Let the Season Begin!

Spring has officially begun and Rethymnon is now gearing up for the summer season after the winter break. The first direct flights from the UK to Crete started at the end of March (easyJet from Gatwick to Heraklion) and we should be seeing our first mass influx of visitors in the very near future. Even though the Bugle team have been here for some years now, it’s always a bit of a shock to us when the first charter plane lands. One day you’re ambling down quiet empty streets in peace and tranquillity, the next day you find yourself surrounded by hordes of strangers wearing shorts and flip-flops speaking a multitude of different languages. As ever at this time of year, frantic last minute preparations are underway to get businesses ready in time for the tourists.

The dawn chorus brings with it not only the sound of song birds, but also the whizz, whirr and clamour of buzz saws, power drills and hammers. The air is sweet with the scent of jasmine and wood varnish….And, of course, given what has been happening globally, it’s a bit of a nail biting time too, with people wondering what the next few months will bring. Fingers crossed that this season will be a good one!

Recipe: Steak, Mushroom and Guinness Casserole (or Pie!)

It being the month when lamb is in season, it obviously makes sense to give you all a hearty British winter beef recipe. But as a weird Prince once sang before he became a Symbol: “Sometimes it snows in April”. And this is a useful heart warming recipe to have up your sleeve (if you see what I mean). This dish — in its pie form — became something of a classic in the 1980’s in the Browns’ restaurants in Brighton and Oxford in the UK. Our version is unlikely to become a classic but should still taste good. Ingredients Decent steak Onions Garlic Mushrooms (fresh button mushrooms rather than tinned) Carrots (optional) Flour Guinness (make sure you get enough for the chef, too) Stock Fresh herbs, including thyme, and seasoning Butter and oil Frozen puff pastry (If you want to go down the pie route)

Method Chop the onions and garlic and sweat them in some butter and oil along with the fresh herbs in a large pot. Cut the steak into cubes and dust in plenty of seasoned flour. Dust yourself off and add the steak to the pot. Brown the meat. (it might stick a bit, but that will soon be taken care of). Slowly start adding stock and Guinness in equal measures. At this stage of the game ‘less is probably more’ if you want a nice thick sauce—you can always add more liquid later, just make sure you keep a watchful eye on the pot. Let the casserole simmer for a while and start thinking about what you want to do with the mushrooms and whether you are going to add carrots or not. Once you have made up your mind, chop or slice the veggies and add them to the pot too. If you are going to use carrots and are casseroling then we suggest that you add carrots at around the same you are putting the water on for the potatoes (obviously you’re going to have mash with this dish). If you are making a pie or pies, then the carrots should go in before you put the puff pastry hats on the pie dishes and finish them off in the oven, otherwise it might get complicated….

Cocktail of the Month: Fool’s Paradise

To honour the beginning of April we looked up ‘Fool’s Paradise’ and ’cocktail’ on Google. Unfortunately all we came up with was some kind of chi-chi hotel in China. Then we thought about doing something alcoholic with gooseberry fool (it’s just the way the mind set was at the time). We found a recipe online at the BBC which goes as follows: ‘Tangy gooseberries and fragrant elderflower cordial are combined into homemade custard and cream in this simple traditional English dessert.’ Translation wise this is a minefield. ‘Gooseberry’ in Greek is φραγκοστάφυλο (which could be translated as ‘French grape), we couldn’t find ‘elderflower’ in the dictionary and ‘custard’ and ‘cream’ are one and the same word in Greek. If you want to carry on with the dessert as cocktail then we suggest you spike some fruit jelly with the spirit of your choice (we recommend the combination of lime and tequila). Anyway, enough of this rambling. After a great deal of thought and experimentation we have actually come up with a cocktail that should do the trick. For our Fool’s Paradise you will need: Vodka, crème de cassis, white wine, soda, ice. Add a slug of vodka, top up with wine, soda and ice, floating the crème de cassis on top. Garnish with a maraschino cherry and slice of kiwi fruit (or avocado if you are feeling particularly adventurous). Lie back and watch the stars.

Music to drink this by: Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers: Why Do Fools Fall in Love?; Snowy White: Bird of Paradise; Chris Rea, Road to Hell.