tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30115653415281156352012-01-27T22:15:27.379+02:00Linking Greek food with Greek identity: you eat what you are (or who you want to be)maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.comBlogger6511100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-67987097923769898042012-01-27T08:30:00.000+02:002012-01-27T08:36:57.756+02:00

Prices are in euro (valid in Hania). All ingredients are Greek or locally sourced; those marked with * are considered frugal here because they are cheap and/or people have their own supplies.  Remember that cheap 'n' Greek 'n' not-so-frugal beef stiado you made last week? It was quite filling, so there must have been a portion left over, right? Well, that's all you need to make this very

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-52107737677597973972012-01-26T08:40:00.000+02:002012-01-26T08:40:00.924+02:00

Hania has some old stores that have been doing business for many years, selling some quite standard items at both the wholesale and retail level. There's a paper packaging merchant located in the centre of town, where shop keepers can buy all kinds of packaging supplies, including a variety of paper bags for all sorts of purposes, all sold by weight. This store supplies goods that are needed

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-54293394083857929872012-01-25T08:30:00.000+02:002012-01-25T08:36:02.438+02:00

"What's that?" my husband asked, when he saw what looked like a child's playdough creation on a plate on the lunch table. It certainly stuck out like my sore thumb (not pictured) which I had sliced through to the bone (you would not have wanted to see it, would you?) that morning while cutting carrots into little cubes to make some classic Greek fasolada.  Sourdough bread, raw onion, a plate

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-73416368929036553662012-01-24T07:30:00.000+02:002012-01-24T09:17:42.373+02:00

We've had a long spell of very cold weather in Hania. Our wood-fired heater is working every day to keep us warm. This means that the oven compartment is always working. There is now so much free cooking heat which means I don't have to keep relying on the whims and fancies of the Greek public power corporation, the infamous DEH. The DEH bill was where the new property tax was added, in order

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-38001843718252885482012-01-23T09:20:00.000+02:002012-01-24T17:27:02.113+02:00

After the shock of Paris, I made my way through more organised and often quite picturesque places in Northern Europe.   Friday 12/7/91 - 5.10pm BRUSSELS: Another nice train trip (Eurocity trains are such good value), another big, old, beautiful city. Staying at the Jacques Brel youth hostel. Bought a collection of his songs on CD - my first ever CD purchase! - at a huge shopping mall. Passed

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-59546263971761882202012-01-22T08:00:00.000+02:002012-01-25T10:01:37.422+02:00

It's Chinese New Year's Day tomorrow, and the Year of the Dragon begins. As with most cultural celebrations, symbolic food will be cooked and eaten:  "The food eaten during Chinese new year celebrations is steeped in tradition and symbolism. Long noodles signify long life, chicken represents good fortune and served whole indicates family unity, and duck symbolises fidelity. Some dishes are

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-32152124311679807192012-01-21T09:00:00.000+02:002012-01-21T09:00:05.434+02:00

The town of Hania is the urban centre of the prefecture of Hania, which is the westernmost province of Crete. In Hania, you'll find gaudy concrete apartment blocks, shops and traffic. You may be reminded of an urban nightmare, as some parts of it are truly aesthetically distasteful. If it weren't for the old Venetian port, Hania would not be the charming place it is considered to be by many

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-16330623854296252382012-01-20T09:00:00.000+02:002012-01-20T09:29:17.384+02:00

Prices are in euro (valid in Hania). All ingredients are Greek or locally sourced; those marked with * are considered frugal here because they are cheap and/or people have their own supplies.  Making a beef stifado in Greece illustrates how one country's frugal meals may actually form another country's luxury meals. Meat is quite expensive these days, especially beef which now costs over

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-43399755484916498062012-01-19T09:01:00.000+02:002012-01-19T09:01:00.166+02:00

One thing I'm pleased about these days is that the kids are becoming more independent. They make their own dakos meals these days. As I watch them, I get the idea that they feel they are preparing a sumptuous meal. If you could ever get yourself to overdo it with the olive oil, and you find a thick film covering the plate after you ate your dakos salad, don't despair - just mop it up with

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-6536779673598241282012-01-18T09:00:00.000+02:002012-01-18T11:17:07.288+02:00

Buy peanuts, get peanuts. Since the Telegraph's revelations about Italian olive oil not being Italian (something Greeks had known about it for a long time), there's been a flurry of reports about fraudulent practices in the olive oil trade. A book was published just last month about this very topic by a an American olive oil expert. Immediately following the Telegraph article, the Guardian

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-58166889647241705192012-01-17T08:44:00.000+02:002012-01-17T08:44:00.133+02:00

Titika rises and goes into her kitchen. It is still dark, but she cannot sleep any longer. She never sleeps past this hour. She is used to getting up at so early. She moves towards the kitchen, the warmest part of the house, where the wood-fire may still be burning, if she is lucky, and indeed, today she is. The embers are visible through the glass pane on the oven door. There is still a little

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-50141961141429045142012-01-16T09:55:00.000+02:002012-01-24T17:26:37.058+02:00

Next stop for the Greek girl who went to London is Paris, the first place down-unders usually headed to from London when they began their continental travels. But it's a totally different world across the ditch, especially when you're a SWF.  Thursday, 6/7/91 - 4pm Like another planet on the other side of the Channel. Got off the ferry boat on time, then got onto the train for Paris.

