Sunday Kitchen Experiments: Blue cheese stuffed pork chops with pear

Experimenting in the kitchen has become another creative outlet for me. On the weekends I will spend some time looking at old cook books, Pinterest and some of my favourite chefs’ websites for inspiration.

Sometimes I will buy the ingredients prior to finding the recipe and work backwards. On my shopping trip to the grocery store yesterday, I picked up some pork chops, pears, blue cheese and numerous other things.

The combination of pork chops and blue cheese enticed me and so my search began for the prefect, easy recipe.

I came across She Knows’s recipe and thought why not. It appeared to be simple enough and did not require too long to achieve a scrumptious dinner.

I felt that the chops needed a side, so I made one of my specialties: mashed pepper squash with butter and brown sugar.

 

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The prep and cooking time did not take long at all but the end result lacked some seasoning and although good, it was not as delectable as some other recipes I have tried.

If you are looking to try out the recipe, add salt, more cheese and cook the pears a little longer.

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Bon appétit!

 

 

The need to escape

In the last week or so, I have not been able to shake this feeling of sadness that has taken a hold of me.  When things start getting to me, whether it be work, home or the world, I usually book an escape. Run away for a few days to clear my head and to remind me of all the good things that life has to offer.

Paris is most often my first choice to restore my serenity. Unfortunately, that is not in the cards for me right now. Hopefully early next year, I will get a chance to go back and soak it all in.

Until then, I am experiencing my favourite places in Paris through photographs.

Eiffel
La Tour Eiffel – the love of my life

Every trip to Paris, there are few tried and true things that I always do:

  • Salade landaise from Chez Papa
  • Ice cream from Amorino
  • Desserts from anywhere and everywhere

 

The Seine
The sunsets over the Seine

Some places, I return to over and over again. Some because of the way I feel in them, others to watch the changing light reflect off a particular window, sculpture or brick.

 

And the epitome of all things Parisian (at least for me): Les Bouquinistes along the Seine and Paris street signs.

BouquinisteStreet signs

PARIS, JE T’AIME.

Kitchen Experiments: Lemon Thyme Chicken with Arugula Salad

I was home sick yesterday and since I could not focus on reading, I spent the bulk of the day watching TV. Nothing in particular, just quite a bit of zapping.

And then Jamie Oliver caught my eye. He was making rosemary chicken kebabs with a spinach, citrus and feta salad. I was still not 100% focused so I do not recall all the ingredients, but it stuck with me. Having been inspired yesterday, I tried my own hand at chicken skewers.

I marinated the chicken in garlic, thyme, lemon juice, olive oil and salt.
I marinated the chicken in garlic, thyme, lemon juice, olive oil and salt

I let the chicken marinade for a couple of hours before threading the pieces on wooden skewers.  And then onto the grill pan.

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While the chicken was grilling, I began the salad prep: sliced a bosc pear, crumbled some blue cheese and tossed it with arugula and a balsamic dressing.

Salad

Once the chicken was cooked, I removed it from the skewers et voilà!

Bon appétit!
Bon appétit!

Cosmopolitan Bogotá

The first time I planned to visit my offshore call centre in Bogotá, Colombia, corporate security sat me down for a stern talking to. I was given a long list of things not to do: don’t hail a cab, don’t wear jewelry, don’t leave the hotel, don’t speak to anyone, etc… We have all heard the stories about Colombia and the risks of traveling to the country. The only risk is that you will not want to leave!

Bogotá  is a beautiful green city nestled in the Andes mountains. The city is home to  an abundance of parks, restaurants and historic sites.

View o f the mountains from the call centre terrace
View o f the mountains from the call centre terrace
Usaquén
Usaquén

La Candelaria is the historic centre of Bogotá replete with museums, schools and colonial architecture. It is a must see.

San Bartolome
Colegio de San Bartolomé
Plaza Simon Bolivar
Plaza Simon Bolivar
Museo Botero
Museo Botero

Plaza Simon Bolivar Plaza Simon Bolivar 3 Bogota Tram La Candelaria Door La Candelaria

Il Casale – Italian Agritourism

Until my trip to Italy a couple of years ago, I was not aware of the existence of agritourism. What is agritourism you ask? It can be a couple of things: visiting a farm and staying on site  or actually participating in the day to day activities of running a farm such as feeding the animals, tilling the soil , etc…

Although I am not the type of person who enjoys these type of activities, I had the chance to visit such a farm during my travels through Tuscany.

Our fabulous tour guide took us to lunch at Il Casale. Every ingredient was grown on the farm and the cheeses were made from milk produced from their goats. Our lunch was delicious and the surrounding scenery breathtaking.

http://www.podereilcasale.it/

Il Casale 4

Il Casale Il Casale 3 Il Casale 5Il Casale 6

Il Casale 7 Il Casale 8 Il Casale Lunch 1

Spelt pasta
Spelt pasta

Il Casale Lunch 3 Il Casale Lunch 4 Il Casale

Bellissima Roma

I love Rome for all its historical significance: the Colosseum, the Vatican, the Palatine Hill, the Trevi Fountain, St Peter’s Basilica and so many more.

