Crossword Competition: The Leader Board

Congratulations and thanks go to Judy Hall and Trevor and Linda Sanders for their perseverance with our crossword competition in May. For the second month in a row, Judy got the whole thing right, and heads the leader board with 10 points. Trevor and Linda once again made just one mistake and are now on 8 points. The rules go like this. Submit your entries to us by the copy deadline (you can do this via email, or by snail mail at Patr. Grigoriou 11 — our mailbox is outside the house if you are passing by), and each month we will publish a running tally of top five scorers (or top two, in this case!). At the end of the year, the top scoring contestant(s) will win a meal for two at a restaurant in Rethymnon courtesy of the Bugle. You will find the solution to last month’s crossword on our Fun and Games page. Keep those entries rolling in and lookout for some helpful (?) hints on our Facebook group!

Recipe: Gazpacho

This recipe is shorter than it might have been as the cocktail recipe seems to have got out of hand (and yes, in case you were wondering, for this page at least the editor adopts a bottom up approach). Gazpacho is very nice indeed if made well. If made badly it can end up being a bit of a gloop, rather than a damn good cold soup. I’m no expert, and I know at least one person here in Rethymnon who is, so I am being a bit wary about giving you the last word on this. But anyway, here goes…. Ingredients:These are much the same as for a Greek salad without the Feta cheese and with some additional sherry instead. To be more precise, you will need tomatoes, tomato juice, cucumber, onion, red and green peppers, LOTS of garlic, some white bread with the crusts removed, dry sherry, olive oil and ice.

Method: It’s here! Peel and chop the vegetables and garlic, break the bread into pieces and put the whole lot into a blender (if you don’t have a blender you might want to think of another recipe). Add some tomato juice, a generous sloosh of sherry and a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Check for seasoning. Transfer to a large bowl and add ice cubes. Refrigerate for a few hours, topping up the ice as and when. Traditional accompaniments include chopped hard boiled eggs, croutons and diced peppers. Great on hot day, and definitely keeps the vampires away!

Cocktail of the Month: ‘Punch’

Some of you may see this as a bit of a cop out, but when we tell you that the cocktail for June 2009 from a certain famous hotel in London (four letters: first letter ‘R’, fourth letter ‘Z’) is a limited edition cocktail to celebrate Wimbledon, has ’lime and lemon jam’ in the recipe and costs £17 per (Martini) glass before discretionary gratuity in the bar [OK so current exchange rate is still : £1 = 2 seashells, but even so], we might be forgiven. How do we know this? Bugle spies get everywhere and we glow in the dark….But in any case, the key to a proper ‘Punch’ is NOT AND I REPEAT NOT:

1)Assemble dusty bottles of ancient liqueurs (which may or may not include the touching and/or corrosive concoction from Great Aunt Maud labelled ‘Greengage Wine’) that even you have been too frightened to drink.
2) Find bucket and pour the whole lot in.
3) Add ice and something fizzy.
4) Invite enemies to a party and send them outside.
5) If necessary, turn on your garden hose and give everything and everybody a ‘power blast sprinkle’.

Our guide to a GOOD Punch for GOOD friends is:

1) Start this recipe a couple of days in advance of your little social gathering.
2) Buy some really decent summer fruit.
3) Buy some really decent summer spirits—suggestions include tequila and / or vodka.
4) Clean and chop fruit and soak in alcohol (the fruit, not you).
5) Freeze for at least 24 hours (again, the fruit, not you).
6) On the day itself, put ’very cold fruit and alcohol mix’ in bottom of clean container (i.e. nicer bucket than the one you would use for the ‘bad punch’) pour over the remaining summer spirits (oops, did you use all of the summer spirits already? Never mind, bet there is a Mini-Market open somewhere that will be happy to oblige) for a bit of a zing. Cover with shed loads of ice.
7) Fruit juice. It’s good. It has vitamins and things. Add some and feel virtuous.
8) If it appears that the ’Punch in progress’ is still going to need something sweet yet powerful now is the time to think about Crème de Cassis. If you have some, dribble a little bit in. If you have none to hand don’t worry, it will be just fine, just think about it and move on (and no, Great Aunt Maud’s Greengage Wine is not an acceptable substitute at this point. Like gilding a Vermeer with Van Gogh’s ear, if in doubt, leave it out).
9) Top it up with the ‘mixer’. Fizzy or still? Yes or no? Your call.