Regional recipes

I am never punctual when it comes to my blog (or life in general, for that matter), but I come through in the end. So here I am with some traditional recipes, from the island of Lesvos or Agiasos in particular.

Cabbage rolls filled with cod

makes 4 average-sized portions

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cod (here we sell each piece of fish individually, they are really salty and you need to put them in cold water from the night before, in order to get them ready to use. Change the water 3-4 times.)
• 1 big cabbage, separated into cabbage leaves
• 1 cup white rice
• 2 onions, minced
• 1 tomato, grated (made into tomato pulp)
• a handful of fresh parsley and spearmint
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• pepper to your liking

Preparation:

1. Cut the cod into tiny pieces and place it in a bowl.
2. Add the rice, onions, tomato, parsley, spearmint, pepper and 1 tablespoon of olive oil into the bowl and mix well with a spoon.
3. Boil some water into a large pot and dip the cabbage leaves in it, for about 2 minutes. Drain.
4. Take each cabbage leave, fill it with some of the bowl mixture and close it, forming a roll.
5. Place your rolls into a large pot, add the olive oil, enough water so that all are covered, and cover the pot with a dish, turned upside down. Cook for about an hour, in low temperature.
   
   

Sfougato (oven-baked zucchini omelet)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 kg grated zucchini
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 1/2 cups feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 1/2 cup hard cheese (like parmesan, for example), grated
• a bunch of fresh parsley or dill, chopped
• 6 eggs
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup heavy cream or evaporated milk
• 2 tablespoons bread crumbs
• salt and pepper to your liking
  
  

Preparation:

1. Place the grated zucchini in a colander, add salt and let them drain for about an hour, occasionally pressing them with a spoon.
2. Place them in a bowl and add the feta cheese, the parmesan, the parsley/dill, 2 tablespoons flour and some pepper.
3. Beat 5 eggs with heavy cream/evaporated milk and gradually add them to the bowl too.
4. Butter a medium-sized pan and add the bread crumbs at the bottom.
5. In a small pot, melt the rest of the butter with the olive oil and combine it with the yolk of the 6th egg.
6. Put the bowl mixture into the pan, top it with the butter/olive oil/egg yolk mixture, sprinkle with some water and bake at 360 F for approximately 50 minutes.

Bon apetit!

So... now that you know the procedure, what do you say? Does it seem easy or hard? What hit you as weird/unfamiliar? I have to add that the Greeks are generally non-measure cooks, but I tried to be as precise as possible, when it came to ingredient amounts.

In my next post, I will be posting the recipe for giouzlemedes and anthoi. Until then, eat well and have fun!

Mmmm... what are we having?

Hello, hello! It is time for a new post today. And since you asked for regional recipes last time, you're gonna get some authentic ones.

But first, a quick introduction (or revision) on what people from the island of Mytilene usually eat. As all Greeks, they love fresh vegetables, herbs, olive oil and fish. But in order to honour their own beloved drink "ouzo", they have it with a lot of appetizers, or "mezedes", as they are called here. Sometimes, there is no main course that follows, and dinner consists merely of an assortment of those yummy mezedes.

In order to give you a better idea on what we Greeks eat, I will provide you with a menu that you would be likely to find in a typical restaurant here. So grab your (virtual) forks and let's go! Beware: Major drooling ahead!

Mezedes

• Giouzlemedes: Little cheese pies, fried.



• Anthoi: Zucchini flowers stuffed with zucchini filling, cheese and herbs.




• Bourekakia: Fried rolls, stuffed with cheese and ham.






• Sfougato: Zucchini omelet, oven-baked.






• Tzatziki: Classic appetizer consisting of Greek yoghurt, cucumber, garlic and (sometimes) dill.




• Kavourosalata: Crab salad with mayo.


• Taramosalata: Appetizer usually eaten during Lent, consisting of mashed fish eggs (sounds weird, but tastes delicious).





• Patatokeftedes: Fried potato-cheese balls.
  
  

Salads

• Greek salad / Horiatiki: Another classic, made with tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, olives, feta cheese, and an olive oil-vinegar-oregano dressing.




• Green salad: Various "green" stuff, usually "wild" ones, aka collected from mountain slopes and not gardens.
  




• Beet salad: With a vinegar and mashed garlic dressing.

