Hislop has since not only acquired broad recognition for her writing, she has also managed to divide her time between Kent in the South of England, where she lives with her family, the island of Crete, where she spends her holidays and, as of late, the central Athens neighborhood of Patissia, where she is now renting an apartment.

Meanwhile, the author is scheduled to talk about her new city of choice during a special event tomorrow at the Numismatic Museum. The talk, “The Beauty of Athens,” starts at 9 p.m. and comes in response to an invitation from journalist Nikos Vatopoulos and the Kathe Savvato stin Athina (Saturdays in Athens) team and public relations consultant Vasso Sotiriou.

So what else is the author up to these days?

“I’m finishing my new book. The plot is Cyprus, 1974, very new for me. The book will be ready for England in September.”

Why did she decide to get a place in Athens?

“I come to Athens nearly every month to see friends, do talks, or something with my books. Being in a hotel you are never part of a place. I very quickly found the perfect place. I am so excited. It’s very near Vaso [Sotiriou is also her manager]. It’s very lively and I want to write more about Athens, not journalistic, fictional things. It’s a very inspiring city. Staying in a hotel makes you an outsider, and I want to speak the language properly and this will help a great deal. I have to furnish it first,” said Hislop, who has already had a taste of local red tape in her efforts to get her apartment connected to the power grid.

To read more, please visit ekathimerini.com

By Marialena Spyropoulou

Pick the right apple

“You can buy apples year-round, but it’s much better to buy in-season apples. Right now, we use Cortland and Jonagold or sometimes even Granny Smith. Empires will be out soon and they are also a good baking apple. You want an apple that is both tart and sweet, as they will give the pie the best flavour. An apple like Red Delicious isn’t as flavourful when baked and tends to fall apart.”

Keep the filling simple

“To let the flavour of the apples come through, we keep the filling very simple: just cinnamon, sugar and flour. If you want to get fancier, you can add some of the earthier spices, like vanilla, nutmeg or allspice. But always make sure to only peel the apples right before use, so they don’t get brown before you start baking.”

Handle it as little as possible

“There’s really only two components to an apple pie: the crust and the filling. The filling is the easiest part; where it gets trickier is the pastry – pastry can intimidate people. It’s better to throw out an overworked crust and start again than to have a pastry that is tough. A 1/4 cup of water should be enough to bring the dough together, then start adding it by the tablespoon if it isn’t forming a loose ball.”

Butter is better

“You can use lard, shortening, butter, oil or some combination of the above for the fat for your crust, but we have found that an all-butter crust is what works best. The dough may not be as tender as with shortening or lard, but we’ve found butter imparts the best flavour to the dough.”

The secret ingredient

“One surprising ingredient we sometimes use in our pastry is white vinegar. Just a tiny splash, 3/4 tablespoon, won’t impart any flavour, but it does help tenderize the dough. It makes the final product a little less crunchy and the pastry … softer.”

Two baking temperatures ensure everything is cooked:

“First, cook the pie at a high heat (between 400 F and 425 F) for about 15-20 minutes to get the pastry nice and flakey. Then, to make sure the filling is cooked, lower the temperature to 350-375 F and bake for another 15-20 minutes. If you want the apples softer, you can cook it for up to 40 minutes, but you have to watch the crust. If it starts to brown (or burn) too much, cover it with foil or parchment paper.”

By Fraser Abe

www.theglobeandmail.com