Despidoodle

the digital alias of Despina Panagakos Yeargin

  • BOWL-ing

    BOWL-ing

    Yes, bowling, but as in eating from a bowl. Caution! This is partially a rant. I promise good cooking guidance and a recipe, but I have had it with food trends, fads, foodie catchphrases and marketing gimmicks. My Freekeh Fiber Bowl Rant-worthy! I’m so–SO–over this plant-based concept. Good heavens! We eat meat, seafood, fruits, vegetables…

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  • Freedom Food

    Freedom Food

    March 25th marks the start in 1821 of the Greek revolution against Ottoman rule. When you consider that the Ottomans had invaded and ruled Greece for 400 years, it’s easy to understand why this is such an important holiday for Greeks all over the world. Additionally, the 25th of March marks a holy day in…

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  • Fear of Processing

    Fear of Processing

    Healthy eating is not a trend. Follow the researchers, the scientists and doctors. Podcasts. YouTube. Books. There is common ground among them. Primarily, what I’ve noted is that we don’t eat enough fiber, we consume too much sugar and starch, we eat too much processed food because it’s cheap and convenient and we’ve forgotten how to…

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  • French Country-Style Chicken

    French Country-Style Chicken

    This is a dish that I created during my restaurant days. It was a popular entree and it was easy-breezy to prepare and serve. We cooked the chicken with large wedges of Russet potatoes and topped it with some of the pan sauce. Today, I’m sharing this recipe with you. Feel free to cut it…

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  • Food Memories–Time Traveling

    Food Memories–Time Traveling

    I have my food memory antenna set to high. It’s rather easy to transport myself to another country and another time. The smell of canned orange juice still takes me back to 1965 and the ship that took us from Piraeus, Greece, through the Suez Canal, then to the west coast of Australia. I’d never…

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  • ONIONS ARE FOR LOVERS

    ONIONS ARE FOR LOVERS

    Onion-haters, brace yourselves. Once you’ve tasted my super simple roasted onions, you’ll wonder what you’ve been fussing about for so long. Here’s the recipe. You like sugar, but not onions? Wait until you taste these! You’ll love how tender they are, and how sweet and delicious. There’s no sugar in the recipe, but the roasting…

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  • Super Delicious and Super Easy!

    Super Delicious and Super Easy!

      Yes, just like Superman and Wonder Woman, this dish can save the day with its ease of preparation, simple cooking method and easy availability of ingredients at just about any grocery store. It’s my GrecoSoCo Easy Sheet Pan Dinner. Everything goes onto a sheet pan or larger baking dish. Roasted in the oven, and…

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  • GrecoSoCo Cabbage, Rice & Shrimp

    GrecoSoCo Cabbage, Rice & Shrimp

    In the traditional Greek kitchen, we have a very simple dish called Lahanorizo–Cabbage Rice. It’s a variation of Spinach Rice. Yes, we keep it simple in the Greek Heritage kitchen–even when we name the dishes! It’s difficult to believe that cooking this basic can satisfy so thoroughly, but simplicity and quality ingredients usually yield excellent…

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  • Greek Chicken Souvlaki

    Greek Chicken Souvlaki

    Greek Chicken Souvlaki, or as I like to call it, Souvlaki Light. Why? Because I don’t cook it over a grill and I don’t cut it into uniform pieces and it’s really my Greek Heritage Cooking Simplified version of Souvlaki. No shame here! Just Souvlaki as an easy weeknight dinner for today’s busy families or…

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  • Low Resolution

    Low Resolution

    Yes, it’s the first post of the new year! Of course, I’m going to address resolutions. But not the way you may be thinking. I don’t like declaring a string of actions that seem improbable. I don’t know about you, but I have enough challenges to manage. Focus. For the last few years, after a…

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