Meteora, a long weekend in Kalampaka

with batzina for starters

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Spring is here and it is without a doubt the best period for excursions in the countryside. I will be going to Thessaly this weekend, staying at the wonderful town of Kalampaka, at the foot of Meteora. I have way too many reasons to be excited: hiking, sky high rock pillars, medieval monasteries and of course gorgeous food! Continue reading

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Pasteli, sesame candies, the energy bar of the Gods

pasteli

Do you like sesame? Normally we get discreet tastes of it on bread or burger buns. You might be using its oil on salads or scooping up dollops of houmous on pita bread for its distinct flavour. In Greece we are very well acquainted with the humble sesame seed and we have a very soft spot for golden sweet honey. We use them both to make pasteli and this preparation is so old, it is only fair to call them the energy bars of the Gods. Continue reading

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Leek pie and kourkoubinia

Smart ways to make your ingredients go a long way

Still on food blogging competition mode and all I think about is re-using. Last week I re-used my chickpea soup into chickpea burger, I had a few onions cooked into a sharp chutney and made my materials go a little further. This week, it is all about the pie and a bit of dessert, well, from leftovers fillo pastry. Making your ingredients go a long way, have something savoury and something sweet. 

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Chickpeas and onion, the two ingredients soup

Remember the challenges for the food blog awards? We were set a couple of tasks to work on, themes to draw inspiration from, that will roll out from now until the 14th of December, the closure of the competition. For my category, Best Greek Cooking in English, we will be tackling austerity: can you be frugal and eat well? It could not be more apt a subject, especially for Greece where belt-tightening has become second nature. I will be working with humble ingredients to create nutritious dishes, rich in flavour. My mind is running from the cocina povera concept to austerity living and 100% traditional Greek recipes. Thus, my first one is a super traditional, two ingredients soup: chickpeas & onion – revithosoupa. Austerity and wholesomeness served on a plate.  Continue reading Facebooktwitterpinterestinstagramby feather

Market musing

 I’m delighted that Eugenia has invited me to write a guest blog to share an insight into my life in Kritsa, a village in the east of the Greek island of Crete.

Together with my husband, Alan, I enjoy life ‘at home’ in Kritsa, a traditional village on the Greek island of Crete for several months each year. We vary the times of the year that we visit, and the length of our stay to enjoy different seasons, festivals, and events. We love to explore the area, sometimes via our small 4×4, but more often by walking in the mountains, over plateaus and through gorges. If we are in Crete during the height of summer, most days include a few hours on one of the many beaches. Continue reading

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My top 10 of Greek dishes

Courgette flowersI grew up with Greek tastes and smells, savouring simple grills, crunchy greens, lemony stews, milky puddings and had cinnamon tickling my taste buds. When you grow up with something, you tend to cherish it. But when you visit a place how much can you really discover? I made a top 10 of some perhaps not too well-known Greek dishes. Continue reading

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