Alikes Potamou

Alikes Potamou:

A popular bath resort for all the residents of Corfu that is located just a few kilometers off the town, opposite Evenos stores. There is a spacious parking lot and a well organized space filled with a number of facilities.



Those who wish to enjoy a swim along with a healthy dinner this is the ideal spot to do so! The taverna on the beach offers a variety of fresh fish like grilled sardines that are delicious! Meat eaters can have chicken chops (the specialty of the taverna) or beef steaks and/or the dish of the day which usually includes a freshly cooked casserole with seasonal ingredients. The taverna is open all day long and in the evenings too, all year round.

Prices are low-a lot lower than other places-and the quality of the food is exceptionally good. For example, the chips are made from freshly cut potatoes and the salads are being prepared on the spot. Kids can have ice cream or soft drinks and play at the garden electronic toys which are all around the taverna.


There is a small pool on the right and the tall eucalyptus trees that cast ample shade make the place cool and comfortable. There is no extra charge for the sun beds scattered all around the place or the sun umbrellas and benches. For those who wish to bring their own food and not sit at the taverna, there are many shady spots with wooden benches and tents on the left side of the taverna.



The beach is sandy and caters to kids and the elderly and all those who wish to have easy access to the sea. Some people may not like the shallow waters-the visitor has to walk a long way into the sea to be able to swim-but the sea is clean and warm and the view is marvelous. How can we testify the sea is clean? Well, there are tiny fish swimming and lots of live shells moving all around. This place gives the illusion you are in a far away place in Corfu, not so near to town. It only takes 5-10 minutes to reach the town centre, let alone enjoy so many facilities!

However, those who don’t want to enter this space they can still drive to the right side of the Baths, right to the bare beach, and have a swim on the other side of the area. This spot though has only two trees and a lot of sea weeds.




Enjoy your swim!

Easter holidays in Corfu

Today, Sunday the 12th April, the Greek Easter holidays have started. Schools closed last Friday, but all shops will remain open till next Saturday, when Corfiots celebrate Easter at the square of the island.

What will you buy this week?

First of all, FOGATSA, the special sweet bread that is the traditional treat for the whole family. Fogatsa can be eaten any time, at breakfast or as a snack during the day. In case you buy too many fogatses and they have become dry, you can slice them and grill them-eat them like a toast with honey or jam. Despite the fact that some bakeries sell fogatsa all the year round since it is very popular, now it is the time to get one, in a variety of shapes. Round ones are softer, small one-serving ones are best for the kids. Get fresh fogatses from bakeries (at a lower price) and from confectionery shops and supermarkets. Most of them are mastic flavored but the real corfiot fogatsa has orange flavor.

What else?

An Easter candle. They sell white and colorful candles for kids and adults all over the town. Kids usually get candles with small toys attached on them-this is the manufacturers' lure to attract more customers. Traditional candles are while with ribbons or wax colored natural candles. If you don't have time to buy candles now, pop into a supermarket and get some plain ones or wait till Saturday when you can get candles on the way to the square; there will be many stalls selling candles to those who like to get them the last minute!

What about Easter food supplies?

Tradition says you have lamb or goat meat in your fridge, to get it ready for Easter day.
If you don't have a spit to roast it, use your oven. Whatever you do, add a lot of lemon and oregano and let the flavor torture you till it gets ready! Olive oil is a must as well as ample salad.
Lettuce and cucumber along with fresh onions and tomatoes are ideal for a fresh salad to accompany the meat. Some people boil legumes or make vegetable pies-any will do. Some local -or bottled-red wine will complete the meal. Don't miss the olives and feta cheese on the Easter table! And the red eggs of course! Buy more than a dozen as eggs are tricky! They crack so easily during boiling that you may need a lot more!

What about home decoration?

Apart from baskets with red eggs-or colorful eggs- that you can put on many spots of your house, get flowers. Spring time is here and one or more vases with flowers will lighten up the atmosphere. Or you can get some flower pots from your balcony. The most enjoyable thing for me is to paint egg faces on hard boiled eggs! It's so easy to do, just take care to have a couple hard-boiled eggs(leave them to boil for at least 10 minutes).

