Street Food at The Rye - Buen Provecho

I love Mexican food! Or at least I love the stuff I have been able to get my hands on in the UK and the US. I remember my husband and I walked for about 1.5 hours through Mission in San Francisco to go to El Farolito Taqueria and try their Super Burrito. It was worth the walk and I 'd do it again, and again and again! I still dream of the burrito - the silky tortilla, wrapped around the perfect amount of smokey meat, smooth guacamole, rich cheese and sour cream and delicious beans - and even though we only shared one and felt stuffed, I still regret not getting one each. Even if that had meant feeling absolutely ill for the rest of the day!

Since then my Mexican food experience has been limited to Daddy Donkey on Leather Lane, near were I used to work. I was pregnant and could easily devour a whole one on my own, no problem! In fact it was my Friday lunch treat - seeing as they are £6 each and I can't afford that for every lunchtime! The burritos there are great too: very good flavour in the ingredients. But it seems to be done in too big a rush and the fillings are just mounted onto each other, without 'spreading' them thoroughly and therefore you get pockets of flavour, instead of each mouthful having  the great flavour of all the components combined. Still, they are the best burritos I have had in the UK. And I haven't had any since the week I went into labour months ago!

So from that you probably now understand that I do love Mexican food and when my husband discovered that the Rye pub near us is doing the Street Food at The Rye and Buen Provecho was cooking there on Monday Bank Holiday, we got excited! Very excited! So much so, that we got there at 12.30 lunchtime only to be told that they open at 14.00 and food would only start being served at 16.00... The disappointment was indescribable! We were like little children being told there would be no presents for Christmas this year! We reluctantly left and decided that one of us would pop out again around 17.00 and get them to take away - while our little lady was still decently behaved in the afternoon, before the evening grizzles began!

At 17.00 the plan was set to motion. My husband left and called me from there to tell me the 'menu': he does tacos and Arturo Ortega Rodriguez's reputation precedes him, so we decided to get two of each of what he does: pork, chicken, beef, potato, peppers and an omelette type thing.Oh and quesadillas!

The 5 minute journey home probably didn't do them any favours. We started with the quesadillas: nice and simple, a soft taco shell, filled with cheese and folded, then grilled. The veggie potato one was OK, but not great: mashed potato topped with peppers and beans. It lacked a little in substance and flavour. The other veggie option though was lovely: peppers and sweetcorn in a creamy sauce, topped with beans again. The omelette thing was interesting, if a little bland. I loved the texture of it, but once again, lacked a little umph! The beef was good, though not amazing. It was stewed with carrots and potatoes and the veg was a little undercooked. The sauce was perfectly sticky and thick, though I found it a little sweet. Finally the two stars of the show were the chicken and the pork. The chicken had great deep, smokey flavour and was served in chunky succulent chunks. The pork was cooked in an orange sauce and was shredded to perfection! Incredibly deep flavour, with the perfect balance of spice, sweetness and smokeyness.I must also comment on the tacos shells, which were themselves the best  've had! Soft in texture and nutty in flavour, with a hint of 'burnt' from the hot plate.

All in all it was perfectly enjoyable, but just not as good as it had been built up to be by what I had read about it online. We paid £26 and I managed to finish all my tacos, so I would say it was a tad overpriced. I would be interested to try them again on his home turf on Lower Marsh Street market in Waterloo, in case it was just a bad day. Not that it was bad! But when you have been craving something for so long and you build it up in your mind, nothing less than perfection will do. And perfection, unfortunately, it was not...

 On the left is the chicken and next to it the two pork tacos, all topped with beans and guacamole and the middle one with a chilly salsa.

