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Kleftiko lamb

Ingredients:
1-1.2 kg leg of lamb, boneless
2 small red onions
2-3 bell peppers (green, red, orange)
4 cloves of garlic (2 sliced and 2 whole)
2 tbsps mustard
juice of half a lemon
1 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine
200g kefalotyri or Graviera or any had yellow cheese, cut into cubes
5 medium sized potatoes
1/2 ripe tomato, sliced
salt and freshly ground pepper
parchment paper
kitchen string

To prepare this Greek lamb recipe, we start by washing thoroughly the lamb and cut into portions (approx. 5*6 cm).  We place in a large bowl or basin and set aside.  We prepare the vegetables.  We cut the onions in half and then in four wedges.  We cut the peppers in 2-3 cm chunks and slice 2 cloves of garlic.  We add the vegetables in the bowl with the lamb and pour in the olive oil, white wine and lemon juice.  We add the mustard, 2 whole cloves of garlic,  we sprinkle with oregano and season with salt and pepper.  We use our hands to blend all the ingredients together.  We cover the bowl with plastic wrap, chill and let marinade for at least 2 hours. It's best to leave the meat for the lamb marinade overnight to soak up all the wonderful flavors.  Once the meat for our recipe is marinated, we return the lamb at room temperature. In the same bowl we add the cheese (cut into 2cm cubes) and blend.  We preheat the oven to 180C.  To prepare the potatoes for this recipe, we peel the potatoes and cut in four pieces. (The kleftiko lamb will require about 2 1/2 hours baking, so it's best to cut the potatoes in large pieces to keep their shape.)  Now it's time to wrap the lamb in parchment paper.  We lay 4 long pieces of parchment paper to form a star.  We pop the potatoes in the centre of the parchment paper and season with salt and a pinch of oregano.  We pour the marinade from the lamb over the potatoes and we set the lamb and vegetables on top of the potatoes.  We layer with the sliced tomato and enclose the kleftiko lamb into a pouch. To enclose the kleftiko we hold the parchment paper from the edges, crosswise and grab with our hand in the middle, just above the stuffing and squeeze.  We use the kitchen string to tie tightly the whole thing together, just above the stuffing and lift into a roasting tin.  We roast the kleftiko in the oven for about 1 hour 45 minutes until tender.  We remove the tin from the oven and increase the temperature to 220C.  We unwrap the kleftiko and scrunch the parchment paper under the rim of the tin.  We baste the lamb with the juices and return in the oven for a further 20 mins until browned. We remove the pieces of lamb from the pouch and wrap them in some foil to rest.  We toss the potatoes and return in the oven for about 20 minutes, until nicely colored.  We return the lamb pieces in the roasting tin and serve the kleftiko as it is!

Dix Love,

Re: Greek stuffed tomatoes and peppers

Am so happy!!!!!!  It is my favorite summer food!!!  It can be eaten in room temperature or even cold in very hot days!

Dix Love,

Re: Olivier (Russian) salad

Give us your version and let's compare!!!

Dix Love,

Re: Bećarac

That is SO easy!!!!!!!!  Will definitely make it next time I have rice at home!!!  thank you for sharing!

Dix Love,

Vampires & Legends: The dog and the corpse (Russia)

A moujik went out in pursuit of game one day, and took a favorite dog with him. He walked and walked through woods and bogs, but got nothing for his pains. At last the darkness of night surprised him. At an uncanny hour he passed by a graveyard, and there, at a place where two roads met, he saw standing a corpse in a white shroud. The moujik was horrified, and knew not which way to go -- whether to keep on or to turn back.

"Well, whatever happens, I'll go on," he thought; and on he went, his dog running at his heels. When the corpse perceived him, it came to meet him; not touching the earth with its feet, but keeping about a foot above it -- the shroud fluttering after it. When it had come up with the sportsman, it made a rush at him; but the dog seized hold of it by its bare calves, and began a tussle with it. When the moujik saw his dog and the corpse grappling with each other, he was delighted that things had turned out so well for himself, and he set off running home with all his might. The dog kept up the struggle until cock-crow, when the corpse fell motionless to the ground. Then the dog ran off in pursuit of its master, caught him up just as he reached home, and rushed at him, furiously trying to bite and to rend him. So savage was it, and so persistent, that it was as much as the people of the house could do to beat it off.

