I like to toast pine nuts for the halva, and garnish it with chopped pistachios for great flavor and eye appeal. Nuts are something you can customize in your halva or leave out completely. It is your choice.
INGREDIENTS
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 ½ cups Cream of Rice
3 heaping tablespoons Spanish pine nuts or blanched and shredded almonds (optional)
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon plus ½ teaspoon, for garnish
¼ teaspoon cloves, ground
¼ teaspoon salt (none if using salted butter)
2 cups boiling water
½ cup chopped pistachios, for garnish
DIRECTIONS
In a large heavy saucepan, heat the butter until melted over low heat. Add the Cream of Rice, stirring continuously. When the mixture begins to turn golden, add in the pine nuts/almonds and stir until the mixture is golden brown. Stir in sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Add in the boiling water with caution, stir until blended and cook for 2-3 minutes until the syrup is absorbed. Remove from heat and cover for about 15 minutes.
Turn into an 8-by-8 inch dish, press down firmly and even out with a spatula. While it is still hot, garnish by sprinkling on a light dusting of cinnamon and the chopped pistachios. Gently, but firmly press with hands. Allow to cool slightly, and then cut into 16 pieces. Serve. Any leftovers can be stored in refrigerator, covered.
Recipe Details
Makes 16 servings
Time: 30 minutes
By Erin Swing
WELLNESS HUB
XpatAthens
Friday, 20 February 2015 15:01
Gluten-Free Greek Halva Recipe
Greek halva refers to halva with semolina flour (course wheat flour), which is my personal standard of halva. In Greece, if one receives unexpected special guests whether at one’s home or at a taverna (causal restaurant), halva is one of those desserts that can be whipped up within 30 minutes and the ingredients are always in one's pantry. How to describe it? Something new, yet familiar; almost pudding-like, but can cut like a cake; reminiscent of childhood with the texture and aromatics of cinnamon and cooked cereal.
Published in
Greek Food & Diet
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Friday, 06 March 2015 12:21
Gov’t To Submit Final Reform List To Brussels Today
The government was on Tuesday morning expected to submit a final version of its reform proposals to the country’s creditors following several hours of discussions with officials in Brussels on Monday aimed at hammering out a set of measures acceptable to both sides. The list of reforms must be approved by Greece’s creditors to seal last Friday’s agreement foreseeing a four-month extension of the country’s loan agreement.
A government official said on Monday that drafts had been exchanged and that the final version would be ready by Tuesday morning, after a Monday night deadline set by creditors.
Eurozone finance ministers are scheduled to discuss the final document during a teleconference on Tuesday afternoon.
According to sources, the Greek proposals include a crackdown on tax evasion and corruption as well as measures to help taxpayers pay their dues and to tackle nonperforming loans. There were indications that the list would also include a reference to privatizations and plans to crack down on fuel smuggling, which costs the Greek state billions of euros every year.
“We have shown a responsible stance vis-a-vis the people and the creditors, we expect the same from Europe,” government spokesman Gavriil Sakellaridis told Skai TV earlier in the day.
The government is keen to get the green light to move ahead with its proposed reforms instead of a raft of austerity measures agreed to by the previous administration – including further pension cuts and an increase to VAT on the islands.
Sources indicated that the list of measures to be submitted by the new Greek government will not contain a cost-benefit analysis, which would help creditors gauge their potential impact on the budget. The letter is rather likely to set out the broad policy proposals and express the government’s commitment to a much-delayed crackdown on tax evasion.
To read more, please visit ekathimerini.com
Published in
Local News
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Friday, 01 May 2015 17:46
Red Elephant Indian Restaurant - Athens
Hailing from the UK, I took for granted the eclectic mix of culinary delights there. I mean, in my father’s small West Country town of Tiverton, there are at least four Indian restuarants, a Thai restaurant and any any number of Chinese restaurants. Surprisingly, I didn’t find that much choice in Athens – OK, there are the Indian restaurants near Thissio Metro station in the touristy area, but then I came across the Red Elephant near my local neighbourhood.
