Unfortunately all good things end soon and this was the last day of our trip.

As a Foodie I could not resist going into a Supermarket, which was next door to the hotel.

I had visited it the very first day of our visit and spotted a few things I wanted to bring along.

So on Tuesday, early in the morning we went again to the supermarket and bought a lot of things which were new to me such as: red potatoes, chorizo, framboize preserves, lots of Swiss chocolates, Gruyere cheese, fruit syrup, wines, harissa pepper, a French salad dressing with herbs, cakes and biscuits and a couple of other things which were not to eat. My only regret was that on the first day there was lot of fresh coriander and that morning I found only the last package which was only 11 gr.

After our shopping we took the bus to Geneva.

We had planned to visit the Historical Museum but asking for instructions we were sent to the Museum of Natural History, on the same street but before the other museum we wanted to visit.

It would be a paradise for children but we had a quick look at the exhibitions and we did not have time to visit the other museum as we still had a lot of shopping to do. We went to a place we saw in the map called Rue de la Market, so I secretly wished that we could find a lovely flea market but instead of that we were in the most “or I think the most” expensive fashion street of Geneva with all the expensive Designer shops such as GUCCI, VALENTINO, ARMANI, etc.

We finally ended in a shop which was quite “cheap” and bought some presents to bring along.

I had fun trying lots of hats on!!

After shopping we went for lunch and after that we had an appointment to meet “SOMEONE” at 14:00 hours, so we went to a place, nearby to where we thought we would meet our friend.

We had plenty of time and we had a lovely lunch again and some lovely wine.

At 13:45 we leisurely walked to our rendez-vous point of meeting, which was near a Shoe shop, next to McDonald’s. We were there at 13:55 and I saw a lady standing there and waiting and I looked at her waiting for a reaction but unfortunately there was no reaction. I looked for the shoe shop and I could not see any such shop there so I asked a man if there wan another McDonald’s nearby. He said that there was one on the other side of the river and he gave us directions. It was already 14:00 hours and we had a lot of walking to do to reach to the other side, plus we had to look for our rendez-vous point. We were running like mad, stopping and asking for directions again. A man was going towards that direction so he said “just follow me” and said “that is not a very good choice of restaurant to eat in” and I had to explain that we were just meeting a friend there and he went on asking me a lot of questions trying to find out more about me… while I was worrying that my friend might have left by now.

SURPRISE!!!

And there she was… I recognized her immediately. Tall, with very long hair and beautiful.

We hugged and kissed and she was so kind to be so patient and wait for us, as we were already 15 minutes late.

She said that she would wait until 14:30, not to mention that it was also raining.

I am sure that you all recognize Rosa, of Rosa’s Yum, Yums. There she is holding a bag full of gifts for me. Homemade blondies, homemade pumpkin jam and a Swiss chocolate.

We found a cafe nearby and talked for a couple of hours. What could two Foodies be talking about? I think you know the answer.

I wanted to find out about some local things to eat and Rosa asked us if we wanted to visit a supermarket where she could show us a few things.

We visited this store and one floor was all with chocolates. If we were alone we wouldn’t know what to chose. No way that I would chose Cinnamon and Coriander chocolate that Rosa suggested, but it was fantastic, one of the best I ever tried. We chose a few other different kinds of chocolates and then went to the food store, below. Rosa showed us different kinds of Swiss sausages and I bought a Saucisson Vaudois and a local kind of pasta called spätzlis.

I shall leave you with the recipe I made with the sausage and pasta, directions given by Rosa:

For the Saucisson Vaudois, you have to put it in a pan, cover it with cold water and bring it to the boil, then turn the temperature down and let it simmer (lowest temperature) for about 30-40 minutes. Drain the water and then cut the sausage in slices…

(What I did is that I added some frozen vegetables together with the saucisson. What I forgot to ask Rosa was if I had to remove the skin of the sausage, which I did).

For the spätzlis, you either put them in a frying pan with butter and let them cook until heated through or boil some water, add them to the boiling water and cook for no longer than 2-3 minutes, then drain the water and add a little butter.

(and I boiled the pasta for 2 minutes in the water I had cooked the saucisson in, then I drained them and put them in the frying pan with butter).

In the evening we made some omelet with onion, mushrooms and bell peppers and harissa pepper and put some saucisson in and both recipes were delicious.

Pity we did not have more time to get to know each other better, or even cook together, but who knows, maybe Rosa will come to Athens and visit us.

