Last fall we took a trip to Manistee forest in north-west Michigan to enjoy the fall colors. I have made a few short videos while driving through the forest. I stitched them together and thought to share. Unfortunately we have not seen any wild animals. It was a guided tour in Jeep Wrangler.

If you traveled to Cyprus, or even if you went to a Cypriot restaurant here in the States, you definitely heard of Souvla. It is the most famous and popular dish in Cyprus.

Souvla is big chunks of meat, put on a skewer and slowly cooked over charcoal. It differs from the Greek Souvlaki in terms of size, taste and how it is eaten. It does not go in the pitta, but you can have pitta on the side.

How to prepare and cook souvla is debatable among the masters. And every household has its own master with aces up his sleeve to amaze and yield wonder to their guests. In my experience it takes practice to make perfect. It all depends on the quality of the meat and the rate of cooking. Some people go the extra distance to use herbs or marinate the meat, but eating souvlas prepared in different ways for a lifetime now, I believe that all those are obsolete. There is nothing like fresh meat just sprinkled with some salt.

To master the making of souvla you have to learn your foukou (they Cypriot barbeque grill) and adjust the height to expect cooking times of 40 minutes. And definitely know your butcher. How do you know it is done? You have to wait until you hear the meat sizzling (listen to it in the video below).

Like halloumi, souvla differs from region to region. And of course, in Lysi, we have our infamous Lysiotiki souvla. Lysiotiki souvla is strictly made of lamb. But you can have souvla also with pork or chicken.

On my last trip to Cyprus I made a video of souvla being cooked. Enjoy!