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Thanks and sure. Though please take into account that this recipe is under development - it was good but needed some balancing which I include below but haven't tried. Recipe makes for 10 cups in a muffin tin, though I would try to make it in a single circular pan next time. Custard: 40 g semolina 270g milk 1 large egg 1 tsp of fresh rosemary leaves, finely minced or ground to a powder 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/8 tsp salt ~~~~ Cook semolina with milk until thickened. Chill as to not curdle the egg and mix in the remaining ingredients. Phyllo cups / crust: 3 standard size thin phyllo sheets apx 15g butter, melted apx 15g water a large pinch of salt 1/4 tsp sugar apx 1/6 tsp cinnamon ~~~~ Mix butter, water, salt, cinnamon and sugar. I suggest you look for videos of people making phyllo cups or crusts, it will be clearer than any explanation I can provide. Cut the phyllo sheets to size. For muffins cups, that each sheet cut into 16 (4x4). Brush with the butter mixture and line the tray. Brush with any remaining butter. Bake at 170 dC until golden and crisp, but not dark (since it will be baked again). Syrup: 100 g sugat apx 30 g water (2 tbsp) . another apx 30 g water (2 tbsp) apx 1 tsp butter apx 30 g orange juice (2 tbsp) 1/3 tsp orange zest . orange blossom water to taste (optional) ~~~~ Cook the sugar with water until a medium-light caramel forms. Add butter and 2nd amount of water, orange juice, zest, orange blossom water. Finish: Mix roughly half of the caramel into the semolina mixture. Fill the cups / crust. Bake at 170dC until the custard is set and phyllo is deeply golden, apx 20-25 minutes. Top with remaining caramel. Top with some toasted pine nuts (or hazelnuts, almonds, etc). IMO it's best when still warm.

Dinner was a bit disappointing. Feta saganaki - pan fried feta. Very strongly flavored cheese, with the natural funky notes enhanced by the heat, perhaps too much so for this application. It is coated with starch before frying, but could have been crsipier. Topped with tasty honey and pistachios. Squash pie, with cheeses and herbs. The filling was quite too mild in flavor, and under seasoned to my taste. The phyllo was OK, nice and rustic, but again not very crisp. Eggs in local wild greens, mostly tasted of chard, and the eggs where fully cooked, which is a bit disappointing. Again, quite under seasoned. Pork fried with peppers and feta. Was told it tasted good, but was a bit tough. House red wine was OK. Complementary dessert of tasty thick yogurt and very tasty quince "spoon sweets". A bit of a shame, because the dishes seemed promising, but it felt like the kitchen is lacking in skill or care. Apologies for the bad pictures, it was quite dark.

Somewhat inspired by galatopita and galaktoboureko. Phyllo cups lightly flavored with cinnamon and rosemary, butter and a bit of sugar and salt. Filling is a custard of semolina, milk and butter, flavored with vanilla. Topped with a caramel syrup flavored with rosemary and orange, a bit of cinnamon. Toasted pine nuts.

Enfrijoladas, filled with feta, onion, boiled eggs and chilies. Lentils and roasted potatoes, with toasted peanuts, onion, garlic, cumin, coriander seed, oregano, dried chili powder, cilantro. Wheat beer.

Sorry for the slow posting A short drive down winding roads take you from the villages higher up the mountain and down to the shore. The beaches on the Northern side tend to be more rocky and ridged, while the south have long sandy beaches. Those photos are from the Northern shore section named "Parisena's beach" and the nearby area. It is adjunct to the more famous Chorefto beach, which is great for bathing, but makes for less dramatic photos. The residents of the house over the beach sure are lucky.

Tabbouleh! One an never have too much parsley

Those are frappes, so instant. It is more unique texture wise, so we had a few during the first days. Later we went back to espresso based drinks. The later seems to be the current trend among locals.

I must admit that fries in the restaurants we've been to were mostly mediocre. Some were quite good (including those pictured above).

Later that evening. Cold coffee, a simple apple cake with raisins and lots of cinnamon. Beautiful location and view. One doesn't have to ask for water when sitting at a restaurant or even just for coffee. Makes since with the climate. It reminded me of Naples, where people were running around making coffee deliveries to the nearby vendors and shop owners. They were always holding trays with cups of strong espresso accompanied with a cup of water.

