(Kiki's Corner by Kiki Angelos - Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

Last week I suggested several herbs that will be helpful in your cooking.

Below I wrote for you one dessert recipe and two recipes with seafood that I picked from two restaurants in one of the Greek Islands while we were there. If you are a seafood lover, you just need to go to one of the Greek islands and stay there for a couple-three weeks and taste all the yummy fresh seafood. You just can’t imagine shrimp, scallops, calamari, octopus, lobster, all sizes of fresh fish and they prepare them the way you want them, grilled, fried, cooked with different vegetables that melt in your mouth.

The most fascinating thing is that you see the fishermen coming from the ocean with buckets full of fresh fish. What else can you ask for?

Of course, when it comes to price, you know what they say, anything that tastes good is expensive! What I love the most is you go to a restaurant and up in the front, they have a variety of seafood on ice and you just pick the one that you like. You let them know, they prepare it and then they bring it to your table and in front of you they take the bone out of the fish and then they have fresh lemon juice mixed with olive oil and oregano and they pour all over the fish and they serve it to you. Goodness you thought you died and went to heaven. Honestly, I’ll give anything to be there right now. They serve the healthiest dishes with fresh vegetables and the most delicious summer Greek salad with cucumber, homegrown tomatoes, onions, feta cheese, Kalamata olives and olive oil, and not to forget the fresh coming-out-of-the-oven crusty bread. No wonder I always gain weight when I come back from Europe.

Oops, I forgot to mention the most delicious home baked Greek pastries that make your mouth water.

And and if you want to be more adventurous stop at any Greek fast food place and get delicious Gyro or souvlaki (shish kebab) made either with pork, lamb or chicken served on Pita bread with lettuce, tomatoes, onions and tsatsiki sauce (made with Greek yogurt, garlic, cucumber and lemon juice). And you don’t want to miss the Greek french fries that are fried in pure olive oil.

But let’s not forget, all that sounds fattening, but the Greeks limit red meat to once or twice a week, they make a meal with fresh vegetables and they eat a lot of lentil, beans and fresh fruits.

I remember growing up I didn’t know what a sandwich was or french fries, nor canned goods.

By the way, have you heard that Sam’s Club has food that they lost 25 years? How can it be? Can you imagine the preservatives those dry foods have to last that long, how can those foods be healthy for us? I always had home cooked meals prepared by my mother, and I followed that when I became a wife and a mother for my family. It’s a different story and not the same with the grandkids now. We Live in a different environment and in a different world and we have to adjust accordingly most of the time.

Ohhh well that is all for now, a short article with three recipes. Try them and I hope you like them.

Till next week.

***

LOBSTER FRICASSEE

2 pounds lobster boiled

3 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup milk

Salt

Paprika

3 egg yolks, slightly beaten

1/4 cup sherry

Melt butter in saucepan, add flour and stir until well -blended. Gradually add milk stirring constantly. Season and add egg yolks slowly. Still over the low flame until thickened, about 10 minutes. Add lobster meat, and sherry and cook 2 minutes. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

***

MARINATED SHRIMP

1 pound shrimp cooked

6 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil

6 tablespoons lemon juice

1/3 cup vinegar

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon salt

1 bay leaf crumbled

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Cook and devein shrimp. In a small saucepan, combine oil, lemon, vinegar, garlic, salt, and crumbled bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Pour over shrimp. Add parsley and pepper, toss lightly. Place in refrigerator to marinate. Makes 4 servings.

***

NO NAME CAKE

2 pound cakes or make from scratch in small loaf pans

1 Box white fluffy frosting mix

1 Large can crushed pineapple

1 qt whipped topping

1 1/2 cup diced pecans

1 box coconut

Slice cake into three layers each. Dry coconut by putting it in skillet on low fire but be careful not to scorch it. Fold frosting mix into Cool Whip, pecans, pineapple and coconut. Spread on layers top and sides. Freeze, cut and serve while frozen.