Which reminds me of another point: home construction has changed so much, so that Greek homes no longer have appropriate storage conditions as in the way that village houses were once built. This is why we can't maintain certain past practices of our ancestors - living conditions have changed too much, and no matter how bad things get in Greece (which they won't, in my optismistic mind), we can only return to some aspects of out past lifestyles, not all of them.

Just when I was wondering what to do with those onions that were spoiling too quickly to be eaten, I came across this comment on my facebook page

If you love onions, then sivrasi is for you. It's basically a long slow cooking of onion slices, until they almost caramelise, which are used to top a dish and add extra flavour. Sivrasi is an island specialty of the Dodecanese (where Georgia is from), a group of islands north-east of Crete, and the term is unknown in Western Crete (although it may be better known in Eastern Crete, which has more contact with the Dodecanese). It's a good Greek way to spice up a cheap meal, using the humblest of ingredients, the onion. The good thing about it is that you can never make too much sivrasi - if you love onions, then there is never enough sivrasi to go round.