Winter Stories · October · Table
Peppers drying under the pergola
In October the herb shop in Kouses hangs its year's peppers from the roof, green turning to orange, the reds already dark.
Kouses is a small village on the edge of the Messara plain, about twenty-five minutes from the house. Botano, the herb shop there, is open all year, and in October its terrace becomes the picture above: the season's peppers hung in strings from the reed roof to dry in the sun, the green ones slowly turning, the red ones already there.
Inside are the mountain herbs the shop is known for, dried and bagged, along with teas, oils and honey from the villages above. The table under the pergola is where the sorting happens, and nobody minds if you watch.
The drive is a good one in itself: down from the hills, across the plain through the olive groves, with Psiloritis to the north. Combine it with Phaistos, fifteen minutes further on.
