Slow Food, Slow Life in Monemvasia Greece

Not so Secret Garden

June 2010
Usha had originally invited me to the home to help with painting and preparing a new room for her EcoLodge- from the minute I walked into the kitchen however, I was home.

I have since shooed her from the stove and sink and taken up residence in this place. Anyone who knows me knows that I love to cook for friends and to entertain people’s eyes and mouths with my culinary “experiments”.

I am learning so many new things, not just about Greece and what is around me but about food, living, the earth, and how to be mindful of consumption & waste.

This morning I picked a head of broccoli from the garden and prepared it for a soup- the only things I threw away were the leaves on the side. This blows my mind!

Granted, I have always looked down on things like bagged salad and premarinated or boxed foods- but this is a whole different level of cooking, and living.
I picked a batch of arugula (called Rocket here) from the garden, and many pincher bugs came up the stalk, running towards me. My first instinct was to smash these little pests… but then i stopped to think about my actions (ahhh, what a change that is) and realized this is their home, their plant and they have taken care of it. I continued to pick the leaves of the arugula, but instead of killing the bugs, I thanked them for helping us to grow good food that will nourish us.
This simple, unnatural, interaction with nature brought such a good feeling throughout me- to be grateful for something as insignificant as a pincher bug- it resonates throughout you, and you cannot help but feel gratitude for everything around you.

The pesto from that arugula tasted better than any I have ever had- whether that is because it was fresh ingredients, I was in great company, and in surroundings you can only dream, I do not know.

I am sad to say the blog postings from me will likely become less frequent, due to the fact we have no internet access in Nomea (a small village of Monemvasia, where I am staying). I will still write every day, and once a week I will come to the internet cafe to post all the blogs (sorry subscribers) and photos.
Next week (or month, or whenever) I have planned an adventure to the castle for a solo sleepover. To hike to the top of the castle is 1200 steps, and it is deserted on top; a fortified city overlooking the peninsula of the Peleponesse that has been abandoned.

I am told no one is ever there past sunset- so I am planning to hike up there one evening- watch the sunset, and then awake before sunrise to capture the soul of the place. If you do not hear from me for more than a month, I have overtaken this castle and made it my home- don’t come rescue me!