"Whatever has come over the dog?" asked the moujik's old mother. "Why should it hate its master so?"

The moujik told her all that had happened.

"A bad piece of work, my son!" said the old woman. "The dog was disgusted at your not helping it. There it was fighting with the corpse -- and you deserted it, and thought only of saving yourself! Now it will owe you a grudge for ever so long."

Next morning, while the family were going about the farmyard, the dog was perfectly quiet. But the moment its master made his appearance, it began to growl like anything.

They fastened it to a chain; for a whole year they kept it chained up. But in spite of that, it never forgot how its master had offended it. One day it got loose, flew straight at him, and began trying to throttle him. So they had to kill it.

Dix Love,

Vampires & Legends: The soldier and the vampire

A certain soldier was allowed to go home on furlough. Well, he walked and walked, and after a time he began to draw near to his native village. Not far off from that village lived a miller in his mill. In old times the soldier had been very intimate with him: why shouldn't he go and see his friend? He went. The miller received him cordially, and at once brought out liquor; and the two began drinking, and chattering about their ways and doings. All this took place towards nightfall, and the soldier stopped so long at the miller's that it grew quite dark.

When he proposed to start for his village, his host exclaimed:

"Spend the night here, trooper! It's very late now, and perhaps you might run into mischief."

"How so?"

"God is punishing us! A terrible warlock has died among us, and by night he rises from his grave, wanders through the village, and does such things as bring fear upon the very boldest! How could even you help being afraid of him?"

"Not a bit of it! A soldier is a man who belongs to the crown, and 'crown property cannot be drowned in water nor burnt in fire.' I'll be off: I'm tremendously anxious to see my people as soon as possible."

Off he set. His road lay in front of a graveyard. On one of the graves he saw a great fire blazing. "What's that?" thinks he. "Let's have a look." When he drew near, he saw that the warlock was sitting by the fire, sewing boots.

"Hail, brother!" calls out the soldier.

The warlock looked up and said:

"What have you come here for?"

"Why, I wanted to see what you're doing."

The warlock threw his work aside and invited the soldier to a wedding.

"Come along, brother," says he, "let's enjoy ourselves. There's a wedding going on in the village."

"Come along!" says the soldier.

They came to where the wedding was; there they were given drink, and treated with the utmost hospitality. The warlock drank and drank, reveled and reveled, and then grew angry. He chased all the guests and relatives out of the house, threw the wedded pair into a slumber, took out two phials and an awl, pierced the hands of the bride and bridegroom with the awl, and began drawing off their blood. Having done this, he said to the soldier:

"Now let's be off."

Well, they went off.

On the way the soldier said:

"Tell me; why did you draw off their blood in those phials?"

"Why, in order that the bride and bridegroom might die. Tomorrow morning no one will be able to wake them. I alone know how to bring them back to life."

"How's that managed?"

"The bride and bridegroom must have cuts made in their heels, and some of their own blood must then be poured back into those wounds. I've got the bridegroom's blood stowed away in my right-hand pocket, and the bride's in my left."

The soldier listened to this without letting a single word escape him. Then the warlock began boasting again.

"Whatever I wish," says he, "That I can do!"

"I suppose it's quite impossible to get the better of you?" says the soldier.

"Why impossible? If any one were to make a pyre of aspen boughs, a hundred loads of them, and were to burn me on that pyre, then he'd be able to get the better of me. Only he'd have to look out sharp in burning me; for snakes and worms and different kinds of reptiles would creep out of my inside, and crows and magpies and jackdaws would come flying up. All these must be caught and flung on the pyre. If so much as a single maggot were to escape, then there'd be no help for it; in that maggot I should slip away!"

