New York a la Cart by Alexandra Penfold and Shiobhan Wallace

... so, to cut a long story short, my friends told me that anything they eat back home is GMO, and it's actually really hard to find non-GMO food where they live, and even when they do find it, it costs a lot of money. (They recall eating a nice peach once, I was told, for US$2. A piece. They shared it.) So it's a misnomer to talk about the 'best' food back there, because most food is kind of not-so-good, in the sense that we talk about good food here in Crete (they said to me), where you eat a tomato that you can actually taste, or squeeze a lemon that you can smell, or cut open a watermelon that is as red as wine and not as pink as chewing gum, and the herbs used to flavour your meat come from the same locality where the meat was raised. (They haven't taken a bath since they've been here, so as not to lose the aromas of wild thyme, oregano and sea salt from their body.)

New York street food in my kitchen.

Good food over there is not the same as good food over here, they insisted, while their children were asking why there weren't any Doritos on the table, or why there was no cilantro available in the stores, and why they couldn't get a super duper triple-size glass of soda instead of all those little bottles that the waitress was bringing them every fifteen minutes. (Size matters over there.)

Confined work spaces are the norm in a street food cart - my kitchen does not feel much different at times.

But there is good food there too, they insisted, and the people who sell it on the street from their carts compete to make it the best. These same people who live quite far removed from the tomatoes that taste like tomatoes and the lemons that smell like lemons share the same passion for preparing good food as those who live near the tasty tomatoes and aromatic lemons, and that's why street food is revered there, not just for its superlative taste, but for the passionate souls who prepare it for the other hungry souls in the city.

And just like any good food makers, those people on the streets of New York all have a story to tell. My friends know how much I love a good food story, so they bought me one that combines travel with food in their own home town: New York a la Cart by Alexandra Penfold and Shiobhan Wallace. Food stories in new York are not difficult to find since most food cart vendors there have immigrant origins, as they "have found the promise of a better life in street vending, bringing a bit fo the old country to the New World... A city of old and new immigrants, New York offers unparalleled dining diversity... behind every cart and every truck were the hoped and dreams of a fellow New Yorker by birth of by choice."

The stories of the cart vendors reminded me of my own parents' dreams of a better life as immigrants to New Zealand - they too were involved in the food industry: they were part of a tradition that many immigrants anywhere still follow to this day: "using food vending as a means to make a living and a stepping stone to success." Greek immigrants of the past were some of the champs in this trade, and even New York knows this well: "New York and its palate saw another rapid change when the 1965 - the same period my parents emigrated - Immigration Act opened borders.. Greeks opened carts selling guros and souvlaki, grilled chicken and lamb pita sandwiches; with time, they came to own the majority of the working food carts. Their success allowed them to employ other immigrants to actually man the carts." This illustrates a very significant element of the Greek psyche - Greeks generally want to be their own boss. This partly explains why Greece has always had a disproportionately high rate of self-employment, and this will probably continue, despite the economic problems of the country.

If Crete doesn't stock it, then I have to make it - wonton wrappers.

I would love to be a street food vendor because it would bring my food directly in close contact to the people who would be eating it. But street vending is associated with a great many problems which are similar all over the world: competition for the best spot, over-regulation by the state, vendor crackdowns, parking problems, legal trappings, and the biggest problem of all: harassment of all kinds, especially old timers and thugs. Being a female street food vendor can't be easy either, as noted by one of the NY ice-cream vendors. If I could open a food cart in Hania, I would also face another problem: selling unusual food to not-so-enticed eaters. I wouldn't be selling Greek food: I'd be selling things I want to see being sold, like Asian spring rolls. Street food here is not an art form: apart from koulouri, chestnut and corn stands, we don't have much more. Recently I noticed a drinks seller - that's a direct effect of the economic crisis.

Rolling up the Taiwanese dumplings - they looked more like spring rolls to me: this is explained by the fact that the person making them in the NT cart also makes Japanese dumplings which are similar - and that is all explained by the influence of Japanese culture in Taiwan.

New York a la Cart is a must-read for those who love to hear the stories behind the food. It also contains so many enticing photos, and the recipes given are quick, easy and cheap to make, otherwise such wouldn't be a sell out on the street, no matter which place they were being sold. We had some pieces of leftover boiled lamb meat from a village feast; using some bits and pieces of our own vegetable harvests, I was able to make a really good version of Taiwanese dumplings. I used boiled lamb instead of pork mince, and grated zucchini instead of cabbage (cabbage in Hania in the summer is imported from the mainland - it's still too hot to grow it in Crete which explains why it has disappeared from the street market at the moment).

Food cart workers work in very confined spaces - my kitchen does not feel much bigger most of the time. But I still managed to find some space to roll out some wonton wrappers, as the recipe states. We don't have wonton wrappers ready to buy in Crete - we do have filo pastry squares, but since I never buy them (and I do often think of the expense in doing so), I always roll out my own pastry. The instructions in the recipe provided me with a good tip for future dumpling/spring roll making: don't seal the roll/dumpling too tightly. The given recipe also stated to place some water in the pan after frying the dumplings (well, they looked more like spring rolls to me) to let them steam in it for 5 minutes. But this is very not-Greek (boiling pastry after it has fried), so I just served them pan-fried. They were a complete hit; we have also become big fans of hot sauce with our international cuisine, after so many travel experiences.

It's a great feeling to know that I can copy any recipe from around the world in my own home. 

Thank you very much, Deby. 

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Golden oldie

Came across this while working in someone else's office: an old box of staples, which was tucked away  under a modern computer keyboard. It is (still) being used to prop up the keyboard which has lost the side flaps used to raise it.

"Made in Greece", 50 drachmas (approximately 7euro-cents)

The same company is still in operation, but these days, it makes things in the PRC:

And of course, it no longer costs 7 cents.

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Choco and Niouk Yen

My uncles like to plant unusual vegetables, for the pure fun of seeing something sprout out of the earth. They are willing to try planting anything, even if they aren't interested in eating it. The other day when I visited them, I found a choco sitting on the kitchen table. They told me that they grew a choco vine round the chicken coop. Apparently there were quite a few chocos, but when the summer garden was removed to make way for the winter garden, they simply mulched the whole vine down and kept one choco as a souvenir. I took it away with me to see if I could use it.

