Paradise Lost

I meant to write this final entry before now, but I've been busy looking for an apartment and catching up with old friends and generally feeling discombobulated since I've returned to the US, so it's just now that I'm finally getting around to it.

I meant to include pictures from my last few weeks on the island, but it seems that I didn't take nearly as many as I thought I had. Unfortunately, I seem to be missing every photo from the wedding in Rethymno, and I had a lot of them (videos, too). My sister mentioned something about copying my photos from my laptop onto a memory stick, so maybe she's got them (I really hope so).

The cats seem to have settled in pretty well to their new (temporary) surroundings in my parent's basement. They love the great, wooded, terraced back yard, and Rikki has been busy tormenting the various rodent residents (moles and chipmunks) that scurry around in the ivy. Hoping to be in my own place soon, and to find employment of some sort shortly thereafter. My parents have been wonderful and generous, and it's been really nice to be able to catch up with everyone face-to-face.

Things here are almost exactly as I remember them, and it doesn't feel strange at all to be back. In fact, it feels disturbingly normal. And it bothers me.

I don't want normal...I want Crete.

I hope to keep in touch with many people I met over there, to work hard to improve upon (or at least maintain) the little bit of Greek I learned, and to keep close in my memory all the things that made Crete so special for me.

And hopefully one day, in the not too distant future, I can take that trip back over the rainbow.

Addendum: Today is April 5, 2011 and I am back in beautiful Crete! I don't think I'll be posting much, if any, in this blog during this stay. I think it was appropriate for my first trip over, since it was one of discovery, but I feel that Facebook photos and status updates will suffice to keep in touch with friends and family.

It's great to be back!

Last Day

I wish I had time to post some pictures from the last few weeks, to catch up with what's been happening during my sister's visit, but unfortunately today will have to be dedicated to packing up, cleaning house and all the little details involved in preparing to return to the US tomorrow morning on the 7am flight from Chania. Lots to do.

Once I'm back in the States I'll update the blog to cover recent stuff.

Dourakis Winery

This weekend was "Open House" at many of the wineries on Crete. Debra Papanioff of the CIC tipped me off to this via a page suggestion for Dourakis Winery on Facebook, and I thank her for doing so because Luella, Koula and I had another excuse to get together and drink nice wine.

We were impressed not only with the wines (we tasted about 9 of them), but with the knowledge and enthusiasm of Adonis and Evie, the son and daughter of the founder of the winery.

I didn't take detailed notes on each of the wines, but they were all of high quality and I chose to buy two bottles of their organic Vilana (one for my sister's visit, one to take back to the US) and one of their Carignan (also for consumption while my sister is here, hopefully with a nice hunk of red meat, because the tannins are formidable at this point).

The grounds were beautiful, the cellar enchanting and I even came across some very well-fed looking cats in a room containing some production equipment, while I was searching for the restroom.

Finally, I had one of those "small world" experiences (which can be pretty common here in Crete) when a friendly older gentleman chatted us up and offered us a business card for the Kassimatis family shops in Chania. I've been dealing with his son Michalis since I arrived last summer, purchasing some skin care products that I like from him whenever I need them. I've always enjoyed dealing with Michalis because of his outgoing, friendly nature, and I see now that it runs in the family.

Around the winery.

The gentleman to my left is Kurios Kassimatis, and the couple in the bottom right photo are Evie and Adonis.

My 42nd Birthday

Spent in the company of my two lovely friends, Koula and Luella. Luella's birthday was on the 12th, so we combined celebrations and made a day traipsing around the Akrotiri peninsula. We started at the Agia Triada monastery, which structurally reminded me very much of the Arkadi monastery, I guess because they were both built during the Venetian occupation (I think...my readers know I'm not exactly a history buff so please forgive any inaccuracies). I wanted to buy some of their wine, which comes highly recommended by Koula, but it would require leaving it in the hot car for the remainder of our day, and I didn't want to risk spoiling it. I hope to go back before I leave to buy some so that I can serve it at our next AOC gathering.