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-3581053891137981812012-01-15T09:00:00.001+02:002012-01-15T09:00:00.577+02:00

Our new wood-fired heater has been in use for just over a fortnight. It heats the house very well, at the same time as keeping the interior walls warm. The outcome is a warmer house all day, with less heat loss than using liquid energy powered radiators. The downside is that a slight smell of wood smoke is discernible in the open spaces where it escapes to, even from those few seconds that it

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-62468920635440086252012-01-14T08:58:00.000+02:002012-01-24T17:26:16.148+02:00

Since the realisation that the economic crisis was a global one and not just a Greek one, there was a decline in Greek news stories being posted in the major web-dailies. Until something absolutely sensational comes along and puts Greece back into the front-page headlines, like this one: "Greece's financial crisis has made some families so desperate they are giving up the most precious thing of

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-21579191993240588732012-01-13T08:45:00.000+02:002012-01-13T08:49:27.753+02:00

Every Friday, it's cheap 'n' Greek 'n' frugal Friday. Prices are in euro (valid in Hania). All ingredients are Greek or locally sourced; those marked with * are considered frugal here because they are cheap and/or people have their own supplies.  Classic Greek pastitsio (the Greek version of lasagne) involves cooking in three different pots. Beef mince (in Hania, over 10 euro a kilo) is

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-83763712570057850982012-01-12T09:00:00.000+02:002012-01-14T16:13:11.381+02:00

A friend's son was celebrating his birthday last week and my children were invited. We have very little money to spend now on presents, so I decided to make some party food. I made some olive-oil based choux balls, and decided to fill them with a savoury filling. The choux balls were made according to this recipe, but the butter was replaced by olive oil, which yielded a softer texture. Olive

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-55287231524377589342012-01-11T08:51:00.000+02:002012-01-11T08:51:00.630+02:00

A series of 25-35 second ads that embody all aspects of the current political and economic situation in Greece has recently been given an in-depth analysis on TV's weekend breakfast talk shows due to the impact that they have made. The 'αγαπούλα' ads ('agapoula' = sweetie) represent the stereotype of the neo-rich Greek, the kind of person who is now most likely in financial trouble, and who has

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-49486115509073873522012-01-10T09:00:00.000+02:002012-01-10T11:38:40.315+02:00

When I was living in New Zealand (I was very young; I remember sitting in the old kitchen before the renovations), my parents bought olives from the Italian market in Mt Victoria, Wellington. The olives were placed in a bowl, in the centre of the table, and we all picked them from there. One day, my mother noticed that the pips that I carefully stored on the side of my plate.  "How many

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-7331419334421100672012-01-09T09:00:00.000+02:002012-01-24T17:25:33.601+02:00

On reflection, I find that my ideas concerning food, travel and identity have remained quite stable over the years. So has my sense of humour. Some of the places mentioned below don't exist any more. As for the people (all names have been changed), I don't know where they are these days or what they're up to. Thursday, 13/6/91 - 7.00am The flight from Bangkok to Amsterdam was OK, but

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-45201838047778282022012-01-08T08:39:00.000+02:002012-01-08T08:39:00.418+02:00

Our New Year's meal - much to my chagrin - was cooked in the conventional oven. I was looking forward to using our wood-fired oven heater for cooking on New Year's Day, but my husband decided against it. The rain started before we could install a T-pipe on the outside flue pipe, so there is simply what looks like a spout coming up like a chimney. As the smoke comes out of the flue pipe, some

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-7770292326759205852012-01-07T10:00:00.000+02:002012-01-22T15:11:17.499+02:00

Religion: such a touchy subject, even in our transparent world. We recently got into an embarrassing spot of bother one Sunday morning before going to church. I should clarify: we weren't really going to church - we were going to attend a memorial service of a close relative; ie, we were going to a church. Memorial services are one of the main reasons why Greeks my age go to a Sunday

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-49688720892906578862012-01-06T09:00:00.000+02:002012-01-24T17:25:00.042+02:00

Thirty-one years ago, on New Year's Day, Greece became the tenth member of the European Communities. Ten years ago, again on New Year's Day, Greece was a founding member of the Eurozone. This New Year's Day, the Greek TV news reports are filled with tales of a possible return to the drachma. They are just scaremongering: a return to the drachma is not even a feasible choice in global terms.

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-15594902640484538912012-01-05T08:42:00.000+02:002012-01-11T14:14:01.545+02:00

I'm not against using butter in my cakes and pastries, but it's very expensive to buy good butter in Greece. Whether local (Cretan) sheep's milk butter, or Greek cow's butter (eg Olymbos), or imported butter (eg Lurpak), butter costs about 10 euro a kilo. Olive oil costs about half the price, which is why I use it in all my cooking. Every single dish on this table was prepared with olive

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-69335186032966080422012-01-04T08:33:00.000+02:002012-01-06T16:37:18.125+02:00

"A news story has revealed that four out of every five bottles of Italian oil has been adulterated with olive oil imported from other countries. However, countries such as Greece, which export their oil to Italy, have long known of the practice." Indeed, Greece has long known about this practice. In fact, Greece (as a country) prefers things to be this way: "Italian oil is mixed with

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-44424248208278732582012-01-03T08:41:00.000+02:002012-01-04T08:28:14.449+02:00

Three months ago, I placed an order for a children's book with a UK Marketplace seller at Amazon. There's always a niggly feeling in the back of your mind that something may not turn up on time, or at all, or someone may be trying to rip you off. But Amazon is a big name and you tend to trust big names. After checking the mailbox impatiently for two weeks to see if the order arrived, I wrote to

