Dried vs Canned Black Beans Dried black beans need to be soaked overnight and then cooked. The length of time needed to prepare them is their biggest drawback when it comes to comparing them to canned beans. But from a nutrition and sodium perspective, dried, soaked home-cooked beans are definitely better and richer in nutrients. […]
About Granola “Granula” was so christened by its inventor, James Caleb Jackson, who first created it in 1863, perhaps modeling it after the Swiss muesli. He named it after the Latin word for grain, granum. His recipe was adapted by John Harvey Kellogg some 13 years later and renamed granola in a twist of marketing […]
About Yogurt Soups Throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, yogurt is a basic ingredient, the use of which dates back thousands of years. Fermented dairy has always been an important source of nourishment in this part of the world. Some of these soups, such as the Armenian Spas, contain cooked wheatberries and are served hot. Others, like […]
About Bonito: Many people might know bonito in its dried, flaky form and as the basis for dashi, the Japanese soup stock that is the foundation of miso soup. Bonito is an oily fish in the tuna, sardine, and mackerel family and is quite popular throughout the Mediterranean, where it is eaten fresh in many […]
Apricot Appreciation! Apricots, with their delicious tart-sweet flavor, are a great fruit to pair with yogurt for an easy, elegant dessert. They’re also a good source of potassium, phosphorus, and Vitamin A. From a cook’s perspective, because they aren’t super sweet, they pair beautifully when roasted with aromatic, robust herbs like sage and rosemary.
In the midst of a sweltering Greek summer, there’s only one dish on my mind: the Greek salad, or horiatiki, a classic Greek recipe that leans on a combination of tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, peppers, olives, feta and extra virgin Greek olive oil to create one of the most iconic dishes in the world. It brings together all of the best elements of the Mediterranean, and it’s best paired with a salty seaside and plenty of warm Greek sun.
As far as Greek salads go, beans and legumes figure pretty prominently. Lentils are especially loved in Greek salads and have been part of the Greek diet forever, as they are one of the oldest cultivated legumes in the Eastern Mediterranean. This Greek salad has an unusual combination of basic Mediterranean diet ingredients, such as […]
We’re in the height of summer produce season, and another of my favorites has started appearing at farmers markets and in gardens everywhere: green beans, an endlessly versatile vegetable that can bring a taste of the Mediterranean diet to you no matter where you are. Plenty of Greek recipes feature green beans, and many of them are classics of the Greek kitchen!
WHY LEMON ZEST? Lemon zest is one of my secret go-to ingredients when I want to perk up the flavor of otherwise mild or subtle dishes. Can you think of another vegetable as mild as zucchini?! Lemon is, in fact, as crucial a flavor enhancer as salt and works pretty much the same way on […]
ABOUT GREEK SAFFRON: It’s called Krokos Kozanis and it is cultivated in the northern Greek area of Kozani. Greek saffron has been known for its aromatic and therapeutic values since prehistoric times, evinced one of Greece’s most famous archeological finds, the famous fresco of the saffron harvester unearthed at Akrotyri on Santorini. Greeks use saffron […]