Greek Spinach Spanakopita Cups + Feta Tomato Salad + Greek ... · shopping list 4 tsp crumbled feta...

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Greek Spinach Spanakopita Cups + Feta Tomato Salad + Greek Honey Smoothies

greek spanakopita cups ��Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. Have kids squeeze 5 ounces frozen spinach, thawed then squeezed dry (Spinach: σπανάκι - spanáki in Greek). Have your kids squeeze out as much of the moisture as possible. Discard the liquid Add the squeezed spinach to a big bowl. Set to the side.

��Have kids chop 2 tablespoon of fresh parsley. Chop 1 green onion. Chop 1 clove of garlic. Set these all to the side. Sauté the onion and garlic in 1 teaspoon of olive oil in your non-skillet on medium high heat for 2-3 min or until soft.

� ��Ask your kids to crack and mix 1 egg (Eggs are pronounced: av- ga in Greek) into the bowl with the squeezed spinach. 4 ounces of crumbled feta cheese, ½ tsp of dried dill, a pinch ground nutmeg, a pinch of pepper and a pinch of brown sugar (or a drizzle of honey) to the squeezed spinach. Add the chopped parsley, the onion, the garlic and 1 tablespoon of olive oil from the skillet to the bowl and have the kids mix well. Count in Greek until well combined!

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��With 12-20 wonton wrappers fill the wonton wrappers with the spinach mixture... about 1-2 teaspoons of filling for each wrapper. Your children can seal the edges with a little water and pinch the edges. OR your kids can make open cups with the spinach in the middle (see below). Add some oil into your muffin tin and bake the Spanakopita cups in your oven for 10-15 minutes until the spinach is set and the crust is crispy. Serve with the smoothies and tomato feta salad. I'm hungry: Pee-nao! Delicious: Nóstima!

DID YOU KNOW? Plate smashing, a traditional Greek folk custom involving the smashing of plates or glasses during celebratory occasions. �Breaking plates is related to the ancient practice of conspicuous consumption, a display of one's wealth, as plates or glasses are thrown into a fireplace following a banquet instead of being washed and reused.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • tomato feta salad ��WE LIKE TO START WITH THE SALAD – It tastes best when it sits and marinates with the dressing for 15-30 min. Have your kids wash and dry a handful of cherry tomatoes (about 1 C). Have kids slice the tomatoes up!

��Throw in 1 small/medium garlic clove, 1 cup canned garbanzo or cannellini (white) beans, rinsed + drained, 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, ½ tsp of Salt + black pepper and a few pinches of your personal Mitmita spice blend to the cauliflower/bean mixture in your blender. Don’t forget the lid! Process the dip in your blender until smooth.� Have your kids count to 10 in Amharic a few times! Scrape the sides down as needed.

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In a large bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or vinegar, 1 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon honey or Brown Sugar, ½ tsp Salt and ½ tsp of dried dill. Add the tomatoes and toss to combine. Allow the salad to sit for at least 30 minutes before serving so that flavors meld. Sprinkle with ¼ cup of crumbled feta. YUM and ENJOY!

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • greek yogurt honey smoothie �� Have kids carefully stir in 8 tablespoons honey into 2 C very hot water to melt the honey and ask your kids to stir the water very well – Add the 2 C club soda, 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice and a teeny tiny pinch of your Mitmita spice blend. Stir the water together and serve in tall glasses over ice.

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shopping list

4 tsp crumbled feta cheese ½ tsp dried dill pinch nutmeg

12-20 wonton wrappers 1 T extra virgin olive oil 1 green onion1 garlic clove 2 T fresh parsley 5 oz frozen spinach

½ tsp dried dill ¼ C Feta Cheese

Tomato Feta Salad1 C cherry tomatoes (about a handful) 1 T fresh lemon juice 1 T olive oil 1 T honey or brown sugar

1 C Greek yogurt 2 ripe Bananas

Greek Spanakopita Cups

Greek Yogurt Honey Smoothie2 C ice 4 T honey, brown sugar, or 4 stevia packets




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pinch of pepper pinch of brown sugar 1 egg

