Family Meal Plan: Great Greek Tasty-Tofu Gyros + Fabulous Feta Tzatziki + Grecian Lemon Fizz

Great Greek Tasty-Tofu Gyros

Happy & Healthy Cooking,

Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills

• bake :

  to cook food with dry heat, as in an oven.

• knife skills :

  Bear Claw (growl), Pinch, Plank, and Bridge (look out for trolls). 

• measure :

  to calculate the specific amount of an ingredient required using a measuring tool (like measuring cups or spoons).

• pour :

  to cause liquid, granules, or powder to stream from one container into another.

• sauté :

  to cook or brown food in a pan containing a small quantity of butter, oil, or other fat.

• season :

  to add flavor to food with spices, herbs, and salt.

• slice :

  to cut into thin pieces using a sawing motion with your knife.

• whisk :

  to beat or stir ingredients vigorously with a fork or whisk to mix, blend, or incorporate air.

What are Gyros?

• Gyros (YEE-ros) is seasoned meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie, sliced off in thin slices, and placed in pita bread with vegetables and condiments such as tomatoes, onions, fried potatoes, lettuce, and tzatziki (a sauce or dip). 
• The dish is prepared by stacking slices of meat on a vertical, cone-shaped spit or rotisserie, which turns in front of a heat source. As the meat slowly cooks, the juices from the meat on the upper part of the spit drip down onto the lower slices. As the meat finishes cooking, thin slices are shaved off to be stuffed into a pita.
• Gyros is the Greek version of Turkey's "doner kebab," lamb cooked on a vertical rotisserie created in the 19th century Ottoman Empire. In Greece, they use pork and sometimes chicken. Other countries may use beef and lamb.

Let's Learn About Greece!

Ancient Greece

• Ancient Greece was a civilization in the northeastern Mediterranean region that existed from about 1100 BCE to 600 CE. Democracy began there in Athens in the 5th century BCE.
• The first Olympics were dedicated to the Olympian gods and were staged on the plains of Olympia. Ancient Olympic sports included running, chariot racing, mule-cart racing, boxing, discus throw, long jump, wrestling, and pankration, a wild cross between wrestling and boxing with no rules except biting and eye-gouging!
• A few of the well-known figures from this period were: Alexander the Great, who ruled over the whole empire from 336 to 323 BCE; Hippocrates, a physician referred to as the Father of Medicine; Herodotus, called the Father of History, who wrote his "Histories" about the Greco-Persian wars; Socrates, considered the founder of Western Philosophy; Plato, an author and philosopher who founded the first academy of higher learning in the West; Aristotle, a student of Plato's who also founded a school of philosophy; and Thales, a mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, and one of the Seven Sages of Greece.  

Modern Greece

• Greece, in Southeast Europe, is officially called the Hellenic Republic. Its government is a unitary parliamentary republic with a president, prime minister, and parliament. The capital and largest city is Athens, and the official language is Greek.
• Greece declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1821 and was recognized as an independent country in 1830. 
• The size of Greece is about the same as the US state of Alabama but has twice as many people, over 10.5 million. 
• The country of Greece consists of 6,000 islands, but only 227 are inhabited. Nearly 80 percent of the country is hills and mountains. 
• About four-fifths of the people live in urban areas in Greece, and almost everyone is literate.
• Greece has three times the number of annual tourists (about 31 million) as residents. It is one of the most-visited countries.
• Greece is the third-largest producer of peaches and the fifth-largest producer of olives in the world. 
• In the past, most Greeks were farmers, and they ate the food that they grew. Since Greece had a mild climate, they could grow many different fruits and vegetables as long as they got enough rain. Vegetables were a considerable part of the Greek diet and still are. Most Greeks eat a Mediterranean diet that includes plenty of olive oil, legumes, fruits, veggies, grains, and fish. They generally consume less dairy and meat.
• Greek cuisine includes "fasolada" (soup of white beans, olive oil, and veggies), "moussaka" (eggplant or potato dish with ground or minced meat), "souvlaki" (grilled meat on a skewer), and "gyros" (pita bread filled with meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie, veggies, and tzatziki sauce). 

What's It Like to Be a Kid in Greece?

• Greek kids have three stages of education: primary school for six years, gymnasium (junior high) for three years, and lyceum (senior high) for three years (this stage is not mandatory).
• Kids may participate in sports such as soccer, basketball, baseball, swimming, and handball. 
• There are many museums and ancient sites to explore in Greece. Families love being outdoors and enjoy hiking and going to the many beaches. 
• There are several different sweets that Greek children enjoy. These include "pasteli" (sesame seed candy), "bougatsa" and "galaktoboureko" (phyllo pastries filled with semolina custard), and "baklava" (nut-filled phyllo pastry soaked in a honey syrup).