Remember that lady I told you about who would bring snacks to the beach? We’re gonna talk about her again here as she is also [...]

This past summer while in Greece I also took a side trip to Istanbul (Constantinople). I had previously gone to Istanbul one other time in ’97. The first time I visited this magical city I had spent most of my time seeing the more touristy sites like Dolmabahce, Blue Mosque, Aghia Sophia, the Egyptian Spice [...]

How would you feel if I presented you feel if I presented you with a dish that presented you some of the favoured ingredients in Greek cuisine?  All wrapped-up in one dish? You get spinach (check), you get tomato (check), you get green pepper (check), you get tender pieces of lamb (check), Greek cheese in [...]

From the photo, can you guess what a Portokalopita is? Portokalopita is an Greek compound word translated into “orange pie”. The first time I ever saw this dish was recently at my friend Maria’s blog, “Kali Orexi”. I have never before heard of this dessert, I have never ever eaten a Portokalopita. I was awestruck [...]

It’s New Year’s Eve, December 31st, 2009. The end of one decade and the beginning of a new one. I’ve been thinking of all the ways I’ve spent New Year’s Eve. My earliest recollection was attending the Annual New Year’s dance of the Amynteon Association of Toronto. My parents are from this town in northern [...]

Aren’t mom’s the best? Just when I thought my mom showed me all the tricks in her book (brain) of kitchen techniques, she smacks-down this little ditty on the kitchen counter! I’ve seen these in assortment trays from Greek bakeries. I’ve eaten these at Greek festivals. I seen these offered by other cuisines (Middle-Eastern, Lebanese [...]

Continuing with my series in the realm of Baklava, I present Pourakia or Baklava cigars. Again, all the flavour of Baklava can be had with these easy to make roll-ups. You can make them as big or as small a you wish. Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

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 [...]

Earlier this year I introduced you all to the pre-cursor of Pastrami – Pastourma. It’s an air-dried beef that’s flavoured by spices and lots of [...]

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 [...]