Vegetarian week

I 've seen and read a few things about it being vegetarian week this week and its got me thinking about my own diet. Even though I am a proud carnivore, I do think that people in the UK eat way too much meat. I think that people should be much more aware of where their food comes from and especially be aware of how the animals that produce the meat they so enjoy are reared and killed. In order to get good meat (both in terms of quality and in terms of animal welfare) you have to pay a higher price for it. So unless you have money pouring out of your pocket, then meat can and should only be enjoyed a couple of times a week - if that! I know that my husband and I only eat meat once a week, and we often opt for the cheaper cuts anyway (beef cheek, pork belly, feather blade etc) and a chicken is a special treat and we make it last for at least 6 meals of the week with all the leftovers.

What I am trying to say is that vegetarianism is definitely valid, but you can still make a difference to animals and the environment (and your health) without necessarily becoming a vegetarian, but by sourcing your meat responsibly and by planning your meals, so that your beloved meat goes a long way.

Jacks Cafe - Pellatt Road SE22

My husband and I first visited this cafe in October 2010, during my pregnancy. From the first visit we were hooked! Jacks serves delicious food, sandwiches and cakes, makes some of the best coffee South of the River and its two friendly owners - Di and Alex - make you feel right at home. Since I had my daughter I pretty much go there weekly. There is always something new and delicious on the menu, not to mention Di's awesome triple chocolate brownies! Now the weather is brightening up, there is a pretty little outdoor seating area in the back too.

To be honest, I 'm not sure why I 'm even writing about this place...In a way I 'd quite like to keep it to myself and guarantee myself a table every time, but that would be too selfish! Or would it...?!

In any case, here are a few pictures of some of the great food that they serve. An Original Reuben sandwich - pastrami, lettuce, sauerkraut, thousand island sauce and some Swiss cheese. Di was very excited when she added it to the menu and I can see why! Absolutely scrummy, served in nice, warm, thick, toasted bread.

A jersey royal, artichoke and tomato frittata, served with a fresh, seasonal salad. Light and fluffy, full of flavour.

Finally, Di's fantastic Victoria Sponge. Deliciously light and creamy, yet completely satisfying! Served with a side of vanilla mascarpone! Rich, indeed! Just thinking about it makes me drool...

Easy Cheesy Dinner

This is perfect for a chilled evening with some wine! You can use whatever cheese you like, but for me a baked Camembert just makes it more of a 'meal'!

For the baked Camembert:
1 whole Camembert
drizzle of clear honey
4 walnuts
Remove the paper from the cheese and return it to the bottom wooden tray it came in. Drizzle with honey on top, place the walnuts and bake in a preheated oven at 170 for 20-25 minutes or until wobbly and melted inside. 

For the cheese board:
any cheese you like
grapes
walnuts
bread and/or crackers
chutney
baked garlic bulb (chop the bulb in half across the cloves and bake in a tray with a drizzle of honey, salt, pepper, olive oil and a splash of vinegar for 30 minutes at 170)

Serve when Camembert is just out of the oven. Dip in the bread, walnuts and grapes and eat with some of the baked, sweet, softened garlic cloves! Serve with wine.

Tuna with avocado salad

I apologise for the delay in posting anything... Had a lovely, but busy weekend and thought I would chill/sleep any minute I had free! Last Friday I felt like eating fish, but I also wanted something light. Usually this means sushi, but we have no Japanese restaurant anywhere near us (that I know of!) and so I thought a nice medium rare tuna steak would do instead. This recipe actually worked out pretty good.

Serves 2

for the tuna:
2 tuna steaks (150g-200g each)
1/2 medium heat chili
1 tsp of grated ginger
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs vegetable oil


for the avocado salad:
2 avocados
3 plum tomatoes
1/2 medium heat chili
half a red onion
juice of half a lime
salt
pepper
drizzle of olive oil

About an hour before cooking, take the tuna steaks out of the fridge. In a bowl, mix the soy sauce, vegetable oil, 1/2 chopped chili and grated ginger, add the tuna steaks, cover them well with the marinade and leave for 30 minutes - 1 hour. In the meantime, chop the avocado and the tomatoes in similar size chunks, finely chop the onion and the chili. Drizzle with olive oil, the lime juice, salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat a frying pan and then add the tuna steaks to the pan (no oil is needed in the pan as there is oil in the marinade). Fry for about 1,5 to 2 minutes on each side (I like mine just seared). Once you have removed the fish from the pan, you can add the juice of the remaining marinade to the pan to deglaze and pour over the steaks. Serve with the salad.

