It took me three weeks to get around to making this, but I did, and it was a hit, and I will never go back to how I was making spanakopita before. Plus it looks great and is such a no-brainer way to get the layers of filo without most of the fuss. I'd also always only used feta, so the goat cheese/feta combination was a revelation. I did add a bit of sun-dried tomato and also some of a local sweet/smoky pepper chopped and fried along with the onion. Efharisto poli!
Missed this yesterday, and I'm sorry, because it looks so good.
I don't cook anymore, but you did make me hungry for spanakopita, and I think when my son visits next weekend, I'm going to ask him to stop and get me some from his favorite Greek place.
i make a mean spanikopita if i do say so myself, as well as grape leaves and moussaka. i think i was supposed to have been born in greece. thanks for the insights, cakes!
It's the office / den she's complaining about, which is a semi-open floor plan off the main entrance. And which will be the TV den, and *NOT* some disused fancy room my mother seized and decorated in a way that I hate instead of paying her half of the utility bills.
Here's the deal: I paid for more of this house than she did, and I am making a large number of concessions so that I can help her, because she is elderly and disabled. These include giving her the entire master suite and huge walk-in and fancy large bathroom, because it is already outfitted for disabled persons and has a walk-in shower and grab bars and such. This also includes "cooperating" on the great room / living room (meaning she wants to put her living room furniture there and not mine) and on the dining room (which I'd rather convert into something other than a dining room, which we won't use, but she wants an unused dining room so fine.)
I am taking the two smaller bedrooms and the den for myself, which is damned near the equivalent of me having my current tiny space, because I BOUGHT THE FUCKING HOUSE AND I LIVE THERE TOO.
Another concession is that my mother is not a witch, and I am very very much a witch, and like most of my ilk I ordinarily have shrines and altars everywhere. Instead, one of those two bedrooms will be a "ritual room" wherein said altars and shrines will, for the most part, go. This is another BIG concession.
My living room is going in the front den. Because that is the only fucking place to put it. This will be a high-use casual room and NOT some fucking disused formal room.
I didn't buy all this space to not live in it and use it. She can put on her big girl pants and deal. I'm not her fucking sugar daddy.
If there is one thing I'm pretty sure I will not live to see, it is gluten-free filo dough. I really miss spanakopita and baklava. They are more likely to find a treatment or cure for gluten intolerance than they are to figure out how to make gluten free filo dough. Thanks for the recipe, Cakes. If I'm lucky, there will be a treatment before I die and I will try it.
I'll tell you what I really miss. Rye bread, especially Black Russian rye bread. There is no gluten free version. I crave a Reuben sandwich like crazy. Yes I tried it with gluten free bread, and it doesn't work...the bread literally falls apart as you are frying or grilling it because it has no "glue", and also it doesn't taste right at all.
I have seen gluten-free spring roll wraps somewhere, but I would never make my own rolls, because it involves too much chopping of ingredients. I used to love complicated recipes and time-consuming preparations did not used to bother me, but no longer.
I tried every gluten free brand of pasta, and they were all terrible (very bitter!) except for Ronzoni brand. It tastes 95% like real pasta, but is, of course, slightly more fragile and tends to break easily. Unfortunately they only offer spaghetti, thin spaghetti, penne, fusilli and elbow macaroni. There are like 300+ types of pasta in Italy, but I can only get those 5 kinds. Barilla does sell a lasagna that is Not Bad, but the noodles are half the size of regular lasagna, so you need twice as many, and it gets expensive, and the noodles don't have those curly edges that lasagna is supposed to have, but it's better than nothing. I make a killer lasagna.
Schaar makes a very decent bagel and baguette. Glutino makes quite edible English Muffins, which don't taste or look at all like real English Muffins, but they are actually quite tasty, and they toast well, which is unusual for gluten free bread.
This looks like fun! Time to hunt down the seeds; can't say I've ever come across either in my many culinary adventures over the last 47 years (can't believe it's been so long since that first time I made a meal - Chicken Veronique, Onions Stuffed with Mushrooms and Sweet Italian Sausage, and Carrots a la Orange - all from my first issue of Bon Appetit).