A bit of reading on the internet tells us that the choco is not the most exciting vegetable around. It's rather common, and there are more preferable vegetables to take its place. You can eat it cooked or raw, peeled or unpeeled, fried or baked, or even grated into a salad. It tastes like a cross between a savoury melon and woody cucumber. Not particularly highly sought after, but I'm a sucker for free fresh food. I felt sorry for the choco, as I worried that it might suffer the same plight as some kumquat a friend of mine recently gave me. Same goes for the arbute berries I found in the village. They're all interesting edibles but not particularly delectable.



In my choco search, I chanced on an excellent blog that showcases the island of Mauritius, where the choco is used in the cuisine of the Chinese people of Mauritius:

“Niouk yen” is definitely a candidate for the national dish of Mauritius. More popularly known as “boulette” on the island, this rounded steamed dumpling is primarily made of choko vegetable(chayote) and mince pork. “Niouk yen” is a traditional Hakka food and the recipe has been passed on by Chinese Mauritians for generations. There are many variations of this dish – instead of choko some people use green papaya and the pork can also be substituted with beef.

Making Chinese dumplings is not an easy task; I imagine that it is something a Chinese cook uses the whole day to do, or a few people get together and make them as a group. So much preparation is involved in making them - finely chopping vegetables, cooking meats and finely chopping them too, making the pastry and rolling it out thinly into rounds, filling the dumplings and finaly cooking them - only to see them devoured in seconds!!!



The work I put into this meal was worth every second. Despite the recipe taking a long time to execute, it is not a complicated one. It does not contain many ingredients, or too many strange ones, or new techniques. Substitutions can be made. Since I didn't have much choco at my dispoal, I decided to add some finely grated cabbage for extra colour; I used boiled minced turkey instead of pork; we can't get dried shrimp in Hania, so I used fresh frozen shrimp. The flavour of my dumplings would therefore not be very intense, but this is only a matter of availability.



With the bamboo steamer a friend sent me, I made some delicious dumplings which needed very little to complement them, save a sweet 'n' sour 'n' hot 'n' sticky sauce. I also turned some dumplings into pot stickers by squashing them flat, which I pan-fried in olive oil. The sauce was made with whatever ingredients I had at hand: some hoi sin sauce, my own home-made garden-grown pepper sauce, a little bit of saembal oelek and a sachet of pickled ginger that a freind gave me. This is what that one single choco did - I And some ideas are born out of such simple things, like a choko.

I can't describe how good it feels to be able to eat good Chinese food in my house. If I don't make everything from scratch, I can't enjoy this luxury.

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Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese home cooking by Fuschia Dunlop

The first Chinese cookbook that I ever bought came was a small paperback entitled Chinese Cooking without Special Ingredients by Michael Edmonds, with not many pages, more like a handy guide rather than a cookbook, from a second-hand shop in Wellington. It contained no photos, but the descriptions of the meals (ingredient list and instructions) were quite clear. I was surprised by how simple the recipes included in it sounded. The writer had lived in among Chinese people in Australia and wrote the book for those who wanted an authentic taste to their Chinese cooking even though they couldn't find the authentic ingredients. The book was written in 1966 which explains why it wasn't easy to procure all the authentic ingredients needed to cook Asian meals, so the recipes were simplified, using local substitutes for certain dishes. I loved using the book, both in New Zealand and in Greece, where I found it even harder to access the ingredients in my early days here.

It's now much easier to find the ingredients I need, especially with the help of my Asian friends who point me in the right direction concerning what substitutions I can make, and where I can find various unusual items. There is now even a store in Iraklio selling Asian supplies: it stocks spices, ready sauces, rice, cheap soy sauce, sesame oil, bonito flakes, mirin, glutinous rice flour, bamboo wok brushes, cooking equipment, among other unusual items (for Greek terms).

In keeping with my tradition of preparing simple home-cooked meals, I decided to add Fuschia Dunlop's Every Grain of Rice to my Chinese recipe book collection. For me to buy a cookbook, it has to be a really good one. What I liked about it is the non-glossy plain photography, showing a clear picture of the meal against a simple background. There is also a good description at the beginning of the book listing all the basic ingredients used in cooking Chinese meals and a short list of some 'magic' ingredients that lend great flavour to a basic meal; I especially liked the opening line to this section:

"You don't need many ingredients to get started with Chinese cooking." 

What a relief - just like with my first Chinese cookbook, I'm able to use locally sourced items in conjunction with small quantities of specialised ingredients which can be bought in bulk when I get the chance to travel in Northern Europe, where Asian cuisine is more widespread.

My wok has seen better days, but it still does the job...

Living in the Cretan countryside means we have access to many fresh vegetables that can easily be used in creating a simple vegetarian Chinese meal. Many of the meat-based recipes in the book do not use great quantities, so they are economical to make. The most important new knowledge I've obtained from this book concerns the techniques involved in Chinese cooking. Some techniques need special equipment, while others are simply easy but magic ways to transform a bland dish into something more authentically Asian and spectacularly tastier. Here's an example, using the oil-sizzling technique:

"... it is so simple and quick and produces such devastatingly delicious results... blanch or steam your main ingredients (perhaps a whole fish or some leafy green vegetabels), and lay them out neatly on a serving plate, You scatter them with slivered spring onions and ginger. You heat a little oil until it emits a thin smoke, then pour it over the onions and ginger, which sizzle and smell wonderful. You then pour over soy sauce, usually diluted with water. This sounds ridiculously easy - which it is - but it's one of the finest Chinese cooking methods. It adds a sublime edge of flavour to good-qualtiy ingredients, while allowing their natural flavours to shine through."

Chinese cooking is not all about stir-fries and soups - the book contains a good number of slow-cook meat dishes. This is an important aspect for me when introducing foreign recipe techniques into my Cretan kitchen - slow-cooked (ie well-cooked) meals are an important aspect of good-quality Cretan cooking; meat must never be under-cooked for the Cretan palate.

Fish-fragrant aubergines, with  the addition of some colourful peppers. Although I didn't have the Sichuan chili bean paste mentioned in the recipe, I used another hot chili paste that we can get in Hania (sambal oelek).

I was quite eager to start cooking form the book immediately, and the easiest dish I found I could imitate was fish-fragrant aubergine. It's something I've made before in a similar way, so I'll try to be more adventurous in the future.

