tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30115653415281156352009-11-29T13:40:20.776+02:00Mediterranean kiwihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10440852486788630957noreply@blogger.comBlogger428125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-32160067386137776462009-11-27T11:10:00.021+02:002009-11-27T16:29:48.717+02:00

"Hey guys!" My American-Greek colleague had just come into the office after taking summer leave for two weeks. "Guess where I've come back from!"Eirini had been planning this trip for a long time. She had decided not to tell us where she was going, but promised us, in that good Greek manners style of hers, that she would bring us a little something back from her trip, something that could be used

Mediterranean kiwihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10440852486788630957noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-24749355396967791982009-11-26T08:00:00.001+02:002009-11-26T08:08:53.049+02:00

A little while back, after I had had a satisfying meal which consisted of tasty pastry-topped boureki (the chef at work had cooked it), a healthy (as usual) meal, based on the Mediterranean diet that I have been trying to raise my family on, I had a craving which I couldn't quite place. As I munched my way through the boureki, I thought about how my husband would be ladling the lentils I had

Mediterranean kiwihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10440852486788630957noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-24041111908575123532009-11-23T07:00:00.000+02:002009-11-23T07:42:38.431+02:00

Working with quince is like watching magic happen before your eyes... The different colour phases that quince passes through from its raw state to when it becomes a bottled spoon sweet preserve.Quince starts off as a very ugly fruit, with its furry covering and pinched puckered pear-green skin.I came by this quince during one of my recent forages (all I had to do was put my hand out the car

Mediterranean kiwihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10440852486788630957noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-84108938957326790162009-11-20T08:00:00.002+02:002009-11-20T09:19:44.921+02:00

I'm in the middle of translating a collection of recipes all based on locally available ingredients of Cretan origin, presented in new combinations. The recipes have all been devised by the head chef at MAICh, John Apostolakis. John's cooking style differs from the normal local cuisine in that he uses the same ingredients as one would expect in Cretan cooking, with a special emphasis on locally

Mediterranean kiwihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10440852486788630957noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-3346459528313047072009-11-18T17:01:00.045+02:002009-11-20T13:53:16.412+02:00

Join me tonight (8pm Greek time) as I make Easy Peasy Yemistes Piperies (Stuffed Peppers): you will need some green bell peppers, some rice, some herbs (a herb garden, even one of those balcony- or window-sill types will do), some canned tomatoes (I'm using my own freshly frozen tomato), and some rice, along with all the other kitchen staples.See you tonight at 8pm (Greek time)!6.00pm: Now you

Mediterranean kiwihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10440852486788630957noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-75590507654689177042009-11-18T08:00:00.008+02:002009-11-19T22:47:48.577+02:00

I don't live in the perfect world, so there are many times when I show my imperfections, and my kids often show up my worst traits, especially when they make a show of their self-created table manners. Most times, I manage to deal with bad situations in a way that will eventuate in a happy outcome, but there was one time recently when I really lost my cool. It was Sunday, and I had made a very

Mediterranean kiwihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10440852486788630957noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-90306009710511318822009-11-15T08:00:00.001+02:002009-11-15T08:12:58.617+02:00

These days, life is all about getting machines and software to work for you, rather than you working for them. It's all about making life easier for you to live, so that you do less work, free up your time, and have more time to do the things you want to do, rather than doing things you have to do.A little while ago I came across this search string which landed a New Zealand searcher onto my

Mediterranean kiwihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10440852486788630957noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-88430173940656398222009-11-13T08:00:00.003+02:002009-11-13T09:00:31.270+02:00

It's almost Christmas and the Greek Orthodox winter fasting season is about to begin. The cold weather has set in; despite many sunny spells, I can't remember so much rain so early on a regular basis, all these years I've been living in Hania. It's the perfect time to be thinking about soup, a kind of food I can't even stand to think about in the warm weather that we are used to in Hania. The

Mediterranean kiwihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10440852486788630957noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-65853527379781691892009-11-11T07:38:00.007+02:002009-11-12T09:41:05.968+02:00

The Cookie Man? In Hania? Well, howdy doo...The Cookie Man, helping Cretans develop a taste for warm cookies, among many other global treats.