Friday I had two frustrating conversations with my team mates at work. I know I'm weird, and it's their choices, but....?
The first involved a friend who knows my family has vacationed in the Great Smoky Mountains for decades. Her daughter and in laws are going down there next week and was asking me about a bunch of the places they were going. I couldn't help her much beyond urging her to suggest they spend at least part of a day in the completely free National Park rather than hitting every tourist trap, celebrity restaurant, and outlet mall in the area. It's their vacation, they can do what they want, and I know my friend thinks my preferred vacation down there spent in the Park, or going through local artists' studios, or local wineries and distilleries sounds boring. Their itinerary sounds like torture to me. I do hope they have fun, but why go that far and skip all this?
The second involved me mentioning I hope my fucking militia neighbors only celebrate with fireworks, not guns. To have the two people I was talking to say they and their husbands have become gun owners, due to the rising crime and army of migrants taking over the country. Five minutes of attempts to debunk later, found out they bought the guns, did the bare ass minimum to get the license needed, and basically have no idea how they work beyond "point and pull". I'm all for responsible gun ownership, but they both are working under the idea from the movies that if they are in a situation where they need to save their lives, they will magically be able to focus, shoot, and hit their target, thus saving the day. And, yes, they have come up with lots of fantasy situations where they will save the day with their guns, which they have left in the case since buying them post Jan. 20. I can only hope they stay in their cases.
Outside of one couple taking a one hour safety course, no.
I am not a gun owner, but I know responsible gun owners who routinely go to a range to practice, and practice safe storage. My first comment was " don't you think you should practice....?!?!? " Nope, why bother when the movies have taught them adrenaline will take over and the good guys win. The chances of disaster for them if any of them actually pull out their guns is very high.
When Simba was a babby he was a therapy cat for a class of abused/disadvantaged girls being taught by my ex. The class came up with his name. Simba was raised from a few weeks old by me and Alice. I bottle fed and cared for him on weekdays and Allis took care of him on weekends. Simba was originally intended to be Alice's kitteh. However, it became obvious that he bonded with me so Alice let me keep him.
That sounds like my Lucy. I got her as a foster kitten at age 4 weeks, with her two brothers. She terrorized both her brothers, but she adored me, and would sleep on my shoulder while nuzzling my ear. I just had to keep her, and she is very loving, but she bites a lot. I have scars all over both arms. I named her after the Lucy character in the cartoon strip "Peanuts", and called her brothers Charlie Brown (the plump orange kitten) and Linus (the skinny, nervous orange kitten) because she constantly terrorized them both, although they didn't seem to mind and they all slept together in one big heap.
Ouch! A vet told me that Simba is very protective of me. He growls at people coming by to deliver things and whatnot. He can still get so excited that he'll claw and bite me in front of guests. He is so weird. Not suitable for children which is so weird given his brief career as a therapy kitten. However, I suspect if I had kids around all the time he would mellow out.
Lucy is 15 now and mellowing. She now comes out from under the bed when I have visitors, and will actually approach them and let them pet her. Once she actually jumped onto the lap of a friend who was sitting in MY chair, but I think it was a mistake on her part. She looked really surprised when she realized it wasn't ME sitting in the chair, but she did let the guest pet her before jumping down.
I've had a great weekend playing music and kayaking, it's my birthday tomorrow so I'm going to take a mental health brake from media fir a week. Catch y'all on the flip side, be excellent to each other!
So I’ve been back in my Necky kayak, I really love the way it handles and have been practicing my deep water re-entry. I should get a skirt for it too. Back to my old standby, Green River Reservoir, in all of her splendor, along with Lake Eden. I’ll take the boat to NH this weekend and hope to go into Great Bay. It should handle fine out there, though open ocean it is probably only good for calm days.
Good to hear from you! I tend to do all flat water. I always wanted to do the tidal estuaries, like oyster river in that area. I think I stayed on Piscataway once too and tides weren't right. I did paddle the lamprey near Newcastle iirc.
I havent done too much so far this year except local trips to the pond. I was actually thinking just today that I need to get out my paddling NY books and find a spot for a weekend. My favorite is a windy river I can paddle both ways in.
