It has been a week since I returned from my sojourn to Samos, Greece and I am finally feeling my body has come back to rest on home soil once more… although my mind still wistfully drifts away to that lovely isle with the turquoise waters gently kissing its shores…

But… being a BTD gathering… I must talk about the “food, glorious food” first.

Where to begin except to say that the food was fantastic!! Now… I am not an easy traveler… I often experience an upset stomach when on the road away from home and I live for peppermint tea to soothe my rattled stomach. It wasn’t until the last day on the island that I realized that my usual touchy-away-from-home stomach was completely at ease. No uncomfortable bloating, no intestinal distress… nothing. Certainly, the high quality of the food and the loving way in which it was prepared had much to do with it.

Where we ate most of our food… a taverna owned and operated by Agapi, was a BTD paradise. Our hosts, Alek and Tasso, were instrumental in encouraging the development of mostly compliant dishes, using olive oil, rice flour, etc. Very little wheat to be seen except in the bread basket on the table… along with plenty of rice cakes. I had the same item for lunch almost every day… tuna salad… made to order. Each salad came in a large earthen-ware bowl and was made fresh… no pre-assembly, with an assortment of greens and compliant vegetables, a generous helping of tender tuna drizzled with olive oil and served with a quarter of a lemon. It was delicious and so satisfying… kept me going until dinner. And…. once they know your blood type, no avoids are served in your meal. So…. no olives in my salad (damn!)… even though others had plenty of olives in theirs. I even snuck olives from Debra until she learned that olives are an avoid for B’s. I tell ya… these BTDing friends don’t let you get away with nothin’!! Such love…

Now dinner… dinner was an event. Beautiful oven-baked lamb, turkey souvlaki grilled to the tenderest perfection with onions, garlic, and sweet peppers, juicy, falling off the bone rabbit baked with onions, carrots, celery and lemon, fresh sardines wrapped in vine leaves and grilled or dusted in rice flour and sautéed in olive oil, lamb chops, beef roast, calamari, and more… all flavored with fresh dill, parsley, and other Mediterranean herbs and accompanied with rice, if desired. Along with our entrees we were served the most wonderful dolmas I have ever tasted wrapped in fresh vine leaves, sautéed wild greens which had been collected on the mountainside, sardine, dill and rice flour miniature patties and the same made with zucchini, rice flour, dill and garlic, and those glorious salads. With ample red wine and the occasional white wine of the Muscat grape that Samos is known for… it was truly a BTD heaven.

But being a B… I must have a separate paragraph for the fried feta. This dish alone is would make being a B a pleasure. It was lovely… and so simple. Just onions and a mixture of sweet bell peppers sautéed in olive oil with full-fat feta placed on top until it softens a little. Invert onto a plate and, voila!! The best appetizer for a B ever!!

As much as I enjoyed eating the food… I enjoyed sharing food with other BTDer’s the best. No explanations, no questions as to “why won’t you eat chicken”? everyone making substitutions to fit BTD needs. We all understood each other. And that made for the best dining experience ever.

Many warm and heart-felt thanks to Alek, Tasso, and Agapi for taking such good care of all our dietary needs and requests.

And… how could I forget the fresh bowls of cherries we were served for dessert near the end of our visit… the first of the season. Truly the cherry on top of the cake.