Roast Quail With Smoked Eggplant Puree

One aspect of my life that has changed is are my eating habits. Blogging has definitely made me a better cook, I demand more from myself and of others when it comes to food (that means you restaurants). The food doesn’t have to be fancy nor does it need so many elements that fifteen underlying […]
Bloom in Bloor West Village

Toronto is a city made of neighborhoods and many of the immigrants who decided to make this city their new home would often live in among their own people. One such neighborhood is Bloor West Village and although much of Toronto is well-integrated, Bloor West Village still has evidence of old the Ukrainian neighborhood. Interspersed […]
Pork Gyro at Home

One of the most recognized Greek foods has to be the Souvlaki. i.e. cubes of meat skewered and grilled over glowing embers. The most common souvlaki you’ll find in Greek eateries is pork but you’ll also find chicken, lamb and beef versions. The other popular Greek street food has to be the Gyro: slabs of […]
Onion Dolmades

These stuffed onions are flavour bombs with a filling of meat, rice and herbs.
House on Parliament…Next Door!

One of Toronto’s old standby’s for pub-grub, hang-out for drinks or actually going out for above-average food on a pauper’s budget has just moved on up the street. Well, actually this pub moved one building south of it’s long-time location on Parliament Street in Toronto’s now desirable Cabbagetown neighborhood. I had resisted writing about House […]
Hearty Winter Vegetable Soup

Although we’ve had a pretty mild winter by Canadian standards, we do still get the abrupt reminder that we (Canadians) live in the Great White North (Canada) and that yes, winters here are a long and cold. Last week we had temperatures that only warmed up to -8 Celcius in the day time and dipped […]
Pork Tigania With Cabbage & Mushrooms

Today’s dish will transport you to a Greek taverna in the mountains. The sea is never more than three hours away in Greece but mountains are everywhere. I have a cousin in Greece, Stefanos and let’s just say he’s another “Kalofaga” or gourmet. Stefano once told me he loves winter! I find this odd coming […]
Giouvesti With Keftedes

During the holidays (December) most of us were running at a fast clip with work-related parties, dinners with family and friends and the big dinners around Christmas and New Year’s. December was a month to add some extra cheese, use more butter, creams, that extra-thick steak and ask for seconds of rich dessert. A lot […]
Italian Wedding Soup

Recipe update from October 2007: I love this soup kitchen classic and I make it at least once a year during soup season. It’s winter and we have soup season! I don’t tinker much with this Rocco DiSpirito recipe other than to use what leafy greens are available in the market. It could be escarole, […]
Grilled Kebabs

This past summer saw me travel to both Greece and Turkey: neighbors, once foes, current rivals and friendly neighbors. Confused? There’s a lot of history between these two nations and to this day, ripples from the Ottoman Empire are felt in Greece (some good, some bad). Greece and Turkey also share some similarities when it […]