The 3R's - Recipes, Reflections and Reminiscences

A note from, Janet
For twelve years Greece, in particular the islands, became a key focus in our lives.  If we were not planning a trip, or counting down the days to our next airport run, or learning the language, or talking about our experiences, or listening to the indigenous music; then during the summer months we were growing Greece in our garden and cooking Greece in my kitchen, or on Peter's BBQ.  The outcome is this book; a compilation of Greek Recipes developed in my kitchen, accompanied with Reflections and Reminiscences - The 3R’s.

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In addition to 'My Recipes', I have added a section at the end titled, 'Our Greece'.  Within this section I have included travelogues covering some of the areas we have visited.  I consider these give an insight into our experiences and just some of the areas we enjoyed.

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Throughout The 3R's you will find a selection of my carefully selected photographs.  These have been chosen, wherever possible, to directly illustrate, but sometimes they bear no particular association. They do however, form part of the experience of sharing 'Our Greece' with you.

 

About The 3R's - Recipes, Reflections & Reminscences

I believe, recipe books need to move away from the format of those favoured by TV chefs and celebrity cooks. These books are indeed impressive, with their wonderful professionally commissioned photographs that tempt us to reproduce the dishes, to serve to family and friends BUT......

  

In my opinion, recipe books should be more than a collection of recipes; they should reflect individuality in layout and give a perception of the character of the author. (since writing this, I have borrowed recipe books from our local library in which the authors have provided information about themselves - maybe they have read this section on Clifftop Publishing!)  Through the pages of The 3R's, I have endeavoured to provide an insight into my life, my Greek cuisine, and our visits to Greece.  The 3R's, is akin to a collection of recipes that your mother or grandmother would give you to use and hand down through the generations.  I am also aware of time.  These days, with busy lives, time in the kitchen can be a rare commodity.  I have therefore kept my recipes, for the most part, simple and those that require more time in preparation and cooking can either be broken down into stages, or cooked in bulk - some to eat now and the rest for the freezer.

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The layout of The 3R's reflects the Greek way of eating.  I have divided my recipes into four sections: Starters, Salads & Vegetables - Meat, Poultry & Eggs - Fish - Sweets & One Other.  The book contains over sixty recipes, based on dishes we have eaten during our visits to Greece, plus there are some which I have developed, from scratch, in my kitchen, using typically Greek ingredients.  Each recipe has an introduction, explaining where it was eaten or snippets of relevant information.  

 

Interspersed between the recipes and within the travelogues, of the paperback version of The 3R's, are over seventy of my photographs (due to Kindle's formatting restrictions, there are fewer photographs in this version). Some are direct illustrations but all give a flavour of 'Our Greece'.