The olive harvest

Earlier this month I took time out from the frantic last preparations for the café opening to go with the kids and visit some friends of ours who were in the last stages of harvesting the olives from their groves near Lygourió. Even though I've seen how it's done on TV, we had never actually joined in, so it was an opportunity I didn't want to put off until next year.


Needless to say, the kids had an amazing time. I really enjoyed it, too, even though I din't help that much because of my back.





It's common for families here to have olive groves for their own supply of oil and, if there is any left, they can sell it or give it away if they choose. When the middle of November comes around, everyone in the family, from old to young, knows it's time to start the olive harvest.


Large cloths are laid below the trees and then, with special 'combs' and ladders, the trees are stripped of their fruit. Usually some pruning of the trees takes place, too. Once all the olives are on the cloths, they're carefully lifted into a large 'sieve' which allows the leaves, which have also fallen, to be sorted out and the olives fall through into the sack below.



Once all the olives are harvested, they're taken by truck to the local olive press. The owner of the olives agrees in advance to either pay with money for the pressing of the oil or to give a percentage of the oil that is pressed to the mill owner, who, in turn, sells it. The smell emitted from the mill as olives are being pressed is one you either love or hate, but you certainly know you are in an olive producing region at this time of year! The smell is unmistakeable!

We only spent a few hours with our friends, including a break for some hearty bean soup to give the workers their energy. During the hours we were there, three trees were stripped and the fourth one was just begun. As you can imagine, it is hard work. But well worth it! The kids came home excited, exhausted and very dirty!

Liz Cupcakes

Photos (for those with a sense of Moo-mour)

A few months ago back when we were still looking for a new place to live in Nafplio we made several day trips, and once or twice stayed over for a couple of nights.

On one such occasion we came across this on the road from Corinth to Nafplio.


In case you can't quite make it in the photo, here's a close-up:


The kids were highly aMOOsed. As were we, so much so that we slowed down for the cow-car to overtake us again and for Alex to take the photo.

Then, and I kid you not, after overtaking the pick up once again, a few hundred meters ahead, we came across this car!


Once again, just in case you missed it, here's a close-up:


Which we found even more aMOOsing. So much so that we slowed down again to be overtaken once more and take its photo.

Ok. Enough of the ridiculous MOO jokes. Some might say 'Only in Greece' and I admit I was rather tempted to title the post that, but then I am sure that if I did, people would tell me they had seen something similar elsewhere!

My little salad

Here is the little salad that I made with the lettuce I grew (found) in the back garden!


It was especially tender so I just gently tore it, added a small sliced cucumber, a few small cubes of feta and a sprinkling of salt.

For oil, I added some absolutely amazing Olive oil that some friends gave me from their trees in Lygourio (Λυγουριό). It tastes outstanding. It has an almost creamy taste.

I'm told that Lygourio is one of a few places with special registration for their oil. I'll have to investigate this matter further but maybe some of you readers can shed some more light on it?

Anyway my verdict of the whole salad was phenomenal. Even though my little lettuce was so small that there was only a few small forks full for each of us.

Changing seasons, changing flavours!

Can you believe Alex took this picture exactly one month ago when we went to the beach?


Winter is most definitely here! The last few days have been rather dismal. Over the past weekend we fired up the central heating for the first time. There were a few technical problems with that and one or two other things in the house but I won't go into all that! I prefer to think that everything is repaired.



The last couple of weeks have seen a change in the scenery in and around Nafplio. The view of the orange grove outside the front of our house is one thing that has changed dramatically.


A couple of weeks ago the oranges were small and very green. Now they have grown a lot and are starting to change from green to pale yellow and some even have their orange color already. It is amazing what a couple weeks of rain and a little sunshine can do!!!


It's exciting for my son. He can't wait for the oranges to ripen so he can have fresh juice! He has been asking nearly every day since we got here "when will the oranges be ready?" I am not sure if he realizes that he won't actually be able to help himself from the oranges across the street.


