History of Greek Food

 And young vines, ‘neath the shade
Of shooting tendrils, tranquilly are growing.
Ibycus
 
The next few posts will be automatically published to the site as I am going to take a short break from blogging. In the meantime I will not able to visit your blogs or answer your comments.
Thanks for your patience!
See you in a couple [...]

Thin ribbons of fried dough or strips having the thickness of a pencil…
They are crunchy but fragile and melt in the mouth.
It’s quite easy to make them; you just need flour and water or orange juice and sometimes eggs or/and yeast. Cut the pastry sheet into squares of 7cm width or into ribbons of 10 [...]

Don’t you just love the smell of first rain? It was raining all night and morning yesterday. Chania saw the first rain in four months! The scents of Rosemary, Sage, Lemon Verbena, Thyme, Mint and Lavender filled the air. Autumn has finally arrived.
 
In the mean time, the sun dried tomatoes and figs are ready for [...]

 This place has stolen my heart.

Karanou is the village where my father was born and lived until his twelfth birthday, and where my sister and I spent a part of our childhood’s and teenagehood’s summers….  
When we were free spirits playing in the olive groves….. 
…. finding paths  in the oak forest and sharing secrets with [...]

Greeks of olden times had a love of mushrooms of many kinds, supported by extensive knowledge, particularly among men and to some extent hunters and villagers. Rural populations considered mushrooms as ‘meat’ for the poor and relied on them when meat was unavailable. The term ‘meat’ may sound like an exaggeration, but mushrooms do indeed [...]

I am a big fan of freshly made koulouri. Covered with sesame seeds, crusted on the outside and soft on the inside, still warm if I am lucky, koulouri is my perfect snack. So, it is not strange that I don’t like the fashion has risen over the last couple of years: koulouria made with [...]

Until the 3rd decade of 20th century, shortages posed a continuing threat to many of the poorest areas in Greece. Things were getting worse during wars, particularly in Ancient, Byzantine and Ottomans’ occupation years when warfare included burning or salting fields, or attacking those who cultivated the soil. Then the major characteristics of famine, the [...]

ca 200 BC: ” The following wild vegetables should be boiled — beet, mallow, sorrel, nettle, orach, bulbs, truffles and mushrooms. (Diocles Carystius, Health, book I, C. 59) 

If you’ve ever been to Athens’ Varvakeios Central Market, you’ve seen them at the fish department’s entrance, selling fresh cut herbs and greens, fresh onions and garlics. They [...]

Throughout Greece, breads and pies with a coin inside, have been established as a custom on the first day of the year, in the memory of the following event: In the 4th century,  Cappadokia,  a Byzantine province in Minor Asia, suffered from famine. However, the situation did not touch the eparch of the province,1 who demanded [...]

This is a post to let you know that I will be away from my blog for some time, due to lots of work going on.
….And here is a modern recipe based on four ingredients which are often used in Greek diet: feta cheese, strained yogurt, soultanina grapes and almonds.

CHEESE SALAD 
400 gr. feta cheese, crumbled
600 [...]