Cooking & Baking

Michael (Our 10-year-old son)  piping frosting

There is no doubt that food runs in my blood. Whether it is cooking or baking I am there. I am part Greek and Irish (along with a splash of German). I follow more of the Greek tradition though in my cooking.

Running a kitchen or anything else that has to do with food is normal for our family. My Grandma and Grandpa Lazaris along with all of his siblings but one owned Popcorn trucks. Yep! They would fight over every stinking corner there was around the Summer months.

The one thing I loved is when my Grandma would drive through my neighborhood when I was young and give me FREE cotton candy, Blue snow cones, and candy!

One of my FAVORITE meals at my Grandparents house was a leg of lamb with potatoes. They would also make a Greek Salata (Salad) and would have Feta cheese and Greek Olives.

As you can see my taste buds were woken up very early in life. If you did not like Feta or Lamb you were looked at strangely!

One thing I found is that here in the USA it is pretty expensive to eat Greek! But, then again, it is expensive to eat healthy. My Mother rarely cooked Greek but she was an awesome cook when I was young. She ended up becoming a Chef which for women back then was a hard task to do.

So, now you know why I am attracted to cooking and baking. Even though cotton candy and popcorn were not baking, somehow I ended up with the desire to do both. Lately I have been on a kick of creating cupcakes.

On your left you see my popular Red Velvet Cupcakes with a Butter cream filling and frosting. I love to create cupcakes. I think of them as these delicious little cakes that can actually bring pleasure to everyone.

I hope to be like my Grandparents someday soon and actually open up some sort of Restaurant or Cupcake shop here in Milwaukee, WI. It would be so popular here.

Here are some of the most recent creations...

Here you have a Ground Lamb Bolognese
 Inspired by the cooking style in Bologna, Italy, Bolognese sauces are thick tomato sauces cooked with meat and a variety of vegetables. Some variations include the addition of wine or cream. Try using sausage, ground beef , turkey, ham or bacon.

Made with: Ground Lamb, Fresh Basil, Fresh Garlic, Sweet Onions, Oregano, Salt (Sea Salt) and White Pepper. Served over any type of noodle or rice!

I love cooking with ground lamb! You can find this at your local grocery store. I find it very often at Sendik's here in Wisconsin. Sendik's I give a rating of 9 because their meat is all grass fed. Love it!!!!

Who doesn't love Peanut butter cups???? I would be addicted to them for sure if I did not have to watch my girly figure!

I love the thought of Peanut butter and chocolate in many ways but in a cupcake? YUM!

Made with: Peanut Butter, butter, sugar, powder sugar, salt, vanilla, applesauce (yes lol) cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, and mini semi-sweet chocolate pieces.

These were gone quickly!!!


At some point I will share some recipes. I just wanted to let you know where and why my thought of cooking and baking came from!

God bless you all,Rebecca (Lomis) Stephan