Sunday, July 27, 2008

The food diaries: part 1 - Greece


Looking through my folders for Parisian food photos for my Paris post (which is still to come), I came across several food photos from my trip to Greece earlier in the summer and other meals I've had in London. So I though I'd do a series of foodie posts showing you not the places I've visited, but the food I've enjoyed along the way. Today we start with Greece - France, England and maybe one or two other destinations to follow.

A typical summer meal at a seaside Greek taverna consists of:


Greek salad - made with tomatoes, cucumber, onion, green peppers, black olives, lots of olive oil, oregano and a slab of feta cheese. Tourists tend to have the salad as a main course, but Greeks would always order it as a shared dish between 2-4 people.


Tzatziki - a dip made with yogurt, cucumber, garlic, olive oil and vinegar. Can be very strong or quite mild, depending on how much garlic's gone in. Goes well with bread.


Fried squid. It tastes best if it's fresh, but fried is just fine and nothing like the frozen calamari rings you get over here.


Grilled octopus. Not to everyone's taste due to its unsightly appearance and chewy texture, but if you like it, you really like it. I love it.


Chunky fried potatoes. Mmmm!

Eat with lots of fresh bread, and wash it all down with some nice white or rose wine, or an ice-cold beer (or two). This is what you're left with:


Bon appetit!

17 comments:

GMG said...

Hi Tinsie!
Sorry for the absence these last weeks, but unfortunately it wasn’t due to some summer holidays… ;))
Thanks for your comments on Blogtrotter, now at the MoMA for Art and New York lovers! Hope you enjoy and wish you a great week! I’ll try to get back here to enjoy your lovely pictures (and to remember the great Greek lunch that I had in Santorini and that you pictured here) with some more time during the week... ;))

Shionge said...

Hey interesting Greek food Tinsie, is that grilled octopus tough? The tip sure looks yummy :D

Betty Carlson said...

These salads look just like I imagine them...and actually something like I make them.

I also love fried calamari and just ate some here in Washington State!

The octopus looks intriguing - -I think I've only tasted that once.

Can't wait to read more about Paris!

ShadowFalcon said...

No I'm starving! Looks like you had a good trip. looking forawrd to Paris pics

Unknown said...

So I will eat food like that in a few weeks.

Tinsie said...

@ GMG: Looking forward to "seeing" you again! I'll be over to look at your pictures too.

@ Shionge: It shouldn't be tough, it should be lightly crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The one on the photo was perfect :-)

@ Betty: You have to try the octopus if you're ever in Greece. It's yummy!!

Paris pictures will be next up.

@ Shadowfalcon: Ditto :-)

@ Ropi: You're going to Greece? I'm sooo jealous! Are you ready for the temperatures?

Eirene H said...

Great description and very precise. You just make me hungry and even more impatient. I REALLY can't wait till our holiday now! xxx

Karen said...

I haven't even had my second cup of coffee yet, and you've got my mouth watering. I'm going to try to reproduce that salad, and I do know where to find good Tzatziki. Don't think I can reproduce the calamari (which I love, but am sure I've never had the good stuff) or the octopus (which looks slightly scary, but which I would try if I had the chance). Thanks for sharing, can't wait to see what's next.

Tinsie said...

@ Eirene: You lucky thing, less than a week to go!!

@ Karen: The salad is very easy to make - just chop the vegetables up chunky (peel the cucumber for authenticity), and use good quality olive oil, kalamata olives if you can find them and hard/semi-hard (rather than crumbly) feta cheese.

Mmmm I'm making myself hungry now!

Kate said...

Everything looks delicious. I think I'll have to visit a seaside taverna today because of you:-)A Greek salad sounds lovely for today and a bit of grilled octopus.Took a friend who is visiting two days ago and she loved the salad,thick fries but we had Kebap at Thanasi's downtown which is vey well-known. The taverna was packed with people especially Greeks. So if the locals eat there then you know it's good:-)

stromsjo said...

Ah, you can't go wrong with Tzatziki and Feta!

Tinsie said...

@ Indie: Hey, don't blame me, I only posted a few photos!!

@ Per: Indeed :-)

Fifi Flowers said...

First... love your avatar...I have a similar one with blonde hair!

Your food collections look great and I assume it was delicious since the plates are EMPTY!

Tinsie said...

Hey, thanks :-)

Indeed, that meal was scrumptious!

Anonymous said...

how come there's so much left over?
Ah!ah!

Tinsie said...

We weren't feeling very hungry that day heh ;-)

Maria Verivaki said...

i know everything looks delicious in the photo, but i am sick and tired of the same food day day out year round here, where i live...
i want more international food like the stuff you get in london...