shain

With heavy hearts, it was time to leave the Pelion area and continue Westwards. A few stops along the way towards the city of Volos. Pelion was one of the most beautiful and most authentically charming places I had the luck to visit.

Perhaps. The Greeks do have some very dry cookies which I assume really are dunked. But it might just be that they weren't fresh, possibly previously refrigerated. This is a small hotel, they probably don't go through a lot of cake.

It was potent, but still somewhat diluted, I don't think that we could have handled that amount otherwise. I see that commercial products range from 20% to 35% ABV. I'd guess this was around 30%. Not sure about it staying clear, maybe because it's warm.

Breakfast the next day. Nothing fanncy, but a nice spread. Semolina custard with cinnamon. Spinach pie. Bread with cheese. Yogurt, jam, olives. Orange juice and coffee. Dry cake

With such a substantial lunch, we opted to have just a drink for dinner. A slightly chilly night, we sited at the balcony of a small but popular cafe/pub. Rakomelo, warm anise flavored raki or tsipouro with honey, cloves and a plate of snacks.

Thanks! I think the dusting was paprika. I didn't notice sumac on any dish we had during our trip (though sumac can often be a background flavor).

It's actually shaved off the cob

Randomly noticed a small waterfall along the road.

Watermelon and creamy sirene.

Soup with black beans, coconut, lime juice and zest, corn, sweet potato, chili, coriander seeds.

After a very long day, it was time for late lunch at the lovely Synantisi restaurant, in the beautiful village of Kisos. Complimentary house made tsipouro - pomace distilled drink, which is often (but not in this case) flavored with ouzo. This one was of good quality, so while we both usually prefer the anise flavored version, we could appreciate the brandy-like grape flavor that came through. Good quality toasted bread with olive oil, oregano, seeds, dried cranberries. Olive tapenade. Local dry rose. Mushroom pie. Deep fired filo filled with mushrooms pepper and cheese pie. This was the only weak meal in this lunch, mostly because of miss understanding, wince we expected it to be of the more traditional baked variety as opposed to deep fired; and because of the filling, which we expected will be of chopped mushrooms, but was more like roasted vegetables and cheese. An incredibly tasty dakos - barley rusks soaked with minced fresh tomatoes, olive oil, soft and rich flavorful feta, floral and tangy capers, sharp oregano and a hint of chili. The rusks themselves where both soft and crisp, and very falvorful with rich toasty grain flavor. Very tasty and unique dish of chickpeas in a sauce rich with spices (mostly turemric, fenugreek, cumin, paprika) with onion, orange peels. A dollop with thick somewhat sweet tahini, with some spcie. It feels mostly like Indian curry, but also really not, with flavors that suggests Sicily and the middle east. Grilled pork chop with oregano, good fries. We were stuffed to the brim and wishing we had a second stomach. And when then (the very friendly) waiter came carrying a plate of dessert. We couldn't really get even a single bite in, and they were kind enough to let me snap a quick picture and place it in a takeaway container for us. Panna cotta with candied apricot (I think, can't remember for sure) flavored with orange and a bit of cinnamon.

Sounds great!

A babka should not be dry, it should bee like fresh bread, or rather brioche. A dry babka is usually the result of staling - it's best fresh, after a day it's indeed best to reheat it a little. Another possible reason is a combination of a dry dough and over baking. Normal baking conditions are 170-180 deg C for 40-70 minutes, depending on size. You can add liquid to your dough if it was stiff, but it should not be sticky after kneading.

Last beach for that very busy but beautiful and relaxing day. This one is small and quiet, with very pleasant water that we found warm enough to get knee-deep in. And we also made a friend along the way. He was laying on the road by the houses higher up the. We couldn't pass by without giving him some petting, and so he decided to follow us down the road to beach and join for a sweem.

Hand cut noodles (flat and short) with eggplant, tiny zucchini, mushrooms, doubanjiang, douchi, sesame paste, garlic, ginger, peppercorns, toasted sesame, basil, chili oil.

And breadcrumbs, it seems? I love breadcrumbs on pasta

I did now:

Makes 12 muffins that can be served either savory or sweet. See also cornmeal biscuits recipe. 175g cornmeal 20g butter 135g AP flour 2.5 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda 2 tsp salt 200ml sour cream 35g sugar 1 large egg 90ml whole fat milk apx 250g corn kernels - fresh is best, I sometimes used kernels from grilled corn. Frozen and even canned corn also works great. Optional addition: - Up to 1/2 tsp black pepper (I never skip the pepper) - Chopped chilies of any kind - Chopped scallions - Chopped cheddar cheese - Chopped feta (reduce salt from the muffins) - I guess chopped bacon will be really good - Brush a muffin tin tray with butter, or if you have one, use a silicon muffin tray. - Preheat an oven to 220dC. - Mix flours, baking powder, soda, salt. - Melt the butter, I suggest doing so in a large bowl or pot to which the remaining ingredients can be later added. - Mix in the sour cream, egg, sugar, milk, corn kernels and any other optional addition. - Mix dry ingredients into wet ones just until uniform. Avoid over mixing. - Divide batter among 12 muffin cups. - Bake for 15 minutes until set and golden. - Let cool for at least 5 minutes and release from tray. - For serving: bake again, preferably with convection fan, until deep gold and crisp. Apx 5-10 minutes. - Can be served savory with sour cream, cheese or butter; or sweet with butter or sour cream and honey. - Leftovers / planned-overs can be frozen, preferably after the first bake.

I did a couple of times for the sake of trying. There is one incredibly good brand of ricotta available in supermarkets here, better than anything I ever managed to make. Generally we have some really good fresh and brined cheeses here. You never had cottage cheese until you had the Israeli version. Not so much so for aged ones (there are smaller producers that make good blue and white mold cheeses which are somewhat aged).

Corn muffins with fresh corn and corn meal, sour cream, very lightly sweetened. Baked twice so they get quite crisp. Served savory with fresh cheeses and salad. Some leftovers were served for breakfast, lightly toasted and with honey. Some went to the freezer.

Ricotta with preserved carambola , which have a surprising but pleasant somewhat smokey-savory note to it. Served with toasted milk bread.

A quick dinner from the a while ago. Bought frozen goat milk and beetroot tortellini. A sauce of white wine, butter, toasted sesame, fava beans, feta. Salad and wine.

Sorry for the weird formatting, I'll fix it later.

Wet mix: 100g soft butter 280g sugar 2 eggs 250ml cream, full fat 200ml sour cream 60ml milk or coffee or a mixture of the two 1/4 tsp salt Dry mix: 75g good quality cocoa powder 170g flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda Prep: Mix together flour, cocoa, baking soda and baking powder. In a large bowl, whip butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in eggs and whip until smooth. Add in the two creams, milk or coffee, salt. Mix well. Sieve in the flour mixture while gently folding. Pour into a pan, 22-24 cm in diameter. Bake in a preheated oven at 170dC for apx 45-60 minutes. The cake is ready when a skewer leaves with a few moist crumbs. Do not over bake! This cake is very good served warm with ice cream, at room temp, or cold where it becomes fudgey. You can top it with a ganache or whatever you fancy.

Birthday cake for my brother. Rich chocolate cake with sour cream. Toasted marshmallows and pretzels.