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-63463813294779332742012-01-02T08:25:00.000+02:002012-01-02T08:39:15.741+02:00

Just last week, the wood-fired heater that we had ordered arrived, and after picking it up (ourselves, with our truck), and carrying it up to the first floor, we called on our neighbour and good friend Stelios to help us install it. - Do you think this heater will keep the whole house warm, Stelios? - You bet it will! I've got a similar one to this in the village, and I can tell you that if

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-51316512022968671852012-01-01T08:37:00.000+02:002012-01-01T08:37:00.242+02:00

Happy New Year everyone. Καλώς σας βρήκε, I hope. Pomegranate charms Just before we left the office before Christmas, my colleagues and I attended a small art exhibition of Christmas gifts and New-Year good-luck charms. I was quite surprised by the price tags on these hand-made items: wreaths for 60 euro, wall mirrors for 75 euro, pomegranate-shaped metalware with a slightly

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-70481022425650114952011-12-31T09:00:00.001+02:002011-12-31T17:42:54.883+02:00

It's becoming a bit of a bad habit: I've stopped sending Christmas cards. It wasn't always like this; I used to send out quite a few. When a friend of mine saw me writing so many cards to send overseas, she inquired about the postage that these cards would cost me to send. I was quite disgusted: she was a diaspora Greek like myself, on a working and life-experience holiday in Greece. Since we

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-32795859306321415472011-12-30T12:30:00.000+02:002011-12-31T18:01:31.882+02:00

100% Ελληνικό (100% Greek) I'm part of the growing number of Greek consumers who have become increasingly aware of the Greekness of our food. The trend for shopping Greek these days has been spurred on by the economic crisis. At its most basic level, food is the one element that most people can keep Greek because we have to eat every day and Greek food is easy to find all over Greece at

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-87476139398630134832011-12-29T11:14:00.003+02:002012-01-14T16:12:44.491+02:00

The holidays have been very good to me - I am writing much more. But my writing often ends up sounding like a diary of the day's events. Some days contain a lot of action, others contain a lot of thoughts, some others contain one trivial incident that set off a chain of reactions. For today's post, the following three photos sum up what I will be up to all day:   The spinach in the garden

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-67599028616746985692011-12-28T15:20:00.000+02:002011-12-29T16:51:27.640+02:00

There are only two things that you cannot ever change about your life: you cannot change the place where you were born, and you cannot change the people who raised you.  Boxing Day - as I still call it from my days down under - was quite uneventful in our house. There are no post-Christmas sales to go to in Crete - it's still Christmas mode for us - and even if there were any sales, there is

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-73590196995836815052011-12-27T15:10:00.000+02:002012-01-02T19:19:32.946+02:00

Christmas is very much a family-oriented feast in Crete. This year, I spent it with the family of my godson. This is pretty much how it went for me. Christmas time is a difficult time to be frugal, because the day calls for more luxury. Apart from bringing out my Christmas tablecloths, I usually buy a packet of Christmas-decorated paper napkins for the family lunch, and that's about all; I

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-564675005042716212011-12-26T15:57:00.000+02:002012-01-02T19:14:15.841+02:00

I thought I wouldn't blog during the interim period between Christmas and New Year's, but something caught my attention on Christmas Eve, when we spent our time with a well-to-do family who have never travelled abroad. Their teenage children have only visited the parts of Greece where their parents have family.  I woke up early on Christmas Eve. Despite it being a Saturday, I did not have the

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-20581276690992233002011-12-24T10:00:00.000+02:002011-12-24T17:16:20.059+02:00

To all my blog's readers:  Καλά Χριστούγεννα!  Merry Christmas! Some interesting Greek Christmas trivia:  * Christmas in Greece is never celebrated with the same fanfare as it is in the Western world; Easter is considered a more important feast than Christmas.    This tree has been made with firewood pieces.  * The traditional Christmas decoration in Greece is not the tree -

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-16432786898765288782011-12-20T08:00:00.000+02:002011-12-20T08:48:41.284+02:00

My friend Hrisida has been at it again, giving me some more ideas for using home-made filo pastry, thereby improving my technique. She mentioned how much she liked galatopita, a sweet custard pie made in Northern Greece. Here in Hania (and probably throughout Crete), the word 'galatopita' is not even heard. I had tried galatopita in Karpenisi when I visited the area last summer; to me, it tasted

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-72497820232091365362011-12-15T10:00:00.000+02:002012-01-24T17:23:48.149+02:00

I recently went to a Christmas bazaar, organised by the Cretan International Community (CIC), held every year in Hania to raise funds for charities. This bazaar is co-ordinated by non-Greek residents of Crete, so it's not surprising that many non-Greek activities take place. Here you will see a style of entertainment that is quite different to the well known Greek bouzouki, Cretan lyra, Greek

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-47848460727640983922011-12-12T09:00:00.000+02:002011-12-12T09:46:44.223+02:00

Every weekend, I check which of my newly-acquired cookie jars is emptying the quickest, and by Sunday evening, it will be filled with something freshly baked. My home-made ladokouloura are much cheaper than any kind of good-for-dunking medium-quality semi-sweet store-bought biscuit (unless you buy the generic LIDL or EUROSHOPPER label, where you end up with lots of broken cookies as well as many