At a Glance
Cuisine: Indian
Address: 42 Larisis St, Panormou (on the blue line of the Metro)
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 6pm-1am, Sat-Sun 2:30pm-1am. Kitchen closes at 00:00
Seats: 35
Dress Code: Smart-casual
Average Price: €12 – €15 (excluding drinks)
Payment Options: Cash
Take-away: Available (collection only)
Nearest Tube: Panormou
For reservations please call: 2106924421. Due to space limitations, they only accept reservations up to 4 people.
But what’s the food like?
I’ve been several times now – both as a take away and as a sit down meal with friends. The place is pretty small, but interestingly it doesn’t feel crowded. And you know, sometimes, in a small enclosed space the smell of cooking can permeate everything: your clothes, hair, etc…no, not here.
Dishes
The menu is vast: Curries (obviously) with your choice of strength of spiciness. Choose from chicken, lamb, beef or prawn. Samosas, onion bhaji’s and my favourite, Korma (yes yes, I know: my curry choices are not very exciting). Plus a choice of rices such as mushroom basmati or vegetable pulao.
To read this article in full, please visit Life Beyond Borders.
Published in
Restaurants In Athens
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Sunday, 13 November 2016 18:16
Confessions Of A Greek Marathon Legend
Nikos Polias, multi-times Panhellenic Marathon champion and record breaker, talks about his passion for running the classic route.
From an early age, running was an important part of my life. In the vacant lot in the neighborhood I grew up in and, later, on the track at Karaiskakis Stadium, in my hometown of Piraeus, running became more than a sport for me. It was a way to relax, to express myself as well as to socialize. I still have friends who used to be running buddies back then.
I tried my legs at sprinting for a while, but soon realized that my true potential lay in endurance running. Despite its difficulty, the Classic Marathon route enchanted me from the first time I ran it, back in 1993. It was my first marathon ever and I ended up a Greek champion, much to everyone’s surprise, including my own.
To read this article in full, please visit: Greece Is
To read this article in full, please visit: Greece Is
Published in
People
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Sunday, 12 November 2017 12:34
October 3 - Autumn Colours
Learn everything you need to know about Athen's online English Supermarket, find out the top 3 reasons to buy property in Greece and discover some of the best wineries in Attica!
Please click HERE to view this issue of our newsletter!
Remember to stay connected with us through our weekly newsletter, Facebook, and Twitter!
Remember to stay connected with us through our weekly newsletter, Facebook, and Twitter!
Published in
Newsletters
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Wednesday, 08 January 2020 07:00
Diverse Teams Drive Better Outcomes
“Diverse teams drive better outcomes.” IWG’s Chief Customer Officer and Chief Sales Officer talk female leadership and diversity.
On average, only 33% of women living and working in the European Union are likely to hold a management position. When it comes to the world’s largest corporations, only 24% of women (4.8%) are CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, with female professionals accounting for less than a quarter (24%) of senior roles globally, according to the 2018 Fortune list. In practice however, attitudes are changing.
On average, only 33% of women living and working in the European Union are likely to hold a management position. When it comes to the world’s largest corporations, only 24% of women (4.8%) are CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, with female professionals accounting for less than a quarter (24%) of senior roles globally, according to the 2018 Fortune list. In practice however, attitudes are changing.
A 2019 survey by Ipsos reveals that globally, 75% of respondents said they would be comfortable with having a female boss. And following a 2018 IWG gender gap report, it was revealed that 69% of upper middle management roles at International Workplace Group (IWG), the operating brand of Regus, Spaces, HQ, Signature and No. 18 are occupied by women, and women represent close to half (41%) of top paying roles at the company.
For Lorraine Veber and Fatima Koning, Chief Customer Officer and Chief Sales Officer respectively, the reason lies in IWG’s unique company culture in which diversity, flexibility and balance are core values.
