breakfast at the monastery recipe

Yeah yeah I know. I did kind of go on a bit in my last post. I was delirious from excitement and exaustion, and I have since edited out chunks. Anyway, for those of you who did manage to make it all the way through...for lunch today I made my own version of the fish dish we were served for breakfast at the monastery and it turned out YUM! I really recommend it because its super healthy, cheap and easy to make. You will need:

• around 5 tomatoes, either dice them or wizz them in a blender. Enough to fill a deep plate. You could also use chopped tomatoes from a tin.
• 3 medium sized onions, or 1 1/2 big ones. diced.
• two cloves of garlic, chopped up
• a spoonful tomato paste
• around 600g worth of bakaliaro (cod) chopped into approx 4 finger length pieces
• 2 large potatoes cut into smallish pieces
• olive oil (extra virgin) (of course)
• a bay leaf
• pepper, salt optional

Sautee the chopped onion, garlic and pieces of fish in olive oil for a bit then chuck in all the rest with a little water and leave to boil softly for half an hour. Make sure you stay near the food and stir a bit every so often so it won't burn. Taste it after about 15 minutes to see how salty it is (bakaliaro/cod can be very salty sometimes) and add salt if necessary, a generous shake of pepper and a glug more olive oil.

As soon as the potatoes are ready, it should be ready to eat as you don't want to overcook the fish. Serve in a deep dish with really nice bread. I'll definitely make this again so if you don't make it maybe you'll eat it for dinner at my house! X

Sweet as honey

Ooowhere do I start? I just got back from paradise! Ahhhh... Mmmmm. Really, there are no words to fully describe my experience in Amorgos so I'll just put a selection of orgasm sounds. How crap! No, I'll try harder. Here we go:

This weekend we took a trip to the island of Amorgos. The occasion? Its quite a ferry ride, so at this time of year there must be an occasion. The beautiful monastery Panagia Hozoviotissa (built into the face of a cliff overlooking the sea wot the island is famous for) celebrates with a fair on the 21st of November. Worth a look? I think so.

We did so many nice things. There are some I must recommend. The first is 'O Loudaros' of Lagada. Its a caffeneio that doubles as a tavern if anyone wants to eat. All the food is local produce and the salads are ecstasy for taste buds.

Also some of you may already know the oh so pretty zacharoplasteio(I think that translates as sweet shop) (cake shop?) 'Kallisto' in Hora. Best cheesecake I've ever had. Really!

And last but definitely not least are psimeni raki and rakomelo (and if you have no clue what these are and are interested go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakomelo) These two traditional Amorgos drinks are the ultimate winter booze. Drunk hot or cold, either way it warms you up, gives you a delicious high and no hangover. We brought back as much of both as we could afford. If you live in Greece you can usually find either at the supermarket or a cava. Amorgion is a really good brand and made on the island. If you live out of Greece then...you're in luck! Brettos in plaka now has a website and delivers OVERSEAS! They have a very good selection of Greek wines and traditional liqueurs and stuff. Get rakomelo at http://www.brettosplaka.com/.

As for the monastery and the fair, all I can say is that it was magical, and I really can't go into too much detail because I cannot do it justice. I will say one thing though. They fed those of us who did the morning shift a mean fish dish for breakfast and I am in the process of trying to figure out the recipe. And because a picture is worth...this is a view from the steps on the way up. Ahh...

grog blog

The days are now tiny. The dark goes on for ages and its much more comfortable to be indoors after the sun goes down. You just want to curl up on the couch with a hot bev but need something a bit more butch than a cup of tea. So what will it be? Mulled wine? Too much fuss. Egg nog too milky. Irish coffee? No. Hot grog is my poison.

In England* grog usually means a drink mixed with rum. The British Navy used to give rations of grog to the sailors. They got a pint of rum(neat) a day mixed with a quart of water. They were allowed two pints before battle(!!) and also after-if they won. Lime juice was often added to this mix to prevent scurvey. Add honey and you've got a drink thats to DIE for. YUM. This is how my hot grog is done:

Put 3 teaspoons of honey into a cup that won't crack with heat. Add one shot of a strong dark rum. 1/4 shot of freshly squeezed lime juice and 2 1/2 shots of boiling water. Stir it all up and drink it.

If you do make it, and love it like I do you may want to invest in Diffords Guide #7, the cocktail bible. You can buy it from amazon. Happy winter!

*In Australia grog can mean any alcoholic beverage. This is because when Australia was first settled grog was pretty much the only thing available to drink.

DIY XMAS

Bling bling! Christmas lights are popping up all over the place, and the message is loud and clear: Its Christmas! 'Tis the season to be jolly, and spend lots of money in the shops. But what if you don't have much extra cash this year, and yet you still want to give nice things to your lovelies and make them smile? Could you, would you consider DIY presents?

If you live in Greece then maybe you haven't realised that Stateside and in the UK there is a little knitting/tapestry/sewing revolution going on. Everyone seems to be at it! I hear even Madonna has taken up knitting so there you go. With still over a month left till Xmas, maybe this year you can avoid the endless queues and get creative at home with music and a hot cocktail!

Should the idea of getting crafty like that sound appealing to you, there are a good few websites that can help you get started. These are all worth taking a browse through:
http://www.craftster.org/
http://www.diyscene.com/
http://lilaknits.blogspot.com
http://www.clothkits.co.uk/

However, if sewing isn't your cup of tea of course you mustn't be discouraged. There are other very important things. Like food. Like a personal favourites recipe book! This is something I must urge you to consider very seriously. I would KILL for some of the people I know to make one of these.

If you really don't feel like making something but like the idea of original handmade stuff you can always go to http://www.etsy.com/ My friend Anna has a beautiful shop there at www.etsy.com/shop/abcmonster The choices at etsy are endless. Two of my favourites are www.etsy.com/shop/sisterbutterfly (great prezzies boxes and mirrors) and www.etsy.com/shop/singlestonestudios (fantastic wall stickers)

One of my best ever Christmas presents was a portrait of me and my sweetie. I like it so much I thought I would show it to you. Thanks Georgie!

Back to Basics

Ok then! Now that I feel I have had a nice little series of online rants about things that worry me or piss me off I can move over to the stuff I think other domesticateds like myself must care about. Like cooking, home decor and ware, clothes, accessories and a bit of DIY. So today I wish to celebrate the glory of the kitsch plastic table cloth, something I just cannot live without. It never fails to brighten up my day! After years of scouring London flea markets, the High Street shops and the East End (sometimes paying stupid amounts of money for low quality crap) I have found my dream brand in good ole Athens at my local supermarket. Its called Dizas Athens Luxury table cloths and its FAB. The quality is perfect and a tablecloth costs around 4Euros. There are loads of patterns that range from simple country checked to sunflowers to aquarium. So I can keep my brother's slightly hideous desk from University in the kitchen forever as it is safely hidden under one of these babies. I love! If anyone wants me to pop over to the supermarket and get you one I will do so gladly. This is me enjoying tea with my table cloth after a night out. The good times are endless! :)