Despidoodle

the digital alias of Despina Panagakos Yeargin

  • Purple Rain–Purple Potato Salad

    Purple Rain–Purple Potato Salad

    I’m the one! Yes, the one who loves everything purple. (Imagine Prince singing Purple Rain here.) I wear purple. I love purple irises–they make me happy. I could stare lovingly at a beautiful amethyst stone for hours (while drinking red wine, of course, which is actually purplish, not red). I’m always drawn to purple when…

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  • Eggplant Fries With Savory Yogurt Sauce

    Eggplant Fries With Savory Yogurt Sauce

    You can’t get more Mediterranean and less complicated than this dish. Surely, even eggplant haters would look at this dish and think, why am I salivating? Of course they would. This is just beautiful to behold and so satisfying to scoop up onto a piece of toasted sourdough bread and call it lunch! Or dinner.…

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  • Sablefish Mediterranean Style

    Sablefish Mediterranean Style

    A delicate filet of fish simply seasoned and cooked over Mediterranean-style vegetables. How does that sound? Difficult? Delicious? Flavorful? Too fancy to prepare at home? Difficult? No! Delicious? Yes! Too fancy to prepare at home? Absolutely not! Flavorful? Yes! Loaded with flavors and nutrition. Ready for the recipe? Click here. This is one of the…

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  • Supplements Salad

    Supplements Salad

    The easiest and tastiest and crunchiest salad. Really! Fiber, fabulous flavors, and loads of nutrition–all in an easy, make-ahead salad that’s great for a snack, quick lunch or dinner side. Here’s the recipe. Highly customizable and easily assembled, if you’re looking for great flavor and lots of nutrition, then this is your salad.  Often, when…

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  • Greens & Okra Gumbo

    Greens & Okra Gumbo

    Can a Greek living in the South and married to a Southerner create an authentic gumbo recipe? Well, it all depends on what you define as authentic.  For me, this is an authentic expression of a gumbo in my family. It’s my GrecoSoCo way of doing things, and it’s a culmination of a few events.…

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  • Aldi Fish Tacos

    Aldi Fish Tacos

    Aldi grocery stores can be found all over Europe and…in small Southern towns in the United States. We have an Aldi in our town. It’s not the perfect grocery store, but it has much to be happy about, like grass-fed beef, organic products and wild-caught fish in the freezer. On a recent trip to look…

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  • Sassy Caesar & the Perfect Roasted Chicken

    Sassy Caesar & the Perfect Roasted Chicken

    This is my uppity updated version of a Caesar Salad. I’m also sharing my take on the easiest roasted chicken method because this pairing is my family’s go-to dinner favorite any time of the year, in fact, Dewey and I can eat this crispy-crunchy and satisfying combo twice a week. Often, we do! My method…

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  • Gluten-Free Strawberry Shortcakes

    Gluten-Free Strawberry Shortcakes

    Shortcakes–a summertime treat when strawberries are at their peak. Basically a lightly sweetened version of a good Southern biscuit, they are perfect for absorbing the juices of the strawberries for an easy make-ahead hot weather treat. But what if you are sensitive to gluten or have celiac disease? There are versions that use gluten-free flour,…

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  • Sea Island Red Peas GrecoSoCo Style

    Sea Island Red Peas GrecoSoCo Style

    Another GrecoSoCo recipe for you to try in your home kitchen. This time I use Sea Island Red Peas from Marsh Hen Mill in Edisto, South Carolina. Although you can find these tasty peas elsewhere, if you want them fresh, grown close to their historic soil, and farmed sustainably, try Marsh Hen Mill. I visited…

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  • Farro Out

    Farro Out

    Once upon a time, we used to exclaim FAR OUT when something was awesome and radical. Now we say, FARRO OUT! In my kitchen, anyway. We’re kind of nerdy with our food. Faro is a fabulous and far-out kind of grain. In my experience, it’s easiest to cook when it’s been presoaked for a couple…

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