^th and it was wonderful to sit back, devour good food, and listen to carols in the presence of some truly wonderful people.

The plan was to have a nice BBQ outdoors, but Mother Nature thought over wise drizzling us with rain throughout the day. A hot buffet was planned instead at the last minute.

The menu was one big delicious mismatch! There was Dolma (rice and meat wrapped vine leaves), fried rice, lasagne, chicken wings, kale tabouli, garden salad, and a ‘sausage roll wreath’ inspired by Lorraine at ‘Not Quite Nigella’.

Needless to say the sausage roll wreath was the highlight of the day and I’m quite impressed with how nicely it came out!

In My Kitchen: Blue Eye

I don’t really believe it voodoo, but hey, what’s a Wog house without a ‘Blue Eye’ to fend off the evil thoughts of others. In Armenian, we have a saying ‘Atchket kaknem’ which literally translates to ‘I will shit on your eye’. It means if you ever have a negative thing to say about me or my family, the Blue Eye will protect us from your jealousy/negative thoughts. Hysterical!

In My Kitchen: There is Cognac. Lots of it!

My husband is a ‘Cognac and cigar’ kind of guy. He loves his cognac collection and it grows every year. The Landy bottle with the dog on top was my Wedding present to him 7 years ago.

And there you go, the 1^st IMK post for 2014, Short and Sweet. For a recap of my 2013 kitchen contents, please take a moment to view my previous posts.