Worshiping at theTemple of Poseidon-Sounio Greece

The ancient Temple of Poseidon (built ca. 440BC) at Sounion as it stands today

There is a temple in ruin stands,

Fashioned by long forgotten hands;

Two or three columns, and many a stone,

Marble and granite, with grass o’ergrown!

Out upon Time! It will leave no more

Of the things to come than the things before!

Out upon Time! Who for ever will leave

But enough of the past for the future to grieve

O’er that which hath been, and o’er that

which must be:

What we have seen, our sons shall see;

Remnants of things that have pass’d away,

Fragments of stone, rear’d by creatures of clay!

 

                                      Lord Byron

                             Excerpt from The Siege of Corinth

On a promontory high over the sea, at the tip of Attiki, stands the ancient Temple of Poseidon. Myth has it that King Aegeas tumbled from the cliffs when his son Theseas forgot to change the sails of his vessel as he returned from Minoan Crete after slaughtering the Minotaur. Aegeas had asked that the sails be changed from mourning black to jubilant red if his son and the other youths sent as a tribute to Crete, to feed the Minotaur, returned alive.

Map of Temple site

A sailboat off the coast of Sounion glides by

a section of a marble column

Theseas and the other 13 youths(7 girls and 7 boys) were so happy to make it back alive, they neglected to change the sails. King Aegeas, who waited for this son's return atop the rock at the Temple of Poseidon, spotted the black sails and took that as a sign that his only son had perished. He tumbled to his death off the cliffs into the sea below
That sea, has been called the Aegean ever since.

Overlooking the Aegean sea

Modern day worshipers

Sounion anchorage below the Temple

We visit the Temple at sunset, imagining the processions of ancients bearing offerings to the Sea God. We walk in their footsteps and worship alongside.

Enjoy!

Maria
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Saronida Restaurant-Cooking with Angeliki and Stavros in Greece

Yum!Stuffed peppers and tomatoes

Eggplant stuffed with meat sauce, béchamel sauce and topped with grated cheese. Yum!

 

One of my favorite places to have dinner in Saronida, Greece is the Saronida Restaurant of Mr. Stavros and his wife, Angeliki. It's down home Greek cooking at its best! I've always wanted to visit their kitchen and witness the culinary alchemy that produces succulent, flavorful dishes but had never had the chance until recently.

Stavros and Angeliki welcomed me smiling into their spotless kitchen, even though they were in the process of cooking for the evening's crowd.

I was impressed by the freshness and quality of their ingredients and the pride which they take in cooking traditional Greek recipes with locally grown products. They only use olive oil for cooking, grown in their own groves and pressed in the local Messinia olive press. The meats are always Greek, the eggs come from their own chickens and the rooster stewed in wine is also from their own flock. The olives are cured by them and the quince preserves served over Greek yogurt are made by Angeliki from quince grown in her yard in her hometown, Drakoneri, Messinia.

Angeliki's Quince Preserves

eggs from their own chickens!

 

I'm impressed by the amount of work involved and by Stavros' and Angeliki's good nature despite the heat in the kitchen and the preparation. They are not new to this business, they've been at it for 24 years, since they moved upstairs from the restaurant with their young children. Those were hard years but with a philosophy of cooking simply good dishes using only the best ingredients they've built a loyal clientele that dines there night after night.

There's nothing like sitting in their large courtyard under the stars and dining on specialties like roasted lamb, stuffed peppers, Greek salads, feta cheese and pints of ice cold draft beer.

Next time you're thinking about where to go on vacation you should consider Saronida, in Attiki. It has one of the most wonderful beaches and that might be reason enough, yet Saronida Restaurant's culinary feasts are a reason to visit in and of itself!

Enjoy!

Maria

Greetings from Greece!

All this talk about Greek food is great but what's even better is coming to Greece and tasting the real thing! The French call it "terroire" which means the soil, the air, the water, the DNA where food grows make up the special flavors that are Greek food. Things taste almost the same in another country but not quite.

Salute to the Sunset over the Saronikos gulf.

Greeks relaxing at the sea

Greeks are very generous with and proud of their own products. Cousin Yianni gave us a bag of figs from "Markopoulos,"as well as bags of tomatoes and cucumbers soon after we arrived.The figs were shared with friends who invited us to dinner, were eaten simply peeled with bread and cheese for breakfast and were added to a luscious salad for lunch. I cannot think of a more delicious thing!

