Food/Travel/Nature/Cooking/Culture
One of the most beautiful churches I have ever been in…
Beautiful mosaics, wonderful apses with little prayer areas, wondrous iconography and frescoes….
I cannot believe I haven’t visited this beautiful place before now! Glory be to God!
Caught these wonderful pictures tonight while walking my dog. A luminous orange night sky above a canopy of blooms!
Wow! How great Thou art Lord!
I like to cook my holiday meals all throughout the week prior so I can have a little fun on the big day too! it’s especially important for Greek Easter as we often roast a whole lamb on a spit in our backyard! Alas, this year no whole roast Pascha lamb, just a small semi-boneless leg. But my prep work for the big day continues on this week before Eastern Orthodox Easter.
Today, I made my pites, or pies. Tiropita (cheese pies), and Spanikotiropita (spinach and cheese pies) are my children’s favorites. My tiropitas are made with ricotta, shredded Parmesan, and crumbled feta, salt and pepper, filo dough and lots of butter!!!
Here is what my free-form version of Tiropita looks like before and after baking in a 350 degree oven…
My Spanikotiropita is made with a filling of green onions, spinach, cottage cheese, feta and Parmesan cheeses, fresh dill, salt and pepper all wrapped up in butter-slathered filo dough sheets. Again, the before and after pics…
Now, I just need to keep it hidden from the family until Sunday……;)
Eastern Orthodox Christians the world over celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ this coming Sunday, April 12. After a Lenten period of reflection, self denial and prayer, we all look forward to the Feast that is Easter (Pascha).
Today, I spent the day preparing the Easter Eggs, always dyed red to signify the blood that Christ shed for our sins.
During our Easter celebration we will crack them together while announcing “Xristos Anesti”and “Alithos Anesti”. Literally,, Christ is Risen, Truly He is Risen. We crack them to signify Christ’s breaking forth from the tomb. It is such a wonderful, meaningful tradition!
We Greek Orthodox Christians also bake a traditional sweet bread called Tsoureki. I started mine early, as it requires 3 risings. Here’s the dough after the first rising…
Then, after the second rising, I braid the dough and place in pans to rise again…
These loaves have been brushed with an egg wash and sprinkled with sesame seeds…
45-50 minutes in a 350 degree oven and…..
I like to brush with melted butter and honey just to guild the lily…and because Yiayia taught me that way!
Praise be to God, Kalla Pascha!
Spiced boiled peel and eat shrimp, a favorite salad, maybe a baked potato or baked sweet…. that’s the ticket for a warm spring night when I don’t really feel like cooking. The shrimp are made ahead so they have at least a couple hours to cool in the boiling liquid.
The BEST boil I’ve made to date includes the following spices:
2-3 bay leaves
1T mixed peppercorns
1t celery salt
1/8C + 1T Old Bay seasoning
1/2T Chili powder
Bring to boil in 1 and1/2 quarts water. Add 1lb. raw shrimp. Boil until shrimp are pink. Cool in the boiling liquid.
Enjoy with a light salad of lettuce, cubed avocado, sliced red onion and grapefruit segments. Dress with a vinaigrette made of evoo, lime juice, a splash of orange or grapefruit, dijon mustard, salt and pepper. Fresh cracked pepper over the top is a must!
So nice, so light, so happy…
Authentic ethnic food is hard to find in Wilmington, NC. There. I’ve said it…
Except if you crave Mexican..Real Mexican. You CAN find it at Taqueria Los Portales. Located in a nondescript little strip, next door to a tattoo parlor…you will feel like you’ve just crossed the border into another world. This little gem isn’t fancy. You order at the front counter, you have a seat at diner-type tables or at the small bar, and the food is brought out to you as it is prepared. There is a salsa bar with the usual Mexican accoutrements, 3-4 different salsas, sliced radishes, pickled onions or slaw, peppers, etc.
Try to visit on the weekends. You will be rewarded with whole fried tilapia, menudo (tripe soup) and posole. All homemade fresh and the best hangover cures you will ever find! Don’t be shy. Watch some soccer matches on Univision and consider your good luck in finding this wonderful food!
Start with a couple orders of ceviche tostadas….
Finish with the best Pescado Frito you will have in the states! Delicioso!
Full moon. Semi-final game between two powerhouses. One team always in the mix…..perpetually. Tonight is no different.
I STILL love my Spartans…..Go GREEN!
Another beautiful day on the water in Wilmington, North Carolina allows us to spot a pod of porpoises near our boat. Look closely, you will see a fin! or two! And below, another swimming in the water!
When the day has ended, we enjoy our dinner of Mussels in a Green Curry sauce with Noodles as we gaze out our window onto the water.
To prepare this feast for your family folllow the recipe below:
Cook julienned carrots and sliced sweet onions in 1 1/2C Vegetable stock until al dente
Add 2 teaspoons of green curry paste and 1T brown sugar and stir well
Add 3 kaffir lime leaves, several basil and mint leaves, the juice of half a lime,and one can of light coconut milk
Boil 8 ounces of of flat rice noodles in 1 quart of salted water for 5 minutes.
Add the rice noodles to the broth and reduce heat to low.
Add 2lbs mussels that have been de-bearded and rinsed clean. Cover and cook 5-7 minutes, stirring once.
Top with a sprinkle of fresh cilantro leaves.
Serve in a bowl with plenty of room for the broth!
It’s March 31st and we’re out for a ride on the intracoastal! First ride of the season for Sammy and I, hubby has braved it throughout the fall and winter. This is my view over the bow…
Pretty sweet!
Jason insists on going fast (against my wishes), but I have to admit…it’s fun!
Notice that I did not neglect to wear my Spartan green and white!
And Jason looks like he’s singing the fight song!
Victory for MSU!
Welcome Spring!
When the feast of the Annunciation falls mid-lent a whole fried fish is in order. Although I was hoping for fresh tilapia, my local fish monger had none today. I opted for vermilion snapper and decided mid-day that I would fry it and douse it liberally with lime juice, Mexican-style.
Here’s mr. snapper au naturale…
Some very Mexican accompaniments: marinated cabbage slaw, corn tortillas, homemade guuacamole…
Mr. snapper taking a bath in the hot oil…no seasoning except salt and pepper, por favor…
Limon, limon and more limon…on top after frying.
Aahhh…
I almost feel like I’m on the beach at Progeso, Merida, Yucatan where fishermen plunge fresh caught beauties into garbage can size pots of hot oil and you sit at a picnic table and pick the meat off the bones with your fingers and tortillas as you drink ice cold tecates…..if only….
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