soft persian-inspired scrambled eggs with fresh herbs

I've told you about Byblos before. It's a Persian restaurant that Adam and I go to from time to time - they are well known for their spectacular breakfast, a soft and custardy feta omelet, sprinkled with freshly chopped dill and served with an assortment of sweet breads and aromatic jams. If you go there for breakfast and order anything other than this, the owner will try to talk you out of it. For good reason. It really is the best.

At the moment, I have an outrageous amount of fresh herbs on hand (thank you to my new favourite product, a Thinkkitchen herb container thing - photo nonexistent on the internet) and I decided to attempt the Byblos-style eggs. I don't know how they do it their kitchen and I didn't even attempt to recreate them authentically. And as a lover of fresh herbs, I added a few more just for kicks.

mango cilantro salad with avocado

Here we are with another recipe without a recipe. Some food like sandwiches, some salads and other things, defy being limited by a list of quantities. They're so flexible and are often made for varying amounts of people, therefore to quantify the ingredients becomes more of a hassle than a help.

Such is the case with this salad. Maybe you, like me, found a huge mango at Jean-Talon Market and could only use half of it. Avocados come in different sizes. A lot of people don't like cilantro as much as I do. So where I might use a generous handful of the stuff, a couple of tablespoons chopped may be sufficient for someone else. So... use however much of whatever ingredients you want - all this is a salad idea. And a really good one at that. Even if you're a beginner cook, you probably know how to throw together a salad. If you don't, well... it's pretty foolproof! There's a first time for everything.

orzo salad with chickpeas, feta and fresh dill

Have you ever had orzo? It's pasta with an identity crisis. It looks like rice. Funnily enough, the first time I had orzo, it was in rice. It was really good.

The inspiration for the orzo salad comes from someone I worked with in Vancouver. She brought it to the Christmas office potluck and it was love at first bite. Of course, I begged for the recipe. I got it, but then I lost it... so I've been guessing at it ever since. It seems to have worked out well. This salad is quite light and refreshing, but at the same time it could be a meal in itself. It's a great side dish for summer barbecues (so perhaps you can try that next year! Har!).

persian wrap with tomato, feta and fresh herbs

 

Sometimes I turn into a huge baby. I wish I could say this was a rare occurrence, but unfortunately it happens on a semi-regular basis. I can't tell you how lucky I am that Adam just laughs it off, tells me I'm being ridiculous, then proceeds to take care of me.

Last night was one such instance of babydom. After a long day of work, I was so hungry that my stomach was eating itself. Compounding this was the fact that it was hot and muggy outside, therefore it was disgusting in our apartment. We walked to a restaurant to get some dinner, only to find it closed. DISASTER! At this stage I had reached the point of no return - where nothing, absolutely nothing, would make me happy. I was cranky, hungry, hot and lacking fresh air. Adam came to the rescue as he always does, this time with the idea of recreating Byblos' delicious Persian wraps. Of course, I didn't come around to this idea until we got home from the store and I'd devoured about 100 local strawberries like a maniac. Unwashed. I'm so ashamed.

mini kalamata olive quesedillas with tzatziki

 

Olives and I have a tumultuous history. When I was little, I loved them more than any small child should. I ate my parents' boozy martini olives. I used to eat kalamatas straight out of the container. I loved them so much that I ate an entire container of them and it didn't end well. I couldn't bring myself to eat one for years after that. I must have been about 18 when I allowed these briney purple wonders back into my life, and boy did I ever. The intense love for them that I had as a child returned in full force. There is just something about them - their saltiness, their tang, their meaty texture... they taste like nothing else. I can't think of anything more quintessentially exotic in flavour than a kalamata olive.

mini spanikopitas

Something sad happened last year in Vancouver. We lost the best spinach pies in the universe. There was a Greek bakery on Broadway that sold homemade spinach pies that were to die for. Flaky and delicious, these spinach pies completed many a hasty weeknight dinner at our house... for as long as I can remember. I never thought that a normal human being without years of experience and many generations of traditional spanikopita makers behind them could actually produce something tasty and authentic. It turns out I was wrong. Enter Joanna, spinach pie maker extraordinaire, owner of SkribblyKids and girlfriend of Adam's friend Marc.