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Our Hostess and Tour Guide
The lady on the left was our tour guide and the one on the right was the chef hostess. We arrived at the town square to wait for our minibus for the tour at 9:30am, to be safe. When they finally showed up at 10:35, we'd been worried for a while. Along with us, the driver, and the guide, there were 7 other people, all from Australia, and all apparently... well heeled, as one couple told us they came from Australia on their yacht! We rode up into the White Mountains above Kalives a bit to a town called Mahteri. Here we stopped at an old house where we met our chef and hostess. After a brief tour of the property with its fruit trees, plants, and oddities, we all sat down for some coffee/drinks while the guide explained what we were going to do and eat. First, we would pick some mint and grape leaves, then "borrow" some fresh eggs from the neighbor. We'd already picked and eaten some mulberries, apricots, and lemons. Next, we all scooped out the insides from tomatoes and cleaned out some light green bell peppers. These would be used for stuffed tomatoes and peppers, along with the topping for dakos (rusk toast with diced tomatoes, onions, and feta cheese). Then, she showed us how
View from the hostess's terrace.
A view of the countryside below our hostess's house in Matheri. to mix them with onions, garlic, and some herbs, which we mixed with rice. We used this mixture to fill the tomatoes and peppers, and the grape leaves for dolmades. Afterwards, we waited while she mixed and kneaded pasty dough, then we ran it thru the pasta machine from setting 3 to 6. After showing us how to place large spoonfuls of cheese spaced along the dough, fold it over, cut half moons, then crimp the edges, we all did the same. Some of the "old folks" couldn't or didn't want to make half moons and made squares instead. Manoli and I did the half moons, receiving praise from the hostess and others. After a chat break outside, we went inside to enjoy the fruits of our labors. First, we ate cheese, olives, dakos, and an eggplant dip. Some of the types of olives were quite good, others not so good. The dakos were very good and the cheese was excellent. We drank white and red local wines during dinner. Then came the main dishes; stuffed tomatoes and peppers, and dolmades. The stuffed tomatoes were excellent, but the peppers were a bit burned and not as tasty as our green
Garden and Courtyard
The courtyard and garden behind the hostess's house. peppers back home. The dolmades were so good that even Manoli like them! For dessert we had the cheese pastries we'd made, with honey over them. Delicious! Some of the others had raki with dessert, but Manoli and I passed, having that unpleasant experience before. I had a Greek coffee instead... yuk! We'd discovered during the course of the day that the seven Australians were all college friends and were architects and doctors. We didn't realize until later that evening that with all that yummy food for lunch, there wasn't a bit of meat anywhere! After thanking our hostess, we got back on the minibus and returned to Kalives at about 5pm. A very satisfying day for both of us. We'd eaten so much for lunch that we had gyros for dinner.
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Judy
non-member comment
Making Good Foods!
Finally something that didn't involve hiking, climbing, or walking great distances. :) It looks like you guys really enjoyed the fruits of your labors.