Here is how to do it once the eggs are ready and cold.

Cut out rings from the kitchen paper hard card roller (the inside) to use as base.

Stick glossy paper on the rings or paint them with tempera or acrylic.


Place an egg on each ring and draw a face on it. You can use a pencil and fill in the design with
tempera or acrylic color.










You can either draw some hair or make a cap/hat or handkerchief to cover the top of the head.




Be creative! This is fun for the kids and all the family and a great gift for relatives and friends!

Happy Easter!

August in Corfu

Hot, too hot! The island is in a blaze of heat and sunshine, but the sea breeze is soothing on the beaches. A lot of tourists have come and wander around the alley ways of the town or rent a car or a bike and drive to the beaches. Today is a special day for the local people: The celebration of Pandokrator (like the mountain). All those whose name is Sotiris celebrate too.

The monastery at the top of Pandokrator mount celebrates God the Saviour (Sotiras in Greek). The feast (paniyiri in Greek) starts on the eve of the 6th August.

What can you do there?

See the monastery and the ancient icons

light a candle and pray

enjoy the magnificent view

eat souvlaki

buy trinkets


Today Corfiots cook a special dish, fish and garlic paste (bakalaos skordalia in Greek).
Here's the recipe:

Skordalia (garlic paste)

2 or more cloves of garlic (the stronger the better)
2-3 boiled potatoes
olive oil
salt
lemon juice
-------
crush the garlic and mix with crushed potatoes. Add slowly olive oil and lemon juice till the taste is good and the texture firm enough.

----------------
Fry some cod fillets (frozen or fresh) previously dipped in a mixture of flour and water, in ample olive oil and serve immediately.

Or use salty dry cod fillets, previously soaked in water (overnight) and fry them the same way.

Accompany with a fresh Greek salad and red wine.

Bon appetit!

Local cuisine

Greek cuisine is renowned for its healthy ingredients such as olive oil, herbs and fresh vegetables. Olive oil is the top one healthy food that can get included in almost every single meal. Have you tried cakes made from olive oil? It’s worth giving it a try, even if you may not probably notice a great difference in taste-as I do! Olive oil is healthier than butter or margarine, so replace butter with olive oil and prepare your cake mix as usual. You will create a new version if you also add orange juice (or replace milk completely) and a drop of Greek brandy (Metaxa brand, 5 stars is the best). Less sugar than the usual recipe and add dark chocolate pieces or sultanas to enhance flavor. The result is fabulous! Fluffy and aromatic, this cake is the perfect dessert to satisfy your sweet tooth. Go olive oil then and stay healthy! The simple cake recipe: One bag of self raising flour Half a cup sugar 3-4 eggs One cup olive oil 1-2 vanilla essence portions 1-2 oranges (the juice) Some skimmed milk or a yoghurt 2% fat Half a cup of sultanas (optional) One bar of dark chocolate broken in small pieces Some brandy A pinch of salt How to make it: Mix olive oil with sugar and then add the eggs. Add the flour, milk or yoghurt (you can use both if you wish), Add the rest apart from the chocolate. Pour mixture into a tin and add the chocolate pieces one by one so as they are covered completely by the cake mixture. Bake at 150 C (you may need 180 in some ovens) for 3/4 of an hour or until golden. Enjoy it!

Nuts-the special ones!

Pistachio: A Greek bio product Did you know that pistachio grows on a Greek island? And that is the best quality of all other nuts since it is a bio product? Aegina island produces pistachio, the most popular nut in Greece (and the most expensive and tastier) that has got a special unique taste. It is also a bio product! Looking back to the 19th century, these special trees, pistachio trees, were not planted in Greece. Only in Aegina island this special tree finds the moisture it needs to grow. The soil is composed of clay, the substance clay pots are made of, so the water runs through it. The soil remains dry despite the amount of water found and that is the reason this nut is so delicious! What affects the taste of the nut? 1. It’s proximity to the sea. 2. The dry environment. 3. The small size of the trees. 4. The low level of humidity-even at night. 5. The composure of the soil. The crop is ready in August. They gather the nuts by spreading nets under the trees and shaking the branches with a stick. Then, a machine sorts out the nuts peels them and discards the bad ones. Next, the nuts are washed and are spread under the sun for 3-4 days to dry. Some farmers use a machine to dry them. When ready, they are put into bags and placed into the freezer for 3 days to kill the insects that may have remained alive. In there they can be preserved for up to 2 years. This bio product has no chemicals-just sea salt and real lemon juice on it! Where can you find pistachio in Corfu? Certainly in all big stores! Supermarkets have many varieties as well as coffee shops. Try Demetra markets or Sconto markets all over the island. For more information go to Aegina