For tomorrow: Happy birthday. May your next trip around the sun bless you with love, health, peace, grace, abundance, prosperity, integrity, longevity, laughter, tears, friendship, courage, compassion, creativity, community, and joy. 🌺
It took me three weeks to get around to making this, but I did, and it was a hit, and I will never go back to how I was making spanakopita before. Plus it looks great and is such a no-brainer way to get the layers of filo without most of the fuss. I'd also always only used feta, so the goat cheese/feta combination was a revelation. I did add a bit of sun-dried tomato and also some of a local sweet/smoky pepper chopped and fried along with the onion. Efharisto poli!
Missed this yesterday, and I'm sorry, because it looks so good.
I don't cook anymore, but you did make me hungry for spanakopita, and I think when my son visits next weekend, I'm going to ask him to stop and get me some from his favorite Greek place.
Thank you for this!
i make a mean spanikopita if i do say so myself, as well as grape leaves and moussaka. i think i was supposed to have been born in greece. thanks for the insights, cakes!
i am reading this on world chocolate day
holy crap, and i don't have any! emergency--drag the chocolate chips out of the freezer!
Mom: That front room needs to have fancy decorating and look nice!
Me: Well it's not going to, because my possessions have to go somewhere and most of our furniture is crap 😂
I think I read someplace that an entry needs 3 things: a table, a bowl (tray), and a light. The rest seems like embellishment.
It's the office / den she's complaining about, which is a semi-open floor plan off the main entrance. And which will be the TV den, and *NOT* some disused fancy room my mother seized and decorated in a way that I hate instead of paying her half of the utility bills.
Here's the deal: I paid for more of this house than she did, and I am making a large number of concessions so that I can help her, because she is elderly and disabled. These include giving her the entire master suite and huge walk-in and fancy large bathroom, because it is already outfitted for disabled persons and has a walk-in shower and grab bars and such. This also includes "cooperating" on the great room / living room (meaning she wants to put her living room furniture there and not mine) and on the dining room (which I'd rather convert into something other than a dining room, which we won't use, but she wants an unused dining room so fine.)
I am taking the two smaller bedrooms and the den for myself, which is damned near the equivalent of me having my current tiny space, because I BOUGHT THE FUCKING HOUSE AND I LIVE THERE TOO.
Another concession is that my mother is not a witch, and I am very very much a witch, and like most of my ilk I ordinarily have shrines and altars everywhere. Instead, one of those two bedrooms will be a "ritual room" wherein said altars and shrines will, for the most part, go. This is another BIG concession.
My living room is going in the front den. Because that is the only fucking place to put it. This will be a high-use casual room and NOT some fucking disused formal room.
I didn't buy all this space to not live in it and use it. She can put on her big girl pants and deal. I'm not her fucking sugar daddy.
If there is one thing I'm pretty sure I will not live to see, it is gluten-free filo dough. I really miss spanakopita and baklava. They are more likely to find a treatment or cure for gluten intolerance than they are to figure out how to make gluten free filo dough. Thanks for the recipe, Cakes. If I'm lucky, there will be a treatment before I die and I will try it.
I'll tell you what I really miss. Rye bread, especially Black Russian rye bread. There is no gluten free version. I crave a Reuben sandwich like crazy. Yes I tried it with gluten free bread, and it doesn't work...the bread literally falls apart as you are frying or grilling it because it has no "glue", and also it doesn't taste right at all.
is there such a thing as gluten-free egg roll wraps? i do love a good reuben roll
I have seen gluten-free spring roll wraps somewhere, but I would never make my own rolls, because it involves too much chopping of ingredients. I used to love complicated recipes and time-consuming preparations did not used to bother me, but no longer.
somewhere you have an irish pub that makes reuben rolls. go figure.
Kat Cermelj is a wizard at teaching people how to make this stuff. She has a cookbook and a website. Here's a page from it about phyllo (filo):
https://theloopywhisk.com/2022/01/23/gluten-free-filo-pastry/
I feel the same way about gluten free bread, cakes, pasta, etc. It just never tastes right.
My mother was a coeliac.
