shain

Like with pasta (and most other things) trust your taste, not the written times. I also always soak lentils when I plan ahead, it shortens the cooking.

Breakfast. In a small cafe - pie shop. We had coffee, a spanakopita and a bougatsa. The spanakopita was delicious. Crunchy-crisp rustic phyllo. The filling is juicy, with flavorful spinach, hints of dill, mild creamy feta. The bougatsa was not our favorite. The custard is nice, but the flavors were muted and controlled by the sprinkling of cinnamon and sugar on top. The puff pastry was mostly tender and flaky, and I would have prefer it to be crispier and more croissant ike. Coffee in Greece is always good. Charged and ready to drive towards Athens.

Dinner was interesting, but only an OK at the taste rubric. Fried feta with a crispy coating, blood orange preserve, toasted seeds. Very nice, perhaps a bit too bitter. Fried balls of mashed potatoes and walnuts. An interesting combination, if a bit too mushy inside. Topping some sauce flavored with porcini, which tasted good but was oddly textured. A very nice salad with a lovely mustardy orange vinaigrette. Orzo pasta with mixed mushrooms, peppers, mild grated cheese, truffle oil (the waiter promised it's applied in "good taste" and he was right). A bit too mild tasting. Grilled pork with okish fries (my old man enjoy interesting dishes, but with likes meat he prefers things basic). An OK local red wine. And dessert on the house, a sort of pudding made of cornmeal, fruits, nuts. With a cinnamon crumble and orange syrup. It reminds me of Georgian pelamushi.

No. In tabbouleh, the more liquid the better. The bulgur is there to absorb them. I don't really seed tomatoes and cucumbers for anything really. But I do use English cucumbers.

A hike under the Meteora cliffs. Perhaps not as majestic, but beautiful nonetheless. You may notice the caves inside the cliff, which to my understanding were used as chapels long before the monasteries were built.

@Tropicalsenior I'm delighted to hear you enjoyed it.

@Tropicalsenior you had me worried at first, but I'm glad the result looks promising! You don't have to wait long until they are cool enough to eat. I liked it best just lightly chilled. I'm eager to find out how it turned out.

I am too not a fan of cheesecake crusts. I do prefer a crumble/streusel topping (but a crisp one, not the powdery kind). I don't think this cake really needs it though.

Spankopita and cappuccino freddo (espresso with ice topped with cold frothed milk, slightly sweetened). The spankopita, as before, is using a more rustic, thicker and crunchy phyllo, very nice. Note the reflection Bought some sweets for the hike to follow. Nothing ended up being too interesting.

Here you go:

Not very much like a regular cheesecake in texture - this one is more custardy and creamy. It's the easiest cheesecake I ever made. Amount for a 6" wide cake pan. For an 8" pan, double the ingredients. 300g cream cheese 110g sugar 2 large eggs 150g full fat cream (I think it could also work with sour cream or mascarpone if you'd like a tart cheesecake) 2 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 tsp salt some grated nutmeg apx 1/3 tsp fine orange zest 30g flour Most recipes suggest that you line the cake with a parchment paper, so that it covers the sides as well and ends above the pan, this allowes for easy removal of the cake. I opted to use a spring-form pan, brushed with butter, but this requires that your pan is stick and leak proof! Heat oven to 220C, no water bath needed. In a wide bowl, beat sugar and cream cheese. Add eggs and mix well. Mix in the cream, vanilla, salt, nutmeg and orange zest. Sift in the flower while gently folding, until evenly distributed. Pour into the pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes, the cake needs to rise and become very dark (some say black, but I find it to be too much). Avoid over baking, so that the center stays custardy. If you'd like, you can under bake so that it turns out creamy. Remove from the oven and let chill completely before removing from the pan.. Refrigerate to cool. It's best serve slightly below room temperature, so l suggest you let it warm up if refrigerated overnight. Serve with brandy!

Maybe you'r looking for something more akin garlic confit? There is a pickles vendor in one of the markets in Tel Aviv I used to frequent some years ago. Among many goodies (amazing amba, schug, and lots of pickles) they made a spiced garlic confit with vinegar added. There was thyme and a maybe cumin or something. It was soft and sweet, slightly acidic and was just perfect over some soft bread or pita. Edited to add: That's the place. I sure should make a visit sometime!

