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“Shipping here from IKEA Athens is surprisingly easy”

Bob and Eveleen Wright report:
We dropped into IKEA on our way back from London on the Thursday evening  after Xmas, having deposited our bags in the very reasonable ground floor airport left luggage office.  A taxi for two at 6 euros  is marginally cheaper than the bus fare.
The expected treat of Swedish meatballs never materialized as the restaurant was filled to overflowing. So we toured the standard upper floor maze, before descending on the ground floor for a trolley full of  bed linen,[ which greatly excites my wife] , and four quartz halogen ceiling tracks, which are cheap , attractive and economical to run. After the inevitable queue at one of the 20 checkouts, we went to the shipping desk

“Aha”, said the young lady, “We only transport the items to central Athens and then you arrange shipping to the island.”
Instant  panikos. My pensioner’s Greek is not up to that. A dispatch guy kindly suggested that I go back to the checkout, buy a 5 euro very large self assembly cardboard box, and seal all the linen inside, using the tape dispenser helpfully provided.
Pity had set in, and the young lady duly contacted the shipping agents TAO, who agreed to deliver to Rethymno for a reasonable quote. The price for sending the goods from Athens depends on the number of items, the bulging box counting as one, and the price came to 17 euros,  so far so good.

Imagine our surprise at 8.30 on the Saturday morning to receive a call from TAO in Rethymno that the goods had arrived, and our joy was compounded to discover that the Aegean voyage had cost the princely sum of 20 euros.
TAO offices are near to the notorious unworking traffic lights by the main bus station. On the corner is the ACS courier office, and you drive about 200m up the hill to a gaping unmarked warehouse on the right, which is the TAO dispatch and receiving centre. [ 28310 25037]
IKEA do have an online catalogue, and will also send out the printed version upon request, but they do not reveal all the Scandinavian treasures awaiting you in the store itself.

Recipe: Leeks Niçoise (For St David’s Day!)

Key Ingredients

Leeks (obviously)
Absolutely no daffodils.
Garlic
Onions
Decent olive oil
Possibly a bit of butter?
Lemon (fresh, off your own tree is best)
Tomatoes
White wine ( village wine works well)
Seasoning—you know, the usual….

Really Vague Method

Cut up the leeks in the way that makes you feel happiest (or don’t even cut them up). Sweat them along with the onions and garlic in loads of olive oil, and, if you’re feeling really indulgent, some butter, too. Have a bit of a think. Blanch the tomatoes, peel and chop them, and add to leeks. Then squish the tomatoes in a thoughtful manner. Add some wine and just enough lemon juice to give the thing enough of a tang. Season to taste. Let the whole lot simmer for a while until the leeks are done. Turn off heat, and leave to cool until just warm

Rethymnon Shopping Tip


Decent potato mashers (‘why, oh why?’ you may ask) are not actually that easy to come by here. The 1 Euro shop occasionally has them, but in our experience, they’re a bit of a disappointment . This is when a trip to Marks and Spencer in Heraklion pays off….

 

Cocktail of the Month: Whisky Mac

Ordinary whisky (don’t even think about using your 16 year old Lagavulin for this one)
Stones Green Ginger Wine.
Mix together in a glass without ice. Tastes a bit like cough medicine, but if nothing else, it helps to keep out the cold.
 

If ANYONE knows where to buy Stone’s Green Ginger Wine in Rethymnon, we’d like to hear from them!

 
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