Tags: Geneva, Pasta, travelling

On Monday we woke up really early and it was still dark outside.

When the sun rose and we saw that it would be a lovely day we decided to go for a walk to the river before breakfast.

We encountered some other couples walking on the path and a woman with two lovely dogs. What really surprised us was that the people were really friendly and each time we passed by someone they would say “Bonjour” and not only in the village but also in the Botanical Gardens as well.

“St. Genis”

After breakfast we took the bus and went to the Central Station at Cornavin as we wanted to see what options we had to go to France and be back by the evening. We had three choices: Lyon, Annecy and Grenoble.

After checking the itineraries we decided that Grenoble had the best connections and there was a train leaving at 10:30 and leaving from there at 17:25.

The route was through the Rhone valley, mostly along the riverside and we could see snowy mountains, vineyards, corn fields and we even saw a Chateau on the opposite bank of the river.

We arrived at Grenoble at noon and passing the street opposite the big square we walked at Avenue Alsace-Lorrain looking for Isère River.

The streets were empty and some of the shops were closed, as we learned later on that it was a public holiday on that day.

We asked some people which way to go and they showed us where Cours Jean Jaures was and from there we could see The Bastille.

At the end of the road we arrived at the river bank and from there could see the teleferique going up The Bastille.

The Bastille is a fortress and was connected to the city center by a teleferique as early as 1934. It was the first city teleferique in the world. A completely new teleferique was built in the 70s with 5 small cabins instead of a large one, locally known as “les Bulles” (the bubbles).

The Bastille trip with the teleferique is a must. It offers a birds eye view on the roofs of the “quartier Saint Laurent”, the oldest part of Grenoble and a few minutes of panoramic view on the surrounding massifs and on the city. It is possible either to go down to the city by the teleferique or to take one of the trails that follow the fortifications and reach the valley. We saw a lot of people going down on foot but we preferred the easy way down.

I hope you enjoy the video I have taken.

We stayed there for a while enjoying the view while drinking a cup of coffee.

As I said, we returned the same way we got up there and walked towards the centre looking for a restaurant where we could have lunch.

We spotted a nice restaurant called “Le Coq Hardi” and my husband chose Le Plat du Jour, which was pork with jacket potato and salad and I chose Foie de Volaille, which was a green salad with chicken giblets and tomato. It wasn’t exactly what I expected but it still was delicious and we had some lovely wine again and some muffins.

After lunch we walked again towards the direction of the station looking for some gifts to buy and as we still had some time we sat for another cup of coffee.

Our trip back was a bit adventurous as we nearly ended up in Annecy. Nobody explained to us that the train had a double destination and would separate at a station. Those sitting in front would go to Geneva and those at the second half would go to Annecy. When we boarded we sat behind and at the announcement they made just before the last stop, I did not understand what exactly we had to do. I asked a man sitting next to us but he only told us that we had to go in front. We rushed through the corridor and when we could not go any further we asked again and a young boy gave us the correct instructions. He explained that we should get off the train and then get on the same train but in front.

We just made it!!

Tags: Grenoble, travelling

Sunday morning was cloudy and rainy but that did not discourage us at all. Our son called us in the morning to see if we still wanted to go out in the rain. We had planned to visit Les Jardains Botaniques (Botanical Gardens) and Le Chateau des Penthes and we did not intend to stay in the hotel even if it was raining.

We took the local bus and then at L’Hôpital de la Tour (the Hospital) took bus No. 28 which stops just outside the Gardens.

Entering the garden we went to the right and only then I realized that the Garden was so near the Lake.

The first thing we visited was this huge Green House, with plants from all the Continents.

The day or even the season was not the best to visit this Garden which during Spring is picturesque and a magical place, bursting with a myriad of colours and scents, as we were told by our son but the Fall colours were also very rewarding.

I feel a bit silly because the past month when reading different blogs I read how people felt about Fall and how they loved all the fall colours and I would go and say that I don’t like Fall. Now I know why. It’s because I never saw these colours before either in Greece or Cyprus.

The garden is very big and there is a section that I would characterize as The Garden of Foodies’ Paradise. Further in the garden was a true microcosm of the world’s flora containing a total of over 12,000 different plants. Most of the plants had not yet grown but you can see them labeled and next to the plant you can see what is produced from each plant.

I’ll show you what I mean with just a very small specimen.