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-9271760824173824532011-12-07T10:37:00.000+02:002011-12-07T10:38:06.395+02:00

In order to succeed, you may have to be prepared to play dirty, even if your line of business is soap, as this story about the Omo, Surf and Tide soap giants tells us. They formed a cartel for detergent prices in eight European countries, including Greece, who too often and too easily falls victim to toys-for-profit schemes. If it weren't for the 'righteous' act of another soap giant (Persil

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-55889852688689667352011-12-05T08:00:00.000+02:002011-12-05T13:13:33.809+02:00

There are common themes recurrent in my teaching work, which also constantly get attention in the mass media, such as education, pollution, climate change and poverty to name a few. Most Greek children know about UNICEF, and will have taken part in some of their fundraising ventures. Before I became a mother, I was fascinated by UNICEF's range of educational toys and books, and often bought

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-90393734045981273772011-11-30T08:00:00.002+02:002012-01-11T14:13:29.857+02:00

The concept of frugal food recently gripped the food-related sections of the mass media. In the UK, scientists (not cooks or nutritionists!) recently resurrected the toast sandwich, which is supposedly a very cheap nutritious meal, providing you with enough calories to fortify yourself without it being too fattening (as long as you don't eat more than one of these), made with just three slices

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-32958950940184698342011-11-25T08:00:00.001+02:002011-11-25T08:00:05.449+02:00

Atherina is a Greek fish taverna favorite. It's a form of whitebait, very young fish. The most common Greek species of tiny fish takes its Greek (and scientific) name from the meaning "scorn" because it was looked down on for its size - but not its taste: "Atherina, for the gourmets, is the ether of the sea and fish... it lives and bathes in the 'foam of the sea' like Aphrodite, and it has an

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-32727811267394303912011-11-21T08:00:00.000+02:002011-12-19T21:02:49.909+02:00

This post continues from a previous post related to food, migration and identity. Of migration, it is often said that the first generation leaves, the second returns, while the third is left to look for its roots. In a similar sense, the first generation brings their food with them, the second generation seeks their food, while the third generation tries to keep their food memories alive. I

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-25271639760254451372011-11-16T07:00:00.000+02:002011-11-19T12:11:59.206+02:00

Pumpkin has never been hugely popular in Crete. It doesn't have the fame here that it does in Northern Greece, or the American continent, where cooking with pumpkin is a common feature of the respective cuisines found in each area. I'm often lucky to be given one, but this year, that hasn't happened. I think it's related to the reason why we didn't find any quince on our trees, while all the

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-30633229182542641012011-11-11T07:00:00.000+02:002011-11-28T11:00:40.592+02:00

"You use a thick rolling pin to roll out your filo pastry?" My friend sounded surprised. I explained to her that I had gotten used to using this kind of rolling pin and found it trying on my palms to use a thin one. "That's because you're not using it properly," Hrisida scolded me. "I use a thick rolling pin for the pizza pastry where I only stretch the dough.  But for making a pita, you do

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-77083898881129892512011-11-06T08:00:00.001+02:002011-11-06T08:02:26.851+02:00

My mother, like most Greek-immigrant mothers of her generation,was a very welcoming host. It was of utmost importance to her that there was always a treat in the house that she could serve to any guest who dropped by with or without notice. In 1980s Wellington, many people were still dropping in to see their friends and neighbours giving no more than half an hour's notice - life was less

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-85573500587396739282011-11-03T12:39:00.001+02:002011-11-07T09:40:37.626+02:00

Greek people are about to decide their future for themselves. Choices generally made by politicians - to be a part of the eurozone, to use the euro currency, to be bailed out by more loans - have now been dealt to us through an upcoming referendum. It feels a little like the meaning of 'democracy' has been put back into this good Greek word. According to Michalis Angelopoulos, president of

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-64207747367341167722011-11-01T08:00:00.002+02:002011-11-08T22:10:25.352+02:00

A friend recently showed me a photo of what looked like a perfect Greek pita. The filo pastry had that 'village-style' look which we can buy from the deep freeze in Greek supermarkets (about 3.50 euro for a packet of 6-8 sheets), which is also available at the refrigerator counter (slightly more expensive, because, I suppose, it's 'fresh'), or at the specialty stores where filo pastry is made

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-78058528328251781862011-10-27T22:00:00.000+03:002011-10-29T11:13:51.180+03:00

71 years ago, on the 28th of October, 1940, the Prime Minister of Greece, Ioannis Metaxas, said NO to the Italian ambassador to Greece when he delivered a message to him which asked that the Italian army be allowed to pass through the country in order to secure strategic positions.   Flags like this are used to decorate schools on days national events are commemorates. Today, the Prime

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-608310802919917642011-10-25T12:10:00.000+03:002011-11-19T08:48:36.318+02:00

Similarly to ancient Greek history, Greek food has regularly been used to parody the economic crisis. This shows how closely related ancient history and food are to the Greek identity. It also shows how well non-Greeks know us (or view us: after all, they are the satirists in this case). They all have some idea of our ancient past (even though they will insist that the modern Greek bears no

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-11020915348928746952011-10-22T23:00:00.000+03:002011-10-23T13:07:17.862+03:00

In a few hours from now, the Rugby World Cup 2011 is going to be won by New Zealand. I was never a follower of the game (and this should come as no surprise: Kiwis who like vegetarian food are generally not rugby fans), but I feel that I can make an exception this time, like I did with the EURO 2004 for Greece. I still remember the words in Maori for the standard version of the Haka - it's a bit

