A fermented fish sauce called garum was a staple of Greco-Roman cuisine and of the Mediterranean economy of the Roman Empire, as the first-century encyclopedist Pliny the Elder writes in his Historia Naturalis and the fourth/fifth-century Roman culinary text Apicius includes garum in its recipes. The use of similar fermented anchovy sauces in Europe can...
Sun dried tomatoes are made from a variety of tomatoes that is very usual to several Aegean islands and looks very much alike the Italian pomodori. The tomatoes are dried under the sun until the water they contain evaporates. Usually, they lose between 88% to 93% of their weight depending on their shape, i.e. 88...
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...
Santorini is one of the most famous Greek islands around the world. Santorini island is basically what has remained after a massive volcanic eruption that destroyed all previous settlements and created the current geological caldera. This enormous volcanic eruption has become the most famous single event in the Aegean before the fall of Troy. It...
Garlic has a long history starting some 6,000 years before Christ. The first who found the plant and used it were the Indians in Asia. The Indian merchants, in turn, made it known to Babylonians and Assyrians and they brought it to all important civilizations of that era. In Egypt, it was consumed by all...
The Dauphiné is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme, and Hautes-Alpes. In the 12th century, the local ruler Count Guigues IV of Albon (c.1095–1142) bore a dolphin on his coat of arms and was nicknamed “le Dauphin” (French for dolphin). His descendants...
As 2017 is about to expire, I went back to all the months that preceded and tried to pick one recipe that was a hit or special from each one of them. It was hard because every time I make something I put all my energy, love and affection to it and thus everything you...
I am sure most of you have heard or seen the movie “300” talking about the brave resistance and the heroic death of the 300 Spartans fighting the Persians during the Persian Wars in ancient Greek history. What perhaps you may not know is that Spartan community was a very strict, military oriented society with...
Summer vacations are a staple in Greece. From beginning of June until end of August Greeks along with millions of foreign tourists flood the islands and seacoast of mainland Greece. Back in my university years along with some friends we decided to visit the beautiful island of Corfu. We had a wonderful time there and...
Back in the late 80’s when I was a university student, life was full of knowing new people and strolls. We used to go out almost every day hanging out with friends for coffee or eat out. I think those were my most carefree years and I believe the same stands for most people. It...
