by Krista | Mar 10, 2011 | Plucky Thursday
I haven’t shared too much about my spring road trip through Albania yet, but I hope to rectify that in the very near future.
I can’t wait to show you the gorgeous but wild back country, tell you stories of our adventures driving through this country without a working map or GPS, and the stark remnants of a history marked by war and economic upheaval.
Albania was the country hardest to get into and out of, the one place I was truly scared, and by far one of the best adventures I’ve ever had.
Today I want to give you a tiny glimpse of this wondrous country.
Near the border between Montenegro and Albania
Mountains between Albania and Greece
A glimpse of the sea on our way to Greece
What would you like to know about Albania?
by Krista | Mar 10, 2010 | Spring
I’m cozied up at home enjoying a free evening to read, get caught up on “24” episodes, sip tea and recover from a killer flu that hit last night. Yeesh. I’m getting knocked flat with stuff this winter! Thankfully it was of the 24-hour variety and I’m feeling heaps better. 🙂 I celebrated with dark hot chocolate and some great new podcasts from Itunes. In my quest to save money and pay off bills, I’m always interested in finding free things to do that are entertaining and informative. It’s amazing the free podcasts that are available: old time radio, Writer’s Almanac, This American Life, all sorts of ones on travel, history, music and literature. I’ve having a grand time! 🙂
This weekend I had a sudden and irresistible urge for that lovely Greek spinach pie: spanakopita. So, after a deliciously relaxing Sunday afternoon, I headed to the kitchen. I popped in a dramatized audio version of “The Horse and His Boy” and set to sauteing spinach with savory onions, mixing them in with tart feta cheese, nutmeg and lemon juice, and enclosing it all with buttered phyllo dough into tidy little packets of goodness.
I love the sunlight filtering through the crispy layers of phyllo. 🙂
I only par-baked them, freezing most of them for a rainy day. When I’m ready, all I have to do is thaw, bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or so, and they’re good to go! I do so love easy, yummy food. 🙂
As I recover, I’m looking for good ways to detox and restore my system. Do you have any ideas? Please share them if you do! 🙂 Thanks so much. 🙂
Spanakopita
(From David Lebovitz)
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and minced
12 ounces (325g) fresh spinach, well-washed and towel dried
salt and freshly-ground pepper
8-10 ounces (230-250g) feta cheese
2 tablespoons finely-chopped flat leaf parsley
pinch of freshly-grated nutmeg
1 large egg, at room temperature
lemon juice
16 sheets filo dough (about 12 ounces, 350g), thawed, if frozen
Melted butter (2-3 ounces, 60-90g)
Directions:
- Heat oil in a large saucepan or skillet. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until transluscent.
- Add the spinach and a bit of salt and pepper, cover, and cook until the spinach is completely wilted, stirring once or twice to hasten the process.
- Scrape the spinach into a colander and let cool completely. Once cool, firmly squeeze out the excess liquid then chop the spinach with a chef’s knife into smallish pieces.
- Mix the spinach in a small bowl with the feta and parsley until chunky. Taste, and add nutmeg and a squirt of lemon juice, plus more salt and pepper if desired. Stir in the egg.
- Unwrap and unroll the filo and keep it covered at all times with a damp tea towel.
- Working quickly lay one sheet of filo on the counter and brush it lightly, but thoroughly, with butter. Lay another sheet on top of it and brush it with butter as well.
- Set a scant 1/4 cup (50g) of the filling in the center, about 1-inch (3cm) from the edge of the sheets of filo, then roll the two edges of the dough over, lengthwise, to encase the filling. You should have a long rectangle with filling underneath the top far end.
- Brush the exposed surface of the filo with butter and fold one corner diagonally over the filling, then continue folding keeping the triangle shape (as you’d fold a flag) and brushing the exposed surfaces of the filo with butter, until you have a neat triangle. Brush the top with butter and set on a baking sheet in the freezer.
- Continue making more spanakopitas with the remaining filling. Once all the spanakopitas are frozen, store them in a freezer bag until ready to bake. If well-wrapped, they’ll keep for a couple of months.
- To bake the frozen spanakopita, preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and put the frozen triangles on a baking sheet, then brush each with butter. Bake for 30 minutes, or until deeply-golden brown. If you’re baking them without freezing them first, they’ll take less time to bake, so check them before the recommended baking time.
by Krista | Feb 9, 2010 | Spring
Our exploration of the Old Fort in Corfu, Greece was exhilarating, beautiful, and roasting hot! As we clambered down steep wooden steps and entered the cobbled tunnel leading out we groaned with joy as great gusts of cold sea air whistled through the tunnel cooling us off deliciously.
We left the gorgeous views of ocean and town and entered the labyrinthine streets of Old Town Corfu.
As we wandered, we found lovely shops filled with soft pashminas, gorgeous hand-crafted jewelry, and exquisite antiques. Soon we were famished and parched and ready for a break. We found the perfect respite in a bustling little cafe set under an arbor of vines.
As we nibbled on fresh bread dipped in olive oil – is there any better way to start a meal? – we perused the menus handed to us by our jovial and hilarious elderly waiter.
I always love looking at the English version of menus while traveling. There’s always something lost in translation that amuses me. Impregnanted sardines? I think I’ll pass. 🙂
I settled on marinated, grilled chicken and pepper skewers on a bed of rice with heavenly crispy, fried potatoes and a big bottle of water.
The view from our table.
