Participants were eager to let go of old habits and create a solid foundation for their new years health, weight-loss & detox resolutions by learning about the raw way of eating, and the course offered new perspectives and techniques as well as flavour-combining ideas for eating healthy, fresh, seasonal and organic food in creative, delicious ways. Foods were dehydrated, frozen, blended, chopped, mixed, dressed, diced, sliced, marinated and mashed but never cooked, and yet pizzas, pies, soups and pasta was created using quality ingredients.

“Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.”
Albert Einstein

NEW BEGINNINGS
On January 4th-8th, Eumelia organic farm will be hosting an intensive, deeply educational, fun and unique workshop in raw food preparation, taught by Troo Food Liberation (TFL)!

Click to view slideshow.

The dynamic, charismatic Troo Fooders have been actively stimulating the minds and tastebuds of people young and old around Athens & other parts of Greece and the world, teaching new, healthier approaches to eating. What better way to start the year than by learning to actually treat your body as your temple? Super-nutritious, slimming and beautifying raw food is far, far  more creative and exciting than a salad or fruit, and the TFL workshop will take participants from beginners to advanced levels. Some of the action to take place at Eumelia includes:

* Morning yoga class taught by certified Iyengar yoga teacher Haris Lyroni

* Intensive course offering profound knowledge in theory (nutritional & detoxifying benefits and other factors), ingredients, equipment and techniques required

* How to create a raw food menu – practice making breakfast, lunch, dinner and meals for special occasions

* Understanding & practicing texture, flavour and appearance principles

* Film screenings & games, excursions

Cost of 5 Day Retreat:

4 people sharing a house,
45 euro per person (housing)
X 4 nights = 180 euro
+ Workshop fee
& 3 meals per day
180 euro = 360 euro Total each person

For information on Eumelia Organic Agrotourism Farm & Guest House please contact us at info@eumelia.com, www.eumelia.com & +30.6959.00.47.47 or +30.213.03.69.814

For information & reservationemail troofood@gmail.com or call Danae to ensure your place @ 694768684,www.troofoodstore.com
www.troofoodliberation.com

One of the many excursions nearby Eumelia is Gytheio, just 20 minutes drive from our farm. Year-round, Gytheio is a lively, picturesque harbour town where you can enjoy a fresh seafood lunch at the water’s edge, a stroll through the traditional backstreets, visits to interesting little stores, and the Mani folklore & ethnological museum on the tiny pine-covered island of Kranai. Beaches surround Gytheio and the Taygetos mountain range towers above it, creating a vibrant and colourful feast for the eyes.

Today we awoke to behold the first snow on the peaks of gargantuan Mt Taygetos, one of the stunning mountains that visually embrace Eumelia

In a previous post you can read the recipe for green tomato chutney, which we discovered also tastes almost rustic and mediterranean (odd, as it’s sweet and infused with Indian spices) with freshly baked whole-wheat bread.

Please click on an image below to see our gallery in large size.

Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all. 
                                          ~William Faulkner

Gratitude is the music of the heart, when its chords are swept by the breeze of kindness. 
~Author Unknown

In a time when Greece is facing a burdensome and thornily challenging financial crisis, the social psychology and practical reality has made it hard to see the bright side of life, or to feel pleased with one’s lot; however, positivity is a practice, and gratitude is amongst the most important attributes one can have for leading a fulfilling life. Being thankful reminds us to look beyond our fears and worries about the future and our sadness and anger about the past, by us making the effort to see what has brought and kept us here – the people, the events, the choices, the dreams, our own body, mind and heart,  that have made it all possible. Thankfulness includes so many great emotions – compassion and humility for those who have so much less than us, love, respect and appreciation for those who have offered us all kinds of blessings, lessons, advice and gifts, bliss at having been lucky enough to live so many experiences great and small, wisdom and excitement at being able to give back to others what has been granted to us, and the knowledge that there is no such thing as having it all, just having awareness and gratitude.
Click to view slideshow.

