Thursday, August 7th 2008
Dozens of Summer-Parties
…and it happens again: I got an invitation to a summer-afternoon- party accompanied by the well known request to contribute something to the cake buffet.
Slowly the repetition of these procedures are growing to some kind of nightmares for me. Even in my dreams now rotates a new kind of a merry-go-round existing out of cook books, summer-parties, recipes and again summer-parties. Constantly I have to think about what kind of food stuff I can take along with me to the different summer invitations of the Karate-club, the football club the summer-party of the kindergarten or the school and... and... and....
I also remember quite well the challenge to prepare and organize a breakfast in my son´s school together with only one out of the many other mothers.
I have to study recipes, select the right one´s and prepare the food and all that always with the same ending, to clean up the mess of the battle field “kitchen”.
But back to the “cake-party”. I know what that means. A lot of cakes on the tables and of course a lot of guests who do not like sweets. In spite of the party-motto I decided this time to skip my first idea and prepare something real: Greek Spinach and Feta Puff Pastry Bites. But before that I had to go at first shopping to get the ingredients, pick up my son from the school, book the seats for the holiday program for my children which our village offered this year for their youngest citizens and last but not least to prepare the Greek Spinach and Feta Puff Pastry Bites. A well calculated time schedule was more than essential to manage all that in the remaining time.
When I reached the booking office I was panic stricken seeing the long queue of parents who wanted to sign for the same holiday program, too. It took me one and a half hour of my valuable time till I could make the booking. In the meantime I called a friend of mine to organize a packet of puff pastry which I had forgotten to buy.
Stressed and exhausted I reached my home. I changed the clothing of my son and accompanied him to his Karate lesson. Again at home I could finally start with the cooking. There were only 45 minutes left.
I felt very hot and it was hot, 30 degrees centigrade and I thought I would collapse - thank God, it was only a feeling.
Step by step and well organized I prepared everything and when the creation rested in the oven I had 28 minutes left. 25 minutes took the baking and the remaining 3 minutes were reserved for cutting the ready product, arranging everything and carrying it to the place of destination - just over the road.
And it worked out. Just in time I could add my latest product to the cake-table. And I was right: it took only 15 minutes till the guests eliminated my creation born by stress.
The ingredients:
2 |
packet |
puff pastry |
400 |
g |
spinach leaves (frozen) |
300 |
g |
feta cheese |
100 |
g |
rice |
3 |
clove of |
garlic |
2 |
|
onions |
2 |
|
eggs |
1 |
pinch |
salt |
1 |
pinch |
pepper |
1 |
pinch |
ground nutmeg |
1 |
tsp |
olive oil |
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 180°C.
- Cook the spinach according to the instructions on the packet.
- Cook the rice according to the instructions on the packet. Then let it drain.
- Peal onions and garlic, hash it and sweat it in a pan.
- Add the spinach and season it with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Then let the mixture cool down.
- Crumble feta cheese and mix it with the spinach. Then add one egg and rice and mix it again.
- Put some baking parchment on the baking tray and roll the puff pastry out.
- Spread mixture on the puff pastry and spare a 1 cm-edge.
- Beat the remaining egg and brush the edge with egg mixture.
- Put the second puff pastry on the mixture. Use a fork to seal the edges. Then brush the top with the remaining egg mixture.
- Bake about 25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Cut into quarters and place it on a plate.
- Serve warm or room temperatured.
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