“Live Like a Mediterranean Granny!” Anastasia Miari on the Secret to Planet-Positive Long Life
Latest low-impact life reset
“Picking figs directly from my fig tree which hangs heavy with purple fruit this time of year. I’ve even devised a ‘fig picker’ that helps me reach the juiciest figs on the top-most branches (it’s an old broom with an upturned plastic bottle cut in half). It fills my cup. Then jam-making days and concocting flavour combinations for jam has also been a great joy.”
… and the one that has brought you the most joy
“Swimming at sunset when the beach empties and I can enjoy the wild coastline of Corfu for myself.”
Photography credit: Marco Arguello
Favourite planet-positive products
“I’m very much into Cou Cou intimates underwear at the moment. They’re very cute and 100% organic – which means 0 hormone disruption from synthetic undies and I feel great in them, even at eight months’ pregnant and popping! I also use my friend Poppy France’s face oils which have done wonders to alleviate redness and acne from years of rosacea and living in sunny climes. She has a great massage tutorial video that I use every evening to apply my oil and it’s the best part of my bed time routine.”
All-time top second-hand find
“Oh mama! Too many. When I moved to Athens in 2018 the property market was at a real low and people were buying up apartments because they were so affordable. At that time, there were so many renovations going on that often you could find incredible mid-century pieces of furniture in the street. So I would say my ultimate second-hand find wasn’t even purchased: it was a beautiful mid-century sofa with matching armchairs that I had reupholstered in a velvet midnight blue. Found them by the bins, in the rain…”
Favourite walking route
“There’s a hike that my entire village in Corfu does on Easter Monday that takes us deep into wild and uncultivated forest, past olive groves and up to a 13th-century monastery that most islanders don’t even know about. From there the land reaches a beautiful plateau on which the entire village enjoys a picnic together, then we walk down to a turquoise water-lapped beach that is usually abandoned because you can only reach it by hiking there or by boat. I take the guests on my retreat on this route and we also held my daughter’s baptism at the monastery at its peak because I so wanted all our guests from the UK and Italy to experience this hike.”
Most beautiful cycle journey
“I am enamoured with Patagonia and have been three times. There’s a cycle route that runs from El Bolson to a glacial lake called Lago Puelo. It’s the most stunning cycling route that runs through forest and ends at an ice blue glacial lake. I’ve done it every single time I’ve returned to Argentina.”
Most joyful weekend moment
“Waking up with my three-year-old daughter and enjoying cuddles, books and breakfast in bed with her and her daddy, without pressure to get up and get started with the day right away.”
Plant-based dish of dreams
“Spanakorizo from my new book MEDITERRANEA! It’s very aromatic, super easy to make and full of good stuff. The dish is a kind of spinach risotto but in true Greek style, the vegetables are the star of the show and it’s much less fussy to make than a traditional Italian risotto (who has time for all that hovering and stirring?). An entire bunch of dill added into our pot brings a fresh meadow aroma to the garden and we serve it with a hefty chunk of feta and a wedge of zesty lemon.
Ingredients:
1 kilo cleaned, fresh spinach (always fresh and never from frozen)
160ml olive oil
4 large spring onions – ends chopped off and clean the outer leaves – chopped into 1cm rounds
2 large leaks – cut the very green ends off and take off the outer layer of leaves – then chop in half and then in 1inch rounds
Dill – 1 bunch – ends chopped off
2 large cloves of garlic – middle pulled out and roughly chopped
150g medium grain rice – karolina
1/2 tsp of black ground pepper
1/2 tbsp salt
A cube of chicken stock (optional but reduce the salt by half in this instance)
Method:
- Begin by washing the spinach. Roughly tear it into pieces as you wash it thoroughly, removing the chewy stems and using a splash of vinegar in a large bowl of water to ensure you get rid of any little friends hiding in the leaves. Add your spinach to a large pan and steam in there with the lid on, on a medium to high heat for 10 minutes.
- Add the olive oil followed by the chopped dill, spring onions, garlic and leeks and sizzle, stirring every so often, for around five minutes.
- Throw in 700ml of water and the rice followed by the salt and pepper (if you’re not veggie, you can also add a chicken stock cube for taste, but cut the salt amount to 1tsp if you choose to do this).