After we left the monastery, we headed to the beach at Stavros, which is where "Zorba the Greek" was filmed. The day was overcast with cloud cover and dust from Africa, and although it was still hot and humid, none of us felt like swimming so we just had a small lunch at one of the outdoor tables and watched a large group of tourists try to catch some rays and a swim before their tour bus loaded them up and carried them off. After Stavros we took a short detour to a couple of other beaches on the peninsula, just to have a look, and then went to Koukouvayou for coffee and dessert. This cafe claims one of the best views of Chania town from above, but the strange dark tint to the day wasn't optimal for taking in this fantastic view.

After Koukouvayou we went back to Luella's place where she poured us some nice red wine from Miden Agan, and cut up an incredibly flavorful melon to serve alongside sliced cucumbers and cheese. We sat on her balcony with a nice view of the water and chatted while we killed time until our dinner reservation at 8pm. The picture here is of the sun, which looked somewhat post-apocalyptic in the gray sky. Normally a sky like this would make me feel depressed and want to stay inside, but fortunately I was in good company.

We had dinner at Kariatis, a chic yet comfortable Italian restaurant located on one of the back streets of the old harbor. It was great to get a break from the usual taverna food, sharing a large crepe dish for a starter and then each ordering our own pasta dish. The wine, Semeli Mantinia Nasiakos, was a delightful moschofilero with a subtle but definite grapefruit aroma and flavor. This is another I'd like to seek out and bring back to the US with me! One of my favorite parts to the meal was the surprise birthday raspberry cheesecake that Koula ordered and had delivered to the restaurant for after our meal. It was one of the best I've tasted, and my mouth is watering right now thinking about it. I was so full that I insisted Luella and Koula split the leftover cake and take it home, but at this moment I'm wishing I hadn't!

The three of us at dinner, looking quite fabulous if I do say so. Thanks ladies, for a perfect day. I'm so happy to have spent my 42nd with you both!!

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.

Cooking with Koula Part IV

Today's main dish was a fish called rofus, which at first glance looked like swordfish to me, but which is quite different in texture and flavor. It cooked in the oven with a sauce that had been prepared on the stove, and was accompanied by artichokes in a creamy lemon dill sauce, and a potato parsley puree. Recipes below.

In addition to the great food and conversation, Koula had her cousin make me two CD's of Greek and Cretan music, which she gave to me as an early birthday gift. The music is wonderful, and we listened to it while we cooked and ate our meal. I was very touched by this, as the CD's are very well made and it's the only Cretan music I have, even after all this time here! She also gave me a DVD on Crete, which I plan to show back in the US at my first AOC gathering (Greek wine theme) and a really nice little guide to Chania. Oh...and a bunch of sage so I can have it for cooking or with my mountian tea. Thank you, Koula...you're the best!!!

FISH WITH HERBS

6 filets of fresh fish (rofus)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 bunch chopped parsley
sliced tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
4 green onions, chopped
3 onions, chopped
1 cup white wine
1 cup tomato sauce
thyme, salt & pepper

Saute onions, garlic and parsley in oil for 5 minutes, add salt, pepper, thyme, white wine.Add tomato sauce and cook for about 15 minutes.

Salt and pepper the fish, then pour sauce over the top and cook in the oven for about 30-40 minutes at 180c.

ARTICHOKES

6 fresh artichokes, peeled/cleaned and sliced (keep in water w/ lemon juice to keep from turning brown)
3 green onions
1 bunch of dill
1/2 cup olive oil
Juice of three lemons
salt, pepper
1 tbsp flour
2 cups water

Saute onions and dill in olive oil for 5 mintues
Add artichokes, lemon, water, salt and pepper, and the flour mixed with a small amount of water
Cook on med-high for about 30 minutes


POTATO PARSLEY PUREE

Puree potatoes, blend parsley, garlic and lemon juice in blender, add to potato puree along with some salt and a little olive oil, if desired.

Sunset on Kissamos

Taken from the path leading to the acropolis at Polyrinia.

Weekend in Sitia

I had long been anticipating last weekend's trip to eastern parts of the island to visit two of my favorite people in Crete, Chantal and Clive. The journey got an earlier than expected start when my friend Vardis invited me to spend Friday night at the Ikaros Beach Village resort in Stalidha, a short distance from Clive's village of Skotino, so that I wouldn't have as long a drive to make on Saturday morning. A big thank you to him for this very thoughtful gesture.

