1999 Archanes (Αρχανες)

This falls under the "oh my, what a nice surprise" category for me. I picked up a bottle at the Inka supermarket this evening to go with my leftover chicken and pasta in red sauce from last night (the recipe was the one I got from Koula's cooking class). I did so not because I knew anything about the producer, but because I was in the mood to try something different, because I enjoy Kostifali/Mandilaria blends, because it is an appellation of origin Greek wine and I don't see many of those on the shelves here that often, and because the price was right (around 8 1/2 euros).

I didn't even taken note of the year on the bottle (it was in very fine print) until I poured it into the glass and noticed the orange-ish hue (see picture and please excuse the background...the light in my bathroom is the only light that is remotely appropriate for evaluating wine appearance, and the toilet seat provided the white back-drop:-/). A sniff confirmed that this wasn't a young wine, lots of tertiary aromas coming through - smoke, iron and game at first, leather and hints of coffee, dried leaves and anise later. I think what really turned me on about this wine though was the palate - unexpectedly full of lush red fruit that coats the mouth and carries on right through to the aftertaste. The tannins are mild but definitely present, as is the acidity.

I really wish there was someone here with whom to share this. As it stands, I'll drink half tonight, the other half tomorrow, and go back to Inka to buy the rest of their stock with the hopes of bringing at least one bottle back to the US with me:-D

More info about the wine and where it comes from here: http://greekwinemakers.com/czone/winemakers/Co-op_Arhanes.shtml

Polyrinia

I finally got around to visiting the old city of Polyrinia, with a fellow I met on the CIC trip into the mountains in the beginning of March. He had never been out this far west, so we made a day out of it. Definitely worth doing, the ruins are very interesting and extensive, and there are some beautiful views at the top. I'm looking forward to taking my sister there when she comes in May.

After Polyrinia, we drove east to his neck of the woods, Megala Horafia, and he took me for a brief visit to Aptera. Unfortunately much of it was closed (he said they usually close the gates at 2pm) but we were able to see the amphitheater and some nice views of Souda Bay.










This is Stephen, who has been coming to Crete for years on holiday but finally decided to move here on a permanent basis several months ago.










Friendly guy on a donkey ambling by.















The building in the background is supposedly an old Roman aqueduct, but we had trouble identifying the Roman part. It looks like it's been completely rebuilt with concrete.


































We picked up a very old, friendly dog in the village before heading up to the church and acropolis. We met her owner on the way back, Yiorgos, who has a very nice little shop with lots of olive wood products. He treated us to olives and raki, and I bought a bottle of his raki and his olive oil. He said business has been very slow, I hope it picks up for him this summer.

BTW, his dogs name is Lula and she's 15!!





























From my "Rough Guide": Miscellaneous Roman and Greek masonry is incorporated into the church...which is constructed on the base of what must have been an enormously impressive Hellenistic building, possibly a 4th century BC temple."












A view of the port of Kissamos in the distance.







The acropolis.































Lula playing with a friend, whose photo I took because I thought he/she had such interesting markings.















So cute. Makes me sad to think of all the lambs that will soon be slaughtered for the Easter feast. But not sad enough that I won't be eating one of them if the opportunity presents itself!!















Stephen noticed this "cave" as we were climbing up the trail. I think I would have missed it entirely on my own, it is so well hidden in the foliage. We were able to get a glimpse inside, and there is a stone wall on the far right side, so this must have functioned as...something...at one time.
































































These little daisy-like flowers covered the ground around us, and almost looked like snow at times.






























I love these flowers, the petals of which are purple on the underside and white on the top side.






Lula explaining that after she accompanied us all that way, the least I could do was pet her belly.














These were the pictures I took at Aptera.

Cooking with Koula Part II

I'm not sure why I'm mildly obsessed with boureki.

Perhaps it's because it's a very common dish over here, but one that I don't recall ever encountering in a Greek restaurant in the United States.

Maybe it's because Lisa and I had such a hard time finding it in the tavernas when she visited me in October.

Or maybe it's because there are so many different regional and even family variations on it.

Well, whatever the case, I had my best example of it so far at this Saturday's cooking class.


Romaine and green onions from Koula's garden, for our salad.







Koula chopping up the zuchinni for the bourkei. I will definitely have to invest in one of these slicers once I'm back in the States, it makes for a much quicker and more even slicing experience. Koula was nice enough to offer me an extra that she has, but I declined based on anticipated lack of space in my luggage for the trip home.


Rolling the dough into the pan. I swear I'm going to try dough again soon, she makes it look so easy.






The filling: a mixture of sliced zucchini, potatoes, mizithra cheese, pureed onion and tomato, parsley, mint, salt and a little bit of flour (added to the zuchinni and potatoes before the rest of the ingredients to help absorb their moisture - this is in addition to salting the zuchinni and letting it sit for a while).



And now we roll the top onto the pie. In most regions, this dish doesn't even involve dough - it's more a casserole than a pie. From what I understand, the pastry crust version is particular to Hania (although there may be other areas that utilize it of which I'm unaware). I definitely prefer it with the crust.



Cutting around the edges...and then into the oven for about an hour or so, depending upon the thickness of the center.






While we waited for the boureki to cook, Koula quickly whipped up a really tasty, nutritious garlic beet and yogurt dish, which can substitute sour cream for strained yogurt but I don't know why you would (the yogurt is so much better for you, and tastes every bit as good). Very simple but very good: fresh chopped beets, strained yogurt, finely chopped garlic, olive oil, vinegar, salt & pepper.

Beets are one of my favorite veggies, and this recipe is so easy and enjoyable (not to mention pretty!) that I imagine I'll be making this often in the future.













Our meal was accompanied by a bottle of Trebianno from the Agia Triada monastery on the Akirotiri peninsula, which I hope to visit with Koula and Luella sometime before I leave.








I was happy to leave with some leftovers - a big piece of the boureki and an equally large piece of galaktoboureko, a custard-filled phyllo pastry which Koula served up with coffee upon our arrival. I'm pretty sure it was my first time for this dessert, and I liked it very much because although it was filling, it wasn't overly sweet and it made for a very satisfying breakfast, even though I don't usually like sweets first thing in the morning.

Another Saturday well-spent!!