Food for thought

in Inspiration -

Food for thought

The wedding frenzy part of the summer is well underway; yesterday, Alkyoni and I arrived in Ionnina, a beautiful city in north-western Greece, for one of our closest friends’ wedding. As we haven’t been here in many years, we’re anxious to catch up with friends, explore the city, visit the small island located in Ioannina lake and eat our weight in savoury pies and local desserts. While doing all and practicing my rusty Spanish and French with some of the guests, I’m also getting jittery about our own wedding. It’s coming up in less than a month and here’s a few things that have so far inspired my planning:

An easy way to a beautiful flower bouquet.

Vintage jewelry as a hair accessory? Yes please!

On the same note, easy breezy hairstyles, perfect for summer.

If we manage to take a small break from the wedding preparations, we’ll escape to Skiathos; it’s one of the most beautiful, greenest Greek islands and where we took our first holiday together, seven summers ago.

Alkyoni is making the crowns we’ll be wearing during the ceremony and has been getting lots of inspiration here.

Very chic coral earrings, perfect for a laid back summer wedding attire.

Annoying wedding guests (damn, I think I may be ticking a couple of these boxes).

We’re not doing a wedding cake (I don’t know what we’re doing instead), but if we were, it would be a toss between this molten chocolate cake and this berry pistachio cheesecake. Or we’d just have both. Maybe we should.

* The most beautiful card for this happy couple, hand crafted by the most talented girl, Myrto. I wish I came up with things like that when I was 18.

Quinoa beetroot salad (Rocabella Hotel Mykonos)

in Savoury, Taste -

Forget about the breathtaking views, super stylish rooms and impeccable service: the real bomb in Rocabella Hotel Mykonos is the food! I couldn’t be happier sharing the recipe for one of their signature dishes with you, as it’s exactly the way I like it: delicious (trust me, I’ve been making it on repeat), colourful, fresh and super easy to make. If, like me, you can’t make the trip to Mykonos this year, we can at least enjoy this beautiful salad over and over again!

[READ MORE]

Rocabella Hotel Mykonos

in The Others -

One of the best hotel experiences I’ve ever had was in Rocabella Mykonos: gorgeous views, beautiful architecture, bright, clean rooms tastefully decorated and the friendliest staff I’ve ever come across. And don’t even get me started on the menu and cocktails! I’ve only been to this one, but judging from photos, its little sibling in Santorini must be equally stunning. Lucky for me, it just so happens that one of the people running this family business is my friend Roy Kalfopoulou. I met Roy years back in London and she’s one of the kindest, warmest and most generous people ever. She’s been around the hotel since day one and lately has been focusing on all press related actions, as well as everything regarding the hotel’s image and style. Not surprisingly, when I visited the hotel a couple summers ago, her hospitality was spot on, a perfect match for the hotel’s gorgeous serenity and impeccable service. The secret to their success? Read on…

Rocabella Hotel Mykonos

Rocabella Hotel Mykonos [READ MORE]

Food for thought

in Food for thought, Inspiration -

veggies-1

I’m back home for the summer and my days are now filled with faces I’ve been missing for far too long, blinding sun, hot weather and familiar songs. Food wise, I’ve been overwhelmed by my mom’s terrific dishes once again, the beautiful fresh produce in our local farmers market and all the ice cream and cheese pies I can get my hands on. Needless to say, I’m already a little heavier and a lot inspired, so expect lots more new fresh and delicious recipes coming your way in the days to follow. In the meantime, here’s a few bits and pieces from around the web, all Greece-related, to match my current state. [READ MORE]

Beet, feta & thyme tart tatin

in Savoury, Taste -

Beet tart tatin-1-2

This beet, feta & thyme tart tatin ticks is so easy and delicious, I’m really confused as to why it’s taken me so long to come up with. Gorgeous beets, flakey, buttery pastry, salty feta and fresh thyme- check. Easy, quick and fuss free cooking- check again. Tons of flavour and gorgeous to look at- triple check! This one’s a winner y’ all! Let’s talk beets for a second: gorgeous colours, beautiful texture both when raw and cooked, slightly sweet, they really are lovely whichever way you decide to take: chips, soup, smoothie or combined with summery zucchini and manchego– you really can’t go wrong with these beauties. Especially when you keep them almost whole and make them the star of a tart tatin show. [READ MORE]

Food for thought

in Food for thought, Inspiration -

Food for thought

Yesterday’s tragedy in Nice has left me once again numb, sad and kinda desperate. I’m trying to come to terms with the fact that our world is a dark dark place, while remembering that there’s still light to be found- or at least there should be and we need to cherish it. On that note, here’s a few Food for thought links for y’ all, because, dammit, it’s summer and we need to stand up to violence, fear and insanity. Stay positive, stay cool. [READ MORE]

Baked peaches & mascarpone

in Breakfast, Desserts, Taste -

Baked peaches & mascarpone

When summer approaches and along with it come all the beautiful seasonal fruit, peaches somehow escape me at first. I go crazy over strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries; I’m smitten with nectarines and then, in the middle of said love affairs, I see peaches. And every time, I just can’t explain why the escape me- especially the small, flat ones. They are so cute and pretty and aromatic, I want to grab all of them, take them home, look at them for a few days and then play with their soft, pink skin. Are you with me? [READ MORE]

Food for thought

in Food for thought, Inspiration -

Food for thought

Last Friday, my amazing girlfriends took me to Côte d’Azur for a very long, very relaxing, very fun weekend, which officially marks the beginning of our wedding festivities. Our four days spent in the gorgeous sun started with a long breakfast, continued with lazy sessions by the pool and carried on with visits to beautiful little villages, dinners in Cannes and Nice, too much wine, cheese, ice cream, giggling and beautiful conversation. I came back forever grateful and with a renewed appetite- hence this week’s Food for thought, which features food & drink links. [READ MORE]

Nectarine & blackberry pie

in Desserts, Taste -

nectarine pie-1-3

A couple weeks ago, I spent a whole day making pies for an event. They were filled with spinach and swiss chard, feta and ricotta and I was filled with joy. I love making pie of any kind and this is probably my favourite savoury combo. At the end of the day, I found myself tired, with some leftover phyllo pastry and in desperate need of a dessert (after all the pie ‘testing’). I glanced at the ice cream in the freezer, then at the beautiful fruit in the fridge and thought “What the hell, let’s make another pie! A nectarine & blackberry pie!” [READ MORE]

Toast 3 ways

in Small bites, Taste -

Toast 3 ways

One of the things rarely found in our kitchen is bread. Don’t get me wrong- I LOVE bread, both making and (even more) eating it. The main reason for its absence is simple: bakeries are not the same here as back home. Seriously, Greece seems to have a bakery in almost every corner; each is filled with every type of bread and any sweet and savoury dough-y thing imaginable*, making it very hard to resist and not buy a fragrant loaf or a bag of delicious treats. In additional to that, Mike, who loves treats of any kind (especially the chocolate and peanut butter kind) is quite indifferent when it comes to bread. He never asks for it nor buys it, so it’s easy for me to follow his lead. [READ MORE]