This week is devoted to the last days of summer. It’s an homage of sorts to that glorious season and all its fresh and delicious vegetables, their colour and smells. This summer has truly been unforgettable: it was long and relaxing, filled with family, refreshing naps, layers of sunscreen, blinding sun, friends, weddings, so much laughter and lots of food. [READ MORE]
Spetzofai is one of my favourite summer dishes and probably the one I most enjoy eating at our summer house. It’s a very popular traditional quick summer stew of sorts, named after the word spetza, an alternative name for pepper, and the word food. The reason why we make it so often is probably because it contains two of the season’s most delicious produce, fresh tomatoes and sweet and crunchy green peppers, which our garden always has in abundance. The addition of sausage makes the tomato sauce even more flavourful and wholesome. [READ MORE]
I love our summer house more than words. I think it’s the prettiest place on earth and most of my happy childhood memories are from there. I’m also well aware that it’s not perfect; one of it’s imperfections is it’s oven: sure, it’s working, but only when it feels like it. And when it does, it’s temperamental and full of surprises. [READ MORE]
My very long holiday is slowly coming to an end. I spent the short break I took from the blog eating loads of things from our garden, tasting the most delicious roast chicken I’ve had, trying to recreate the taste and look of mine and my sisters favourite summer nectarine cake/tart and making loads of jam. All these I call research, you know? Tasting as many ingredients as possible, making different combinations, getting my hands dirty, my senses intrigued and my tummy filled. [READ MORE]
Remember how last week I was all about grapes and how melons and watermelons should make way for them already so they could shine they way the should? Well, just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in. Watermelons that is. They’ve charmed me once again. [READ MORE]
Spoon desserts are quite the Greek tradition. They’re also very popular, very sweet and can be made using almost any kind of fruit boiled with sugar and oftentimes added herbs and/or spices. When I was a kid and a teenager I considered them unbearably uncool, boring and tasteless; I mean, it was just cooked fruit in a sugary syrup. There was no texture, no fluffiness, no layers and, most importantly, no chocolate or even butter! I snubbed them and thought I was so right to do so. [READ MORE]
This week is (almost) all about grapes. The star fruits of the summer are usually watermelon and melon, are they not? They are juicy, sweet and absolutely irresistible with their gorgeous colours and lovely flesh. I get it, I really do, you can’t say no to them, you can’t really have summer without them. But let’s go back to grapes: so many varieties, each in a beautiful, unique shade and that taste! sweet and tart, bursting in your mouth one berry at a time. Melons and watermelons also make me starstruck, but my true soft spot is reserved all year round for grapes. [READ MORE]
One of the ingredients from back home I miss the most is fish. Don’t get me wrong- you can find many delicious varieties in London and, since I eat fish at least twice a week, I enjoy them thoroughly. But, there’s something about Greek fish I just can’t get over; maybe it’s that I’ve associated them with my mom’s cooking (huge fish fan, barely cooks meat, etc) and especially with the world’s most delicious fish soup I grew up eating; maybe it’s because I’ve had fish and seafood so many times by the sea, like literally, a few steps from the water, on warm, starry nights, carefree and happy. [READ MORE]
This is one of my all time favourite dishes, an adaptation of a Diane Kochilas recipe. I first came across it when I was in college, featured on a monthly food magazine, amongst ten of her favourite dishes. It wasn’t just the recipes that I loved, but also the way she was writing about food: I could almost taste the ingredients described and feel their significance for the writer. I think it’s after reading that segment that I started not only cook properly, but actually really read and pay attention to a recipe and the ingredients it listed. Around that time, along with my awareness of ingredients and techniques, my love for a quality home cooked meal also started to develop. [READ MORE]
Honestly, I didn’t plan this post; I was gonna stay away from any kind of frozen treat, be it ice cream, sorbet, popsicles, or anything of that sort. I wanted to talk about pies and gooey chocolate cookies, meringues and all puffed up pull-apart breads filled with fruity jams. [READ MORE]