The soldier listened to all this and did not forget it. He and the warlock talked and talked, and at last they arrived at the grave.

"Well, brother," said the warlock, "now I'll tear you to pieces. Otherwise you'd be telling all this."

"What are you talking about? Don't you deceive yourself; I serve God and the Emperor."

The warlock gnashed his teeth, howled aloud, and sprang at the soldier -- who drew his sword and began laying about him with sweeping blows. They struggled and struggled; the soldier was all but at the end of his strength. "Ah!" thinks he, "I'm a lost man -- and all for nothing!" Suddenly the cocks began to crow. The warlock fell lifeless to the ground.

The soldier took the phials of blood out of the warlock's pockets, and went on to the house of his own people. When he had got there, and had exchanged greetings with his relatives, they said: "Did you see any disturbance, soldier?"

"No, I saw none."

"There now! Why we've a terrible piece of work going on in the village. A warlock has taken to haunting it!"

After talking awhile, they lay down to sleep. Next morning the soldier awoke, and began asking: "I'm told you've got a wedding going on somewhere here?"

"There was a wedding in the house of a rich moujik," replied his relative, "but the bride and bridegroom have died this very night -- what from, nobody knows."

They showed him the house. Thither he went without speaking a word. When he got there, he found the whole family in tears.

"What are you mourning about?" says he.

"Such and such is the state of things soldier," say they.

"I can bring your young people to life again. What will you give me if I do?"

"Take what you like, even were it half of what we've got!"

The soldier did as the warlock had instructed him, and brought the young people back to life. Instead of weeping there began to be happiness and rejoicing; the soldier was hospitably treated and well rewarded. Then -- left about, face! off he marched to the Starosta, and told him to call the peasants together and to get ready a hundred loads of aspen wood. Well, they took the wood into the graveyard, dragged the warlock out of his grave, placed him on the pyre, and set it alight -- the people all standing round in a circle with brooms, shovels, and fire-irons. The pyre became wrapped in flames, the warlock began to burn. His corpse burst, and out of it crept snakes, worms, and all sorts of reptiles, and up came flying crows, magpies, and jackdaws. The peasants knocked them down and flung them into the fire, not allowing so much as a single maggot to creep away! And so the warlock was thoroughly consumed, and the soldier collected his ashes and strewed them to the winds. From that time forth there was peace in the village.

The soldier received the thanks of the whole community. He stayed at home some time, enjoying himself thoroughly. Then he want back to the czar's service with money in his pocket. When he had served his time, he retired from the army, and began to live at his ease.

Dix Love,

Vampires & Legends: The two corpses (Russian)

A soldier had obtained leave to go home on furlough -- to pray to the holy images, and to bow down before his parents. And as he was going his way, at a time when the sun had long set, and all was dark around, it chanced that he had to pass by a graveyard. Just then he heard that some one was running after him, and crying:

"Stop! You can't escape!"

He looked back and there was a corpse running and gnashing its teeth. The soldier sprang on one side with all his might to get away from it, caught sight of a little chapel, and bolted straight into it.

There wasn't a soul in the chapel, but stretched out on a table there lay another corpse, with tapers burning in front of it. The soldier hid himself in a corner, and remained there hardly knowing whether he was alive or dead, but waiting to see what would happen. Presently up ran the first corpse -- the one that had chased the soldier -- and dashed into the chapel. Thereupon one that was lying on the table jumped up, and cried to it:

"What hast thou come here for?"

"I've chased a soldier in here, so I'm going to eat him."

Come now, brother! He's run into my house. I shall eat him myself."

"No, I shall!"

"No, I shall!"

And they set to work fighting; the dust flew like anything. They'd have gone on fighting ever so much longer, only the cocks began to crow. Then both the corpses fell lifeless to the ground, and the soldier went on his way homeward in peace, saying:

"Glory be to Thee. O Lord! I am saved from the wizards!"

