Baked Tomato Keftedes

On our recent trip to Santorini this summer we took a cooking class.  While Tomato Keftedes wasn’t on the menu our dear host, Sofi, had them prepared for us as we arrived, paired with Vinsanto, a traditional Santorinian wine.  They were so good that I had to ask her for the recipe.  The original Keftedes are fried. While I was on my honeymoon I could justify eating fried foods. I mean this was my reward after all that hard work to get into that white dress, right? photo 3Well now that I am back home I have no way to justify dropping these little bites of heaven into a pot of oil, so I decided to bake them instead. I must say they are super tasty. A couple of things to note, the original recipe calls for feta rather than parmesan and parsley and mint. Since I decided to make this last minute I used what I had in my fridge. And as Sofi says, “You put whatever you want in it”.  So I listen to the chef made my version of it. Enjoy!

10 cherry tomatoes
2 – 3 green onions
1/2 red onion
1/4 Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup of flour
1 egg
Cilantro (Add as much as you like or replace with parsley or mint)
A pinch of salt
A pinch of black pepper
Chili pepper flakes (This is not part of the original recipe but because we love spice, I had to add it.)

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DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 F (200C) and mist a 12 cup muffin pan with nonstick spray.

Chop all ingredients (green onions, red onion, cherry tomatoes, cilantro).

In a bowl stir together all ingredients until mixed well. If you don’t mind getting dirty, use your hands smashing the tomatoes and mixing the ingredients together thoroughly.

Spoon the mixture evenly in each cup of the muffin tin and pat down with the back of the spoon to make sure mixture is compact.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops are golden. Enjoy warm.

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Buon Appetito!

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Thai Chicken Noodle Soup

Since my blog is titled “Live. Love. Eats. & Travel”, it only makes sense that I share recipes with you. It’s fall weather here in Denmark so I was craving a hearty soup. Yes it’s only August but I live in Scandinavia.  A dear friend of mine sent this to me and it turned out to be a recipe that I will make again and again this fall and winter. I slightly altered mine, but should you want to see the original recipe you can find it here at Nigella.com. Either way it is an easy, hearty, delicious soup with a kick to it. The recipe calls for leftover shredded chicken but you can substitute that with veggies, beef or keep it simple and just use noodles. Enjoy and Buon Appetito!

  • 1 quart chicken broth
  • 6 oz thin rice noodles (or mung bean thread vermicelli)
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1 ½ inches piece of fresh gingerroot (peeled and sliced thinly then cut into skinny strips)
  • 1 fresh red chile cut into strips (the recipe says to deseed it but we wanted spicy so I kept them)
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon soft brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
  • 8 oz stir fry vegetables or bean sprouts (I opted for a handful of veggies and a handful of bean sprouts
  • 2 – 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro (to serve)

DIRECTIONS:

Santorini: You’ve seen one sunset, you’ve seen them all…

You’ve seen one sunset, you’ve seen them all…not quite. You never seem to get tired of seeing the sunsets in Thera and Oia.  Maybe it’s because the colors are painting the sky with pinks, purples, reds and orange hues, as the sun drowns out into the horizon or the caldera, and you know you have a limited number of days to see this beautiful act of nature. Oia is known for the some of the most beautiful sunsets in the world and 1000s of tourists a day flock to this picturesque town that is carved out on a cliff. This was apparent when we we couldn’t make our way down the narrow, crowded streets of Oia as the tour buses were  arriving and dropping off loads of people at 5:30pm for an 8:30pm sunset, to get the best spot. There is only one word that can be used for the views in Santorini and that is “breathtaking”. The endless sunsets, the caldera and the blue sea are unforgettable. I can honestly say that pictures don’t do it justice but you’ll get the idea.

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It’s been a while…

Yes I abandoned my blog. It wasn’t my intent but life caught up with me. Planning the final details for my wedding, getting married in San Francisco, spending time with family and friends from around the world (whom I must thank again for everything), playing tourist in my hometown of San Francisco, spending an amazing weekend in Palm Springs for my bachelorette party and honeymooning in Greece on the islands of Crete and Santorini (please take me back!). So that is my justification for going silent this summer. The great part is the blog benefits because during my break in blogging I was able to get plenty of material. While I settle in back at home and gather all of my thoughts and pictures on my travels I thought I would share a few things of what’s to come…

Elounda, Crete

Elounda, Crete

Thira, Santorini

Thera, Santonini

San Francisco, California

San Francisco - Treasure Island