Botanical Park of Crete

A big thanks to Margaret Doyle of the CIC for putting this fabulous day together, and for inviting me along. Koula (my cooking instructor) accompanied me, and I was really happy that she was able to show me many various types of edible horta as we walked through the park (see picture of various "weeds"). To think, in the US we use pesticides on this sort of stuff, whereas here we boil or steam it and serve with lemon, oil, salt and pepper for a nutrient packed meal!

In addition to the park, which contains a plethora of plants, flowers, trees and herbs from all over the world (and some critters,too!), there is a very nice restaurant on site which serves fresh, organic, locally grown food and wine. I learned during the wine tasting that they make a white Romeiko, which was heretofore unknown to me. It was quite nice, as was their fresh rose Romeiko (which is blended with grenache) and their oak-aged romeiko, which had a nice port-like quality. The Romeiko grape is used widely in the production of bulk wine on Crete, and is often of very poor quality. This was a refreshing exception.

For lunch we had salad, bread, tzaziki, boureki and a blend of vegetables from the garden called sympetherio (literally translated as "relationship by marriage"). Prior to our walk through the park, the chef demonstrated how to make each dish, and we were permitted to taste some of the individual ingredients that go into each dish, including mint leaves and myzithra cheese.

The price for the entire day was ridiculously low at 10 euros. This event surely was worth at least twice that, and I definitely plan to bring my sister with me for our own visit when she comes.

I've linked to their website, and highly recommend a visit to anyone coming to Crete.