That's was our lunch at "Cardamo Oinomageireio". The sign states that they "like stray dogs" and that's a feeding spot for them We had patzarosalata - a salad of cooked beetroot with thick yogurt which was only lightly tart, dill, a hint of garlic, olive oil, some nuts. Mixed for eating. A bit mild, but refreshing. Grilled halloumi with sweet tomato jam and oregano. Very good cheese with a strong grilling flavor. The jam was quite tasty and a classic pairing with grilled cheese. Even though I'm not usually a fan of sweet tomato sauces and jams. Soft gigante beans with lots of lemon zest, gentle olive oil, sweet scallions, and a small amount of dill (the Greek seem to prefer sweeter olive oil, compared to the Italian green-peppery or the local sharp and bitter which I'm used to). Grilled beef meatballs with herbs and a side of fries (fries are extremely popular in restaurants, and the Greek often refer to them simply as "potatoes"). I was told the meatballs were flavorful and tender. And a local micro/craft pilsner "Local Streets" (both me and my father are more into beer than wine, and I personally prefer heavy reds and low acidity roses). It was a bit amateurish as far as craft beer goes, but had good hops. So while not exactly a pilsner, and not greatly balanced, it was still interesting to drink and enjoyable. Complementary dessert - portokalopita. A cake made of phyllo sheets, yogurt, butter and eggs, soaked in syrup, boldly flavored with orange zest and some orange juice. The topping of toasted hazelnuts worked very well. It's a dessert I never had but always found intruding - what is the purpose of soaked phyllo in such a cake. The answer is that the phyllo maintains a bite not unlike that of stewed tofu skins, and holds to juices in the same way, quite different than that of either semolina cakes or baklava. It was however very sweet (as expected). The string orange flavor is a great way to finish a meal along with coffee.

Same place or maybe two close together. We didn't eat there, but it was best located for being included in photos. We didn't eat there, because we had our mind set on another nearby place (sea below soon). But it seemed like a nice place, populated mostly with older locals having beers and having lunch. Here it is on Google Maps (the dishes photographed looks quite good!) so you can make the moving arrangements.

Cannelloni with beetroot and 3 goat cheeses (feta, kashkaval and a chevre-like cheese). Sage, thyme, zaatar, toasted sesame, sumac. Served with beetroot and kashkaval mornay sauce.

The town of Makrinitsa is a short drive away from Portaria. It is not accessible with cars, being built on a quite steep slope, and paved with narrow streets. The communities in this area seem to take great care in maintain the villages, both in terms of maintenance and cleanness, but also in preservation and holding to the quaint feel and authenticity of the places. Even while carting to tourists, and being full of restaurants and cafes. If anything, I found those to contribute to the feel of the place. Maybe expect for a few shops selling overpriced stale spices and fancy-looking pastas to tourists in the entry road. Like most of the mountain villages of Pelion, Makrinitsa is centered around old plane trees. Here in is completely holed out, large enough that 3 adults can fit in. A small stream is running down along the curving road that leads to the section of village that is built down the slope, the rest being built upward. The view in the last picture is of the city of Volos, which is located right at the "entry" to the peninsula of Pelion.

Thanks! If you enjoy waterfalls than I'll have a few pictures for you soon

A few minutes of walk to the edge of Portaria gets you to the "centaur's path" - a short stream-side hike. Lush greenery, clean water with many small falls, and lots of birds chirping around. It doesn't get much more tranquil than that. Pictures don't do it justice. Right before the stream there's a small cafe or hotel with what must be the one of the worlds best-located patios. And a couple of photos from within the town. The jars are from a store that sells jams, honey, spices etc. The large jars with whole fruits are from plastic. It seemed a bit of a tourist trap, but still pretty.

We mostly had them served over yogurt or as part of other dessert, often with coffee. They can also be eaten as is (especially those made of whole fruits) or on bread, oatmeal, etc. My understanding is that they are named so simply for being intended to be eaten with a spoon (as opposed to e.g. cakes eaten with a fork).