There were also some animals, such as deer and goats and a lot of birds: parrots, roosters, ducks flamingos, peacocks etc.

From the garden we walked to the Chateau. The scenery was fantastic as the road was full of leaves and there were trees with all the fall colours and green beautiful fields.

We arrived at the Chateaux at 11.59 and the lady in charge was just closing the doors. She informed us that she was going for lunch and would be back in an hour.

Thank God there was a restaurant just a few meters away so we did not have to wait outside. Although 12 o’clock is really too early for us Greeks to have lunch, as we usually eat between 2 and 3 p.m. we went to the Restaurant for launch.

The restaurant was nice and cozy and the waiters were very friendly, especially the Portuguese who helped us chose from the menu. I can understand and speak French but when I read the menu, although I understood the words I had no idea what to expect. We ordered Filet du lapin aven romarin et pruneaux (Rabbit fillet with rosemary and prunes), Escalope du Saumon au vin blanc (Salmon scallop in white wine) with rice, Filet de St. Pierre et creme des poireaux (A fish fillet (which I cannot translate) and a lovely Chardonnay. For dessert an almond cake with ice cream. Everything was delicious.

(Nathalie has given the name of the fish in the comments: it’s John Dory and I just found out reading Hopie’s post that poireaux are leeks )

When the Chateaux opened its doors again we visited the exhibition which comprised original documents (military patents and letters of dismissal, contracts, correspondence, journals, newspapers, maps, photographs, stamps, travelogues etc.), historical and recent books, engravings, portraits and views, scul­ptures, arms, uniforms and flags, medals and decorations, furniture, personal be­longings etc. – objects all which form part of the Swiss and international heritage, from the 15th century to the present.

There was a lovely surprise waiting for us as on the second floor. There was an exhibition of Toblerone Chocolate, as it was its 100th Anniversary and after the tour we were offered some chocolates to try.

Although I have taken a lot of photographs of the chocolate exhibition, when leaving they told us that we were not allowed to take pictures although when entering I was holding the photograph in my hands and there was no sign saying that it was not allowed. They asked me not to put them on the internet, so I will respect their wish.

Although the transportation in Geneva is great, the transportation towards St. Genis was problematic but only on Sundays. The last bus to the village leaves from Geneva at about 5 p.m. so we had to hurry back because finding a taxi is also impossible. As we were told later on, if you want a taxi you have to telephone the taxi company and they will send you a taxi but we did not know that at the time.

We went to the hotel and rested for a few hours and then went to my son’s apartment where I prepared a pasta dish which has nothing to do with the recipe that follows.

Some days before leaving for Switzerland my other son went to visit our friends in Crete. When he came back our friends sent us two huge roosters which they raise. Each rooster was about 3 kilos so I had to cut them and put them in the deep freezer. I have already cooked rooster twice, so you will be seeing a lot of rooster recipes in the near future. They also sent us a lot of “xynomyzithra”, about 4 kilos which I have split into four pieces and put it also in the deep freezer. Xyno means sour, so this is a local soft white cheese, similar to anthotyro but it is left for 24 hours in room temperature to become slightly sour and it is perfect for cheese pies and in savory dishes.

Coq au Vin is a famous French recipe and since my last posts are about Switzerland and France I decided to share with you our Greek recipe.

Kokoras Krassatos me Chilopites

(Coq au Vin with chilopites pasta)

(see printable recipe here)

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour on the stove top and 20 minutes in the oven

Serves: 5

Ingredients:

• 1/2 rooster, about 1.300 grams
• 1 wine glass of red dry wine
• ¼ wine glass of cherry brandy (my twist to the recipe)
• 4 spoonfuls of olive oil
• 500 ml water
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 can (500 grams) of whole tomatoes, blended
• 1 spoonful tomato paste
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon, coarse sea salt
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 small piece of cinnamon stick (my twist to the recipe)

• ½ kilo chilopites pasta (you can also make them yourselves if you like)
  
• grated myzithra (optional)

Directions:

Wash and cut rooster into pieces and drain.

Heat olive oil in sautéing pan and sauté rooster on both sides. Remove to a platter and add onions and garlic and sauté until translucent. Put rooster back in the sautéing pan and add wine and cherry brandy.

Wait for a few seconds until the alcohol evaporates and add all the spices, the tomato and finally the tomato paste dissolved in the water.

