Crete! Grecian Holiday Part 2

I’ve been back from vacation for a week. My wisp of a tan has faded. My bug bites are no longer itchy. But the memories of the sunshine, the food, the beautiful ocean are still strong. Crete was so beautiful.

My family and I went to Crete because my mom’s colleague Elias was getting married. We stayed at Bella Vista, a hotel in Stalida (Stalis) Crete owned by Elias’ parents. They were the most generous and hospitable hosts I’ve ever met. The hotel is up on a hill, about a ten minute walk from the beach. There is a pool, a family of semi-stray cats, and a gorgeous view. About thirty wedding guests stayed at the hotel and every night up to the wedding Elias’ parents cooked a giant feast. There was salad, bread, lamb, meatballs and much more. Sorry I didn’t take any pictures of the food.

Athens! Grecian Holiday Part 1

I’m in Greece! Literally as I write this I’m typing poolside in Crete. Look here’s proof.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Last week I flew back to London, back to our cute little flat, and back to Ryan. It was wonderful to be back. Done with the move and done with long distance. Now, on to be an expat. The only draw back of my arrival was that the airline lost my luggage for just over 24 hours. I was grumpy about it, but at least I eventually got it back.

London Food Myth Buster (Or things I found at the grocery store)

Now that Ryan and I have gotten more of the basics settled, we’ve had time to wander about and explore what’s going on in London. On Friday we walked over to Trafalgar Square, Houses of Parliament, and the London Eye. Did you know that in Trafalgar Square there’s a statue of George Washington? I read that Washington said he wouldn’t set foot on English soil so his statue is placed on soil imported from Virginia. Interesting, fact right? Anyway, I tried to take a picture but it was dark so it came out badly.

Chicken & Vegetable Stir Fry with Rice

Moving to another country has its ups and downs. There are things that if they happened at home would be small victories or minor setbacks, but because we’re in a new place everything seems amplified. Let me tell you about some of it.

On Tuesday, Ryan and I had an appointment to set up a bank account. We arrive at the bank and the person we were supposed to meet was out sick. Also, part of the ceiling had collapsed so things were a mess. We had to reschedule. Sigh.

Going Away Party

No recipe this time, but don’t worry, this post is mostly about food.

My mom and Ryan’s mom organized a going away party for us this weekend. It was wonderful to be surrounded by many of our family and friends. I felt so loved and was really touched that people made the trip out to send us off. And I liked having so many different groups of people together. I felt warm and fuzzy, but I also got a bit weepy. With so many people supporting and encouraging us, what can’t we accomplish, even if we are far away? But, being far away… I will miss so many things and so many people. So I cried a bit. But not too much.

5 Food Books I Love and a Giveaway!

Thanks to two snow days, I’ve had a wonderful five day weekend. I’ve had so much time! Time to clean the apartment, fold the laundry, cook, and read. It’s been wonderful getting to sit around and explore new cookbooks. In fact, this weekend I’ve added three new cookbooks to Ryan and my ever growing book collection – and I’ve been cooking a lot . But,all this time (and cold weather) have made curling up on the couch, with a good book especially pleasurable.

Pasta Taste Test

Making spaghetti was one of the first meals I made when I started cooking for myself in college. And I don’t think I’m alone. I bet spaghetti is one of the first things a lot of people learn to cook. It’s so easy to make a tasty end product, that I rarely thought about if there was a best way to do it. Sometimes I salt the pasta, sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I let it come to a rolling boil and sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I stir a lot, and sometimes I don’t.

Soft Pretzels

I’m not going to lie to you, I just ate this for breakfast and it was glorious. The rest of the pretzels are sitting in the kitchen tempting me to eat more.

These pretzels are billowy soft, buttery, with just a touch of salt. They really taste like the pretzels you get at the mall (in the good, indulgent sort of way). What’s great is that this recipe doesn’t take too long (as far as making bread goes), the technique isn’t too difficult, and you’ll already have practically all the ingredients you need in your kitchen.

So here’s the final recipe in my pretzel series. This recipe is easy to double, but as written here you’ll be able to make six 3-4″ soft pretzels. I’ve adapted this recipe from the one here on allrecipes.com.

What to do with Chocolate Pasta?

Yesterday, I bought chocolate pasta and I don’t know what to do with it. Here’s the story, I was going to a show at Ford’s Theatre and I had almost two hours to burn between the end of work and the start of the show. I decided to spend a little bit of that time browsing through Sapore, a store in Eastern Market, that sells fancy olive oil and vinegar. They also have herbs, salts, and pastas. It was such a pleasant shopping experience. The sales employee at the store was so friendly in such a warm and genuine way, that he didn’t feel like a salesperson, but instead like a favorite family friend giving me cooking and food advice. He also complimented my sweater, and I like flattery, so that was an added bonus. But what is really great about the store is you can taste test all the oil and vinegar.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Independence Day everybody! I hope today you get the chance to go outside, hang out with people you like, see some fireworks, and of course eat some great food. And if you’re lucky, I hope you get the chance to do some grilling. Nothing says summer, and summer holidays, like grilling. Unfortunately, Ryan and I don’t have a grill – but our plans do include making burgers, corn dogs, beer, and popsicles. It’s going to be a delicious 4th of July.

However, since grilling is such a big part of this holiday I wanted to share with you some hilarious pictures my mom sent me. As you might know, I have a great love for pig-themed kitchen gear. Last week, she and my brother were shopping and found this pig shaped grill. Yes, that’s right, it’s a pig shaped grill. I like the picture on the right, where you can see my brother looking “under the hood” as if maybe he’d really consider buying such a grill.

Anyway, regardless of what kind of grill you have, or where you cook your food, I wish you and yours a very happy Independence Day.