A nearby Greek church holds a 4 day festival every summer & I finally got
to it yesterday afternoon. I tried going a few years ago, but the crowds frightened
me & I never got inside the building. This being the 1st day, I figured
there would be fewer people, so I might actually get through the doors.
Happily, I did & it was an
educational experience. The accompanying craft show was disappointing, only a
few tables & not much handmade. I was fascinated at the music CDs &
t-shirts with the Greek alphabet on them, though. And ended up buying a t-shirt
with Greek warriors on, drawn like those on ancient vases.
One of my goals was to try a bunch
of Greek food, as long as it fit with my dietary restrictions. The menu on the
wall didn't explain what the items were, so I asked an older lady behind a slow
table to explain what some of them were. She gave me very thorough descriptions,
not only naming ingredients, but the order in which they were added to the
recipe. Armed with that info, I got into the maze-like line for the buffet,
ordering the sample combo to try as much as possible. As I sat down at a
table, I saw a printed menu describing the items, which would've been better
placed up by the line.
I liked souzoukakia (meatballs in
a wine & tomato sauce, served over rice pilaf) best. And finally got to try
the grape wrapped dolmades that I'd been curious about for years.The grape
leaves are soft, not tough as I'd imagined they have a tangy taste that was
pleasant. I got some pastries to bring home, including a tasty apricot one. And
got my mom a coconut swirl & baklava, which she said looked
repulsive(?????). Guess she doesn't like ethnic food. Oh well, her loss.
I also looked through part of the
building, including the tiny sanctuary. It would only hold about 2 dozen people,
tops, but was nicely decorated with icons and a ceiling painting. One of the
icons showed a handsome bearded man(not Jesus),I stepped closer to see him
better, but couldn't figure out who he was. And knew it wasn't the place to be
thinking those sorts of thoughts, anyways.
Though I didn't spend a long time
at the festival, I enjoyed the food and seeing a different kind of church and
getting a glimpse of an ancient & fascinating culture.
Comments (2)
It sounds very fun! And your mom must be just plain crazy. Or did she eat it?
No, I ended up eating the pastries, though I shouldn't have with my diabetes. They were tasty. lol
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