BonVivant

Before roasting First meal with red kuri ("Hokkaido") "sauce" and pasta. Grated cheese is Sicilian double-smoked ricotta. Finally, a Gewürztraminer I can drink. I have an unpleasant reaction to Alsatian Gewürztraminer, which tastes strongly of soap ("perfume" to everyone else. But I also have a violent reaction to perfumes...). Had to stop drinking it for a long time.

Last Cretan lunch. Red wine-olive oil braised cuttlefish Whilst waiting for the next earthquake... last Assyrtikco, brought with me from Santorini. Lastsunset in the Cretan capital. My flight was at 1pm the next day, there was another earthquake at 2pm. I'm just so relieved the walls I'm looking at right now are not moving. Lunch at home, in peace. Fresh Turkish dates. Dip with pistachios Another one with walnuts, roasted peppers, tomatoes and pom molasses. "Muhammara" without following a recipe. I just blitzed a few things in a blender. Other bits are salad, roasted aubergine pulp, beetroot puree, and a type of air-dried sausage.

Last Cretan meal, at a meze place in the neighbourhood. Not sure if I could specify some non meat dishes, owner-cook brought me these, which she made herself. Now back at home, where the walls and all surfaces are not moving.

Fast forward to the last meals, between the earthquakes. First time trying donkey milk yogurt. Super creamy and rich but no distinct "donkey" taste, surprisingly. Cretan white grapes (and other fruits) are sweet like honey. The white grapes we get from S.Africa are tooth enamel destroying super sour water bombs. Deep-fried dough balls, drenched in honey.

I eat one warm meal a day so it seems like a lot here. The most popular snack in Crete, dakos. Have to try it at least once at the source. At home I use toasted sourdough bread. In Crete they use Cretan Mizithra cheese, elsewhere feta will have to do. ''Greek'' salad with (seasonal) greens. Pretty sure they are not purslane. These greens are a bit sour and moist. The taste is refreshing. Grilled lamb chops Day's special is braised pork (and to my horror) with leeks. Thankfully the pork tasted great (although I couldn't stand the sight of the leeks). The afters. I had a beer tasting appointment directly after the meal and had to declined the raki. Being the first to arrive I got to choose a table. Greeks start coming from 1:30 or 2pm. Mum is the main cook, dad grills everything, grown children and grandchildren do the rest. Restaurant is across the street from my lodging, where they tourists don't make a detour. Sunset at the harbour with Venetian fortress on left Key is in the lock and I have shoes on, ready to run downstairs and out on the street when the terrifying rumbling and shakes come (which are at random and there's no sign of it stopping any time soon. Happened again last night, twice.).

Thanks, all. I'm fine now, until the rumbling starts again. Now any kind of rumbling freaks me out a little. Earthquakes are a fact of life in Greece. Everyone goes right back to their normal lives. Although a little "shaken" but I must do the same. @heidih, they are barley rusks. Cretans and Cycladians love rusks. They put them in salads, spread fava and dips on them, pile grated tomatoes on them and other uses. They come in little squares and rounds looking like half a burger bun but twice as big, and also other shapes and have their own uses. Being baked twice the rusks can be kept for longer. They have been eaten since antiquity. Cretan Dakos is so popular it's found in many other places in Greece, too. The beauty of Greece. Everybody is mad about Santorini sunset, but I rather like the afterglow. The beauty of tragedy: Btw, all businesses with views of the caldera (collapsed crater) come with an extraordinarily hefty price tag in high season. Santorini has a high concentration of luxury hotels. Santorini before and after the catastrophic explosion that wiped out a civilisation

Unfortunately, good food and extraordinary natural beauty are not the only things Greece has. I freaked out a little this morning whilst drinking coffee in my room. Suddenly my chair, walls, ceiling, window panes, furniture, floor were shaking violently. Quite scary for someone who does not live in a highly seismically active region. It's still rumbling since this morning but very briefly. Still makes me feel in the stomach when it does. Previous lunch in lovely Pyrgos village, Santorini. A platter of Santorinian products. The tomatoes, which are especially prized, have PDO status, just like the fava. Caper bushes are a common sight on the island and most people pickle the leaves, too. The double-concentrated paste is so good. The elusive Santorini white aubergines, pickled here. They remind me a bit of Sicilian pickled aubergines that I couldn't stop eating, but this one is not exactly the same. Santorini version is much softer. Mild smoked pork, quickly pan-fried. Also in the Cretan repertoire. And of course more fava Whilst waiting for my food to arrive Thank you, @shain

Huge pastries. Same Turkish ones we get at home are 1/10 the size. The beach in this coastal village A tiny, hidden coffee spot. I walked right past it. Time seems to stand still here

Cretans are proud of their various types of honey, olive oils and cheeses. Strawberries are deep red inside and out Where I got my fruits and vegs on the first morning in Crete This morning and every single day since I got here Your Cycladic charms already worked on me before we met... You can say that again!

Finally, the real Santorini "fava" (Lathyrus clymenum), it has PDO status. Elsewhere it's yellow lentils. The top meze dish on the island. Mix well with more olive oil when ready to eat. Spread on bread. Can also be eaten as a side with grilled squid/octopus. The brief moment when nobody was in my sight to ruin the photo Some places in Greece where time stands still. Hand-made sign.

Sunset wine. Santorini's very own Assyrtiko. From a poverty stricken island without the most basic amenities until the 80's to its meteoric rise being "one of the most visited islands in .the. world." and "one the the most expensive places in Greece" (there are not too many of them). Santorini is the jewel in the crown of the Cyclades. Extraordinary beauty at every turn, Santorini is every photographer's dream.

