Lunch, Olympics, Chocolate Bacon, More about Dolmas

Our Greek lunch was a tad disappointing. In the end we had take out and when we got it, there really wasn't very much food at all. We had one piece of Spanakopita (phyllo and spinach) one of Tyropita (phyllo & feta) one dolmadas and some pita bread with tzatziki (basically a yoghurt dip). For $8 I didn't think it was very good value. Nothing wrong with the food, but it was somewhat skimpy. I think we might have been better to actually go to the restaurant, but I could be wrong. I don't remember that their prices were so high, but maybe things have changed. The picture is of tzatzkiki dips from DairyGoodness.ca I watched some more of the Olympics yesterday, Michael Phelps, the American swimmer, is creating Olympic history with his incredible swims. He now has 5 gold medals in this games plus 5 world records. He really is the most incredibly powerful swimmer. It staggers me the size of the shoulders of these swimmers, I had never really noticed before, the females in particular. I wonder if they lose it later in life or if it turns to fat which is a terrible thought. The photo on the right is from VOA News.com. If you wanted to read the complete article click here there are links to other Olympic news stories if you are interested. Matt is particularly interested in gymnastics as he was a gymnast at one time. He always says it is impossible to do what the Chinese do on the rings. That is one of their strongest events. Today, on Good Morning America, they were talking about chocolate covered bacon!!! The food segment was actually about foods available at State Fairs, fried snow balls filled with chocolate was one of the items. If you don't believe me the article is here with a video called GMA's Blue Ribbon Summer: Fried Food - its quite a funny video as there are two comedians trying out the food as well. In answer to the comments about the Dolmadas being very meaty, as I mentioned yesterday, they can be made without meat. Dolmadakia Source: Cooking the Greek Way 1 15 oz. can of vine leaves 1 lb onions 1/2 pt olive oil (the best quality you can afford) 8 oz. rice, soaked 1/2 pt boiling water (UK pint so that's 10 fl. oz) salt and pepper 1 tbs chopped parsley juice 1 large lemon 1 tbs chopped dill or 1 tbs chopped mint lemon wedges 1 tbs currants (optional) 1 tbs pine nuts (optional) Rinse the vine leaves and drain. Chop the onions very fine, or grate. Heat half the olive oil in a fairly deep pan and fry the onions without letting them colour. Add the rice, previously soaked in salted water and drained, mix well and cook gently for about 20 mins. Gradually add the boiling water, salt, pepper, parsley, dill or mint and the lemon juice. Cover tightly and simmer until all the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Let the mixture cool a little. Take one vine leaf, cut off the stalk and with the rough side towards you put one good teaspoon of the mixture on the widest part. Fold over and tuck in the ends to make a neat little parcel roughly 1 x 2 inches wide. Continue until all the mixture is used up. Put a layer of vine leaves in a skillet and place the dolmadakia close together in rows. Pour over the rest of the olive oil and enough hot water to cover them completely. Add some more salt and pepper to taste. Put a plate on top to keep them from moving about. Cover with a lid and cook over low heat for 1 hour. Serve cold, garnished with wedges of lemon. If you do find them bland, squeeze on more lemon juice. A very popular taste in Greece. Have a great day.