Galleries

I was away from my kitchen for the first part of the month. We were on holiday in Epirus, northern Greece, in the Pindos mountains, an area known as Zagoria. Just to remind us where we were, painted folk art on a plastiri (πλαστήρι), a traditional round board for rolling out thin sheets of homemade phyllo, spells it out. Not only was it pretty, it was symbolic of one of the notable culinary elements of Zagori food – the pita or pie, often made with homemade phyllo. I have two recipes for pies from this region to share when I get the chance – blatsaria (μπλατσαριά) and tembelopita (τεμπελόπιτα) – although neither of these uses phyllo.

We were staying in the central Zagori village of Vitsa with its mountain views and stone roofs.

Rhythms of life in the mountain villages begin with the morning bread delivery in the van. After…

Recently we were invited to attend a demonstration on Minoan Cuisine – appropriately held near the Palace of Knossos on the island of Crete. Jerolyn Morrison, a trained archaeologist and one of the creators of Minoan Tastes, reenacted cooking techniques from ancient times. Minoan Tastes organises cooking events for people to (as she prints on her card) “experience the flavors of the land, sea, and sky of ancient Crete”.

The cooking pots she uses are custom made on Crete, based on pot shapes and ceramic fabric found in archaeological contexts – including the iconic tripod cook pot of the Minoans.

Before cooking, the unglazed pots are prepped by soaking in water, and charcoal is heated to the white heat stage.

The pots are then surrounded with the hot charcoal and diligently monitored, adding more coals when required to sustain the long, slow cooking process.

The food is also carefully…

In early May we set off on a road trip around central Greece…what an adventure.

We drove aboard the overnight Minoan car ferry from Heraklion, Crete to Pireaus, the main port near Athens. Bright and early next morning  found us zooming up the excellent motorway on a four hour trip to odd peaks named Meteora. Our aim was to see the monasteries that ‘balance’ between heaven and earth.  For the Greek Orthodox faith, this Holy area is second only to Mount Athos.

After checking in to the Kastraki Hotel for two nights ‘Wow’ was a common term.

I’d pre booked asunset tour and it proved to be an excellent way to see many of the monasteries perched atop the peaks.  Hard to believe the top of the rocky towers were once the bottom of a lake. Close up you can see they’re an aggregate of mud and rocks.

Day Two – Meteora Hike

After a breakfast we set…

ZOI PAPPA has achieved what many young Greek artists are striving for these days: the growing appreciation and successful exhibiting of her work abroad. She just found out that she will be participating in the Arte Art Prize Laguna, taking place at the Arsenale of Venice (March 25 to April 9), about a month before the 57th Venice Biennale kicks off. A good time to be in Venice! Pappa’s Duchampian spirit also led her last year to be selected for the show ‘Bicycle Wheels – Homage to Duchamp’, in Italy’s Ortigia. Furthermore, this artist (whose work also features in the ‘Saatchi art’ online gallery), is a winner of international art prizes, a curator of controversial shows, and an artist with a dual identity. She is also an art teacher, and a mum.

In recent years, Pappa has managed to spread her wings and to exhibit her works in exciting shows…

Title Graphic Created by Jacob at Jaywalks

This month’s adventure was a truly fabulous event, as artists from around the globe came together for a very unique gathering called a #DoodlewashDinner Party! Over 60 talented doodlewashers showed up with their culinary creations! And we were even visited by some intriguing surprise guests (thanks Jill!) and treated to a fabulous food painting video (thanks Bogdan!).

Check out the Featured Culinary Artists’ images below and click any one to scroll through the gallery of artists. If you see someone new at the party you’d love to keep up with, just click the follow link under their art! It was truly an amazing gathering, so thanks to everyone who participated! (I was only able to select a single dish per artist for this gallery, but you’ll find many more on Instagram and on WordPress!) If I missed your hashtag and failed to include you in the gallery below, or misspelled your name…