Chorizo and eggs

I forgot to go to the supermarket today, as I spent most of the afternoon in Jacks Cafe enjoying a delicious sandwich and a good chat (a post on Jacks Cafe will follow shortly). In any case, I had to make dinner with whatever I had left in the house and asked my husband to pick up some parsley on his way home. As anyone who has read more than 2 posts on this blog would know, I had some chorizo in the house. I decided to make a chorizo-based medley and then fry some eggs in there. One pot wonder again!

Serves 2

1 onion
2 large potatoes
3 plum tomatoes or 1 tbs tomato puree
50 g of chorizo
1 can of chickpeas
4 eggs
salt
pepper
olive oil
1 tbs chopped parsley

Chop the chorizo and the onions and add to a frying pan. Fry till oils are being released from the chorizo. Add 1 tbs of olive oil to the pan and continue frying on a low heat, till onions soften. In the meantime, dice the potato to 1 inch cubes, add to the pan along with the drained chickpeas and 2-3 tablespoons of water and cook on low heat for 10 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes or the tomato puree (diluted in 2tbs of water) and salt and pepper (not much, as the chorizo has lots of seasoning). Cover the pan and allow to simmer for 10 minutes or until potatoes have softened. Break the eggs into little pockets of the mixture and cooked till nice and runny. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and enjoy! Maybe with some bread - something I unfortunately didn't have...

Banana Bread

I am pretty proud of this one! Because I kinda made it up a little and it worked really well! So I am going to boast for a second or two... OK, done boasting. I based this recipe on Nigel Slater's recipe for Black Banana Cake, but changed things a little to suit what I had at home.

175 g of unsalted soft butter or oil-based spread (I used Flora, as it is already soft and a little healthier every now and then)
175 g of self raising flour
175 g of golden caster sugar
2-3 very ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
70 g of pecans or walnuts
30 g of almonds

Grease and line a loaf tin with baking parchment and preheat the oven to 170(fan). Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in eggs slowly, followed by the self raising flour. Mash up the bananas and add them to the mix, along with the vanilla, cinnamon and the chopped nuts (I like to leave the nuts in decent chunks, for the texture). Put the mixture in the tin and bake for one hour or until top is golden and skewer comes out clean.

This is best served warm, alongside a chilled glass of full fat organic milk! Night night...

Bean and chorizo stew

This is yet another speedy super, even though it doesn't sound it. I used butter beans for this one, but chickpeas and haricot beans could work just as well. Once again, I have improvised, so ingredients can be omitted or added, depending on what you have at home. Parsley would go great with this dish and you can use passata, or tomato puree, instead of fresh.

Serves 2

2 cans of butter beans
1 onion
2 medium potatoes
200grams of cherry tomatoes
50 grams of chorizo
olive oil
salt
pepper
squeeze of lemon

Chop the onion and the chorizo and fry off lightly in the olive oil. Cut the potato into 1inch cubes and add to the pan. Fry off for 2-3 minutes and then add 1 cup of water. Add the drained beans and the cherry tomatoes to the pan, cover and allow to simmer for 30 minutes. Check that there is enough liquid in the pan. The potatoes should be nice and soft and there should be a thick 'gravy' in the pan. Add salt and pepper to your taste and serve with a squeeze of lemon - and parsley if you have it!

Lunch at the Ledbury

We had visited the Ledbury before and we absolutely loved it, but because I was 5 months pregnant, there were restrictions on what I was and wasn't allowed to have (no undercooked eggs, no soft cheese etc etc...). Throughout the meal, I was staring at the cheese trolley wistfully and my husband promised me then that we would go again and do the tasting menu with the cheese trolley! Lo and behold a few months later, we take the brave step all new parents have to take eventually and left our little 16 week old for a few hours. OK, so not all parents leave their babies to go to the Ledbury, but a promise is a promise!