Those are puffed rice cakes, not something I usually register as food

Those are jars of jams and honey. The jam we tried (peach and orange), the honey I don't recall we had there. We did have a few welcoming gifts in our room that I forgot to mention. Those were two tiny bottles of tsipouro and two small jars like in the picture of jam and honey. The tsipouro we finished during the vacation, and the jars we took back home, but haven't opened yet. The hotel is called Kritsa, and while basic, it was charming and the food was great as you can tell.

Plain jelly, flavored with whatever you have and coated with coca would surely be nice. It reminds me of chocolate lokum.

I'd suggest the flavors will work in all types of butter cookies and pie/tart crusts, with many fillings. There was also vanilla in there, I think. The area is mountainous, quite to the north of Greece, and rich with streams and springs. All those combined with the great care the locals take of their plants, results in lush vegetation.

That's right. Those who observe kosher laws won't eat it, and for the same reasons it never was part of the cuisine, so even those that don't keep kosher are not necessarily used to it or look for quality produce, or for variety. With little demand, there's no mic of a supply chain. We get a few sizes of frozen shrimp, boiled mussles - frozen or canned, and calamari. Those too are available only in some markets. That said, the frozen sea food is quite common in restaurants (mostly Asian and Italian ones) It is possible to get live mussles and better shrimp at some very few places, but for a high price.

After a good night sleep, we were able to appreciate the beauty of Protaria's main square in which our hotel was located. Many of Pelion's villages are centered around a main squared, which is always shaded by one or more old plane trees. Those squares are well maintained, and house cafes and restaurants. Those places seem to be populated at all time of day - lively and full during dinner time, or quiet and pleasant in other times, with a few but ever present groups of people having their coffee, cold coffee that is. Protaria's square is quite small, but very pretty. The view in the first couple of photos is from the hotel balcony. In the third you can see a fountain, the like of which is found in every village. THe water is cool and tasty, and used for a quick drink or for washing the square's floor. It's very convenient for us travelers. We went for breakfast at the hotel, which was served in the dining room, but proceeded to sit outside, as indoor dining is still not allowed in Greece. No complaints, with such a location and weather. Home made pies - first a hortopita with flavorfull greens, lots of dill, some onion or similar, strongly flavored feta. So good, the phyllo used for those types of savory pies is usally thicker than the common one mor eoften used in Greece for sweets. It is termed "country style" with the pie having 3-4 layers of pastry (on top and bottom each). It is more crunchy than regular phyllo (as opposed to crisp/flaky), more hearty, the inner layers having more byte to them, a bit like lasagna. It is also easier to eat out of hand, if desired, since it holds together better. I don't think I'd could ever go back to regular thin phyllo for this usage. The other is a sort of pizza with mushrooms and sausage. Good local cheeses, the feta in particular is very good, as would be expected, a bit funky, you can taste the goat milk and aging. Thick yogurt, very light on the tartness, with a slightly savory edge. Nuts and dried fruits, very good home made jams spoon sweets I had to go for the cherry one first, but we also tried the orange one, both very good with the yogurt (and without it). Galatopita, a custard with a base of thin pyhllo sheets, which are not crisp. Flavored with vanilla, a little cinnamon. Very eggy. A cherry jam tart, with a crumbly dough which was a bit too dry and thick, but interestingly flavored with orange and cinnamon. Both sweets were no my thing, so it was another slice of pie for dessert. We didn't try the croissants. We were also served coffee, boiled eggs and fresh orange juice. Not my plate

I'm no expert, but it seems so. Exactly like a tajine - originally the name of the earthware, now used to refer to the dish. Regarding the honey, we haven't had it straight, but dishes that uses it were good. Generally, the Greeks seem to be more excited about "spoon sweets" (a type of fruit preserves, usually with larger pieces than most jams). I'll also shout out Israeli honey for being very good (our fruit preserves not so much, on average). Most honey in Israel comes from wild flowers and is quite complex.

Shakshuka from a base/sauce that I previously had frozen. Some extra feta and chilies. Eaten from the pan with some soft crisp bread, as one does.