Winter fuel

Winter! Today was grey, overcast, cold, windy and wet. On such a day my mind wanders around food. The boring lunch I brought from home wasn’t enough. I needed something else. A treat. Something to lift the day. My mind finally settled on the rather greasy but delicious feta and spinach scones that are sold at the Special Cake Shop on Chapel Street.

Special Cake Shop is written alongside a Greek word that may also say special. I’m told the shop has been there forever and in some ways it is special. An elderly, very vibrant and charming Greek man runs it. He serves at the counter, charms the women who come in and sits and sips coffee and chats with customers. One day I heard someone ask him that old, old question,
“Why don’t you retire and leave it to the younger generation?”
He answered immediately “What would I do al day? This is my life.”
Since then I’ve watched him and it is his life. I love being served by him. He’s always smiling. The cakes are wonderful especially the Greeks ones. I wonder if he cooks, too? Probably not.

I’d give the muffins a miss if I were you but if you need a rich grease shot on a cold day, grab one of these scones. If you think of 'scone' in an English sense you’ll look for the wrong thing. This is about the size of a saucer and oozes spinach, onion and feta. They’re usually in the window but you can buy them warm from the pie-warmer. I did that today and watched the grease marks form on the bag. The scone was delicious. The day suddenly improved, too. There are days when a shot of rich grease is essential.