Thursday 4 March 2010

Learning to Cook

Souvlakia me patates tiganites - Greek kebab with chips I used to hate cooking and considered it to be a great loss of time. The kitchen was my least favourite room in the house. And when Alkis, my husband, asked me to marry him, I made it clear. He shouldn't expect homemade food from me. He was only 26 then, a young student at the Hotel School in Switzerland, so he smiled at me and said: "I'll cook for you! I'm learning to cook at the hotel school in a very professional way." And he kept his promise. Whenever we entertained, he'd do the cooking and all our friends were impressed! And when he didn't have time to cook for us because of work, my mother did that and ...yes she sent the food from Nicosia to Larnaca where we lived. That's how Alkis fell in love with our traditional bamies me kotopoulo(okra with chicken) which I have only recently learnt to cook I've recently decided to learn to cook. I started reading cookbooks, writing out recipes from Breakfast TV or surf the Internet to discover more recipes. And , of course, I started out with Greek cooking as both Alkis and I adore Greek food. In less than 2 years, I think I've made quite a progress. Now I find cooking is an art but I've still got a lot to learn.

10 comments:

Katie said...

Not sure if I like cooking. It's kinda boring

sand dune said...

Anastasia, these dishes look delicious. I think you've made good progress. Besides I always read your Monday's recipes and have already tried a lot of them.

Christina P said...

The truth is I don't cook very often as I live on my own but I really enjoy cooking for my friends and finding new recipes on the internet. I am pretty good at cooking pasta and inventing new salads.

Lakis I said...

I wish I could grab that souvlaki and eat it for breakfast! But I guess I'll have to be content with my coffee and cheese pie....

Suzy said...

Okra with chicken? Never heard of that before

Anastasia Marou said...

*** Hi Katie. I thought it was boring too. But now I enjoy cooking whenever I have the time.

*** I'm glad you like my Monday's Greek recipes, Laura, which reminds me I haven't posted any lately!

*** Hi Christina. I've still got to learn how to cook the perfect pasta with the perfect ...al pesto let's say!I also love inventing salads like my Olympian Salad posted on TypePad years ago!

*** Hi Lakis. I guess the ready-made cheese pies? I hate them! Can you believe I used to love them a few years ago?

Olga said...

I love very much bamies and I do them a lot but with olive oil and tomatoes sauce in a pot. But I like this idea to cook them in the oven with chicken.

Lisa A said...

Anastasia, I will tell you how to make the perfect al pesto. Take some basil (about 2 bunch) and put it in blender with 1/2 cup roasted pine nuts 2 garlics and 1/3 cup grate parmigiana. Blend well and then while blending add 1/2 cup olive oil and then pour over your spaghetti. I advise you to cook spaghetti in butter or garlic butter if you like in a pan not in water and then add the al pesto!

Anonymous said...

I enjoy cooking in general but I'm not patient with complicated things. If I am off on Sunday I do our traditional arnaki me patates sto fourno - lamb with potatoes in the oven and lots of spices.

Anastasia Marou said...

*** Olga, this is a much healthier way to cook bamies and, believe me, they're just as tasty.

*** Thank you so much for this original al pesto recipe, Lisa!

*** Hi Sophia. Roast lamb and potatoes...that sounds perfect for a Sunday lunch!