Traditional
2008 Cherries have a remarkably short growing season and in Greece this period is between June and end of July. In Cyprus I remember we could eat cherries, as early as May but by June they were gone. There are a few types of cherries, such as wild cherries, Bind, Lambert, Rainier, Royal Ann and [...]
Melitzanes giahni or as they are called in Cyprus «vazania giahni», are eggplants in tomato sauce. My mother, as well as all other Cypriot women, would fry the potatoes and eggplants in a lot of oil and they would then sauté the onion in the oil and add fresh ripe tomatoes and tomato paste, as [...]
Those of you reading my blog know that I am from Cyprus, which although it is an independent state, our culture, language, religion, customs, food, music, national anthem etc., are Greek. The immigration of settlers from Greece, which had begun at least by 1200 b.C., led to the foundation of Greek kingdoms covering most of [...]
Continue reading about Koupepia me lahana and not lahanodolmades
My mom used to love baklavas and would make it with almonds and cinnamon. This is based on her recipe, although I tweaked her recipe a lot and added nutmeg, and substituted the almonds with pecans and walnuts. I learnt about pecans recently and have been using them often since then and they have [...]
Watermelon has such wonderful properties for your health as it lowers cholesterol and helps maintain a better immune system. Now that watermelon, is in season, when you buy some, the only thing that is not edible are the pips. So let’s see how many things I can make out of this 5 kilo watermelon? To [...]
Continue reading about Karpouzopita (Watermelon Cake) and Watermelon Jelly
Glyka tou Koutaliou, which translates as «spoon sweets» are fruit preserves, served in a spoon (occasionally with a small fork) as a gesture of hospitality. They can be made from almost any fruit, though sour and bitter fruits are especially prized. There are even spoon sweets made from vegetables such as carrots, eggplants, tomatoes etc. [...]
Continue reading about Karpouzi Glyko – Watermelon Rind Preserve (spoon sweet)
Kaloirka is a traditional Cypriot recipe, which is a pasta dish filled with minced veal or beef, similar to meat ravioli, maybe a remnant from the Venetian rule on the island!! This was the first time I made ravioli with ground beef. I usually make them with a cheese filling but it was something [...]
I have called this recipe Pastitsio the Greek way as opposed to the Makaronia tou Fournou, which is the one we make in Cyprus. Pastitsio is a layered Greek pasta casserole dish. There are variations throughout the regions of Greece with a few minor different spices but typically the bottom layer is bucatini or other [...]
Kokoretsi is a traditional Greek Easter dish consisting mainly of seasoned lamb or goat offals. To make kokoretsi the most difficult part of the process is to wash the bowels (intestines) of the lamb. This is a time consuming procedure which is advisable to be made a day before roasting it. The bowels, which are [...]
Etymology: Flaouna pl. flaounes is a traditional cheese bread we make in Cyprus during Easter, with phyllo filled with a special Cypriot cheese made during easter and mint. The word Flaouna, is derived from the ancient Greek word πᾰλάθη (palathi) > flado > fladoonis > flatouna > flaouna. History: It is believed that flaouna is reminiscent [...]