I tried every gluten free brand of pasta, and they were all terrible (very bitter!) except for Ronzoni brand. It tastes 95% like real pasta, but is, of course, slightly more fragile and tends to break easily. Unfortunately they only offer spaghetti, thin spaghetti, penne, fusilli and elbow macaroni. There are like 300+ types of pasta in Italy, but I can only get those 5 kinds. Barilla does sell a lasagna that is Not Bad, but the noodles are half the size of regular lasagna, so you need twice as many, and it gets expensive, and the noodles don't have those curly edges that lasagna is supposed to have, but it's better than nothing. I make a killer lasagna.
Schaar makes a very decent bagel and baguette. Glutino makes quite edible English Muffins, which don't taste or look at all like real English Muffins, but they are actually quite tasty, and they toast well, which is unusual for gluten free bread.
Hey folks, some people said yesterday that they didn't know about Series Sundays and would like to watch What We Do in the Shadows at 4:00 today. If you're one of them, join us here: https://ziggywiggy.substack.com/p/series-sundays-what-we-do-in-the/comments
This looks like fun! Time to hunt down the seeds; can't say I've ever come across either in my many culinary adventures over the last 47 years (can't believe it's been so long since that first time I made a meal - Chicken Veronique, Onions Stuffed with Mushrooms and Sweet Italian Sausage, and Carrots a la Orange - all from my first issue of Bon Appetit).
my best seduction meal: gemelli with creamy sausage sauce, and chicken piccata. and lots of pino grigio.
Yum!
I still remain amazed at 3D printers. An actual tech that is useful ... and doesn't have fucking cryptoshit or AI in it.
Don't worry, I have a startup pitch that puts 3D printing on the blockchain.
I need $500k to build a test net and get some key staff. You in?
When I win $50 million in my lawsuit, I will be in. It will be a few years, though.
Friday I had two frustrating conversations with my team mates at work. I know I'm weird, and it's their choices, but....?
The first involved a friend who knows my family has vacationed in the Great Smoky Mountains for decades. Her daughter and in laws are going down there next week and was asking me about a bunch of the places they were going. I couldn't help her much beyond urging her to suggest they spend at least part of a day in the completely free National Park rather than hitting every tourist trap, celebrity restaurant, and outlet mall in the area. It's their vacation, they can do what they want, and I know my friend thinks my preferred vacation down there spent in the Park, or going through local artists' studios, or local wineries and distilleries sounds boring. Their itinerary sounds like torture to me. I do hope they have fun, but why go that far and skip all this?
https://substack.com/@uphereintheclouds842485/note/c-132656561
The second involved me mentioning I hope my fucking militia neighbors only celebrate with fireworks, not guns. To have the two people I was talking to say they and their husbands have become gun owners, due to the rising crime and army of migrants taking over the country. Five minutes of attempts to debunk later, found out they bought the guns, did the bare ass minimum to get the license needed, and basically have no idea how they work beyond "point and pull". I'm all for responsible gun ownership, but they both are working under the idea from the movies that if they are in a situation where they need to save their lives, they will magically be able to focus, shoot, and hit their target, thus saving the day. And, yes, they have come up with lots of fantasy situations where they will save the day with their guns, which they have left in the case since buying them post Jan. 20. I can only hope they stay in their cases.
They've NEVER had any time on the range actually learning how to fire their weapon both responsibly and effectively?
There are no second chances when you're holding a gun in your hands. I'm sorry.
Outside of one couple taking a one hour safety course, no.
I am not a gun owner, but I know responsible gun owners who routinely go to a range to practice, and practice safe storage. My first comment was " don't you think you should practice....?!?!? " Nope, why bother when the movies have taught them adrenaline will take over and the good guys win. The chances of disaster for them if any of them actually pull out their guns is very high.
[sighs, resumes searching online for property overseas]
Simba shifted position without even waking up. My ultrawide angle lens makes his foot look bigger than his head.
https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IcRW!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fmedia_upload%2Fcomment%2F4b2da304-0d20-4acf-bc8f-2bf22bd524ce%2Fe30ae0b3-0c38-4391-8dbf-267cd627a75d.jpeg
Expansion! not shrinkage.