http://www.greektravel.com/greekislands/aegina/

Wine!

Do you drink wine?

Learn about it.

Just a little bit of everything you need to know about wine, how they taste it and how you can tell the wine you drink is good!

Myths and Truth

Don’t drink wine on an empty stomach. You get drunk fast!

---Did you know that olive oil helps? You don't get drunk that fast if you eat a nice salad with olive oil dressing.

---Take care! Too much wine causes dehydration.

The wine ‘over the counter’ is never as good as the bottled one.

---No one controls unbottled wine. There is no product name and no responsibility!

---Bottled wine is safer.

If you mix different kinds of wine you get drunk.

---Not true. It depends on the amount of the alcohol you drink. But if you mix different products such as wine (grapes) and vodka (potato), you get drunk.

TIPS

How to choose the right wine

When does a bottle of wine is not drinkable?

1. Examine the cork: problems at the cork result in a characteristic bad smell. That is not dangerous for your health though.

2. Acidosis: If air penetrates inside, the wine gets spoilt.

Some wines become better when they are left to mature in barrels or in their bottles. Most wines need 2 to 4 years to mature.

TASTING WINE

Get a glass of wine. Follow the 3 steps below:

Look at it.

Smell it.

Taste it.

Ask yourself:

1. Is it clear enough to see through it?
2. Is the aroma pleasant?
3. Is the taste sweet, bitter or dry?

RETSINA

This Greek traditional wine, dates back to 3000 years, to Ancient Greeks!

This is a unique Greek product. To make it, they add to the white wine retina from pine trees.

WINE SELECTION

www.oinotrapeza.gr

South Greece

Petritis Chysohoou, Naousa

Simeonidis Wines

www.simeonidiswines.gr

Kavala-olive grove village

Email: simwines@otenet.gr

Mount of God

Mount of God, Pandokrator for the local people, is the tallest peak on the green island of Kerkyra (Corfu for the non Greek), and is situated in the northern part of the Ionian Sea , between the Greek mainland and Albania and Italy. The mountain was named after God, Who is pandokrator, that is to say ,He governs everything. The myth says that the hospitable Pheakes lived on the island long ago and their kind king Alkinoos had an only daughter, Nafsica, who first met Ulysses, the king of Ithaca, shipwrecked on a beach of the island . There is still his petrified ship to see at Paleokastritsa, a popular area on the west side of Corfu. The northern part of the island where Pandokrator lies is the richest in green. Mount Of God is 918 meters high and has got a monastery on top dedicated to God the Savior. From up there the visitor can admire a wonderful view to all directions , let alone the marvellous dawn and sunset. Climbing the mount is easy, as there are roads and paths right to the top and a drive by bike , motor bike or car is feasible. There are numerous villages scattered among the green on the way up and there are vast olive groves in every direction. The scenery is adorned by an abundance of tree variety as well. You can see tall cypress trees, pine trees, oaks and orchards and vineyards in between. There you can feel the smell of wild herbs and flowers lingering in the air. However, the road upwards is winding and narrow so the traveler should be careful when driving. There are many routes one can follow, depending on the area they want to explore. For walkers, the route, Ipsos, Ayios Markos, Korakiana, Dassia, and back to Ipsos is the most popular and the easiest. Up there you can see nature in its full glory , any time of the year. One of the most picturesque villages , literary perched on the side of the mount is Ayios Markos. The houses are built on the very edge of the narrow road and overlook vast olive groves that reach the beach of Ipsos beyond. To reach the beach from Ayios Markos you need only 5 to 10 minutes by car or 30 mins brisk walking. A big village on the side of the mountain is Korakiana, Crow Nest in English. There used to be lots of crows in this village years ago, but nowadays there is a big variety of singing birds around, offering the people a unique melody all the year round. Korakiana is the perfect village to rent a house or a room or even stay there for good. Some foreign visitors have recently bought real estate at low prices and have built their own houses on the mount. It is worth the money and time spent on a housing project over there if one likes nature and especially the green. Starting from village Korakiana towards Socraki (top) the route is climbing and has got sharp hairpin bends but it is worth the drive. The scenery below is breathtaking. On the first bend upwards the traveler can visit the tiny old chapel of Ayios Isidoros and can light a candle. The chapel has got a big bell that rings only on the Saint’s name day and in emergencies such as fires. It was built a very long time ago to honor the Saint for saving a cart driver’s life . His cart had fallen over the path but the man was alive. This is an old story the local people still tell one another. Mount of God is definitely a place for nature lovers and adventure seekers as it combines everything, from healthy living on mount lodgings to extensive nightlife on the beach bars and discos. Fun and sports , such as climbing and sea sports , tasty local cuisine and local drinks are some of the most popular attractions.

