Hi! Welcome to My Little Expat Kitchen!
Who’s behind my little expat kitchen?
I’m Magda. So happy to have you here!
I’m from Athens, Greece, born and bred, and have been living in the Netherlands with my also Greek partner for a little over a decade. Together we have a son, five-year-old Aris, who loves to be in the kitchen with me, especially when we make pizza, Greek pies, cookies and a big mess.
I first opened the door to my little expat kitchen when I started my food blog*, shortly after arriving in the Netherlands. I was missing Greece, my friends, my family, my mom’s and grandma’s cooking and realized that the only way to enjoy the food of home, the food I was craving, was if I cooked it myself. It was a way to stay connected to my roots and feel less nostalgic.
Now, I’m reopening the door to my kitchen on this platform that gives me much more freedom and options, and I can’t wait to go on this journey with you. The ones who have trusted me by cooking the recipes from my blog all these years and those who will find me now over here on Substack.
What’s this newsletter about?
In this newsletter, I’ll be sharing seasonal Greek recipes, both savory and sweet, most of them traditional, others unconventional and/or with a twist, as well as recipes inspired by my travels throughout Europe and beyond and of course by my life here in the Netherlands.
So, let’s get to it!
Let’s cook meals for our families and feasts for our friends, let’s bake some delicious cakes and pastries just because we feel like it or for a special occasion. Let’s sort out the busy days with some easy recipes that make sense, to nourish body and soul, let’s cook for our little ones, for our partners and lovers and let’s create memories around the table. Let’s do it in a way that’s non-judgmental and without labels. There’s no bad or good food here, no guilty pleasures, no clean or dirty eating. It’s all food. Food that sometimes is meant to sustain us, others to comfort us, to tantalize our taste buds, to intrigue us, to take us on a journey of the senses or to make us feel like we are back in our mother’s kitchen. It’s all acceptable and all meant to make us creative with our cooking.
Come on in! So glad to have you here, friends.
Why subscribe?
Well, to get my new and exclusive recipes straight in your inbox, automatically, each time I post, of course. You’ll never miss an update, trust me.
If you become a Free subscriber, you will get 1 brand spanking new recipe per month straight from my kitchen to yours, and a preview of the recipes to come every week.
If you become a Paid subscriber (€5/month or €48/year - annual subscriptions get a 20% discount, hooray!), apart from my eternal gratitude, you will get 3 additional new recipes each month, plus extra if I can’t wait to share something with you, full access to all my recipes, old and new, no matter when you subscribe, the ability to ask me questions, chat, comment and become part of the community, sneak peeks into my kitchen with voice memos and videos, and the all-important insights into the Greek kitchen pantry, Greek food essentials and ingredients.
Of course, you will also be supporting my work and actively contributing to the making of this newsletter. So if this is a good time for you, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support means the world to me.
Get in touch!
Nothing makes me happier than hearing back from you when you cook one of my recipes, and I never get tired of seeing your creations. So please share, and if you have any questions, feel free to message me here.
A note for my Greek-speaking friends:
Γειά σας!
Χαίρομαι πολύ που είσαστε εδώ.
Ενώ θα μεταφέρω τις παλιές μου συνταγές και στα ελληνικά από το μπλογκ εδώ στο Substack, οι καινούριες θα γράφονται προς το παρόν μόνο στα αγγλικά καθώς θέλω να καλύψω όλο το αναγνωστικό κοινό μου. Με στενοχώρησε αυτή μου η απόφαση γιατί σαφώς προτιμώ να γράφω στην μητρική μου γλώσσα. Ήταν δύσκολο να αποδεχτώ το ότι δεν προλαβαίνω να κάνω τα πάντα όπως τα θέλω, αλλά δεν γίνεται αλλιώς αυτή την χρονική στιγμή. Ελπίζω αυτό να μην σας αποτρέψει από το να με παρακολουθείτε εδώ και να φτιάχνετε τις νέες μου συνταγές.
Αν έχετε ποτέ κάποια απορία σχετικά με υλικά, την συνταγή ή οτιδήποτε άλλο, μη διστάσετε να επικοινωνήσετε μαζί μου. Είμαι εδώ για να σας βοηθήσω με οτιδήποτε χρειαστείτε και σας ευχαριστώ μέσα απ’ την καρδιά μου για την στήριξή σας όλα αυτά τα χρόνια.
*The work I have done on my food blog has been very fulfilling and I (or/and my recipes) have been featured in several publications both online and in print: The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, National Geographic Traveller Food (UK edition), CNN Travel, Cosmopolitan magazine (Greek edition), ELLE Eten (Dutch edition), and Saveur magazine. I have also won Best Cooking Blog, both Critic’s and People’s Choice at the first ever Greek food blog awards organized by the Greek newspaper To Vima (Το ΒΗΜΑ).