Dix Love,

Vampires & Legends: The Coffin Lid (Russia)

A moujik was driving along one night with a load of pots. His horse grew tired, and all of a sudden it came to a stand-still alongside of a graveyard. The moujik unharnessed his horse and set it free to graze; meanwhile he laid himself down on one of the graves. But somehow he didn't go to sleep.

He remained lying there some time. Suddenly the grave began to open beneath him: he felt the movement and sprang to his feet. The grave opened, and out of it came a corpse -- wrapped in a white shroud, and holding a coffin lid -- came out and ran to the church, laid the coffin-lid at the door, and then set off for the village.

The moujik was a daring fellow. He picked up the coffin-lid and remained standing beside his cart, waiting to see what would happen. After a short delay the dead man came back, and was going to snatch up his coffin-lid -- but it was not to be seen. Then the corpse began to track it out, traced it up to the moujik, and said:

"Give me my lid: if you don't, I'll tear you to bits!"

"And my hatchet, how about that?" answers the moujik. "Why, it's I who'll be chopping you into small pieces!"

"Do give it back to me, good man!" begs the corpse.

"I'll give it when you tell me where you've been and what you've done."

"Well, I've been in the village, and there I've killed a couple of youngsters."

"Well then, now tell me how they can be brought back to life."

The corpse reluctantly made answer:

"Cut off the left skirt of my shroud, and take it with you. When you come into the house where the youngsters were killed, pour some live coals into a pot and put the piece of the shroud in with them, and then lock the door. The lads will be revived by the smoke immediately."

The moujik cut off the left skirt of the shroud, and gave up the coffin-lid. The corpse went to its grave -- the grave opened. But just as the dead man was descending into it, all of a sudden the cocks began to crow, and he hadn't time to get properly covered over. One end of the coffin-lid remained sticking out of the ground.

The moujik saw all this and made a note of it. The day began to dawn; he harnessed his horse and drove into the village.

In one of the houses he heard cries and wailing. In he went -- there lay two dead lads.

"Don't cry," says he, "I can bring them to life!"

"Do bring them to life, kinsman," say their relatives. "We'll give you half of all we possess."

The moujik did everything as the corpse had instructed him, and the lads came back to life. Their relatives were delighted, but they immediately seized the moujik and bound him with cords, saying:

"No, no, trickster! We'll hand you over to the authorities. Since you knew how to bring them back to life, maybe it was you who killed them!"

"What are you thinking about, true believers! Have the fear of God before your eyes!" cried the moujik.

Then he told them everything that had happened during the night. Well, they spread the news through the village; the whole population assembled and swarmed into the graveyard. They found out the grave from which the dead man had come out, they tore it open, and they drove an aspen stake right into the heart of the corpse, so that it might no more rise up and slay. But they rewarded the moujik richly, and sent him away home with great honor.

Dix Love,

Short horror story #02

The following short story about a scary vampire attack is fiction. Any similarities between it, or its characters, and real life are entirely coincidental.

Or are they...

There was a heavy wrought iron fence that ran along the eastern edge of Fenton Cemetery. Outside the fence were planted sporadically evergreen shrubs and a concrete sidewalk ran its length. Further beyond the walkway was Adams Road, a busy avenue that traveled in a straight line through several cities and townships.

Jeff Harrison walked along the sidewalk, traveling west beside the road. He was on his way home from a friend's party and he' d had his share to drink. He wasn't reeling as he went but he was dragging his feet and walking unsteadily. To a passerby he might appear intoxicated.

As he walked in the cool, spring night air, he thought of his wife and hoped she wouldn't be mad at him for drinking so much. Suddenly, a sprinkler to his right came on and then several others rattled to life, spraying the grass and Jeff with misty water and making him jump in surprise. When he recovered, he quickly moved toward the road to avoid getting any wetter.

On the other side of the iron fence, two dimly glowing and reddish eyes watched from the shadows of a tall marble tombstone. When the creature that owned those eyes heard the man on the other side of the fence approaching, it silently skittered across the lush grass to take up a post nearer the fence. There was a big, hedge-like shrub growing up against the bars of the fence and the creature, clad from head to foot in torn and moldy rags, rushed over to the bush and peered at the man beyond.

