Baking and perseverance

For everyone who has ever felt intimidated by all the pretty pictures of baked goods you see all over the internet - this is for you.

{sunken pie crust}

This pie crust looked absolutely beautiful after I fluted the edges and carefully tucked it in the freezer, but it somehow collapsed into itself during the baking bit, leaving me with a very flaky and delicious pie crust that is capable of holding 1/8 inch of filling, max.

Thinking maybe I had set the oven temperature too low, I went ahead and stuck another one in there.

{sunken pie crusts 1 + 2}

Nope, clearly not the temperature. Decided it must be the fancy European butter I used, which is such a dream in croissants and free form tarts, but which appears to be too creamy to form a sturdy pie crust. Chalked it up to a learning experience and stuck another pie crust (sans European butter) in the oven.

Got distracted by the little terrier and ignored the timer when it went off. Only realized that it was for the oven when I smelled something burning. Third failure of the morning. Frustration sets in, much gnashing of teeth. Circe, a pie crust connoisseur, refuses to eat even the non-burned parts of the pie crust, clearly feeling it is beneath her terrier dignity. I can't blame her.

{burned pie crust}

Started to panic, thinking that a birthday pie was not going to emerge from the kitchen at all. Stuck another pie crust in the freezer to firm up and baked a lemon-yogurt cake as a back up plan. Half expected something disastrous to happen to said cake. Considered trying to find a bakery open on the 4th of July that might have a cake decorated with something other than an American flag.

By some miracle, both the cake and the fourth pie emerged unscathed.

{lemon cake + lemon pie}

While they cooled, I caramelized a pile of onions with a bit of rosemary and then spread the mixture in my collapsed crusts, adding a bit of aged white cheddar to the top. Voila! An (only somewhat unsightly) onion tart.

{improvised tart}

The burned crust had to be thrown away, of course. There are limits to what you can salvage. 

Oh, and I also burned myself on the oven, adding to a rather spectacular array of baking induced arm scars. Some days are just like this.

P.S. - The lemon cake recipe is actually just Deb's lime yogurt cake, but with lemon juice and zest instead of lime. I didn't have blackberries to make the sauce, so I cut the cake in half once it cooled and spread a generous layer of boysenberry jam in the middle. Pretty tasty and not overly sweet - the kind of cake you could almost justify eating for breakfast. The lemon pie recipe is coming soon.

The weekend, briefly

The weekend was long and full. Lots of cooking and baking, two family birthday parties, and four loads of laundry on Monday afternoon.

{attempt at a stenciled sparkler card - didn't work}

{lemon cake + lemon pie}

{baxter* - foster pup}

{green tomatoes}

{shiner bock}

{morning glory sparklers}

*Baxter is an almost unbelievably adorable lab-rottweiler mix around a year old. He has a congenital hip disorder, and he recently had surgery to fix it, so he's recovering at my parents' home. He'll eventually need a permanent home, so if anyone in the general SoCal area is looking for a pup, feel free to email me. The whole family has fallen for him and his huge head, but we'd be thrilled if we could place him in a good home. 

Friday flowers, minus the flowers

Flowers didn't appeal to me this week. I looked (twice) and nothing grabbed me. Luckily, our herb garden needed a bit of pruning, so I stuck a few sprigs in one of my thrift store jars.

{rosemary, glass}

Rosemary, basil, sage and mint - some of my favorites. Greenery can be a nice refresher, a palate cleanser between the showier flowers.

{greens, glass}

Greece - purchases

I find I buy less than I used to, when traveling. There's still that nagging little voice that makes me feel like I have to find souvenirs for everyone I might see in the next 3 months (family, friends, coworkers). I'm getting really good at ignoring that voice. If someone requests a particular item, or if I happen to see something perfect for a particular person, I'll buy it. If not, I don't buy anything.

I considered indulging in shoes or jewelry for myself this time around, but ultimately ran out of time and energy. Instead, I picked up a few odds and ends that I truly love.

Behold the haul...

{greek bounty}

A bag of gigantes, from the grocery store. They're so hard to find at home and when I do find them, they're terribly overpriced. And no, just buying the largest lima beans you can find does not work. They don't taste the same, somehow. 1 euro.

Two bottles of liquor. One of them is pomegranate, purchased for summer cocktails. The other is clear and unidentifiable.* I was in a little store in Nafplio, waiting for my order of loukamades to finish frying when I saw the bottle on the shelf and asked the owner what it was. He and his daughter conferred, but couldn't figure out how to explain it. Instead, they poured out some shots - the fastest way to promote universal understanding, truly. It is stronger than ouzo** and it doesn't have the aniseed flavor. 20 euros total (for two smallish bottles + 1 order of loukamades + free shots + free samples of every gelato flavor in the store)

{brass bowl}

Antique brass peacock bowl, found at the Monastiraki Sunday flea market (always fabulous). 4 euros

{tin figures}

Little pieces of hammered tin, also from the flea market, original use uncertain but we'll be hanging them on our Christmas tree. 10 euros total.


*I got curious while writing this and did some research. I think it might be tsipouro, a strong (45%) alcohol produced from the remnants of the wine making process. I'll have to examine the bottle more closely.