Main courses

• Grilled octopus




• Fresh fish, fried or grilled


• Fried calamari



• Grilled sausages



• Kopsidia: Grilled pork pieces.


• Fried meatballs

Desserts

• Greek yoghurt with honey and nuts


• Halvas

• "Spoon" dessert: Made with boiled fruit and sugar.

Bon apetit!

So, that was it... I'll give you some time to dream about all this delicious food, and I will come back with some recipes! I hope you liked it!

Agiasos: The place to be (?)

I realised I have written about my job as a village doctor before, but I have yet to describe the village itself. So... it's time for that too.

The place where I am now working is called Agiasos. It is a traditional and pictoresque village, with approximately 3,000 inhabitants. It is built at the slopes of Mount Olympus (not the famous one, which was supposedly where the Greek Gods resided - this one is in Central Greece), at an altitude of 500 metres.

If you are a fan of nature and you love long walks on steep slopes, enjoying the magnificent view and passing through olive groves and chestnut forests, Agiasos really is the place to be. But also if you choose to stick to the housing itself, you can wander at its cobbled streets and photograph its preserved buildings.

Agiasos took its name from the image of "Saint Sion" or "Agia-Sion" in Greek. This was a picture of Holy Mary, painted by Saint Lucas. It was brought here at 802 AD from Jerusalem. A church dedicated to Virgin Mary was built 2 centuries later, and the settlement gradually developed around it. The picture is considered miraculous even to this day, and hundreds of people rush to worship it on 15th August, where the Orthodox honour the Mother of Jesus. A great festival takes place here, and some people even come from Mytilene (22 kms away) on foot. (Yes, a crazy doctor you may know attempted this last summer, she might have scratched her knees in the process, but she finally made it to the village in one piece!)

But this is the info on Agiasos that you can easily find online. I guess you expected more from me - and you are gonna get it. One cannot begin to know Agiasos, if he/she doesn't become aquainted with its people and their mentality.

The people from Agiasos... now that's a long story! Before I came here, I had heard a lot on this matter. The people from Mytilene accused them often - they were "tight on the money the spent", "rude", "they disliked foreigners", "overly proud of themselves", "they fed on fights and arguments" and so on. Literally everybody on this island seemed to dislike them, and I have to admit I was a little prejudistic when I first arrived here.

And now? Well, after spending 5 months here, I have come to know them a little better. Setting the fact that I am in love with one of them aside (major LOL), they are not so bad after all. It all depends on how you behave when you first meet them - if you start with contempt, you are sure to get some back.

Ok, they are not the most sociable people on the island. They are not the ones who smile idiotically at tourists, and rushing to meet their every need, only to curse them under their teeth later. Having lived at a mildly isolated environment, and depending on anything but tourism to earn a living (they turned to farming and wood carving instead), they have grown to be mildly suspicious of new faces. But once they like somebody, they become really open-hearted and friendly to him/her.

Tight on money? No, not really. As all Greeks, every night you go out and have some ouzo or wine, you are most likely to have somebody buy one more bottle for you. Also, I experienced their generosity as their doctor - when you make a home visit, you simply cannot leave without a "tip" (I personally try to avoid them as much as possible), some fresh eggs, sweets or other goodies.

Proud of themselves? Well yes, they are. They definitely are. But they might have some reason to be. It is impossible to be on the island, and not find someone from Agiasos at key places like the area of health, education or the government. Also, they have managed to preserve their specific characteristics through the centuries, such as their traditions or their dialect. If you are not from around here, you are unlikely to understand what they are saying to you. They have their own festivals, their Carnival, they defend their arts and customs with great passion - and sincerely, I wish we all did the same thing at our own villages.

So, is Agiasos the Paradise on Earth? Of course not. There are days where I cannot stand the mist and the cold, and I crave for some sunshine instead. Sometimes, I get tired of trees and mountains, and I want to enjoy some amazing sea views to relax. And of course, being blunt and speaking your mind out loud can occasionaly be quite tiring - some old fashioned savoir vivre and politiness wouldn't be bad.

But overall, I feel lucky to have come here. Learning some dialect, enjoying some new customs and getting in touch with my true self. Dealing with difficult situations and discovering that, surprisingly, I can make it.

And yes, falling in love does add to the positive points a little bit... :P

I'm still here!

It's been a while - and that's quite a euphimism. Life was too hectic and demanding and exciting and crazy to even consider things twice, much less blog about them.