Are you hungry?

You are tired of walking around the town, so now, the only thing you really want is to find a cosy place to sit down and have a delicious Corfiot meal. That’s easy! There are so many nice places around to have a rest and enjoy a fresh meal at any time of the day, or even at night! If you are downtown, near the square, the best place to stop by is a good taverna. You can have anything you like, from meat to fish and vegetables, but I suggest fresh fish, which is their specialty. So, the taverna is called BARBAS and is located at the PLATI KADOUNI area, which is a wide side street leading to the square. You can sit outside, under the plants or inside. See the top picture to get a taste of it. If you feel like drinking something cool or hot, find CHEVALIER café which is in the same area, PLATI KADOUNI. Cool bar with a cosmopolitan atmosphere, good for every taste. For a quick meal, why not try a pitta? Popular for all ages, this Greek take away is the perfect meal for hungry kids and …parents! You can get a pitta and go or sit at the pitta center at EMPORIKO, by the new port. You have a view to the sea and enjoy not only fresh pittas but ice cream as well! You see, you’ve got a lot of choice. You can find the right place for you and your family and enjoy a drink or a meal at reasonable prices. For more information about places to eat and drink, visit the following site and then click on the right red banner called: My Guide. http://www.aggelia-online.com/ Enjoy yourself!

Anemomylos

The picture above of Anemomylos was taken in winter and shows the wind mill that was built a few years ago.

Anemomylos or in other words, Mylos, is the palce at the end of Garitsa bay. That place used to have a real wind mill in old days that’s why we call it anemomylos, which in Greek means ‘wind mill’. In winter it is a good small port for the fishing boats, but in summer people go there to have a swim, since on one side the sea is shallow enough for the kids to swim. On the outer side, behind the artificial mill that was built there, there are small stairs for the swimmers. However, the sea is very deep over there, so if you decide to swim in that area you should be careful. Also the bottom of the sea is rocky and rough but if you like sealife, you will have the opportunity to see fish, crabs and even octopuses hidden in the rocks. On that small area there is a cafes/snack bars that offers quick meals, and a hotel restaurant overlooking the sea. For a proper Greek meal though, you can visit the series of grill rooms and tavernas just across the street, in the green park along the bay. What can you eat? Souvlaki, pitta,mousaka, pastitsio and the Corfiot pastitsada. You can have a variety of fresh vegetables and salads and then summer fruit and icecream. For those living in the town it is the best place to enjoy a meal by the sea. At nights these tavernas are open till very late and the peak time is around 10 pm. Since it is very hot in the summer, people have dinner late at night!

Herbs: Corfiot Chamomile

Chamomile is found on Mount Pantokrator. The road you can see in the pictusre leads to the top of the mount. There you can find chamomile flowers in springtime and summer. To pick chamomile flowers collect only the flower top (anthos) not the stem. The best time to pick chamomile flowers is in the morning, before the sun goes up. Leave the fresh flowers to dry under the sun for a couple of days. Store them in a jar and use them like normal tea leaves.