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Clothes (Ρούχα)

I hate shopping for clothes in Hania. The kind of clothes I like to wear are comfortable cheap cotton tops and bottoms. But I can never find anything in my size that is all of that. Comfortable clothes in large sizes are often made in a frumpy style, making me, a modern EU woman, look like a dowdy bling-covered middle-aged public servant. Greek cotton, some of the best quality in the world, is expensive, but Greek-made clothes cannot be called cheap. I have made do with old clothes, but I'm getting very tired of them as they are now showing their age and most are splotched with olive oil stains. I dread the day they become unwearable because I know I will replace them with great difficulty in this town.

A typical 'kineziko' in Hania

Children's clothes can be bought cheaply at what we call in Greece κινέζικα (kinezika - 'Chinese shops' - they are always run by Greek-speaking Chinese immigrants) -  along with skinny young women's top fashion, most of which is made from nylon. You can smell it as you walk into the stores. There are still quite a few kinezika operating in Hania, despite the crisis. There's also Sprider, a Greek business selling clothes for the whole family; although the prices are reasonable, the fashion fit is mainly geared for young people (and so is the sizing). The local Zara branch sells similar hi-fashion clothes at higher prices, as do other fashion labels like Pull and Bear and Oysho. Marks and Spencer is on the pricey side in Hania, but that's the only place which I feel caters for my kind of fashion style: cheap, comfortable  cotton, made to last for at least three seasons to be worn on a daily basis in its season (although it's more expensive than Marks and Spencer in the UK; something to do with shipping costs, VAT rules, and the way the free market works - it depends on which way the wind blows).

 

Marks and Spencer began operating in Hania in 2008. It sells only clothing (no food store). It's not cheap: last Christmas, I spent €100 on three items on sale...

My definition of 'cheap' is anything up to €15 a piece before they go on sale. I find it very difficult to keep the family dressed with reasonable prices. It would be a different story if I had plenty of money (or if I were skinny). Very little is cheap* here, even at the kinezika, where the clothes are made with low-quality fabrics. During the sales, large sizes disappear too quickly (I hate shopping among crowds and I prefer to shop when I need something, not just because it's on sale). The same problem exists with the street markets - you need to be there early to get the bargains (this isn't possible if you work). Then there's the variety: it's very limited in Hania, not because it's a small town, but because it's too conservative. There is very little in the way of individualised clothing.

"What does this remind you of?" I asked the children. "Is this a Harry Potter souvenir shop?" my son asked. "No, it's what children wear to school here in the UK." "Do they still wear clothes like that? I thought it was out of fashion," my daughter said. "Kids wear uniforms here," I explained. "Each school has a different one. I told you I used to wear one in New Zealand." "That's why I thought they were out of fashion, Mum," my son said. 

A small sample of Primark's price range

Although I'm grateful for the clothes gifts of my aging aunts (they buy me T-shirts they like to wear themselves), I know that such clothes don't look becoming on me. Whether we are image-conscious or not, the clothing we choose to wear tells people something about us. I have been giving the wrong message to people for a long time, but my patience - and theirs - has paid off since I discovered Primark**. Apparently, Primark prides itself on the 'fairtrade' clothes they sell. Quite honestly, I don't care how they trade. I know I could not have bought such clothes for such a low price elsewhere: jeans for £10, sandals for £8, tops for £5, children's T-shirts for £2. All the children's clothes I bought carried a single-digit price-tag.

The Lewisham street market, as viewed from TK Maxx in Lewisham Shopping Centre

Check out the prices

Thanks to Primark, I don't feel like a caveman any more. Even the children are making an effort not to dirty their clothes from now on - they know their mother won't spend any of her spare time rubbing the stains off a £2 T-shirt. My husband picked up a few bits and bobs at Matalan and TK Maxx (whatever you buy from the latter is definitely worth showing off). Although I didn't buy anything myself, my children's school will have two cool-looking kids wearing highly individualised unique shoes this coming winter.

*** *** ***

Both times that I've shopped at Primark, I've taken the opportunity to eavesdrop into various staff members' conversations. They seem to have a lot of conversations between managers, all in the open. The staff wear their black uniform with pride and they take their job very seriously, like bank managers. Shopping at large stores of this kind is impersonal, completely different to Hania, which consists of mainly family-run bouitque-style shops. The owners sit at the till while their low-paid assistants hover behind the customer constantly offering their assistance. If you (the customer) show any signs of exiting without buying anything, they will try to keep you in there. So intimidating - another reason why I hate shopping in my little town.

Lewisham Shopping Centre is always bustling with people: men with mobile phones hanging off their ears, women pushing prams, children eating all sorts of offerings from the many varied food stores that are accommodated in it (warm corn niblets, shakes, sweets, etc). So much stuff stuff stuff is being sold there - it doesn't look sustainable. A warning from the other side of the continent: it could happen to you, too.

 

 While we shopped at Lewisham Shopping Centre, we stopped off at Ponti's for a coffee break and lunch on different days. The meals were tasty and reasonably priced: the lunch (below) cost £36 (we each had a meal and a drink). I view pounds and euros as units rather than currency: £1=€1 when I travel. I liked the cappuccino - very hot, strong and in a large cup. In Hania, it's never served that good (in my humble opinion). Husband also liked his 3-egg omelette. The kids enjoyed ordering whatever they felt like without any restrictions (for once).

 

*Some stores are now starting to sell at moderate prices, but there is still a lack of variety and price competition; I noticed a newly-opened one in the town centre selling mainly sports clothes with a wide range of prices in the same store.
**Primark clothing isn't perfect. The seam of my daughter's leggings came undone, but generally speaking, I can't complain, as 95% of our purchases remained intact.

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Greek vegan (Βίγκαν)

Tomorrow, Clean Monday (Kathara Deftera - Καθαρά Δευτέρα) is the start of the 50-day vegan period in the Greek Orthodox fasting calendar; shellfish are allowed.

Different societies have different ways of classifying food. Nowhere does this become an issue of imminent importance than in a communal kitchen:

Cooking a meal in the communal kitchen also created feelings of distrust: should it be shared? if so, how much money should each flatter fork out to cover the meal? who cleans up afterwards? does the meal cater for everyone's taste, needs, idiosyncracies? low-calorie, kosher, carb-free, gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, environmentally friendly, fair trade, politically correct?