It watched as the sprinklers came on and experienced a pang of despair as the man moved further away from the fence and into the brighter patches of light provided by the street lamps overhead. It crouched behind the bush and made no sound. Every bit of its being was focused on the hunt, and it watched in amazement as the man on the other side of the metal bars stumbled and nearly fell into the street and passing traffic.

The creature glanced to its left, further to the west down the fence line. There was a place near a locked gate where there were no sprinklers. But the spraying water continued further down. So, the creature decided he would have to attack when the man reached the area near the gate, or he would be out too near the street and too visible in the bright lights.

Jeff Harrison chuckled aloud when he stumbled and caught himself from falling on the ground. He sobered considerably when he realized he'd almost took a spill onto the road's pavement. To emphasize the seriousness of the situation, a black sedan whizzed by in the lane nearest Jeff, traveling many miles above the speed limit. It blared its horn at him. He stayed on the damp grass and continued his trek home out of range of the sprinklers.

He saw a broad driveway ahead that was used to access the cemetery during daylight hours. Now, it was blocked by a tall iron gate, bordered on either side by a large marble statue of a lion. Sentries, he mused.

As he passed the last sprinkler, he moved back onto the concrete sidewalk. He gazed up at one of the lions as he passed the gate and shuddered as it seemed to return his stare and then he turned his head forward as he saw more sprinklers ahead. Beyond an overhead light that shed it's illumination primarily on the gate, it was quite dark. There was another street lamp ahead but it was fifty yards distant.

The creature inside the cemetery was now crouching next to the trunk of a massive pine tree growing beside the paved entryway inside the gate. It was close enough to the fence for it to peer out beyond its black iron bars and see the man approaching. Excitement began to course through its body and it readied itself in intense anticipation.
Jeff Harrison never saw the flash of gray atop the fence as the creature incredibly balanced on one ornamental spear head. It had leaped to its perch in one single, powerful jump. It waited for only a few moments atop the fence and then soundlessly fell to the ground on Jeff's side of the fence, directly behind him.

Whether the man heard the creature or not should be left to speculation. All Jeff knew was he sensed something behind him the moment the thing descended to the sidewalk. He whirled around in confusion and alarm. He was scared and his mind craved to know what danger had seemingly fallen from the sky.

Almost immediately upon the creature's soft landing, it saw the man tense and start to turn around to see what was behind him. Mentally cursing itself, the gray clad figure reached up with a black-nailed hand toward the considerably larger man's neck and waited for him to turn. It wasn't ready for the man's actions, and Jeff was able to charge forward the moment he turned, planning to use his bulk to knock whoever was behind him away, so that he could see what was happening and react accordingly with less confusion.

For Jeff Harrison might have had too much to drink but he was a large man who still worked out and one who'd played four years of college football as a younger man. He'd been in his share of fights over the years, too and the drink in his system only emboldened him more.

His blind charge would have been effective if the monster had only been bigger and not crouching low on the sidewalk. He slammed into it with his legs and the creature did fall back a pace but, almost instantly, it had its gray hand latched around Jeff Harrison's throat squeezing his windpipe in an iron grip.

Jeff struggled to get away for a moment before he finally did what the vampire had wanted him to do all along - he looked into its eyes.

The skin that was visible on the creature's hands and face was gray. The rags in which it covered itself were filthy and ancient. The smell coming off the thing was utterly repulsive but when he looked up into its face, none of that mattered. A gaunt visage that gave way to full lips and dagger-like yellow fangs was enough to cause Jeff's bladder to loosen and he didn't even feel the warm trickle down his pant leg.

The light burning within the creatures eyes must come from some secret and awesome place, Jeff thought. It danced and swirled around pinpoint, black pupils. It turned a deeper red and then purple before blazing with an intense orange. There seemed to be some pattern to the changes inside those eyes and Jeff was determined to solve it. He was utterly transfixed by the spectacle and his body went limp.

