Modern Cooking - Veggie Doener

We had a heat wave the other day, so no-one felt like either cooking or eating a hot dinner. After a couple of days of salad, I picked up a flat bread and a bunch garlic and whipped up a yummie veggie doener. As a little background: doener kebab is a sandwich made from meat cut of a huge skewer, chopped up lettuce, tomatoes, slaw, cucumber, onions, you name it, topped with a garlic sauce. Turkish immigrants in Berlin invented it back in the 60s to be able to compete with burgers and other on-the-go sandwiches, and it's AWESOME! I definitely never feel guilty after eating one, especially since I substitute the meat, which can be quite greasy, for feta cheese.

Ingredients:
1 flatbread
white or red cabbage, raw and thinly slices
iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced
tomatoes, slices
cucumber, sliced
carrots, cut in thin strips
onions, cut in thin rings
1/2 lb feta cheese, cut in slices
garlic, minced
1 cup of greek yogurt
salt & pepper to taste

Bake the flatbread, cut it in quarters and cut pockets in them. Fill it with lettuce, cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and feta cheese. Beat greek yogurt with garlic, add salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle sauce in the flatbread pockets and  enjoy the goodness.

For meat lovers: add gyros from your favorite Greek restaurant or thinly cut chicken or beef strips instead (or on top of) the cheese.

For vegans: use soy yogurt instead of th greek version for the yogurt sauce.

I hope you enjoy it as muc as we did. It can be messy, so it's helpful to have a fork around!

Modern Cooking - Spanish Veggie Tortilla

Tonight was a "what are we going to cook"-kind of evening. Lily asked for eggs, potatoes, and carrots, but I didn't really feel like breakfast for dinner. But we came close to her requests, as my Spanish veggie tortilla came to mind. A Spanish tortilla is much different from Mexican tortilla and can be compared more to an omlette. I had it the first time about 8 years ago when one of my favorite teachers from college hosted a barbecue to celebrate the upcoming graduation at her home and served this dish.

Spanish Veggie Tortilla

Ingredients (for tonights tortilla):
5 small potatoes
1 large red bell pepper
1 zucchini
brown mushrooms
5 eggs
some milk
rosemary, marjoram, salt, and pepper to taste
some parmesan cheese, grated
olive oil for the pan

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Cut potatoes into small pieces and add to skillet. Cut bell pepper, zucchini, and mushrooms to bite-sized pieces and add to skillet. Cook until slightly browned; season with rosemary, marjoram, and pepper. Slightly beat eggs; add about 1/4 cup of milk, season with some salt and pepper. Pour egg mix over veggies, reduce heat to low medium and cover. Cook until egg mixture is set and firm. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, cut in wedges, and serve.


Why we love this recipe so much? Because it's versatile. You can use about any veggie you have laying around; we even have used it before to turn some left-over grilled vegetable into another dinner. You can prepare it as the main dish with a side salad or serve it as a side with steak, chicken, or at a barbecue. It's even a perfect dish to bring to a pot-luck.

Try it and let me know what you think!

Introducing: Modern Cooking

I have thought for a while to re-activate "Tasty Tuesday", but somehow this title didn't seem right any more, since Tasty Tuesday was more focused on yummie comfort food while modern cooking will focus more on nutritious, quick-to-prepare meals that feed a family with different dietary preferences or needs. Until a while ago, our family of 4 had to serve 3 different diets: regular omnivore (Richard and Lily), lactose-free (Violet), and vegetarian (me). Luckily, Violet's digestive system has matured enough now so that she is able to eat milk products. I am still a vegetarian though, which I stress is a personal decision which I refuse to force on my husband or children but decided to work around.

I am starting this column with a healthy meal that can be adapted to fit almost any dietary preference while being easy to prepare and extremely yummie without the slightest feeling of guilt:

Feta Cheeseburger with country potatoes and salad.

Did I ever tell you that my husband makes the most delicious hamburgers in the world? Well, he does. For the burgers you need:

- 1lb of ground beef
- 1 egg
- steak seasoning
- small hand-full of bread crumbs (I make mine fresh from day-old bread)

Mix above well with your hands and cook to taste on a grill or grill pan.
Serve on a bun with thinly sliced feta cheese and tsatsiki.

For the tsatsiki you will need:

- 1 cup of plain (or Greek) yogurt
- 1/4 cucumber very thinly cubed
- fresh garlic finely diced to taste (we use lots)
- freshly ground black pepper and sea salt to taste

Mix the yogurt with the cucumber and garlic and season with salt and pepper to taste.

For the country potatoes just wash as many potatoes as you need, quarter them and arrange them on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with pepper, salt, and rosemary; bake until done and crispy.

For the salad wash the produce (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, olives, etc.) and cut it into bite-size pieces. Prepare a dressing of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, pepper, salt, and Italian herbs (oregano, basil, rosemary) and toss with the other ingredients.


Make it vegetarian:

Forget the burger and toss the feta cheese on the grill. Watch it carefully because it will become runny (optional you can wrap the cheese in aluminum foil). Serve with the country potatoes, tsatsiki, and salad.


Veganize it:

Swap the cheese for tofu and marinate over night in garlic-infused oil. Grill and serve instead of the cheese. You can also cook up a nice soy burger to go with it. Prepare the tsatsiki with soy or rice yogurt.


Make it lactose-free:

Switch all regular milk products to either lactose-free versions or use the vegan options with the burger.