Initially I thought I would struggle, worry too much and not enjoy the meal at all - especially as she started crying 2 minutes before we left the house... In any case, I convinced myself that all babies cry, she was in great hands, she wouldn't remember this in a few days time and I will have to leave her every now and then anyway! So we got to the Ledbury and the staff and chef started working their magic.... I stopped worrying about Missy and started enjoying myself - just like in the old days! So much so, that I am afraid I am guilty of forgetting to take pictures of all the courses, AGAIN! I remembered half way through, so I have pictures of half the tasting menu! So sorry everyone!

We sat down, negotiated for a few minutes and we both decided that it was going to be the tasting menu indeed! In the meantime, a little canape of fried breaded chicken arrived. It was crispy on the outside, moist in the middle and served on top of little pine tree branches, which allowed for the flavours of the pine to infuse slightly into the crust. Could have eaten a whole bucket of it! Then the bread arrived. Warm bread, served with delicious creamy, soft butter. They had sourdough, malt bread and bacon and onion bread. All amazing, though the winner for me was the malt bread - as shown in picture!

Next came the amuse bouche of cured salmon, watercress jelly over a ewe's milk curd. The salmon tasted absolutely fantastic and all the textures worked really.well. The first course was a 'Ceviche of Hand Dived Scallops with Seaweed and Herb Oil, Kohlrabi and Frozen Horseradish'. There isn't much I could say about it, other than the fact that I asked my husband whether it would be bad etiquette to mop up all the food with my bread! The scallops were great and the frozen horseradish, a pleasant surprise.  

'Flame Grilled Mackerel with Avocado, Celtic Mustard and Shiso' followed. I think this was my favourite course. I have often found mackerel too fishy, but this tasted so fresh and delicious! The skin of the mackerel had a fantastic 'flame grilled' taste and it was so crispy! The avocado was a perfect accompaniment and the most perfect of surprises was a little package of cucumber jelly, stuffed with mackerel tartare! Dreamy!

After that we had the 'Salad of Spring Vegetables with Hazelnut Oil and a Warm Mallard Egg Rolled in Truffle'. On paper it doesn't really excite me, but on the plate it was great! Each vegetable had such depth of flavour and they were each, individually, the best vegetables of their kind that I have tasted (carrot, asparagus, white asparagus, peas). The poached egg was delicious and perfectly runny, but for me the star of the show was the combination of a Parmesan mousse with the white asparagus and the truffle! This is when I realised I hadn't taken any pictures and I started with taking one of the finished plate:

The fish course followed: 'Roast Cod with Mousserons, Onion and Ash Puree and Potato Gnocchi'. This is the other contender for my favourite course! The mushrooms and the onion puree complemented the cod perfectly, and the Parmesan gnocchi gave the dish that little extra substance. Hopefully the picture will convince you if my words haven't .

The main course would have been lamb, but as I 'm not the biggest fan, we asked to substitute it for the 'Loin of Muntjac Baked in Hay with Beetroot, Bone Marrow and Malt'. Once again everything on the plate complemented each other perfectly - including the bonus venison sausage! I got so excited, I started cutting into the venison and moved the crispy potato, before taking a picture. Thankfully I remembered before I put anything in my mouth...

We then had one portion of cheese to share. I will not even attempt to remember the names of the cheeses we had. I know there was an English blue, two soft french cheeses and a hard sheep's cheese. Served with walnuts, grapes and crackers. Mmmmm cheese...

There was a pre-Dessert of wild strawberries with frozen blackberries and a cream of some kind. It was absolutely delicious, fresh and bursting with fruity flavours. The garnish of fresh mint really brought out the strawberry flavour.

