Hello October! Honestly, it feels like a hot minute since we welcomed September but here we are kicking off the 10th month of the year. My favourite thing about the first of the month is joining Sherry and friends for In My Kitchen. Who doesn’t love a sticky beak at what everyone else has been cooking, creating and collecting? (Don’t answer that, it’s a rhetorical question!) So, let’s get to it, shall we?
We jetted off to Crete at the start of the month and had the most wonderful time. Full disclosure though, most of my kitchen highlights this month are Cretan related…
First up are these Tzatziki flavour crisps – I could not resist! They were actually quite delicious and tasted a bit like sour cream and chive flavour. My only regret about buying these was that I didn’t buy more!
I don’t have a sweet tooth, I have sweet teeth and nothing makes me happier than hunting down Haribo overseas. I loved these little vampires and thought they would be fun for Halloween but if you know me and lollies, you’ll know they didn’t last until October, let alone Halloween. Ooops!
While in Crete, we became slightly obsessed with paximidia, Cretan barley rusks. They’re like mega-hard croutons, with the larger ones broken up and served in salads and smaller ones served with dips. I filled our hand luggage with these Cretan delights and can’t wait to create some of those yummy Cretan salads now I’m home.
We also stocked up on olives and the quintessential baklava and Loukoumi (like Turkish delight.) Fun fact, did you know there are about 35 million olive trees in Crete compared to a human population of about 650,000 which equates to about 53 olive trees per person!
We found a wonderful shop in Chania called Votani that had the most amazing selection of herbs, spices, nuts and natural products. I brought some tzatziki herb mix home with me and these delightful olive wood salad servers. Every time I use them, I’ll be reminded of all those delicious Cretan salads.
We really got into Greek wines while we were away – they’re quite hard to find here in the UK but I found some online at Ocado and added to cart quicker than you can say ‘yamas!’
Keeping with the Greek theme, I published the recipe for Tiropitakia (aka Greek cheeese pies) so easy and so yummy. Eating these was like having a little taste of Crete in our kitchen.
I had seen so many delicious creations from this book that I couldn’t wait to check it out for myself. I borrowed it from the library but barely got a chance to look at it before I had to return it – this book is very much in demand. I will have to borrow it again… Until next time Ella!
Well that’s a wrap on this month’s kitchen adventures! Crete definitely made its mark on my kitchen this month, from the Cretan goodies we brought back to the Greek wines and recipes that are keeping the holiday memories alive now we’re home. I’m already looking forward to putting some of our foodie souvenirs to good use.
Do you bring foodie or kitchen souvenirs home when you travel? And what’s the best thing you’ve ever brought home from a holiday?
