Greek Lemon Cookies

Every so often, Liberty and I like to bake up a batch of various cookies. In the winter, we prefer oatmeal or chocolate chip, but come spring, it's always our Greek lemon cookies that we bake on Holy Thursday, as they are a traditional, Easter treat. 

 

Having said that, they are to Greeks what biscotti are to Italians, and as such, can be enjoyed whenever one craves a substantial citrus cookie, as they are denser in texture, but very moist, with a full bodied lemon-y aroma and taste.

And this year, they were extra special, since they were infused with the fresh, citrus-y scent that came from lemons growing on the one and only lemon tree in our veggie garden. Here's the recipe that I found in 'Dolce', a Greek gourmet magazine. It's super easy! 

Greek Lemon Cookies

Ingredients:

500 grams all purpose flour

200 grams sugar

100 grams butter

3 eggs

1/2 cup milk

zest from two lemons

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg + 2 Tbsp. water for egg wash

Directions:

1.  Cream the butter and sugar 

so that it becomes light and fluffy.

2.  Add the eggs, one by one, beating after each, 

then, the milk, vanilla, and lemon zest.

3.  Lower the speed on the mixer and add the 

flour in portions, folding it in after each addition.

4.  On a cold counter, start to knead the dough until 
it doesn't stick to your fingers. You might need
 to add more flour (I find that I always do, 
but be careful, as the more flour you add,
 the more it takes away from the lemon, 
the vanilla and the sugar).

5.  Shape the dough into strips, 15 cm long and the width of your finger.

6.  Roll them into a pinwheel or whatever shape you like. 

7.  Transfer to cookie sheet and  brush with egg wash. 

8.  Bake in a preheated oven for 18 - 20 minutes 

at 180 C/(350 F). Makes about 1 kilo.

These Greek lemon cookies are  perfect with that first cup of morning coffee, or tea in the afternoon. If you like your cookies crunchy, then store them in a cookie tin.  Otherwise, keep them in an air tight container, if you prefer a softer cookie. I hope you give them a try; they're fun to make and are scrumptious!

 Have you done any baking, lately?

Thanks for visiting!

xx

Poppy

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Aglow in Yellow

It's the last week of March and the Cretan countryside is aglow in yellow. Above, clouds covered the sun, seconds before I took this photo, but the round, cheery flowers, like millions of little light bulbs, brightened the scene for me, so that I could capture the tiny church in all its radiant illumination.

This blossoming pear tree is one

 of many in the immediate vicinity. 

Its silky, white flowers are a soft contrast to the yellow 

  saturation that dominates the petal population at present.

These adorable daisies arrived in patches about a week ago. They're the first bunch of beauties I encounter on my walk around the village. Don't they look like those animated suns in kids' drawings? I can almost see their sweet, smiley faces and hear their childlike voices bidding me 'Good morning' in unison. 

'Good morning, daisies'.

Meanwhile, white mustard (Sinapsis alba L, belonging to the Brassicaceae family) is at its peak right now. I read here, that, 'while the table condiment mustard does indeed come from the mustard seed, the leaves, flowers, seed pods and roots are also edible.'. The young leaves, in particular, are used to flavour mixed salads.

I have been wandering through meadows of these lemony toned lovelies for years; who knew that they are packed with a peppery spice and provide a host of therapeutic qualities from treating ailments like bronchitis and pneumonia to alleviating arthritis?!

Indoors, a favourite flower of mine, my beloved freesia, take centre stage on a doily that resembles yet another sun, this one lacy and delicate. This fragrant posy is part of a bigger bouquet given to me by my sweet friend, Fotini, for my birthday, last week. She has several pots blooming on her balcony. Interestingly, her name, 'Fotini' is derived from the Greek, φως (phos), meaning 'light'. This bunch so beautifies the house with its glowing, yellow bulb-like petals and that scent!

 

And thank you, my sweet readers for visiting
   and for all of your thoughtful birthday wishes!
Have a wonderful week!

xoxo
Poppy 

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I'm No Spring Chicken

Hello all,

 Happy Spring!

On Sunday, we celebrated my birthday, dining

 al fresco in this gorgeous landscape, just a

 10 minute drive from our village. 

While daisies and buttercups garnished the fields below, 

source

we had a scrumptious lunch on the patio 

of this beautifully rustic establishment,

 high, in the hilly Cretan countryside.

 

Before leaving, a prayer at the inn's tiny chapel, 

completed our visit to this pretty, pastoral place.