This issue also causes confusion for travellers. For example, in Western societies, people who don't eat meat like to know if what they are eating is suitable for vegetarians, or, to take it one step further, if it is suitable for vegans. Although Greek food products now increasingly carry labels with some of the above-mentioned, the vegetarian-vegan label - and the difference between them - is still an issue that hasn't been fully resolved here, mainly because Greeks don't view food in this way: yes, there are vegetarians (χορτοφάγοι - hortofagi) in Greece, as well as vegans (βίγκαν), but I'd say the latter are rare, and judging by the transliteration of 'vegan' from English to Greek (rather than a true Greek word for the concept), it is more likely that the Greek notion of vegan is still under construction. At any rate, being a vegan is a conscious choice, for whatever reason; no society in the world is raised as a vegan from birth. Avoiding meat, fish, eggs, all dairy products and even honey (because it's produced by an animal) every single day of your life sounds, to put it mildly, unnatural. Babies cannot make a choice about being vegan, so the choice is made by their carers. France and New Zealand have both suffered fatalities associated with extreme vegan diets being forced on babies (in combination with bad parenting); having said that, advice about how to raise a vegan baby abounds on the web.

Taverna menus often mention the lathera dishes, but not necessarily the nistisima.

In my blog, I never use the 'vegetarian' or 'vegan' label. This is deliberate: traditional Greek food is never distinguished in this way (despite the fact that recent Greek food trends tend to point in this global direction). I only use the 'lenten' label, ie it can be eaten during the Greek fasting periods. In Greek cuisine, the 'vegan' aspect of the cuisine is usually denoted as νηστίσιμα: nistIsima, meaning lenten, or λαδερά: latherA, meaning 'oily food', which is usually plant-based, containing mainly vegetables, tomato and olive oil. The 'lathera' term also appears on menu cards. But 'lathera' causes confusion for tourists who are vegetarians and want some dairy in their food, or vegans who didn't expect to find shell fish included in the 'nistisima' fare. The reason for this is because nistisima and lathera are usually what Greek people eat when they want to fast for religious reasons (according to the norms of the Greek Orthodox Church).

Predominantly vegan - my Kathara Deftera meal: vegetarian spring rolls, baked chickpeas, guacomole, chestnut stew, rice - and some seafood.

Another point of confusion for travellers with special dietary needs who prefer to prepare their own meals rather than eat out all the time is what they can expect to find available for their vegetarian/vegan needs at Greek supermarkets. I can safely say that most internationally well-known food is available in Cretan supermarkets - but NOT in the variety or at the price you would expect! Chinese food is expensive here, whether you want to eat out, or buy it at the supermarket. Not only that, but there is little variety to choose from: most Asian food products carry the Blue Dragon label, which puts me off buying anything - how on earth is one label dominating this section of the supermarket?! Tofu (a tasteless commodity in my opinion) is rarely found anywhere in Greece except large urban centres, ie Athens, Thessaloniki (?) and possibly Iraklio (??), and only in specialised stores (eg organic markets). Things like vegan burgers and vegan sausages simply do not exist in Crete; they do not form any part of the traditional Greek cuisine. This kind of food is seen in a negative light, and it's easy to see why: the word 'sausage' or 'burger' does not collocate well with vegetarian - it is associated with 'meat'.

Convenience vegan food does exist in Greek cuisine, with an added bonus: you always get what you see pictured on the packet.

So, no one is vegan in Greece, right? Not exactly. For religious reasons, most people, whether they are religious or not, will adhere to the traditional Greek Orthodox fast at some point in the year. But they can include shellfish in their 'vegan' diet, can't they? Yes - if they can afford it, and if they actually like it (not everyone likes seafood). But being a Greek vegan is not confined to eating during a fasting period. Most meals that I cook at home during the working week are in fact vegan. The day I wrote this post, I had cooked fasolada, and made marathopites for an evening snack - they are both completely vegan. After our evening meal, my daughter asked me for some chocolate, but I found that we had none in the house. I could tell she was craving for something sweet. I always have a selection of my own home-made spoon sweets in the house. She loved the quince desert: again, it was completely vegan. This was served with Cretan mountain tea - it is a vegan drink because it's not common to add milk to this kind of tea. But we aren't actually vegans - we aren't even vegetarians! Our vegan-looking meals are often served with some form of dairy during the week (notably feta cheese or boiled eggs), while truly carnivorous meals are cooked at the weekend when we have more time to cook - and savour - meat meals. In essence, we are never completely vegan - although most days of the week, we are actually vegetarian.

Even though we often prepare vegan meals in our house, we are not actually vegans: fennel pies, bean soup, quince desert and mountain tea (milk is not usually added to it). These meals were prepared and/or eaten on the same evening.

When you're on holiday, you want to enjoy your time away, and cooking meals from scratch cannot always be a priority. What can vegans do when holidaying in Greece to reduce their workload and cut down on outdoor eating expenses? If they're coming to Crete, then they have a plethora of fresh fruit and vegetables to choose from, as well as local specialties like paximathi, the dry bread-like rusk that is made into the now popular Greek (not just Cretan) dakos, which isn't vegan (you can tell the taverna owner to omit the cheese from your dakos, but I won't blame him if he gives you a funny look). Vegans will be pleased to know that some of the Greek vegan taverna specialities are also sold in the canned and frozen sections of the supermarket, among them dolmadakia (stuffed vine leaves), gigandes (baked beans), agginares a la polita (artichokes in lemon sauce), and bamies (okra in red sauce). You may be wondering who wants to buy these foods when most Greeks would cook them from scratch. I can think of quite a few categories: people who lead busy lives (notably working mothers), shepherds and cheese makers who live for a long time in remote areas with no creature comforts, hunters on long trips in remote countryside, campers, extreme sports people, picnickers, etc.

 

Above: bagged frozen meals ready to cook straight from the packet; paximathi (rusk, a very popular alternative to bread); spoon sweets for desert. Below: more Greek dishes, canned and ready to heat and eat (they don't need cooking, unlike the frozen dishes).

 

One thing I've learnt about vegan meals is that it is very important for vegans to find a way to obtain enough protein, which non-vegetarians get from meat. Vegans eat beans and grains for this reason. Beans require quite a bit of time to cook: some need overnight soaking while others need a long cooking time. In this case, vegans are out of luck in a place like Crete: canned beans (ie ready to use in a meal) are never sold here. This is because of the Greek culinary culture - beans constitute an integral weekly meal cooked at home, and these dishes are always cooked from scratch with dried beans. Red kidney beans and English-style baked beans are sold in cans, but this is an exception: they are not considered part of Greek cuisine, and are treated as novelty imported products; hence, few people buy them, and naturally, they are expensive, like Chinese dried noodles. You will be hard-pressed to find canned chickpeas or white beans in a Cretan supermarket, which are sold de rigeur in most western countries.

