I came up with this recipe after having an epiphany that I must once again have and enjoy the flavour combo of walnuts and figs [...]

This Greek cookie is an almond shortbread cookie. Christmas time is coming and every home will certainly have Kourabiedes on offer for visiting house guests. These cookies are fantastically simple in ingredients, not too difficult and I don’t think I’ve met one person that doesn’t like them. What’s not to like about butter, roasted almonds [...]

In Greece, festivities are well under way. It’s Carnival time in Greece and one of the biggest days is centered around grilled meats. The period of Carnival in Greece is called “Apokries” and today marks “Tsiknopempti”. Tsiknopempti is a compound word that describes the smell of grilled meats and Thursday: “Tsikno-pempti”. Tavernas will have lit [...]

There are many riffs on Baklava that one can make and Saragli are just one of them. The classic Baklava is made with stacks of buttered phyllo spiked with a mixture of nuts, cinnamon, sugar and cloves. For  Christmas this year, we decided to make an array of Baklava/Syropiasta sweets. In the coming days, I [...]

Today is the eve of the American Thanksgiving and many of you are either traveling or busy prepping for tomorrow’s huge dinner with family and friends. Canadian Thanksgiving occurs in October (fell on Oct12th this year) and one of the dishes I wish to share with you is this homemade pumpkin pie. You have already [...]

This upcoming week will kick off the holiday season what with children out of school and parents are gearing up for family vacations. Next week also marks the arrival of July and a very important date for Canadians is July 1st – Canada Day. Us Canadians celebrate with pride our very young but thriving, prosperous [...]

Finally…a baklava recipe and some background and opinion on this dessert, popular all around the world. The origins of Baklava can be traced to Turkey (which is fine by me) and rather than focus on the differences between Greeks and Turks, I try and focus on the similarities between the two peoples. Relations between the [...]

Cooking, food, menu planning is as much about your culinary upbringing as it is about your instincts. Sometimes I’m wrong about a recipe or new riff on a classic. Thank goodness I’m right most of the time. Case in point was this Creme Brulee with Mastic. Although there are some savory applications for mastic, it [...]

I’ve thought carefully on whether to post the recipes from this past Easter in clusters or individually. I’ve chosen the latter for the simple reason of keeping the clarity of recipes in the archives of the blog and to make them easier to search for. You might get a flurry of posts from me in [...]

Hristos Anesti (Christ Has Risen)! I would like to wish all of my Greek family, friends, philHellenes who celebrated Easter yesterday. I hope your day was filled with many fond memories, that the Gods blessed you with some good Spring weather and the banquet of Easter delights exceeded all your expectations. Despite the gloomy forecast [...]