Chamomile is a beautiful small flower that grows on Mount Pantoktrator, as well as in fields and gardens. I remember my mum picked the flowers up from our garden, dried them in the sun and used them to make chamomile tea. It is good for colds, stomach upsets, indigestion, skin irritation and lots of other treatments. The best chamomile is the natural one, but you must know where to find it and make sure this place is not polluted. On the mount it is clean and fresh but not easy to get it! Where to get chamomile: In big supermarkets you can find chamomile bags or dried flowers. You can make chamomile tea the same way you make common tea. Chamomile-how to use it Sore throat and colds In a cup of chamomile tea add a teaspoonful of honey and some lemon juice. Sip at intervals. This remedy provides you with ample vitamin C and rare honey properties that boost your immune system. Stomach upsets Prepare a cup of chamomile tea and add some lemon juice. Drink slightly warm or cold. For best results, drink it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Insomnia A cup of chamomile tea before bedtime is highly relaxing. For external use: Stiff neck In a pan, simmer some dried chamomile leaves in pure olive oil for a few seconds. When still warm (not hot), apply mixture to affected area. Leave as long as possible and repeat 2-3 times daily. Ear ache Prepare as above and apply some chamomile mix (on some cotton wool) to the back of the ear. Aching joints Apply mixture prepared as above on joints and leave for as long as possible. Repeat several times (use a bandage to hold cotton wool on affected area). Mouth ulcers Prepare chamomile tea and use it for gargling or as a mouth wash after meals and especially before bedtime. However, if mouth ulcers persist visit a doctor. Skin problems Women’s rash Use cold chamomile tea to clean the affected areas. It can be used many times a day as it is soothing and healing. Pimples Cold chamomile tea is soothing and helps restoring the skin’s texture. Bibliography Ody, P. (1997) ‘100 Great Natural Remedies: using healing plants at home’ London, UK, Kyle Cathie Limited. Related Sites www.Englishteastore.com/camomile.html http://greekfood.about.com/

Olive oil: a local product

This is a small part of an article of mine on olive oil. It explains why I use olive oil daily. 'I use olive oil every day. My ancestors used olive oil every day, too, and they lived to an old age – some lived more than a century. Their main meals were combinations of fresh vegetables, fruit, fish and some meat dressed in olive oil. So, olive oil has been known for centuries. But it is now that people have become fully aware of its goodness. It can be used almost everywhere, adding a special flavor to food as well as boosting our immune system as it contains Vitamin E. Thus it is good for our health and we should use it every day. Combined with vegetables and fish is an excellent food, as well as with meat of every kind for those who are meat-eaters.' If you would like to read some recipes that include olive oil, you can go to http://lianametal.tripod.com/kerkyraonline/id13.html and try them! Good luck! -------------------------------- Bio products online! -------------------------------- I'm sure you've heard about bio-products, they are expanding in Europe and many people prefer them to conventional ones. This 'green' turn in our lifestyle shows we, consumers, become more and more aware of the benefits of real food that is natural and chemical free. The latter aspect is the one that makes me eager to buy this kind of products, despite their high, at times, price. In Corfu you can find bio products in big supermarkets like 'Demetra' markets. What can you get? Honey, olive oil and a range of herbs. Sometimes there are vegetables and fruit available. Also you can get wine, pasta, sauces and jam. You can get cookies and toast as well. For online shopping, try www.econews.gr where you can find the best prices. This is a Greek site, though, but I hope they will create an English version sometime in the near future. Also, at www.bioshop.gr you can find a big variety of natural products. To view the site in English, click on the British flag at the bottom of the page. More sites in Greece: www.dionet.gr for bio products in Greek big cities and www.bio-hellas.gr (Sorry, Greek only!) for more information on bio products. What do I buy for my family? Olive oil, herbs, honey and wine. These are the essentials for the every day meals. I don't buy jams because I make my own, but I do buy cookies made with olive oil and spices. I get them from Demetra market in the town. Enjoy them!