Aperitif (or cocktail hour) flower!

Living in France, I became keen with the idea of an "aperitif" that is a cocktail hour in between meals that might include a simple drink or a small buffet with some finger food.
Have a glimpse of the latest trend that I did in a hurry with whatever I had in my fridge and that was still delicious despite all odds :)
I had only 1 pastry dough so I made half the flower but it's enough to get the idea still...

Recipe reminder/Whole grain bread-Lasagne

I had a crave today for home-made bread. What a great occasion to review my old recipe of whole grain bread! 

How about trying it once?

And what did I cook today? Lasagne.
Needless to tell you that my family got excited ;)
Have a look at both recipes to see what I mean...

Recipe reminder (muffins)

I am currently reading an interesting book about consuming sugar. So, I was resisting in making a sweet treat, but I admit that I am addicted and I cannot avoid it :)
Have a look in my chocolate-banana muffins to see why I could not resist...
Try NOT to do them! :P

Recipe reminder (curry)

What am I cooking today? Not Greek for once :)
I would like to remind you a curry recipe that I like and my kids too btw.
As kids make hard criticism in general (ok, they are a bit softer with mum still, but not always), I think that it worths to consider it for one of your next meals.
Are you ready for my chicken curry recipe, then?
Go for it!

Recipe reminder (Gemista)

Time to remember a nice vegetarian Greek recipe "Stuffed tomatoes, the greek way" or "Gemista" as we call it in Greek.
It deserves all your attention... Light, healthy, tasty, good-looking, what more to ask from a recipe?
Simply, enjoy!

Recipe reminder (Tyropitakia)

I would like to remind you a salty greek recipe that I just cannot resist :
"Tyropitakia", the feta cheese pies!
If you haven't tried it yet, just do... if you have, just give me some feedback of what do you think of it or tell me your own recipe, if you like sharing :)
You can even offer them in a nice gift box to someone, to give you some ideas. I always do that, when I want to thank someone ...
Specifically made today as a surprise for one of my kids that I missed soooo much ;) Enjoy!

Coconut "Ravani"

🌟 Difficulty	⏱️ Time	🍽️ Serves	🔪 Skill level
★★ Easy	1 hr + overnight soaking	10–12	Beginner

Ok, a difficult day for me (2 of may) has passed and life gets it's rhythm again. So, what's best than trying my favorite Greek cake? Coconut "Ravani" or Coconut semolina moist cake :)
Do you remember the recipe for ravani? If not, time to revise it ...
Find today a slightly different version that is one of my favorite Greek cakes with flaked coconut.

Chocolate chip cookies

🌟 Difficulty | ⏱️ Time | 🍽️ Serves | 🔪 Skill level
★ Easy | 30 min | ~30 cookies | Beginner

What to do in a rainy day? Make chocolate chip cookies and boost your moral and the one of your dear ones to the maximum :)

Classic recipe, that similar you can find all around the web, but I like to keep good recipes once found, so here it is the one that I prefer...

A timeless classic—crispy on the edges, soft in the center, and packed with chocolate. Perfect for cozy days, family baking, or anytime you need a sweet boost!

---

Ingredients (~30 cookies)

• 250 g butter, softened
• 100 g brown sugar
• 100 g white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 350 g all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 200 g dark chocolate chips or chunks

Happy Greek Easter!

Too many things going on this period, so I missed lots of events linked to Greek Easter that was yesterday, but I have cooked quite a lot of stuff that are linked to it as you can see in my posts.
So, with a day of delay, all my best wishes for a world with lots of love and much much less of wars and violence in general...

Happy Greek Easter! 

especially to my family and friends... that I think of you, even though we see each other once per year maybe.
 Flower syntheses, offered to me from my precious daughter that has really a talent and borrowed from our beautiful garden.

Sweet Braided Bread (Tsourekia)

Check also a marvelous similar french recipe :

French brioche bread

Tsourekia are traditional Greek sweet breads, similar to French brioche, soft, fluffy, and lightly sweet. Fragrant with vanilla and optional mahlab, perfect for breakfast, brunch, or festive occasions, they are lightly scented and golden, with a tender crumb that melts in your mouth.

The muffins of the day!

These are the muffins of the day according to my recipe Vanilla muffins that is so easy to make and tasty too.
The inspiration of the day was to add some sliced almonds on top and decorated with a lollipop as they are going to be sold in my kids' school to finance a field trip....
If you read this post on time, come and buy one before it is too late :)

Happy Easter, whatever that means to each one of you!

Dear readers of this blog, wherever you are around the globe or just next door ;)

Happy Easter period!

I will be coloring eggs, baking traditional easter cookies from Greece and celebrate with this fluffy and creamy pudding :)
All the best,
Vivian

Grissinis

Hubby loves Grissinis, so here's a reason to try to make them :) I have to admit that he likes the Greek version but I will try today the original ones from Torino...  that I like sooo much :) And with the remaining dough, I will make some nice small rounded breads, what do you say?
Who does not like those crunchy delicate fluffy delicious thinny bread sticks? No excuses of not trying, as it is pretty easy...