What Do I Make with Artichokes?

by Mary Papoulias-Platis

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Artichokes are one of my favorite vegetables, but they can take some time to make. They are the type of vegetable you order at your favorite  restaurant. But if you are new to them, you can simply steam or boil them in a large pot and enjoy dipping the leaves and eating the heart in a sauce or vinaigrette. Once, you cook this vegetable, it will be much easier for you to understand the importance of preparing them to eat. (see notes below). So,when visiting your next famer’s market, pick up a few and try one of my easy recipes. To find where your local farmer’s market are in your area, look up your local San Diego Farm Bureau or San Diego Edible Magazine for a listing.

Why are artichokes not so popular?

  • The have a furry interior called the “choke” that needs to removed and is inedible.
  • The heart which is what you eat, is somewhat hidden and must be carefully cleaned.
  • The outer leaves are edible after steaming, by using your teeth to scrap only the inside tips of the artichoke.
  • This is why I have written so many recipes for you, because it is a very popular vegetable in the Greek Diet.

 

Spring Artichokes

These are Spring Artichokes which are a bit smaller, great for dipping, salads, and appetizers.

Thyme Infused Artichokes

If you are at a local farmer’s market, look for bright green and leaves that are not open, signifying they are not fresh. You will also see various types of artichokes and sizes. If you are using them in the recipe above, they can be the smaller variety, often used for salads, risottos, and appetizers. The larger, more common artichoke is so versatile for cooking, stuffing, braising, steaming and adding to your stews. Below are a few examples.

Artichokes Stuffed with Bulgur and Mushrooms 

Stuffed Artichokes

Lamb Stew with Artichokes

Lamb with Artichokes

Greek Braised Chicken with Artichokes 

Chicken with Artichokes

Arugula Salad with Fava Beans and Artichokes

Artichoke Salad with Beans

Here, I used the marinated artichokes, which you can find in a jar at your local stores. These are great for hummus, a feta and artichoke dip, and in pasta salads which I make often!

Grilled Artichokes

They can be grilled whole and sliced in half with a drizzle of evoo, as well as a kabob with a vegetable of your choice. Grilled Artichokes with Roasted Striped Beets

 

Enjoy exploring with this incredible vegetable!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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What Do I Make With Beets?

by Mary Papoulias-Platis

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Beets are a staple in the Greek Diet, and in our culinary kitchen at Ethos Culinary.  When teaching, I try and emphasize the importance of the health benefits they provide our bodies. More than often, I look for them at the farmer’s markets in town, because farmers tend to keep the greens attached to the beet. The greens are steamed, sauteed, and can be added to many stews and soups. When shopping for these vegetables, touch and feel the beetroot making sure it is hard and not soft to the touch. And make sure the greens are bright green and fresh. You can also plant them in your garden, they are even sweeter and tastier than store bought! These are from my winter garden. And my favorite way to cook them is from just a few  pantry ingredients, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, red wine vinegar and lots of crushed garlic.

My garden Beets

How they keep you healthy!

  • Beets are an excellent source of antioxidants. (Cardiovascular and Heart disease )
  • They have anti-inflammatory properties. (Reduces Joint Pain)
  • Along with the above, they are high in Fiber. (Helps with Blood Sugar and Cholesterol)
  • Potassium and Nitrates are additional health benefits. (Brain and Blood Pressure)

Use the Easy Method -Roasting Technique

How To Roast Beets with this Cooking Technique

How to Roast Beets

I prefer the roasting method, for it produces a sweeter and more moist result. Just wrap in foil with skin on and follow the directions in my post.

Here are a few more ways to incorporate them into your weekly meals and stay healthy!

Roasted Beets with Potato Garlic Sauce

Grilled Lamb Ribs with Greens and Beets

Lamb with Beet Salad

 

Grilled Artichokes with Roasted Striped Beets

Crunchy Jicama and Beet Salad

Savory Yogurt and Beets – recipe below

Beet Salad with Yogurt

Try and mix your colors, they make a beautiful dish!