We thoroughly enjoyed our leisurely lunch where we were highly entertained by the colorful characters around us:
This guy talked on his cell phone in this posture the entire time – flexing his muscles for anyone who might be watching. We were watching. And laughing. 🙂
And these chaps who we are QUITE certain were mafia. 🙂 They sat facing the doorway for hours, smoking, drinking copious amounts of wine and an array of folks would wander in to confer with them in hushed or animated fashion. We had grand fun making up stories about them. 🙂
Then we were off for more exploring, eventually making our way over to the New Fort. But I’ll have to share that with you next week or I shall be late for work! 🙂
by Krista | Feb 2, 2010 | Spring
After our relaxing and beautiful first day in Greece, we slept soundly and awoke to another brilliantly sunny day.
We headed down to the hotel dining area, found sunny seats on the terrace and tucked into a hearty breakfast of strong coffee, yogurt with fruit and grains, Spanikopita, deviled eggs, sausages, tomatoes and cucumber.
With water bottles in hand we set out to explore the Old Town of Corfu, particularly the Old and New Forts. On our way we found a splendid outdoor market filled with artichokes, lettuces, olives, fresh fish and grapes.
I walked through dreaming of all the wonderful meals I could make with these amazing ingredients. There’s nothing quite like a farmer’s market to get the creative juices flowing!
We emerged into the blazing hot sunshine ready to tread the cobbled walkways and tunnels of the Old Fort.
The view from the fort was worth the trek up, and the breezes off the coast were deliciously cool.
Then it was time to head back through the Old Town for lunch, shopping and delighting in the shaded streets.
I love this classy restroom sign
Next week I’ll share with you our lovely lunch in Old Town Corfu. 🙂
by Krista | Jan 26, 2010 | Spring
We arrived in Greece cheering with whoops of joy and relief, so happy they let us out of Albania without proper paperwork.
This lack of adequate documentation was not our fault. We have the naughty, naughty rental car company to thank for that. Those charming folks who thought it would be perfectly fine to send us on a road trip through the Balkans with only a COPY instead of the ORIGINAL documents. Yeesh. Needless to say, each entry and exit of places like Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro and Albania, were fraught with anxiety, irate border guards and visions of Third World prison cells. 🙂
It was a grueling yet exhilarating trip through Albania. Nine hours over the worst roads we’d ever seen, through achingly beautiful countryside with people who looked like they’d stepped right out of an Old World painting.
One of the “roads” we traversed. Seriously. The rocky part, not the concrete bit.
We were scared and awed and loved every moment of it, but didn’t realize how grateful we were for “civilization” until we arrived in Greece and suddenly we had GPS (yeah, we went through Albania with an inaccurate, indecipherable map the size of a small car :-)), cell phone coverage and even the occasional English-speaker. 🙂
We arrived just before dark, settled our jostled bodies with a frosty bottle of Mythos and a lovely Greek pita filled with greens, chicken, tzaziki and, of all things, French Fries. Then we boarded our ferry to Corfu, finding seats on the top deck so we could soak in the sunset over the ocean.
The gorgeous view, cool sea breezes and gentle rocking of the ferry dissolved the last of our stress and we arrived in Corfu ready to start the next phase of our adventure. We had chosen our hotel online, expecting little for $12/person. Imagine our surprise when we woke the next morning to find THIS!
We couldn’t believe it! 🙂 To top it off, all our rooms overlooked the sea AND the $12/night included breakfast every morning. Not just any breakfast either, we’re talking the whole nine yards: juices, coffees, pastries, sausages, eggs, casseroles, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, spanikopita, fresh bread and butter, cereal. Oooee! We were thrilled. 🙂
Our first morning we spent by the pool, soaking up sunshine, reading books, falling asleep, recuperating from 8 days of cross-country driving. Mid-day we dined poolside on Souvlaki, French Fries and sparkling water.
Finally we dragged our groggy selves away from the pool, got dressed and went to…Starbucks. 🙂 Yes, I know you’re “supposed” to only do local, native things when you travel, but every once in a while it’s such a comfort to duck into a place that “feels” like home. If home had everything written in Greek. 🙂 Besides, this particular Starbucks had a view to die for and was right above a little church we wanted to explore and an island we wanted to visit. So off we went, touristy as can be, not caring in the slightest. 🙂
Refreshed by cold drinks and ocean breezes, we hiked down the hill to the church shown above. It is a tidy little place, white-washed and weathered, with a teensy courtyard inhabited by pots of flowers and a slumbering dog.
It is my personal policy that whenever traveling, if there is a boat ride available, I will take it! 🙂 Particularly when the captain is a scruffy local with weathered skin and a battered hat. It simply must be done. 🙂 Thankfully my travel companions were of the same mind and we all piled on board: Ben, Ry,
Trish, Viss, Stace, Nat and me.
Content with a boat trip out to Mouse Island, my cup of joy overflowed when the captain offered me the wheel. WOOHOOHOO!! 🙂
Mouse Island is a quiet, secluded place, peaceful and serene dotted with trees, ringed with craggy boulders and fields of grasses, with a white church perched atop a hill.
After trekking about the island for a while, balancing on stone walls, dipping our fingers in the water, we rode back to shore.
We drove back through town, past an old fort we knew we’d have to explore the next day.
We found a little restaurant recommended by a local (Ry’s surefire trick to always eating well in foreign countries), enjoying the setting sun as we dug into fresh bread with marinated olives and tomatoes, tender calamari with lemon, Greek salad topped with thick slabs of feta, fresh grilled fish (Ben and Ry even got to pick our their own fish!), and linguini with prawns.
At last we drove home under a pearly sky and fell fast asleep.
