"It's only prentending to be summer"

Or, an update on "The Greeks have a word for it"

Ripening Pomegranates - get them before the birds do!

The celebration of the Virgin Mary on 15^th August is the major and, in fact, only, public holiday during the summer – if it falls on a weekend that is a bit of a blow to anyone wanting a day off work but this year it fell on a Wednesday so what better than to take the whole week off!

At the end of the day .... time to chat

Traditionally it is holiday time and Athens empties completely as everyone goes off to a village or island – yes, it’s a time of extreme crisis and extreme depression but going off to a village or island doesn’t necessarily mean an extravagant vacation – for most it will be a visit to the family roots and a gathering together of all ages, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and the new babies bringing new hope to a sad situation.

Golden autumn fields

 But I am not really talking about holidays; I wanted to share some Greek charm and Greek habits. A couple of years ago I wrote a piece for the Periscope Post entitled ‘The Greeks have a word for it’ giving examples of the Greek habit of dealing with any occurrence, good or bad, with an appropriate phrase that is guaranteed to make you feel cheerful. The 15^th August is not just a celebration for all named Maria, Despina, Panagioti (the male version), Marika etc to whom one wishes Chronia Polla (literally many years – effectively ‘many happy returns’) it is customary to give the same greeting to everyone you meet on that special day. However, August 15^th also marks the end of the summer – incredible as it seems – and, especially those who have finished their holidays on or about that date will be wished Kalo Heimona – happy winter! Ghastly thought when no one is really ready to think about the long winter ahead. The strange thing is though that the weather actually does change after Panagia on the 15^th and there is a definite autumnal flavour; a friend wrote in an email that ‘it’s only pretending to be summer’ and I think that is an accurate description of the change.

Prickly pears - not quite ready

Of course it gets light later – no more 5 o’clock starts and the evenings are drawing in and even sitting in the garden with a morning coffee requires seating adjustments as the sun is lower in the sky and the shade is in a different place! The light is different, the shadows deeper and it feels like autumn. All the plants that rested after their glorious abundance in the spring and early summer are now ready to go into an overdrive of flowering. And the pomegranates and prickly pears are ripening and the figs – oh the figs and grapes!

Beautiful figs, just  picked

Recipes:

The best way to eat figs is stealing off the neighbour's tree!

Alternatively with thick Greek yogurt or Mascarpone. You can bake them in a pastry base and then add thick Greek yogurt or Mascarpone.

Hang them up to dry and eventually make a wonderful preserve with walnuts a hint of mastic pounded in a mortar and served with - thick Greek yogurt or Mascarpone - what else! Actually, forget the Mascarpone, thick Greek yogurt is the ultimate!

Pomegranates, when fully ripened a bit later in the autumn, sprinkled on salad, rice for a Moroccan touch, fruit salad or as the grannies used to do in the old days pick the pips out with a pin and serve to the children. I don't mind the pips and, in any case, am not going to start de-pipping them, and love them by the spoonful. Juiced is fantastically refreshing.

Grapes, bunches at any time of the day, on their  own or with cheese or added to chicken veronique - but mainly just as a wonderful healthy fruit.

Wishing you sunshine and delicious figs, whatever the weather!

Hard to believe that this scene will be green and covered in spring flowers and wild herbs in a few months' time

“7^th November 2010 Periscope Post

The Greeks do indeed have a word for any and all occasions and, for the most part, a way of wishing you well: Have a good month (Kalo Mina), have a good winter (kalo heimona), good luck with your new …car, house (kalo riziko), be happy (actually ‘good’) welcoming a guest or a child home (kalo na ton dektis), everyone you pass will wish you good luck as you are wheeled into the operating theatre (kali epitihia), even be happy wearing, and eventually dirtying, your clean and pressed clothes (kalo leroto). The list is endless but sometimes confusing to foreigners: kai to chronou (and to next year’s event) is clearly not for funerals where zoi se mas (life to us) is a way of thanking the Universe for sparing the living and s’ta dika sas (and to yours, as in wedding) to the unmarried is the wish for the next wedding to be theirs.

This past weekend, I heard ‘happy voting’ as the Greeks went to the polls for local government elections. Things have changed considerably since I first experienced elections in my adoptive country: it used to be compulsory to vote and this was very strictly enforced; if you were away on the day you had to prove you were abroad by showing an airline ticket or other acceptable evidence otherwise there was the possibility of jail. But also people would take their duty very seriously and dress up in, literally, their Sunday best – it was an Event. Very often Greeks are registered in their place of origin necessitating travelling great distances to do one’s duty; nowadays they still travel to their villages, and take a couple of days off work as a bonus! Also, in the old days, no alcohol or matches could be sold the night before the Sunday election day, presumably to ensure that voters made a clear minded decision – the matches? Presumably without setting fire to anything! And even on The Day alcohol was only served at a taverna on presentation of a stamped voting book!

Greeks are passionate about Politics and everyone has an opinion that is aired with only the slightest encouragement, but voting seems to have lost its charm. Sadly the response I received on enquiring where/how people were going to exercise their public right was along the lines of “Oh I’m not going to bother” and “It’s such lovely weather we’re off for the weekend to take advantage of the day off school/work on Monday”. Sad because there are still places in the world where people are disenfranchised or even fear terrible repercussions if they vote according to their beliefs instead towing the party line; I suppose, enjoying the freedom of living in the West also means having the freedom to not vote.

Last weekend saw the turn of New York to host a Marathon Race (see last week’s Classic Athens Marathon) and although the popular record holder, Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie is running for the first time at this location, the world’s eyes are on Edison Pena one of the rescued Chilean miners who kept fit during his ordeal running kilometres underground every day. He is also a keen Elvis fan and will visit Graceland during his U.S. visit – would he ever have envisaged being world famous a few months ago and singing on the David Letterman show, or even alive a few weeks ago? Life is interesting and unpredictable – kali evdomatha (have a very good week)!”

One of the comments on the above article reminded me of the expression ‘yia sta hieria sas’ meaning health to your hands – usually referring to a delicious dish or meal that has been created – that really is a very nice way of complimenting someone and showing appreciation and also hoping for more of the same to come your way!

This is the 'Hey Pesto!' Blog after all!