**I love ouzo but I don't bother purchasing it in Greece. It's fairly readily available at large liquor stores and I have never been able to distinguish between the various brands anyway, so I'm happy with whatever I find.

Greece - Sounion

I have never stayed at a Greek resort, so I had no idea what to expect when D's grandmother picked the Grecotel at Cape Sounion. The location was clearly fabulous, but I had doubts about whether fancy resorts actually existed in Greece. While traveling alone, I had never spent more than 30 euros a night for a hotel room (and more frequently paid 10 euros for some distinctly questionable accommodations), so I am obviously not an expert.

I needn't have worried. We were greeted by a giant pear (which was actually part of a fruit platter, and accompanied by a bottle of wine) and robes. Apparently this is standard resort practice. Who knew?

{sounion - hotel greeting pear}

We spent most of our time by the saline pool but we did make it down to the beach.

{yes, my legs are as pale in greece as they are everywhere else}

{palapas - or whatever they are called in greek}

It wouldn't have been our vacation without a little weirdness. We all signed up for the sunset champagne cruise, which sounds super luxe. We were a little thrown when the captain couldn't get the boat into the cove, had us clamber out on the slippery rocks in a failed attempt to board, commandeered Dustin to act as deckhand, and finally (rather inventively) solved the whole problem by having us mount a broken down jet ski, three people at a time, that he tied to an inflatable canoe with a bit of twine and proceeded to row us out to the boat.

{d, with the jet ski and the canoe}

We made it to the boat, clutching our champagne for dear life. And it was worth it.

{captain}

{temple of poseidon}

{sunset cruise}

Totally different from any Greek experience in my repertoire, totally lovely. And a truly perfect way to spend the tail end of a busy trip, with a bit of relaxation after all the craziness a family trip entails.

Greece - Aegina

The poor islands got short shrift from us. They certainly don't deserve it. Greece has a plethora of islands, all lovely in their own ways. Most people who have spent some time in Greece will have a favorite island or two - personally, my knees go weak for Milos, which is stunning and usually fairly quiet. Milos is in the Cyclades, so you're looking at a 5 - 8 hour ferry ride from Athens. If you have the time, go for it. Rent a car when you get there and zip all over the small island. They have stunning beaches and white rock formations and also some old catacombs that you can crawl around in, much to my delight.

We were short on time this trip, so we opted for Aegina instead, a mere 40 minute ferry ride from the mainland. We hired a cab to drive us up to the temple of Athena and he kindly made it a bit of a tour for us, stopping at a monastery on the way down. I was wearing a dress, so I didn't enter the monastery and frankly I was a little uncomfortable even standing in front to get some pictures. Rules vary from monastery to monastery. Some won't allow women at all, some will but require various standards of dress, some will even provide cover ups. As a rule, dress modestly and bring a long skirt to wear while you walk around, to avoid any hint of disrespect.

{aegina - taxi}

{greece - aegina - temple of athena}

{aegina - monastery}

{aegina - monastery detail}

It was incredibly hot, so we stopped in a small cafe and drank frappes under a giant fig tree.

{aegina - cafe}

{aegina - frappe}

Frappes in Greece are a thing of joy. Nescafe (I was skeptical too, at first)  is whipped frantically with a bit of milk and then it all somehow coalesces into this foamy, icy deliciousness. During summer some cafes offer them as ice cream floats. Highly recommend.

If you make it to an island, you should probably gorge yourself on seafood. I never order seafood in Athens, even if I do happen to find a restaurant that serves it. Greece prides itself on fresh food, and you won't see many seafood options unless you are near a good port. In fact, most restaurants print disclosures on the menu, so there will be an asterisk next to some seafood options and it tells you that they were made from frozen seafood. I don't know if this is legally required or just niceness, but I appreciate it.

At a port, find the fish market (easily identifiable by the smell) and then choose a restaurant nearby. Choices will vary from island to island, but you'll generally find whole fried whitefish (very lightly battered, eat them like french fries, bones and all) and mussels saganaki, which is fresh mussels + cheese. Keep your mind open and ask the waiter to help you order and you won't be disappointed.

The weekend, briefly

Grocery shopping! Cleaning! Cooking actual food! Baskets and baskets and baskets of laundry! Although I actually can't take any credit for the laundry, because D did all of it. Basically, we were busy and now we can actually live like semi-civilized people again.

{loose leaf tea}

I fortified myself with tea on our balcony, which I realize looks a little bit like a rainforest from this angle. Sadly, it isn't.

{balcony tea}

We tended our little balcony garden, which means I randomly try things like attacking the soil with a pair of garden shears in an attempt to break it up a bit. I think that's called aerating. Otherwise I may have dead herbs next week. Pretty much 50/50.

{tomato plants}

But the biggest news of the weekend is that I finally got up the courage to attempt to poach an egg sans egg poacher. I know, I know. It's basically just sliding an egg into hot water and letting it sit for 4 minutes. Sometimes the simplest things seem scary. In desperation (poached eggs are one of my favorite foods), I took a deep breath, followed Deb's instructions and then proceeded to eat poached eggs for the rest of the weekend.

{poached egg on black beans}

{poached egg on toast}

{poached egg, perfect}

I feel pretty accomplished. And full.