But now I have some time, and some thoughts I'd like to share.

First of all, I thought about quitting this blog. It's no use having one if you don't update it regularly, and if you cannot read and comment on the adventures of your friends on the blogosphere. You have to be there, you have to make time for it. And gradually, it becomes an obsession, or at least one more thing to do, unless you want to feel guilty all the time.

We have so many obligations in our everyday lives. We have to be effective and productive at our jobs, loving and caring for our families, responsible with our hosehold chores, considerate with our neighbours. There are things that need to be done - yesterday, if possible. Important stuff but also trivial ones, that tend to bug as all the time and fill us with guilt about neglecting them.

Having responsibilities is good. It means you have a life for yourself and gets you going. But being buried under a great pile of "to do-s" and not enjoying the ride is a crime. It only means that you're wasting your time doing nothing but worrying.

I started this blog because I love writing. It has always helped me clear my mind and relax. Truthfully, obsessing about my posts, my comments and my followers does not relax me one bit. However, the answer is not to stop writing, but to stop worrying. As a result, I won't be quitting the blog - I will be quitting the need to be there more than I really want to. I will be quitting the guilt.

Secondly, I thought about creating another blog, a new one. I am a totally different person now than the one I was last year. My life and "hers" look nothing alike. Don't get me wrong, I haven't fugured out as much stuff as I would want to, I am still goofy and make wonderful mistakes. You can only change so much about yourself, you know. But at least now I act, rather than agonize about making a move. I walk and fall, rather than sit and wait for things to happen. Of course, it is now statistically much more easier to make mistakes, but also do things the right way.

So, a new blog for a new girl? Nah, it's no use. Because the girl is basically the same inside. Only a little stronger and more mature, but still sillly, clumsy and so soft that cries with baby food commercials. After all, this year's experiences wouldn't have happened, it it weren't for the last year's ones. Change is impossible, unless there is actually something to change. As a result, I am sticking to the same old blog.

But enough with the serious and cliche "words of wisdom". What about some things from my everyday life?

I am still at the village, of course. It's been 4 and a half months now, and I have as much time to go. I got used to my life here, and now know what I am capable of, and what I am not. I am better aware of whether I can fight or I should quit in each case.

The island is beautiful, even though it loses a great part of its charm if you take the sea and the beaches out. I still have my summer friends, and some new ones. My driving has improved, my binge eating has not. Oh, well...

It was my birthday 3 days ago - I turned 25. 25 had always seemed such an important age when I was younger. I had always thought that, by that time, I would have created the life I had always wanted. I would be succesful and happy, with a great job, a great family, great looks and great hobbies.

This is all cr@o, of course. Not only because it is impossible. Life is too complicated to sort it out that easily. After all, if you have everything at 25, what's the point in living for at least another half of a century? But mainly because, when you blow your candles at 25, you realise that the life you had dreamt of at 12, 18 or 20 does not resemble the life you want now one bit.

Things change, people change, we ourselves change. Sometimes it is painful, but generally it is okay. Even if a certain situation appears to be worse after that, change itself makes it possible to turn things over again - and again - and again.

My Christmas was ok. For the first time ever, I worked through Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and the day after, but it was okay. I was able to take a week off after that, and by Day 3 I was bored and wanted to get back! Yeah, I am a freak, but you knew that already.

Oh, one more thing I forgot to tell you. I kinda sort of fell in love...

WHAT? Well, yes, it happened when I least expected it - as always. I am at a really good place right now, more relaxed and happy (in fact so calm that my parents suspected I did drugs when they saw me during the holidays, or that I became a part of some weird paganistic clan!). No, it is all natural, and I will write more on a future post.

Until then, I will enjoy myself, and I advise you to do the same. Laugh, go out, dance, have some drinks, read a great book, watch an amazing movie, make love or take a long walk, whatever YOU want really. As long as you have fun. See ya!

What I am supposed to do

So... I'm back! Thanks for the warm welcome, people. I started catching up with your blogs and reading about your adventures. As for me, I'm doing fine. I had a new haircut

and got used to driving my new car, "Tempeh" (pre-bumps and scratches picture)

But what about my new job?

Well, it's been 2 months since I started working at the village. Is treating patients as rewarding as I thought it would be? Well... no. Am I missing the good ol' Mytilene days? Um... yes. Have I regretted staying here and throwing a perfectly good job opportunity away? Hmm... no. Not just yet.