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-43497019449284872082011-10-17T17:30:00.000+03:002011-10-19T11:01:59.634+03:00

The Greek community of New Zealand had its origins in a sequence of chain migration events. As one Greek arrived, (usually) he brought his family members over. By the time my mother arrived in New Zealand in 1963, and started her own little migration chain, the Greek community consisted of Greeks coming mainly from Crete, Cyprus, Mytilene, Macedonia, Akarnania and the Ionian Islands (mainly

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-75410856607645403062011-10-15T00:30:00.000+03:002011-10-18T22:23:39.770+03:00

Last year at this time, Greek citizens were being warned to expect harsh times ahead. This year, those hard times are slowly setting in, as people are now having to learn to live with less. We are constantly reminded about the country's high unemployment rate, the (s)low economic growth, the implementation of new taxes, the salary drops and the rising cost of living. It's getting more difficult

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-68556332541500819252011-10-11T08:00:00.001+03:002011-10-12T15:27:20.551+03:00

All good things must come to an end sometime - this is the last of my summer holiday posts in Central/Northern Greece.  "Have you left the lake district?" Hrisida was calling to ask us how the trip to Limni Plastira went. "I think we saw more than we bargained for," I told her. It was quite getting quite late, but this was mainly our own fault. We could not help pulling over every few minutes

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-53804408855876770012011-10-09T08:00:00.000+03:002011-10-09T10:47:36.868+03:00

Tune in every second day this week to see how we spent our family holiday in Central/Northern Greece.  Evritania is the most mountainous region in Greece. It remains the least accessible for this reason, but at the same time, it also contains some of the most dramatic landscapes you will encounter in the country: tall peaks with sudden drops in altitude, dense forests with rivers gushing their

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-20874086640122244082011-10-07T02:00:00.000+03:002011-10-07T02:00:05.406+03:00

Tune in every second day this week to see how we spent our family holiday in Central/Northern Greece. The town of Karpenisi is a nice quiet place to overnight, to see how the locals live and entertain themselves at an altitude of 1000 metres above sea level, but you need to travel to the outlying regions to find a bit more amusement to sustain a longer visit. A car is essential on such a

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-7438348338992981362011-10-05T08:46:00.000+03:002011-10-05T17:08:39.039+03:00

Tune in every second day this week to see how we spent our family holiday in Central/Northern Greece.  Our first night in Karpenisi was spent in the town with Hrisida and her family, who treated us to some freshly baked zimaropita and then took us out for dinner at the local taverna. There is a limited range of dining options in the town itself, but there are many places to choose from if one

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-1265587723229849842011-10-03T08:00:00.000+03:002011-10-03T18:53:19.337+03:00

Tune in every second day this week to see how we spent our family holiday in Central/Northern Greece. After our brief stay on the Tatarnas Bridge overlooking Kremasta Lake (lasting all of five minutes), we continued on to Karpenisi in the prefecture of the mountainous and fir-tree covered Evritania of Central Greece, where a magical sight awaited us: there on a steep hill was built a Greek

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-44697011177342964002011-10-01T08:00:00.001+03:002011-10-01T11:34:56.475+03:00

Tune in daily this week to see how we spent our family holiday in Central/Northern Greece.  Before visiting the artificially created Kremasta Lake, I had no knowledge about it whatsoever.  *** *** After a refreshing gazoza by the old romantic bridge of Arta, we set off on to our next destination: Karpenisi, a town set on the slopes of forested mountains in Central Greece. The weather was so

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-4916823096319005992011-09-29T08:00:00.000+03:002011-09-29T08:54:46.561+03:00

Tune in every second day this week to see how we spent our family holiday in Central/Northern Greece. Greeks are very regional when it comes to their food sources. Regionalism (τοπικισμός - topikismos, and the people τοπικιστές topikistes) is a source of pride. They like to eat/drink according to their own region's traditions and products. This may sound narrow-minded, or maybe even

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-1055980441864235912011-09-27T08:00:00.001+03:002011-09-27T09:10:38.495+03:00

Tune in every second day this week to see how we spent our family holiday in Central/Northern Greece. During this year's summer holiday on the Greek mainland, we clocked up a total of 1700 kilometres; the northernmost points we reached were Meteora and the university town of Ioannina (say: YIA-ne-na) with a School of Medicine in the prefecture of Epirus, only 65 kilometers away from the

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-7092041218115182722011-09-25T08:00:00.000+03:002011-09-25T12:21:41.777+03:00

Tune in every second day this week to see how we spent our family holiday in Central/Northern Greece.  Summertime means holidays by the beach - but not necessarily for islanders like ourselves. As Cretans, living close to the sea near some of the best beaches* on Earth, we like to take our summer holidays in cooler climates and higher terrain. This year's summer holiday took us to Central

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-67181634408420059262011-09-20T08:06:00.000+03:002011-12-20T08:47:12.285+02:00

Magda, from My Little Expat Kitchen, has invited me to take part in a little game called Seven. Since I am not good at remembering my blog's (or anyone's) birthday, but I am good at connecting ideas, I can now take the time to congratulate myself on entering my fifth year of food blogging, and to thank you all for tuning in to read me. Here's my list of 7: 1. My most beautiful post Generally

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-20234814308145259402011-09-14T22:00:00.000+03:002011-11-19T15:25:37.199+02:00

