Last night we traveled to Greece for dinner

My children have a fascination for eating food from other countries.

I have a great big stack of cookbooks that don’t get nearly as much love (read: use) as they should.

I wish I had the time and money to travel more – exotic and faraway places intrigue me. (Not to mention the shopping…!)

So… once a week on a Sunday afternoon (after much heated mid-week debate) I take out one of my precious cookbooks from the shelf in the kitchen and start feverishly whipping up a feast – one from another country.

Much mess ensues, all pots and pans are used, food spreads across the kitchen bench and other nearby surfaces, the dishwasher whirs, the fridge is emptied of ingredients.

And our kitchen transforms into the country chosen for the week… this week, Greece. Opa!!

Our feast this week consisted of:

Tiganites ntomates (fried crumbed tomatoes)
Tiropsomo with Feta, Kasseri and Thyme (Greek bread)
Asparagus with Eggs, Ladolemono and shaved Kefalograviera Cheese
Butter bean dip
Chargrilled haloumi in vine leaves (from our garden!)

All the recipes I used are from the wonderful Maria Benardis’ Greekalicious website or from her book “My Greek Family Table” (if you don’t have this book and love Greek food – hunt it down… not only are the recipes fantastic, but the book is a work of art, and the family stories are delightful! I highly recommend it).

And dessert… (the most important meal of the day)

The dessert was my own creation – strawberries with rosewater, fresh walnuts (serendipitously picked up from market that day), strained yoghurt, and honey. Not sure how Greek that is… but it was the perfect end to our meal.