Skorda's Seaside Taverna: eat this one

Skopelos and Virgin

-by Skorda

Swallow that campari moon
when first you see it
across the water,
rising round and new above the mountain.
Open your mouth and swallow
while youth holds its roundness near,
and you are running fearless in the dark.
Hold it inside, it is still warm
and you will need its light,
there, inside you.

Down the road of time, somewhere
after you’ve aged, traveled,
Explored, discovered.
And the dust around your doorway
has been pounded hard and smooth under your feet.
When you find yourself growing weary and bored,
when your eyes see only ruins,
and your heart is empty.
You may believe, in your exhaustion,
that this is truth, at last.
That the mystery has unraveled,
leaving no wilderness to explore or tame.
All secrets have been shared,
the frontier has dissolved.
Know then, with these thoughts,
you have been swallowed.

The warm belly of the beast
comforts with confining darkness
and lulls with rhythmic sounds
Murmuring to you,
Curl up and sleep,
just go to sleep.

Shake your head,
stretch your legs,
do not sleep now.

Remember what you know.
You swallowed the moon,
you hold it inside you.
Not as a magpie hoarding shiny things,
or wearing the moon for beauty
or bartering the moon for wealth.
You swallowed the moon for this moment.
When you will walk to the water’s edge,
open your mouth, release the moon
and let its light build you a pathway
across the wine dark sea.
©Skorda 2008

Sunday, April 6, 2008

eat this one

Recipe from "Athens News":
Savoro (marinated fish)

Ingredients:

1 kilo red mullet

1 cup olive oil

flour for frying

vinegar

6 cloves garlic sliced

1 tsp rosemary

2 tbsp currants

Procedure:

Clean the fish, removing the gills, innards and scales. Salt and allow to stand for about two hours. Heat half of the oil, flour the fish and place in the hot oil to fry. Turn the fish over to brown evenly on the other side. When the fish is browned, remove from pan, place in a deep dish and allow to cool. Pour enough vinegar to cover the fish and allow to stand for about half and hour. Drain the vinegar. Heat the rest of the oil in a pan and add the garlic, the rosemary and the currants; saute for a few minutes. Pour the garlic mixture over the fish.