There are two kind of bread that are our favorites: the first one is the Swiss Zopf (see link for the recipe) and the second is the challah bread of this post.

I Wikipedia we can read that challah is also named “Zopf” in Switzerland, this is absolutely not exact because while Challah is usually parve (I did not know what parve means and I found that parve is a Hebrew term that describes food without any meat or dairy ingredients; food can be eaten with both meat and milk dishes) unlike brioche and other enriched European breads as the Swiss Zopf, which contain butter or milk.

In any case Zopf and Challah look very similar (both braided and golden color), are soft and are lightly sweetened. For us the most important thing is that both breads are delicious with honey (we are beeper) and with homemade jams! I like…

The surprising warm sunny evening of the first spring days was perfect for this kind of meal: zucchini balls with their herbed smell, yogurt sauce, fresh tomatoes and homemade bread (thawed in the oven just before serving) and some Greek wine make us feel at least a little bit like in vacations on Crete. Perhaps a frugal but wonderful tasty dinner!

Note: I know that these zucchini balls are usually fried and served as fritters, but as I don’t like the oily smells in the kitchen, I prefer to bake them in the oven; this works pretty well and it is easier to have them ready at once when you need them.

This is a traditional recipe from Crete (Greece) that needs some time to cook, but it’s really easy and can be prepared in advance. As side dish or as full meal this pie is always welcome!

There are many variation of this: some with puff pastry, some with a simple crust and even some without crust! Mint makes this dish very particular and it gives a wonderful taste.

Feel free to change the proportion of the ingredient on your taste or on what available.

My children loved to order this in the restaurant, now we can prepare this at home.

This very versatile recipe is one of the favorites of my children. Feel free to adapt it to your ingredients.

To the filling you can add some vegetables (not only the mushrooms!) like carrots, peas or broccoli. An alternative to vol-au-vent cases are fillo baskets. Instructions: Cut fillo sheets into quarters and layer diagonally in greased ramekins, spraying or brushig with olive oil in between layers – 4 squares for each ramekin dish if the sheets are very thin (like fillo for baklava) or 2 squares if they are thicker (like fillo for boureki). Spray or brush again before cooking at 250°F/180°C for in the oven for more or less 8-10 minutes.

Note: For a vegetarian version skip the chicken and simply use more veggies. For example the double quantity of mushrooms. Chanterelle mushrooms are wonderful for this recipe.

You need

• 8 (200 g) vol-au-vent cases
• 1 tablespoon margarine
• 1…

This is my variation of the “dancing chicken” recipe on a beer tin. As we have wine in our house and plenty of fresh rosemary in the garden, we decided to change the recipe and prepare it with Mediterranean ingredients.

This fantastic cooking method allows the skin of the chicken to roast without being soaked by the liquid; at the same time, the wine in the can inserted into the belly of the chicken will keep the meat moist, tender and very aromatic.