Another recipe for school lunchboxes: if Greek teachers keep their promise to strike on a regular basis, then my kids will eat them at home - while they're playing Poptropica or Skyrama. In an effort to keep expenses at a minimum, I now make more flour-based products than I did before, namely pastry and biscuits. Greek semi-sweet biscuits (eg Papadopoulou p'tit beurre) aren't really very cheap:

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-62942559535290523932011-09-09T22:00:00.000+03:002011-09-09T22:00:03.427+03:00

This year (as opposed to last year, but very much like the year before last), we were blessed with a bountiful tomato crop. Tomato is one of the most important plant foods in my kitchen, because tomato sauces form a large base of the main meals that I cook. People who eat a fresh Cretan tomato for the first time in their life often say that they have never eaten a tomato so tasty or aromatic

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-42311435991725900912011-09-05T22:00:00.000+03:002011-09-05T22:00:02.461+03:00

While I'm away on a short break, I've posted this recipe to remind me of what I have to start doing when I get back home and Greek schools open for the new term. Cupcakes and muffins with added fibre are perfect for healthy school lunches. A Dutch friend put up a recipe on her facebook page. I had no idea what the recipe was for, since she had no pictures attached to the recipe. All I

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-37621257892035115492011-08-30T22:00:00.000+03:002011-08-31T10:53:15.884+03:00

I'm tired of recipe books that show you how to cook something. When I buy a book related to food, I want it to tell me much more than how to make something to eat. Here are some food books I managed to read in the past year, which I highly recommend. They all go way beyond the idea of a collection of recipes, and in their own unique way, they all deal with the interaction between food and

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-87654309529226914922011-08-25T22:00:00.000+03:002011-08-25T22:00:03.247+03:00

A few months ago, I organised a competition on my blog and (so far) 18 lucky readers have received a book prize. The book contains a collection of recipes that represent the islanders' daily cooking, as well as some more festive fare and some taverna choices that are regularly offered on the menu. I asked the lucky recipients if they could make something from the book and send me a photo. In

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-55557048625508106492011-08-21T08:00:00.000+03:002011-08-21T08:00:00.609+03:00

Growing up in New Zealand, my home food was essentially Greek – except during the Easter period, when it was essentially Cretan. When I found myself among other Greek-Kiwis, they would be comparing the souvla, kokoretsi and mayiritsa that they ate on Greek Orthodox Easter Sunday (Catholic – or Calendar Easter – was only viewed as a public and not religious holiday among the Greek-New Zealand).

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-20554610994482461252011-08-16T18:13:00.006+03:002011-08-18T20:15:25.397+03:00

I recently went to the 40-day memorial service of the mother of a friend. It was held in a mountain village of Hania close to Lefka Ori (Λευκά Όρη - the White Mountains) where she was born and lived all her life, until, in later years, she was looked after by her children in the town. The 40-day memorial service for a dearly departed is considered the most important, especially if you didn't

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-43200296656152887672011-08-12T13:27:00.005+03:002011-08-14T15:54:28.929+03:00

Riots: we're used to them in Greece. They usually occur in one specific place, they affect only the immediate area, and people work their way around them. The only time they spread to other urban areas around the country (ie they weren't centralised in Athens) was when Alexis Grigoropoulos, the 15-year-old boy who was somewhere he probably shouldn't have been, was killed by a police officer on

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-8498872833066618662011-08-04T23:42:00.013+03:002011-08-08T14:14:49.168+03:00

UPDATE: The strike ended on Friday, 5th August, 3pm.   My husband is in the third week of strike action taken by his professional group, the Greek cabbies. During this period, he was on airport duty almost daily, directing tourists to the buses that would take them into the town, ensuring that the strike was not broken (cabbies were only allowed to accept work without money), and making sure

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-28590820513538080542011-08-01T12:37:00.005+03:002011-08-02T11:06:12.202+03:00

It's often said that the best meals with timeless value are those that originated among the poorest people, who had limited ways available to them to store food, so they would make very simple dishes using very fresh ingredients. No wonder such frugal dishes tasted so good. In our times, frugal cooking, and by extension frugal living, is often associated with a simple lifestyle, led by people

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-5179494252983957282011-07-25T15:07:00.010+03:002011-07-27T09:35:52.739+03:00

The image of summertime Greece has been shattered with the developments in my country. The economic crisis has bought on a new shame to my homeland. "The true Greek spirit left Greece many years ago with the diaspora," says a diaspora Greek, reminding us of the old-fashioned notion that diaspora Greeks have of their mother country - that she should not change, that she should be the same

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-47793944237820246472011-07-18T11:18:00.006+03:002011-07-18T20:11:20.248+03:00

The 1st Symposium of Greek Gastronomy took place in the former primary school of the mountain village of Karanou, Hania. The Symposium focussed on Cretan cuisine from a variety of aspects: archaeological evidence, wild foraged greens, the evolution of the Cretan diet, migration and the evolution of Cretan wine. Together with Fusun Ertag and Ozlem Yasayanlar, our presentations involved the Cretan

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-78134893660184011542011-07-15T20:03:00.005+03:002011-07-17T11:55:26.648+03:00

Here's a taster of the kinds of issues I will be discussing in my contribution to the First Symposium of Greek Gastronomy on Cretan Cuisine, taking place this weekend in the village of Karanou. It wasn't that my mother didn't know how to cook. She knew how to make a meal tasty, she knew how to adapt a meal when it wasn't up to par, she could cook from pretty much anything. I remember my mother's

