Here in Ontario we live about 90 minutes from the Canada/US border which is also where Niagara Falls in situated. The stretch of land that hugs Lake Ontario from just south of Hamilton to Niagara Falls is the Niagara wineland. More and more wineries are popping up and I can see that other agriculture/farming is [...]

I have a confession: when I bought an ice cream machine last summer it was for the sole purpose of making this ice cream – baklava ice cream. Inspiration comes from many: I first saw this concept at Jenn The Leftover Queen’s. There’s George Calombaris’ take on it and then there’s my friend David Tsirekas’ [...]

I can recall my parents enjoying watermelon (and some other fruit like cantaloupe) with Feta for as far back as my memory goes. The combo sounds odd to those that haven’t tried it but those numbers are dwindling (seeing lots of watermelon & Feta posts). Greeks will simply have a slab of watermelon with a [...]

I’m not sure how to break it you but this ice cream has olives in it…Kalamata olives that is! Before you begin to make funny faces, squint, bunch up and raise your nose at me, let me explain. First, the olives in this ice cream do not have the briny lemon flavour that one is [...]

This dessert was inspired by Eton Mess, an easy concoction that’s usually made by whipping cream, incorporating crumbled Meringues and ripe strawberries (which are  the usual fruit). The Eton Mess was traditionally served at Eton College’s annually cricket game against Winchester College. Now this is where the dessert deviates. I’ve never been impressed with baked [...]

When I woke up this morning I was a little confused. I get this way the first few days of a travel destination. I realized that I was a) not in Canada and b) no longer at the Sani Resort but c) here in Thessaloniki, Greece. I spent the day roaming the Kapani central market [...]

This recipe comes courtesy of a neighbor of ours in Halkidiki, where my family’s summer home is located in Greece. Halkidiki is located in northern Greece, consists of three peninsulas that are situated just east of Greece’s second-largest city, Thessaloniki. One day I went to a neighbor’s home that had some new-born puppies that another [...]

Many of you have visited my Recipe Round-Up for Lent and I hope that I’ve helped you find some interesting dishes to break-up the monotony of the usual Lenten fare. We’re fast approaching Greek Easter and preparations are already beginning in my household! Greek Easter is centered around lamb or goat and the whole day [...]

Last year, I read a book about the Fall of Constantinople – figured it would be a pretty good way to prepare for my second visit to Istanbul (and it did). In the book (besides reading about the many battles), I was also interested in the subplot of this period in history – the psyche [...]

I grew up having not one great cook in the household but two! My dad emigrated to Canada in the 1950′s, on the encouragement of his older brother and uncle, Pantelis ( the fellow I was named after). Like many other immigrant stories, families left their homelands en-masse to greener pastures and in the case [...]