I grew up and live in the east end of Toronto…Scarborough if you will. People in the east end would never go to the west end..unless it was to pass through or go to the airport. I’m sure folks in the west end never visited the east end and that’s just how it is. Both [...]

I came up with the name of this riff on Pastitsio last week and I rather like the title of it too…”Pastitsio Gialantzi”. Pastitsio is a favourtite Greek dish made by arranging one layer of tubular pasta followed by a ground meat mixture and then sandwiched with another layer of pasta. A deep dish baking [...]

Last year I was watching a local Greek program that also has a cooking segment included in each episode. I’m interested in this show as I like to keep abreast of local Greek community affairs and, see what other dishes are being presented (I too have appeared on this show). A dish that I had [...]

Ever had one of those fish dishes where they are stuffed with all sorts of the goodness like shrimp and other yummy fruits of the sea? These dishes have long been a favourite of mine but quite often there’s also lots of cream in these dishes. I don’t mind cream but what if I told [...]

The very first time I had raisin bread was back in 1974 – the summer of ’74 when I had just turned 7 years old and I embarked with my mom on my first trip to Greece. I was nervous and excited at the same time: it was my first time flying and that means [...]

This week in the Orthodox calendar is what us Greeks call Cheesefare Week, the last week before the Great Lent begins next week. Traditionally, no meat is eaten but everyone can go bonkers with dairy and cheese. I thought this recipe to be ideal for Cheesefare as it features two of Greece’s most well-know cheeses: [...]

Sometimes, less is more with a dish. When quality ingredients are selected, they should be allowed to shine, without sharing the stage (in this case the plate). I’ve been hankering for home-spun dishes of late…is it the cold? That we’re in January and full-on in the Winter Blues or that’s just the “food space” that [...]

A fruit that’s still available in the Winter, is abundant in Canada and delicious almost all year’ round is the apple. It’s one of my favourite fruits: crispy, crunchy, juicy, sweet and sour and good for ya! Besides the usual “an apple a day will keep the Doctor away”, apples are also versatile as they [...]

When in Greece, you will see Kritsinia in many places/spots as you sight-see, travel through the city or to the countryside. Kritsinia are bread sticks [...]

Happy New Year everyone! This is the first post of 2011 and it’s a dish that takes me back to Thessaloniki, perhaps it will trigger some of your memories? I first had a Kotopita (chicken pie) at a taverna in Thessaloniki, in the Agia Sophia area in fact. A Kotopita is made of  filling of [...]