Zucchini is ubiquitous in summer. It is not the dark green vegetable that we are used to in the US. It is light-green and softer, with softer seeds and a sweeter flesh. It shows up simply steamed with olive oil and lemon, grated into fritters with feta cheese, grated into pites(pies) similar to spinach pie, fried like potato chips served with tzatiki(yogurt dip), filled with meat or rice in stuffed veggies and on and on.

Eggplant may be one of the most versatile vegetables of summer. Fried, stuffed, baked, smothered in béchamel sauce, meat sauce, need I say more. Here, it's been baked with onion, garlic and tomato in olive oil and dotted with feta cheese. Served alongside is another very popular green called vlita. It is Greek amaranth and the Greeks eat the tender shoots of the plant while the Indians ate the grain. It is simply steamed and served with olive oil and lemon, served with meat or fish.

Consider. this a primer of Greek flavors and products. I'll be posting more as the summer grows long. Pack your bags and follow me! I'll be taking you on a journey!

Enjoy!
Maria

Cooking Eggplant Stelios @ Shoprite!

I never imagined that I'd be doing a cooking class with the lovely Nicole Hallissey, the dietitian at Shoprite of Oakland. But, when I went to see her for my cholesterol problem(there I go again!) we ended up planning to cook Greek together.

I suggested my deliciously healthy Eggplant Stelios(guess who?) and she rounded up the meal with a yogurt based hummus and a Greek Salad.

Here's how it went:

Chop parsley, onion, garlic and eggplant. Saute onion, garlic, add parsley tomatoes and eggplant.(see full recipe below.)

Add a 32oz. can of tomatoes

Nicole's Greek salad. Yum!

Chickpeas, garlic, fat free Greek yogurt and a little olive oil!

Greek Hummus!

 

 

 It's not Greek until you pour on the olive oil!

 

The finished product. Yummy, eggplant, tomato stew! Trust me, you'll love it!
Think caponata, but better!

Three of our participants!

Nicole and I

 

Thank you, Nicole, I had a blast!

 

Eggplant Imam (Stelios’s recipe)
serves 4 as a main dish

2 lbs eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 large onions, minced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup of minced parsley

1 large can of crushed tomatoes

1 soupspoon of corn oil

¼ cup of olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Brown the onions and garlic in a thick-bottomed pot with the vegetable oil. Add the tomato puree, the olive oil, parsley, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and add the eggplant to the pot. Bring to a boil stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon (scrape the bottom of the pot with the spoon to prevent sticking and burning of the ingredients, especially if the bottom is not thick enough; avoid crushing the eggplant). Simmer until eggplant is soft (about 30 min). Let the pot stand for a while (in the fridge, if longer than a few hours) and reheat before serving.

Note: The dish gets better after a day or two. Eggplant is best served over rice or bulgur pilaf and plain yogurt.

 Enjoy!

 

Maria

 

String bean stew heaven!

I've talked before on this blog about my cholesterol-lowering quest. I have recently had the follow-up test and the results are going in the right direction. I'm not yet at an ideal cholesterol place, but I'm glad to know that the change in my diet makes a difference. 

 This recipe is easy, delicious and, as a bonus, has no cholesterol. What more can you ask for? It's a popular Greek dish and my mom used to make it often. String beans are now in season, so go to your local Farmers' Market, pick up some beans and get cooking!

Trim the ends off about 2 lbs. of string beans.

In two tablespoons of olive oil sauté a large chopped onion until translucent. Add a teaspoon of minced garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds more. Add a 32 oz. can of chopped tomatoes and half a cup of minced parsley. Stir in a teaspoon of salt and 1/2 a teaspoon of black pepper. Simmer for about 5 minutes.

Add the string beans and bring to a boil.

Lower the heat, add half a cup of olive oil and simmer uncovered for about 45 minutes or until the string beans are soft.  

 

Serve warm or at room temperature with some crusty bread and a Greek salad.

 Enjoy!

 

Maria

July Garden

 It's end of July and my garden is in it's glory! The mint is riotous, the roses are prolific and the hydrangeas are a blue symphony. I watched a hummingbird aflutter around my feeder. It went from yellow feeding tube to yellow feeding tube, and I realized it thought they were actual flowers with nectar. I was glad I had taken the trouble to keep the feeder filled and clean so that "hummy" could lunch outside my window.

The sunsets over the lake are heartbreaking and we sit and enjoy them bathed in the golden light.

Hydrangeas for my vases.

The boats rest idle by the dock after a hard day's paddle.

Blooms spilling over onto the lawn

 

Enjoy the summers of your life, winter is around the corner

 

Maria