Greek Food

While in Greece we ate some delicious Mediterranean food and so I have decided to write about that.
The ancient Greek cuisine was characterized by the "Mediterranean Triad" of olive oil, wheat and wine.  Rarely was meat eaten.
The Byzantine cuisine was similar to the classical cuisine but included new ingredients such as lemons, nutmeg, and fish as an integral part of the diet.  Fish dishes are now common in the coastal areas and on the islands.  Meat for Greeks usually means, lamb, goat, pork, chicken and sometimes veal.  Steak and ribs are not what Greeks think of when they grill meat.
Lamb and goats are raised here so main meat dishes include slow baked lamb, grilled lamb chops, and lamb kabobs.  A great variety of cheese is found including Feta. 
We tried many Greek dishes that I do not know or cannot remember the names for.  These were mostly included in our meal plan.  We also had many traditional Greek dishes that we had eaten many times at home such as:
*Moussaka an oven baked dish made up of layers of ground meat and egg plant, then topped with Bechamel sauce containing nutmeg, which is browned in the oven.
*Souvlaki which is chicken, pork, beef or lamb skewered and grilled.  The kabob is usually served with rice, Greek salad, tzatziki sauce and pita bread.  (Tzatziki is yogurt with dill, cucumbers and garlic puree.)
*Spanakopita which is spinach, feta cheese, onions, egg and seasoning wrapped and baked in a triangle of phyllo pastry. 
*Grilled octopus and calamari.
*Gyros which are meat that is roasted on a turning spit, sliced, and served with tzatziki, garnished with tomato and onion and served on pita bread.
*Dolmades are grapevine leaves stuffed with rice and sometimes meat or vegetables.
We seen the roasting of entire lambs on Greek Orthodox Easter Sunday by Greek families, but did not get the chance to eat this roasted meat in the restaurant later that day.
Vegetables  include tomato, potato, cucumbers, okra, egg plant, green pepper.  We love the potatoes roasted with lemon and garlic.  And of course the Greek salad.  But the so called Greek Salad is known in Greece as the "Village / Country Salad" (Horiatiki) or a tomato salad with cucumber, kalamata olives, feta and red onion, dressed with olive oil and lemon juice.
Fast food is not popular in Greece and you do not see McDonald's or other fast food chains here.  Traditional Greek food such as souvlaki, gyros and pita are served in fast food style though.
Many Greek dishes have Arabic, Persian or Turkish roots, such as moussaka, tzatziki, and so on.I guess in the past when the Greeks and Turks were not fighting they still had time to exchange recipes.  Some of their dishes seem the same.

The most characteristic and ancient element of Greek cuisine is olive oil which is used in most dishes.  It is produced from the olive trees which are grown in Greece.

 Baklava are common phyllo pastry filled with nuts and drenched with honey and are delicious.

After supper have a shot of Ouzo (an 80 proof clear alcohol drink) that is flavored with anise.

Or a glass of Retsina which is a white wine that has some pine resin added.  Both must be an acquired taste and neither are my favorite -but I sure do like baklava.

We both enjoyed just having a cup of coffee, sitting outdoors, while people watching.

For breakfast try the fresh yogurt with honey or peaches on top of it.  The Balkan style of yogurt is so much better than our yogurt at home.

Must say "We sure ate good on that trip and after writing this I have a craving for going out for a Greek supper".
Opa!