Fresh (not fried) Spring Rolls

Easy, healthy, colorful fresh spring rolls from my daughter.

Just right for the Tet Nguyen Dan, the Vietnamese New Year that is on 10 of February this year. 

Adapt it to your prefernces and Enjoy! 

Greek Meatballs (Keftedakia) in the Air Fryer

After testing the homemade fries, I couldn’t resist trying keftedakia in the Ninja Crispi  so that I can have a complete menu. Meatballs are a great test because they can easily dry out in an oven—but the air fryer kept them juicy while giving a nice light crust outside.

Ingredients:

• 500 g ground veal (or veal + pork mix)
• 1 small onion, grated
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 egg
• 2–3 tbsp breadcrumbs
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• A little mint (fresh or dried)
• Salt & pepper

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl (don’t overmix).
2. Shape into small meatballs.
3. Lightly brush or spray with olive oil.
4. Place in a single layer in the air fryer basket.
5. Cook on Air Fry at 180°C (360°F) for 10–12 minutes, shaking halfway.

Juicy, aromatic, and super easy.

Peach & Nectarine Upside-Down Cake — A Summer Twist on My Apple Cake

I had a little too many peaches and nectarines waiting to be used, so I decided to turn them into cake! 

This peach and nectarine upside-down cake is inspired by my apple reversed cake, but it’s similar rather than the same. The idea is the same: beautiful caramelised fruit baked underneath a soft, buttery cake and then flipped over to reveal the fruit on top, but the peaches and nectarines give this version a completely different character...

Olive Oil: How to Choose a Good One

There are hundreds of bottles on the shelf. Which one should you take home?

Forget the fancy labels. Five things matter most...

14 Complete Greek Menus for Every Season

Looking for inspiration to turn the recipes from my Greek Cookbook into full meals? These 14 menus show you how to combine starters, mains, and desserts from my cookbook naturally and seasonally. Perfect for holidays, family lunches, or dinner parties!

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1. Christmas Dinner 🎄: Tyropitakia Kourou – Giouvetsi me Kritharaki – Melomakarona & Kourambiedes
2. New Year’s Eve ✨: Tzatziki & Kolokythokeftedes – Mosxari me Melitzanes – Vivian’s Pudding
3. Easter Sunday 🐣: Kokkina Avga – Souvlakia – Spanakotyropita – Ravani
4. Family Lunch 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦: Rolo Kima or Arakas me Anitho or Gemista – Galatopita 
5. Winter Comfort ❄️: Kotosoupa or Fakes Soupa or Youvarlakia Avgolemono – Halvas
6. Village Winter Table 🏡: Fasolada or Spetzofai – Portokalopita
7. Friends Dinner 🍷: Kolokythokeftedes – Soutzoukakia – Ekmek Kadaifi
8. Dinner Party 🥂: Dolmadakia – Moussaka – Galatopita
9. Pasta Night 🍝: Horiatiki – Pastitsio – Ravani
10. Fisherman’s Menu 🌊: Skordalia – Bakaliaros Skordalia – Pites tis Satziis
11. Summer Seaside Dinner ☀️: Horiatiki – Psari Plaki – Mosaic Dessert / Kormos
12. Island Pasta Night 🏖️: Tzatziki – Garidomakaronada – Portokalopita
13. Cozy Autumn Dinner 🍁: Keftedakia – Kotopoulo Kokkinisto – Halvas
14. Home Dinner 🏠:  Hirino Prasoselino or Kotopoulo Me Bamies – Mosaic Dessert / Kormos
15. Seafood Feast 🐙: Htapo̱di me Kofto Makaronaki – Skordalia – Pites tis Satziis
16. Casual Dinner 🍔: Biftekia – Fasolakia or Spanakoryzo – Galatopita
17. Summer Vegetarian ☀️: Briam – Spanakoryzo – Portokalopita

Salmon & Egg Asian Rice Bowl

Some of the best recipes are the ones made by someone dear. ❤️

Today, my daughter made this colourful Asian-inspired rice bowl for us. I loved how simple yet satisfying it is and thought to share and save it here to certainly, try it again. Pan-fried salmon, fluffy scrambled eggs and savoury fried rice are mixed together with soy sauce, then topped with creamy avocado and crisp green beans.