Famer's Market Rainbow Beets

Best in Health,

 

 

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What Do I Make with Blood Oranges?

by Mary Papoulias-Platis

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After visiting the Mellano’s Farm Stand last week, I picked up a bag of colorful blood oranges after visiting
The Juicing Gents. I tried the blood orange juice and it was bright and delicious. One citrus I look forward to cooking with are these limited oranges. There are many varieties of blood oranges. The oranges at the market was the “Moro” orange. A deep veined red and white interior that is just beautiful. It also produces a radiant red juice! Blood Oranges are unique because of their color. They are not commonly found in the supermarkets. Blood Orange Trees are available to plant in your garden. These pictured are the Moro orange, which have the deepest color red. The Pearson Ranch has more information available on these unique oranges.

Blood Oranges from at Mellano Market.

Here are a few of my Blood Orange Recipes on my Blog

Blood Orange Ice Cream in Phyllo Cups

Blood Orange Phyllo Cups

Blood Orange Sweet Potatoes

Orange Panna Cotta with Orange Compote

Few more…

Mixed Greens and Blood Oranges

Roasted Cauliflower with Blood Orange Olive Oil

 

Look for their booth while visiting your market!

The Juicing Gents

While you are nearby pick up my favorite lemon – The Meyer!

Blood Oranges with lemons.

The Mellano Family!

Look for these incredible Mellano Family members and say hello!

Love my farmer’s markets!

 

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Ethos Culinary Year in 2024

by Mary Papoulias-Platis

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This year at Ethos Culinary Year in 2024, was full of wonderful happenings and events including many collaborations with local companies and farmers. My goal was to engage the community with cooking classes and culinary events unique to our community here in San Diego. I was excited to work with new clients in bringing them successful team-building parties. The demands of each and every company I worked with was a challenge and it help grow my business. I’m very thankful for their support. You can find us on Instagram at Ethos Culinary. 

One of many Cooking Classes at Ethos

Ethos students dinner event.

Our Greek Wine Tasting Event

I developed a Harvest Market that became so successful, I now have them on a regular basis every other month. My theme was to bring in local creative minds such as artists and local farmer’s market owners sharing their products and skills.

Ethos Market House

Mary and her local honey.

Ela Olive Oil

Along with the activities this year, I presented my community with hands-on classes, that then became my fondest memories in my kitchen. The laughter alone that the students experienced during cooking their dishes, was worth the many hours of prep in making the classes successful.

Hands on Greek Cooking

Ethos Hands on Cooking

A hands-on Greek cooking class at Ethos

And lastly, the one day Pop-Up events couldn’t have been more enjoyable by all who attended.  A few hours of visiting and a hands- on experience, using a cooking technique was all that was needed. Meeting new friends was met by all.

An Ethos Pop-up

A class in salted basil

 

I’m so thankful to all my students, companies and farmers for their support in making my year complete!

You can find our website at ethosculinary.com

Or email me at ethosculinary@gmail.com

 

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Christmas Market Invite

by Mary Papoulias-Platis

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The holidays are a busy time with family and home, but also a time to bring friends together to celebrate the holidays for a day. You are invited to attend my Christmas Market in December at Ethos Culinary.

In the past, I enjoyed for years attending a local community event, that stands out for me as my favorite. It was located in a model home with a collection of foods and gifts by talented ladies from our community. I attended this special day for several years and bought incredible eats and gifts. I decided when I opened our culinary school to try and duplicate that same feeling of excitement.

This is not my first Market House event. We had several events that have drawn a large crowd. The events are free with a small lunch included as you shop and visit with our special guests. This month’s Christmas Market is all about the season with food gifts, tastings, and many holiday ideas to take home and create.

A few of my favorite local products we sell are:

Ela Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Local Honey from the Milkovich Family

Local Preserves and Jams from Stephanie Sibley

Here are a few photos of our past events:

Wonderful local foods to take home and enjoy!