Once home, Liberty and I immediately changed into

 more sporty clothing, then departed on our daily walk, 

hoping to undo some of the damage done at the tavern.

Now, my daughter is twenty something and in great shape. 

And, although she can easily finish our route in half the time,

 she is happy to stroll at my pace, simply to keep me company.

 After all, I'm no spring chicken, 

just a loving, mother hen!

Thanks for visiting!

xoxo

Poppy

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Credenza Extravaganza

Hello, all!

Well, after a month of cleaning and clearing, I was getting dangerously rather cranky and then, well, I completely conked out! I must say, multi-tasking is one of my fortes - isn't it every woman's (?) - you know what I mean: simultaneously delegating the dirty stuff to the washing machine and dishwasher, dinner doing its thing, simmering on the stove, thus, leaving me hands free to mop the freshly vacuumed floors, while I get the latest deets on all the drama in Canada during a conference call with my mom and sister!

 

Yet multi-tasking isn't all it's cracked up to be. In fact, I recently read that in the workplace, it actually leads to more mistakes! Since I was desperately craving some creativity, I devoted all my concentration on decorating the credenza and found it was the perfect pick-me-up perk!  Excited about restyling it with a few new cuties from Canada, like the cool, cow creamer, above, I made sure not to even think about focusing on anything else (like back breaking bath tub scrubbing, for example!) until my project was completed.

For the most part, I worked with what I had, like the 

sweet, butterfly candy dish that sat in the sun room 

for a long time, and the dainty, floral teapot,

which used to be displayed in the 

glass cabinet in the kitchen, above.

The same goes for the white, scalloped edge, French 
dishes, setting a foundation on the bottom shelf. 

 

They were stacked on the kitchen's open shelving for years.

This latest arrangement, to me, is fresh, light and cheery. It screams sings 'spring' to me. Those of you who have been following Poppy View for a while know that the credenza usually changes with the seasons. 

Case in point #1: Christmas!

 

Case in point #2: bursting with summer blooms.

So, until spring actually does arrive, at which point I will joyfully pick narcissus, geraniums and freesia from our garden, to fill empty creamers with splashes of floral fragrance, the breakfast nook credenza will be on stand by, unlike me, who's already got a lot on her plate!

Thanks for visiting!

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Playful April Petals

The Venetian Walls, built in the 15th century, surround the city of Heraklion, and are the largest fortified structure in the Mediterranean. I have strolled their flowery paths many times, pausing to enjoy the panoramic views. On this particular afternoon, while waiting for my bus back to the village, I studied and admired their own beauty,

 which is equally impressive, from ground level.

Entering the village, crowds of Cretan hollyhocks, 

daisies and buttercups charmingly line the main road, 

greeting visitors with their sweet hospitality upon arrival. 

 

The tiny, white church, nestled among olive trees and 
evergreens, is a picture of bucolic calm, and beckons
one to sift through the thick vegetation, to come and
sit quietly amid this lush, hilly haven above the sea.

Here it is again, as seen from our property, now bordered
by bouquets of laurel, and aromatic, flowering herbs. 

 

Steps away from our own veggie patch, a mature
 olive tree floats in a bath of fresh, new greenery,

while in the grove immediately behind our walls,
young trees stand in line for a spring pruning.

 April, I am grateful for your gentle breeze,

 bringing songbirds, butterflies and bees, to

   play with spring blossoms and flowering trees,

in a game most magnificent and joyful. 

Thanks for visiting,

 and happy weekend!

xoxo

Poppy

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Buttercup Brilliance

 6:45 am, Poppy View headquarters, orange skies just before sunrise.

  

 9:09: My feline ally, Prince Richard, the cat,
misses his wake up call for the day. So predictable.

 9:10: I leave him behind and head for the hills, as planned.

 You snooze, you lose.

 

 The Bermuda buttercups had arrived for their annual visit,

and I was curious to see how they were getting on

 with their hosts, the olive trees and grapevines.

9:49: Everything seemed harmoniously fine, from a distance.

10:15: A serene scene on a canvas of blue; a pretty, pastoral view.

10:34: Up close, it was evident that our generous hosts, 

indeed, had made the little buttercups feel at home, 

giving them plenty of space, in which to stretch and freely roam.

 11:58: At my garden gate, I am greeted with a yawn,

by a lazy companion I can never count on. Shameful.

Happy first day of March!

Spring Countdown

Spring: __ days, (and counting), to go...

Will flowers grow where there is snow? I sure hope so!

xo

Poppy

All images: Poppy View

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