 

The above choices (packaged rice medleys, Asian food, and dried sous) are all considered internationally known convenience food. I would use them when I need to - but I also know that they are sold at much higher prices than in countries where these products are used as staples in everyday cooking, so I avoid them.

I personally believe that you can't find a greater variety of non-meat, non-fish, non-dairy products than a place like Crete - but if you are looking for specific ingredients to cook with which never feature in Greek cuisine (eg tamarind, tofu, kombuchi, seaweed, etc) or processed prepared vegan food which is made specifically for vegans, you won't find it here, because it is regarded as totally foreign, kind of like a Greek person expecting to find a souvlaki shop while touring a place like Thailand. You will be able to find all the ingredients needed to cook any kind of meal you like (I often cook Asian stir-fries from scratch), but if you really want your specialised convenience foods, you will have to carry them with you in your suitcase.

I I can't fool my family with vegan food: pilafi rice (not vegan because it was cooked in chicken broth, but nevertheless, no meat), lentil soup, cabbage-stuffed spring rolls, olives and bread. But a meal at our house does not feel complete without cheese on the table.

UPDATE: The February 2012 edition of Gastronomos carries a recipe for vegan sausages: watch this space!

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Visitors (Επισκέπτες)

On this day last year, two events took place virtually simultaneously, which concerned both my homelands: the Christchurch earthquake, and the announcement of Crete as a point of arrival for the 15,000 Chinese nationals stranded in Ghaddafi-ruled Libya.

Last year on this day, the strategically-positioned Mediterranean island of Crete became the planned reception centre for the many foreign nationals fleeing the troubles of North Africa, notably Libya, where there were many foreign workers numbering over 1,500,000. Up to 15,000 Chinese citizens were evacuated from Libya with Greek ships chartered by China. Many of them were brought to Crete, boarding the same ferry boats that Cretans use to travel to Athens. Once they arrived, they stayed on Crete for a period of up to a month, until their transportation back to China was arranged.

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The Chinese government, in cooperation with the Greek government, chartered Greek ferry boats to transport their citizens to the island. The main urban centre of Crete, Iraklio, accommodated nearly all the Chinese nationals in their hotels, which, at this time of year, are normally empty, as Crete is mainly a summer holiday resort, and the majority of hotels do not remain open during the winter period.

Once they arrived, they stayed on Crete for a period of up to a month, until their transportation back to China was arranged.

This event was seen by the local authorities of Crete as an opportunity to help foster better relations between the two countries. The main tourists of Crete come from the UK, Germany, Scandinavia and other parts of Europe, including former Eastern bloc countries. Tourism ties between Greece and Asian countries, notably China, have often been discussed, but little action has eventuated from such discussions. For the last few years, a controversial deal involving the development of the southern Cretan port of Timbaki into a harbour for ship containers carrying Chinese goods, which would have been financed by the Chinese government, received negative attention by the local community. During the recent Greek economic crisis, the Chinese government stepped in with offers of investment opportunities to help the beleaguered Greek economy, although it was never taken up.

The imminent arrival of the Chinese nationals to the island of Crete was seen as an opportunity for the locals to provide their unusual visitors with a glimpse of what a Greek holiday may be like, and a chance to experience Greek hospitality, albeit under unusual conditions: the generally warm dry climate of Crete had dampened with cold rainy weather, as the first ferry boat made its way through the Libyan Sea to arrive in the port of Iraklio.

Local authorities began to prepare the local community by explaining to them the importance of such an occasion. It was seen as a way to foster better trade relations between the countries, and a novel way to introduce the Chinese to Greek products, namely olive oil and Cretan cuisine. As both the Greek and Chinese cultures have a long history stemming back to ancient times, and are both strongly connected to the culinary traditions of their respective countries, the influx of Chinese citizens into Crete was seen in a positive light, with a focus on the similarities between these two very different cultures, rather than their differences.

High interest has been shown by the Chinese market with its preference for Greek olive oil in the last three years. The three major importers of olive oil in China are Italy, Spain and Greece, since the companies from those countries cover almost 90% of imports into the country. In April 2011, the Bureau of Economic and Commercial Affairs at the Greek Embassy in Beijing in cooperation with the Foreign Ministry organized a series of events to promote the Greek product, which included a week of Greek cuisine in China, presentations about Greek olive oil for Chinese journalists and potential customers by chefs, retailers and importers of Greek olive oil.

The severity of the Greek crisis and the recent turn of events seem to have cut short possible developments that could have proceeded from our visitors' short stay last year. I wonder how those 15,000 Chinese nationals remember Crete today. 

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The way we were: Greek girl in London (Όπως ήμασταν παλιά: Ελληνίδα στο Λονδίνο)

On reflection, I find that my ideas concerning food, travel and identity have remained quite stable over the years. So has my sense of humour. Some of the places mentioned below don't exist any more. As for the people (all names have been changed), I don't know where they are these days or what they're up to.

Thursday, 13/6/91 - 7.00am The flight from Bangkok to Amsterdam was OK, but Amsterdam-London was rather turbulent. Q met me at the airport, right after I passed through all the Zone B shit. God help those without EEC passports. Lovely vegetarian meal at an Indian restaurant. The tube was eventful - at one point, I realised that no one else was speaking except for me. Q looked relieved when I shut up. Brixton is colourful, to use Q's description, but if I had a choice, this isn't where I'd set up home in the long-term. Q says she's tired of it. She initially came to the area because it felt cool.

The bathroom in this house is on the top floor. No shower, just a bath. It's got huge windows with no curtains. Felt like the whole of London could see me naked. There's a windowless WC on the lower floor.

Friday, 14/6/91 - 8.50pm Went to a karaoke bar last night with Q. Disgusting. Q lost her purse there. Got home zonked*.

Had my first encounter with London Greeks, except that they weren't Greeks. They made it quite clear they were Cypriots. Took the tube to Haringey. Walked a fair bit because my travelcard doesnt extend to Zone 3. Strolled through Greek Cypriot territory. Greek shop signs, kafeneia, food stores, music, the lot! Talked to Barbara and another two Greek Cypriots in a bakery where I bought a flaouna (80p). Kept walking along Green Lanes. Not the most inspiring of places. Just as I was about to return up the road and leave the area, I saw a house with Greek Orthodox icons on the window. Out of curiosity, I approached it to check out the sign. At that point, somebody opened the door. He asked me if I was looking for anything in particular. Turned out to be a Romanian, and there was also a Greek priest in the room. The place was a bookstore selling Greek religious material (nothing in English, interestingly enough). They served me coffee with a kourmabie over a short chat. 