I wouldn't normally choose to stay in a place like this (I prefer smaller, boutique hotels) but I have to admit it was very nice. I arrived before Vardis and killed the time waiting for him with a pedicure in the spa. The resort has three swimming pools, but none of them were heated so I happily let Vardis swim on his own while I took photos. The following morning we enjoyed a big, American style buffet breakfast in the resort's large restaurant, with floor to ceiling glass and beautiful views of the sea and beach. Then to the spa's sauna and indoor pool, and after checking out we stopped in Malia for coffee and ice-cream. We then went our separate ways, Vardis to the west and south to spend the remainder of the weekend at another resort in Plakias, and I just a tad to the west to meet up with Clive at his place for lunch.

I rather badly misinterpreted Clive's directions going through Herssonisos, and stopped at one point to send him an SMS asking for clarification. I noticed a car parked directly in front of me and took the picture below because the name is so close to my own (Mary Kyrstyn). Just thought it was kind of amusing.

I finally arrived in Skotino, a very quiet, old village in the hills near Gouves. Clive is the youngest resident in the village, and we remarked that before long, he'll be the only person living there since the other villagers are quite ancient indeed. Clive bought his house here several years ago, and has done an extraordinary job in fixing it up and decorating. He explained that it's a work in progress, but I think that even as it is now, it's a really beautiful, unique home. He put together a lovely lunch...deviled eggs, English cheddar, ham, potatoes, tomato salad, bread and red wine. I wish I had been able to eat more of it, but I hadn't yet fully digested the ice-cream from earlier. I left him shortly after lunch to continue my journey to the east to Sitia, where Chantal lives. He was in the middle of putting the final touches on his new website, NowHeraklion.com, and planned to join us in Sitia later that evening.

I stopped to take several photographs on the way to Sitia, happy that the weather was so much nicer for this trip than it had been for the last one in September. The drive between Agios Nikolaos and Sitia provides some of the most spectacular views in Crete, and I had to balance my desire to turn my head and gaze at the vistas with the need for attention to the road, which winds and turns almost non-stop the entire way. It was great fun to drive, but when took it again on our way to Spinalonga, with Clive at the wheel and me in the back seat, I found myself car sick for the first time in my life. Clive relinquished the wheel to me on the trip home after seeing Spinalonga, for which I was grateful but perhaps Chantal suffered (she was the back-seat passenger this time).

I was happy to finally make it to Spinalonga, having read the book "The Island" by Victoria Hislop, a fictional historical account of several of the inhabitants of the former leper colony. We took the small fishing vessel that transports visitors from the village of Plaka, and then had a nice lunch at a taverna afterward.

That evening we had dinner at a small taverna that is run by a Dutch woman, and I was really pleased with the food, tasteful decor and comfortable atmosphere. The food varied a bit from the usual taverna fare, with some slightly more exotic flavors and concepts. It seems to be quite popular with the locals, which is always a good sign. There was a football game on the television which several people seemed to take an interest in, but then suddenly the waitress closed the decorative shutters over the screen, presumably because she didn't like the way the game was progressing.

The following morning we had breakfast on Chantal's patio before I set out for my drive home. Unfortunately Chantal's cooking efforts were thwarted by a power cut, but she rallied and put out a very nice spread none the less, minus the eggs which couldn't be cooked on the electric stove-top.

I took a break from driving on my way home by stopping at a small beach near the exit to Fodele, for a coffee and a swim. Then another between Rethymno and Chania, where I met up with Vardis for lunch at a taverna along the National road.

Very nice weekend, I'm so glad I got to see Chantal and Clive one last time before I head back to the States.

Koutsamatada Ravine, A Really Old Tree and the Organic Olive Oil Woman

My neighbor Mandy hiked part of the Koutsamatada Gorge while her son and his family were here visiting, but she wanted to explore it further and I was happy to accompany her. We set out in her car at 8:30am to drive the short distance to the head of the trail, and then proceeded to spend almost 7 hours in the gorge. I'm not sure how long it would have taken had we just set about "hiking", but we definitely dawdled along the way, stopping to look at the various flora, take pictures, eat a picnic lunch by the river, and explore a cave. Really nice walk, I hope that the water is still there when my sister (and maybe my dad!) come to visit in a few weeks.