Cover pan with the lid and when the sauce starts boiling, reduce to minimum and simmer for about one hour, or until rooster is cooked.

Preheat oven at 180 degrees Centigrade. Remove cinnamon stick and bay leaves from pan and add the pasta. Mix and put the pan in the oven. Cook until the pasta has absorbed the sauce, mixing a couple of times.

Serve warm sprinkling some grated myzithra on top if you like.

I am submitting this recipe to my friend Ning, of Heart & Hearth, who is hosting Grow your own, created by Andrea, of Andrea’s Recipes

Tags: Geneva, Poultry, Traditional, travelling

We are back from our trip to Switzerland and France.   We just stayed for four days and five nights but all four days we left early in morning from the hotel and returned late in the evening.   Before leaving I wrote a post and promised to give you some of the recipes I made for my husband’s name day.  I will have to postpone that for another week as I prefer to tell you all about the trip.

I have taken lots of photos and videos and hope to show you around Geneva and Grenoble.  There are some recipes I also want to share with you so I am thinking of posting three or four posts to cover the four days we stayed there.

We traveled with Swiss Star Alliance and apart from the snack they served which was inedible, the service of the crew was great and the whole flight was fantastic.

The view over the Alps  was breath taking and the colours of the sunset were fantastic.

We stayed in a Hotel on the French side of the borders which is at the beginning of a small village called St. Genis.  We preferred to stay there as my son lives in this village and it is very close to CERN, where he works.

Our son met us at the Airport and we arrived at the hotel at about 19:00 p.m.

After checking in at the hotel, we went to my son’s apartment and later on we went to the village on foot and we chose to eat at a nearby Creperie.

My husband and son had Savory Crepes and I had a Crepe flambé.

We were very lucky as the weather was great and although the temperature was lower than in Athens, I was really surprised that I did not feel cold even for a second.

The hotel was situated on the main road leading towards Geneva called Rue de Geneve and there was a bus station just next to the hotel.  Our room was on the first floor and on the corner so we had view on two roads.   On the side road we had a view of some lovely country houses and just a few meters away there was a field with lots of cows.  On the front side view we could see Mount Jura.

Next to the bus station was this lovely house and a bit further there was a bridge with a side path which we walked the following days in the morning before breakfast.

On Saturday morning, after breakfast at the hotel we met our son and went for our first visit towards Geneva.

We stopped at CERN and my son showed us around the microcosm exhibition, with hands-on experiments, models, videos and computer interactives.

The entrance near the Reception

The first Internet Server

We then took the bus and  from Gare Cornavin we walked to the Lake.

The first thing we saw was the Jet d’ Eau and descending a few steps below the bridge we saw some lovely swans and ducks in the lake.

Walking a few meters further we came across a boat which toured up to Nyon and back and as it said it was a Gourmand Restaurant.  We ordered the plat du jour, a fixed menu, which was a creamy mussel soup with saffron as a starter, then salmon with carrot and potato puree and a framboise (raspberry) cake for dessert.  We drank a lovely white wine and although we tried to find it in the supermarkets to bring some with us, unfortunately we did not find it.  The wine was generally good.

The whole tour and back lasted three hours and was worth every minute of it.  The scenery was very picturesque and the boat went from one side of the lake to the other, stopping for a couple of minutes at each little village.

When we returned back we walked to the ancient town.  Our first stop was at the Cathedral of St. Pierre.

We had a tour of the Archaeological site which was discovered during 1976, when its foundations needed reinforcement.

• late Roman mosaic floors;
• two 4th-century Christian shrines;
• portions of three more early churches; and
• an 11th-century crypt that was part of the first Romanesque cathedral on the site (completed c.1000 AD).

Inside the Protestant Cathedral of St. Pierre:

Outside the Cathedral there was a crowd queuing for something and when we approached we found out that they were giving hot wine with cinnamon and fruit.  We just made it for the last cup of wine.

We then walked to the Reformation Monument.

This imposing structure, appropriately located in the city dubbed the “Protestant Rome,” is the most impressive general monument to the Reformation there is. The giant wall (325 feet long, 30 feet high) dominates the large Parc des Bastions and centers on 15-foot-tall statues of four Geneva luminaries.

On our way home, we had to get our connection from Avanchet Station and before going to our station we stopped at Balexert Centre, which is a very big Mall, for dinner.