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-71556759042251699152011-07-08T08:00:00.205+03:002011-07-08T08:00:01.138+03:00

While I'm preparing my contribution for the First Symposium of Greek Gastronomy on Cretan Cuisine, here's an idea of what I have also been preparing food-wise at home. Over the years, we've had many fruit trees in our garden. We used to have peach and nectarine, which both did well, but attracted too many pests, orange (we got tired of it, since we also own orange orchards), loquat (which didn't

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-84074545594020761822011-07-01T19:51:00.006+03:002011-07-05T10:57:37.049+03:00

My food is closely tied to my identity. This is something I have known all my life. I had a very conscious idea about it since I was old enough to realise that I was not just a member of my family, but the society I lived in, and most of the time during my formative years, these did not often coincide. My family's food and the society's food were quite different, distinguishable according to the

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-29971994004773213222011-06-24T15:27:00.007+03:002011-06-30T14:00:47.416+03:00

I was recently persuaded by a student to take up an offer on Groupon: 35 euro for 5 shampoo/formula/styling sessions (original cost 145 euro). It sounded like a good bargain, and I can say it met my expectations. I was disappointed only when it finished (I was then charged 17 euro for the same session, minus the formula). In any case, I received many more offers through the mail for all sorts of

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-36792835237083465072011-06-18T19:25:00.003+03:002011-06-18T22:29:08.084+03:00

You may be a budding story teller, but you don't know it. Today's story has been written by Stella Yeung, a friend I made via facebook. Stella and I met up at the island of Kithira just last Easter, and she told me about her little adventure during a previous trip to the island. Here is her story, in her own words. It all began when our baby grandson gave my husband a kick right under his ribs

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-56624260381112423922011-06-10T07:00:00.549+03:002011-06-28T13:44:08.408+03:00

Today is the day I announce the winner for the cookbook I offered in my last post: Cretan Cookery: Mum's 200 Recipes. Thanks to all the participants, who were able to comment as often as they wanted to in order to gain a greater advantage when I made the draw for the winner. Thanks, too, for the flattering comments I often get about writing my own cookbook and getting it published. But writing a

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-50252876970038643882011-05-27T08:00:00.018+03:002011-05-27T12:18:33.231+03:00

Here's what a book reviewer writes about why she likes Greek food: "If you love [Greek food], it is surely because you have been lucky enough to eat in a Greek home, where ingredients are fresh that day, where the eggs are from the hens at the end of the garden, where the tomatoes and the courgettes were still warm from the sun when they went into the pan, and the cheese is from the nanny goat

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-4475921387226579142011-05-22T08:00:00.000+03:002011-05-22T08:00:05.395+03:00

My first home in Crete was in the middle of town, a small two-bedroomed apartment on Sfakion St where I lived with my father. Sfakion St is written only in Greek on this map - the small street that mentions the name "Sfakion' is actually a nameless side street running off Sfakion, which is simply known as 'Sfakion side-street' (Πάροδος Σφακίων in Greek); the Agora is located by the 'A' sign,

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-64126442575984682482011-05-17T08:00:00.001+03:002011-05-17T08:48:04.390+03:00

This post is part of the Cook the Books blog event running until May 27, 2011. Read Elizabeth Bard's Lunch in Paris: A Love Story, with Recipes and cook something inspired by the book. Post your inspiration on your blog and link to Cook the Books. It's rare for me to find a book that actually inspires me to cook from the recipes given. What is more amazing about Elizabeth Bard's book Lunch in

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-36580986442613883682011-05-12T08:00:00.001+03:002011-05-13T19:44:54.430+03:00

My family spent two days just after Easter on the island of Kithira, a small island located just off the Peloponese, four hours away from Crete by ferry. Hania is linked to Kithira by ferry (from Kissamos), which operates in the tourist season (weather permitting). First port of call after leaving Hania is Antikythira, a small inhabited island (population: 45) located between Kythera and Crete.

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-13253690282741922322011-05-07T01:00:00.004+03:002011-05-07T14:48:15.440+03:00

The events of  The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas take place during and after a down-under barbecue in a multi-racial (half-Greek) household: "It was a feast. Charred lamb chops and juicy fillet steak. There was a stew of eggplant and tomato, drizzled with lumps of creamy melted feta. There was black bean dahl and oven-baked spinach pilaf. There was coleslaw and a bowl of Greek salad with plump cherry

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-61819397574812737142011-05-05T09:00:00.000+03:002011-05-05T09:52:40.959+03:00

If the significance of the date doesn't say much to you, look up the search string: "athens may 5 2010" Last year on this day, the fifth of May, in the last hour of a bank's daily working hours, three bank employees in central Athens were looking forward to leaving their office to go home. They knew that, at the time, the streets were thronging with protesters demonstrating against new state

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-64585159963594215302011-05-01T08:00:00.288+03:002011-05-01T09:35:29.199+03:00

I was once a very good letter writer. Now I'm a terrible one. I blame the internet - it lets me 'send' postcards for free. Καλή ΠρωτομαγιάHappy First of May(an annual albeit unofficial public holiday in Greece; when it falls on Sunday, it is not moved to a more convenient date)

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-9767631621644170582011-05-01T07:59:00.000+03:002011-05-01T08:37:59.634+03:00