Veber, a New York resident, has spent over 20 years nurturing her career with IWG. When she joined Regus – now the largest operating brand of IWG – the company hadn’t opened a single flexible workspace location in the United States. In her new job, she was given the green light to build from scratch.
“The first few months were full-on but being thrown in the deep end allowed me to see the company’s potential and the part I could play within it. Instead of getting carried away by the current, I laid down an anchor, defined what I wanted to achieve, then committed to reaching my goals.”
Veber cites several factors that helped her progress. Build relationships. “Talk to people, especially those you don’t work with directly. Chances are they’ll help you solve a problem by looking at it from a different angle.” Expect as much from your boss as they expect of you. “I need a boss who is always 50% ahead of me in the game. Your boss can demand a lot of you, and that is good, but you can demand a lot of them in helping you grow in return – and you should.”
Above all, Veber holds, you need to strike a balance between what you know and what you don’t.
“I was once asked to manage a finance team and didn’t know the first thing about what they did. I had to tell them: ‘Guys, I’m not going to help you grow in your knowledge, but what I can do is challenge you to see things differently.’ Rather than squeezing myself into a role that didn’t suit me, I used what I did know to best serve the team at hand. It’s another sign that diverse teams complement each other and lead to better outcomes.”
A belief in the value of diversity is also shared by Fatima Koning, a long-term resident of the Netherlands with Moroccan heritage. Koning joined IWG as a Sales Director in 2015 before managing a national market in 2017; she was promoted to Global Senior VP of Sales Transformation the same year before finally beginning her current role in 2018.
“From the moment I stepped through the door, I was struck by the employee diversity. In the Barcelona office alone, almost 40 languages are spoken. It was such a pleasant surprise – I knew I’d joined a company that shared my own values.’”
As a boss, she has made a conscious effort to continue the legacy. “I believe in diversity and the impact of diverse teams on performance. It is my mission to build teams with this outlook, and giving female leaders a fair chance to step up. I’ve definitely had a chance to achieve this while working for IWG.
“It would be great if every single female leader out there commits to supporting the career development of another talented female professional. Women must help other women grow.
“When I hire people, I’m never concerned that because they are a mother, or because they might have to look after someone at home, they won’t be capable to deliver a great job. It just never crosses my mind. At IWG, flexibility is at the top of the agenda.”
With IWG’s recent Global Workspace Survey concluding that 83% of professionals would turn down a job without flexible working, Koning’s mission to promote flexibility and fairness at work is timely.
“As technology is truly enabling flexibility, it’s about time we make use of it and let our people work flexibly. If a boss gives employees the time and space to get their home life totally under control, it fosters loyalty, job satisfaction and ultimately the kind of employee productivity that drives results.”
This content has been sponsored by IWG - an XpatAthens Brand Partner.
Originally published at International Workplace Group
Published in
Business News
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Thursday, 10 December 2020 18:49
Greek Wines To Try (And Buy) In Athens
Wine writers abhor doing lists of “best” wines because this goes against the mystique we have so patiently built around the “nectar of the gods”. And because lists are so reductive. Exploring wine is the essence of enjoying wine, say hard-core wine lovers. Nevertheless, this wine writer, who belongs to the “drink first, discuss later” school of wine thought has no objection to proposing a list of six wines that are exciting, quaffable and perfect examples of Greece’s wine renaissance.
These suggestions are based on native Greek grape varietals. They are relatively easy to find and fairly representative of different wine styles and colours. If unavailable, a good sommelier in a restaurant or wine shop should be able to suggest close alternatives.
Sigalas Santorini
Santorini wines have attained the industry’s holy grail: establishing a taste that is not only unique but ascribable to the wine’s provenance―in this case, the volcanic soils of this strange Cycladic island. Thanks to their pronounced mineral taste, Santorini wines are the darlings of sommeliers and wine buffs the world over and have become the de facto wine ambassadors of Greece. Winemaker Paris Sigalas is an expert at making the Assyrtiko grape shine (and sing). Sigalas wines are always well-made, dependable and gracious. His textbook Santorini Assyrtiko is steely-dry yet fruity, mouth-filling and racy, a display of power without aggression. A white wine that generates awe.
