355 : making bread

A little burnt, but still soooo good!

Vasilopita is a traditional Greek bread that is eaten on New Year's Day. With a coin (wrapped in foil), baked somewhere inside, it is said that the person who receives this piece will get good luck in the New Year.

For me, it is a tradition that I look forward to. For the past several years,  I've helped my grandma and great grandma (the supervisor :) ) make the bread. In a huge bowl, with tons of ingredients, we stir and then hand mix the dough. After the dough has risen, one main loaf (with the coin) and several smaller, braided loaves are made.

We made it today...can't wait to eat it. Yum!

348 : koulourakia

When I was younger and before my grandma's Alzheimer's paid it's toll, every year at Christmas we'd get a tin full of greek cookies, called Koulourakia. These ring shaped, slightly sweet cookies are so synonymous with my yiayia and are my most consistent childhood memory of Christmas.

It has been quite a few years since the passing of my grandma, and even longer since she last baked a tin. But last year I had a craving for these little guys and decided to hunt down the recipe...my little attempt at keeping a tradition alive, and hopefully bringing back some happy memories.

This year, I hemmed and hawed over whether to bake my little heart out or not (diets and tons o' butter/sugar don't mix well). But in the end, I decided I needed to. As I get older, I realize the importance of traditions, culture and family memories... of keeping memories of loved ones alive, and never forgetting who you are, where you came from, and the people that have been there and helped you along the way.

So, yiayia, these are for you.

344 : getting "dolled up"

Sometimes it's really nice to ditch the everyday clothes and put on your party shoes. Tonight was one of those nights. My partner in crime and bff, getting dressed up, plus a long overdue cosmo and a glass of wine, made for one super happy evening.

319 : dolmas

I love Greek food, which may not be much of a surprise since I am infact, Greek. And being in charge of the Thanksgiving hor d'oeuvres this year, I thought I'd attempt a classic appetizer, dolmathes/dolmades/dolmas. Whatever you call them, they're the super yummy. Little cigar shapes of rice stuffed inside a grape leaf (we like ours sans meat). I've had them all my life but never attempted to make them until today. It was a long tedious process, and unfortunately I'm not too happy with the results. Maybe tomorrow they'll be better once the flavors have more time to blend. Maybe some shots of ouzo and some crazy authentic greek music while cooking would have been the key.

Anyone have a good recipe out there?

315 : cheat days

Jeff and I have been dieting for the past month. Measuring, weighing and counting every calorie...(and lots and lots of gym time). It's been a very successful month (down over 10 pounds!). But I can't even tell you how good it feels to ditch the fitness app on my phone today and cheat. But it'll be back to hitting the gym tomorrow... hardcore.

281 : greek soup

Growing up, whenever I'd get sick my mom or dad would make me Greek soup (avgolemono). For me, it's kind of synonymous with being sick, as I've never really had or made it when I wasn't (or someone I loved) wasn't sick. Some chicken broth, orzo pasta, a lemon and an egg. So simple, but so comforting. Now that I'm older, the tradition still continues...except now I have to make soup for myself...boo!

278 : bee raw packaging

I'm not a big honey fan, so it's surprising that I have two posts about honey packaging on this blog. But these cute little vials from Bee Raw are just too cute. A beautifully simple way to create a "sampler" and showcase different flavors of honey.

Even their jars of honey are beautiful in their simplicity.

273 : pumpkin muffins

I've been on a pumpkin kick lately, which is kind of surprising since I don't usually like pumpkin all that much. So today, craving something pumpkin-y and having the desire to bake, I decided to make pumpkin muffins. Sometimes when baking I'm a little nervous... I'm not good at following recipes, and while in cooking, it's not really an issue. But sometimes, there are disastrous results when you freehand it in baking. Luckily, that wasn't the case today. The recipe I adapted from one on allrecipes.com, resulted in super yummy muffins and the house smelled delish.

269 : moonstruck packaging

I'm definitely a minimalist girl. Clean, modern lines, and tons of negative space makes me one happy girl. But occasionally, I'll see something elaborate that speaks to me. The newly designed chocolate bar packaging for Moonstruck was designed by typographer Kate Forrester, is one of those things. Love the hand-drawn lettering and drawings. So pretty.