All the lyrics links in this post (except the first) lead to youtube music videos. I went to the UK when I was 18, as a student majoring in physics. I'd been learning English throughout my school years in Greece, and when I arrived, I felt totally at home in the language. Not even the different culture shocked me; when you're young, you don't feel the differences in the same way that you do as

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-26714752981594001522011-04-23T11:00:00.068+03:002011-04-24T22:31:46.251+03:00

When calendar Easter and Orthodox Easter both fall on the same day, it's always busy in Crete. Both Greeks and non-Greeks converge on the island at the same time, but for different reasons: Greeks from the mainland get together with their families at Easter, while our non-Greek tourists usually come because of their preference for the milder weather as opposed to our scorching summer

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-55538897245285282802011-04-18T08:00:00.554+03:002011-04-18T09:16:39.918+03:00

Hania wouldn't spring to mind for a 24-hour mini-break. Most of our tourists come to Hania for a two-week holiday, which gives them plenty of time to tour the area. A fortnight is a good amount of time to spend in either Western Crete or Eastern Crete, but not really enough if you want to experience the whole island; you'll need about 3-4 weeks to do that successfully. Most tourists hire a car

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-30136610456326748202011-04-12T08:00:00.060+03:002011-04-12T10:52:34.353+03:00

I don't find myself going into the town so often these days, because my daily business takes me to other places in the wider area of Hania. When I recently found myself on one of those rare occasions in the centre, I decided to have a meal at a place I often tell you about, but have never dined at myself. The original sign for the Marmaritsakis mayirio, establiched in 1950 by Mr Stamatis

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-74923608409256356722011-04-06T08:00:00.001+03:002011-04-06T08:00:06.148+03:00

If certain discussion topics about Cretan cuisine are not pointed out to me, I would take them for granted. For instance, ordering a meal at a Cretan taverna (highlighted by a reader*) sounds like stating the obvious: you enter the taverna seating area, choose your table, sit down, take out the list you wrote back at home of your favorite meals from Organically cooked, find them on the menu card

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-70305385732035666512011-04-01T00:01:00.001+03:002011-04-03T16:37:57.713+03:00

The 1st of April is the day that people around the world generally recognise as a day when it is permissible to lie, so today I will present some myths concerning the subject of Greek food. I recently came across a chunk of web text, whose every idea I dispute:  "Since most Greeks don't barbecue at home (this applies to urban/apartment dwellers; non-urban/single-dwelling Greek houses always have

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-23672228541900725752011-03-28T08:00:00.112+03:002011-03-29T22:38:46.686+03:00

Greek food is a seasonal affair. Greek people, whether they live in Greece or abroad, generally like to enjoy meals that represent the time of year. This may be in the form of the seasonal produce grown in the area where they live. But there is another way to enjoy the food of the season, and that is to eat according to the seasonal traditions dictated by the festival calendar. These are usually

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-37104187066530531832011-03-23T08:00:00.089+02:002011-03-23T10:25:08.053+02:00

We only see what we want to see. I saw (most of) this take place in the space of five minutes. Frideriki had just come out of the bakery at the Agora, where she joined her husband who was standing near the main entrance, talking to an acquaintance he had met up with in the central square in front of the market. She had bought a loaf of granary bread and a packet of her husband's favorite rye

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-531081455410280892011-03-19T22:00:00.001+02:002011-03-19T22:22:49.217+02:00

The world is full of badness and sadness right now, but we must all plod on, living life as well as we can, because who knows what might happen tomorrow? "A colleague recently asked another food writer where a recipe she featured came from, and the reply was 'from the internet'." Claudia Roden, A Taste of Thyme, 2000. When Saturday's weather took a turn for the worse last Sunday, I had to make

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-53273083231440179822011-03-13T20:00:00.002+02:002011-03-14T21:54:53.657+02:00

For my daughter's birthday, I made some cupcakes for her to take to school and share out to her classmates. To make them more festive, I decided to ice them, having gained some confidence since my first cake icing venture. With the help of some youtube videos, I got acquainted with the basics, which included vanilla frostings and food colourings. After a few visits to a few supermarkets, I

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-80539762446826004612011-03-07T00:01:00.002+02:002011-03-07T16:57:22.671+02:00

Throughout the many instances of bad luck in my life, I have been extremely lucky. Nine years ago, I was pregnant with my second child, who was two months away from being born. On the Friday before a day like this one, I was supposed to go to work in the evening to teach English at a frontistirio. On that particular day, because I already had some horta and boiled eggs ready for my husband's

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-37797296940962057462011-03-03T18:59:00.017+02:002011-03-08T12:11:30.100+02:00

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: "The past is a different country; people did things differently then"  Red and black, the colours of New Zealand in mourning, for earthquake-devastated Christchurch When I got up in the morning of the 22nd of February, I woke up the kids and got breakfast going, like I do every weekday, But I did something unusual that morning: I turned on the computer

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011565341528115635.post-43494412034410153572011-02-28T08:00:00.064+02:002011-02-28T13:10:52.136+02:00

Once in a while, I like to make a traditional Greek dessert using filo pastry. The family favorite is galaktoboureko, the Greek version of a custard pie, sweetened with syrup. I had a sudden craving for a little while ago, as I was surfing the web and came across the Chatzis website, a zaharoplasteio based in Thessaloniki, where we ate some of those syrupy creamy desserts during our visit there.

maria verivakihttps://profiles.google.com/112597463557863861062noreply@blogger.com7