Tzatziki and a Bug to Travel

I know, I know, I should be braising or baking something. It’s November!  But last time I checked it was 85 degrees outside. I considered blasting the AC and putting on my UGGS, but that seemed expensive and contrived. The oven would hands-down win against the AC, and you would know my heart wasn’t really in it.

Besides, if you want the truth, my mind is a million miles away from the holidays, the crazy month of November and Hawaii.  Once upon a time, before I had children, my husband and I used to travel to exotic places with little-to-no itinerary. Just a general idea of where we would like to go and what we would like to see.

Yesterday, a friend and I started trading funny stories about traveling in Greece. We had gone to a few similar places… can you say Super Paradise Beach!!! Well it got me thinking about how long it has been since I have done any traveling. And by traveling I mean a non-Disneyland-non-visiting-family-and-friends-obligation trip. No offense Disneyland, family and friends, I love you all but let’s meet in Santorini. It could happen!

Today I dug out the pictures of my husband and I in Greece (he was just my boyfriend then), and I made some Tzatziki to get in the spirit of things and because it doesn’t involve turning on a hot oven.

Take me back! I think my kids are old enough to handle the flight. Maybe. Besides, this time I’m not going for Super Paradise Beach, I’m going for the food. I’m going for the suspiciously delicious yogurt and the cucumbers that taste like sunshine and the endless varieties of fresh-squeezed juice and the self-serve barrels of wine.

I’m going because I want to find the taverna we ate breakfast at somewhere in the countryside of Crete. It was one of the most memorable dining experiences of my life. We tentatively approached, at first unsure if we were going to a restaurant or someone’s house. We were quickly greeted by a waitress (the daughter) who looked like a glowing, blonde Greek goddess. She brought us Greek coffee, which takes a little getting used to. And by that I mean it tastes like it was made with salt water. She also brought fresh squeezed juice which totally made up for the bitter coffee. Juice out of a gun does not exist in places like this. It is unheard of.

The owner (the father) came out to greet us and shake our hands and when he found out we were American he got so excited he almost knock over my juice. “Ahhhh, Americano!” He shouted, smiling at us. Then he gestured that he would be back, one minute.

Hmmm, we looked at each other wondering what all the fuss was about. The view from this little cafe was unlike any other. How we found this place, I will never know as it was one of the quietest, most peaceful oceanfront nooks I have ever seen, and I’m from Maui! We were just settling in, just starting to understand how one could spend the day staring at the sea, drinking coffee, taking story, maybe an afternoon siesta when we heard it.

The Top Gun soundtrack, BLARING over the speaker system and the owner raising his eyebrows, a smile across his face, and giving us two big thumbs up. This was the summer of 2001. If I’m not mistaken the Top Gun movie came out in 1986. To be fair this was before the days of Spotify and iTunes. I wonder how long he waited for an American traveler to find his quaint Taverna so he could play Danger Zone?

We each gave the owner two thumbs up and did our best not to laugh. We just sat there and smiled, it was way too loud to talk. The food, the juice, the view, the music, what can I say, an experience like that is bound to take my breath away.

Ingredients 

2 Cups Non Fat Greek Yogurt

1/4 Cup Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice

1 Clove Minced Garlic

1 TB finely chopped Mint

1/8 teaspoon Kosher Salt

Pinch of Fresh Cracked Pepper

1 Cup peeled, seeded and thinly sliced Cucumber

 Directions 

Mix all the ingredients together in a big bowl. Taste. Chill for a few hours so the cucumbers soften a bit and all the flavors meld together.  Serve with a bag of pita chips, kebobs, tabouli, falafel, spanakopita, a spoon, anything really.

 

photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/vassil_tzvetanov/4023295984/”>Vassil Tzvetanov</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/”>cc</a>