I must have been day-dreaming after I left the bookshop - I got lost in the maze of streets with similar-looking houses. At one point, I decided to take a photo of all those narrow little boxes resembling toy soldiers lined up on the road in a straight line. As I put away my camera, to my horror, I saw a whole lot of Greek men staring at me - I was standing right outside a kafeneio window! Yuk!

Attended Taize prayer group with Q. Very new-age. Shut your eyes, sway to the rhythm, peace be with you,  we are all one. Groovy. It's probably more sensual to be in a group and meditate together with others than it is to stay at home and try to do this on your own. I much prefer the latter.

Saturday, 15/6/91 - 9.30am Got up this morning to find Evan in the kitchen, making his boyfriend's breakfast. Evan's a theology student. Had a chat about the Greek Orthodox church. A few minutes later, James walks in and sits at the table. Evan brought him scrambled eggs on a plate and sat it right before him. John then joined into the religion discussion. (Q told me this one's not gay.) Says he's really well versed on the Greek church. I never expected I'd be sharing a flat in London with English men who know as much about the Greek Orthodox church as I do - I haven't even been here for a week. I thought about inviting them all to come with me to a Greek Orthodox church service tomorrow, but decided against it for fear of sounding too bold. I'm supposed to be a transit flatmate. 

Everyone here seems to do their own thing. They come in and out of the house as they please. They stay in their rooms unless they come to the living room to watch TV. They label their food in the fridge and cupboards. I bought some bread and cheese from the supermarket, but I can't bring myself to start labelling it. I just hid the cheese behind a jar that looked as though it hadn't been used in a long time. The jam had congealed around the rim. 

Saturday, 15/6/91 - 7.25pm Took a bus out to Covent Garden with Q. She wanted to go to a church fair. Browsed through a lot of bric-a-brac, as well as a nice array of food. Had some chickpea chana masala, and bought a sponge scrubber for the flat. I really don't think that brush they use gets rid of everything. The fair was held near a YHA office where there were some camper shops. Want to buy an immersion heater before I set off for Europe. 

Went to Campion House at Osterley in the afternoon. Had lunch there (very filling) and a coffee in the common room. Met up with Q's friends, Giovanni and Victor. Q seems to have a lot of gay friends. She probably thinks they're exotic. Spent the rest of the day with them at the Butterfly House in Syon Park.

Sunday, 16/6/91 - 9.00pm Had originally planned to go to the Greek Cathedral, but decided to go instead to the church in Leyton. Attended Orthos, then Liturgy, and had a cup of coffee after the service. I was given directions for the monastery near Colchester, a telephone number and contact person. Before I left, the priest gave me a loaf of prosforo. Headed back to the tube where I came across Garfunkel's. Decided to have a meal there - £4.95 (service NOT included - what a laugh!!) for the salad bar. Sounds cheap, but not if you have to pay this kind of money for each meal. It's eat all you want - I made sure to eat enough for lunch and dinner. It all tasted quite good, but it was all cold. I hate cold food on a cold day. It's rained nearly every day I've been here. Middle of June and still winter. P tells me it's definitely summer in Greece now.

Got home and did a thorough cleaning of the dishes. No one ever scrubs the inside of a mug here - they're all stained with brown rings. Don't they know about sponge scrubbers??

Monday, 17/6/91 - 8.30pm Left the house with Q. Took the tube and got off at Covent Garden. Decided to walk around the city. Ended up at St James Park, bought some sandwiches and picnicked with the pigeons. Visited Harrods - wanted to buy something from there as a souvenir, but the prices shocked me to the grave. Had a coffee in their cafe just to get a feel for the atmosphere (I miss Espressoholic's cappuccinos). 

Saw a man peeing against the wall as I walked to the house after getting off at Brixton. He smiled at me as I passed him and said 'Sorry' in a sing-song accent (I guess he was Carribean). Q says this sort of thing happens all the time. 

Tuesday, 18/6/91 - 6.30pm Q's asked me to go out with her tonight. Just a quick note to remind myself of the places I visited today at Oxford: museum, St Mary's church, botanical gardens, Christ Church, Bodleian library. Liked the college grounds most of all. Students wear gowns to classes! Must be quite an achievement getting into one of the university's colleges in the first place. They need to stick out above the rest.

Wednesday, 19/6/91 - 11.15am Last night was a really late one - spent the morning sleeping it off. Eddie is coming back home tomorrow to his room, so I cleaned it up and then moved into Q's room. Did a bit of washing. Then went out with Q to her friend's house for a Twin Peaks evening. I had this idea that we'd be visiting an English person's house, but they turned out to be Australian lesbians and Cypriot bisexuals. I'm sure now that she thinks gays are exotic. I suppose it's image-boosting: "Many of my friends are gay." Having said this, Evan and James are a nice couple. They seem to be much easier to talk to than this lot. They're all gay in their own way, but the English ones appear to be more down to earth, less confused about who they are.

Wednesday, 19/6/91 - 6.40pm Decided to do my food shopping at Tony's today instead of Tesco's. The shop assistant gave me the mint for free because it was on its last legs. Also found some fennel. Brixton's shops sell nearly any food you want. The vine leaves were a little pricey. Made dolmades with cabbage for everyone. They all seem to love food with exotic names. 

  I probably didn't make lahanodolmades as good as this back then...

Thursday, 20/6/91 - 11.45pm Packed day today. Visited a number of tourist sites. Walked around Trafalgar Square, visited St Paul's. You have to PAY here to see churches!?! Museum of London (free) - very interesting. Museum of Mankind - the Palestinian costumes were more appealing than the human shrunken skulls. Tower of London - outrageously expensive, something like $20NZ to enter. We've just come back from the Phoenix Theatre: Dancing with Lughnasa.

Friday, 21/6/91 - 7.15pm Decided to be Greek for the day and visited the Archbishop. He sounded only too pleased to have me as a guest in his office. Told me not many Greeks come to see him just out of interest. I tried to explain the make-up of the Greek Community in Wellington, but I think I lost him a bit there. He couldn't understand what I meant by Greek-Romanians. I was invited to the dance held by St Sophia's church at the end of the month. The Archbishop said he'll pass on my name and number to one of the organisers.