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ARABIC Numbers GREEK Letters PHONETIC Pronunciation0 Μηδέν (mee-then)1 Ένα (ena)2 Δύο (thee-o)3 Τρία (trree-a)4 Τέσσερα (tess-eh-ra)5 Πέντε (pen-dae)6 Έξι (ex-ee)7 επτά (ef-ta)8 οκτώ (oct-o)9 εννέα (en-ney-ah)

10 Δέκα (theh-ka)

Let's Learn Greek Numbers from Zero to Ten!The�Greek language�is believed to be one of the oldest European languages, which has an oral tradition of 4000 years and a written tradition of approximately 3000 years. Here, they are written in Arabic numerals, Greek letters, and the approximate English pronunciation. Learn them while chopping and grating:

ENGLISH: How to Say in GREEK:

Eggs Av- ga in

Carrots Ka-ro-ta

Delicious Nós-tim-a

I'm hungry Pee-nao

Please PA-Ra-Ka-Lo

Thank You Ef-hari-sto

Water Ne-rho

Hello Ya-sou

Good Bye Ya-sou

Good Morning Kali-Mera

Why? Ya-ti?

Yes Neh!

Now Let's Learn Some Greek Phrases + Words!• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •




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fun facts:

� March 26th is National Spinach Day. � Spinach is a native plant of Persia (modern day Iran) spinach was being grown in Spain during the 8th

century, and the Spaniards are the ones who eventually brought it to the United States. � Spinach is a member of the goose-foot family, making it a close relation to beets and chard.

� Just half a cup of raw spinach counts as 1 of the 5 servings of fruits and vegetables you should eat a day.

� In the 1930’s U.S. spinach growers credited Popeye with a 33% increase in domestic spinach consumption.

� The spinach-growing town of Crystal City, Texas, erected a statue of Popeye in 1937.

� Medieval artists extracted green pigment from spinach to use as an ink or paint. � China is the world’s largest spinach producer with 85% of global production.

� Spinach is best eaten fresh. It loses nutritional properties with each passing day.

� California produces 74% of the fresh spinach grown in the United States.

� In 1870, Dr. E von Wolf measured the iron content of spinach, but placed the decimal point in the wrong

position. This overstated the iron content of spinach ten-fold. The mistake was not discovered until 67 years

later, by German chemists.

� The myth of the high iron content of spinach is still being wrongfully yet widely circulated today.

� Popeye's addiction to this "power-packed" vegetable comes from the fact that it has some iron as well as a

good dose of vitamins A & C � Spinach has dark green leaves that, depending on the variety, may be either curled or smooth. � Fresh spinach is available year-round. � Choose leaves that are crisp and dark green with a nice fresh fragrance. � Avoid those that are limp, damaged or which have yellow spots.

� Refrigerate in a plastic bag for up to 3 days.

� Spinach, which is usually very gritty because it is grown in sand, must be thoroughly rinsed. � “Florentine” is a common part of names of recipes where spinach is a significant ingredient. Florence, Italy

was the hometown of Catherine de Medici, a lover of spinach, who married the King of France in the 16th

century.

The surprise ingredient of the week is: Spinach!

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A SPINACH Rhyme Spinach makes memorizing math facts a breeze,B vitamins bring oxygen to the brain; helping it breathe. Antioxidants prevent brain cell death by the hour,more brain cells EQUALS more spelling power.� Folic acid has the brain instruct your face to smilewhile you put facts + figures in your huge brain file.� The iron in spinach will fuel you with energy,run, swing, climb, slide and be done without lethargy.� Eat the spinach sitting there on your snack trayyou’ll grow a big brain the Sticky Fingers Cooking way!

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Here’s why you want your kid’s brain to be nourished by spinach: � B Vitamins bring oxygen to the brain, protects neurons from toxins.

� Antioxidants prevent brain cell death, more brain cells = more brain power.

� Improves memory by making the brain breath.

� High iron amounts contribute to energy production � Folic Acid – reverses memory loss and makes you happy. (The study citing this actually says it

alleviates depression, but since young kids don’t have a grasp of what “depression” is, I oversimplified

by saying spinach makes you happy.)

