Last Monday was Clean Monday for us Orthodox Christians. That signals the beginning of a fifty days’ Lent from now until Easter Saturday, which this year is on 18th of April. This particular Lent is a very strict one, having everyone who follows it, to refrain from anything that comes from animals i.e. meat and...
Zucchini, like all squash, has its ancestry in the Americas. However, the varieties of green, cylindrical squash harvested immature and typically called “zucchini” were developed in northern Italy, long after the introduction of cucurbits from the Americas. It appears that this occurred in the second half of the 19th century, though the first description of...
Surrounded by sea, Greece is the place to have fresh, straight from water, seafood and fish. The country is full of tavernas serving all kinds of seafood and a vast range of fish that are available in Greek sea. From small to large fish, shrimps, crawfish, mussels and several other edible seafood are the contents...
Throughout the years there were several dishes that culminated in the Athenian culinary scene. One such dish was Mushrooms a la Crème. During the 80’s and 90’s every restaurant that respected itself, included in its menu this particular dish as an appetizer. It was really very famous and if one observed carefully in a restaurant...
Pineapple plant has its origins in south America and more specifically in area between south Brazil and Paraguay. Inhabitants from Brazil and Paraguay spread pineapple to the whole south America and eventually to the Caribbean, central America and Mexico. Mayas and Aztecs cultivated pineapple. In 1493 Christopher Columbus discovered pineapple in the beautiful island of...
The first garden strawberry was grown in Brittany, France during the late 18th century. Prior to this, wild strawberries and cultivated selections from wild strawberry species were the common source of the fruit. The strawberry fruit was mentioned in ancient Roman literature in reference to its medicinal use. The French began taking the strawberry from...
The name basil is derived from Greek basileus “king”, because of the royal fragrance of this herb. Basileus “king” means essentially “people’s leader. Basil belongs to the family of Lamiaceae. Its leaves show an intense green color on the upper side and a green-gray color in the bottom side. Today, basil is cultivated in many...
Agrippina the Younger was the great-granddaughter of Augustus, the first Roman Emperor. Her parents were general, Germanicus, and Agrippina the Elder. Her brother was Emperor Caligula, and her sisters were Drusilla and Livilla. She was born at Ara Ubiorum (modern-day Cologne) on 6 November 15 C.E. In 28. A.D. at the age of 13, she...
Weekends usually are, for most people, the two days they have to relax from a stressful week and probably do things they don’t have the time to do during weekdays. For me it is a whole different reality. Saturday morning, I wake up around 8:00 a.m. and start my day by going shopping to buy...
Diogenes was a Greek philosopher and one of the founders of Cynic philosophy. Also known as Diogenes the Cynic, he was born in Sinope (modern-day Sinope, Turkey), an Ionian colony on the Black Sea, in 412 or 404 BC and died at Corinth in 323 BC. Diogenes was a controversial figure. His father minted coins...