Finally the dessert of 'Pave of Chocolate with Milk Puree and Lovage' arrived. The pave of chocolate was extremely rich and chocolaty, the lovage ice cream was strange and new to me, but actually worked well with the chocolate! The milk puree didn't really taste of much, but it was pretty to look at...

The meal finished a little abruptly, when we realised what the time was and decided it was probably time to get back to our baby. Petit fours were bought to the table without us even having to ask for them. They were served in an old tin sweet box: mandarin jelly, biscuit with praline filling and salted caramel dark chocolate. All in all a perfect way to finish a fantastic meal.

This was by far the best tasting menu we have had, both in terms of flavours, as well as quantity. I am sure he does not need me to tell him, but Brett Graham knows what he is doing - fresh flavours, great textures and interesting combinations. I can't wait to go back - once I have saved for a few months, or years!

The Ledbury, 127 Ledbury Road, Notting Hill, London

Leftover dinner - scrambled eggs

I have a tendency to use up leftovers and make up recipes as I go. I think my whole family does actually... I 've decided to avoid naming some dishes as exact 'recipes' from now on, because they should be used as guidelines, depending on what you have available in your home! I also have an issue with calling things something that they are not... 'Greek' Mousakas made with minced lamb and a feta cheese and yoghurt topping is an example: Mousakas in Greece is made with minced beef. Just because Greeks have a reputation of eating lots of lamb does not mean that everything is made with lamb! And don't get me started on the use of feta in 'Greek' recipes! Anyhow, its not just Greek food. Lasagna made with tortilla sheets and red peppers, also comes to mind amongst other things! Its fine to use recipes as guidelines, but don't call it something its not!

In any case, enough with the rant! Last night I made myself a lovely leftover dinner. I had some eggs, cream cheese in the fridge and some smoked salmon, so I made creamy scrambled eggs with smoked salmon on a leftover toasted tortilla. I recently discovered that adding cream cheese to scrambled eggs makes them pretty rich and lush! I just beat the eggs with a tablespoon of cream cheese, salt and pepper and then fry on low heat, while constantly stirring, till at the consistency you like them. I like mine pretty runny. At the last minute I add chopped smoked salmon and stir through. I imagine a little chives would have done wonderfully, but I didn't have any, and buying more ingredients for a 'leftover' dinner defeats the purpose of using things up! Anyway, this was a pretty yummy leftover 'recipe' and there will be plenty to follow - not to worry!

PS. There is no picture for this one, as scrambled eggs photographed at home with bad lighting can look a little unappetising...

And we are back!! - Ntako/Panzanella Salad

After a few days of the 'Blogger' not working properly and me not being able to upload anything, I am finally back - with a salad!

So this one is a very simple salad inspired by the Cretan Ntako salad, but I had no actual Ntako (a hard, dried bread-like thing!), so instead I used stale bread I had left in the house, hence the Panzanella reference... This salad is a great one for the summer - very easy, fresh and tasty and great for sharing. 

Serves 4 as a starter or side salad

half a small stale loaf or 3-4 ntako slices

4-5 plum tomatoes or equivalent amount of cherry tomatoes (I find cherry tomatoes often taste better in the UK)

olive oil

salt

pepper

feta or any other white cheese (goats cheese can work, mozzarella is great and I used anthotiro this time)

oregano or fresh parsley or basil (depending on the cheese you have used: oregano with feta, parsley with goats cheese, basil with mozzarella)

Chop up the bread in cubes (if your using ntako, break it up and briefly soak in water to soften a little). Chop up the tomatoes and add to the bread. Crumble the cheese over and then dress with olive oil, salt and pepper. Finally sprinkle the herbs over the salad. I sometimes squeeze a tomato over the bread or ntako, so that they absorb even more juices and flavour.

Roasted asparagus with poached egg

Once again, a super easy and quick recipe! I find that roasting the asparagus gives them more flavour and its easier to keep them nice and 'al dente'.