Mediterranean kiwihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10440852486788630957noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-27817927266183849222009-11-10T08:00:00.013+02:002009-11-12T09:41:26.097+02:00

Greek food blogging is highly competitive, or should I call it the Greek food blogosphere (depending on which one will get me more ratings): a day in the life of The Best Greek Food Blogger...Kalimera everybody, and what a kali mera it is! What about a morning pick-me-up? How about some Greek coffee and a koulouraki to go with that? And a double Elliniko for all of those who are snowed in at work

Mediterranean kiwihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10440852486788630957noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-20643717946877892072009-11-07T08:00:00.018+02:002009-11-08T09:52:21.940+02:00

In Hania, we have two second-hand shops which are owned and operated by ex-patriate English women. Here, you can pick up anything from clothing to furniture; I shop here mainly for English-language books, mainly novels. British tourist residents (and other foreign nationals) often trade old novels here and it's a chance for me to pick up some book bargains at even much cheaper prices than what

Mediterranean kiwihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10440852486788630957noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-70540227615346801702009-11-04T19:30:00.004+02:002009-11-08T12:04:46.846+02:00

Please take note that I am not a food historian and have never claimed to be one either; my musings on food have an empirical basis, and followers of my blog will agree that my posts are highly descriptive accounts of the food scene on a Mediterranean island. And they may also agree that I "can cook".When you last visited Greece, were you surprised to see the waiter come to your table and leave

Mediterranean kiwihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10440852486788630957noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-50621442191906004002009-11-03T08:00:00.022+02:002009-11-03T09:53:29.071+02:00

This post is part of the Cook the Books blog event running until November 8, 2009. Read Peter Mayles' French Lessons: Adventures with Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew and cook something inspired by the book. Post your inspiration on your blog and link to Cook the Books.)What with the French being so close to Greece (both countries class themselves as Mediterranean, since they share the sea of the

Mediterranean kiwihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10440852486788630957noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-57124535061775681792009-10-31T08:00:00.011+02:002009-10-31T08:00:04.650+02:00

Fruit is healthy, children should eat fruit, everyone should include five portions of fruit in their daily intake, you've heard it all before. This I bear in mind whenever I go shopping, and I try to buy all the variety and quality that my purse can afford. In this day and age, though, where all innocence is lost concerning the safety of our food due to diseases, climate change and pesticide use,

Mediterranean kiwihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10440852486788630957noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-86540499573224006492009-10-28T09:25:00.020+02:002009-10-28T09:25:00.194+02:00

When the weather isn't too hot, nor too cold (but not today, because it's raining here), and it's a public holiday (like today, when we commemorate NO day), it's the perfect time for this...My mother had been a forager all her life. As a young girl in Crete, she foraged for snails and wild greens near the environs of her mountain village home. She did not forage for pleasure; she foraged for

Mediterranean kiwihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10440852486788630957noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-57888343770747318422009-10-26T08:00:00.002+02:002009-10-26T11:21:29.977+02:00

It had always been a dream of mine to visit Thessaloniki, and after 19 years (to the day) of permanent residence in Greece (I'm well on my way to marking half my life here), I finally got to the north of the country.Thessaloniki, Greece, and her neighboursSelanik, Solun, Salonicco, Salonicha, Salonique, Salonica, Sãrunã, Salonika, Saloniki, Saruna, Thess, Thessalonika. Despite having its name

Mediterranean kiwihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10440852486788630957noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-4415725901486475292009-10-24T12:43:00.007+03:002009-11-12T09:40:36.188+02:00

The last of the chocolate chip cookie dough that I had made recently was frozen in little balls, ready to be cooked, after thawing a little (I simply defrosted them without allowing them to thaw completely). I thought I would be glad to see the last of them, after all that strife they caused me when I first made them. Even if our dog were to enjoy most of them this time round, at least the

