2 cups plain yogurt
3 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 large English cucumbers
1 large green pepper, seeded and chopped
3 ounces feta, crumbled
salt and pepper

1. Strain yogurt through cheesecloth overnight. Discard liquid.
2. Grate one of the cucumbers and season with salt. Allow water to seep out of it, then drain.
3. Combine strained yogurt with garlic, dill, lemon juice and grated cucumber and season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Slice the other cucumber and combine with green pepper, then cover with prepared dressing. Garnish with feta and serve.

Makes 6 servings

1 pound yellow string beans, trimmed
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
3 ounces goat cheese or mozzarella, cubed
1/4 cup scallions, chopped

1/3 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons fresh oregano, chopped
1/4 teaspoon sugar

1. Whisk together oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, oregano and sugar. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Place cheese into dressing and marinade for at least an hour.
3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the beans. Cook until crisp tender, then drain and plunge in to ice water to stop cooking.
4. Toss beans and tomatoes with cheese, scallions and prepared dressing. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes 6 servings

6 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup warmed buttermilk
3 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped
salt and pepper
water

1. Place potatoes in a pot with enough water to cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat and continue cooking until easily pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes.
2. Drain potatoes, return to the pot and mash with a fork or hand masher.
3. Stir in olive oil and garlic and season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Gradually stir in buttermilk until it the potatoes have a creamy consistency. Stir in oregano and serve immediately.

Makes 6 servings

4 pound lamb leg, scored
4 cloves garlic, sliced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 sprig rosemary, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 cups red wine
salt and pepper

1. Stuff garlic slivers into the scored lamb leg and rub with lemon zest and juice, rosemary, oregano, sugar, and a liberal amoutn of salt and pepper. Marinade overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
3. Transfer lamb to a roasting rack in a roasting pan or on top of mixed vegetables and roast uncovered at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned.
4. Reduce heat to 325 degrees and pour enough wine in to the roasting pan to come up to the bottom of the lamb. Roast uncovered, basting occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 hours.

Makes 10 servings

19 ounces canned chickpeas
3 tablespoons lemon juice
5 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup tahini
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper

1. Puree chickpeas with lemon juice, garlic and tahini.
2. Gradually blend in olive oil to form a smooth paste. Season with salt and pepper.

Makes 6 servings

As I mentioned earlier this week, I thought it would be a great idea to cook for 10 people in an empty apartment without any furniture while simultaneously running a 3 day cleaning binge. I had planned the menu to take advantage of every remaining cooking apparatus, which mainly meant borrowing a couple of bowls for salads and trying not to burn things with the cheap pots I did not bother storing away.

I did not want to do anything too extravagant because there were a lot of people to disappoint and I didn't really have time to learn anything new. Dinner turned out incredibly well, enough so that some "Best dinner ever! I concur!" messages were left on our dry erase board. Dishes were a breeze, since I simply threw away absolutely everything after it'd cooled off. Over the last 3 days we have thrown away, given away or donated thousands of dollars worth of stuff, using almost 40 garbage bags for trash, clothes and linens and who knows what else. I don't even know what we've kept and what we've got rid of anymore, but our kitchen floor is not a temporary storage unit for our packed luggage and a place to serve food. I sent Shannon around with the camera to take pictures of the dishes as I went about finding places to put them. We left the kitchen to clean for tomorrow, thinking it would get messed up, but it actually stayed as messy as it was before serving food.

I made a Braised Lamb Leg that I'd been saving for a special occasion. I rubbed it with lemons, rosemary and oregano and let it sit for a couple of days beforehand. I started carving the meat and it just started falling off the bone, so I knew I'd done a good thing. I didn't really have any big lamb eaters in my presence, but everyone had some and seemed to enjoy it. Except for the vegetarian, who I made cod seasoned with oregano for. There were no leftovers whatsoever from a 4 pound leg.

Shannon's favorite was the Tzatziki Salad, which I'd made something similar to before (with the same name, Tzatziki Salad) but this time it turned out much better. Again I strained the yogurt through old underwear and again the joke was funny. Except it's not a joke, it's really my way of avoiding ever having to buy cheesecloth. The dressing was thicker and more flavorful than before and it just looked better and tasted better in general.

As well as some leftover White and Black Bean Salad from a couple nights ago, I also made a Yellow Bean and Grape Tomato Salad with an oregano vinaigrette and marinated mozzarella. I was originally going to use leftover goat cheese that has been sitting in the refrigerator, but it had spoiled. Marinating cheese is the best idea in the world and totally made this salad. Shannon does not commonly enjoy string beans or tomatoes whatsoever, but thought that this dish was really good. I was pleasantly surprised with it as well and would definitely like to make it again.

Since everyone enjoys good mashed potatoes, I stuck with my buttermilk and olive oil recipe and made Dill Mashed Potatoes, which are really no different from the Greek Mashed Potatoes with the exception of using dill instead of oregano. 5 pounds of potatoes yielded no leftovers.

The Dilled Spinach Rice was the only thing to really have any leftovers remaining, but it was all taken home with a new set of plates and a computer printer and whatever else I had to get rid of while slimming down my possessions to fit into my luggage. This was better than my last attempt at something like this and curbing my cravings for dolmathes, probably because of the spinach.

Oh yes, of course as an appetizer I made Greek Hummus, using actual tahini and lemon instead of cumin and sesame oil like I typically make to give it a more Middle Eastern flavor. I don't think people were really into it, but since I was starving them while they waited for dinner we still went through a package of pita bread before everything was ready. I'm definitely going to miss everyone after the move, especially having people to cook for.