Sweet Simba. That name might not always be appropriate, but it describes how Simba always looks in your photos.
When Simba was a babby he was a therapy cat for a class of abused/disadvantaged girls being taught by my ex. The class came up with his name. Simba was raised from a few weeks old by me and Alice. I bottle fed and cared for him on weekdays and Allis took care of him on weekends. Simba was originally intended to be Alice's kitteh. However, it became obvious that he bonded with me so Alice let me keep him.
That sounds like my Lucy. I got her as a foster kitten at age 4 weeks, with her two brothers. She terrorized both her brothers, but she adored me, and would sleep on my shoulder while nuzzling my ear. I just had to keep her, and she is very loving, but she bites a lot. I have scars all over both arms. I named her after the Lucy character in the cartoon strip "Peanuts", and called her brothers Charlie Brown (the plump orange kitten) and Linus (the skinny, nervous orange kitten) because she constantly terrorized them both, although they didn't seem to mind and they all slept together in one big heap.
Ouch! A vet told me that Simba is very protective of me. He growls at people coming by to deliver things and whatnot. He can still get so excited that he'll claw and bite me in front of guests. He is so weird. Not suitable for children which is so weird given his brief career as a therapy kitten. However, I suspect if I had kids around all the time he would mellow out.
Lucy is 15 now and mellowing. She now comes out from under the bed when I have visitors, and will actually approach them and let them pet her. Once she actually jumped onto the lap of a friend who was sitting in MY chair, but I think it was a mistake on her part. She looked really surprised when she realized it wasn't ME sitting in the chair, but she did let the guest pet her before jumping down.
A missed Kodak moment, I'm sure.
Simba looks very content and happy sleeping on Bathrobe!
Happy birthday to the Dalai Lama.
Eh. After your 4000th it stops mattering.
https://youtu.be/X48G7Y0VWW4
Alex Chilton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyYx27yPkPI
OMG that looks SO GOOD. I love spanakopita.
Sometimes I think Caeks is actually better with the flaky ones like this even more than the baking. Who am I kidding. She's awesome at everything.
Far from it, but the skills I do have were developed through lots of practice.
You Brits and your unwashed spinach
Don't worry, I gave it a thorough wash before I used it.
The added mineral content works wonders for the teeth.
Damn, Cakes, thank you so much!
I'll try to make a bit this week.
I've had a great weekend playing music and kayaking, it's my birthday tomorrow so I'm going to take a mental health brake from media fir a week. Catch y'all on the flip side, be excellent to each other!
Molotov in advance.
Cheers!
Happy birthday! I'd love to hear about kayaking adventures...
So I’ve been back in my Necky kayak, I really love the way it handles and have been practicing my deep water re-entry. I should get a skirt for it too. Back to my old standby, Green River Reservoir, in all of her splendor, along with Lake Eden. I’ll take the boat to NH this weekend and hope to go into Great Bay. It should handle fine out there, though open ocean it is probably only good for calm days.
Have you been out this summer?
Good to hear from you! I tend to do all flat water. I always wanted to do the tidal estuaries, like oyster river in that area. I think I stayed on Piscataway once too and tides weren't right. I did paddle the lamprey near Newcastle iirc.
I havent done too much so far this year except local trips to the pond. I was actually thinking just today that I need to get out my paddling NY books and find a spot for a weekend. My favorite is a windy river I can paddle both ways in.
I’m excited to get back to the ocean too, hopefully in August.
Piscataway is no joke! I like the Exeter river too.
Thank you!
Happy birthday!!!
Thanks, Oblivias!
For tomorrow: Happy birthday. May your next trip around the sun bless you with love, health, peace, grace, abundance, prosperity, integrity, longevity, laughter, tears, friendship, courage, compassion, creativity, community, and joy. 🌺
What a kind blessing, thank you, see you next week❤️
Happy Birthday Tomorrow!!
Thanks Hammy!
Happy birthday for tomorrow!
Thanks, Fuki!
Happy Birthday! Have fun tomorrow!
Thanks, I’m having a pool party at our community pool. Should be wicked fun!