A bucket Full of Mulled Wine

1 bottle of red wine (or two bottles of red wine it evaporates remember? )
vanilla pods
lemon zest
orange juice
a bit of honey or brown sugar
cinnamon sticks
a dozen of cloves
aniseed

put everything in a pot and cook in small gentle fire. it would be good to put the cloves around the orange slice. but it doesn't matter if you forget.
ho ho ho

i added a few red fat raisins at the bottom of the glass. eat them at the end. they are THE secret treat.
have a good one. hips.

Best Breakfast In London

...and best lunch

WE HEART PELLICCI

It 's all in the squash

Butternut Squash with honey and feta cheese

This lovely stuffed butternut squash recipe is simple and super tasty. Ingredients:
1 large butternut squash
2-3 garlic cloves chopped finely
olive oil
200g feta cheese
100 g chopped walnut halves
2 tbsp of runny honey

Wash and cut the squash in half. Scoop out the seeds and pour a bit of olive oil, add the garlic in the little holes and season. Bake for an hour until the flesh is soft but not too soft. Scoop the flesh and the garlic and olive oil mix out and put in a bowl. Leave about 1 cm thick of the outer layer of the squash. In the bowl add the feta cheese and the walnuts and season. Then spoon back into the halves and pour the honey on top. Bake for another 15-20 minutes. Serve with quinoa or plain rice. One big squash serves four.

Hector' s Tuna Salad A.K.A Black Eyed Tuna

This is not the actual name of the dish, I just named it after a good friend of mine who is making it. Since you don't know him, you can use the alternative name.
You will need:
350g black eyed beans
200g tuna steak in a tin
dill
parsley
1 medium red onion -thinly chopped
a handful of capers
and for the sauce:
3 tablespoons olive oil
2/3 mayonaisse
1/3 mustard
juice of one lemon
...and as Hector says, you will need to put a bit of soul in it as well.
It is actually very simple.
Boil the beans in water for a good two hours and set aside to cool down.
In a bowl mix the chopped onion, dill and parsley, tuna and capers.
In a cup prepare the sauce with all ingredients apart from the lemon and stir then empty in the bowl and mix all very well. add the lemon juice minutes before you serve it.

Flaming Lips and oysters

Ok, it sounds like the title of a porn film but its not.
The best way to listen to the new Flaming Lips album 'Embryonic' is with the company of at least six oysters. With lemon.

Beta Vulgaris Rules (beetroot risotto)

This is a simple vegetarian
beetroot risotto recipe inspired by my trip to the country side a couple of weeks ago. Chipping Campden and The Ebrington Arms, voted North Cotswold pub of the year 2009.
You will need:
§ 6 beetroot, roughly chopped
§ olive oil
§butter
§ 1 onion
§ 1 garlic clove
§300g risotto rice
§100ml white wine
§ 800ml vegetable stock
§ yogurt
§ grated parmesan

Blend the beetroot and 2 tablespoons of oil with 400 ml of the stock in a food processor until smooth. Transfer to a saucepan, bring to boil and reduce the heat so the liquid is at a simmer. In a large saucepan heat the butter over a medium heat and add the chopped onion and garlic. Cook for a couple of minutes until softened.
Add the rice to the pan and stir to cover it all with the buttery mixture. Cook, stirring, for another 1-2 minutes until the grains begin to look transparent then add the wine and let it bubble up a bit. Reduce the heat.
Continue by adding the beetroot stock mix a little bit at a time, stir, add more and so on, until the liquid is absorbed. when thats done use the remaining vegetable stock. Cook till the grains are tender but not too soft, in total for no more than 30 minutes.
Remove when is done and add the dill and the parmesan on top and ground black pepper. Serve with yogurt and some cooked beetroot slices on top.

okonomiyaki dreams

There is a very popular okonomiyaki stall every Sunday at Up Market on Brick Lane. But I don't live there any more so I had to work out a way to cover the lack of this Sunday treat.
Okonomiyaki is some sort of japanese omelette or pizza. Its light, very tasty and once you have the mix ready, very easy to make. All you have to do is buy some okonomiyaki sauce. It is a type of brown sauce with soya and other secret ingredients. I get it from Japan Centre in Piccadilly.

Here is what you need for the mix:
2 cups of all purpose flour - I use rice flour
Water or vegetable stock
4-6 eggs
A bag of mixed cabbage and leaks
3 spring onions
grated cheddar cheese
a cup of cooked sweet corn - or a tin
okonomiyaki sauce
mayonnaise
fish flakes optional

Mix the flour with the water, or stock and add the eggs and stir. Rest the batter for half an hour and then add the chopped vegetables. Again stir the full mix.
Heat the pan and add a bit of the mix enough to make a nice round disc. Cover.
After 5-10 minutes add the cheese on top and the sweet corn and turn around.
Flip it once more after another 5-7 minutes and add the chopped spring onions.
Remove from the fire and spread the sauce and the mayo as seen in picture.
Beware: Okonomiyaki is totally addictive!

