October 3rd

On Sunday, October 3rd, my mother would have been 85 years of age. I thought of her in the morning while my sisters, on the other side of the globe, were taking part in a "Walk for the Cure of Breast Cancer". My mother and sister were both diagnosed with breast cancer. Bravo to everyone involved in this fundraising event!

Around noon we travelled south on the island to visit the gravesite of Molly MacKenzie, an old friend, who lived on this island for many years. She died earlier this year in Athens and her body was returned to the island for burial. Several sites at the cemetery were unmarked so we drove back into Kolofana to ask Sophie, the cafe owner to show us which one was Molly's. Sophie can be seen these days wildly waving from her cafe at passing cars, hoping to entice them into her cafe for meals. This behaviour is not at all typical of Greeks. I suspected that Sophie was a little off balance so I was not convinced that she would lead us to the right site. We left a beautiful heart shaped rock from the beach at Agia Anna at the gravesite that Sophie indicated was Molly's.

Happy days with Jehane, Irini & Molly at Kolofana.

When we returned to Chora, I showed Maria a photo of the site and she assured me that it was the wrong one! Maria had made the funeral arrangements and attended the ceremonial burial. We'll return again to move the stone and place a plant on the correct site but we won't be stopping to say hello to Sophie!!

The island is emptying. We shared a delicious farewell dinner last night for Riikka, Demetres and Sandra who left this morning. Kallyroi made stuffed tomatoes & peppers flavoured with freshly chopped mint and a tasty fava. Riikka helped me to throw together another cabbage salad with a yogurt & honey dressing. Yummh!!

Sandra displayed her paintings before packing them up for return to Athens. 

Her work is wildly colourful, evoking the beat of Africa . 

Aegiali

The beach at Aegiali.

Finally! It was time for John to get his feet wet! We drove to the beach at Aegiali yesterday and he was coaxed into the water. It was a lengthy process, with much muttering, but he was finally submerged in the Aegean Sea!! Bravo!!

During the afternoon, it was obvious that I had fallen victim to a cold virus that had swept through our group. An afternoon nap felt good.

Looking into Karamel at Kallyroi and Armelle.

Later we joined a group for dinner at Karamel, our friend Armelle's Cafe. She opened in June in the Xylokeratidi end of Katapola. Her Cafe is unusual because she cooks a different dish each day, in the French tradition. Last night we had two choices: beef tongue or vietnamese pork.

I realized when I stepped into the kitchen that I had made a mistake. Viewing the tongue before sampling was not a wise idea. It lay on a plate, shrunken and pasty from boiling. How could I convince myself to try it?!

Finally, I decided to try a small piece as well as having a serving of the vietnamese pork. The tongue was tender but reduced taste buds made it impossible to say whether I enjoyed the flavour. John and Theo thoroughly enjoyed full portions. The rest of the group ordered vietnamese pork.

Kalomina!

A friendly visitor to my drawing site.

Dinner at Fish's taverna.

The days are still sunny and hot on Amorgos. Yesterday I climbed up to the windmills with my drawing book, found a shady spot with an interesting view and discovered that all of my pencils were back in the room!! These memory lapses seem to be more frequent.

All was not lost! After returning for a pencil, I found another location that was perfect. The only ones who wandered past were friendly cats. Bouganvillea blossoms litter the pathways now. Geraniums are preparing for a rest. Grape vines are heavy with fruit. Stores and cafes have closed their doors for another season.

It will soon be time to harvest olives and put them into the presses.

Last night we ate at a tiny taverna in Chora, sharing meatballs, fava, tomato balls and eggplant baked in the oven with island cheese. The owner cooked, served, chatted and joined us for a glass of wine.

Today, as it is the first day of the month, we will share greetings of "kalomina", wishes for a good month ahead, with everyone we meet. 

The island is emptying. Anastasia, Thanos, Andre & Sarita, Alexandra, Miguel, Steve,  Vivi, Veronique, Jenny & Alexander have all sailed back to other lives. They leave us with warm memories of days and nights together at Jazzmin.

The Italian Dinner

Theo checking on the cooks!

The day was hot and a swim at Agia Anna was refreshing!! 

On a hot day at the end of September, there were only 6 people at this beach.

Later, a group gathered at Jazzmin for an Italian dinner created by Simona and Julio 

from Lucca assisted by Reino and Diego from Bergama in Northern Italy. Wow!! 

Another culinary miracle emerged from the underground kitchen!

The appetizer plate included a thin slice of frittata(fried, not baked), 

a tomato stuffed with creamed spicy tuna and a delicious small thing. 

I learned that this was 1/2 tomato topped with a mixture of crumbs, 

ground nuts, herbs, garlic and baked in a low oven for an hour. 

The main course was the best lasagne that I have ever tasted, in huge portions. 

For dessert, a simple apple flan. Wow!!!

After dinner, Yorgos, the village fiddler arrived to entertain us with a few of his songs. 

Well fueled with beer, he was at his best! 

Couscousaki!

Sandra barely fits in the underground kitchen!

Someone has to work while the other one dances!

