TRAVEL
Experiencing the beauty and tastes
of Greece
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ruising on the new Celebrity Apex around Greece brought me to places I remember learning about in school. I did not want to blink while looking at the Parthenon lit up at night from the roof top restaurant of my hotel. I met a very friendly driver who showed me the highlights of Athens, and he treated me to lunch with the best feta I had ever tasted. The sailing, which included visits to Santorini and Mykonos, was marvelous. I saw with my own eyes Santorini’s famous white buildings with blue roofs while Mykonos offered windmills and a beautiful city of winding streets to walk through. My final destination on Mykonos was “Mykonos Farmers” and it made me feel that I was truly experiencing Greece. I went with a group from the ship. We came to a building with outside tables with the sign “Mykonos Farmers” above the pergola and we were immediately welcomed by George, the owner. He offered Greek coffee, and everyone was interested. The coffee came, lightly
| By Lisa Martin
swirled with a fine layer of foam. Now my tastebuds were up and awake with this morning elixir. Next, we were offered a delicious bowl of his own yogurt. Creamy with just the right amount of tang -- and before we could take our second spoonful, George came out with his own local cherry preserves to dollop on the yogurt if we wished. I wished and it was wonderfully flavorful and sweet! Our group was then welcomed into the cheese shop where there was a spread of four trays with different cheeses. The cheese tasting had a wide range of flavors, each having its own place in recipes or pairings. There were refrigerators with cheese and a spotless kitchen where George’s daughter and wife assisted in our lesson. George’s cheese making classes and workshops feature traditional recipes from his family. First, we learned about the cheeses he made, then he taught us how to make cheese, showing us three strainers that each generation in his family had used for that purpose. There were four parts to the next lesson. George made phyllo and brought out his tirovolia – soft Mykonian cheese. With
these two main ingredients he made a fresh cheese pie and fried cheese rafioli. With strips of the phyllo, he made fried dough sprinkled with sugar. Last were cookies filled with cheese, drizzled with honey, and sprinkled with sesame seeds. During this cooking lesson we were warmed by the story of how his family would have these treats to eat during the day. After our lesson about cheese making and cooking with that cheese, we were sent off, but not before we were given another sample of cheese. I purchased a jar of George’s dark red cherry preserves and more cheese to enjoy on my trip. Included in the folder George gave us was the recipe we made during this class. (See page 37.) Vol. 12, No. 1, 2022 west hartford magazine
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