We preferred to eat Mexican and thanks to our friend Ben, the Menu sounded so familiar to me.   I could not resist trying Pollo con Mole Negro, which was chicken with a spicy chocolate sauce, nuts and sesame seeds.

My husband and son preferred something more familiar and they had Flauto con carne, one with beef and one with chicken.

I am sorry if it was a very long post and I hope it was not too boring.

END OF DAY ONE

Tags: Geneva, travelling

I know I said that I would be away for a few days to take care of some things I needed to do at the house and I’ve done most of the things I wanted to do. However, I will be away for another week and hope that you will still be visiting but I will not have access to the internet where I will be.

I shall be going to Switzerland and France.

I am leaving you with the best ever salad I have ever ate. Sweet, sour, tangy, creamy and crunchy, this is the ultimate salad. So many tastes and textured, I am sure you will love it. I have been making this salad for years but I don’t make it very often because it is a bit fuzzy. I make it only on special occasions and I made it last week when I had some guests. Believe me they couldn’t stop eating and I regret I made it because they ate so much that they couldn’t eat all the other things I had made.

If you like you can substitute craisins with raisins and walnuts with pecans. Pomegranate is my new addition to this salad but only when it’s in season. Together with the raisins and craisins you get a sweet burst of juice in your mouth which balances the sour and tangy taste of the other ingredients.

If you think It makes a lot, you are right, but don’t worry. It’s never a lot and it is better the other day and the other day, and the other day. You can eat it for 3 or 4 days and it is just as good.

Cabbage salad with nuts and raisins

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• ½ medium size cabbage
• 2 -3 stalks of tender celery
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• ¾ cup of walnuts cut in big pieces
• 2 spoonfuls of raisins or craisins
• 1/2 cup of pomegranate seeds
  
• lemon zest from one lemon
  

Salad dressing

• 1 small mayonnaise (about 1 cup)
  
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of mild mustard
• lemon juice from 1 lemon
  
• Salt, pepper, paprika to taste
  

Directions

Finely cut cabbage into thin slices and then crosswise into small pieces.

Finely cut celery stalks and onion.

Grate the lemon.

Chop walnuts.

Peel pomegranate and use half of it.

Add raisins or craisins, lemon zest and pomegranate seeds.

Combine mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper in a shaker and mix all together or just add on top salad.

Sprinkle some paprika on top and refrigerate for an hour before serving.

This is my entry for the World Food Day Event - Time to be Thankful!

I have a lot to be thankful for. I have a wonderful and loving husband and children. We are all healthy and have as much as we need to live well. I am also thankful that I have such wonderful friends all over the world.

See printable recipe here:

Tags: Food events, Salads

1. Flour

2. Sugar

3. Fluid

4. Butter

5. Gelatin

6. Oven Temperature

Measurements can be a real pain sometimes when converting American or Australian recipes to European (and vice versa), especially since not many realize their cup and tablespoon measurements are different.

Here is a quick reference on them as well as conversions for oven temperatures. I shall keep this post on my side bar for easy reference.

Things get worse as in Greece where our measurements are not very precise. The traditional recipes given by mother to daughter say some salt, little pepper, some rice, some parsley, a handful of that, olive oil etc.

I will try from now on to be more specific in my recipes and especially in baking. We measure with (tea) cups or glasses (which are about 200 ml in capacity) but again how can someone know what kind of cup or glass I am using? I’ve had some questions about my measurements in Group Recipes, so I have decided from now on to use either cups or grams.

Personally I also have problems converting butter measurements and I am sure that others as well will have similar problems so according to some measurements I have found on the internet, I shall use these as a guideline for my recipes.

Regarding my older recipes I have filled a tea cup and a water glass with 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of sugar and you can see that the cup and the glass are not full, so now you can get the picture that in my older recipes when I say 1 glass of flour it was a little bit more.

1. Flour: (old measurements 1 glass = 120 grams or 1 cup 140 grams)

2. Sugar: (old measurements 1 glass = 175 grams or 1 cup 200 grams)

3. Fluid: (old measurements 1 glass = 220 grams or 1 cup 250 grams or 200 ml)

4. Butter (250 grams):

American Butter Conversions

1 stick of butter = 1/4 pound
1 stick of butter = 1/2 cup
1 stick of butter = 8 tablespoons
1 stick of butter = 4 ounces
1 stick of butter = 113 grams

Australian Butter Conversions

Butter Conversions:
1 tablespoon = 20g
1/4 cup = 63g
1/2 cup = 125g
1 cup = 250g

5. Gelatin sheets vs gelatin powder

One Knox powdered gelatin envelope (US)
= 1/4 oz, about 7 grams.