We love to support local and California companies!

Swing by Ethos for the Christmas Market.

Here are are special friends helping out to serve and help our guests with their purchases.

Table tasting at Ethos Culinary.

One of our many stations of food samples and fresh delights to try. So, I hope you join us for our holiday Christmas Market in December.

Drop a message below to let me know you are coming!

See you there!

 

 

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Greek Wine Tasting At Ethos Culinary

by Mary Papoulias-Platis

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Greek Wine Tasting has always been on my mind to teach at Ethos, from the day I opened. I wasn’t quite ready until I added it as an auction item for a non-profit we support. This pushed me in the direction needed, to dive in and start learning all about Greek wines.

I called my support team and Jade Thacker my wine expert, stepped forward to assist me.  She presented the wines at our first event, and I cooked all the appetizers to match. In fact, I was so inspired to dig in, we produced a terrific event. My biggest take-a away, was to ask for help, and be willing to trust a partner to learn from. If are  interested in a private wine tasting with your group please email me at ethosculinary@gmail.com

Here are a few pictures from the evening. And a big thank you to Jade Thacker from Alluvial Wines.

 

Setting up out classes for our Greek wine tasting. Dinner is provided afterwards.

Jade sharing her favorite tip sand information about her wines.

One of our pairings was enjoyed by all! Greek Roasted Vegetables.

Asking questions is my favorite part of the classes, as we take questions from our guests.

Grilling up Lamb Ribs for dinner guests.

Going over the dinner entrees that are soon to be served.

A buffet of Greek specialties and our favorite Greek salad.

Our guests enjoying time with one another as they enjoy our Greek dinner and wines.

Our events are all custom for your group or company in mind. We teach hands-on classes, as well as presentations such as this event. Contact Chef Mary Papoulias -Platis for private parties and team-building at ethosculinary@gmail.com. Or visit our website at ethosculinary.com to see our location and facilities.

See You Soon,

 

 

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Basil Pop-Up Event at Ethos Culinary

by Mary Papoulias-Platis

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Our Basil Pop-Up all started from a phone call from my farmer Joseph from D’Acquisto Farms.  He calls when he has special fruits or vegetables I might be interested in, such as his fresh basil this week. I grabbed a box and started planning a pop-up using basil as a theme to my recipes. It’s not that often you can get such a large amount of freshly picked basil from your local farmer. It was a challenge for me to decide how to use this herb, my head was spinning with so many recipes that I could use. But, I kept is simple so everyone could take home their samples. So I decided on basil baking salt with baked potatoes, basil vinaigrette with fresh tomatoes. The event was successful and quite fun as we sat down for a nice melon feta basil salad and basil lemonade. And a take home bag of fresh basil to boot!

I picked up an entire case and I’m happy I did, we had a large group.

Baked salt and fresh basil is a great addition to any roasted vegetable. We used small white and red potatoes.

Everyone grabbed an apron and we got to work with our recipes.

A delicious and refreshing basil lemonade for all!

I just love seeing my interested group and my repeating customers. It’s a great way to exchange ideas and have a few moments to visit with friends.

They enjoyed the tomatoes and were gobbled up before I could take a picture of the basil vinaigrette I dressed them with.

We always take time to relax and enjoy a day together. It was a perfect excuse for a Basil Pop-Up event.

 

Eat Well!

 

 

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Greek Tomato Fritters

by Mary Papoulias-Platis

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Being a avid gardener and being Greek go hand in hand with our summer cooking! Why? Because everything is around the tomato! We actually wait until summer for the perfect summer dish. A few of my favorite dishes are,  Greek Tomato Fritters, Greek Feta  Salad, and our Tomato Egg Scramble for breakfast. They can be made and  served with other small bites called “Meze”, traditional Greek family favorites. It’s as simple as this, garden tomatoes have a deep rich flavor to enhance the notes in your dish, but of course supermarket tomatoes can be used. When shopping for tomatoes look for heirloom, or organic locally grown varieties, such as the plum tomatoes with a thick flesh.