Warning! When cooking in a foreign country, always ask someone to translate the directions on a package of food. Never assume that you know how to prepare anything that comes in a package!!

After a fitful night of sleep that involved many variations on the meal that I would prepare, I was relieved to find packages of couscous at the local market. The fact that it was called couscousaki seemed incidental. I planned to make a toubouli type couscous salad, a cabbage salad and frittata.

5pm: With great confidence I placed the couscousaki in a bowl and poured boiling water over top (just like I have done a hundred times at home). The liquid gradually disappeared. Twenty minutes later I almost broke a tooth when I tested the results. At that moment Kallyroi appeared in the doorway and asked if she could help. I suggested that maybe she could read the directions on the empty packaging. "Oh" she said "you should soak the grains first and then place in boiling water". Again, with slightly less confidence, I decided to boil more water and place the partially cooked grain into the pot.

By this time Sandra had joined me in the miniscule kitchen to prepare a pot of squash soup. She was less confident about the couscousaki results but I was determined to give it a try. Meanwhile I had parboiled some potatoes for the frittata, sliced zuchinni, peppers and onion and placed all the veggies in a large shallow baking pan. We were quickly running out of space!  I placed the pan on a narrow counter behind us.

6pm: Glancing at the stove, I noticed that the couscousaki had turned into a pot of porridge! What could I do now? Sandra and I agreed that it was a disaster...so, into the garbage. I ran to the market for a package of rice. This time I asked Sandra to read the directions. The rice went onto the stove. By this time it was 99 degrees in the kitchen!

I started to chop the cabbage, apple, orange for the other salad while the rice cooked. How would I ever cool the rice in order to make a salad with it? Passing behind Sandra to the sink, I knocked the pan of frittata veggies upside down onto the floor. We looked at each other and wondered what the next disaster would be! "It's okay" she said "I just washed the floor". Choking with laughter, we threw the veggies back into the pan. 

I threw the cooked rice into a metal bowl, sat the bowl in another bowl of ice and gently moved the rice around for half an hour. It was threatening to become another glutinous mass!!

7pm: Sandra abandoned me after preparing a huge pot of delicious soup and a small quiche. I was still struggling while she created culinary delights! I tossed tomato, cucumber, parsley & onion into the rice along with capers, olive oil, lemon juice & curry. With luck it would have an hour to chill in the refrigerator before dinner.

7:30pm: The cabbage salad was tossed in honey, olive oil & lemon with apple, orange sections & raisins. I was fairly confident that it tasted good.

7:45pm: Sixteen eggs, yogurt & oregano were whisked together and poured over the recovered veggies in the pan before being topped with grated cheese that looked and tasted similar to parmesan.

8:00pm: I emerged from the kitchen, absolutely soaked with perspiration and exhausted. At that point, I could only hope that everything tasted okay. Kallyroi offered to clean up the mess and place the frittata in the oven at 8:15pm.

9:00pm: Twenty people started to gather around the tables outside. It was a beautiful night. The quiche was sliced into small pieces and served as an appetizer. We all agreed that the squash soup was a huge success! Very tasty!

Surprisingly, my efforts in the kitchen for the main course (with the exception of the couscousaki) were met with applause. Whew!!

A swim

Agia Anna beach on a calm day!

I was knocked over and sucked under. 

My exit from the sea had not gone as planned. 

The Marine Biologist who accompanied me on this swim had given me 

careful instructions about how to gracefully walk out of the water.

 "Just wait for the right wave" she had said. 

I watched her as a wave lifted her up onto the pebbly beach. 

It looked so easy! 

Somehow I had chosen the biggest wave to lift me...and the force pushed me right over. 

I tumbled over and under, drinking sea water and losing the top of my bathing suit! 

Her hand finally reached out and pulled me, bare breasted, to safety!

This was the second day that I had climbed down to Agia Anna for a swim. 

Both days the sea was too rough. 

Eva, the Marine Biologist who has spent half of her life in the water, 

assured me that if we walked a little further, we would find a good spot.

Next time I'll wait for calmer water!

A Kallyroi dinner

It was all arranged. Kallyroi was to pick up two freshly slaughtered chickens from the construction site near the electrical yard. We waited for her in the car as she disappeared from sight down a narrow pathway. She returned with 6 1/2 kilos of chicken, hoping that it had been gutted and defeathered.

The underground kitchen at Jazzmin came alive as she chopped and skinned and deboned. The soup pot went on at 5pm. Apples and bananas were chopped for the coconut curry dish. Aromas drifted outside, mingling with misty clouds.

Meanwhile Eva had joined Kallyroi in the kitchen to prepare a nectarine cake for dessert. Thinly sliced nectarines were carefully placed in rows on top of a cake batter. The topping was a simple mixture of egg and milk.

Fifteen people gathered around a line of cafe tables again for a wonderful meal. Helpers from our group took turns, carried bowls of soup up from the kitchen, cleared the tables, brought the curried chicken course, cleared the tables, presented dessert. For two hours we toasted our hosts and our cooks as we shared stories, debated issues and created memories.