All these years I’ve been blogging I met the most wonderful people. Through this hobby of mine, I got to know so many people around the globe, enter their kitchens and learn things about their lives and countries. Thanks to them I have cooked so many wonderful recipes and learned not only new dishes and...
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...
Garlic and onion have a common history, similar usage and common properties. Botanically speaking they are a short of brothers as they both belong to the allium category. Although garlic comes from central Asia, it was very well known in ancient Greece and Egypt as well. Herodotus mentions in his writings, that the slaves who...
While many kinds of merchandise traveled along the Silk Road, the name comes from the popularity of Chinese silk in the west and especially in Rome. The Silk Road routes stretched from China through India, Asia Minor, up throughout Mesopotamia, to Egypt, the African continent, Greece, Rome, and Britain. This Road was an ancient network...
Being a working mother and wife is, sometimes, a real challenging job. Having to work all day and then come home to a hungry teenager and a husband who comes also late at night makes the dinner choice quite a feat. Most of the times, I am really tired and all I want is a...
Carob tree is an evergreen tree that grows in Mediterranean countries and the Middle East. Its crop looks like a hard, flat bean and has dark brown color. For many years carobs were used to feed animals, but during and after World War II and while Germans occupied Greece, carob was an essential food for...
One of the five basic elements of ancient Greek diet was wine. Although the origin of vineyards and viticulture comes from Asia, ancient Greeks because of trade started cultivating vineyards since Neolithic Age. Homer, Plato and Xenophon in their written documents make an extensive mention to all their contemporary wines from several parts of Greece....
Although Greek kitchen is very rich in savory dishes with high nutritional value, this does not apply for desserts. Why is that? I don’t really know. Perhaps the fact that from 1453 when Constantinople was conquered by the Ottomans and consequently the whole of Greece, until 1821 when we started our fight for liberation, we...
Andros is a beautiful island of the Cyclades complex very close to Athens. Its name, as mythology says, comes from general Andros descendant of gods Apollo and Dionysus. That is the reason why Dionysus was worshipped in the island and the two gods appear in their coins. Because of its proximity to main land, its...
Aegina is an island very close to Athens, located in Saronic Gulf. Because of its proximity to the capital, it is a favorite destination of the people who live in the city and offers many alternatives not only in entertainment, but also in swimming. In mythology Aegina was the daughter of Asopos River. She was...