It has the feel of a poke bowl, but everything is cooked and warm — making it perfect for an easy family lunch or dinner.

Vivian Is Cooking Diary – Week of 29 August 2026

A little late with this week’s diary — life has been rather busy! But that certainly didn’t stop me from cooking and baking. ❤️

The week of 29 August was another full one in my kitchen, with lots of comforting food, family favourites and a few special treats.

🍽️ What I cooked & baked...

My First CookBook Is Here 🎉

Just came back from holidays in Greece and want to make them last a bit longer or share beloved dishes with dears? 

After 13 years of sharing recipes on this blog, I’m excited to introduce my first CookBook that will help you easily recreate the most authentic greek recipes:

👉Vivian Is Cooking GREEK – 48 Authentic Recipes to Try at Home

📘 Available worldwide in Amazon 

From starters and meze to classic mains and desserts like moussaka, spanakotyropita, and portokalopita — all recipes are simple, flavorful, and easy to follow.
Includes a Greek pantry essentials list.

Thank you for supporting my cooking journey.

Kali orexi!
— Vivian

📖 A little shortcut for your kitchen

And if you’re tired of searching through thousands of recipes online every time you want to cook something, my cookbooks are made to be simple, reliable and delicious recipes you can actually use; printed on paper and right there next to your countertop when you need them. ❤️

You can find Vivian is Cooking GREEK and Vivian is Cooking BAKING and bring a little of my kitchen into yours!

Authentic greek Moussaka (Greek Baked layered eggplants)

>>>>This recipe is part of my book « Vivian Is Cooking GREEK » <<<<

Moussaka, the king of Greek dishes, is a rich, layered casserole with eggplant, ground meat in tomato sauce, and creamy béchamel. The procedure is similar to the pasticcio, only that you replace pasta with vegetables, mostly eggplants.

It’s not the quickest recipe, but it’s soooo worth it! Set aside time or plan ahead—you’ll need to prepare the meat sauce, veggies, and béchamel.

Alternatively, cut the vegetables in small cubes like in my Easy and light version of Moussaka. Discover also my delicious recipe of Greek Stuffed Eggplants (Papoutsakia). 

Want more authentic Greek recipes? 📘 Discover my Book here!

Vivian Is Cooking Diary – Week of 22 August 2026

As summer is slowly coming to an end, my kitchen has been making the most of the last of the summer flavours, especially fresh basil! It was another busy and very well-appreciated week, with plenty of homemade food, a few Greek favourites and some reliable baking recipes.

🍽️ What I cooked...

Vivian Is Cooking Diary – Week of 15 August 2026

Welcome to my first Vivian Is Cooking Diary! ❤️ This week was a delicious mix of Greek favourites, homemade bread, baking and a few new recipes I wanted to try. Hope that they will inspire your own home cooking!

🍽️ What I cooked...

A New Chapter for My Cooking Blog: Welcome to My Cooking Diary

After 13 years of sharing recipes and three Cookbooks published this year in Amazon wordwide, I’m giving the blog a little new twist! ❤️

I’ll still be sharing recipes, but I also want to show you more of what actually happens in my kitchen — the meals I cook, things I bake, old favourites, little experiments and dishes inspired by my cookbooks.

So I’m starting Vivian Is Cooking Diary, where I’ll share a glimpse of what I’ve been cooking each week, with photos and links to recipes from the blog whenever I have them.

And of course, I’ll be sharing dishes from my two cookbooks published this year:

📖 Vivian is Cooking GREEK — English & French
📖 Vivian is Cooking BAKING — English

Both are available worldwide through Amazon.

Less pressure to create a brand-new recipe every time, and more real food from my kitchen to yours. ❤️

Welcome to the new chapter!

Vivian

BBQ Feta Saganaki

Here’s a little souvenir worth bringing home from your next Greek holiday: a traditional handmade clay baking dish (pilino). You’ll find beautiful ones in many places around Greece, often handmade by local potters - like the one I use today - and once you have one, you’ll wonder how you ever cooked without it. Here's a bigger one oven dish beautifully decorated with Olive branches.

One of my favourite things to make in it is this ridiculously easy BBQ feta saganaki...