Cookies with hazelnuts

I had a crave for cookies today, not the usual ones with chocolate chips, but with hazelnuts. I searched for a recipe and I share today the one that I ended up to make. We all in the family, found them delicious and ate most of them extremely fast :) Unfortunately, I made a tiny mistake and put some more milk that I think that made the cookies to spread a little bit more. I will try again soon with the right amount of milk and will come up. Enough talking, start baking :)

Gemista = Stuffed tomatoes, the greek way! [updated]

[Updated on 26/02/2025]

In several countries people cook stuffed tomatoes, find today how we cook them in Greece that is extremely healthy and at the same time very tasty. Home will smell amazingly nice and you won't be able to resist! 

Again a recipe that will make happy all vegetarians out there :)

Gemista (which means "stuffed" in Greek) is a traditional dish of vegetables—usually tomatoes and bell peppers, sometimes zucchini—filled with a flavorful mixture of rice, herbs, and occasionally ground meat. It’s a classic summer dish, best enjoyed with a side of feta cheese and crusty bread.

My mother used to make it without meat, which I consider closer to the authentic version, as it belongs to a category of vegetarian Greek dishes known as “ladera” (which means "oily" due to the generous use of olive oil). That being said, a meat variation is also delicious! (see at the end how to do the meat variation)

Fasolakia (Greek green beans in tomato sauce)

[Updated 26/02/2025]

A traditional greek recipe that is healthy and full of taste, that might be of interest to all vegetarians out there! 

Fasolakia is a classic Greek dish made with green beans slowly cooked in a rich tomato sauce with olive oil and herbs. It’s a simple, healthy, and flavorful meal that belongs to the “ladera” category of Greek cuisine, meaning it’s cooked with generous olive oil and no meat. Served warm or at room temperature, it's a staple of Greek home cooking.

Muffins with nectarines and cinnamon

This is definitely my recipe :) Suddenly, today, a weird idea stuck in my mind... I decided to make muffins but not my usual recipes. The inspiration of the day was to put nectarines and perfume them with cinnamon! Somehow, this combination made me dribbling :) And once I have an idea on my mind, I have to turn it to reality... So, find the result of my inspiration, that it was a nice surprise. I would like to hear your opinion in case you might dare to try it!

Mothers' day!

It's mother's day in France that we live, today, so I will share with you some of the gifts "cooked" by my kids. First, because I am so proud as they are made with lots of love and second, because I found them quite artistic so I hope that you might like them too :) All mothers out there, you know of course deep down our best gift, but schuss.... do not reveal it!
The idea of the gift on the photo of your left, is of my daughter's teacher, a quite classic one.  The difference is, that the teacher explained to the kids that they have to make something so nice that mothers would love to keep it :)

And I have to admit, that my daughter did really her best ! (I profit, to thank of course the teacher for the initiative!)

Beef soup with vegetables

Weather is extremely cold today in our place, although it should be the beginning of the summer... As you can imagine, I came up again with the idea of a soup :) Not any soup, but one that has everything, meat for proteins and vegetables for vitamins. It will warm your heart, in days like this one, that you wake up end of May and face snow in the mountain...

Chocolate-banana muffins

Who does not like chocolate? If you add banana also, and put both in a muffin, then you will have the perfect combination to make your day :) Find here, how to make fast and simple this version of muffins. Do not forget to leave me your comments at the end! For the allergic ones, I have the alternative vanilla muffins :) or just simple chocolate muffins!

Tyropitakia (Feta cheese pies with yoghurt dough)

I will share today with you, one of my favorite recipes, the "tyropitakia"! "Tyropitakia" are small cheese pies made with feta and there are various recipes to make them. The most known recipe is the one with pastry "fyllo" but today, I will give you the recipe that has a dough made with yoghurt and which is my favorite one.

They are delicious! If you end up falling in love with them like me, double the ingredients to make them last longer as they tend to disappear immediately coming out of the oven :) And if you are lazy, just mix everything and form small feta balls instead! (second photo on top)

Souvlakia (Greek Grilled Meat Skewers)

[Updated 18/03/2025]

Souvlakia: Culinary Delight in Small Pieces!

A staple of Greek street food, souvlakia are juicy, marinated meat skewers grilled to perfection. Easy to make at home, they bring the authentic taste of Greece to your table.

Cooking in the garden :)

Vivian is not only cooking, she is also ... gardening! Actually, I love gardening and for me, I have told you already, is like cooking. You mix the ingredients and you wait for the result. In gardening, the ingredients are the plants, and the result is the flowers or the synthesis that comes up.
Few years ago, I started a project in my garden. I wanted to make a free floral fence on one side of the garden, the most important actually, the part that our living room is looking at.
It took me almost 2 years of reading various books, web sites, blogs on gardening and designing how this fence should look like. And from time to time, we were going with my kids and buy a plant that we have finally decided to choose. It was a big time, as immediately after we were starting the planting part, which was a quite hard task (I have to admit that dear hubby was helping with the most difficult ones :) But we were so happy every time that we were adding one to our collection...
Last year, this project finally came at it's end, and this spring we can finally admire the results...

Tomato salads

Summer is approaching, so fresh salads like the ones with tomatoes are more and more in the menu. I will try to list here various versions to make a salad with tomatoes. This post will be updated from time to time... Today, get 2 versions:

1. The easy greek salad :) with tomatoes, cucumber, feta, salt, oregano, olive oil

2. The easy italian salad :) with tomatoes, mozzarella, salt, oregano, olive oil

Vanilla muffins, basic recipe, extra taste!

