Meltdown

 We are suffering through a killer heatwave.  Not since 1987 have temperatures been so high and for such a long period.  Back in 1987 very few had aircondition and over 1,300 people died.  

Such high temepratures are, apparently, rare for Greece and happen about every 15 years.  The heat today is worse than I can remember.  It's a real inferno out there.  

We will be having temps in the 40s for at least another week and this on an island surrounded by water.  We are normally quite a few degrees cooler than say the nearby cities of Athens and Nafplio.

We went shopping very early in the morning, got essentials and then retreated back up the mountain.   There is a breeze out there but it's a searing hot wind.

11am we retreated into our inner sanctum and turned on the airconditioning. Cross your fingers there are no power cuts because of overuse on the power grid.

 We'll go swimming around 5 and stay there till it's dark.  

Last night was hot but not unbearably so.  Nightime temperatures are also getting higher so we are not expecting to be any cooler tonight.  K tried sleeping outside and he said it was quite comfortable and he needed a sheet.  I prefer to be inside away from stray cats, mosquitoes, flying insects and howling dogs, with a fan to keep me cool.

Fire risk is very high especially with the winds and I am very aware of any odd cloud on the horizon or anything that may smell vaguely like smoke.

Meanwhile Greece has just won it's first gold, mens rowing, single scull.  Some much needed excitement in these harrowed times.  I've just heard the Greek National Anthem for the umpteenth time.  

Zito Hellas.  Well done Greece

More Things

Just a well worn pair of sandals.  Except that, my grandaughter pointed out that one is size 40 and one size 41.  I hadn't even noticed!

I bought two pairs of these, it seems in two different sizes. 

Heroic ants 'man'-handled these pieces of dry cat food up a wall and into their nest somewhere on the edge of the garden.  It's amazing what team work can do and at double pace too.

 

Dicing banana skins which I then turned to mush in a blender and fed to the tomato plants.  I saw no difference and have thrown most of the tomato plants in the compost.  What a waste of space and water.  Tomatoes are 1 euro a kilo at the farmer's market just now.

About the Place

 

Squash-slash-pumpkin plants marching across the otherwise dry brown turf.  I have 5 plants and they, unlike the tomatoes, are all thriving and producing flowers.  I don't see any squash-slash-pumpkins being produced but you never know.  They've done well every other year.

I finally got the bougainvillia-without-thorns into a pot.  It is not supposed to grow very high so this pot should be a cosy home for it

The oregano bunch has dried out and is ready to be scrunched up and stored in a jar

The limoncello finally got finished too after 6 weeks of limon peels marinating in raki.

I made the sugar syrup and added it to the alcohol.  It sort of took my breath away.  I think the syrup needs adjusting.  My recipe did say to start with a syrup of one cup of sugar to one cup of water and to adjust according to taste.  More water will make it smoother and more sugar will obviously make it sweeter.  It needs a bit of both.

Summer Photos

 

We've had a few heatwaves this summer.  Temps are back to normal now, around 32o on the island and breezes are from the north, summer winds called Meltemi or Maïstros.

This photo was taken during the last heatwave when my daughter and grandkids had to go to the city for a french exam and hospital tests for their further education .    The cities of Argos and Nafplio always bake in the summer even though they are beside the sea.

43oC is about the norm for them in a heatwave.  

The maiden aunts across the water are famous for their homemade, down-on-the-farm cooking but also for their roses.  This one was in full bloom a few weeks ago.  They are getting on in years and are teaching their grandnephew, one of many, to prune the roses.  He came and pruned mine this year.

One son-in-law is a taxi boat captain, the other a whizz with yachts.  

He's one of very few who will climb up the mast to do repairs.

It's a long way down.  He managed to hang on, do the repairs and take a few photos from up there.

Sleepover

Sleepover

Our grandchildren are all teenagers, or older now.  Gone are the days when they enjoyed camping out with Nana and Papous, running wild in the fields and roads around us, chasing the local wild cats, honing their skills in the kitchen and sleeping out on the vernadah with those wild cats roaming around them.

But now and again nostalgia takes over and they appear for a night and a day.  Papous spends the time working out their menu, frying their favourite meatballs and arranging for evening pizza making sessions.  Nana rubs her hands and adds to the list of jobs for them to do.

An early morning face.  Poppi flips the pancakes

And it lands perfectly in the pan.  She is number three in the line of pancake makers.  Her two older siblings turned into experts and her cousins are fighting for number one spot

Ducks lined up in a row

It was really too hot for pizza making so we bought some ready frozen and added a little extra.  Darn nice they were too.

Young Jamie has to avoid salt at all costs so we made him mini pizzas with greek pitta bread as the base, ketch-up and grated gouda.  They were even darn nice the next day, cold, as an accompaniment to bifteki (handmade hamburger) and greek potatoes

Top of Nana's list was clean the last of the carpets.  Lots of fun.  Cold water on a hot summer's morning and a high pressure hose.

Growing Potatoes

 

Don't potatoes need a cold climate?

At the end of last winter I had a large potato which had sprouted so I cut it into pieces, an eye a piece, and planted them around the garden, mainly in pots.  Then I forgot about them.  They have all sprouted and are growing, above ground at least.

I'm just leaving them alone till September at least.  This one is growing in the hydrangea pot.    I have no idea when they can be harvested.  Somewhere I think I read it is when the plants flower.

It's an experiment and who knows we may have a fresh potato or two some time.

Tourlou

 Tourlou or a summer vegetable medley.  

Ratatouille, the dish not the rat.  I am sure every country, at least here in the mediterranean has a version of this dish.  Summer vegetables, all lightly cooked in a pan on the stove top.  Quick, fresh, light (depending on the amount of olive oil you add) and delicious.

We are going to eat ours with feta cheese and just a little bit of bread, fresh for me and stale for the traditional man about the house.  Stale bread is better for mopping up the juices and doesn't go soggy.

This is what I'm cooking at the moment.

Chunks of

zucchini/courgette

 potato/patata

 eggplant/aubergine

 green pepper/capsicum

onion and garlic and a leftover leek

go**amit I forgot the garlic

Sweat all the vegetables in olive oil, as much as you like.  I only used a big spoonful in the beginning along with a little water but I added an extra swig of oil at the end when I turned off the stove.

Then I peeled and diced

3 fresh tomatoes blanched briefly in boiling water for a quick peel

and chopped

parsley and mint from the garden.

Salt and pepper and a sprinkle of sugar to balance the acidity of the tomatoes.

Don't stir it too much or you'll get mushy Vege.

It's best cooked in a wide shallow pot.  I was across the waters at the small village of Galatas a few weeks ago to get my second jab and visited the maiden aunts.  They had just cooked this, in their wide pot called a tablas, and absolutely insisted I sit down and eat with them.  You don't get away with not eating in that house but every thing is so well cooked, done from scratch that it's a treat to share their meal.

After about half an hour of a slow simmer our own lunch was ready so I could go and get a hair cut.

And it's vegan too, but not plant-based-whole-food-oil-free.  The latter is my latest fad.  No meat, eggs, dairy, no processed foods and no olive oil.  Laughing Out Loud.  No olive oil?  From every window of my house the view is an olive tree or a lemon tree.  But it's healthy.  Lots of vegetables, fruit, grains and legumes.  It's basically what we eat anyway in the summer, forgetting about the pork and fish.