Serves 2

two bunches of asparagus (around 14-16 spears)
two eggs (more if you want)
Parmesan shavings
salt
pepper
olive oil

Wash the asparagus, then cut the ends off. Put them in a roasting tin and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, then shake, so that they get covered. Put in a preheated oven (180 degrees) for 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of the spears. Toss them half way through cooking. In the meantime, bring a pan of water to a simmer and add the eggs (do not allow the water to boil). Cook for around 3 minutes for a soft middle or follow Delia's instructions (I find her recipes really easy to follow!). Place the eggs over the asparagus then add salt, pepper and Parmesan shavings over the eggs. Kali orexi (bon appetit)!

Alexi's 'nameless' desert

As promised, I got the recipe off my brother and I 'm sharing - with his permission of course!

Serves 8-10

For the base:

250 grams of petit beurre biscuits (rich tea are the closest equivalent)
2-3 tablespoons of melted butter

For the filling:

600 grams of Greek yoghurt
300 grams of double cream
200 - 250 grams of icing sugar (sweeten to taste)
zest of 1/4 unwaxed lemon
1 jar of strawberry jam
200 grams of biscuits (or enough to cover the top of the desert)

For the base, crumble the biscuit and add the melted butter. Mix and press into the bottom of a large cake tin, or Pyrex. Then whip the cream and stir in the yoghurt and the lemon zest. Add the sugar to taste and mix well. Pour mixture over the biscuit base. Layer whole biscuits over the mixture (make sure they do not overlap). Cover the biscuit topping with a thin layer of strawberry jam. Refrigerate and serve cold.

Greek Style Roast Chicken

This is one of my favourite recipes to cook. It is simple, easy prep, very delicious and usually has plenty of leftovers for at least another 1-2 meals. I bought a fantastic organic chicken from GG Sparkes Organic Butchers' van at North Cross Market. This recipe cooks all the ingredients in one pan, needs minimum supervision and creates a fantastic gravy in the roasting tray, perfect for mopping up with bread.

Greek Style Roast Chicken Recipe (Serves at least 4 people, depending on the size of the chicken)

1 good quality chicken (minimum 2 kilos)

1 kg potatoes (in Greece potatoes are usually waxy, but here I usually use Maris Piper)

250 grams of prunes (ready pitted)

1 lemon

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1-2 tablespoons of oregano

salt 

pepper

Chop up the potatoes in decent chunks. If the chicken is large, allow for larger potato chunks, so that they don't overcook, while the chicken is cooking. Layer potatoes in the roasting tin, then scatter the prunes between the potatoes. Season the potatoes and the cavity of the chicken. Place the chicken breast-side down on top of the potatoes. Drizzle the chicken and potatoes with the olive oil and lemon juice and season the chicken skin. Sprinkle the oregano over chicken and potatoes. Add 200-300 mL of water to the pan. Place in a preheated oven at 180 (fan oven) for as long as the chicken needs, according to its size (check every now and then that there is enough liquid in the pan so it doesn't burn or stick). I use Delia's timings for meat. 30 minutes before the chicken is ready, toss the potatoes in the liquid and turn the chicken over to be breast-side up. Season the chicken on the breast side and continue to cook until nice and crisp.

Serve with a nice lettuce salad and some crusty bread to mop up the gravy.

Make sure you save all the leftover meat and potatoes. They do a great next day mini roast and if there is lots of meat left I often do a chicken pie or chicken risotto as well. I also use the carcass to make stock. 

Broccoli and Stilton Soup

Soup is often a good bet for a quick, easy and tasty meal. Granted that May is probably not the ideal time of year, but I needed to make something for dinner between baby feeds, baths etc! Broccoli and stilton soup also happens to be one of my favourite soups, being a cheeseaholic and all...

This recipe serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a main:

Two stalks of broccoli (around 700grams in total)
water
ground pepper
100 grams of stilton (add more or less according to taste)

If cooking for children, reduce the amount of cheese, as it can be quite salty. You can add other blue cheese, but make sure it is not too acidic (like Danish blue can be, for example).