258 : the geometry of pasta

I came across this book today and am seriously in love. A book about pasta and sauces? Eh. But the simple, beautiful design and graphics of the book may just qualify it as shelf worthy. The flat black graphics are just so beautifully done, and I LOVE the alphabet page (big shocker there). Gorgeous.

252 : sushi

I never really tried sushi until I was in New York last year. It always kinda freaked me out, but being the good sport that I (sometimes) am, I had to take one for the team. Afterall, I couldn't ask for "sushi night" to be anything other than "sushi night". I was actually  amazed at how much I liked it. And when I got back to LA, I craved it. A few local sushi places later and my patience for finding something that compared on any level to what I had in ny was simply gone... Fast forward to tonight. Thanks to Yelp, I found a super yummy sushi place in lb. I questioned the almost 20 mile hike for dinner, but once there, it was well the worth the drive.

Photo by Steve N.

245 : colombo tea & coffee packaging

Love the packaging and logo designs from Colombo Tea and Coffee, a South African based company. The clean, white packaging showcases the beautiful "coffee" stained logos perfectly.

235 : whole foods

Lately I've found myself heading to the opposite end of the Trader Joe's parking lot to Whole Foods. I still love me the TJ's, it's just nice to get the variety and options at Whole Foods. It's the perfect place to grab dinner ingredients, a quick lunch and even accompaniments for that massive wine collection I'm quickly acquiring. And I absolutely LOVE their organic mint shampoo.

219 : lunch with a friend

I had lunch with one of my favorite people EVER today. So nice to catch up. Makes a Monday so much better. If these past 3 months have taught me anything, it's that I'm so lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful people.

215 : retro candy

It's nice to randomly run into something that screams out childhood. And that is just what Candy Necklaces and Candy Buttons do for me. Memories that take you back to the carefree days of riding your bike and playing outside with your friends. It reminds me of the times when the simple little things were all it took to make me happy. Then the adult in me wonders why my parents, who would never buy the sugary cereals for breakfast, would let me eat these.

199 : popcorn

I've been craving the saltiness of microwaved popcorn lately. I'm not too sure why, since I can't even remember the last time I popped up a bag. But today, on my trip to stock up supplies for the office, I decided to get some. I know I'm behind the times here, but I love that you can now buy mini sized bags. Just the perfect size for a girl and (confession time!) her monster...

198 : foodgawker.com

I used to cook ALL the time. Now when it comes to dusting off my apron I try to make it a special thing. I scour the web trying to find the perfect recipe to make for the bf. As a visual person, I can't help but be turned off sites who's photography is seriously lacking. It really is true that you eat with your eyes first. So I was super excited to have discovered foodgawker.com. Reminiscent of notcot, the site shows thumbnails and a brief description of various recipes from various different sites.

It'll definitely be my go-to site the next time I break out the pots and pans.

183 : celebrate wellness

The bf and I had a lovely time at The Wellness Community's annual Celebrate Wellness event. I can't think of a better way to have spent a Sunday afternoon than strolling around the South Coast Botanic Gardens while eating yummy food and drinking wine.

Thanks Kristin, for an absolutely perfect Sunday afternoon.

182 : ny bagels

There are many things about New York that I miss. But one thing near the top of the list is bagels and cream cheese...specifically the plain bagel with veggie cream cheese. So freaking good. I wonder if the bf's mom will overnight me some. Hmm...

180 : good eats

I know some people don't get it, but I love Alton Brown's geeky knowledge of everything food related on Good Eats. I mean, seriously...he dedicated an entire half hour episode to mayo?

To those of you yet to see Good Eats, it's basically a cooking show combined with Bill Nye the Science Guy. Each episode is dedicated to one item (angel food cake, ground beef, fried chicken, asparagus, honey...almost anything you can think of) and provides an indepth look at that particular item or recipe, and even includes bits of trivia. 

While the mayo episode may not have been relevant to my adventures in the kitchen, I love how he can spend an entire episode dedicated to one thing.

Currently in it's 14 season, so I'm obviously not the only food geek out there who loves this stuff...although the designer in me cringes at the sight of the logo and graphics.