Author: Mark

We are learning about Greece ( Daddy says why didn’t we work on the car?).  We made Greek soup.  It is on Andrea’s blog.

We made Baklava because it is a Greek desert and Momma (and Andrea and I and…) like it.

Baklava

• (16 ounce) package phyllo dough
• 1 pound chopped nuts, we used walnuts.
• 1 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup honey

1. It seemed like a LOT for 7 people, so half way through we decided to half this recipe. We still made a 9 x 13 inch pan, but made it thinner. We used most of the nuts though 🙂 Next time we will use a square pan. ( Or I would invite some friends over.)
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9×13 inch pan.
3. Chop walnuts and stir in cinnamon. Set aside.
4. To keep phyllo dough from drying out, keep it wrapped once you take it out of the package. Cut to fit pan if needed. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter lightly, you don’t want to soak it, but just cover it. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered.  Don’t bother making the sheets smooth, the more crinkles the better.
5. Sprinkle 2 – 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Add two sheets of dough, butter them, add more nuts, and continue until  phyllo dough is almost gone. Make top layer about 6 – 8 sheets deep.
6. Cut into diamond or square shapes most of the way to the bottom of the pan. Bake for 50 minutes until lightly brown and crisp.
7. Start boiling sugar and water  20 minutes after Baklava is in oven. Boil until sugar is melted, then stir in vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
8. Remove Baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool before devouring.  Do NOT cover until completely cool or it might get soggy. Yuck! OR don’t bother saving any, just EAT IT ALL!!!!!!!!

We made Australian Bacon and Egg pie yesterday. It is good! They eat it for lunch or dinner.

We made it because we are learning about Australia in geography this month. If you make it, it is more like a sandwich then a pie, because it is not sweet. You can eat it with forks, but we used our fingers to finish it for lunch today.

I think it would have tasted better with some more spices.

If any one knows any good Australian recipes please let me know! Andrea made some cookies, and will have it on her blog soon! Check it out 🙂 Megan said they were YUMMY!

• 2 sheets puff pastry (one package)
• 1 onion, diced
• 1/2 pound bacon, cooked and drained
• ¾ cup cheddar cheese
• 1 tomato cubed
• 6 – 8 eggs
• Pepper to taste
• Optional: Add favorite “omelet” ingredients if desired, delete others you don’t like.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a pie pan and line with one sheet of puff pastry. Don’t forget like we did, it might stick 🙂

Place onion and bacon over pastry, add tomatoes and cheese. Crack whole eggs over, keeping yolk intact if possible. Season with pepper (already salty enough with bacon and cheese!)

Cover with remaining sheet of pastry, trim edges. Cook in pre-heated oven for 40 – 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Cut the trimmings into strips and bake till golden brown. They would be good with cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top.

Serve with a large salad.