Just as I was leaving the Archbishopric, a Greek priest from K______ came to the office. Apparently, he's in London for an eye operation and comes to the Archbishopric every day to be fed. I couldn't work out if he was begging, or just genuinely poor. The way he spoke sounded a little melodramatic, like I was watching an old black and white Greek film. Stopped off at McDonalds for a meal. Don't remember McDonalds salads in Wellingon tasting so revolting. 

Q's off this evening. Thinks she's got something going with Paolo (all her boyfriends have foreign-sounding names), so she doesn't want to waste any chances. I won't see her until after the weekend. James suggested a walk in Brockwell Park to celebrate Solstice Day, the longest day of the year. It made me a little homesick - Mum and Dad just experienced the shortest night of the year, all alone. Must remember to give them a call very soon. James was at Eton, he's visited Mt Athos, and dabbled with Orthodoxy when he got back to the UK, which is how he met Evan. He's been around a lot of men most of his life. Weird that they don't live together. Something to do with wanting to be independent from what I understood. He really liked my exotic-sounding dolmades - he ate all the leftovers when we got back to the house. It's a nice feeling knowing your food's been appreciated. 

Saturday 22/6/91 - 7.30pm Visited Greenwich today. Docklands was supposed to be on the agenda too, but the monorail wasn't working - no trains at the weekend. Had to take the bus. I prefer them because they're slower than trains and you see more from a bus window. Even the way people walk on the street looks different to me. Greenwich market is fascinating: so many goods, colours, people. Bought a pair of cullotes, even though I constantly worry about my financial situation. I don't want to overspend, but I don't want to feel like I'm bludging either.

I feel so alone today. The gays are away, but John and Eddie are both in the house. Eddie keeps to his room, John moves from his room to the TV room. I feel like I'm intruding, so I just stayed in Q's room. Maybe a youth hostel would provide more solace than this. Packing a day bag to go to the monastery tomorrow.

Sunday 23/6/91 Arrived at the monastery - not without problems! Underground was slow, missed the 8am train to K______, couldn't find a taxi at T______, couldn't even make a public phone call from the one and only phone box. A grocery was open so I asked the nice looking blond shop assistant if he could help me out. He told me the monastery wasn't really within walking distance, so he called up a taxi for me. I asked him how much the call cost but he didn't ask for money. And they say the Brits save up their coppers! Love the English countryside - so different to urban London.  It looks like a much simpler place to live in. Most people are trapped in their urban routine though.

The service was long, the church was full. Quite a few converts - Sister X told me there's an equal ratio of converts to Orthodox-born. Some people overdid the religious routines here. Reminded me of Kiria D______; they make her look benign. Also some glamour girls coming in the latest fashion - a little inappropriate for a monastery. When I told them I was from NZ, they asked me 'Are there other Greeks there?' Attending Greek church is definitely an identity thing, sticking to your own kind. They reminded me of Mum's intermarriage fears. Cyprus is only four hours away if they wanted to find spouses for their sons and  daughters, so I can't understand what their problem is. Interestingly, I found more Greeks here rather than Cypriots. The meal afterwards was completely lenten. I was allowed to stay overnight, and shared a room with two other girls, one Cypriot (English accent), the other Greek (Greek accent). They wanted to keep their conversations private, and treated me like I wasn't in the room. Apparently, they come here often, so they're used to treating stranger-visitors like myself as invisible. I was exhausted anyway, so I had a lie-down, but I couldn't help overhearing them. Caught on that the Cypriot was recently divorced from an Englishman and has a sister who's a nun in Greece. He probably got tired of too much religious mumbo-jumbo. They thought I couldn't understand their conversation in Greek because I told them I was from New Zealand. The Cypriot girl asked me what language we speak there!?! The Greek girl wasn't even interested. I think they think I'm a New Zealander, not a Greek. 

Was in for a treat - first decent shower I've had since I arrived in the UK.  

Monday 24/6/91 Today's much quieter, with all the picnickers and bride- or groom-seekers gone. Apart from church services, the nuns and monks go about duties like cooking, gardening, cleaning, reading. After breakfast, I took a walk with one of the nuns in the fields. She's a convert. Told me she lived a totally unholy life before coming here and finding inner peace. We spoke about a lot of things, all basically to do with making life choices. I kept thinking of Maslow's needs theory as I talked to her: when you've got most of the basic problems in life sorted out for you, you've got plenty of time to think about sorting out your priorities. The monks and nuns seem to like to do the talking here. I think they're trying to pass on messages, and maybe their words are more important then mine. She gave me a book as a present. It's got some nice ideas in it for Sunday School. 

Also met J, a very young-looking Greek girl who wants to be accepted as a nun and is currently undergoing training of some sort. She was due to start a PhD when she decided to come here instead. I can't believe she's doing this to herself; she still wears drainpipe jeans under her tunic.

Tuesday 25/6/91 - 7.00pm Arrived back at the house with a feeling of fullfilment which I didn't have before I went to the monastery. Everything looks strange and distant outside the Greek environment. Would like to return for a second visit. Wellington Greeks need this kind of group because it gives them a more coherent identity. 

Nikos (Cypriot) called me about the dance, church service and bible class. Interestingly, he said he was at the monastery the day before I arrived. These people are regular followers, but something drives them back to London. In or out?

Never going to those Taize groups again. The Jesus Prayer works so much better. 

Wednesday 26/6/91 - 1pm It's pouring today. Feeling like a drowned rat. Tried the Jesus prayer last night. Managed to make it last ten minutes before I got distracted. It was much easier to read the nun's book. Just about to board the bus to Swansea. 

Thursday 27/6/91 - 3.30pm Recognized G's parents immediately. They picked me up from the station and had a lunch ready for me: lasagne, salad, jelly and peaches. Feels like home! Then G's friends took me out to the Rock and Fountain where G used to work. Met up with their mates there and I had two bacardi-and-cokes. Not that I wanted the bacardi - I just felt I had to drink it, because they expected me to do so! TG they all go home early - all I wanted was to be vertical for a few hours.  