1 (US) envelope:
= 7 g,
= 7 (1-gram) sheets,
= 4 (1.66-gram) sheets,
= 3 or 3 1/2 (2-gram) sheets.

1 (Europe) envelope:
= 11 g
= 11 (1-gram) sheets,
= 6.5 or 7 (1.66-gram) sheets
= 5 (2-gram) sheets

Source: Recipe Link

6. Oven Temperature Conversions

Tags: measurements

Saganotyri

Saganaki is one of the best Greek mezedes. By now I am sure that you all, my friends, know what mezes (plural mezedes) is.

For other readers who are new to this blog, mezes is an appetizer served with wine, ouzo or tsikoudia. Saganaki is very easy to make but you will need a very good Greek hard cheese. Saganaki can be made with Graviera, Kefalotyri, Kefalograviera, Formaella, Halloumi, Kaskavalli (another very good Cypriot cheese), or the special saganotyri you see in the photo, above. For those who can read Greek, they will see on the label that it says Traditional Greek Cheese, ideal for frying (saganaki) in hot oil (no dredging in flour is necessary) or grilled etc…, ideal for wine, ouzo etc.

See some other Greek cheeses here but Halloumi is in no way similar to ricotta but I would say closer to mozarella.

Graviera, Kefalotyri and Kefalograviera look like this.

Halloumi

There is a lot of false information given on the internet and if your read about saganaki in Wikipedia, you will read that it means flaming cheese, sometimes translated as fried cheese. Saganaki has nothing to do with the cheese but it is the cooking “pan” in which it is made and usually served in, called “sagani”. So, if we make shrimps with tomatoes and feta in this pan it’s a shrimp saganaki, or we can make anchovies with wine, mustard, lemon, chilli and some feta and we have Gavros saganaki. That does not mean, of course, that we cannot make saganaki in any other frying or sautéing pan.

In certain sites you will see that they say that you have to dredge the cheese in flour first and then fry it. That is probably because none of the above cheeses were used. Kaseri may also be used but kaseri is a semi hard cheese and in this case flour will be necessary.

Cheese Saganaki is something I make quite often and I have three different ways I have made saganaki.

See printable recipe here.

Grilled Cheese Saganaki

Ingredients

• Any of the above cheese
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Lemon juice

Directions
Cut the cheese into 1 cm thick slices. Heat the olive oil in a sautéing pan and grill on both sides.

Serve hot with a squeeze of some lemon juice.

Fried Saganotyri with sesame seeds

Ingredients

• Saganotyri or any other of the above cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• 1/2 cup of sesame seeds
• 1 lemon

Directions

Cut the cheese into 1 cm thick slices. Beat the egg and wet the cheese, then dip it in the sesame seeds. Heat the olive oil in a saganaki pan or if you don’t have one in a frying or sautéing pan and fry on both sides.

Serve hot with a squeeze of some lemon juice.

Grilled Halloumi with orange, fennel seeds and parsley

This is a recipe a tried for the previous Joust

Ingredients

• 1 halloumi cheese
• 1 cup of green, yellow and red bell peppers cut julien
• 1 teaspoon whole fennel seed, crushed in a mortar and pestle
• a few sprigs of finely chopped parsley
• 1teaspoon orange zest
• ½ cup of orange juice
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oill

Directions

Drain halloumi and cut into 1 cm slices.

Heat a non-stick frying or sautéing pan and brush with olive oil.

Place the slices on the hot pan until they has browned on both sides. Remove to a platter.

Add another spoonful of olive oil and sauté the peppers. When they are soft put halloumi back into the pan.

Add fennel seeds and orange juice and toss the pan so that the juice will wet all pieces of halloumi.

Remove again to the platter and sprinkle with the orange zest and the parsley.

I am sending this over to Loulou, who is hosting La Fête du Fromage.

I shall not post for a few days as I have a lot to do and not much time. Although the temperature is very high between 25 and 30 degrees Centigrade and people are starting going to the beach again, I don’t think that this will last for long so I have to get prepared for winter (carpets, curtains, winter clothes, etc.) and there are a lot of other things I need to do.