My garden tomatoes from my home.

Besides Greek Tomato Fritters, one other dish we enjoy is the zucchini fritter. A summer favorite of ours as they both give us an abundant of produce from our summer garden. Zucchini is a staple in our diet. It can also be stuffed for a main dish or served also as a fritter.

Feta Zucchini Patties

 

This recipe comes from The Foods of Greece, by author Aglaia Kremezi. An Athens born cookbook writer and photographer. She has taught in culinary institutions and featured in many publications here in America.

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Greek Tomato Fritters

This is one of my favorite summer dishes to whip up with a cool Greek yogurt tzatziki sauce. This can be served alone as an appetizer or side dish, or with BBQ Lamb Ribs, Greek Chicken or Lemony Pork Chops. This is meant to be a summer dish that can be served with several other Greek "Meze" on a hot summer day.

Course Appetizer/Side Dish
Cuisine Greek
Keyword CaliforniaGreek, fritters, summer, tomatoes

Ingredients

  • 2 -2½ cups seeded and diced tomatoes (about 3-4), drained. I prefer a plum tomato with more flesh.
  • 1 cup finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes
  • 1 cup finely chopped parsley
  • 3/4 cup finely chopped scallions
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 ½ cups all purpose flour (1 cup for fritters) 1/2 if more is needed.
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • extra virgin olive oil for frying
  • 3/4 cups chopped onions
  • 1 garlic clove - minced
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl add the fresh tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, parsley, scallions, mint and oregano. Stir until combined.

  2. Add 1 cup flour with the baking soda. Stir gently into the batter. Add a little more flour if necessary for a thickened batter.

  3. In a large skillet heat the olive oil on medium heat, add the onions and garlic and saute until softened. Let cool slightly. Add to the tomato batter and stir together.

  4. Place the cleaned skillet on medium heat, and add new olive oil. Form patties with your hands, and place in the oil to fry 2-3 minutes until golden on both sides and cooked thoroughly.

  5. Remove and place on paper towel lined plate.

  6. Cool and serve with Greek Yogurt Tzatziti. My recipe for sauce can be found on my blog.

Happy Summer Days!

 

More recipes to Enjoy!

Heirloom Tomato Salad with Potatoes and Olives

Tomatoes Al Greco

Fresh Tomato Risotto

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Ethos Market House, Sunday August 11th

by Mary Papoulias-Platis

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We are back with another Ethos Market House! We took a small break as family settled here at the house, for their summer vacation. We were busy everyday, from the beach to the zoo, and sometimes just at home visiting with friends.

This month’s focus at Ethos Market House is on tomatoes! Hopefully, many of you grow them in your boxes, garden or pots. They are everyone’s favorite summer vegetable. As always, I will be presenting you with Special Guests, you can learn from and enjoy their company while shopping. Tasty organic bites will also be presented for all to enjoy, including berries, melons, and a pickling demo!

Pickling is a great way to preserve your berries! Drop by and see our demo and grab a recipe to take home! Add them to your salads, drinks or summer cold desserts.

Basil is easily grown in a pot or in garden boxes.

Preserving Herbs has always been a struggle with my garden , but here are a few tips. Swing by Ethos Market House for a fresh basil bite!

  • Freeze pesto! Chop fresh herbs in a food processor. Gradually add olive oil to form a sauce or thicker pesto. Spoon onto an ice cube tray and freeze. Remove once frozen and place in a freezer bag for storing. Add cubes to soups, pasta, and vegetable dishes.
  • Separate and spread leaves (sage, basil, or other herbs) on a baking sheet. Set the tray in the freezer. When the leaves are frozen, place them in an airtight container and return to freezer.

 

For more information on our Ethos Culinary Events, drop me a note below with your email, or head on over to our website at ethosculinary.com and send me a message!

You can also find us on Facebook, and IG.

Don’t come alone and bring a friend or two!

See you on Sunday, 

 

 

 

 

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