Price: €23
Pairings: Pair an Assyrtko wine from Santorini with fish and seafood and you cannot go wrong.
Tear of the Pine Retsina, Kechris Winery
Retsina is a delicate subject in the world of Greek wine because so many people outside Greece identify local wines with pine-flavoured plonk, to the detriment of all the other good wines now being made. There aren’t that many retsinas around and certainly not many exciting ones. Stelios Kechris is the retsina specialist and his Tear of the Pine, made from the Assyrtiko grape in northern Greece, is an astonishing example of a modern retsina that will blow you away. The Assyrtiko comes through nicely, blending in a weird way with the pine resin to create something very original. This dry white wine ages exceptionally well.
Pairings: Traditional Greek meze such as fried courgettes, grilled octopus and taramosalata will thank you for pairing them with such a great comrade in arms. Enjoy—and let the wine snobs turn blue.
Gris de Nuit, Ktima Tselepos
This outstanding rosé wine is the new creation of Yiannis Tselepos, owner of a 12-acre estate in Arcadia, in the heart of the Peloponnese. This is where the indigenous Moschofilero grape flourishes, in the cold valley of Mantinia, which produces lively white wines. However, Moschofilero is a red grape variety whose slightly tainted rosé wines can also be called “gray”, following a night’s maceration of skins with juice. Intensely aromatic, bone-dry yet supple and creamy, this is an exemplary dry rosé in an Alsace-styled bottle for extra character.
Gris de Nuit, Ktima Tselepos
This outstanding rosé wine is the new creation of Yiannis Tselepos, owner of a 12-acre estate in Arcadia, in the heart of the Peloponnese. This is where the indigenous Moschofilero grape flourishes, in the cold valley of Mantinia, which produces lively white wines. However, Moschofilero is a red grape variety whose slightly tainted rosé wines can also be called “gray”, following a night’s maceration of skins with juice. Intensely aromatic, bone-dry yet supple and creamy, this is an exemplary dry rosé in an Alsace-styled bottle for extra character.
Pairings: This wine is fantastic with food, especially fish and seafood, Asian cuisine, and fine hors d’oeuvres. Also great as an aperitif with no food at all.
For more great wines, and tips on what to look for when buying Greek wine, visit: thisisathens.org
Photo by: Amalia Kovaiou
For more great wines, and tips on what to look for when buying Greek wine, visit: thisisathens.org
Photo by: Amalia Kovaiou
Whether you've just arrived in town – or have been here for years – Athens always has new secrets to share!
This is Athens is the official guide to this captivating city of ancient energies and booming urban culture. Compiled by a team of specialist local writers, This is Athens brings you an authentic and intimate portrait of a living Athens beyond the guidebooks – along with daily curated listings of all the best events and great weekend inspiration all-year round. From must-know neighbourhoods and emerging art hubs, to gourmet hotspots, cool shopping and the buzziest bars, This is Athens will help you to get the most out of living in Athens!
Thank you This is Athens for your contribution as an XpatAthens Partner.
Published in
Greek Food & Diet
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Friday, 22 October 2021 14:56
Wardrobe For Sale
Blue and wood coloured wardrobe with 2 shelf, hanging space and 2 drawers.
Excellent condition. Free.
Taker must have strong helpers and either a van or a large car with roof rack.
Excellent condition. Free.
Taker must have strong helpers and either a van or a large car with roof rack.
Published in
Items For Sale
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Friday, 03 November 2023 07:00
The Hills Of Athens And The History Behind Them
Many cities are claimed to be built on seven hills, and Athens is no exception. Each of the seven hills of the city of Athens offers a unique feature in its geography and history. Fascinating stories unfold in every corner - or should we say - at the highest point of every hill in the historical center of the Greek capital - famous tales from Greek mythology that we can never know whether they are true or not.
