My Rhodes Vacation - II

Pin It       I wanted to write a seperate post about eating/drinking in Rhodes because it is both one of my favorite subjects and a very rich culture there. The most popular food type is the sea food -not surprisingly. You can eat fresh fish, octopus, mussels, calamari and such. However in our first day we ate the worst fish in our lives. It was very hard and tasteless (I think the owner realised his mistake because he came by and wanted to kiss and hug us many times and afterwards served many free offers!!) but except for that first inexperienced try, everything was just wonderful.
      When you hear the word "Greece", probably the second word you hear will be "ouzo", the anise-flavored local drink -which is almost the same as our national drink, Turkish raki. It goes very well ice-cold with sea food.



Grilled octopus along with garlic bread and ouzo

      In Rhodes you can try many different foods at the same time with mixed plates. We did that a couple of times and by that way tasted many Greek foods (which also belong to our cousine with small differences:) like mousakka, tzatziki ("cacik" in Turkish), lazagna, dolma (stuffed vegetables), meatballs, cheeseballs, rice, mashed eggplants and many more...



Mixed sea food plate - it is called "Simi Plate"

Mixed Greek food plate

Our hotel owner's surprise in the breakfast: Home made grape jam on home made cake

If you are fond of meat, I recommend you to go to "Lemoni" grill restaurant. It is in the center of the Old Town and one of the cheapest but most delicious places in Rhodes!

Tasting the local wine in one of the center spots in the Old Town is a must as well.

And in our last day: Very happy me after eating so many good foods but also very unwilling to end the vacation.

 

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Elderflower Cordial (Holunder Syrup)

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The plant itself looks like this

      There is a plant which is not so known in our country but quite famous in central Europe, especially in Britain and Ireland. I had the chance to taste its syrup for a couple of times owing to a very nice lady who had the tree in her garden and I really fell in love with the taste of it. Yes, I am talking about the Elderflower cordial which is also called as Holunder syrup.
If I give some brief information about the tree, Elder is one of a number of indigenous trees that became common about 6000 years ago following forest clearance by the first farmers on British island. It is found in hedgerows, woods, chalk downs and waste ground and was once regarded as one of the most magically powerful of all plants.

       It is said that a witch can turn herself into an elder tree and its wood is used for the making of magic wands. It is also believed that planting this tree protects your house from lightening and evil spirits. Sitting or sleeping under, an Elder at midsummer is said to enable one to see the fearies or even see them going to their midsummer feast. (So besides its taste and odor, I sort of like this magical side as well:)

      All in all, I strongly recommend you to find and taste this lovely syrup. Even better if you plant it in your garden (which is my next destination) and make the syrup yourself (By the way not only syrup but also champagne and vinegar can be made also from its flowers). So just in case, I will give you a simple recipe (I say simple because you can find more detailed recipes with longer processes but I learned this one from that 85 year-old lady and I trust "experience"):

 

I took this photo almost a month ago when I last visited the lady (partially seen at the backround) and unfortunately these are the last remaining portions of that syrup since the Elder tree in her garden toppled down during a heavy storm.  

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