Errands

Cam's been working every day lately supervising lease construction. He's usually out the door before 8 am and back home in the nick of time for supper at 6 pm.  There's been a few days when we've waited supper for him till after 6:30 or 7 p.m..

With one vehicle and the closest grocery store 20 minutes away by car, that means shopping is usually accomplished in the evening or at a moment's notice when Cam has a work related trip to Gelibolu.  If we're out of water or bread, sometimes Cam will stop in a small town and buy us "enough" to tide us over.

We try to buy enough meat, vegis and bread to last 5 - 7 days when we do shop but we have limited freezer space - just the top of the fridge for storage.  Unlike home, food does not "last" endlessly without being frozen.  Meat purchased today must be frozen or cooked the next day or it won't be safe to eat.

Yesterday, Cam called in the afternoon.  He suggested we go out for supper and then for groceries.

While Cam's boss was here in December, he gave me two bottles of cabernet sauvignon from a winery they'd visited the previous day (He gave Cam shoes.*). According to the Chairman of the Board this was much better wine than we'd enjoyed from Melon Winery last spring.  Turns out I agreed with him and told Cam that I was now in a new "wine bracket".

So last night one of Cam's colleagues offered to show us where the winery was. The owners of Suvla Wines (husband and wife) bought 80 hectares of vineyards in 2003, but only opened the shop and bottling facility in April 2012. The shop is located in the town of Eceabat.  There are signs on the E90 to direct you.  Eceabat is about 40k south of Gelibolu on the peninsula.  The E90 between Gelibolu and Ecebat is under construction so this trip always feels long and it doesn't help that the road follows the sea so there are few places where it is safe to pass the tractor & wagon, cement truck or tour bus.

We arrived at the winery in the dark about 5:45 pm.  The gate to the compound was open but the lights in the store were out. Never the less, Cam's colleague rattled the door and the owner turned the lights on and let us in. I don't know if our visit was prearranged but business hours in Turkey are flexible.  Besides wine, Suvla also sells their own extra virgin olive oil, soaps, cheese boards, olives and preserves (fruit,  jellies, pastes) made from grapes, tomatos and olives.

Afterwards we said goodbye to Cam's colleague who was headed to Canakkale by feribot from Eceabat; we returned to Gelibolu.  We went to Kumsal for supper.  Nicole, Sam and I had kofte (Turkish meatballs) served last night with rice, french fries, a fried tomato and long green pepper.  Johanna ordered chicken shish; usually that's most of a chicken breast cut into cubes and grilled on two sticks.  Cam ordered mixed grill - so he got lamb, steak, chicken and perhaps kofte.  Johanna and Cam got the same sides as the rest of us got. 

In a Turkish restaurant you are aways served bottled water and endless bread (toasted or fresh). They also bring a big serving tray with a selection of starters for you to choose from: beans, peppers, yogurt, brains, aubergine. We usually order a tomato and cucumber salad - like a Greek salad but without lettuce or cheese. Last night we also ordered "white cheese".  This is a triangle of feta-like cheese served with ... tomato and cucumber!  We also ordered borek which are piping hot phylo bundles filled with cheese and spinach or sometimes meat.

After supper we went to the grocery store.  With the 5 of us zooming around with two carts, it doesn't take long for us to get the job done.  However there were no eggs available and very little meat available last night. Eggs seem in short supply lately.  The bread bakery was closed so we had to buy bread from the grocery store.  They have bread in sliced loaves like we have at home in Canada, but here we prefer to buy fresh bread from the bakery.


* So he wouldn't have to carry them home in his suitcase!