The vampire looked each way along the roadway and sidewalk and, though there were a few cars passing by, he doubted anyone could see what had transpired within the shadows of the cemetery's iron fence. It grabbed the man in one powerful claw by the back of his checkered coat. With a display of raw strength and agility, it ran back toward the gate and leaped upon one of the concrete pedestals, upon which the lion statue was mounted. Jeff Harrison's motionless body trailed behind and when his head hit the steel pole, there was an audible metallic clang.

The vampire jumped down on the other side of the fence and again peered out onto the sidewalk to make sure no alarm had been raised. There was no sound but the hum of the occasional passing car and the leaves rattling above in the trees as the night wind gusted.

It jerked around and dragged the man behind him. Jeff's sneakered heels bounced across the thick cemetery lawn. Displaying much less concern now, the vampire made its way easily to a large stone mausoleum, only a hundred yards or so from the gate where it had snared its victim.

It reached into its rag-like shirt and produced a silver key. With it the vampire unlocked the steel gate that barred access to the white building. The portal creaked on rusted hinges as the monster pulled it open and it dragged Jeff Harrison from the world and locked the gate.

Dix Love,

Short horror story #01

I am a 17 year old boy and I lived in New Jersey in Edison, I hang out at a mall with my friends. My friends usually have a Gothic style in clothing along with me but we had competitions on who can run fastest or jump over the most people. I was the fastest and my friend Jared would challenge my skills in almost every aspect. Now, I know the limits of a normal human because I've been to 11 different schools and saw what people can and can't do. Such as I can jump over the hood of a car without touching it but not the top of the whole car. I was messing around with Jared by seeing who can wall walk over the most people. We both did 6 or 7 but then, out of nowhere, this guy in a ragged black trench coat looking about 23 or 25 years of age, white and about 5'11 with vampire fangs appeared. Since vampire teeth were common amongst our style, when I saw him with a pair, I knew he was a "mall hopper" or a mall junkie like us. He placed a bet on me and Jared beating us only in 1 try. We bet $50 each, it seemed reasonable, so he got 10 people to lay down and he soared over them with 2 to spare. He won the bet and took the $50 from both of us.

Now this is where it gets weird, I saw him leave shortly after, so I broke away from the enraged crowd and followed him to try to catch up with him, I was on the 4th floor of a parking lot of the mall where I saw him jump down over the edge, I ran over to the ledge to see if he was ok, but he wasn't there. I was spooked but wanted to find him at the same time. It left a queasy feeling in my gut, and I'm not one to be car sick. I decided to go down a floor by the stairs and search for him. He wasn't on the floor. So I went down one more floor which means I'm now on the 2nd floor, and saw him at the other end of the lot where I just came from, near where the bet took place, but on the top floor. I jogged over to where he was and I swear before I got to him he looked at me and grinned with his eyes wide open. I felt my heart stop for a second with fear, why was this fearful to me? I still can't find out why today, maybe it was his long face structure that complemented his long slender teeth. It seared the edge of my mind. After the grin, he jumped again over the edge so I said to myself, I need to get to him but it's not going to be easy when I just got the crap scared out of me by a grin. So I jumped over the edge, but on the way down I saw him go back into the lot, still on the 1st floor from where we just jumped from. But as I rolled when I landed and I tried to keep my eyes on him. I didn't do too well and rolled once more by accident. I then ran into the lot and saw him go out towards a field where I could maybe catch up with him to ask some questions. I was wrong, in a 100 yard dash, I run it in about 11.2 sec. Now this guy smoked me as if I was nothing and headed towards the mall to turn a corner to lose me and as I caught up, I was babbled by not seeing him when I turned the corner like 10 sec after he did. So in a motion of frustration, I looked up and SAW HIM CLIMBING OVER THE EDGE OF THE ROOF!!!! I was somewhat sad at this point from fear and disbelief of seeing him climb over the edge of the roof away from me. It was the first time I felt that way and I don't want to ever feel that way again.

Dix Love,