Wow we did something frugal and fun today! As a homeschool mom I love the educational moments that just "happen". Cooking together can be a great opportunity for home economics, a practical way to use math and science and provides some great one on one time.
Today, the girl and I made homemade pita pockets! Who knew they could be so easy, so cheap and so healthy to make. It was so cool to see them puff up right before our eyes, and we learned what worked and what didn't when it came to making the perfect pita. I see lots of homemade pita pockets in our future.
Our pita pockets were made to accompany lamb burgers with olives and homemade taziki sauce. We felt "oh so greek today", which has always been one of our favorite ancient societies to study. I'm sad I never knew, before now, how easy and frugal it could be to recreate an authentic greek meal right in our own home. I hope you will give this menu a try, it's a great way to expose your family to a different culture, and to appreciate the special art of bread making in a fun and easy way!
Pita Bread-The Fresh Loaf
makes 8 pitas
Ingredients:
3 cups flour (ideally should be 1 cup whole wheat, to cups white unbleached for the best taste) (.25)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (PI)
1 Tablespoon sugar or honey (.25)
1 packet yeast (or, if from bulk, 2 teaspoons yeast) (.40)
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups water, roughly at room temperature
2 tablespoons olive oil, vegetable oil, butter, or shortening (PI)
Directions:
If you are using active dry yeast, follow the instructions on the packet to active it (see the note on yeast above). Otherwise, mix the yeast in with the flour, salt, and sugar. Add the olive oil and 1 1/4 cup water and stir together with a wooden spoon. All of the ingredients should form a ball. If some of the flour will not stick to the ball, add more water (I had to add an extra 1/4 cup).
Once all of the ingredients form a ball, place the ball on a work surface, such as a cutting board, and knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes (or until your hands get tired). If you are using an electric mixer, mix it at low speed for 10 minutes. (Thank you Kitchen Aid stand mixer, have I told you all how much I love this piece of machinery?!)
When you are done kneading the dough, place it in a bowl that has been lightly coated with oil. I used olive oil spray, but you can also just pour a teaspoon of oil into the bowl and rub it around with your fingers. Form a ball out of the dough and place it into the bowl, rolling the ball of dough around in the bowl so that it has a light coat of oil on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and set aside to rise until it has doubled in size, approximately 90 minutes.
When it has doubled in size, punch the dough down to release some of the trapped gases and divide it into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, cover the balls with a damp kitchen towel, and let them rest for 20 minutes. This step allows the dough to relax so that it'll be easier to shape.
While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. ( found the best results were at 450°) but your oven may vary. If you have a baking stone, put it in the oven to preheat as well. If you do not have a baking stone, turn a cookie sheet upside down and place it on the middle rack of the oven while you are preheating the oven. This will be the surface on which you bake your pitas.
After the dough has relaxed for 20 minutes, spread a light coating of flour on a work surface and place one of the balls of dough there. Sprinkle a little bit of flour on top of the dough and use a rolling pin or your hands to stretch and flatten the dough. You should be able to roll it out to between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. If the dough does not stretch sufficiently you can cover it with the damp towel and let it rest 5 to 10 minutes before trying again.
Open the oven and place as many pitas as you can fit on the hot baking surface. They should be baked through and puffy after 3-4 minutes. If you want your pitas to be crispy and brown you can bake them for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, but it isn't necessary
(Isn't this just so cool!?!)
Mini Lamb Burgers with Olives-About.com
makes 10-12 mini burgers
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground lamb (3.52)
1/2 medium onion, chopped (.10)
1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped (.10)
1 teaspoon of olive oil (PI)
3/4 teaspoon of sea salt (PI)
1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper (PI)
1 1/2 teaspoons of chopped fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon of dried) (.20)
6-8 pitted black Kalamata olives, chopped (I bought the pitted olives, and just cut around the pits) (.50)
1 tablespoon of olive oil for frying (PI)
Directions:
Combine all burger ingredients in a bowl and use a spatula to combine. (Because ground lamb is soft, too much handling will mash it. Using a spatula to combine the ingredients will keep this from happening)
Form mixture into small patties, making approximately 10-12 mini burgers. Preheat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, cook burgers for 3-4 minutes on each side until done (pink centers, or more well done if preferred).
Place two burgers in each pocket or if not cutting bread, place burgers on bread wrap style, topping with taziki sauce.
Taziki sauce
Ingredients:
15 oz. Greek or plain yogurt (1.50 half of a 32 oz carton)
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and finally chopped (.69)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced (.10)
1 tsp. course salt (PI)
pepper (PI)
Directions:
Peel, seed and finally chop cucumber.
Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Add additional salt if necessary. Refrigerate several hours before serving to allow ingredients to incorporate. Stir again before serving and add additional salt or pepper if needed.
Total Cost: $7.61 for recipes above, plus .75 for side dish of rice and chickpeas = $8.36! (The cost of the pita pockets was under $1.00 wow what a savings)
Enjoy!