Various landscape shots from our hike.











This is the cave that we found. It was quite a scramble up a hill through some pretty thick brush, but I'm glad our curiosity got the better of us because it was pretty cool. We found a few very old signs of life...a glass lantern hung from one of the rocks, a crucifix hanging in the entry way, and what seemed to be a little shrine of sorts, with a broken mirror, a couple of empty glass bottles, and some animal bones! We named the cave "Fegarri" which means "moon" in Greek (Φεγαρρι) because there was a
full moon scheduled for that night.

After hiking the gorge, we took a short trip up the road to Vlatos to see a very old plane tree, and the woman who runs, along with her daughter, a small organic farm that produces olive oil and other products. The name of the establishment is To Metohi tou Monahoyou (Το Μετοχι Του Μοναχογιου), and they also provide several incredibly atmospheric but tastefully decorated rooms for let, and I would love to stay in one of them some time.

I left with a very expensive but very nice bottle of organic olive oil, and a jar of olives in lemon juice that may be some of the most amazing olives I've tasted.

More Hiking Pictures

Just some photos from a hike I took a couple of weeks ago into the hills to the west of Kastelli. I haven't viewed the town and the gulf from this vantage point yet, so it was a nice, new perspective.

I found a great footpath that led straight up to the top of a decent ridge, although coming back down on the loose gravel was a bit of a bitch. I also found tons of wild sage growing along the path, and stopped to have a quick chat with a shepherd who was driving the flock in the picture down the opposite hill.

I went back last week in the hopes of picking a bunch of the sage, but the bees got there before I did and I wasn't in the mood to see if I could take it from them without getting stung.

My plan last week was to try to hike over the top of the ridge and eventually find a way down to the other side, on the road to Falarsana. However, the bees made me nervous, their angry attempts to dive bomb me reminded me of my trip to Gramvousa when I was attacked and stung by several of them, and I finally decided to just get the hell off the mountainside and back to town as quickly as possible. Not wanting to backtrack down the path, I followed the footpath off to the left, in the hopes of eventually meeting up with the paved road that I could see across the valley. And eventually I did, but not before having to walk by a hillside covered with man-made bee hives. I could see the air traffic getting heavy as I approached, so I took my long-sleeved jacket with hood out of my pack and put it on, covering up as much of myself as I could, just in case.

Alas, I escaped unharmed and have decided that I will no longer hike into the hills at mid-day, since that seems to be when the bees are most active.

Cooking with Koula Part III - Kreatotourta, Pilafi & Stamnagathi

This past Saturday we made meat pie, pilafi and horta. Well, Koula made it and we watched, although we did chip in and contribute some soft labor like pulling the mint leaves off the stalks, brushing the pan with oil, etc. In addition to Luella and I, Debra Papadinoff, the president of the CIC, was there. I had exchanged several emails with her regarding an article of mine that they published in the CIC Times, and it was nice to finally meet her in person. As soon as I saw her I realized that she had been on the March 28 CIC trip that I attended, but we had never been formally introduced.


While we waited for a goat's leg to boil, we enjoyed some coffee, bread, cookies and chit-chat.

Once the leg was cooked, Koula set about tearing the meat into bite-sized pieces.



The mixture called for two different types of cheese - malaka (yes, that's actually what it's called, for those of you familiar with the derogatory Greek term), and mizithra. Salt, pepper, mint, oregano, cinnamon and lemon juice also went into the mixture.




And the mixture goes into the pan, which is lined with a dough that was made using yeast and eggs. This is the first time we've made dough like this during my lessons with Koula.





The mixture is then liberally "dotted" with staka, a 100% fat cream in clotted form.






The dough for the top crust is rolled on, cut around the edges, tucked in and then covered with two beaten eggs and sesame seeds.





Straining the broth from the goats leg into the pan in which the pilafi will be made. Pilafi is a traditional Cretan rice dish served at weddings, and seems a whole lot like risotto to me (although there are subtle differences, and pilafi seems easier to make).




