Zakynthos first impressions and concerns, happy to be proven wrong!
Admitting neither of us were looking forward to coming to Zakynthos town and, on arriving, I wasn't initially impressed. Busy town wall, noisy Main Street with busy traffic, Med mooring, being glared at by the people on neighbouring cat who then asked us to move. Why? Oh our fenders were touching theirs...what???? We didn't move and I did explain to him what fenders were designed to do.
There's a chap called Dennis who offers to sort the paperwork out, it costs 15 euro per day to be ...
Spetzofai, a spicy Greek sausage and vegetable casserole.
I just love the name, sounds like something Hermione would say whilst pointing her wand! It's delicious, I got so excited when the very lovely Spyridoula (from the fantastic butcher in Ay Eufimia) me how to make and then even more so to eat :)
I don't know what it'll taste like for those of you who can't get Greek sausages though.. These sausages are the same thickness as regular "bangers", but have the texture of good frankfurters, very rustic and oh so delicious!
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Lamb chops, magherita style
Wow, the butcher here in Ay Eufimia is incredible! I'm in heaven, easily pleased I know :). If you come here and can't see what you want just ask, they've got it all.
So these lamb chops were baa-ing for me to buy them. Wanted something tasty and quick, if you're as hot as I am right now you'll understand.
Marinade:
2 medium sized ripe tomatoes, 1 small red onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 small anchovy fillets, about 10 pitted black olives, chopped chilli to suit ...
Gulf of Amvrakia, German Beach Towels! Vonitsa and the breathtaking Spartakhori
We both felt pretty tired and a tad stressed after our week on the hard for boat jobs so went in search of solitude. Yes, even in high season it's possible here! A quick grocery run then headed to the inland lagoon of Amvrakikos Kolpos.
Not a boat insight, nothing at all but endless miles of crystal clear water and amazing scenery.
There were, however two caravans on the beach and two sun loungers. Believe it or not the caravans were German registered and I ...
Mega Marinated Pork Chop, Stuffed Courgette Rolls
Looks like a dinosaur chop, right?
So two huge chops marinated in:
Lemon juice and grated zest
A generous splash of white wine
A glug of oil (I used avocado)
Chopped herbs (I used mint, oregano and parsley)
A couple of cloves of garlic, smashed
Chops in, left for the whole day turning when I remembered..
Grilled to perfection over a high heat to brown nicely, turning half way through cooking and (please) rest for a few minutes so juices sort themselves out! Add the marinade ...
Tandoori Lamb Skewers with Tangy Salad
The lamb here in Greece is just amazing, loving every mouthful :)
So I just got 500g of lamb, diced it at marinaded in 2 tblsp of tandoori paste, a squeeze of lemon juice, a tblsp of Greek yoghurt and some freshly ground black pepper. Leave this for a few hours (if you make your own, tell me how you did it please?)
Threaded onto skewers with chunks of onion, cherry tomatoes and a few mushrooms.
Grill for roughly 20 mins, this will cook the lamb to medium.
Crunchy courgettes sprinkled ...
Lovely open pancake lunch
Left over fajitas from last night, there's no way I was throwing them away. None of us like waste do we?
A delicious healthy filling combining some of my favourite flavours, yum!
Sauté onions, bacon lardons, mushrooms, spinach, freshly ground black pepper, a grating of nutmeg in a pan. Add a spoon of cream or yoghurt if wished, I did :)
Warm the fajitas and spoon the filling over. Wipe the pan and fry two eggs. Add to the topping and dig in quick!
Fajita Night “primal style”, why not?
Do you like fajitas? Most do, I'm not such a fan as find it a bit heavy if that makes sense. Anyhow promised the Boss as he loves them and these turned out really well for a first attempt.
Ingredients:
1 cup tapioca flour
3 1/2 tblsp coconut flour
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tbsp coconut oil
2 lightly beaten eggs
Combine dry ingredients. Whisk all wet ingredients, oil as well, and combine all together thoroughly.
I left this to sit for an hour before ...
Hooray the boat floats (but might have to come out next year again), the galley is open, finally off to anchor!
Life on the hard has been, well, hard! Five days of work, heat and ridiculous humidity (26 degrees, 78% humidity at 7h). Those of you who thought I was a tad smug about our new air con please feel free to giggle, air con is water cooled!
So no cooking at all, fortunately the local taverna was reasonable and served very good food plus the staff are so friendly and have gladly helped me learn a bit more Greek. Maria and Rula made us feel very welcome, thanks ladies.
So what's been ...
