ελληνικά τρόφιμα

In case you can't read Greek, this is a post about Greek Food. You know we're foodies and we always take pictures of what we're eating, even if it is with the iPhone and it doesn't look nearly as pretty as it does in person. I've decided to finally use the hundreds of pictures stored on my ancient and about to break iPhone 3G (yes, it's that old) and make it food week! These are all dishes we had while in Santorini and Naxos, Greece. After being in Greece for a week and having absolutely amazing meals day after day, Greek restaurants (even in Europe) just don't do it for me! Spoiled, I know.



fresh, homemade, still warm pita. amazingly delicious.


spanikopita


fried feta. mmmmm!


you have to have a greek salad... which fyi, contains no lettuce


moussaka... NOT vegetarian!


stuffed vine leaves with tziziki. one of my favorite greek dishes.


chickpea cutlets


octopus!


cold mixed fava bean salad


mashed fava beans


and the winner of best Greek food: Phyllo Dough stuffed with Feta, Sundried Tomatoes, Spices, and flash-fried. OH MY GOSH, there are AMAZING. So amazing, we've made them at home multiple times. While they are not nearly as pretty, but almost as good. the chef walked out to take our order and highly recommended them. wow. we could've eaten sooo many more.


lady's fingers. similar to baklava, but we both like baklava better


you can't lose with baklava. and you also can't imagine how much of this A eats!


greek yogurt and honey in Santorini. yes, better than Chobani! a delicious breakfast...especially on the balcony overlooking the Caldera!


greek night: homemade stuffed vine leaves.


finished product: homemade stuffed vine leaves. kasel grape leaves. cooking light recipe.


greek night last week: homemade kalamata olive dip, hummus, tahini dip. my hummus always wins!


homemade spanikopita at greek night last week. the recipe was from cooking light and it was surprisingly SUPER delicious. would make it again in a second!

the wal-mart of wine

.... minus the trashy clientele!

The French, although skinny, know how to eat.. and drink. So over the weekend, I headed to Forbach, France, just over the border to check out a wine market, housed just outside one of the major French grocery stores, Cora. What a find! This place was CRAZY. I have never seen so much wine! There was wine from everywhere in France and it was being sold at great, I mean great prices. The market itself was slammed with Frenchies, Deutschies, and us! Seriously, people were getting warehouse sized carts and filling them with boxes and boxes of wine - we're talking thousands of dollars. Knowing how much the Europeans love to drink, I'm not sure why I was surprised, but I was!

After buying some French wine (come on now, had to do it!), I headed into the Cora to see if they offered anything the German grocery stores didn't. I didn't think it would be THAT different because the German grocery stores are pretty darn impressive. But wow, Cora. I mean, it's a grocery store, I know, but wow. Unbelievable food, more wine, cheese, and bread. You CANNOT beat French bread. This place was heaven! After trying the bottles I bought, I'll have to go back to restock and add to the collection!





Think this guy has enough baguettes?

Forbach Wine Market: Avenue de l’Europe, 57602 Forbach, France.

Spring, could it be you?! 60F and sunny... this is what I'm talking about!

Wroclaw, Poland

these little gnomes, posed differently, are all over!














I just loved the colors of the Old Town


A posing in the Old Town

Fasching

The Germans take their holidays seriously, especially the Catholic holidays. The end of last week/beginning of this week was Fasching, known in other countries as Carnival/Karnevale.

Donnerstag/Thursday: Old Women Day
Montag/Monday: Rose Monday
Tuesday/Dienstag: Fat Tuesday
Wednesday/MIttwoch: Ash Wednesday

Thursday through Wednesday, the Germans were out of school and most, out of work. When I got home from the gym on Thursday afternoon, swarms of kids were running around Kasel. This is typical for the nicer seasons, but not as much in Winter. Thursday was different though because it was a holidays. All the kids were dressed up and carrying bags filled with goodies (almost like Halloween, but during the day and not all candy - granola bars, crackers, stuff like that). They went from door to door singing a song (I don't know what it was?) and getting treats. Of course, I didn't know this was commonplace so I had no treats and disappointed the two large groups of kids that knocked on my door (one group of kids ages ranging from 2-7, the other 8-11). On Monday, there was a celebration and parade in Ruwer, the neighboring town. I wasn't planning on going, but Justin and his family knocked on my door on their way down to the party, so I went with. I was one of the few not dressed up for the occassion - most adults were dressed up. Lots of beer and German food - it is a holiday afterall, so Justin and I shared some pommes mit mayo :) Unfortunately, the party was mid-day so A missed it. In the years past, we have celebrated Fasching with friends, gone out, dressed up, but not this year. Maybe next!


First Day of Fasching, Donnerstag - This is the infamous Justin. I of course didn't get my phone out in time to take pictures of all the other cute kids, but Justin stuck around to sing the song AGAIN and pet the pups! Justin, along with his siblings and Grandma, live at the end of our street and walk by our house at least 4 times a day, often times more. Justin and Nina (the other 2 are too young) stop every time, come up on the porch and talk to the dogs and me and pet the pups. When they see Boston and Riva, no matter how far away, they scream their names. It is ADORABLE. They call Boston, Bos. I wish you could hear them say it, it is just adorable. And they call me, Ka-Zee. No English, of course, but since they are young, they speak slowly and pronounce things fully so we can usually understand everything they say!


In other Rapalje news, we officially told Axel that we're moving, so I guess that makes it official. Charleston Bound in June. A is in Greece today (lucky!). We are having sushi night at our house on Friday, which I am STOKED about. The sushi we made was THAT good :) We are heading to a new Farmers Market on Saturday morning in France which supposedly has an awesome selection of cheese (which we aren't eating!) and wine! And I got invited to walk with the Kaselite ladies in the mornings with the pups :) I love having neighbors that we like.

And rapalje.recently in pictures...


Birthday Flowers + some amazing smelling Hyacinths!


Our Fat Tuesday Celebration: Belgian Beer! A went to the Netherlands the other day for work and brought me back my FAVORITE Belgian Beer! He also picked himself up some Deliriums and more...What a guy :)


On one of my many walks with the dogs, I found this frozen set of stairs! Just thought it was crazy!


This was the best thing we ate in Turkey: Turkish Pizza. Basically just delicious crust and cheese... no sauce.

No, we're not Catholic.. but...

we're giving something up for Lent anyways... animal products. That's right - going Vegan for Lent!

Istanbul, Turkey

hagia sophia


hagia sophia - originally christian


sooooo many fishers, all day, everday. it was crazy!


on the ASIA side of Istanbul!! We went just for lunch!


turkish coffee... which basically requires chewing


hagia sophia


waiting in line at hagia sophia. worth the wait and the money.


mosaic




blue mosque


blue mosque


hagia sophia


hotel balcony view, where we spent LOTS of time because of the gorgeous weather. view of the Bosphorus Strait


mosques EVERYWHERE. literally. and the call to prayer multiple times a day. VERY different. although the church bells here ring multiple times a day, so i guess it's somewhat comparable!


blue mosque


blue mosque