A Tribute to Laconian Cuisine, part 3
Milk pies are very common in many parts of Greece, but they originate from the greek Vlach communities (famous for their shepherding skills), residing once in the mountains of central Greece. A milk pie, called a ga-la-tò-pi-ta in Greek, even though very
Maniot Pulled Pitas
A Tribute to Laconian Cuisine, part 2
A few weeks ago, we used syglino (cured pork meat cooked in an aromatic liquid flavored with orange and smoked with sage), sfela (a PDO brine cheese produced in Messinia and Laconia that resembles feta but is denser and saltier), juicy Laconian oranges, dried
Laconian Salad
A Tribute to Laconian Cuisine, part 1
The region of Laconia stretches in a fertile valley between two mountain ranges, protected from western rains by Mount Taygetus, with a softer and more temperate climate than that of Messenia. This is the main reason why orange farms outnumber olive ones,
Garlic Shrimp With Wine Sauce & Herbes de Provence
If dried herb blends are not a kitchen staple in your home already, then you're really missing out. They are an effortless way to add salt-free flavor to nearly any dish, from soups and sauces to casseroles and meat rubs. And even if you're not much of a cook, a pinch of good dried herbs will give a
Easy Breakfast Muffins With Greek Seasoning Blend
I'm back! I know, I know, it's been a while. While real-life did get in the way for almost six months in the midst of a humid summer in Athens, I finally found the time to revisit my blog. So, I'm here to share with you a popular seasoning blend and a delicious, quick, and easy breakfast recipe that
Have the most, the merriest!
Let's be brutally honest. Are any of you out there who—like me—failed their organizational skills majorly this year? Despite good intentions, life happens, and here we are with only ten days to go until Christmas, feeling almost completely unprepared—and that's an understatement. Despair not, the
Chocolate Mug Cake With Gingerbread Spice
You can zap a quick & easy microwave gingerbread chocolate mug cake within minutes with your very own gingerbread spice mix. Gingerbread Spice is the European equivalent to Pumpkin Spice. It is used by Germans, Swedish, Danes, Dutch, British et al., to make ginger
Get all the Christmas glam with really cheap pieces
(This is a shopping post with reference to greek shops only. The basic idea was to find really cheap pieces that look rather elegant than tacky—and are more on the minimalistic-decor side. You can still peruse the suggestions if you're seeking inspiration for similar, dollar-store type, items. And
Acheron River – Párga ~ Thesprotia and Preveza routes
If you have been around Kicking Back the Pebbles a while, you know we've been exploring (part of) the region of Epirus, in northwestern Greece. We deployed the city of Ioannina as our center of “operations” and that gave us the ability to launch in a number of different directions around the region
Voidomatis River – Vikos – Papigo ~ Ioannina routes
[supsystic-gallery id=41 position=center] Old, weathered, or revamped doors in Ioannina, Megalo & Mikro Papigo
If you have been around Kicking Back the Pebbles a while, you know we are currently exploring (part of) the region of Epirus and the regional unit of Ioannina, in northwestern
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![This year I've lost my mom to cancer and it's been devastating in many more ways than I could ever fathom. It's been traumatizing, to say the least, since I was her sole caregiver up until the very end, but what that entailed is a story for another day. Today is merely about some things I realized I'll never get to experience again. And it hurts...
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You see, loss manifests in manifold ways. Stupid as it may sound, you never expect to miss the things you do. Scrolling through hundreds of clips on my phone while toying with reels—which Instagram finally decided to launch for Greece but has also managed to make them a pain to create!—I came across old footage of mom cooking up a storm on several occasions, and then it hit me:
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I'll never again get to wake up to the smell of her slow braised roast that magically found its way to my bedroom to the other end of our family house on Easter Sundays (she claimed it was a weird air drift bringing all the smells from the kitchen into my room but nowhere else in the home 🤣 ). I'll never get to recreate her pie phyllo even though I have her recipe down to a T—I can't match her skill. And we'll never nail her meatballs either—my brother is especially sad about that. We're actually, physically, literally missing her flavors. Our taste buds don't experience the exact amounts of salt and spices, the specific drips of olive oil, the unique chemistry she created in her rustic pots and pans. Will a food ever taste again like mom's soul food? I doubt it, no matter how hard I may try to recreate it.
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All this to say, somehow it felt fitting to have my first ever reel pay tribute to what I'll miss greatly—my mom's freckled hands tackling business in the kitchen. And it won’t feel like summer again until there's (codfish) pie.
[I plan to post the recipe on the blog, but I can't bring myself in the kitchen quite yet. Cooking's always been about mom—how and what she taught me, what wisdom she instilled, what skill she imparted. Bear with me.]
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