But I also love Rome for its significance is some of my favourite feature films.

Altare della Patria
Altare della Patria
Colosseum 3
The Colosseum – I could not help my self when I climbed the stairs to reach this vantage point. My first thoughts went to Russell Crowe’s line in Gladiator: “My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions and loyal servant to the TRUE emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.” Although Gladiator was not filmed in Rome, I am amazed at the recreation of this amazing site.
Colosseum
Colosseum
Fontana di Trevi
Fontana di Trevi – the setting of the iconic scene from Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita with Anita Ekberg.
Lion
Vatican Museums
Palatine Hill 2
Palatine Hill
Palatine Hill 3
Palatine Hill
Piazza Navona
The Piazza Navona has made appearances in a several movies, including Angels and Demons, Eat Pray Love and Roman Holiday with the iconic Audrey Hepburn.
Rome
View of the City
St Peter's square
St Peter’s Square
Staircase
Vatican Museum Staircase
The Edict of Milan Christian Arch
The Edict of Milan Christian Arch
Bocca della verita
La Bocca della Verità – In planning the Rome trip, I knew I needed to make a stop at this quintessential setting which appeared in two of my favourite movies: Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck and Only you with Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr. Its legend dates back to the middle ages. It is said that if you tell it a falsehood and put your hand in the mouth it would be bitten off.
Vespa
The Vespa exemplifies everything Italian for me. It also has made cameos in favourite films like The Talented Mr Ripley and Roman Holiday. Did you know that Daphne Zuniga’s character in Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs was name Princess Vespa?

Where I draw inspiration from

I have pondered investing in a “real” desk instead of the lap desk I currently use.

DeskBut why should it matter where I sit to write, doodle, sort through photographs, etc. Will the desk help inspire me? Flashes of inspiration come to me from books, photos , my cherished travels and these days my kitchen experiments.

Naan Pizzetta
Naan Pizzetta

Today, I am asking you dear reader to contribute to my inspiration. What should be my next subject?

Monet’s Giverny

The small town of Giverny is about an hour from Paris and one of my favourite places to visit in spring. I can understand why Claude Monet chose it as his home for 43 years.

The pond at Giverny
The pond at Giverny

Wandering the gardens, I am always impressed by their beauty and the army of gardeners it must take to maintain such an expansive and rich variety of flora.

Giverny RoseGiverny YellowOrange on blue

The world famous water lily
The world famous water lily

And my all-time favourite: PEONIES.

Peonie

Home…or in my case homes

What does the word HOME evoke for you when you hear it? Does an image pop into your head and a smile grace your face?

I have 4 homes and at times, more.

I was born in Lebanon and sadly left when I was very young. Not old enough to have been marked by memories of war but old enough to remember my grandmother’s garden with its lavender bush and grapes draped over the trellis in the back of the house. Old enough to remember her jam cake and the fact that she was always well put together (every hair in place and always wearing lipstick). I also remember the innumerable summers spent in her home with my brother and sister and the cousins. Her home was my home.

In my grandmother's garden
In my grandmother’s garden

Greece became the shelter from the civil war brewing in Lebanon and our “temporary” home. I say temporary because mom and dad used to say “it is only for one year”. Eleven years later, Athens had become home. It was the place I met my best friend at the age of 6 and some 35 years later is still my best friend. The place where I developed my first crush on the wrong boy. The place that I return to years later because it has a string attached to my heart.

The 3 Musketeers
The 3 Musketeers

Toronto is home now. I have lived here the majority of my life, that is if you count the number of years, it is the longest I have been somewhere.  I appreciate the opportunities that this home has afforded me: family, friends, the ability to travel and experience different cultures, a fantastic restaurant scene and so much more.

The CN Tower and iconic Street Car
The CN Tower and iconic Street Car

As I look to the future, I know that I will make Paris my next home. I am drawn to everything that city has to offer and the way I feel when I am there.

I can never get enough of Gustave Eiffel's masterpiece
I can never get enough of Gustave Eiffel’s masterpiece

I write because…

I have never sat down and  put some thought into why I write.
Until recently I was writing mostly for work. Communications, training materials, memos, etc. Now I write as a tool to express feelings and share images that have marked me in some way. Call it a creative outlet to bring some pleasure and push away the daily grind.

When I first moved to Canada from Greece (before the internet and email), I used to write long letters to childhood friends. Letters filled with the trials and tribulations of my teen years and the adjustment to a new country, language and culture.
Back then, I wrote to relieve my stress and anxiety. Now, I write to bring inspiration and creativity back into my world.

The guest book at Casa Batlló - Barcelona
The guest book at Casa Batlló – Barcelona