Lycabettus Hill
@hi_i_am_drone
The highest of Athens’ hills, Lycabettus, rises imposingly in the center of the city and is visible from almost everywhere, offering unsurpassed views of both the city and the suburbs and, of course, the Saronic gulf.
The story of the creation of Lycabbetus Hill goes like this: Goddess Athena longed for her temple on the Acropolis to be closer to heaven. So, she took a large rock to place it on top of the Acropolis, but, while carrying it, she received some news that startled her, causing the 278-meters-high rock to fall, creating Mount Lycabettus.
Lycabettus is ancient Greek for "the Mountain of Wolves", as it is believed that it was once inhabited by wolves.
Philopappos Hill
@danchuneounni
Also known as “the Hill of the Muses”, “the Hill of the Nymphs”, or “Pnyka Hill”, Philopappos Hill is one of the three hills that serve as natural "guards" of the Acropolis. According to Mythology, Pan, the god of the wild, used to live there, along with the Nymphs, female spirits that lived in forests. The hill was also home to the nine Muses, to whom it owns one of its three alternative names.
The hill was named after Philopappos, a Syrian consul who lived in Athens, had a classical Greek education and was considered a benefactor of the city. Philopappos had, among others, many friends, such as Plutarch, who described him in his writings as an extremely generous person. His death caused great sadness to the citizens of Athens, and as a result, they built a mausoleum to honor his memory.
Acropolis Hill
Undoubtedly, the most popular attraction, not only in the Greek capital but also in the entire country, the Acropolis - the cradle of civilization - is found on the hill of the same name, in the heart of the historical center of Athens. About seven million tourists climb the Acropolis hill every year for a "journey" back to Ancient Greece and to admire the Parthenon up close.
@lookforraine
Undoubtedly, the most popular attraction, not only in the Greek capital but also in the entire country, the Acropolis - the cradle of civilization - is found on the hill of the same name, in the heart of the historical center of Athens. About seven million tourists climb the Acropolis hill every year for a "journey" back to Ancient Greece and to admire the Parthenon up close.
One of the legends connected to the Acropolis Hill is the one about Athena and Poseidon fighting over who would be the city's patron. To avoid conflict between them, Zeus intervened and organized a contest. Athena and Poseidon met where the Erechtheion stands today, and the people of Athens gathered to watch them compete against each other.
First, Poseidon revealed his gift to the city by striking his trident on the ground and producing water. Then, Athena planted a seed that immediately grew into an olive tree. The Athenians appreciated both gifts, but they already had access to plenty of water, so they chose Athena's olive tree, which was an excellent source of food and timber. Athena became the patron goddess of the city, to which she gave her name - Athena.
Areopagus Hill
@the_historian_tourist
@the_historian_tourist
The Hill of Ares or Areopagus Hill is located northwest of the Acropolis and gave its name to the Supreme Civil and Criminal Court of Greece, the Areios Pagos.
The Areopagus has a rich history, as it has been the place where some of the most important events in the history of Athens occurred.
According to one legend, Amazons, enemies of Theseus, camped on the hill and dedicated it to Ares, the god of war. Another legend has it that Ares was tried there by the other gods for the murder of Poseidon's son Alitotheus, or by the Erinyes, as at the foot of the hill, there was a sanctuary dedicated to the Erinyes, where those accused of murder took refuge, in order to not face the consequences of their actions. Thus, the hill of Ares is the site of the first murder trial.
In ancient Athens, the Areopagus Hill also housed a council of elders who had many changing roles, one of which was to judge homicide cases and other serious crimes.
Originally published in Greek on: newsbeast.gr
Originally published in Greek on: newsbeast.gr
Translated by: Codico Lab
Published in
Greek Philosophy & History
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