Quinoa Stuffed Tomatoes with Feta Cheese and Kalamata Olives

The theory: Quinoa is named 'superfood', one of the staple foods of the Incas civilization. It has nine essential amino acids, is gluten-freeI and contains lots of magnesium and iron. So, it is good for your health.

The practice: Quinoa has fluffy crunchy texture and nutty taste. It is really very tasty, no matter as a part of a sweet or savoury dish.  

The ingredients: young zucchini, salty kalamata olives, Feta cheese and quinoa. And, of course, do not forget the hot peppers. This stuffing is also excellent as a dish on its own - in that case you can add some lemon juice to increase the acid taste.

Hot Chicken Stew with Bacon

I like braising chicken breast because this is the way they get soft and full of flavour. 

Why I love this dish? It is very spicy. It is low in fat, but very tasty - the taste is so hot, that it bursts your digestion. 

The hot taste comes from the banana peppers, which are moderately spicy and very flavorful type of pepper with much softer skin than the one of the other hot peppers-family members. 

Spicy Mango and Avocado Salad

I've had this recipe for a long time before I dared to try it, although I have such an exotic ingredient as a fish sauce in my fridge (well, it was unopened, but still, I had it). Mango is one of my favorite fruits and I adore avocado, but mixing them with the addition of mint and fish sauce sounded too much even for my you-never know-it might be tasty-attempts. 

Well, I must say. this is my favorite salad know. Its spicy taste is absolutely unexpected, surprising, a burst of tastes in a plate. 
Every single ingredient has its place in the recipe and the taste sends me far away to places with weird animals, palms and people I've never met before. Thank you, Food Opera.

My Favorite Greek Appetizers

Greek cuisine offers tasteful dishes even for the fussiest eaters.

Some of the Greek specialties have become so popular, that they are now cooked in many places around the world. Here is the list of my favorite ouzo mezedes (appetizers which are best enjoyed with a glass of Ouzo). 

Gluten-free Bread

This is a healthy gluten free bread which holds the taste of nuts and grains. Recipe is from here.

Baked salmon with sour cream

This simple dish could make a light summer lunch served with rocket salad. It has a wonderful taste and the aroma of the Salmon blends perfect with the sour taste of the sour cream. Easy and fast for prepare it could be a good choice either for everyday or for special occasions. 

Spinach Soup with Leek and Feta cheese

With spring approaching I start to think more often about green colored dishes on my table. Spinach is always a good choice according to me - it has light taste and low calories value. I cook spinach very often. It is good as a part of dips, roasted dishes and soups. 

This is one of my favorite vegetable soups - it is light, with low amount of calories, which makes it good at the end of the winter overeating period.

Fried roasted peppers with tomato sauce

This light vegetarian dish is very common in Bulgarian homes at the beginning of autumn. The sweet taste of roasted red peppers, the spicyness from the garlic and the freshness of the rape tomatoes make it one of my favorites for October. 

Mussels marinara

Marinara is one of my favorite sauces for mussels. Marinara means 'sailors' style' in Italian, so probably the sailors preferred to have mussels that way. Because of the wine as an ingredient. Or because mussels get hot and full of flavors. Mussels marinara are usually served over boiled linguine, but I love them so much, that I skip the pasta and sip the sauce of the mussels right from the shells. Or enjoy to wipe up the spicy sauce with a slice of crusty bread. 

Garlic and hot pepper prawns (Gambas Al Ajillo)

Summer arrived officially. Along with the swimming and diving this means to me a lot of seafood on the table. Shrimps are common guests home, but this is one of my favorite recipes - the taste of fried garlic and hot pepper makes me feel like I am on the Mediterranean coast.

I love to visist the fish markets abroad- I love the smell of the fresh caught fish, the colors and shapes of the different species, all the inviting voices of the vendors. And when they allow me to make a picture of them, I am even happier. 