(updated version with raspberries)

The most basic recipe for muffins. Easy to make, muffins are perfect for breakfast or an easy desert as it takes only minutes from beginning to the time that you will taste them. Start with this recipe and from time to time I will update with more variations. This one will charm you with it's vanilla flavor, so simple but delicious :) My favorite moto ... For the ones, that need to have chocolate everywhere, try my Chocolate-banana muffins !

Meatball Soup (Youvarlakia Avgolemono)

[Updated 18/03/2025]

A comforting Greek soup made with tender meatballs, rice, and vegetables, finished with a silky egg-lemon (avgolemono) sauce. This dish is warm, hearty, and full of flavor!

Feta or sausage rolls

Nothing easier and impressive like this! This "recipe" is the result from a brainstorming some years ago with my husband to find something easy and tasty, for the buffet of a party that we were organizing. The result is more than rewarding. See how to make these feta or sausage rolls that you can use them for a buffet, for breakfast, for an afternoon snack, a picnic, ... It's so easy that you can literally leave your children do them for you, like my daughter did today and my even younger son did several times in the past. They will be so proud and everyone will be happy to eat them eventually! No need to say that it's the first thing that disappear in our party buffets :)

Ingredients

1 package of french puff pastry
4 sausages (or feta cheese and 1 egg)
optionally, 1 beaten egg to give a nice color on top

Procedure

Cut the pastry in 16 parts like in the photo. If you prefer sausages, cut each one in 4 parts to make 16 pieces. If you prefer the feta cheese, smash it with a spoon and mix with one egg adding some pepper.

Put the sausages or the mixture feta-egg in the small side of the pastry triangles like in photo.

Start to roll from that side to the middle of the circle.

For the feta-egg version, close the sides, so that the mixture won't leak.

Put in the oven (180C/fan) for about 10 min or until they get a nice golden color.






It will seem impossibly to resist!

Lemon rabbit

Like lemon? Then you will get addicted with this lemon rabbit (like Rogger Rabbit :) stew seasoned with oregano.

Ingredients

1 medium rabbit, cut in parts
3 carrots
1 onion, minced
1 lemon (the juice)
salt, pepper, olive oil, oregano

Procedure

Wash the rabbit parts and pat them to dry in kitchen paper.

Fry them in a low casserole with olive oil.

Once the meat parts are done from one side, turn them and add the onion also.

When they are done also, pour the lemon juice and add the carrots cut in slices, the salt, pepper and the oregano. Leave for a minute.
Add water until the food is almost covered.

Cover and cook for about 30 min in the pressure cooker or an hour until the meat is tender enough.

Serve with potato puree and a simple greek salad (tomatoes, cucumber, feta). Enjoy!

Chicken surrounded with potatoes :)

Once again a classic recipe, that is tasty, but takes really minimum time to prepare... Children love simple tastes, thus will love this one and it's a safe choice if you're puzzled what to cook them today :)
    

Ingredients

1 chicken (I prefer BIO)
5-6 potatoes
1 lemon (the juice)
salt, pepper, olive oil, garlic





Procedure

Put in a dish for the oven (I like to use one with a cover) the chicken in the middle, surrounded by the potatoes cut in pieces. Add the salt, the pepper, the olive oil and the garlic cut in small pieces.

Pour olive oil on top all over, the lemon juice and add enough water to almost cover the potatoes.

Cover your dish and put it in the oven (180C, fan) for about 1h30. The last 15 min, uncover and let food get a nice golden color.  Your food is ready! Serve with a nice feta-tomato salad like in the photo below.

Fish and broccoli

Fish and chips? Noooooo.... Fish and broccoli! We keep our healthy habits in this blog :) Find today a nice combination that takes almost no time to prepare, it's delicious and keeps you in shape :) What more to ask?





Ingredients

3 sea breams or any other fish that goes to the grill
broccoli
olive oil
salt, lemon juice

Procedure

Wash the fish and the broccoli. Put the fish in a dish for the grill like on photo. Add some water underneath.
Pour some olive oil on top of the fish and put the in the oven with grill for about 10 min. Once they get a nice color, turn them and let them again about 10 min. Your fish is almost ready!

In parallel, cut the broccoli branches and put them in a small casserole covered with water to boil for about 6 min. Then, turn off the heat but leave the casserole until the fish is done.

Serve the fish with the broccoli adding on top salt, olive oil and lemon juice. Your dish is ready!  

Greek Bean Soup (Fasolada)

[Updated 18/03/2025]

Known as Greece’s national dish, fasolada is a hearty, protein-packed bean soup perfect for cold days. Simple yet flavorful, it has nourished generations with its rich taste and nutritious ingredients.

Roasted turkey with potatoes

Another traditional greek dish with my personal touch :) The secret in this recipe is the fresh orange and lemon juice that I use. It gives a nice taste and color ... It seems so simple, but my mother used to tell me when I started to cook, that this simplicity is that makes such great tastes in greek cooking :)
You can make my Fresh green salad that goes nicely with this dish and as desert why not a Ravani ? You will have an excellent menu! I promise...

Ingredients

1 leg of turkey
4-5 potatoes (get the ones for cooking in the oven) 
1 orange
1 lemon
 salt, pepper, olive oil

Procedure

Wash the ingredients.

Put in the middle of a dish for the oven, the turkey leg surrounded by the potatoes cut in pieces.

Pour on them enough olive oil, add salt and pepper and pour again the juice of the lemon and the orange. Add enough water to cover half the height of the potatoes and check if it needs to add some more during cooking. If your dish has a cover, use it, as it keeps the meat tender.

Put in the oven at 180 degrees of Celsius for about 1h30min with air. After 1 hour of cooking, uncover your dish. Check also for water and if needed add some.

Food is ready when it gets a nice golden color like on photo. Enjoy!