Allspice (Bahari - bah-HAH-ree) is a staple in Greek cooking! In Greek cooking, allspice is used in fish, game, marinades, pasta, red sauces, stews, and tomato sauces. Using the whole dried berry is an essential ingredient in pickling spices and is often used in preparing meats and fish. This berry has a very strong taste, so use this spice sparingly! A mixture of equal parts of ground Cloves, ground Cinnamon and ground Nutmeg can be substituted for Allspice.

Anise (Glykaniso - glee-KAH-nee-so) Dried and ground anise seed are used to flavor alcoholic drinks such as Greek ouzo, Spanish anisette, and French pastis, breads, cheese, egg, fruit, fish dishes, meats,and salads.

Basil (Vasilikos - vah-see-lee-KOHS) Basil may be used (in general) whenever a recipe contains tomatoes. It goes well with other vegetables, soups, salads, eggs, seafood, meat, and game. It is the main ingredient in pesto sauce. Fresh basil is much preferred over dried basil.

Cardamom (Karthamo - KAR-thah-mo) In Greek cooking, ground cardamom seeds are used in baked goods and fish marinades.

Cinnamon (Kanela - kah-NEH-lah) In Greek cooking, cinnamon sticks and ground cinnamon (grind the sticks) are used mainly when making roasts, meat sauces, sausages, marmalade's, rice pudding, custards, and candies.

Cloves (Garifalo - ghah-REE-fah-lo) In Greek cooking, cloves are mainly used when baking sweets. It is used in stewed fruits and preserves, in sauces, and in cooking pork where the cloves are inserted into the meat also.

Coriander (Kolianthro - koh-LEE-ahn-throh ) In Greek cooking, coriander is used with pork, mushrooms, in stuffed cabbage, and although not widely used, it is used in candy-making and in making chocolate cakes.

Cumin (Kymino - KEE-mee-no) In Greek cooking, cumin is used in soutzoukakia (spiced meat) in tomato sauce, in red sauces and in meat patties.

Curry (Kari - KAH-ree) Curry powder is relatively new to the Greek cooking! It is added to some rice, seafood, and other dishes.

Garlic (skordo - SKOR-do) Fresh garlic are always best! Garlic is often used in sauces, dips, marinades, dressings, on vegetables and in bread crumb breading.

Ginger (Piperoriza - pee-peh-ROH-ree-zah) Ginger is used cakes, cookies, in fish marinades, and white sauces. Ginger has also been used to help treat nausea, vomiting, arthritis, colic, diarrhea, and heart conditions.

Hot Chili Pepper (Boukovo - BOO-koh-voh) Hot Peppers (Kafteres Piperies - kaf-ter-ES pee-peh-ree-ES ) In Greek cooking, hot peppers are added to foods by taste preference. A favorite cheese dip, tyrokafteri, is made with feta cheese and hot peppers, and sauteed hot peppers are often served as an appetizer or meze.

Mahlab (Mahlepi - mahk-LEH-pee ) In Greece, mahlab is used as a flavoring in tsoureki-type sweet breads made at Christmas and Easter, and makes the kitchen smell delicious. The kernels have a bitter almond like taste.

Mastic (Mastiha - mahs-TEEKH-hah) Mastiha is used as a spice in sweets and cooking, as a flavoring for liqueurs, and in soap-making, cosmetics, and toothpaste, among others. Recent evidence shows that it also helps ulcers.

Mint (diosmos - DIO-smos) In Greek cooking, mint (usually Spearmint) is used in everything from cheese dishes to tomato-based sauces, meats, and rice dishes. Steeped fresh mint is a favorite herbal tea, and commercially, mint is used as a flavoring in candies, gums, food, and drinks. The essential oils are used in confections. And, of course, sprigs of fresh mint add lovely decorative touches.

Mustard Powder (Moustartha Skoni - moo-STAR-thah SKOH-nee) Powdered mustard can be used anywhere regular mustard would be used, such as in mayonnaise, combined with oil and vinegar as a marinade for pork, and in a mustard sauce and salad dressing. It is also used to flavor grilled meat and fish. Ground mustard has no aroma or flavor until liquid is added!

