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TOP 5: Fruit and Bloom.

Hello! As you know, I’ve been on holiday in Cyprus for the last week. Springtime in Cyprus is pretty beaut, with a variety of trees in bloom (or loaded with slowly ripening fruit). I took lots of pictures, and these are my 5 favourites.

1. A giant, sticky pomelo blossom.

2. This is a prickly pear cactus. Have you ever eaten a prickly pear? The fruit inside is a vivid orange or pink, and is juicy, seed-studded and mildly sweet. They taste so good straight out of the fridge.

3. My grandparents were fruit farmers, and my parents are very good at identifying fruit trees. Having said that, my dad wasn’t sure if this was a peach or an apple blossom. Any ideas?

4. These furry green beasts house fresh little almonds. Yes. Almonds.

5. Perfect purple lemon blossoms. This is my favourite smell in the world.

2 Comments

by thefty on 23/04/2012 • Permalink

Posted in Fruit and bloom

Tagged blossoms, Cyprus, flowers, fruit, nature, photography, pretty, spring, travel

Posted by thefty on 23/04/2012

http://top5photos.wordpress.com/2012/04/23/top-5-fruit-and-bloom/

TOP 5: Fishermen’s haunts.

These photos were taken in Latchi, a town on the west coast of Cyprus. I’d had a very good fish lunch directly before taking these photos, so I was happy and content. I hope you enjoy them.

1. A jumble of technicolour plastic.

2. Colours, colours everywhere!

3. Test strokes made when painting boats.

5. Clean lines and fresh paint.

TOP 5: Cypriot delights.

My family is from Cyprus, the land of citrus orchards, almond blossoms, and miles and miles of vineyards. I’ve grown up eating Cypriot treats, some of them more obscure than others (see #4). Below are a series of sweet delights you may not have encountered before. If you’re ever in Cyprus, make sure to hunt some down!

1. Candied orange peel preserved in syrup. Not as bitter as you’d imagine.

2. This is soutzoukos, a sweet sausage of sorts, made of thickened grape juice.

3. These are loukoumades, Greek honey puffs served with cinnamon.

4. These are trimithopites: traditional, brittle cookies studded with trimithia*.

5. Wedding sweets! Chewy almond cake and sugared almonds. Traditionally, girls put the sugared almonds under their pillow… in order to dream of their future husband.

* You know something is old-school when you can’t find a proper reference online! My great aunt makes trimithopites, which is why I know what they are. Trimithopita means ‘pie made from trimithia’. Trimithia are crunchy peppercorn-like balls which are baked into the already brittle cookie, giving it an extra crunch. I have no idea how my great aunt manages to eat these, all dentures considered.

4 Comments

by thefty on 24/05/2011 • Permalink

Posted in Cypriot Delights, Uncategorized

Tagged cuisine, Cyprus, delicacies, food, photography, sweets, travel

Posted by thefty on 24/05/2011

http://top5photos.wordpress.com/2011/05/24/top-5-cypriot-delights/

TOP 5: Wild eats.

My family is originally from Cyprus, a small island in the Mediterranean sea. Whenever I visit, I’m always struck by the way Cypriots eat: produce is fresh and largely local, and foraging is a common practice. My uncle is our family’s very own culinary rambo. He spends many weekends dressed in camouflage gear and wellies, knee-deep in shrubbery, bringing home tasty treats he found in the fields. I love the way he always knows where to go (and when to go) to find our precious wild eats.

1. A bag of hand-picked oregano. The smell was so intense.

2. These are called Mosphila. They make sweet, clear, bright orange jelly.

3. The dark flecks (Trimithia) harden into crackly balls. They’re baked into cookies.

4. A box of scrawny, wild asparagus. Their flavour is strong and slightly bitter.

5. Fresh caper leaves. (Cypriots pickle the leaves, not just the buds.)

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