all the recipes
It’s an early morning reward, a breakfast pastry just for you. You’ve gotten up and readied yourself to brave the new day. It’s a sweetened milk & egg dish in its own crispy carrying case, still slightly warm and ever-so-gently spiced, to rock your heart and soul and body as you walk yourself to work or maybe a stroll...
That sneaky and fickle and ever so demanding FILO / PHYLLO, always letting itself dry out in under 10-15 minutes, and crumbling to pieces if exposed to the hot summer air and if not meticulously covered up with another sheet of baking paper and also a damp cloth, when you unroll it and lay it out. And sometimes it’s just ripped here and...
RAVANI or REVANI or both ?! And why not RAEVANI then ?! This is one of those old-fashioned and traditional Greek and Turkish cakes, that has practically disappeared from circulation and almost stopped gracing our tables for decades. Why ? Because creamier and more complicated, layered and somewhat more sophisticated creations took their place. It...
WHY 1-2-3 ?! Because this sequence of numbers represents the proportions or ratios of the ingredients. 1 part fed & active sourdough starter (at 100% hydration, which mean half flour & half water), plus 2 parts water plus 3 parts flour. It’s easy, mathematically speaking. It may not be a total success at the 1stattempt...
It’s WHITE and it’s GREEN . . . because it was WINTER and then it seemed like SPRING, much earlier than usual. And I planted my seeds and they became seedlings. And then it wasn’t spring any longer and it got colder and then it got really, really colder. Winter to spring to winter. And this happened...
And here’s PART 2 or the FILLINGS that go inside the savory pie-crust shell we prepared or will soon be motivated to prepare (see recipe here) ! But like I said in part 1, it’s a bit different because instead of just combining the fillings of roasted vegetables (no frying here) and perhaps too many eggs, heavy cream and grated...
When it comes to organizing PICNICS, “rumor” has it that some people pretend to be too busy to organize them and yet always agree to attend them when organized by others and as long as they don’t have to do any of the heavy lifting (carrying, transporting, delivering) and then they’ll bring a little something of course as a...
“PASTITSIO” … such a very Greek dish (as well as Cypriot, Turkish, Egyptian & Maltese) because it’s just so Mediterranean. But the original word “pasticcio” is Italian and signifies a baked pasta & meat dish. It’s not a lasagna nor a beefy macaroni & cheese dish, but something in between...
This SOURDOUGH series is in 3 parts : the 1st is for making the sourdough starter, the 2nd is for making the actual sourdough bread with the sourdough starter and the 3rd is for how to use the daily leftovers that you accumulate and usually discard but that you should save, while preparing the sourdough starter, to make some...
Is a meat patty just a piece of ground meat ? Is a slice of blue cheese just cheese ? Is a condiment just a sauce ? Are dressings just extras ? Is a bun just bread ? Is a burger just a hot sandwich ? They all could be just that of course … unless you make a special effort for each separate element and assemble them creatively ! If...
It’s going to be a DOUBLE RECIPE POST weekend, divided into 2 PARTS: PART 1 is for the PIE CRUST (or the exterior casing of a huge and high and deep-dish quiche, that could feed 6-8 people) and PART 2 is all about the FILLINGS that go inside that deep-dish quiche but in a new way, with less eggs and cream...
It all began with 4 SLICES of SANDWICH BREAD, aPERFECTLY-SIZED SQUARE BAKING DISH& MOVING DAY ! Not mine of course but some neighbors who moved 2 doors down to my building complex. With many arms carrying boxes and bags and disassembled furniture and many legs going up and down stairs and elevators, it seems like the best...
For all of you ECOLOGICALLY-MINDED & ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY BRAVE KITCHEN WARRIORS & WIZARDS & WHATNOTSwho wondered what to do with leftover sourdough starter batter (because for 150 grams of created sourdough starter, you’re supposed to discard over 1 kg of flour and water mixture), well here’s how to avoid tossing...
They’re ADDICTIVE and addiction is quite BAD, so just listen up : All you folks who are DRINKING & SMOKING TOO MUCH & EATING BADLY & MISBEHAVING ALL THE TIME & GOD-KNOWS-WHAT-ELSE, please don’t make these ! They’re too deliciously sweet, salty, crunchy, spongy, creamy, gooey & decadent … Okay, go...
The “NEW & IMPROVED” 2.0 VERSION … or just a better and more intense version of my rolled baklava fingers (renamed as “cigars” here) ! Why ? Because I realized that regular baklava that is usually prepared as a flat & multi-layered dish, and then sliced in squares and served was almost always more...