- Allow to simmer for 30 mins with the lid on, on medium to high heat. Stir occasionally to avoid the rice sticking but there’s really no need to hover over this as you would a traditional risotto.
- It’s ready once your rice is cooked, season to taste and add a squeeze of lemon for a final zingy flourish.
Serve with a slab of feta, an extra drizzle of olive oil and plenty of crusty bread.”
Song that lights you up and the story behind it
“‘Un'avventura’ by Lucio Battisti. It’s kind of a cheesy Italian 1960s summer anthem but I love it because it reminds me of my husband and the days after our wedding in Corfu. I had meticulously organised three days of events and the last (fourth) night came together very organically because I was knackered and left it all to others to decide. My ‘best woman’ called a souvlaki grill house in her village that she loves and we filled the entire place with our 150 guests, all eating souvlakia and Greek salads. The owners basically handed over control of the music to us because we’d taken over the place so the Italian boys chose to play this song. Battisti sings about how this particular love isn’t just a summer fling (which ours did begin as!) but a lifelong adventure. One of the lines that gets me every time is:
‘Tu sei mia, tu sei mia
Fino a quando gli occhi miei
Avran luce per guardare gli occhi tuoi’
It translates as: ‘You’re mine until my eyes no longer have light to look into your own.’”
The independent coffee shop that makes you happy
“I don’t drink coffee but my favourite local spot in Athens to meet others who do is Komna Traka - not for the coffee but for their epic tuna toasties.”
Second-hand store or market worth a mooch
“I am very into Eleonas Market in Athens. It’s a complete mess but has the best bargains as it’s a flea market that’s set a little out of town.”
Causes you give to every month
“Not every month but Palestinian Red Crescent Society is a charity I’ve been supporting for the past few years now.”
Low-impact living podcast you’d recommend
“I haven’t listened to any for a LONG time – I’m more of an audio book girl and I’m now getting through Elif Shafak’s There Are Rivers in the Sky novel.”
Fave book that inspired you to make a change
“Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay Gibson. It has helped a lot to understand patterns that have presented themselves since childhood and to step away from those in my own parenting style.”
… and film and/or TV series
“There was a TV show YEARS ago entitled Cooked on Netflix. It inspired me to start my Matriarch Eats cooking with grandmothers project which has led to three published cookbooks on the matter. I’ve now been cooking with grandmothers for almost a decade and the idea came from watching this TV show.”
Person who inspires you and why
“My Yiayia (Greek grandmother). She is the matriarch that has kept our family together. She raised me when my parents struggled to and she continues to be self-sufficient at almost 90 years old. She’s a stoic character but has a wicked sense of humour with so much passion for life. She’s the inspiration behind my books and I will forever look to her for the strength and passion needed to live a full life.”
Your planet-positive hero
“YIAYIA! She is a zero-waste hero and OG of eating organic and wasting as little as possible. She grows her own vegetables, makes her own olive oil and wine and refuses to let anything go to waste.”
Quote to live by and who said it
“‘Life is LONG. Don’t sweat the small stuff.’ My quote is based on all the interviews I have done with over 200 grandmothers from around the world!”
What gets you every time
“My daughter telling me she loves me / giving me kisses / telling me I’m the best mummy in the world.”
What is love
“‘Don’t hurt me. Don’t hurt me. No more.’ Jokes aside – I’m Greek. We have a lot of versions of love. Eros, Agape, Philia, Mania. I think they’re all love. The most exciting is Eros but the type of love that sees you through to your dying day is Agape or Philia – a companionable love that oversees all obstacles and holds until the bitter end.”
Issue you care most about changing
“CLIMATE CHANGE and the fact that a very miniscule percentage of the world’s population (these guys also happen to be a***holes) is now in control of what happens to the rest of the world’s population.”
Message you’d love to share with the collective
“Live like a Mediterranean granny! Eat seasonal, organic, cut your meat, up your friendships, social interactions and time outdoors. Swim and NAP more. The culmination of my learnings after cooking with octo and nonagenarians for my book, MEDITERRANEA.”
Fancy sharing a playlist – on any theme, if any – of your fave tracks
“To listen to with a glass of wine whilst cooking from my books.”
MEDITERRANEA is out now and Anastasia can be found on Instagram and Substack
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