Super green avocado, kale & ginger smoothie

in Breakfast, Taste -

Rise and shine! A super pretty, super tasty, super green avocado, kale & ginger smoothie with chia seeds and fragrant lime.

In the winter, when early morning as usually dark, quiet and cold,  I long for comforting, warming oats with stewed fruit, nut butters and fragrant spices; or hearty, saucy eggs served with thickly sliced bread. And then, there are also those days when all I crave are bright smoothies, filled with all the goodness and freshness, served in big round glasses. Sometimes they are dark pink or pale yellow, most often though they are green: pale and smooth or deep emerald, thick and frothy. [READ MORE]

Spicy savoy cabbage & shiitake miso soup

in Savoury, Taste -

This spicy savoy cabbage & shiitake miso soup is filled with all the vegetables and all the goodness & is perfect for winter weather & nasty colds.

Spicy savoy cabbage & shiitake miso soup

Not surprisingly, this cold and gloomy weather is just heavenly for a house cat like myself. I spent the whole of Sunday between the couch and the kitchen, between dreamily gazing at the snow, sleepily watching bad TV and hungrily devouring carrot soup, more grilled cheese than I should admit and spicy soft cookies baked straight from the freezer. My belly was full, my feet warm and I felt only mildly like a guilty sloth. All in all, a very satisfying winter day. And even though I will probably not have one like it for a while, I can always think about it fondly and enjoy warming, spicy and comforting dishes, like this colourful and fragrant miso soup. [READ MORE]

Honeyed kumquats, yogurt & thyme

in Breakfast, Desserts, Taste -

Honeyed kumquats are a real treat, especially for breakfast, served with thick yogurt & fragrant thyme over crunchy toast. 

I’ve gone back and forth before deciding what to do with the heaps of kumquats from my parents minuscule trees. While your suggestions inspired both research and tremendous appetite, I found it almost impossible to settle on a recipe. While I was trying to make up my mind, I must have eaten a third of them, with no preparation at all, pith, seeds and all. I just find them so very delicious, impossibly fragrant, lightly bitter and with a lovely texture. I’ve added them to salads in place of oranges and in warming, creamy oats and, before deciding anything else, I knew I had to make my mom’s delicious kumquat marmalade. And yet, I didn’t. See, they were so pretty, so bright and shapely I refused to chop them down. Instead, I made a preserve of sorts. [READ MORE]

Cranberry, citrus & pecan brown butter cake

in Desserts, Taste -

Sweet and a little sour, soft and bursting with seasonal goodness- there’s lots to love in this cranberry, citrus & pecan brown butter cake.

Cranberry, citrus & pecan brown butter cake

There was a time when I was oblivious to cranberries and their beauty. They sure are a peculiar bunch: perky and bright red, a sight for sore eyes indeed, yet tart and mostly accessible when they are cooked. Instead, come spring I paid my respects and showed love to other berries: soft sweet blueberries, my favourite of them all, perfect in a summer pie, a fragrant cake or rich overnight oats; also delicate raspberries and the ever so slightly tart and chubby blackberries. [READ MORE]

Leek, bacon & kale pie

in Savoury, Taste -

Comforting and filling, this leek, bacon & kale pie is delicious, easy, adaptable and the prefect start to a delicious new year!

Leek, bacon & kale pie

I wanted the first recipe of the new year, the first to share with y’all here, to be something reflecting my sentiments of the last few days: familiar, comforting, uncomplicated, brimming over with strong flavours and seasonal ingredients. Something that’s easy to make, yet fills you with pride for a meal well-made and utterly satisfying. I’ve always loved pies, of all shapes and forms: traditional Greek with dark greens and delicate herbs, fruity and summery with dark colours or crunchy and salty with beautiful colours and textures. They’re all dear to me and I enjoy making them as much as devouring them as part of any meal of the day. [READ MORE]

Winter cheese & fruit board

in Small bites, Taste -

A very festive and colourful winter cheese & fruit board, easy to put together and perfect to get the festivities for New Year’s Eve rolling.

