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Lifestyle
Boots are Made for Walking!
After the holiday mayhem and all that eating and drinking it’s time to restore the damage! Back to those good intentions to treat the body with less contempt and get back into shape (yes, yes, we know what they say about the road to hell being paved with good intentions etc. but we really mean it this time). More water, less raki, more vegetables and fewer pies (honest!). It’s worth a try….What better way to get back into condition than by putting those walking boots back on and going out to explore? There are plenty of great walks in the area and some beautiful ‘easy’ gorges such as the Miloi gorge, and the Agios Andonis gorge, and when the weather is good, it’s a lovely time of year to be out in the Cretan countryside. And, if you don’t fancy exploring by yourself, but are interested in guided tours, while many of the tour agencies in Rethymnon are closed for the winter, there are still some companies around that provide specialist winter excursions with experienced guides.
Check out our classified pages for details of some of them.
We hesitate to mention this during the current economic climate, but January in Rethymnon is traditionally sales month, so there should be some good bargains to be had. And if after the Christmas period a spot of retail therapy is absolutely out of the question, it’s still fun to go window shopping here, too! As we have mentioned in previous editions of the Bugle, Greek sales are far more strongly regulated than in the UK, and are only allowed to take place at certain times of the year, so catch them while you can! Unfortunately, though, try as we might, we couldn’t find any details online about when the sales were actually going to start (which is unusual). We reckon that around the second week of January is a pretty good bet, but we will keep you posted online as and when we find out more.
Creamy Chicken Casserole
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This dish will brighten up even the dullest of winter days (well we think so, anyway!). Some of you may remember that a while back we gave you a recipe for chicken risotto. Well, this starts off the same way, but ends up being completely different (if you see what I mean). But if you do change your mind, you could always switch to the risotto if you wanted to. Anyway, I’m rambling. Let’s get to the point. Ingredients For the stock (oh, yes, you are going to make homemade chicken stock for this one. Throw away that Knorr cube right now) you will need: a chicken, onions, garlic, carrots, herbs and seasoning. For the casserole: The same chicken, which has now been cooked, some flour, butter, onions, garlic, white wine, cream, herbs - including tarragon - fresh tarragon is hard to come by here unless you grow it yourself, and even then it’s hard to find the seeds (try one of the bigger garden companies online). You may find it hard to find dried tarragon in the shops here, too (Champion don’t have it), but one of the places where you can buy it is the organic shop on Metropolis Square. Anyway back to the ingredients. You will also need some mushrooms (tinned are OK in this dish) and the stock that you have just made. |
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Start with the stock. Boil the chicken in a large pan of water along with the vegetables and herbs / seasoning. When the chicken is cooked remove from the pan. Let the chicken cool, then take the meat off the bone. You can add the bones back to the stockpot later to make a richer stock, but it will probably make your life easier at the moment if you strain the stock now. Cut the chicken into smallish pieces. In another largish pan, chop and sweat the onions and garlic in butter, add some more butter and flour to make a roux. Cook the roux for a few minutes, then start slowly adding the stock and white wine in equal proportions, stirring frantically enough to avoid the sauce becoming lumpy. Add the chicken, mushrooms fresh herbs and tarragon. Check for seasoning and let the casserole cook for a while. Add more liquid as required. When you are about ready to put the rice or giouvetsi pasta on (the casserole tastes great with both!) it’s time to add the cream. To stop the cream curdling, add the sauce to the cream first, before heating through. Yummie!
Cocktail of the Month: Frosty the Pink Snowman
This might seem to be a bit cheeky, given that while the rest of Europe was freezing, for much of the holiday period we were basking in the sun. But still, call it empathizing. We haven’t tried this one out yet - in fact, until I’ve typed the next bit, I won’t actually have made up my mind what is going to go into the cocktail. Well, obviously we’ll need plenty of ice and something pink. Suggestions for the pink thing include blackcurrant cordial / crème de cassis, cranberry juice or angostura bitters (not altogether of course, though thinking about it, perhaps this might work). If using blackcurrant cordial additions of gin / vodka / white rum should help to kick start the process. I’d recommend topping up the drink with something fizzy and I’d go for soda rather than sprite, with possibly a dash of lemon juice. Garnish with something pink or pinkish if you can find it (plastic elephants, strawberries?). Make this drink in a long glass, and start with lots of crushed ice. A few of these and you should find that your worries just melt away into the distance (or that your nose ends up looking like a carrot and your eyeballs like lumps of coal). Music to drink this by? Do you really need to ask?!
