Corfu, Greece: What a day we had! Lots of nothing and lots of cray-cray. First of all, it was nearly 100 degrees today, so the few remaining coaches in this resort and packing their rigs to drive to cooler climes. Most are going home, as most RV parks are not open yet (seasonal or COVID-19 reasons).
Dave and I walked this morning, but ever saw each other even once along our routes. So odd. We can no longer take an amble through the golf course, because the few-remaining golfers are using the links. Rude! I did enjoy the few weeks of no-golfing-allowed on the course - especially all the bird/turtle sightings - but a golf course is for golfers. Every golfer I saw today was one-to-a-cart and everyone was wearing a face mask.
I am most-miserable on Wednesdays. The resort mows the lawns on Wednesday and I wake-up ready to sneeze, cough and blow my nose and I sneeze, cough, and blow my nose until about 1p. Apparently I am allergic to cut grass? Do ya think?
We were out of fresh veggies and nearly depleted of fruit (thank you, Mary & Jim for the strawberries). We also were out of things we use from Costco (booze, romaine, etc.). I made an executive decision - because our rule is only one of us can go out once a week - DT would go to Costco and I would order from the supermarket online.
Not sure if I made the right decision. One thing on my Instacart list was white sugar. The white stuff. C&H stuff. I don’t bake with it; the sugar is used for our hummingbird feeder. C&H makes a clear liquid our picky hummingbirds prefer. If I make the syrup with organic sugar (that I use while cooking for humans), the hummers will not touch the stuff. I am not sure if it is because the liquid is not clear or what... but it is the same reason I have to buy or make my own simple syrup - it is not clear if made with organic sugar. (First World Problems!)
My shopper substituted white sugar for brown sugar - a TWO POUND bag of Kroger-brand brown sugar! Flat-leaf Italian Parsley = curly parsley. Two pounds of Yukon Gold potatoes = 4 teeny potatoes. Three bananas = 6 bananas. Whatever! I ordered two “crowns” of broccoli, but somehow received two POUNDS of broccoli:
This is the second time we have ordered groceries online during the pandemic. I think I will go myself next week. The shopper was most excellent about texting me during her shopping trip. I was even able to tell her where to find (actual shelf location!) the odd bread My Driver likes - and she sent me a text early into her shopping to alert me to the abundance of toilet paper and paper towels in the grocer today. That was nice.
Dave had quite the experience at Costco. He hasn’t left the resort since doing a drive-by at the post office mail slot on the 9th - nearly two weeks ago (not counting his bicycle rides, of course). Costco now has members line-up outside the store before entering, so they can control the number of shoppers inside the warehouse.
Due to the hot temperatures, shoppers were lined-up INSIDE the store today, weaving their way past the computers, TVs, and jewelry at the front of the store. IF YOU WANT ANYTHING FROM THESE AISLES, PUT IT IN YOUR CART NOW - YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO RETURN TO THIS AREA!
Apparently, DT did not want to place any jewelry inside his cart, but said Costco had a s#*t-load (pun intended) of toilet paper stacked up everywhere inside the store. No paper towels, or Kleenex, for our list however. (Insert sneezing sad face here.) Everything else on our list was in stock. We can live without paper towels and I have stacks of cotton hankies.
After our larder was washed, wiped, cleansed and put away, we enjoyed our view and saw a happy family of ducks, with six little ducklings, in front of our campsite. Maybe the same ducks I saw last week on my jog? While we were watching them this evening, a fish tried to snatch one of the babies! Oh! The! Drama! Momma Duck fought-off the intruder. All the ducklings chattered and swarmed together within one second of the below-surface nibbler attacking. Fascinating stuff!
Our last meal out was 15 March - at the clubhouse.
Our dinner tonight was an appetizer. A hearty appetizer - with a tossed salad. We had this wonderful dish on Corfu, when we spent quite a bit of time in Greece prior to the World Track & Field Championships in Athens, 1997. Lisa was 16. We were with our UK friends. Goodness, did we have fun!
After dinner and a few more hands of gin rummy (DT leads by 600 points), we turned out all the lights and waited for the Lyrid meteor shower to do its thing. It only did its thing twice, but we were catching the tail end (pun intended!) of the show.
I will leave you this evening with the Baked Feta recipe. Until my next update - I’m cooking a lamb shank - I remain your Greek correspondent.
BAKED FETA
My recipe calls for a block of feta cheese, sliced into patties, then topped with slivered green/red peppers, chopped tomatoes, red onion, and dried oregano. Olive oil is drizzled over the top before baking and Kalamata olives are added as a garnish before serving. Serve with sliced baguette or crackers. It is an appetizer, but I usually serve it as a meal for us.
One 8 oz. brick fresh feta cheese (unflavored)
Olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup slivered red onion
¼ cup slivered green/red pepper (I used more tonight)
¼ cup chopped ripe tomato
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Black pepper, to taste
Heat oven to 400°. Lightly oil a small, shallow, baking dish. Slice feta, creating three patty-size slabs. Overlap cheese in center of dish. Sprinkle garlic, onion, pepper and tomato over cheese. Top with oregano and black pepper. Drizzle a few Tablespoons of olive oil over all. Bake for 30 minutes, or until browned and bubbly.
Garnish with Kalamata olives, if desired.
Let rest 5 minutes and serve with sliced French bread or crackers.
Serves 4 as an appetizer.
My shopper substituted baking powder for baking soda. 🤣 I assume I had a male shopper.