Winter cheese & fruit board

With New Year’s Eve just around the corner and Christmas celebrations right behind us, I often find entertaining and cooking a little tricky: after all the dinners, outings, crispy potatoes, mince pies, chocolate, roasts, croissants, melomakarona and kourampiedes consumed (not to mention copious amounts of wine), I catch myself craving fresh fruit and simple soups more than anything. Yet, I can’t think of a better way to ring in the New Year than with a beautifully laid table, filled with colourful, seasonal produce shared with close family and friends. [READ MORE]

Spicy satsuma & maple Dutch baby

in Breakfast, Taste -

This irresistibly delicious, sugar and dairy-free spicy satsuma & maple Dutch baby is sure to become your new favourite weekend breakfast.

Spicy satsuma & maple Dutch baby

After just sharing these impossibly chocolaty, fragrant brownies, I’m back to playing with the irresistible mandarin family. At the moment, as it always happens around this time of year, there is an exceeding abundance of citrus in my kitchen. While lemons and limes are favourites throughout the year, come December I’m drawn to other beautiful citrus as well and buy them time and time again. I don’t particularly crave eating them raw (I often find them too acidic) but I love everything else: their colour, fragrance and how they can transform almost every dish they are added to into a wintery wonder: like this sweet & salty hearty salad or them gooey brownies– and how lovely would they be added to this dried fruit & nut couscous? [READ MORE]

Cinnamon, clove & clementine dark chocolate brownies

in Desserts, Taste -

These gooey cinnamon, clove & clementine dark chocolate brownies have a subtle Christmas fragrance and an irresistible texture.

Cinnamon, clove & clementine dark chocolate brownies

After an almost three-month hiatus from baking, boy am I glad to be back! I thought I hadn’t missed it, but I realised how mistaken I was with the first batch of brownies that came out of the oven: the kitchen was hot and smelled like kitchens really should, the brownies were set, but also soft and almost bubbly and I was content. You can never really go wrong with brownies and these came out dizzyingly fragrant and impossibly gooey: filled with almost two bars of dark chocolate, cinnamon, cloves & clementine zest, perfectly seasonal and appropriately festive.

Indeed, you can’t go wrong with brownies and these are definitely a festive winner, made in partnership with Home Run. I’ve enjoyed their excellent services time and time again and perhaps you should too? You could get all the ingredients for these beauties within the hour. Not bad, especially for this time of the year. Not bad at all. [READ MORE]

Cauliflower, spinach & hazelnut salad with peanut butter dressing

in Savoury, Small bites, Taste -

Filled with so many colours and textures, this cauliflower, spinach & hazelnut salad with peanut butter dressing is perfect for the holiday season. 

Cauliflower, spinach & hazelnut salad with peanut butter dressing

I’ve been thinking about holiday meals a lot these past couple of weeks; ’tis the season I suppose, for gatherings, big or small, and tables filled with dishes reflecting seasonal colours, a celebratory mood and family or other traditions. There’s so much to enjoy during the colder months, so many beautiful ingredients, some discrete yet always reliable and others filled with wild colour and irresistible flavours. Cauliflower I feel is often left in the shadows, what with its pale skin and less than desirable cooking aromas; somehow though, it’s always been dear to my heart, much like a beautiful blank canvas, inviting and welcoming all at once. So when Blas Y Tir sent beautiful bundles of it, I could not wait to play around with the crunchy, snow white beauty. I’d already had very fond memories from working with their chubby, delicious spring potatoes and mixing them with fresh greens and smoked salmon, I was sure their winter produce would be qually satisfying, both to work with and to savour. [READ MORE]

Red wine & grape molasses poached pears with mascarpone

in Desserts, Taste -

Celebrating one of the season’s stunners fruits in one simple dish: red wine & grape molasses poached pears with mascarpone, cinnamon & cloves.

Red wine & grape molasses poached pears with mascarpone

I didn’t always love pears; up until recently, apples, all kinds of them, always took centre stage come autumn and winter. Pears were always in hand none the less, since every time I’d bite into one’s juicy, sweet flesh I’d think that they really were quite special. Yet, I never though ‘Damn, I wish I had a pear now’, nor would I excitedly reach for one when in need of a sweet, fresh bite or a quick snack. This year though, I somehow found myself hopelessly attracted to them. I can’t recall how it happened, nor is it really essential to trace down that first spark. Since they first appeared in markets, I’ve been buying them in heavy rotation and enjoying them on their own or incorporated into various dishes. In thick, steaming hot quinoa or oats with maple syrup and a dollop of almond butter, sitting pretty on a cheese platter or dunked in melting Camembert, or cut in thick slices and topped with Maldon salt flakes and a drizzle of honey- they’ve become a true favourite of the season. [READ MORE]