On a Sunday Morning

I made some muffins using this basic recipe..they turned out better than I would have hoped! They made a lovely mothers day gift!

Then Dimitris and I, decided to go at the Flower Show that is held every Spring in Kifisia. Walking though the flowers and seeing all these wonderful colors and shapes really makes ones day!  The weather was a bit weird, at some point came  a sudden spring rain but it soon stopped and we continued our walk.

We bought some tomato trees from Santorini and herbs to use at cooking...I am not so good at keeping my plants alive unfortunately but I hope this time I will do better.

Spring time in Greece

The most likely time for someone to visit a Greek Island is during summer when the weather is hot and you spend most of the time on a beach. Especially in the Cyclades one might feel that the land is barren and will find the scenery dull and full of rocks and dried weeds. But in spring things are quite different. Green yellow and purple are the colors that cover the hillsides and reach the beaches. Smells from thyme, oregano and wild flowers are overwhelming.  So whenever I get the chance I love to visit an island during spring to enjoy the colors and smells.

Spring Cooking...Artichokes polita style :)

What can you do with fresh artichokes? well you make them a la polita :) A typical greek recipe, great in taste, reasonably priced and vegetarian!
The only problem is preparing the artichokes :)))

For 4 portions
6 fresh artichokes
2-3 potatoes
2 carrots
1 large dried onion of 2 fresh onions
1 piece of garlic
1 bunch of fresh dill
Lemons...(lots of them!)
Salt and pepper
Olive oil ...well a cup or so :)


First of you clean the artichokes...thats the hardest part of the recipe....
and here is step by step how you do it :

#1. First, set up a bowl of water and squeeze the juice of two lemons into it .Keep one half of a lemon out of the water for you to use during the process.

#2. Using a large knife, cut off the bottom of the stem, about 1 inch, discard and rub the bottom of the stem with the lemon half.

#3. Next, cut off the top 1 ½ inches of the artichoke. Discard the tops. Immediately plunge the cut artichoke into the lemon water for a moment.

#4. Pull off the outer most leaves. Continue upwards, snapping off about 25 percent of the outer leave, or until you reach the leaves that have a lighter brighter green color and appear to more tender.

#5. With a small pairing knife, trim the dark remains of the leaves from around the stem; also peel the outer skin on the stem to reveal a pale green stem. The stem is a very tasty part of the artichoke!

#6. Cut the entire trimmed artichoke bottom off. Keep the bottom and stem in the lemon water.

#7. You will probably see shiny purple-tipped leaves in the center of the artichoke. These are covering the choke and may have thin thorns on their tips. Reach in and grab them all at once, pulling outward with a twisting motion.

#8. Once the inner leaves of the artichoke are removed, you’ll see the fuzzy choke. Scrape it out with a spoon. Be sure to remove all the hairy bits, but don’t scrape away the edible flesh of the heart.

Then...you cut the artichokes in halves, the potatoes and the onion(s) in medium sized slices. You cut the carrots in slim slices. In a baking pan you place the onions, the carrots, the potatoes and the artichokes. You add the finely chopped dill and the garlic, the juice of 1 lemon, the olive oil, 2 cups of water and salt and pepper. You mix them all together and place in a preheated oven in 350 degrees (180 Celsius).




Its better to cover the pan with foil for 1 hour so that the artichokes don't get burned. You uncover the pan and let it cook until the potatoes are done.

If you want the "sauce" to be thick,you drain it from the pan, and in a sauce pan you mix it with a small teaspoon of cornflour in 1/4 cup (60 ml) water and you let it cook for 5 minutes.