All of a sudden, a heavy, powerful storm struck, making my fears and predictions sadly come true! The extreme heatwave that lasted for days and the moisture in the atmosphere would eventually result in an unexpected weather bomb, it was just a matter of time. But no one seemed to be prepared for what followed. According to the experts, extremely high temperatures and strong winds created the ideal conditions for the formation of this unusual phenomenon; a hurricane!

A hurricane in Halkidiki, Greece! An area that feels like the calmest place on earth to me, where I’ve spent the most wonderful and carefree summers ever since I was a kid! Of course, extreme weather conditions and phenomena have made their appearance all across the Mediterranean but, honestly, I had never seen anything like that before! And I could never have imagined that a storm would result in the loss of human lives, a loss so cruel and unfair! Never! It felt like the end of the world has arrived!

I know what you’re thinking, I’m a bit obsessed with talking about climate change but, in my defense, I’m truly worried about how frequent and intense all those abnormal phenomena are lately. What worries me the most though, is the fact that we seem to just sit by and let it happen and how exposed and powerless we are, after all! Nature takes its revenge on us, that’s certain. I wish we could protect and preserve all this beauty that was generously given to us and realise that we can’t take anything for granted! None of it is ours anyway, we’re just lucky enough to borrow it for a while.

Those are my thoughts as I’m enjoying the peacefulness that comes after the storm. I find myself in our veggie garden, admiring the beauty of our plants, a view that never fails to calm me down. I love every single seed and branch that grows and offers its fruits so consistently and generously! Today, I’m picking fresh strawberries! Yes, you read that right, strawberries! One of the perks of having a veggie garden in the mountains is that our strawberries mature later and last all summer long!

Their beauty and scent is just incredible and brings back memories of the delightful strawberry taste that we loved as children. I feel like their bright, vivid red colour gives me joy and brightens up my mood.

Before I start cooking, I’m thinking of playing around a bit with this wonderful ingredient, so I'll try to capture its bright and vivid colour with my camera. As for which recipe I’m going to make with my beautiful strawberries, that’s already decided; a delicious strawberry and mascarpone cream cheese tiramisu!

Tiramisu is one of my favourite desserts and definitely one of my staples, a super easy recipe that always does the trick! It’s impressive and delicious and it’s also one of the reasons why my family likes to make fun of me, mostly because of how regularly it appears on our table! Only this time it’s a strawberry tiramisu, so it’s not that ordinary! Right?