The A, Bee & See of the Royal York Hotel

All Torontonians have heard of the Royal York Hotel, have attended functions, weddings, or passed through this old world charming hotel. Located right across from Union Station, the Royal York will be viewed by many tourists and some will even stay in this classy hotel. Some locals (such as myself) will have even stayed at […]
Backyard Birthday BBQ

This past Sunday was my birthday and I invited some friends over for some good drink, delicious food and hearty laughs. The weekend forecast was for hot summer days, little humidity. The clouds rolled in just before guests arrived and there was a little bit of rainfall. The clouds left, happy to have teased us […]
Zucchini Blossoms With Linguine, Basil & Pine Nuts

If you had a glut of zucchini blossoms like I had, you’ll want to cook them up “every which way but loose”, like I did. So far we’ve stuffed them, fried them, offered up a dessert and now there’s the combo of pasta and zucchini blossoms. This dish is one way to use up those […]
Sweet Zucchini Blossoms Stuffed With Manouri & Honey

As promised yesterday, the quirky recipe for offering up fried zucchini blossoms is here: the same Ouzo batter is used, the filling merely of a soft Greek cheese called Manouri and honey. Manouri cheese is made from goat or sheep’s milk cheese, light in salt and it’s one of those cheeses that could be used […]
Fried Zucchini Blossoms in Ouzo Batter

You know this post was inevitable, frying zucchini blossoms. The responses to my previous post has been overwhelming and they have included suggestions from many readers as to how they cook their zucchini blossoms. The most common response was frying them. Some fried the blossoms with no filling, many with a filling. Some simply shallow-fried […]
Greek Food Gazette 09/07/2010

Matt Barrett shares some of his experiences and tips on visiting Kea (Tzia’s) gorgeous beaches Walking tour of Astoria, New York’s Greektown offered this Sunday afternoon Yiannis Katevas performs all weekend at the Greek Community’s Summer Festival at St. John’s Church Visiting Rochester, New York? Katrina’s Restaurant is waiting to seat you at a table […]
Zucchini Blossoms With Rice (Κολοκυθοανθοί με ρύζι)

Soon your garden will be ripe with lots and lots of zucchini. My previous post featured Zucchini patties…a summer time favourite for many Greeks. There is also Kolokithakia Gemista with an Avgolemono Sauce, one of my personal faves and I had my mom make this for me last year for my arrival in Greece. There’s […]
Baked Zucchini Patties – Kolokithokeftedes

That mouthful of a Greek word you see in the title of this post is compound word: “Kolokitho” refers to zucchini/courgettes and “keftedes” are a burger-like patty. What we’re talking about here are these light and delicious zucchini patties. Many people’s gardens are brimming with zucchini or they will be soon. Grated zucchini, chopped fresh […]
Seftalia From Cyprus (Σεφταλιά)

A couple of weekends ago I had the pleasure of visiting the Cypriot Community of Toronto’s Cultural Centre, where they held their annual Summer Festival on their grounds. After straightening out a mix-up (someone thought I was a politico and asked me to sit at a head table), I located some friends, had a seat […]
Tarator Cold Cucumber Soup (Σούπα ταρατόρ)

There are many reasons to try this soup out: Canadians got a head start on the long weekend with Canada Day on July 1st, the Americans are gearing up for a red, white and blue July 4th tomorrow, the heat is on with humidity also in the forecast and we’re all looking for ways to […]