Stamnagathi, a type of horta (wild green). I've been eating a lot of this since coming here. It's usually boiled (as it was here) but I've also steamed it to good effect. It's then served with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.




As someone who doesn't even hit the 5" mark, I can appreciate this shot of Koula standing on a chair to reach the dishes in the cupboard. Story of my life!




Meat pie, fresh out of the oven. My salivary glands really kicked into action at this point.






The cooked horta.







The pilafi simmering on the stove.








This isn't the wine we had with lunch, but Koula wanted to share a taste of this rose which her uncle made (at least I think that's who she said made it...please leave a comment to correct me if I'm mistaken, Koula!). It's a blend of Kotsifali (red) and Vilana (white) grapes, and the color was a gorgeous, pale amber-salmon. This was just harvested last fall, so it still tasted very tight, but given a few months I think this will turn into quite a nice wine.


The table is set...










And then we ate:-D







Koula sent us each home with some goodies:

Wild sage, which I bundled and hung in my kitchen and have since used to mix with mountain tea...yum!








And cardamom pods that her sister brought back from a recent trip to Egypt. Luella suggested mixing the seeds from one of the pods into my coffee grounds, which I have done and which tastes SO nice. I'm afraid this might become habit-forming!



Koula sent us home with a copy of the recipe for the meat pie, except it wasn't really a copy because her printer had run out of ink or something, so she hand-wrote it out for each of us! Although I feel bad that she went to all that work, it's kind of cool to have an original, handwritten recipe from a published author of a cook-book:-)

Another Dinner Post

I think this is purslane. I bought it pre-packaged at the supermarket and didn't bother to look up the wording on the package before throwing it out. I don't know if I've ever had purslane before. There was some radicchio mixed in, and I added some chopped tomatoes and leftover grilled zucchini. Simple oil and balsamic dressing w/ salt, pepper and oregano.


Easy recipe for the 1/2 kilo of pork cutlets I had bought:
Saute chopped onion and garlic in oil, add pork to brown.
Add about 1/2 cup of red wine, 10 oz. can of chopped tomatoes (I use the stuff that comes in the cardboard package since reading about how the aluminum cans leak dangerous stuff into the tomatoes over time), enough water to just cover the pork, 2 bay leaves, lots of cumin, and slightly less dill, fennel, salt and pepper. Cook covered over medium heat for about an hour and a half.

This turned out very nicely, I was surprised at how much the sauce condensed down even with the lid on. I think this is because my stove doesn't really have a "low" setting, so it cooked at a higher temp than I would have wanted. Didn't matter though, the pork was tender and the sauce flavorful.

I've become addicted to dipping my fried potatoes into Greek yogurt seasoned with salt, pepper, dried garlic and dill, although I probably didn't need to include that since the sauce for the pork was already pretty rich. Seemed like a bit of overkill on the flavor.

Not bad overall, though!

Iced Tea

It's not something I typically drink, and definitely not something to be found in abundance on a Greek island (they have the canned Lipton crap, but it's rare to find any fresh-brewed, much to my sister's dismay).

However, I recently brewed up some mountain tea with wild sage that Koula had given me at our last cooking lesson, and I had some left over after pouring my cup, so while it was still hot I added a liberal spoonful of honey and stuck it in the fridge overnight.

I like it!! Just brewed another batch for tomorrow. Hopefully my sister will like it, too!

Polyrina to Sirikari R/T Via the Sirikari Gorge

Well, we never actually made it to Sirikari. The trail wasn't always very well marked, and we got a late start from Polyrinia because we had trouble even finding the trailhead. Soooo, I'll have to go back and try again sometime, but we had a fabulous, leisurely walk of about about 6 1/2 hours when it was all said and done through some gorgeous terrain.

I should probably write more about it, maybe describe where we got lost so that others can be aware should they decide to try it, but then they'd miss out on the adventure of it all and I wouldn't want to deprive them of that aspect;-) Actually, I'm just very tired and don't have it in me to go into any more detail right now!

So here are just some pictures, and as always, they don't do justice to the actual surroundings.