I hope to catch up with your posts as I haven’t been visiting as often as I wanted

Tags: Cheese, Cypriot, Greek cheese

Thank you all my friends for submitting such a beautiful array of Sweet Pies. I am sorry I did not publish the round-up yesterday, as promised but I had some problems with the site, which fortunately I think I have solved.

Pies are the perfect dessert and some of them are really quick and easy. You all did a great job, not only preparing them but also using all your skills to make a pretty presentation.

As I promised, I have a Tupperware’s Chef Knife which, unfortunately only one of you will win.

I shall e-mail each one of you with a number, of course not in the order you see the recipes here in the round-up. Only you and I will know this number.

I want a volunteer from anyone reading the round-up and who has not submitted an entry to contact me by e-mail and I shall tell him/her to pick a number and when to announce the number in the comments section.

So, Good Luck to all of you!!

Now to your entries:

1. Lori, of Lori’s Lipsmacking Goodness, says: The pie is Concord Grape Pie. I live near the Finger Lakes in NY. There are a number of vineyards there and quite a few wineries. Each year in the town of Naples they hold a Grape Festival. The grape pies are so delicious. I had one, one year and have made one every Fall since then.

2. Jin Hooi, of Smell & Taste are my Memory, made an Apple pie. Her husband Steve loves apples so Jin pleased her husband making her first apple pie from Scratch.

3. Chocolate Tamale Cherry Pie, by Ben, of What’s Cooking. Ben says: “This pie was inspired by the chocolate tamales I used to eat in Mexico City with my family”.

“Is there anything…ANYTHING at all that is so universally well known as Canadian as the Butter Tart???????????? The country is divided about what a butter tart should be. Is it gooey or custardy???? This recipe is not a traditional butter tart recipe due to fact that it uses maple syrup..but it is more in the “custardy” camp than “gooey”. I love both types…it does not matter to me as long as it has nuts and raisins….I am there!!!!!!!!!!!!”

5. Priya, of Priya’s Easy N Tasty Recipes, celebrated her 10.000 hits with a Strawberry Cream Tart.

6. Judy, of No Fear Entertaining, had some leftover cream cheese mixture and chocolate chips after making some cup cakes, she remembered having some puff pastry and made these amazing Cream Cheese and Bittersweet Chocolate Chip Turnovers.

7. Mansi, of Fun and Food Cafe, has made a recipe for Traditional Pumpkin Pie flavored with cinnamon, ginger & nutmeg. With freshly roasted pumpkin puree, a homemade pie-shell, and an eggless version too, this is perfect for your Thanksgiving dinner party! Doesn’t the pie look exactly like the logo of the event!!

8. Eliza from Notes from my Food diary says: I made thess chocolate lava pies, intended to be pies with chocolate flowing especially when it’s cut while it’s still warm. Unfortunately my timing was not right, so here I had chocolate filled pies instead.

9. A delicious rustic pie whose crust is made with oil (rather than butter) and filled with a sweet pear filling that is spiced with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, star anise and black pepper is the Pear Galette, prepared by Aparna, of My Diverse Kitchen.

10. Apple Crisp, by Deeba, of Passionate about Baking. A wonderfully sweet pie full of comfort & flavour. Deeba says : “Got the recipe from Helene’s blog @La Cuisine de Helene’s. Tastes wonderful with a scoop of vanilla. If you like you can toss some chopped walnuts into the topping, &/or some raisins into the filling. This pie was yummy all the way”.

11. Nuria, from Spanish Recipes has made her first Pie. She says: My first pie is a walnut one, easy, and tasty, although the texture can be improved we are enjoying it

12. Courtney, of Coco Cooks, has made an Asian Apple Pie, which she entered into an Apple Pie Competition. Coco says: “The reason its called Asian Apple is because I made a syrup reduction. with Asian spices like Star Anise, Cinnamon, etc. I also decorated with a Chinese figure symbolizing Long Life , prosperity”.

Amongst 92 contestants Courtney made it to the 27 semi-finalists. That’s great Courtney! Good luck for next year!

13. Yasmeen, of Health Nut, has made An egg less chocolate, pumpkin pie, which is a low calorie pie made with real pumpkins and fresh home made crust.

14. P.G., of My Kitchen stories, has made An Apple Cheese Pie to celebrate her sister’s birthday but also had to make it with lactose free quark as her son is on a lactose free diet.