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• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • fun facts:

Finding a great meal in ancient Greece would have been very easy. They ate a variety of delicious dishes,

some of which are still around today. Most Greeks were farmers and they ate the food that they grew. Since Greece had a mild climate, they were able to grow many different fruits and vegetables as long as

they got enough rain.

Vegetables were a huge part of the Greek diet. Most Greeks ate a diet that was almost vegetarian. Among the most common vegetables and plants eaten by Greeks were asparagus, fennel, cucumbers, chickpeas, and celery.� They also gathered and boiled dandelions to eat.� The bulbs of certain plants,

such as iris, were also edible. They even ate stinging nettles! Fruits and nuts were also a large part of the

Greek diet. Apples, pears, cherries and mulberries grew wild and were available throughout Greece.

Damsons, a fruit related to plums, were also a favorite of the Greeks.





fun facts:

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Perhaps the most important food to the ancient (and modern) Greeks was the olive. It was not simply a food. It was also a big part of Greek history. Greeks believed that the goddess Athena gave the first olive tree to Athens before it eventually spread to the rest of Greece. Olives were used in many recipes. Olives were also crushed and their oil was used for lamps.� Olive oil could also be used as a beauty product. Women rubbed into their skin to make it soft and shiny.

Honey was another important Greek food. It was used much like we use sugar, as a sweetener in many different foods. It could also be used as a medicine.� Greeks were fond of honey because they believed that Zeus was fed milk and honey as a baby. For them, honey was almost magical. Many families kept beehives and took good care of their bees!

Ancient Greeks didn’t eat much meat.� But since Greece is surrounded by water, fish were easy to get. Many varieties were available in the markets.� Many Greeks thought of eating meat as something that barbarians did. The Greeks believed they were more civilized than that. As a result, they hardly ate meat at all.

The way that Greeks ate was also important. Having a meal was not only about eating food. It was also a chance to talk and enjoy the company of family and friends. A Greek meal was an event! This is still the case in modern-day Greece, where dinner with friends and family may last for hours!

Plate smashing, a traditional Greek folk custom involving the smashing of plates or glasses during celebratory occasions. �Breaking plates is�related to the ancient practice of conspicuous consumption, a display of one's wealth, as plates or glasses are thrown into a fireplace following a banquet instead of being washed and reused.

The ancient Greeks simply made use of the foods that were available. But we now know that the Greek diet was (and still is) very healthy. The Greeks may have found the key to living longer! But if it’s all the same to you, I’ll skip the stinging nettles!

JOKES:Where did Caesar keep his armies? Up his sleevies.Why isn't sun tanning an Olympic sport? Because the best you can get is bronze.Which Greek leader was the best of the bunch? Alexander the Grape.What's the capital of Greece? G. What was the most popular film in Ancient Greece? Troy Story


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Spanakopita History

We all know the word pita. As in pita bread. Well in Greek pita means pie. Who knew?! Spanakopita (Pronunciation: span-uh-KO-pee-tah) is a traditional Greek savory pastry. It is made with�phyllo�dough and cut in triangles, and the interior may be filled with cooked�spinach�and onions. For a heartier version of spanakopita,�feta�cheese may also be added. This tasty dish may have originated over 400 years ago, and may have been introduced during the Turkish occupation of Greece. A Turkish dish,�ispanaki, is almost identical in presentation, though it sometimes has�scallions�added. Spanakopita is better known as a�Greek food, however, and one will find it served in most Greek restaurants outside of Greece, as well as in virtually all restaurants in Greece. Chefs and food historians credit Epirus, Greece with the most delicious spanakopita in the world. Spanakopita is now a popular appetizer around the world. The triangular pastry can be made small, or in our Sticky Fingers Cooking classes as a ‘cupcake’ and it is to be served lukewarm, as is traditional in Greek cooking. One can purchase previously prepared spanakopita, ready for baking, to serve as appetizers or finger foods… But it is much more fun to make spanakopita yourself!!

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Greek Spinach Spanakopita Cups + Feta Tomato Salad + Greek ... · shopping list 4 tsp crumbled feta...

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