How I learned To Love The Coriander

Not that i ever hated it. It is just that, it's hard to find in Greece, where I come from so I wasn't even aware of it's existence. There are tones of variations of parsley, dill and basil is in almost every dish but coriander is nowhere to be found. Ana, my spanish friend says that the use of coriander is not common in Spain either.
When I moved to London I couldn't help but notice the intense smell and weird taste of it. And I fell in love with coriander straight away.
My then house mate, used to chop fresh ripe tomatoes and add a bit of salt and olive oil and chopped coriander on top. This was our weekend hangover snack. I could eat 5 kilos of tomatoes per day that way.
Yesterday, my new house mate who is a chef showed me how to make coriander last longer once it's chopped off the pot. Wrap the leaves in dumped kitchen paper and put in a plastic bag, take the air off and store in fridge. It will last more than a week!

A Snack For Your Hair

A couple of weeks ago I started complaining about my hair.
It did not feel as healthy, as shiny and as thick as it used to be. I am sure a certain someone couldn't stand my nagging.
Tip was: eat one avocado a day.
One day I had three.
Aussie friend suggested I should try this:
Cut the avocado in two. Remove the stone. Ad two drops of balsamic vinegar and another two of olive oil in each hole. Add some sesame seeds. Attack with a spoon. Perfect!

MURDER SALADS part one

Spicy Red Rice with Coconut and Mango
This is an alteration of a rice salad recipe i found in the Observer a while ago.
Changed a few of the ingredients and served hot instead.
It was beautiful to have lunch in the yard with a good friend under the big tree. We put the mango chunks in the middle of the table and poured the mango juice on the hot rice.

You need: 250g white rice or jasmine rice, 200g camargue red rice, 1 big onion, a bit of garlic, dried basil, one red chilli finely chopped, one red pepper thinly sliced, spring onion, fresh coriander, zest of one lemon, juice of half a lemon, 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter, a tin of coconut milk, unsalted peanuts broken in small pieces(optional), one mango.

Cook the rice separately for 20-30 minutes and cover. At the same time cook the rest of the ingredients. Heat up a deep pan and put the butter with the onion and garlic, finely chopped both, add the basil and the coriander.
When they get that nice transparent color, add the zest, the red pepper, the chilli and the coconut milk. Season and simmer for 15 minutes and then finally add the lemon juice and the spring onions. Pour the rice on top and simmer again gently adding more fresh coriander and the peanuts. Taste and adjust seasoning. I used sesame seeds this time as i forgot to buy peanuts. It was well tasty. Do not forget to add the mango at the last minute. That will keep it fresh. Make sure you use the juice of the fruit, too. in the cold salad version the chef used fresh coconut. Will try next time.

Back To Banana Republic

It's been already 6 months since my trip to Costa Rica and Panama.
On Saturday I woke up with slight hangover and big craving for Gallo Pinto, Costa Rica's national dish.
It is a mixture of black beans and rice and it means 'spotted rooster' but vegetarians do not fret, there is no poultry in it.
I decided to make it just as i remembered eating it, as during our stay in Costa Rica i never really had the chance to cook it, simply because it was everywhere!
But it is so easy to prepare and tasty, it worked out alright in the end and everyone asked for a refill.

Here is what you need:
300g plain white rice
300g organic black beans (tinned is good -keep the juice!)
a couple of garlic cloves
a couple of green long peppers
2 medium onions
coriander
olive oil
sour cream or yogurt
Brown HP sauce (its hard to find Lizano Sauce in London)

Boil the rice in a saucepan and keep warm. This should take no more than 25 minutes.

At the same time in a different saucepan hit up the oil and add the chopped onions, garlic, peppers and coriander. Simmer till they look transparent.
Add the two tins of black beans and their water and gently simmer again. Season with salt and pepper.
Now add the rice and two tablespoons of the brown sauce and after about a minute remove from the heat. Add more fresh coriander on top to serve and put the crème fraîche or yogurt to the side.
In Costa Rica they serve it with scrambled eggs or fried plantain, which is a recommended option.

The moment I tried it I was magically overlooking the ocean on the pacific side of one of the most beautiful places in the world.
I m not kidding !

From Junky Nurse to Kitchen Bitch

I've been in a cooking frenzy the last couple of years. Also I noticed that I've spent more time in restaurants than in bars the last 15 months. But my memory is shit and the D.Y.I recipe book my boyfriend made for me is not very handy (sorry).
So I decided to use this space and write down good food, tried and tested or ready to be improved.
A little food diary.
Recipes from countries I have visited. Serious cravings hitting from time to time.
Those restaurants that replaced bars.
Film nights accompanied by specially made food.
A recent Quinoa- mania.