This week my Father in Law brought a huge bag of walnuts and another of quince from his trees in his village, Klepa, which is in the region of Northern Nafpaktos. Quince is not something I have cooked with before, so I started googling to see what delicious recipes I could find.


We settled on trying some quince jam first. I was quite pleased with the way it turned out. We discovered that the color of the jam depends on the type of quince you have, some quinces make very deep pink jam and others make a more pale pink jam. Ours were the variety that make a paler coloured jam.


It was very nice on a slice of fresh crusty bread, but I also think it would be delicious on a freshly baked scone and, if I wanted to be very naughty, with a pile of whipped cream on top. If I get a chance to try it any time soon I will tell you if my conclusions were correct!





The change in the weather has made me put my mind to all the wonderful different flavours of cupcakes we will be able to make in the different seasons. In the café I want to try my best to have some flavors influenced by the seasons. This time of year it would be nice to have autumn-and-winter taste cupcakes. Something with pumpkin and winter fruits, like apple and pears or delicious spices, that remind you of sitting around the fire in winter, such as cinnamon and cloves, maybe cardamom. Quince? I am trying to think of a way to incorporate quince jam into or onto a cake! That could be interesting!

Liz

Things I learned, aka We survived! (final part three)

After lunch the kids took a nap and we started on the chocolate cupcakes. We quickly fell into our routine that we got started in the morning. By 6 pm all the chocolate cakes were out of the oven.

I started on the frosting. Shortly after 7 I realized that it was going to be impractical to finish up and drive to Athens when the cakes were done. I hadn't packed a thing. We decided it would be more beneficial for the kids to get in their own beds for a relatively early night rather than have to face the trip. Olivia's fever was staying down for around 6 hours at a time and she had no other symptoms like coughing or ear ache. That way we would get up early and I would leave with the kids around 7 to arrive in Athens in time for my hair appointment. The cupcakes would go straight to the venue with Alex and Pappous. It proved to be the right thing to do.

At around 7.30 pm we had finished all the cupcakes and they were all packed in their boxes ready to go in the morning. I can't describe the sense of satisfaction I felt. That, and the sense of aching legs and shoulders!!!

We all took a break, tidied around the kitchen a little, snacked on whatever we could find in the fridge and, after the kids went to bed, I packed our things. Clothes for the wedding and other things we would need for the week-end.

Saturday morning we got up bright and early. Olivia had slept very well and her fever had not come up again at all during the night. She still appeared a little tired but I can only conclude that the fever was caused by exhaustion. We had been out for meals and ice-cream three nights in a row with our guests (forcing them to endure the tour of Nafplio by little train... not exactly the most exciting thing for adults...)



We didn't stay out too late, but I usually have the munchkins in bed early on school nights and I think the excitement and those few less hours of sleep must have been what did it.

I left with the kids for Athens leaving the boxes of cakes behind. My sense of satisfaction at having got them all done was only second to the sense of satisfaction I felt at hearing they had been delivered safely and had all travelled intact to the venue. The drive to Athens at that time of the morning was incredible. The sun was coming up and casting light patches on the mountains and leaving patches of shade where it hadn't risen quite enough yet. As the road rose and fell we could see the morning mist surrounding the ships along the coast and in valleys. Magical. Perhaps I found it even more enchanting because of the happiness I felt at managing to pull off the cake-making and for being able to give a gift that our family would treasure and remember? Who knows?



The rest is history... The wedding went exactly the way it was planned. The happy couple just came back from a romantic honeymoon week-end in Paris. All that remains is for me to tell you what I learned.


1. I tweeted about this one... Attending a wedding where you are a member of the family is much more tiring than making over 700 cupcakes for it!

2. Exterminating all flies from the confines of the house before work and during the day requires one person wholly devoted to the job! The joys of country living!

3. Happy helpers are extremely useful at times like this. My feet and back are especially grateful.

4. Having a professional kitchen and a larger oven would have made this job take a lot less time and been a lot easier. It is difficult when you have to pick something up in order to put something down!


5. My recipe worked just fine. It doesn't fail to impress. It's basic but can be altered in any amount of ways. I'll post it soon.

