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Sweet v Savory Tomato & Feta Cheesecake
Hello & happy Cheesecake Day! Since July 30 is the National Cheesecake Day in the US, I thought it’d be a great opportunity for an extra mid-week post to share a couple of cheesecake recipes. I’d always thought of cheesecake as an American dessert. It was only recently that I learned that cheesecake (albeit not quite as we know it) may have been a popular dish in ancient Greece. In fact, Aegimus, a fellow Greek physician, wrote a book on the art of making cheesecakes – the earliest mention of cheesecake in (written) history. The earliest cheesecake recipes are found in ‘De Agri Cultura’, a book by the Roman historian Cato the Elder. Nowadays, Greeks…
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From the Travelin’ Soldier to gaslighting
I have been a Dixie Chicks fan since the early noughties, when I realized that there was more to country music than the country-pop crossover hits by Shania Twain, Faith Hill and LeAnn Rimes. Back then, the American band, composed of Natalie Maines, Emily Robison (now called Strayer) and Martie Maguire, was on the top of the US country music charts, and their albums were selling millions of copies. Then, in 2003, the US invaded Iraq, and the Chicks (as they’re currently called) embarked on their Top of the World Tour, came to London, and the rest is history. Fast forward 17 years later, the trio has just released ‘Gaslighter’,…
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Island-hopping in the Cyclades
The Cyclades. A group of islands in the Aegean Sea, so close to each other (island-hopping, anyone?) and yet so different. Like a group of old friends, each of them has her own distinct personality, her own unique character, her own charm. Syros is the quiet leader, Mykonos her loud, party-loving, gay-friendly neighbor. With equal parts of hedonism and glamour, she is comfortably nestled between religious Tinos and chaste, pure Delos. Santorini is the popular one, classic pageant material, the queen of Instagram (#Santorini: 6,122,817 posts). Then, there’s Folegandros. Stepping out of her sister’s shadow, she’s trendy and vibrant; some may call her hipster. Star-quality Amorgos is as enchanting as adventurous. …
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My favorite books and films about traveling
Globetrotters and travel enthusiasts like myself have recently found solace in reading books or binge-watching TV series and (feature or documentary) films. Although these activities are by no means substitutes for traveling, they can still take us to all those places we wish to visit but can’t (or may not yet want to) physically travel to. For instance, unable to travel to Greece this summer, I recently published the post ‘Traveling to Greece through film & music’. Then, a few weeks later, my friend Deborah sent me a link to the article ’10 of the best novels set in Greece – that will take you there’ recently published in the…
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A classical music journey to Austria
Happy 4th of July! Today is a national holiday in America, commemorating the Declaration of Independence of the United States, on 4 July 1776. As a non-American living in London during the lockdown, I have no plans to celebrate the Independence Day (well, I might listen to some country music). Nonetheless, I have a very good reason to celebrate today. Around the world, most of the music festivals scheduled to take place this summer have been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is not however the case with the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival (Kammermusikfest Lockenhaus) which is taking place from 2 to 11 July. Since I am not able…