Mediterranean kiwihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10440852486788630957noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-57715861658566020782009-10-22T09:00:00.009+03:002009-10-24T13:23:48.803+03:00

A while back, I saw some large chocolate chip cookies prominently displayed in a bakery in the town centre. They were about the size of a desert plate. I decided to snack on one as I was doing my jobs around he town."Would you like me to heat it up for you?" asked the shop assistant. What's she talking about? I wondered. It had never occurred to me that a biscuit could be warmed up before it was

Mediterranean kiwihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10440852486788630957noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-3963477232040296742009-10-20T19:40:00.033+03:002009-10-22T10:38:08.377+03:00

Join me in half an hour (8:00pm Greek time) when I make souvlaki yiro!You need:some greek pita bread, some leftover cold roast meat of your choice (sausages will also do), some tomato, some onion, some parsley, some strained Greek yoghurt, a potato, paprika, olive oilYour mise en place for souvlaki yiroNow for the hardware:a small frying pan, a larger frying pan, some greaseproof paper cut in a

Mediterranean kiwihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10440852486788630957noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-82463129140878387342009-10-19T08:00:00.001+03:002009-10-19T08:00:00.738+03:00

There were times when growing up as a Greek in 1980s Wellington were very, very difficult...Rachel was a repeating sixth former who wore mufti; we had crossed paths occasionally through our volunteer work at the library. She was blond, blue-eyed, skinny, pale-skinned, the exact opposite of myself, a dark-haired, olive-skinned, chubby brunette. With racial equality being practiced right throughout

Mediterranean kiwihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10440852486788630957noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-33080637678379616242009-10-16T09:00:00.015+03:002009-10-16T09:00:00.553+03:00

It is very rare for the children to choose what they are going to eat when we go out for a meal (Dad's tastes are more refined than junk food). On this night, I let them choose where they wanted to go. Hamburger meals (the Greek version of McDonalds is Goody's) have never really caught on in Crete, except in urban areas, so I could guess what the children were going to choose among: souvlaki,

Mediterranean kiwihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10440852486788630957noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-42277475042212417512009-10-14T08:00:00.000+03:002009-10-14T08:00:06.369+03:00

Once upon a time, there was a lady (and I suspect there were quite a few of them like her) that couldn't say the word 'sandwich'. When Kiria Soula talked about sandwiches (and it was often, because she owned and operated a milk bar with her husband which served lots of them), she always called them 'sammidge'; it just came out much easier for her to pronounce the word in this way, and everyone

Mediterranean kiwihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10440852486788630957noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-42220442159807054262009-10-12T08:00:00.001+03:002009-10-12T08:40:04.912+03:00

For the north of the country, the weather was incredibly hot. This was not what they had expected. They had packed two jackets each, sweatpants and long sleeved T-shirts for their trip, heeding everyone's advice about how cold it would be at this time of year. Having never travelled this direction before, they could not work out if they were in the middle of a heatwave, or if these were normal

Mediterranean kiwihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10440852486788630957noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-3120064715065459422009-10-09T12:00:00.007+03:002009-10-21T14:33:48.007+03:00

Crete is a small island, and Hania is not the biggest town on it, but it is lucky to have one of the four Mediterranean Agronomic Institutes (MAIs) based in Europe: apart from MAI Chania (MAICh), there is also MAI Bari (Italy), MAI Montpellier (France) and MAI Zaragosa (Spain). The MAIs are semi-private agronomic research institutes directed by a French organisation, CIHEAM (International Centre

Mediterranean kiwihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10440852486788630957noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-83904267506501095622009-10-07T08:00:00.002+03:002009-10-07T08:00:06.387+03:00

Remember the good old wine and cheese days? There was always a bunch of grapes on one side of the platter, and most times a selection of nice crackers to go with the range of cheeses which always included camembert, while the wines being served invariably carried French names. This was my first introduction to pairing cheese with fruit. I was also a great fan of a salad served at the Victoria

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