Fast-forward 2 days... lunch in stunning Santorini today! Will be eating a bit of grill squid and octopus in the next 7 days. My lodging is just around the corner Over 200 steps (about 300 metres) steeply down to reach my lunch spot. 2 hours by ferry from the Cretan capital Business class on this level, standard is below. Shortly after I took this photo the entire ferry was jam packed (many people are here on package tours). Sunrise departure.

Sprechen Sie Compound Nouns? Btw, 5 years ago I dropped the country of my childhood dreams, Australia, from the list. Researched New Zealand, too, which is no longer a consideration. Besides, we have more or less the same passports, why so much hassle to enter the country?! I only want to go to countries that want me there. So many amazing countries that require no entry requirement hassle and really do value tourists. My breakfast is sleep, unless when I'm in Greece! So hard to find goat's/sheep's milk yogurt at home, here it's the other way round. Besides many things Crete is known for, Greeks themselves come to the island for the cheeses. The maps says "feta" but Crete produces many other cheeses that are not common in othe parts of Greece.

Sunset landing! The moment of intense bliss! Land of (goat's/sheep's) milk and honey! Only had time and energy for a small meal and 4 beers and then I went out like a light. Would have been trip number 4 or 5 in normal times! Got back from an incredible holiday in Baja Sur in late Feb 2020 and the world almost collapsed 2 weeks later. Finally! A place I had in mind is still closed to (international) tourists so the next best place to realise a childhood dream is a certain area in Greece. My N95 muzzles for the flight.

I have a cupboard full of these But this I cooked myself Roasted aubergine. Sliced Waikiki melon with some full fat quark from the dairy farmer. Very nice cheeses. Finally ate and drank all the melons I bought last week, and have probably gained 2 kilos from the sugar. Worth it. Last of the melon

Shoulder of lamb Tzatziki gets all the attention but this dip is also very common in Greece. Roasted aubergine pulp mixed in garlicky yoghurt. Blue corn tortillas (La Morena brand, the only imported Mexican tortilla brand we have in food hell). Leckerrrrr. Now, that's proper Wiener Schnitzel! Without air pockets it's just "breaded" "Schnitzel.👌👍

"Greek"-style bread rings. They look pale because I didn't dip them in a bath of grape molasses. Eggs & tomatoes Waikiki melon Sweet melons Walnut-macadamia-poppy seed-honey paste. (Santorini on honey label, 2 hours by high speed catamaran from the Cretan capital.) The same paste in a Weck pot, easier to see. My espresso cups double as egg cups. And name of places I have visited in the past. 2 days without "Greek salad" and the partner be like "no Greek salad?"

Cretan-style cuttlefish cooked in red wine. One of the classic dishes in Cretan cuisine, served with seasonal greens just like on the big island. The greens look kind of the same but it's chard and spinach, on different plates. Wheat and beetroot puree Finnish craft beer

Lidl has a new food product theme, "Sicilian", and I got a few things. Primosale ("first salt", young pecorino). There's also "second salt", but most of us are more familiar with aged percorino. The double-smoked ricotta is not from Lidl. I brought it back from Sicily myself. Based on a Sicilan sandwich called "Pani Cunzatu". Bread with tomatoes and primosale. Walnut spread (misspelled in the photo) with lots of double-smoked ricotta. Olives are too mild for my taste. I like them bitter, firm and salty. Ricotta with Sicilain pistachios and honey My snacks this week. 10 ears of fresh corn (already ate 2 before this photo). I like steaming them and eat them plain.

Shoulder of lamb, Greek-style/"youvetsi". (Yeah, yeah. I know you are supposed to use a type of pasta called "Absolutely Not!".)

From me and Macedon(ia)'s famous son.

Squid rings from the market fishmonger. From another market fishmonger Other bits In Bavaria. Dinkelsbühl has its very own carp in local streams. The species is called "Dink" (from Dinkelsbühl, the town where they were first bred). Carp, Franconian style. Psst... But don't tell Franconians they are "Bavarians" to their faces. If they could have their way they would want a piece of Franconia to call their own again.

Lamb chops At Cha Ca La Vong in 2004/05. Same pan! It was upstairs, downstairs was full, upstairs was heaving, too. Didn't see tourists when I was there. Server brought the food to the table and immediately started cooking up a storm taking us by surprise. She then showed us how to eat the meal. The amount of green onions made my jaw drop (I have a strong aversion specifically to green onions, leeks and Chinese chives, but not other alliums). It was a nice meal in an atmospheric restaurant. Had to change all the clothes and took a good shower as soon as I got back. All the flying fat was worth it. I make it sometimes, when I see good looking skate at the weekly market. Only use fresh turmeric as I can't stand the powder. Even eat the purple shrimp sauce with it. Have to do it properly. And good looking monkfish (the price is more than twice it used to be...). But skate is still my favourite for this.

Re the price of percebes. Surely, a mistake has been made. Crazy good price. I'd buy everything and ask if they have more in the back room somewhere and buy that as well. The numero uno thing I like from the sea and look at the price I paid in Portugal!!! That's 1 kilo portion meals in the photos. Only need beer or wine to go with perceves. The cheapest was in Porto, 20 euros/kg. Only 10 euros a kilo if you buy it from a collector at the beach.

Potato salad with cream Steeped in warm broth, with home-made grainy mustard and some crispy-fried Speck. Matjes, Rolmops, North Sea shrimp, and salmon roe. Half a bottle of Riesling went into this mustard "Greek-style" lunch again. Spinach parcels, loosely based on Cretan mini spinach pies (Kalitsounia). One batch with spinach, one batch with roasted aubergine pulp.