On the weekend of November 18-20, 2011, Eumelia organic farm welcomed a colourful variety of people of various ages and from all walks of life who gathered to attend a Thankfulness workshop by Lucy Hamel. The atmosphere was warm and familial, and the days were filled with joy and discovery. Lucy has a broad teaching experience in Greece, Costa Rica and other countries, and artfully combines yoga, intuition games and the rebirthing experience to help her students connect to their inner voice and a more profound understanding of their strengths, desires and needs. She has successfully taught several workshops at Eumelia in the past year, and this month returned to offer and share her multifaceted experience with enthusiastic students as a Thank You to Eumelia and all those individuals who are eager to learn and grow through the grace in their hearts. The weekend included a Thanksgiving feast and a meditation embraced by the farm’s olive trees.

“Once the feeling of gratefulness fills us, a kindness begins to grow that softens the defences and fears, and helps us share who we are. Once there, relaxation follows and our breath naturally deepens and flows so sleep comes as easily as it should. Now the nice thing is that when you feel this rejuvenation there is a vibrancy that makes you want to play and move again! (Gameplay and fun is essential, no matter what age you may be). It all becomes clear to see when enjoying the nature as we do at Eumelia; just sitting by the olive trees is healing in itself. I am always in awe at the beauty of the land and the people I meet. I am lucky and grateful.” Lucy Hamel 

The weekend was also Eumelia’s way of thanking its visitors, who bring such warmth and life here. In particular, Frangiskos gave thanks to two guests who first visited two years ago, and whose love for the farm has helped it become the centre of many more visits of theirs and of their friends; essentially, through the creation of meaningful friendships such as these, our objective here, to generate a wonderful community of individuals from near and far who share in our love for nature and well-being, materializes into a more and more potent realization every day. We thank the land that our farm stands and grows on as much as the people who make it all happen!

             Recipe 1: GREEN TOMATO CHUTNEY

 

Freshly picked green tomatoes, red bell pepper and chilli peppers.

Ginger, onion and garlic.

Ingredients

Green tomatoes (around 10 medium sized)
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped                                                                         
1 hot green chilli pepper (the ones from our garden are HOT)

1 large clove of garlic
1 piece ginger (2 heaped tbsps)
1 small onion
salt (we used pink Himalayan salt)
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup organic cider vinegar
5 heaped tbsp organic honey
2 tbsps olive oil
1 tsp sesame oil or peanut oil
Instructions

1. Heat oil and add ginger, onion, bell pepper and garlic. Saute for a few minutes.

Add the sliced green tomatoes and salt, and stir. Sautee for a few minutes.

Add the spices and stir well, so that the ingredients in the pot are well covered with them. Then add the vinegar and sugar and bring to a boil. After a minute or so, lower the heat and bring it down to a simmer. Leave uncovered to bubble away for half an hour.

When ready, mixture should be thick and pulpy, not runny. Cool, spoon into jars, pour a layer of olive oil over the top, and seal the jars with cellophane before screwing the top on well. Then in a pot, heat around half the height of the jar of water, place the jars in the pot and leave on the heat for 5 minutes. Remove, cool & store (for up to 6 months)! Once opened, keep refrigerated for up to one month.

Recipe 2: Pickled garden vegetables
This recipe was offered to us by Marinella, who is Romanian and whose mother uses it to preserve their garden vegetables for up to a year.

Carrots are not as easy to get out of the ground as you may think...

Marinella gave us quite a laugh jumping and dangling on the shovel in an effort to break the earth!

...But it worked!

And here they are, the co-stars of our next recipe.

Ingredients
Green tomatoes
Carrots
Celery
Beetroot
Garlic
Salt
Water

Instructions

Clean, slice and chop all vegetables and garlic. Place into a jar, trying to get as many in as possible.

Dilute one to two tablespoons of salt in a jug of water, and pour into the jar.

Seal the jar (use a hermetically sealed jar) and leave in a shady place for two weeks. Otherwise you can leave them for a day, and then make a vinegar, sugar & spice mixture (celery seeds, chilli & mustard seeds) to simmer them in and then put in jars.