This was decorating the the hotel, among other similar (if less adorable) pictures. And ice cream - 3 flavors: Mastica & green peppercorn (tastes like sesame, anise, pepper, resin) Rahat lokum - rose water flavor with an elastic chewy texture. Another ice cream that supposedly flavored like a traditional dessert, but I can't recall which. Candied orange, walnuts, vanilla, maybe some cinnamon.

Those are the monasteries of Meteora (lit. elevated, suspended in air). There were 24 monasteries built on the rock of Meteora, of whom 6 are still (sparsely) populated and maintained. The old kitchen is a display of the old kitchen in one of the larger monasteries. The cat I believe is stray though it knows where to live - amazing vista and plenty of tourists to feed and pet it. It might also go down to the village, it's a reasonable walk.

Meteora. Truly breathtaking.

Egg cubes curry with coconut, yogurt, tomatoes, Egg curry. Bakes egg cubes with yogurt, ground peanuts, spices. In a sauce of onion, tomato, yogurt, coconut milk, ginger, curry leaves, markout lime, coriander seeds, hing. Recipe below. Rava dhokla - semolina quick bread with yogurt and spices. Coconut chutney with yogurt, tamarind, fried spices (tadka). Recipe below. Home made mango chutney with lots of ginger, chili and orange. Lightly spiced rice. Yogurt.

Another backlog dinner. Peppers and tofu, stir fried with anise and fennel, ginger, garlic, hoisin, soy sauce, brown sugar, cassia, scallions.

Basque cheese cake.

Pasta salad with a dressing of sour cream, mayo, dill, mustard, vinegar, pepper. Eggs, peas, pickles.

Green beans and fired tofu in black bean sauce.

An amazing lunch at Bokos Ouzeri in Volos. Ouzerias are restaurants that specialize in serving drinks and food that accompanies them (mostly ouzo and tsipouro, in the latter case they are sometimes called tsipouroias). It's a bit like an izakaya, but with more of a restaurant vibe than a pub. In more traditional old-school places, the dishes can are simple tapas - e.g. pickles, fava spread, patatosalata, cheese, octopus legs- served with little fanfare. More commonly noways, the places are full fledged restaurants, serving an often expansive menu, with a strong focus on seafood, fried items and less-basic tapas. Here's an image of some tapas style dishes from this restaurant. In Volos and Pelion area, where tsipouro is at least as loved as ouzo, it is common to have it served in miniature bottle (i.e. airplane bottles). Guests are served a bucket of ice, empty glasses and array of bottles. It is common to see the tables filled with empty ones. I'm not sure why is this practiced, as we ordered the more economic single larger bottle of ouzo. A common sight. Drinks first - a medium (single) bottle of ouzo and a Greek pilsner. Raw clams. Greek salad. Shrimp saganaki in bright sauce. A tower of plump mussels steamed with garlic and dill. Fried zucchini with tzatziki. Grilled bread. Complementary ice cream. Nothing fancy, but perfect the late noon heat. I can't help but apologize again for taking whole months to post about a 10 day long vacation 😅 Busy times.

It was fully dried. I got it mostly to gift some friends. We get all kinds of oregano, thyme, zaatar, marjoram etc. Between us and the neighbors we can get our hands on many herbs So while it's tasty, I don't think it is unique enough that I would have bothered bringing back home just for my own use.

Pickled pistachio leaves are eaten as a mezze with drinks, and sometimes in salads. It's a local specialty. Mountain oregano tastes like zaatar, maybe a bit more mentoly-sharp. It's picked when flowering and is very pleasant.

Volos is a modestly sized city that sits at the bay where the peninsula of Pelion connects to the mainland. We had a busy schedule with a long drive planned, and so we stopped only for a short visit. We managed to visit the farmer's market. It's not large, but the produce is varied and of good quality. Also very fairly priced. We bought some fruits for snacking and wild mountain oregano to take home. Among the more unusual findings are pistachio leaves - both pickled and fresh, unripe plums, as well as some jams, honey and pickles.

Too hot. Far too humid... Kong-guksu. Korean noodles in cold soy and sesame soup. I made a quick soy milk - trusting the blender to get things smooth enough without passing it through a fine sieve. Kept some beans for serving. Noodles were toasted before boiling. Omelette ribbons. Toasted pumpkin seeds and sesame, chili. Some ice cubes to keep it nice and cold. Skipped the usual cucumber topping, instead made a quick zucchini salad with sesame oil, vinegar, fish sauce, chili and garlic. Also homemade kimchi with a drizzle of tahini.