There is a long list of reasons why I love these simple triangles of feta wrapped in phyllo dough. One is that I love food that’s stuffed with other food, and that love is amplified when the outer layer is any kind of dough. I love dough. I also love biting into something and discovering a delicious surprise inside (though I’m sure you’d agree that there are few things worse than biting into something thinking the inside is one thing and it’s actually another, less good thing).
I know it’s not polite to brag, but I have been cooking the most delicious dishes lately! I’ve practically been giving myself physical pats on the back when I pull yet another magnificent thing out of the oven. I’ve also been feeling more on top of my home life than I have in a really long time. Case in point, this weekend I spent 8 hours (with full help from my most dedicated friend) wallpapering a single wall (with a window and several cut-outs) in my room. It’s non-refundable wallpaper I ordered approximately 3 months ago before realizing that this was probably more trouble than it was worth. And it probably was! My index finger is sore from overuse of a box cutter, and there were several times that I fully intended to just quit and throw $500 in the garbage. But I persevered, and now the wall behind my bed is covered in a very large tropical palm print. I’m into it.
I’ve found myself thinking a lot about stew, and this one in particular, this week. I can think of few things more wintry or cozy than a Dutch oven filled with stew cooking for hours on the stovetop, filling the apartment with the scent of allspice and cinnamon instead of whatever it is that it usually smells like. (Actually, I do know the smell- lately it’s been a not-so-faint whiff of vinegar after I seasoned a terracotta pot on the stove with vinegary water for about 5 hours a few weeks ago). Anyway, if you’re going to let something bubble away on the stovetop for most of the day, let that thing be stew.
Is there any cuisine more synonymous with summer eating than so-called “Mediterranean food”? Probably not, I think. There’s something about the abundance of eggplant, tomato, zucchini – everything accented with lemon – that really makes you feel like popping open a bottle of cold and bracing white wine and enjoying the sunshine. Also- grilled everything. Nothing says summer like char, right?
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