Bad men live that they may eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink that they may live.
Socrates
Gorgeous Greek foods are what I often think about when I prepare for my visits to Greece or the Greek Islands.
If you are lucky enough to be invited into a Greek home to share the main meal for the day (as we have been occasionally), it is an experience you will never forget.
The table will usually be overflowing with different foods for you to experience, from mezedes, which are small plates of different foods usually accompanied with ouzo.
Delicious dishes such as dolmades, which are flavoured rice and meat wrapped in a vine leaf and steamed, or saganaki cheese which is a plate of kasseri cheese coated and cooked in the oven until its soft and gooey.
Tantalising dishes made of local seasonal vegetables with herbs and local cheeses. Seasonal produce, such as simple tasty meat dishes, marinated, and slowly cooked to perfection, or local fish caught that morning, and maybe grilled simply with herbs and fresh lemon; all are to be enjoyed.
The cuisine of Greece is not like anything you have tasted before. Local cheese products such as feta or kasseri made from goat or sheep's milk, laced with wonderful freshly grown herbs and spices, which may be picked growing wild, from the hillside that morning.
Recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation are to be enjoyed leisurely and with great importance to all the family and their guests.
If you are looking forward to fine dining in the restaurant of your choice, or have memories of a particular Greek recipe you've enjoyed while visiting a specific water-side taverna that the family reminisce about, then I understand.
Because I too, have my favourites when visiting parts of Greece I love returning to; favourite beaches, villages, tavernas and of course, my favourite Greek food recipes.
There are lots of traditional Greek recipes (as we will show you on our other pages), and some are from ancient Greek foods that have been most loved right through the centuries.
Occasionally we come across the Australian influences and US influences, as the Greeks return from the other continents where they have travelled in order to earn a living to provide for their families. This migration was especially prevalent after the war when things where scarce and times were difficult on the islands.
These influences however, such as a slant on the traditional Greek salad, i.e. chef's salad, are along side, and not instead of, on most restaurant menus.