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Paros Shepherd Newsletter - May 03Published 6 June 03 Please subscribe by sending an email with Subscribe as subject.
Greetings,
What can I say about May? Wet?
Cold? Damp? Sunny? Breezy? Windy? YES to ALL!
Michael and I were trying to decide if this May was like last May since we
felt so much colder this year. We got out our photos of last year and
there I was, wading in the sea....but I did have a jacket on.
We are overly anxious for summer and it is seems slow in arriving!
The Marinio is situated in
the open and is exposed to the sea breezes most of the time.
What seems cool now will be quite pleasant in June when the heat kicks in.
One very definite PLUS is that those breezes will keep the mosquitoes at
bay. That is very good news for people like me that attract
those unwanted pests.
We have a big olive tree outside our
apartment - complete with two bird's nests. What I thought at first
was lovely birdsong, turned out to be quite annoying....as mother bird
seemed to constantly chirp her alarm signals because
of an overly curious cat! I found this alarming as well...and
tried to keep an extra eye out to help her but was not always available to
do so. As cute as baby birds can be I must admit her offspring, as
well as herself, drove me nuts. Those hungry babies started crying
for bugs and worms well before I wanted to
be awake, continued all day long with no respect at
all for Greek quiet time from 2 - 6 PM. In fact, they never
settled down until the sun set. That made for very long and noisy
days, which seemed to drag on and on. I kept wondering - how
old baby birds are before they fly? (a polite way of saying LEAVE!)
Suddenly, one day, it was deathly quiet. Then of course, I
worried...until one day I noticed a "teenage size" bird hopping
around the nest area. The next day, nothing. I do not know what
kind of birds they were, so have no idea of their habits. Chirping is
one of them, I know that!
Some interesting observations this month
were Greek men and women poking around in fields, along the sides of roads,
and even coming onto our property! Yes, one day I looked up and saw a
group of people out in our garden area pulling what looked like weeds and
stashing them into plastic bags. I knew what they were doing, but it
was so odd to see people we did not know making themselves at home
digging around our property...however this is very Greek. What
they are pulling up is actually eatable greens. The Greeks call it
Horta, and it means Mountain Greens. Dandelion greens are the
most popular in our garden, but there are many others I do not know the
names of. Michael and I have often said we should learn what to look
for and try it ourselves, but I usually opt to go to the greengrocers and
pay for mine! That way, I will make no mistakes of eating
something poisonous. The Greeks gather a great load of them,
boil them up, and eat with olive oil and/or lemon juice. They do
taste quite good! When I buy them at the store, a huge plastic bag of
a many different kinds only costs about 50 cents! To me, I
would not bend over in the hot sun for 50 cents. I think the Greeks
just like living off the land and love the outing.
Living off the land is something that I
have not really done much of before coming to Greece. Now I find that
nature provides us with lots of things to use....just the other day I walked
to a bamboo grove nearby and cut a length. (I used the garbage bin lid
on the roadside to lay it out, measured the length I needed, and hacked away
with my bread knife!). Then I brought it home and made a curtain
hanger for my kitchen window and a towel rod in the bathroom! You just
make it a little bit bigger than you want, and the pressure holds it up!
Also lemons....pick one off the tree in your garden, squeeze it on a stain
on your clothing, lay it in the sun, and viola! Gone! Saves
going to the store and buying bleach!! One day I was lamenting that I
wished I could find a little plastic mesh bag...but where would I find one?
Well, nature provided that as well, however I did not use it. Where
did I find it? In the bushes by the side of the road!!!! Ask and
ye shall receive!
The vineyards are looking beautiful
now.....full and leafy. The farmers are spending a lot of their time
in the fields, tying them up so the wind will not whip them around,
rototilling, and general upkeep. One farmer ties his donkey at
the side of the road while he spends the day in his vineyard, while his
neighbour roars up to his field on a racy red scooter! It appears the
farmers have plots of land all over the island, and they go from field to
field to field as the seasons pass. The man with the donkey also sells his
garden vegetables which he keeps in his side saddle bags (gunny
sacks)! It is more fun to buy from him than the man on the scooter who
carries his stuff in a plastic box held on with a bungie cord!!
Just today, I noticed a vineyard that
had some vines growing out along the roadside. A woman was picking the
leaves...it dawned on me she was gathering them to make the Greek dish
domaldes....those are vine leaves stuffed with rice and olive oil.
Again, I buy mine already made in a tin; I bet she would never consider
that, being a good Greek wife. Good for her! No doubt they
taste 100% better, too.
Spring on Paros is basically
finished, summer may already here, it is so warm now - however it looks
like autumn out. The lush green fields and all the spring flowers
are gone now, only wheat colour stubble remains and bales of feed for the
animals are ready to be picked up on antiquated Greek tractors and stored.
Late winter gardens are now yielding artichokes, tomatoes, beans, lettuce,
potatoes, peppers, onions, cucumbers and courgettes. Delicious
Samos oranges are being sold again here on Paros...by a little cranky man
who sells them out of his truck at the side of the road. I have
not bought any this year, because he prefers you buy a large bag....in
fact he is not very polite when you only ask for a few....so I am waiting
until we are truly up and running before I buy them. We will then
offer the fresh squeezed juice to our guests for breakfast or just to quench
their thirst on arrival.
Speaking of food (one of my favourite
past-times!), I would like to share a very easy Greek
Potato Salad recipe. We serve it often in the summer, especially when
we have barbecues.
Greek Potato Salad - Serve room
temperature
Use as many potatoes as you want.
Usually I use one potato per person. Cut the potatoes into
circles about 1/4" thick before cooking. I leave the skins on,
but it is not necessary. I also steam mine. When cooked, put
onto a plate to cool.
Hard boil as many eggs as you want.
Again, I usually use one per person. When cooked, cool under cold
water, and shell. Cut into quarters.
Cut a mild onion into thin slices.
One onion is ample, you can use less.
To assemble: I use a large
platter. Arrange the potatoes on first, then scatter the eggs and
onions over the top.
Salt and pepper lightly, and add any herb you might enjoy such as herb de
France, or basil.
Then I scatter some Greek olives around.
Lastly,
I scatter a little fresh parsley over that.
How to eat: Put
a bottle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (preferably Greek!)
on the table. The idea is to pour some olive oil
over the top. A little or a lot....remember it is good for
you!
Now as you can see, this is very
easy and you can add or subtract whatever you want - Michael always
adds a little mustard to his. The Greeks do not use any
mayonnaise because it is so hot here it would go bad quickly, therefore they
use their famous olive oil. I hope you will try it!
And when you eat it, imagine yourself eating at this table in a small
town near us called Naoussa!
I'll reserve this table for us, OK?
Till next month,
Karin and Michael
P.S.
Our season,
business-wise, is shaping up nicely. Although we had to cancel our Oil
Painting Workshop and the proposed Kite Boarding School from Slovenia will
not be happening, our individual bookings are coming in steadily. If
you are thinking about coming over this year, let us know soon. Don't
forget that next year is the Olympics in and around Athens, which will
distort holiday travel as people come to the islands before and after the
sports venues. So unless you are a fanatic that likes the excitement
of crowds, 2003 is the year to visit Greece.
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Karin and I enjoy reading about a destination before our journey. We find that we get more from the experience by knowing something about the area and it's history. Know Before You Go! For North American residents we highly recommend our favorite big book store, Powell's. For Europe and the rest of the world you can't go wrong with Amazon.
Last modified: 05/25/08 |
