What is Haloumi Cheese
What is Haloumi Cheese?Haloumi (ha-LOO-mee) is the national cheese of Cyprus but is also popular in Turkey and the Arab world. Haloumi traditionally is made with sheep’s milk, but nowadays is also produced with a combination of sheep’s and cow’s milk. The cheese has two distinct characteristics: its square or rectangular, relatively flat, folded shape […]
Beans in Greek Cooking
Beans and pulses are among the traditional Greek foods. For eons, these simple, healthful ingredients have been staples of the kitchen, an easy, economical, nutritious way to feed body and soul alike. Although Greeks consume many different kinds of beans and pulses, the oldest are no doubt the broad bean, the chick pea and the […]
Three walnut-honey aphrodisiac Greek recipes for Valentine’s Day
When I was a young bride, we did what almost every Greek couple at the time used to do: head to our parents for Sunday lunch. I was living in Greece, so that inevitably meant heading to my in-laws, since my family was all in New York. Lunch was always centered by some sort of […]
Quick Guide to Greek Wines
I am often asked, “What is the best Greek wine?” Of course, there is no answer to that question, since there are so many great Greek wines and taste is so subjective. Here are a few things to know and to look for. Greek Grape Varietals Greek wines generally are made either exclusively with Greek […]
Potato Love and Longevity
Like many potato lovers, my earliest memories of the humble spud are linked to Sunday family dinners, to a dark, glistening roast that my mother hovered over, matter-of-factly satisfied by the proper, telling smells of garlic and oregano seeping out of our oven, and to a ricer, which to my child’s eyes was as good […]
9 Ways Forward with Plant-Based Cooking the Greek Way
NINE WAYS FORWARD WITH PLANT-BASED DISHES. TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THE OFFERINGS GREEK CUISINE SERVES UP! Animal protein is on a lot of people’s minds. Americans and Western Europeans eat way too much of it. The World Health Organization derided red meat and processed meats as carcinogenic in a much-publicized report a few […]
Savoring Thessaloniki: Greece’s Second City is First for Food
SAVORING THESSALONIKI — GREECE’S SECOND CITY IS FIRST FOR FOOD Greece’s second city is first in food, a well-kept secret to those in the know that’s now out of the bag, thanks to the venerable paper of record, the New York Times, which a few days ago listed Thessaloniki as number 47 on a […]
Five Greek Diet Tips for How to Cook and Eat More Vegetables
I had an epiphany of sorts just the other day at my sister’s house in New York, where we have been spending the holidays. She had just come back from the supermarket, keen, after a little sisterly nagging, on trying to work more vegetables into the family diet. (Mind you, we grew up in the […]
Greek Christmas Bread: A Story
Many of us are familiar with Vasilopita, the “lucky” New Year’s bread with the coin inside, or with tsoureki, the braided Greek Easter bread. Both are delicious, but also symbolic. They are the rock stars of Greek bread traditions, the most famous; there is a whole littany of other festive breads, handmade by artisan home […]
Four Greek Cheeses and the Greek Wines to Drink with Them
Four Greek Cheeses and the Greek Wines to Pair with Them It used to be that what most non-Greeks knew about Greek cheese and wine was defined by a robust but limited duo: feta and retsina, the briny cheese and piney wine, respectively. Thankfully, those days are long gone. The variety of Greek regional cheeses […]
SWEET TALKING GREEK: FIVE GREEK DESSERTS THAT SCREAM HEALTHY
“Mom, can you make a lemon cake?” this is a refrain I hear pretty often in our house, as my son, 14 and hungry just about every 20 minutes, has had a sweet tooth since he first tasted ice cream, still in the stroller, around the age of 1. I never aimed to curb it. […]
FIVE HEALTHY REASONS TO TRY GREEK PANCAKES
Greek pancakes? It seems like a stretch, but truth be told, pancakes exist in many regional variations in the Greek kitchen and are very old, traditional Greek recipes. As a working mom I’ve used these traditional Greek recipes to offer up quick, nutritious meals to my own kids. Greek-style pancakes offer up a relatively healthy […]