This Feeds Me Hungry Musings of a Gastronomic Gypsy – NC-based freelance writer Victoria Bouloubasis

Like any wildly nostalgic Greek-American tourist, I sipped, slurped, nibbled and devoured everything I could in four weeks.

While staying in Andros, my Theia Georgia (aka Georgette Irene Mandarakas) spoiled us by whipping up tasty traditional Greek meals and side dishes nearly every day. She keeps many of her recipes secret; the rest you can find in her three-part Greek cookbook series: Golden Cooking. Currently only in Greek, this is her first published [...]

We zig-zagged our way through tube transit and were spit out a couple of miles from Brick Lane, the famed Indian restaurant row of London. Our walk led us through less bricks and more cement. The industrial-looking area seemed barren, yet a couple of hours later became flooded with young hipsters looking for a party. [...]

After sampling Camden Market’s food stalls my first night in London, I sipped on a Pimm’s lemonade, completely satisfied. I figured we were through eating. “Ready for dinner?,” Danny asked. He took me off guard, but I didn’t have the heart to deny the boy a real, full meal. And once we settled on Chinatown, [...]

Eat, drink, walk, in no particular order. That’s all I set out to do in London, and it’s exactly what I accomplished. I scheduled two days in the city prior to my arrival in Greece to catch up with an old friend and see something new. I had been to London before as a student [...]

There are times when I think I must have South Asian or Hispanic roots. One of these times is summer, when a sweltering heat hits and all my body craves is a juicy mango. My genetics urge me to get my hands on watermelon, figs and tomatoes instead, which I do… when mangoes aren’t available.

As I hinted in an earlier post, my friends are artistic chefs at heart. Especially Victor Hugo. In the kitchen, as in life, this guy flies by the seat of his pantalones. Inspired at the oddest of hours, he’ll shuffle from fridge to spice cabinet and back to fridge, carrying an assortment of ingredients to [...]

When I need a quick recipe inspired by the flavors of my family’s kitchen, I turn to Andy Harris’ cookbook, Modern Greek. His recipes let individual ingredients shine while connecting bright and simple flavors. This Fakes Salata (or Lentil Salad) is my staple out of the book, and always an interesting contribution to summer potlucks. [...]

I posted about Liberación Juice’s donation to the NC DREAM Team on the Indy’s food blog, Big Bite: Liberación Juice honors hunger strikers’ D.R.E.A.M. by Victoria Bouloubasis Wednesday marked the ninth day of a hunger strike for three young women fighting for their dream: a right to higher education and a path to citizenship. … [...]

When it comes to food, my friends share my obsession. My fondest recent food memories include moments with my friends in Carrboro, or La Banda, as we’ve dubbed ourselves, gathered around an oven adding spices and herbs (and our “two cents”) onto a leg of lamb,  standing at a kitchen table spreading cookies with dulce [...]

I challenge anyone who claims to despise beets to try them roasted. They’re magic, really. I can’t think of anything else that tastes like them. A beet dug out of the dirt, scrubbed, and roasted, dances on the palate. A hint of earth with a sweet tinge. It’s not the mushy, putrid taste you’d get [...]

Tangy with a twist of mint, this lima bean hummus (dubbed “butter bean hummus” down here) was a hit at this year’s Indy food writers’ potluck. I whipped it up by modifying and existing recipe I found (adding in extra fresh mint, oregano and garlic, of course), and Indy’s amazing locavore recipe extraordinaire Sheryl Cornett [...]

Spize Cafe introduces Raleigh to Asian baguettes, TriangleBlvd.tv increases its food coverage and UNC-Chapel Hill’s J-school rocks out a stellar multimedia project. You’ll get a kick out of the creative ways our community is approaching food lately. Autumn ushers in a new set of surprises this year in the Triangle. In downtown Raleigh, Spize Cafe [...]

After much deliberation and ruminating, my brain hurts. I just want to get started. I’m a perfectionist, but I’ve finally learned that, sometimes, being such a stickler only sets boundaries. Or delays, in this case. So here I am, delving slowly but surely into the blogosphere with a food blog/idea/project I’ve been in a frenzy [...]