Blog
The Parthenon not withstanding, Athens is a city whose charms are often hiding in plain site. This is as true for locals as it is for anyone visiting Athens or traveling to Greece and making the must-see stopover to the Acropolis and other ancient Greek sites in the capital. In the hands of tour guides […]
Who remembers “tost?” If you are traveling to Athens and have a penchant for street food, read on! Some of my best food memories of Greece, from 20 and 30 years ago, beyond of course all the foodie cliché waxing poetic about amazing tomatoes, honey-sweet watermelon, fat, fragrant peaches, etc., etc., are memories of something […]
IKARIA LONGEVITY TIP: THE HUMBLE ONION IS FILLED WITH GOOD NUTRITION There is almost no savory Greek dish, from starters to main courses, that don’t contain onions. One of the most basic ingredients in the Greek Diet, onions and all their relatives (leeks, scallions, chives, ramps, and shallots among them) are also among the healthiest […]
LOOKING FOR WILD ASPARAGUS ON IKARIA You have to learn how to look. That’s what my friend Lefteris, a fount of knowledge about Ikaria’s flora, told me as soon as we stepped out of the car in Cambo, the island’s largest flat plain, not too far from Evdilos, the port town in the center of […]
FROM ALEXANDER THE GREAT TO THE MARSHALL PLAN, GREEK RICE HISTORY. I am getting ready to head up to the New England Food Show, and then to San Francisco, all in the name of rice! Greek rice, which I’ll be cooking as part of a program called Agreeno to promote it. Stuffed vegetables, aromatic pilafs, […]
Ouzo: Out of the Glass and Into the Kitchen Every chef and good home cook has a few favorite ingredients, the flavors of which insinuate themselves again and again in the dishes he or she creates. Sometimes those flavors are subtle and meant to be so. Mushroom powder and cocoa in tomato and red wine […]
Taste Athens: Lent on the Streets – Tahini Bread Almost there. Today I pressed send on the excel file that in a few weeks time will morph into Taste Athens, an app and food-lovers guide to the city. I’ll be posting regularly about the tasty exploits that have helped me rediscover Athens as an incredible […]
I am so thrilled and honored. IKARIA, my latest book, has been nominated for three awards this year: It’s a nominee for the “Books for a Better Life Award,” by the MS Foundation; it’s been long-listed on the Art of Eating Book of the Year award; and, most recently, IKARIA is up for an IACP award […]
Mastiha, or mastic, is a crystal, resinous spice and natural chewing gum that hails exclusively from Chios, where it has been produced since antiquity and long known for its medicinal value. It is highly aromatic and therapeutic — excellent and scientifically proven as a salve against stomach ulcers, effective as a gum in promoting oral […]
Nutrient-Dense Tarama–A Greek Superfood Nutrient-Dense Tarama Tarama, the tiny beads of fish roe from cod or carp, is so nutrient dense that it could easily be labeled a superfood. The roe provides a boost of cancer-fighting vitamin D and brain-supporting omega-3 fatty acids. The high content of vitamins A and K2 work synergistically to prevent […]