15. Lore, of Culinarty, made Sweet and Savory Pies. She explains why: “My husband’s sweet tooth and love for fried food inspired to make this pie. Coconut is one of his favourite flavours but I also used it to cut down the sweetness of the quince marmalade. A filling that is seasonal, exotic & easy to make, wrapped in a versatile dough that can be used for both sweet and savoury fillings”.

16. Sunita, of Sunita’s World, has made a Tofu-chocolate-orange tart. Sunita says: “This a very fuss free (needs very little hands on time) and no-bake recipe and is even very light on the waist. The oats crust adds a nice bite to the relatively softer filling. And the filling leaves a hint of a subtle orangey flavour”.

17. Mike, of Mike’s Table, has made a Caramelized Apple and Cinnamon Cream Tart. Mike says: its kind of like apple pie meets ice cream meets cheesecake, all in a rosemary graham cracker crust. A delicious change from the usual apple pie.

18. Arfi, of HomemadeS, has made a Mixed Berries & Lemon Pie. Arfi says: it is a diabetes-friendly pastry case and the filling is mixed berries (blueberries, blackberries, loganberries, raspberries and strawberries) cooked in their own syrup with additional of sugar and lemon plus lemon zest.

19. Cakelaw, of Laws of the Kitchen, has made A sweet apple pie. Cakelaw explains: “This apple pie is not like my Mom used to make, because it uses lard in the pastry. This sounds rather gross, but I am willing to give things a go, and it tasted OK. Lard is not commonly used in Australian pastries, although old cookbooks suggest that it may once have been, and lard is certainly not easy to buy”.

20. Mira, of Dapur si Ipoek, made a Chilled White Pie and she describes it as “A simple chilled pie, made from white chocolate, and sparkled with dark chocolate. You can enjoy it with your favorite ice cream”.

21. M., of Baking History, has made the all-American Pumpkin Pie, i.e. a traditional dessert enjoyed in the Fall and always part of the Thanksgiving feast. M, says:

“The recipe I feature here is very simple, minimally spiced with cinnamon, and sweetened with very little sugar. If the pumpkin is very tasty to begin with there is no need to be heavy handed with spices, and sweeteners like molasses might be too strong and overpower the delicate flavor of the main ingredient itself”.

Here are also a few of the sweet pies I made for the event:

Pineapple Tart

Galatopita

Sweet Cream Cheese Pie

Tags: Food events, Round-ups

Rosie and Maria of Sweet and Simple Bakes are hosting an Event for Halloween.

BOOOOO!!!

Happy Halloween for all of you who are celebrating.

Unfortunately here in Greece we do not celebrate Halloween and we know about it only from the films we see.

I have never made anything spooktacular before so I really didn’t know how they were supposed to look. I had some ready made marzipan but did not have any molds to cut the shapes, so I just cut them with a knife. I tried to make a few ghosts which turned out rather friendly like casper.

I added a drop of green food colour in some marzipan so that the skull and ghost would show better.

I also tried to make a boogeyman using spoon sweet cherries for his mouth, some craisins covered in chocolate for his eyes and for hair, mouth and eye balls I used a cream cheese frosting.

I also made some cob webs.

Actually, I got this idea from a beautiful cake Deeba made. Some months back I made this cake and it looked like a cob wed so that was easy to make.

Halloween - Cupcakes

My twist to the recipe

When the mixture was ready I added a few spoonfuls in the prepared muffin tins and I kept some of the mixture in which I added a few spoonfuls of cocoa and mixed with the spatula. Then I added another spoonful of the dark mixture on top of the white mixture.

Chocolate topping

1 couverture chocolate, melted in bain marie. I then added 1 teaspoon butter and 2 tablespoons fresh cream and mixed until they melted.

Cream cheese decoration

• 100 grams cream cheese
• 50 ml Whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Tags: Cupcakes, Festive, Food events, Halloween

Elies Tsakistes, (pronounced Eliėss Tsakistėss) are crushed green olives which are harvested when green. They are cracked and to become edible they have to remain in water for as long as necessary until they are not bitter any more. To crack the olives place on a cutting board, wear latex gloves and wear something old or a plastic apron as when they are cracked the juices may stain your clothes and it is very difficult to remove the stains.

My mother would tell us to help her do this job and she had a large clean marble where we would put the olives and with a big pebble would crush them but we had to be careful not to break the pip. You may also crash them with the pestle but a mallet may also be used.

After crushing them they have to be soaked in fresh