Nutmeg (Moschokarido - mos-ho-KAH-ree-thoh) Highly recommended to buy the nut and grate it for use. The taste is strong and it should be used in small quantities. It's the aroma of béchamel sauce that infuses moussaka and pastitsio. It is used in white sauces and pureed potatoes. In very small quantities, it is used in cakes, marmalades, and glazed fruits.

Oregano (rigani - RI-ga-ni) In Greek cooking, oregano is used in tomato sauces, with meats, fish, cheese, egg dishes, salads, cheeses, and with vegetables including tomatoes, zucchini, and green beans. It is also used to prepare a tea that is believed to be a treatment for indigestion, coughs, and to stimulate menstruation. Not all oreganos are equal. Greek oregano (rigani) is a subspecies with the latin name Origanum vulgare (previously Origanum heracleoticum or Oreganum heraclites). Look at oregano package labeling to identify it.

Pepper (Piperi - pee-PEH-ree) The important thing about pepper is the grind.

• If added to food during cooking, use a fine grind.
• If added to prepared food on the plate, use a coarser grind.
• In marinades, it's best cracked with a mortar and pestle.

White pepper doesn't show up in mayonnaise and white sauces; green goes exceptionally well with pepper steak; red goes well with wine sauces for meats and with chicken, and black goes with everything.

Saffron (Zafora or Safrani - zah-for-AH or sah-FRAH-nee) In Greek cooking, saffron is used in salads, sauces for potatoes and vegetables, rice, soups, and boiled fish dishes. It is well known in the Mediterranean cuisines. Only a small amount (a few threads) is needed to impart the color and aroma.

Sumac (Sumaki - soo-MAH-kee) In Greek cooking, sumac is used as a rub for grilled meats, and as a flavoring most notably on meats, in stews, and in pita wraps. It is also used in rice and vegetable dishes.

Thyme (thimari - thi-MA-ri) Thyme enhances the flavor of olive oil, pickled olives, butter, vinegar, meats, poultry, fish, soups and stews, and vegetable dishes. Fresh garden salads as well as stuffed baked vegetables benefit from the addition of thyme. It can also be added to breads, cookies, and spoon sweets. It is best used fresh.

Vanilla (Vanilia - vah-NEEL-yah) In Greek cooking, vanilla is used in sweets, ice cream, preserves, sweet doughs, and elsewhere. The powdered form is especially good for making custards, and sprinkling into dishes and beverages.

Ingredients- 500 g (18 oz.) chicken, cut into 4 cm (1 1/2") cubes- 50 ml (3 tbsp.) lemon juice- 1/4 tsp. ground cumin- 1/2 tsp. fresh oregano or 1/4 tsp. dried- 2 tsp. olive oil- 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper- 1 clove of garlic, minced

1. Combine the spices with the oil and lemon juice;
2. Cut the chicken into cubes; combine with the marinade and let sit 5 minutes;
3. assemble the skewers; grill for 5 minutes, turning only once after 3 minutes; when done, the cooking juices from the chicken should be clear or a meat thermometer should register 77 °C (170 °F). Serve Greek-style on a bed of rice pilaf with garden vegetables that have been cooked on the grill in aluminum foil. The best side sauce is unquestionably tzatziki.
   - 1/2 Cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely chopped- 500 ml (2 cups) yogurt- 1 tbsp. olive oil- 1 clove of garlic, minced

1. Sprinkle the chopped cucumber with a generous pinch of sea salt and let it drain for a few minutes (a food processor is not recommended for chopping a large amount of cucumber since it will then have to be drained in a strainer);
2. combine all the ingredients;
3. refrigerate until serving time. http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/recipes/chicken-souvlaki-skewers/
   

Greek Rice Pilaf

2 c. rice
1 stick butter
4 c. meat stock
2 tbsp. canned tomatoes
Salt and pepperMelt butter in skillet and brown rice 5-8 minutes. Gradually add hot meat stock and allow to simmer for 10 minutes, with cover on. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper and cook until the rice is done. All liquid should be absorbed by the rice when it is well done. Allow to stand a few minutes before serving. Serves 4. (Cooks.com)

Ingredients:

1 English Cucumber, chopped

3 tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup chopped scallions

oil and vinegar, to taste

1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives.

