take a bite, starters, main dish, breakfast

It has been snowing all day today and I couldn't help thinking about the summer with a little bit of nostalgia. I decided to perk myself up by cooking a dish I enjoyed very much during my vacation in Afythos - Shrimp Saganaki. The word saganaki refers to the single-serving frying-pan it is cooked in. I do not own such dish, so I cooked it in shallow ramekins. Here it is.

I just spent a few hours defrosting a large tuna steak wandering how to cook it, when it turned out that we are going to have company for dinner. To feed 4 people with one tuna steak I made grilled tuna fajitas. Bellow is how I cooked it. Bear in mind, this recipe is very spicy.

It is said that every festive meal should start with an appetizer to whet the appetite. In Italy, those are known as antipasti, in France as hors d'oeuvre. Here on the Balkans and the Middle East we call it mezé. Today's appetizer recipe will surely tease your palate.

This Friday, my regular walk to the market was marked by the white and red colors of the martenitsa. Martenitsa is a small piece of red and white woven yarn symbolizing a wish for good health. It's part of a pegan tradition, popular on the Balkans, in which people exchange martenitsa as a gift on the first day of March and wear them to welcome spring.

This vegetarian dish is typical for the Balkan cuisine and is known largely by its Turkish name. The legend about the origin of the name tells about a Turkish imam (spiritual leader) who swooned with pleasure when presented with the dish. There are many ways to make the dish, but I will show you my favorite one, where the eggplants are stuffed like boats.