To be honest, being the village doctor hasn't turned out to be exactly what I had imagined. But before I can share stories from my everyday life, it is necessary to talk a little about where I work, what I am supposed to do and what I am actually doing.

We are sharing a practice with one more village doctor (actually a fellow student of mine from the university of Crete, who applied for the same position as me by sheer chance!!!) and a nurse. Each doctor has her own office, with a desk and an examination bed and there is also a small kitchen, a toilet and a waiting room for the patients.

Things we CAN do at our practice:

• Measure blood pressure (and deal with an emergency hypertasic crisis) and blood glucose levels. Also, perform a urine stick test to diagnose or rule out an infection, for example.


• Perform a clinincal exam and treat illnesses that are not life threatening, such as a common cold, a mild pneumonia or a case of gastrenteritis.


• Give CPR in case of an emergency, stabilise and monitor the patient, until an ambulance arrives and takes him/her to the hospital.


• Do stitches and perform minimally invasive procedures, such as change a bandage/dressing, a permanent urine catheter or treat wounds/burns.


• Give vaccines when indicated.


• Refill resident doctors' prescriptions.


• Inform the village population on various topics (for example, what the swine flu is and what measures should be taken).


• Verify death and write certificates in case of natural causes.

Our practice is open from 08:30 to 14:00. After that, one of the three available doctors is on call (the third one doesn't work at the practice in the mornings, but at the local mental facility) and the other two get to leave. Being on call means that your mobile phone number is available to everybody, and they can call you in case of emergency. So, if something urgent happens, you have to open the practice and examine that certain patient, or go to his/her home if he/she is unable to move or to the site of the accident if something like that happens.

Things we CAN'T do:

• Give Xrays and blood exams. No such equipment is available.


• In cases of chronic illnesses, prescribe medication for the first time. If a person suffers from asthma or high blood pressure, for example, we are not eligible to plan their treatment. They should consult a specialist, who decides the drugs the patient should get. After the treatment is set, we have the right to refill the patients' drugs when they run out. But again, if changes should be made to the initial medication, only specialists have the right to make them.


• Deal with life-threatening illnesses, such as meningitis, severe pneumonia or pulmonary embolism.


• Prescribe drugs or give vaccines to children - a pediatrician should be consulted.


• Give death certificates if cause of death is unknown.

All of this does sound pretty neat. Basically, our role is that of general practicioners. Taking in mind that villages mostly consider of elderly people, who are unable to travel long distances and go to the hospital at Mytilene, we are there to help them.

Or so we thought when applying.

To know what really happened, stay tuned for my next post! I wouldn't want to bore you with more medical stuff for now, plus I got a call for a patient, just when I had put my pajamas on.

Look who's here!

Hey, remember me?

...

You do, don't you?

Well, if I seem even remotely familiar, it's me, Gracey. The crazy Greek girl who is trying to become a doctor, a cook, a friend and a normal person in general - and not always with success.

The Internet gods temporarily managed to keep me away, but ha ha ha! (insert satanic laughter here) I'm baaaaack! All set with a brand new wifi at home, and full of stories. Interesting stories (mostly), funny ones or thought-provoking. But they are my own stories, they're all true, and I wanna share them with you.

So if you're out there, and you are so weird that you wanna hear more from me, just say the word.

If you can't figure out who the hell I am and what I am talking about, you can ignore me or get to know me better through my posts.

Oh, and one last thing:

I missed you, guys. Each and every one of you. A LOT.

A quick update...

This time my absence was completely unavoidable. My first week of working at the village has ended, and it has been frightening, chaotic and hard! Having to be the one that MAKES the decisions for the patients' treatment, rather than the one who simply observes things happening, is really terrifying and it requires a lot of guts... and responsibility... and knowledge... and empathy... and I am working on all four.

I don`t know when I`ll be able to post again, since there is no internet connection at the village and I am on call almost every day (meaning I can`t leave and go to Mytilene, of course!) so it may be a while. Nevertheless, I will be thinking of all of you, and I´ll keep stalking and commenting on your news and life adventures, as soon as the Internet gods give me the chance.

By the way, I am now in Germany for the weekend, and having a lot of fun! :) But more news in the future! Take care and enjoy yourselves as much as possible!