1/2 cup crumbled feta

dried oregano as a garnish

Instructions:

Add the tomato, onion, and cucumber in a bowl. Add oil and vinegar. Toss to coat. Transfer to a serving dish. Add olives and feta and sprinkle oregano over the top. Serve immediately. Makes 4-6 servings depending on how big the portions are.

Feta cheese is the classic Greek taste that goes into this salad. It really makes it what it is! A Greek Salad. You can change up some of the other ingredients, but as long as you stay true with the Feta cheese, it's all Greek to me!

Greece is a nation with many small farms that grow a lot of organic produce. They grow fruits, grains, nuts, vegetables, and legumes. They produce cheese from their goats like Feta, Kasseri, Kefalotyri, Graviera, Anthotyros, Manouri, Metsovone and Mizithra and oil from their olive trees. The land is rich and the climate is good. Wild greens and herbs are gathered to supplement what they grow themselves.

With 20 percent of Greece made up of islands - and no part of the Greek mainland more than 90 miles from the sea - fish and seafood are a popular and common part of the Greek diet. Lamb and goat (kid) are the traditional meats of holidays and festivals, but, poultry, beef (less common), and pork are also eaten.

The most characteristic and ancient element of Greek cuisine is olive oil, which is frequently used in the dishes of the Greek cuisine. It is produced from the olive trees prominent throughout the region, and adds to the distinctive taste of Greek food. The basic grain in Greece is wheat, though barley is also grown. Important vegetables include tomato, aubergine (eggplant), potato, green beans, okra, green peppers, and onions. Honey in Greece is mainly honey from the nectar of fruit trees and citrus trees: lemon, orange, bigarade (bitter orange) trees, thyme honey, and pine honey from conifer trees. Mastic (aromatic, ivory coloured resin) is grown on the Aegean island of Chios.

Greece has an ancient culinary tradition dating back several millennia, and over the centuries Greek cuisine has evolved and absorbed numerous influences and influenced many cuisines itself.

Some dishes can be traced back to ancient Greece: skordalia (potatoes, walnuts, almonds, crushed garlic and olive oil), lentil soup, retsina (white or rosé wine sealed with pine resin) and pasteli (candy bar with sesame seeds baked with honey); some to the Hellenistic and Roman periods: loukaniko (dried pork sausage); and Byzantium: feta cheese, avgotaraho (cured fish roe) and paximadi (traditional hard bread baked from corn, barley and rye). There are also many ancient and Byzantine dishes which are no longer consumed: porridge as the main staple, fish sauce or salt water mixed into wine.

Many of the dishes names come from the Ottoman cuisine tradition and their names reveal Arabic, Persian or Turkish roots such as moussaka (layers of ground minced lamb meat, eggplant and tomato baked in oven), tzatziki (yoghurt with garlic and cucumber), yuvarlakia (meatball in sauce) or keftethes in Greek (meatball). Many dishes' names probably entered the Greek vocabulary during Ottoman times, or earlier in contact with the Persians and the Arabs. Some dishes may be pre-Ottoman, only taking Turkish names later; Ash and Dalby, for example, speculate that grape-leaf dolmathes were made by the early Byzantine period.

A few dishes are influenced by Venetian (Italian) and French cuisines, such as pastitsio, makaronia me kima, (pasta with meat) found mostly in Greece and Anatolia and Asia Minor and regions of that influence.

Legend has it that Klephtico (or Kleftiko), which is slowly cooked lamb (or other meat), can be translated as 'stolen meat'. The Klephts, not having flocks of their own, would steal lambs or goats and cook the meat in a sealed pit to avoid the smoke being seen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_cuisine#Overview