PS. My guests very very kindly did the remaining tidying and cleaning while we were away in Athens. Jens and Lone, thanks so much again! I promise that I won't make you work if you dare to come on vacation again!

Our latest

It's been a while since I wrote a proper entry with our news. It's been a busy time. We still haven't completely settled in. Still got some curtains to put up. Not a picture on the walls yet! How pathetic are we?

Of course there has been plenty going on. My parents came for a visit and we spent a few days going to the beach and generally doing not much really. It's hard to get going again after the summer. We needed the rest (and still do) but it has left me feeling like we haven't really got everything done that we needed to.

We have one or two teething problems with the house, too. It's a new house so it is to be expected that some little problems would surface when things were used for the first time. We had a dripping pipe under the kitchen sink which caused a mini kitchen flood. It seems like the weather suddenly changed with September coming in. We have had some amazing storms. The kids have been thrilled watching the lightening and listening to the thunder from their loft bedroom. The other night was one of the loudest and most violent storms I have seen in Greece for a long time. The basement flooded! Alex happened to go downstairs for something and spotted the muddy water pouring in. I had a small carpet down there which was floating! We had some nice books which we hadn't unpacked yet. Lovely Architecture and Design coffee table type books. Fortunately the card boxes held up quite well and we managed to rescue most but not all of them. Just as well Alex went down for whatever it was. If we hadn't noticed until the next morning we would have lost lots more. All my picture frames with paintings and prints were still in boxes as well. Phew!

The vacuum broke. The washing wouldn't dry because of all the rain!

Anyway, all these things are getting worked on and it still doesn't put us off living here!

The kids are back at school. That took a bit of looking around and searching. The first week is always hard. Getting back into a routine of getting up early and getting breakfast and out the door by a certain time. Next week will be easier.

As far as the shop is concerned, we have been busy with that, too. Scouting the area for locations, while doing our research about costs and permits and grants etc. It takes a lot of time and will-power. Not so easy when you are already tired! We've also been reading guide books on starting a successful business.

No matter how tired I feel or how many little hiccups may have happened so far, I am still so pleased that we made the decision to move to Nafplio. I am so glad I don't have to face the apartment block across the street in Palaio Faliro when I look out of the window or the traffic in Athens while dropping my daughter off at nursery. Out of my window I see an orange grove and on the way to nursery I look left and see the different shades of mountains as the sun comes over them. They look like they have been cut out of enormous pieces of card and placed to make the set for some beautiful show at the theater. Out of the right side of the car I see the Palamidi. In the evening we get beautiful views of the sun's rays beaming out from the clouds and then heading off behind the mountains.

Update September 21, 2009: The basement flooded again on Saturday night! As I write we have got workmen outside trying to make sure it doesn't happen again!

Liz

PS My mother brought me this lovely new book. I have tried one or two things in it. I am sure you can gain a kilo or two just by reading it.

"For the kids"

One thing I love about living in the country is the lovely local produce available.

Typical Greek hospitality means that if someone has something to offer you from their own garden or shop or business, they absolutely will. Especially if you have young children.

"Please take this...it's for the kids."

We've been here less than two months but we have already been on the receiving end of such gifts. On one side of our house there is a gentleman who has 6 chickens. The kids were looking at them over the verandah one day when he was tending to them and we got to chatting about moving here. He told us that he keeps chickens for eggs for his three grandchildren and also raises about 3 sheep a year for meat for them, "because you don't know what you are buying from the shops these days", a valid point. He then proceeded to give us the eggs laid that day. Five beautiful large eggs. You can't get much fresher than that! My son absolutely loves eggs and promptly ate one for his supper.

Then the other day the owner of our house came by. With a crate of beautiful organic lettuces. So tender and delicious. "You can give these to your children without fear."


I love it. It's not that you don't get this in the city but not many have the ability to give you freshly grown things in town.

I guess you could say we are enjoying ourselves since we moved here. There are of course some things which take getting used to. I'll write more about that soon!