Trout and blue cheese spaghetti

I had some trouts on hand recently. Well, I don't really like trout, in my opinion it hasn't own taste and it needs something with stronger aroma. So I started searching for the perfect ingredient which would meet trout in such a perfect way that it will change my whole opinion to this fish. Blue cheese as an idea found here seemed to be a good candidate. Its crumbly texture and stronger flavor meets perfectly the plain taste and soft texture of the trout. What else? Spaghetti, fresh lemon juice, some canned tomatoes and, of course, hot peppers. I had whole fishes with the skin on, next time I will try it with skin fillets and I suppose, it would be even better. But even so it had unique unbeatable taste. Fresh, flavorful and surprising blend. 

Dock and quinoa soup

Diet times again. The forthcoming summer has a lot of requirements, one of them to look good. This is a light and tasty soup which makes you satiated with small amount of calories. Tasty and healthy. You can substitute spinach or Swiss chard for the dock. 

Mussels saganaki (μύδια σαγανάκι)

Everytime I want to feel the taste of the sea, I buy blue mussels. I love to scrub and clean their dark blue shells, to check for broken ones, to put the good ones into the pot. I like the smell of my kitchen in the short 10-20 minutes of preparation and long hours after that. And I always enjoy sipping their juices from the shells and feel their salty broth as a juicy message from the sea. I know, female mussels are orange, male mussels are light yellow. Their colors match perfectly the red of tomato sauce and the white of Feta cheese. But this is not the main reason I prepare often mussels saganaki. The taste of this dish is unforgettable. Along with garides saganaki, this is a very popular dish in the fish restaurants of Northern Greece. And also in my home. As with many other dishes, I increase the spicyness by adding lots of hot peppers and chili flakes, but you can adjust it according to your taste. 

Bouillabaisse a la Marseillaise

I bet, you could not write the name of this dish if you are not french. Well, if you can, congratulations. I could not. I could not even pronounce it. But I can prepare it, I can enjoy it at lunch time, for dinner or even as a breakfast on early Saturday or Sunday mornings.   

Bouillabaisse is a French seafood stew, which home is supposed to be Marseille, but it is widely served in the coastal little ports of Southern France. It was once a cheap fishermen meal, which seafood ingredients depended on the daily catch. So, different kind of fish could be included, the most important thing is to put at least four varieties, every one of which delivers its own taste. Fish should be lean and fresh. The way I prepared the recipe is based  on the one from here. I added orange peel and wine.
There is a little rule conserning the serving of bouillabaisse - seafood in one dish and soup in another. But it all depends on you and your personal preferences. I like the fish to be hot, so I spoon a ladleful of soup onto it.

Leek and tomato salad

This is a rich and tasty salad, one of our favorites for winter. It is created for the cold months when all the fresh tomatoes have bland and undeveloped taste, but you miss the sweetness of good ripe tomatoes. The oniony taste of leek is by far slighter than the one of onion and garlic, despite they all belong to same family of vegetables and the velvety texture of the chopped canned tomatoes adds softness to the dish. The salad brings summer colors to the table - bright green and white of the leek meets red vibrant color of good quality canned tomatoes. 
My mother-in-law prepares it when she wants to please her hubby. So do I.

A little health info: With its high fiber content and low calories amount leek is a good part of a healthy diet plan. Eating fresh leek reduces the risk of cancer, stroke, heart disease and many other health problems. It supports the healthy digestion. 
Canned tomatoes are more beneficial than the fresh ones because they contain more lycopene - carotenoid responsible for the red color of tomatoes which helps to decrease the risk of hearth disease.   
But the taste of the salad does not need additional reasons to enjoy this simple salad - it is a spicy salad for those who like the heat even into cold dishes.

Nettles soup

Stinging nettles. 

