About
So who the heck are we, anyway? Good question…
My name is Elizabeth and my sister’s name is Georgia. When I was a little girl my Papou (grandfather) shortened Elisaveth (Elizabeth) to ‘Sava’, so I use that for anything creative I put my name to. When she was a teenager, my sister decided she needed a nickname and christened herself ‘Jo’, insisting she would answer to nothing else. She has eased up on that rule, but I still call her Jo more often than Georgia, unless I am speaking Greek. Then she is Yeoryia. Our husbands are Dan and Floyd, but when we got to Greece the first time, we gave them Greek names: Dan=Niko, Floyd=Stavro. Our kids think we are very funny.
All photos by Dan Songster
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
This is so great!! Harladambos Greek name for Hampton. Of course Bruce has Petros. Go figure.
Harladamos sounds like it should be an ancient Greek God’s name. I didn’t think Hampton was the ‘usual’ Greek name, is it? Really, go figure! Gotta love it. Thanks for checking us out!
Correct, not the ‘usual’ greek name. However, I can live with the Greek God part!!
Your Grandpa was a baker? Yes? I remember Poppy’s stories about motivating the tribe to work, by telling the Iliad and Odyssey stories, but ending them after work was done…
Dear Clare, Thanks for stopping by and sharing my mother’s stories. You have a great memory. Her father was the baker and we called him Papoulie Petro. My Dad’s father gave me the nickname, Sava and he was just Papou or Grampy. We have fond memories of both our Papous.
Trio… I thought you’d be OK with that!!
Cabbages are magic.. thank you Dan..quite the lure.. In my children’s garden, “small packages “are found under cabbages! perhaps in my new children’s garden, in Maine, I will start with a petite chou-fleur!I will send this on to our second favorite family culinary expert..Yaya, Helene, being the first.. Jamie being the heir apparent.
Thanks for sharing the passion
the cabbage recipe looks fabulous – my German husband actually routinely requests that I try cooking it for him (he looks longingly at all the cabbages at the Safeway when we go shopping as a family and makes comments like “wouldn’t it be nice to eat something different????)…. and I find I am typically at a loss (and default to broccoli or green beans) as German food is most definitely not my area of expertise… now I can make “Greek Cabbage”… anything with olive oil and lemon (or spinach and feta) is automatically labeled “Greek” in our house!
Hi Jamie, I hope you and your husband like the cabbage recipe. Lemon and olive oil always bring out the best in many veggies. You can try it with beet greens, escarole, kale, any ‘greens’. In fact, if you substitute apple cider vinegar (my personal favorite) for the lemon you will get another fabulous taste sensation. Green beans with vinegar, olive oil and Greek oregano is a wonderful easy side dish, too. Look at that… 4 new/different things you can try besides the cabbage. And speaking of spinach, you can do the same with boiled spinach. I like the vinegar with that! I think I’ll have to run to the kitchen and cook one of those for tonight! Love it~Thanks for stopping by.
Good afternoon, Mary. Your sentence beginning, “In my children’s garden” sounds like the beginning of a children’s book, especially speaking of “small packages” found under cabbages. Maybe you should go with that…
cabbage being your inspiration. Hah! I can picture it. Especially if your cottage in Maine is the backdrop…OK, crashing waves on rocks and your petite chou-fleur as your inspiration! I’ll come cook the cabbage while you write, OK?
Love the idea. Yia sou, Mary, and YOUR new beginning! Do come back soon.
Sava, wonderful website! The photos are superb and the design is pleasing to look at. I’m hungry! We have lemons in the back yard. I’m making the soup first.
What is my Greek name, and is Elena also Elena in Greek? Elena of Troy?
Larry B.
Hi Larry, Thanks for checking us out. Lemons!!!!! A perfect ingredient to begin with. Let me know which soup you make and how it turns out. I really think you will love it. As for your Greek name, hmmmm… not sure, but Elena is basically Greek for Helen (of Troy), “the face that launched a thousand ships”. and in Greek it is Eleni. There may not be a Greek name for Larry, but you can choose anything you like as we did for Dan and Floyd. How about Petros or Panayiotis for Peter? Petros is literally ‘rock’ in Greek. That could work, couldn’t it?? Stay tuned…
Hi Elizabeth! Not sure about the recipe, since I don’t do a lot of cooking… but couldn’t resist checking out your site. Love it!