G's father showed me the office he keeps in the attic. A bit precarious allowing him to climb up that ladder at his age! Caught a glimpse of the morning paper - the headline was about a Thai butler and a dead family in Athens. OMG. Went out to Roshili, then Oxwich in the Gower peninsula. G's parents treated me to the best meal I've had out so far: a pub lunch! We came home with the rain. J and S have invited me to Mumbles on Friday night. More alcohol, I suppose.

Friday 28/6/91 - 8.10pm Too many distractions for prayers. I've only just remembered them, now that I look back on my diary notes. G's mum cooked up a large lunch today for G's cousin's arrival. Then G's cousin took me out for a drive to Mumbles - the romance of a summertime beach holiday is somewhat drenched out by the drizzle! Passed by a grocer's - intriguing array of fruit and veg. G's cousin picked up a lettuce for G's mum. As she was paying for it, I noticed the price: 5p. Back home for dinner. I do feel sorry for G's mum: she prepared another meal for us, her husband was drunk and her niece buys her a 5p present.

Monday 1/7/91 - 1.00am Can't sleep, so I'll just fill in the last few days' events. Friday night: Mumbles pub with J and S - more bacardi cokes. Felt a bit like Coronoation St coming alive. G's friends love a good gossip - they weren't surprised at all about the 5p lettuce! Saturday: took a leisurely stroll around G's village. What a delightful place. She must love coming back here. I can understand why she needed to leave in the first place. It's just too small. Took the bus back to London in the afternoon. Sunday morning: St Sophia's - very Anglo-Orthodox feeling in that church. The choir chants Byzantine verses using Anglican organ tunes! Nikos found me after the service (how on earth did he recognise me?) and suggested I stay for bible class - that went on until the early afternoon. Not even any mention of lunch! Then off to a fete in Wood Green; got a peek into a Cypriot-English wedding, and finally The Dance. Sat at a table with Andrew and his parents, who were obviously hawking around innocent young Greek girls in the churches to save their son from intermarriage. Dances finish early here so everyone can catch a train before midnight. No one even asked to chaperone me back to the station! Changed carriages to avoid a nutter in the one I got into first. Felt a little scary walking back home on my own at midnight. This is London, after all.

Monday 1/7/91 - 10.45pm Thinking of leaving London for Europe. Everyone goes to Paris, so I suppose I'll go there. Just returned from another young people's bible class that Nikos' friends had invited me to. Except that there was no bible class = it was more of a complaints session. They have similar church/priests/parish problems as we do back home. One group is obviously more educated than the other; each group sticks to their own kind. They don't see eye to eye. While there, I met up with Father D, KP's uncle - small world! He asked how she was doing. I didn't divulge what I knew about her, but he spilled the beans anyway. Apparently, he knows all about KP's problems with Dirty Den, who was supposedly a VIP during his time in London. He gets by purely on charm. 

Had a heart-to-heart chat with the priest. He told me straight out that he was angry with the youth group about hiring a Greek band to play at a concert for £350, all for just a 40-person turnout. Bad organisation all round. The way they explained it to me, I felt that they'd done nothing to promote the concert, hence the bad ticket sales. I wanted to tell them all about how we planned Wellington's Greek Week, but I was waiting for the bible class to start. Hung around for at least an hour, but nothing. Decided to head back home. Good example of their organisational skills - they run on Greek time!

Bought some chips on the way home at a shop run by Greek Cypriots. These guys looked really shady - ponytails and dark eyes. The Egyptian assistant was more approachable. Q's due home tomorrow.

Tuesday 2/7/91 - 10.45pm Charing Cross Road has great bookshops - particularly liked Sister Moon. Spent the morning reading - feels nice to get back into this habit. But I can't buy anything, because it will really be too much to carry in a backpack round Europe.

Went to see Where Angels Fear to Tread in the evening with Q - £5.50 for the cheap seats. Now I know what John Lennon meant by 'rattle your jewellery'. After the film, we decided on dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Went to Wong Kei's where we were abused, so we left and went to another Chinese restaurant in the same area. The waiter asked Q for her name, address and number. She didn't oblige, so he then asked me. I didn't oblige either. Think I'll stick to Indian restaurants from now on. TG they're all gay or attached at the house. I've never seen John and Eddie's girlfriends, but supposedly, they do have one.

Captain Peacock: Mr. Humphries, are you free?
Mr. Humphries: I'm just pricing my ties, Captain Peacock.
Captain Peacock: The gentleman wishes to try on a dress.
Mr. Wilberforce Clayborne Humphries: I'm free!
Customer: It's for a fancy dress party.
Mr. Humphries: Oh yes. Thats what they all say.

Are you being served? Excerpt (12:00) from Season 3, Episode 3 

Wednesday 3/7/91 Was excited to get a postcard from Richard. It's a good feeling to know that I now have some direction in my travels with a fixed destination in mind. Will make my way to Nurnberg. Prepared a meal for all the housemates. Q and I are at the point of clashing. It's true what they say: best friends should never live together. Making plans to leave asap. 

Thursday 4/7/91 - 10.15am Left Brixton (hooray) for Paris. On train to Dover. Got a Scot and a Russian for company.  (to be continued)

*** *** ***

In June 1991, I left my home of 25 years to do my big OE, the customary work-and-leisure travel that most New Zealanders undertake at some point in their lives to experience life beyond their country's borders. In those days, most Kiwis headed for Europe via London, and often ended up in Asia before (if indeed) returning home. I bought a one-way ticket to London where I stayed for three weeks, before embarking on my continental travels through Europe over a period of two months, eventually arriving in Athens in September. I had thought about travelling through Asia on my return to NZ, but that never ended up happening because, as most followers of this blog know, I ended up staying in Europe. Maybe (probably) I ended up in Greece through a process of self-discovery - the above-mentioned 'more coherent identity' - which I found here.

Although I had kept a diary before that (albeit at irregular intervals), this was the first time I felt the need to keep one systematically. For this reason, that particular diary was the only one I ever kept. The diary sat, for many years, on the bookshelf of whichever house I was living in at the time. The notes I kept show my first glimpses of London as I saw it 21 years ago. All the excerpts above have been taken from this diary, in a slightly edited form. My photographs were taken between June 1991 and January 1992. The youtube video reveals some background to my informal education on London life and homosexuality.

*Honest to God, I don't remember ANY of this.  

Thank you to all those who read this before I posted it.

©All Rights Reserved/Organically cooked. No part of this blog may be reproduced and/or copied by any means without prior consent from Maria Verivaki.