all the recipes

SEPTEMBER isn’t all that BAD ! One week ago, I sincerely thought I was going to write up a kicking-and-screaming back to work September article. I changed my mind . . .  It only seems painful in that way, not because everybody’s getting back to work or school or both and vacationing is over but because the weather changes. No...

Like eating a "ray of warm SUNSHINE", whipped up with the damp earthy cool of a mountainside village and its pastures grazed by sheep. KTIPITI means ‘whipped’ or ‘beaten’ in greek . . .  It’s a summer dip (or spread) with only 2 basic ingredients, roasted red peppers and feta cheese (let’s save...

. . . of the northern Spanish bean & cured meats stew, as prepared by “PEPA” (a.k.a. Angel’s mama) who is visiting us in Paris for 10 days to see us and cook, cook, and cook ! Here’s the wikipedia definition : fabada asturiana, often simply known as fabada, is a rich Spanish bean stew, originally from and most...

STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT !  STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! … sorry, but I needed to get that out of my system. Terrible and tragic and unforgiveable things...

BACK in response to POPULAR DEMAND … the less dense, less messy, lighter, neater and easier version of the CHERRY CLAFOUTIS ! Hundreds of you loved/liked this recipe I recently published on the social networks and many of you made it and sent me photos of your results (which I loved) so here’s a more precise and detailed...

"CURIOSITY is my prime motivator. MEMORY is my second. EVENTS are my third. It seems that the past 20 months have been punctuated by more events than I care to admit to, mostly tragic and man-made, sometimes naturally catastrophic . . ." My cooking inspirations are sensitive to these events and launch a tumult and churning in my mind,...

Dried "VEGETABLE FLAKES" are nothing to “snicker” at  . . . (I can almost picture your mocking grins and my hand slowly raising itself and getting ready to give you a little slap) … HOW DARE I ?! It’s that stuff you’ve noticed when face-to-face with a vegetable soup that you add boiling water...

PART #2 of the summer series . . . I could go on all summer long with the different condiments like home-made sauerkraut, relish, ketchup & mustard (it’s easy you know) but I’ll be sharing all 4 of those recipes with you next summer, so I can publish other stuff I’m excited about this year… 1 STEP (or 2) AT A...

"GOAL !!!" . . .  9 HOURS to go until the 2016 UEFA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP SOCCER-FOOTBALL FINAL that will designate the winners ! Here in France, they’re chanting « Allez les Bleus» … in Portugal, they’ll be chanting their slogans too « a glorious past, a victorious...

"EVERYTHING WORTHWHILE TAKES TIME" . . .  even something with only 2 main ingredients and a few EXTRAS to make it SPECIAL … like when you make EGGS ! I REALLY BELIEVE that STRAWBERRIES that you just let SIT in a MIXTURE of SUGAR & CITRUS JUICE can indeed make life easier & better-tasting and gives you free...

A SERIES OF SCORCHINGLY HOT DAYS !!! . . .  and this is one of Angel’s hot weather / summer holiday / childhood  memory / favorite REFRESHING tapas dishes : extra large cooked Spanish mussels, served on the half-shell and covered with a cool ‘a la vinagreta’ mixture which is a combination of very finely diced...

“AS PURE AS THE SNOW-CAPPED PEAKS OF MOUNT OLYMPUS” . . . I’m half-Olympian from my mother’s side. Not an Olympian like a citizen of the city of Olympia in the Peloponnese region of Greece, where the Olympic Games first took place. Nor Olympian like the athletes in the Olympic Games. But rather a half-Olympian (in the...

Do you know exactly what is in your "HOTDOGS" ?! I DO . . . which is why I decided to make these little guys . . . even though it obviously takes some time, all good things do ! 3rd week of JULY, a time when barbecuing can safely begin and continue until AUGUST and maybe mid-SEPTEMBER, if you’re lucky. The...

One week ago today, marked the passing of my dear friends’ father. His initials are "P.K." (of course I called him “uncle” because that’s what Greek kids call their Greek friends’ fathers, blood-ties or not). I’d like to express my sincerest condolences to the family for their deep loss...

Dearest UNITED KINGDOM … What is this I hear ?! You want to leave US, your EU, your FAMILY, your NEIGHBORS, your CAMARADES ? your CLUB ? I’ve just made a batch of one your national dishes ?! Won’t you reconsider ? We all know that we can’t always get what we want all the time nor please everyone all at once. And sure,...