‘The Magpie’s Nest’: Second-Hand Shop for Rethymnon!

Autumn cleaning your house? Finding a load of stuff you haven’t used in a million years? Feeling terrible about throwing away perfectly useable things? Help is at hand!
I Folia tis Kissas (The Magpie’s Nest) is Rethymnon’s newly established second hand shop which will gladly take in your cast offs and, with luck, sell them, making you money into the bargain! It also caters for dedicated rummagers and bargain hunters, selling a wide variety of clothes, books and household goods. If you’re looking for something just that little bit different or a change of wardrobe at rock bottom prices, this is the place to start.
The shop’s owner, Marianne Pryor, told the Bugle, “We’ll accept any item so long as it’s clean, in good condition, in working order and not too big to fit into the shop! And legal of course! Big items or services we can market through the shop’s notice board.
“The basic system is that I will pay the seller of the item one-third of the selling price after sale. Things that don’t sell after a certain time are reduced in price, with another reduction ‘to clear’ after a further period. Anything left over after that will be given to charity, currently the Catholic Church in Rethymnon.
“This means we have a perpetual sale! Bargains galore!”
I Folia tis Kissas is tucked away on Sifi Vlastou: going through town on the main road towards Hania, opposite the end of the park, turn right. It’s a five-ways junction and Sifi Vlastou is at about ‘one o’clock’, that is, almost straight on. Opening hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 2pm and Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 6pm to 9pm. You can contact Marianne on 6978 677913

Recipe: Spicy Mince

We admit, this one is hardly rocket science in the culinary scheme of things: Delia ‘lime and coriander’ Smith it ain’t. But humble mince jazzed up a bit is surprisingly comforting of an evening, especially when it’s chucking it down with rain outside. To make our generic version you need:
Mince (beef mince from a local butcher rather than supermarket stuff is best).
Onions and garlic, chopped.
Tomatoes (tinned will do at a push, we won’t tell).
Carrots — IMPORTANT (not in terms of world peace perhaps, but they are for this dish).
Wine (village barrel red is fine).
Oil.
Spicy stuff: hot sauces, garam masala, couscous spices, chillies, whatever takes your fancy. Go on, live dangerously, the world’s your oyster, though oyster sauce actually doesn’t work that well for this one. Any other vegetables lying about that you think will work — mushrooms are good, as are courgettes, though courgettes need work.

Sweat the onions and garlic in a little oil. You can, if you’re excited, already add some spices at this stage. Turn up the heat, add the mince and brown it off. Turn the heat back down again, add some tomatoes and check your cupboards for likely seasoning. Stare in horror, then start throwing out anything with a pre Millennium ‘sell by’ date.
Wonder how it came to pass that you appear to be able to supply the whole of Crete with Branston Pickle. Consider using Branston Pickle for spicy mince, then tell yourself to get a grip. Turn attention back to cooker, where mince etc. is probably starting to sizzle and start adding eclectic choice of spicy stuff you have managed to corral, plus any extra veggies you feel like using. Add some wine, and let the whole lot do its thing for a while. Chop the carrots into REALLY SMALL PIECES (beats me why this makes a difference, but it does) and add them about ten to fifteen minutes before serving (it’s OK for them to be a bit soft, adds to the flavour). Eat this dish with potatoes, Cretan potatoes, cooked anyway, anyhow, anywhere….or rice….or just on its own with a spoon. Use restraint and freeze the leftovers ASAP (this stops you from sneaking downstairs in the middle of the night to raid the pot, and gives you a ready-made meal at a later date).

Cocktail of the Month: Thistle Blitzer

We have no idea why this particular cocktail should be relevant for this month, but we have to say that our curiosity was aroused by the thought of blitzing thistles. It also occurred to us that “This is a thistle blitzer” could become a bit of a tongue twister after a couple of samples.
No idea what it tastes like (brave bungee-jumpers amongst you are invited to send in reports) but the ingredients are as follows:
1/6 Midori (melon liqueur, Cretan versions readily available, you don’t get away with this challenge so easily), 1/6 vodka, 1/3 fresh orange juice, 1/3 fresh cream, 1 dash blue curaçao. Shake or strain and don’t blame us if it curdles.