The name suggests why many people do not prepare nettles at home - who will dare to clean nettles with bare hands? Many otherwise brave men and women won't. I remeber the wild swans fairy tale Granny read me when I was little. I still remeber how I sympathised with the little girl who had to spin and weave eleven coats with long sleeves to break the spell made to her brothers. The pain caused by the stinging nettles was described as a burning fire. Pure little girl, I thought, only a great love and the desire to safe somebody's life can make me handle nettles. But time changed, I grew up and my unsatiable appetite makes me brave enough to prepare stinging nettles soup many times a year. 

For me nettles is a symbol of spring, I really wonder who and where has found nettles in this cold February - everything around is covered with snow, but anyway, I saw some packages of fresh nettles in the greengrocer's store and I took them. 

Nettle is rich in minerals and very, very rich in Vitamin K, it also boosts the immune functions of the body and is accepted as a remedy for rheumatism. I really like foods, which are tasty and healthy, they do not make me guilty when I pour myself a second serving. 

Grilled asparagus

We are orthodox Christians in our family and we do not have the tradition to celebrate Saint Valentine's day. But I think, some romance is good for every couple and this is a good opportunity to celebrate love. So I wanted to serve for dinner something light and easy to prepare, but it was supposed to bring festive touches to the table. 

Asparagus. Simply grilled. With a smoky flavour and crispy texture. Just with a soft boiled egg and some Parma ham for everybody. Really good idea. Well, outside is - 20° Celsius, so it had to be indoor grilling. My grill pan is good enough to give the foods grillmarks we love, so in less than 10 minutes I was ready. 
We wanted to enhance the joy and used our fingers instead of silverware. 
A good beginning of a long night. 

Roasted brussels sprouts

Children hate them. Parents claim they are wholesome and healthy and force children to eat them. One of the unending parents-children wars. 
If you are one of the brussels sprouts haters, blame sulfur for this. This is the ingredient that causes the typical smell and taste of these bite-size green balls. Along with cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and kale, brussels sprouts are part of the Brassica family of vegetables. And like their relatives they fill the kitchen with a controversial aroma while being cooked. But...they are really rich in beneficial ingredients, containing significant amount of Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamins from the B-complex group, Iron and Magnesium.

With little amount of calories (only 45 calories per 100 g) and high amount of fibers (which makes them an essential item for healthy digestion), brussels sprouts are a good part of any weight reduction program. They support the body detox systems and help in the battle with the free radicals.

Roasting is a healthy and tasty way to enjoy these so underestimated vegetables. I like this simple recipe and had a whole plate of crispy brussels sprouts. Mom will be pleased with me. 

Whole fish baked into a salt crust

This is one of the simplest ways to prepare fish, but the results are amazing. Main ingredients are only two - fish and sea salt. Fish should be very fresh and with firm meat - sea bass, sea bream and red sea bream are very proper. Some recipes call for adding seasoning - bay leaves, thyme or lavender, but I like it simple, taste is good enough without additions. Skin prevents fish from getting salty. Salt seals the moisture inside the fish but it absorbs the moisture from the skin, so you get a roasted, but not steamed fish as a result. 

Pumpkin soup

Everything I've cooked since the 1st of January was checked by Violet for calories. If suspiciously high in calories, dish is rejected. So she is our family weight-watcher and I know, that if something passes through her sieve, it is healthy without being dangerous for us both. When I suggested we try a roasted pumpkin soup, she made some investigation and said OK. I am not quite sure whether it is a proper part of a diet menu, but it is deffinitely worth to be tested. According to Internet, pumpkin is very healthy. It is packed with fiber and  contains lots of pro-vitamin A (five time more than in carrots), vitamin K and E and lots of minerals, including Magnesium and Iron. 

This is one of the most creamy and buttery soups I've ever tasted. It has velvety texture and sweet taste without any sugar added. It is nutritious and satisfies your sweet tooth, without making you guilty. The roasted flavour of the pumpkin gives the soup its unique taste. The strong flavours of onion, leek and garlic match well with the creamyness and the cayenne pepper burst your digestion.

Of course, if you are on a diet, it will be better to skip the croutons and heavy cream, but it will be tasty anyway.