Chop the broccoli into chunks of florets and put in a large saucepan. Add 500mL of water and cover. Bring to the boil and allow to boil/steam for 10 minutes, or until tender. Once the broccoli has softened, blits it with the water. Add more liquid to get to the consistency you like it. Cut the cheese into small chunks, add to the soup and heat slowly, till the cheese has melted. Grind plenty of pepper and serve hot with some bread.

My Greek Easter experience, at last!

So once again my excitement over eating food prevailed and I failed to take pictures of all the food I had in Greece. In any case I got some...

The holiday started with a walk to the shops in Nea Erythrea – a suburb with a fantastic number of cake shops and patisseries! Our first stop was at Nana Yoti http://www.nanayoti.gr/ , a patisserie that my husband and I fell in love with for their Cointreau mousse. We bought two individual pots: the infamous Cointreau and a chocolate mousse with crème brulee. The Cointreau unfortunately did not live up to its legend. The chocolate biscuit base was good, but the Cointreau mousse and the chocolate topping did not have a depth of flavour we were used to. The texture was great, but it just wasn't as good as I remembered... The chocolate mousse with crème brulee was also underwhelming, the mousse being too dense and the brulee filling not enough to make an impact – also don't let the name 'brulee' fool you: its basically a thick custard filling. Still, I would actually go back and give it another try. I 've loved it for so long and it could have been a bad day in the office for Nana!

The next day I went to Kifissia to the sight of a café I used to go in my late teens and which is now the home of Hamptons Cupcakes http://www.hamptonscupcakes.com/. We only bought two cupcakes, to my relief. Once we got to the till I ended up paying 6.40 euros!!!! For two tiny cupcakes! Back home and with high expectations the cupcakes failed the family tasting: both the red velvet and the carrot cupcakes were too dense and the flavour was bland. The frosting was good, but I feel that 6.40 euros is too much to pay for some cream cheese and sugar​!

On Easter day I completely forgot to take any pictures of the half lamb (7kg) that my mum roasted in two different ways, or of the fantastic artichoke pastichio my nona made(layers of bechamel, artichoke, minced beef in tomato sauce and some more bechamel, then baked in the oven), or of the lemon tart, or anything else on the table. I only found some pictures of the traditional dyed, boiled red eggs and the barbecued lamb cutlets marinated in lemon and oregano. The eggs are used for a little competition before they are eaten. Each guest picks a red egg (the darker the colour the stronger I find it is) and then you hit top against top and bottom against bottom of each egg. Whichever egg survives is the winning egg! All I can say is that the food and the 'parea' (roughly translating into 'company') were great and it was a lovely Easter day! 

The next worthy thing we eat was some bougatsa (a traditional pastry mainly eaten in the north of Greece made of filo pastry and a cheese, meat, spinach or custard filling) in the Exarcheia area of Athens. We got it from 'Thermaikou Geyseis' were they sell the bougatsa by the kilo! This time we went for the savoury ones and tried the cheese one and the mince meat one. I did not expect to enjoy the meat one, but I think it was my favourite – even better than the sweet custard one! The filo was still perfectly crispy and full of buttery flavour. The filling was very thin, but with lovely flavour. Highly recommended and a cheap meal at 10 euros per kilo!

Finally one of the last meals we had at home included a 'naked' tiropita (by 'naked' it means there is no pastry) and some delicious gemista (stuffed tomatoes, peppers and aubergines). The tiropita (cheesepie) was perfectly fluffy and cheesy and I could have picked at it all night! The gemista were full of flavour, stuffed with rice, tomato, pine nuts and herbs. Gemista can often feel heavy and oily, but my nona's recipe and my brother's execution made for a lighter version. I am planning to add the recipes once I cook them myself – I m hoping sooner rather than later – as I don't want to add too many recipes of things I haven't tested myself!

Too much food talk and not enough food at home! I 'm hungry...