Coconut panna cotta with strawberry sauce

It's getting slowly hot here in Greece, which means a season for light & fruity desserts has started!
This recipe was a complete experiment - I wanted something sweet and refreshing at the same time.

I looked into my little pantry and found a can of coconut milk. It was sitting there, waiting for me to get inspired.
This is the result - coconut panna cotta & strawberry sauce - very light, easy to make and so, so delicious!

Cabbage soup - simple and tasty

This type of soup was very popular some years ago as a diet - yes, diet. You were supposed to eat only that soup for a week or so to lose few pounds. Now, I don't know about its effectiveness, as I'm getting bored too easily and monotonous diets are clearly not for me, but what I do know is that it is a delicious and very easy to make meal.

You just need few ingredients, throw them in a pot and about one hour later you've got your soup ready, couldn't be simpler!

Classic Greek moussaka (μουσακάς) with béchamel sauce

If you'd ask me what's an example of a Greek food, moussaka would be one of the top ten on my list. It's one of the most known Greek dishes and really worth trying if you haven't yet!
The combination of vegetables, meat and spices creates an explosion of taste in your mouth and it's really hard to stop eating once you start.

Moussaka (μουσακάς) is a type of layered casserole made with potatoes, eggplants, tomatoes and minced meat. Ideally you would use lamb meat, but pork, beef or mix of these work great too.

The secret of a great moussaka is to fry eggplants and potatoes before you make them into layers - it really does make a difference!

Buckwheat with mushrooms à la risotto

Buckwheat is a very popular ingredient in Polish cuisine and we use it in many ways - as stuffing, addition to soups, fried as cutlets or we serve it cooked with stews and sauces.
I haven't had buckwheat for a long time now, so I got pretty excited when I saw it being sold in the supermarket and immediately got an idea for this dish.
I would call it a variation of traditional Polish buckwheat with mushroom sauce with a "twist". 

Normally you would cook buckwheat in salted water and prepare mushroom sauce separately, but I've decided to make it a little bit differently.
I couldn't find any wild mushrooms like boletus ("borowik" or "prawdziwek" in Polish) so I've used portobello mushrooms as they have more taste and substance than regular white ones.

Sole fillets on celery salad and cauliflower puree

With days getting warmer, I usually get motivated to eat healthier and lose some weight before summer comes. Since I'm not a big fan of diets limiting you too much, I simply try to cut on carbohydrates - potatoes, pasta, flour, bread and replace them with low-carb alternatives.
This dish is one of the inventions I've made during my "diet" phase.

Even if you're not on a diet, try it out! It's delicious, light and very refreshing. Cauliflower makes a great alternative for potato puree if you're bored with it and celery salad goes wonderful with any type of fish or meat.