About Claudia

Welcome, friends!

I am a (recovering) Type A American who moved to Cyprus with her hot Cypriot husband and two young children. Over the course of nearly a decade on the Island of Aphrodite (yes, Cyprus is the birthplace of this goddess of love and beauty), I evolved from a slightly pudgy Control Freak with bushy eyebrows who wanted to control every facet of life, including, but not limited to: my finances, our family’s finances, my career, my husband’s career, children’s diet, children’s education, son’s allergies, interactions with the in-laws, and the Zephyr wind, if it somehow made for a better hair day. Exhausted, I (miraculously) stopped talking, and watched, listened and tried to learn the ways of the local women. With their olive skin, strong, thick, dark hair and harmonious lifestyles, they seemed to manage life’s precarious situations a bit more elegantly.

Aphrodite swims through the veins of the women in Cyprus and throughout the Mediterranean. After so many years, I think I learned a thing or two about their diet (it’s not just pasta and olive oil), their beauty habits (razors are so never used), and the permeating attitudes of family, friends and love.

Because the Mediterranean is way more than just a diet. . .

9 Comments

  • Reply Dorothy Jordan December 19, 2019 at 12:28 PM

    I’m with Albemarle County Community Education. We produce the Open Doors catalog that offers adult evening classes, here at Albemarle High school. I would given your name by someone who attended your Olli class on olives and wine pairings. I am hoping you would be interested in doing a class on olives. Educating those of us who may be intimidated by olive bars. We are working on our spring catalog and would love to include this class but my deadline for completion is tomorrow at 5:00pm. If you interested can you please contact at my email below at your earliest convenience.
    Thank you for consideration,
    Dorothy

  • Reply Arnold Kahn July 2, 2018 at 3:59 PM

    We are going to Cyprus with you in Nov. What language should we learn a bit of, Turkish or Greek?

  • Reply Rebecca Johnson January 13, 2016 at 12:03 PM

    Good morning Claudia! I just read the DNR article regarding your upcoming Mediterranean Diet Cooking classes through JMU to be held at Sunnyside Retirement Community. I saw where the classes are $35, which includes tasting, but then I saw if you wanted to taste, it would be an additional $10/person to be paid at the first class. Which is correct? Will the class participate and prepare their own food or watch you prepare the food and we taste? Confusing…Need clarification please. Thank you!

    • Reply Claudia January 13, 2016 at 2:26 PM

      Hi Maurice,
      Thank you for your interest! The class is a hands-on approach to cooking. I will bring the ingredients, and we will all cut, chop, stuff, peel, layer and everything else. Since each class is two hours long, we will prepare most of it together, and taste at the end. I will bring all the ingredients in. The cost for the class is $25 payable to JMU LLI. The registration link is available on the page. There is also a $10 per person charge paid to me on the first day of class, which helps cover total food expenses for the five classes. I hope this makes sense. If you need more info, please email me directly at claudia@livelikeagoddess.com. Looking forward to meeting you soon! Eat like a goddess. . .

  • Reply Lois January 13, 2016 at 8:05 AM

    Hi Claudia,

    We haven’t met, but we should connect since I am a Harrisonburg food blogger, too. I saw the article by Aleda Johnson today in the newspaper. Congratulations!

    I’d love to attend the Mediterranean cooking class you are conducting, but I will be out of town for a couple of weeks and miss too much.

    Best regards,
    Lois Carter Crawford
    lois@recipeideashop.com
    http://www.recipeideashop.com

    • Reply Claudia January 13, 2016 at 2:27 PM

      Hi Lois,
      Thanks for your note! I just sent you an email. Can’t wait to meet up.
      Claudia

  • Reply Vinca DB February 6, 2015 at 2:03 PM

    You did it ! The site is here, and for the benefit of all of us women around the planet… Thank you, ever smiling Claudia 😉 bisous.

  • Reply Stephanie Hutchens January 27, 2015 at 1:36 PM

    I am so proud of you for taking a chance and making your passion a reality 🙂 Keep up the good work. I look forward to your insights, advice and recipes!

    • Reply Claudia February 2, 2015 at 12:36 PM

      Thanks, Stephanie!

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