Socca

These are very quick and delicious snacks. The part of the recipe that takes the longest is heating up the oven. I've only read about socca, and know that it's a food commonly eaten in the region of Nice in France.

1 cup chickpea flour
1 cup + of water
½ to ¾ tsp salt
2 Tbsps olive oil + more for baking
1 Tbsp of finely chopped fresh herbs (your choice, have fun!)
OR 1 tsp dry herb or spice

1. Place the grate in the oven to the second-to-closest level to the broiler element. Pre-heat the oven to 375°F. Put an empty metal cooking pan to heat up. It should be about 10 inches wide (I use a stainless steel sauté pan, but a fry pan or cake pan or even pizza dish would do just fine)
2. Using a whisk, combine all the ingredients together in a bowl and mix until well combined. The desired consistency is of whole milk, which means it should be runny but with a bit of body - add water if it's too thick, or add chickpea flour if it's too thin.
3. Into the hot pan, put in 1 or 2 Tbsps olive oil, swirl to cover the pan, then pour in 1 cup of the mixture. You can tell the oil is hot enough if the mix sizzles when it hits the oil.
4. Put the pan back in the oven and cook for 2 minutes, then turn on the broiler. When you see dark brown patches form on top, it's done. In my oven it takes about 4 minutes.
5. Lift it out of the pan with a spatula onto a wide plate and eat it right away while it's piping hot. Wow!!!

Tzatziki

You can use a blender or food processor to make this, but I find it more satisfying to use simple kitchen tools. The result will be chunkier, but just as delicious and refreshing.

2 medium cucumbers, seeded and grated (see step 1)
1 Tbsp salt (for salting cucumbers)
3 cups plain Greek yogurt
3 Tbsps lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsps fresh dill, finely chopped
Salt, to taste
Black pepper to taste

1. Peel the cucumbers, cut them in half lengthwise and scrape out seeds all the seeds to reduce the amount of water from the cucumber. Grate the cucumber and, in a colander sprinkle the Tbsp of salt over it and give it a good mixing; let this stand for about 30 minutes to sweat the cucumber to reduce the water even more. After 30 minutes, take handfuls and squeeze out as much water as possible and plop into a bowl.
2. Mix up the sweated cucumbers to loosed the bits, and add the garlic, lemon juice, dill, and some black pepper, then mix in the yogurt. Taste before adding any extra salt since you'll already have salt added from the cucumber. Let it sit for about an hour (two if you refrigerate) to allow the flavours to blend before serving.

Roasted Carrot Ginger Soup

This is such a comforting soup. I like to finely dice the gingerroot so that I get small bursts of ginger while I'm eating my soup. It is definitely warming and good for cold and rainy or wintery weather.

1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into 3" lengths
1 Tbsp mild vegetable oil
1 Tbsp (½ oz/14gr) butter
½ medium onion, diced (to yield about ¾ cup)
1 large rib celery, diced (to yield about ½ cup)
½ inch piece of fresh ginger, minced
2 cups chicken (or veg for Vegetarian) broth
1 tsp salt
⅛ tsp ground pepper
2 cups of water
Chopped fresh chives or chervil for garnish (optional)

1. Heat the oven to 375°F.
2. Chop carrots into 1 to 2" pieces. Drizzle with the oil and place them on a baking dish in a single layer. Roast them in the oven until they start to blister and brown, about 30 to 40 minutes. Browning is essential for flavour.
3. Meantime, in a soup pot, cook the onion in butter until it's soft, about 2 to 3 minutes. 
4. Stir in the celery and ginger and cook until the onions start to brown, about 5 minutes. 
5. Add the roasted carrots, broth, salt, pepper, and and extra 2 cups of water (or if you want a thicker soup, less water). Bring to a boil, cover, and let vigorously simmer until the carrots are tender, about 30 minutes. 
6. Let the soup cool before putting in the blender - hot liquid makes the air expand in the blender urn and the liquid can explode out of the blender and burn.
7. Purée the soup in batches in the blender (also, don't overfill the blender).
8. To serve, return the soup to the pot and reheat it over a gentle flame. Garnish with the chives or chervil. 

Gyro made with fresh herbs

I have an oregano plant growing way beyond its bounds in the garden, and don't want to just throw away the excess. In trying to figure out what to do with it other than drying, I decided to make this classic dish using fresh oregano instead of dried. They're awesome with Tzatziki.

1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground lamb
⅔ cup fresh oregano
½ onion, fine mince
4 to 6 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tsp ground dried rosemary
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground pepper (or more)
1 Tbsp fresh Thyme
1 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 390°F.
2. Mix all the ingredient together. Mix it up real good.
3. Make meatballs about 2 oz each.
4. Bake for 20 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160°F.