Divine pleasures, quite literally. In a bite of seven-grain bread, a fried pie, a horchata omelet. In a forkful of high-quality Cretan pasta or authentic monk-style carbonara from Tuscany. In a sip of ascetic coffee, brewed over coals with honey and a few drops of raki. In a shot of mandarin liqueur from Father Nikitas in Symi or in a glass of cold soumada from Agia Marina.

Cretan, Cycladic, Dodecanese and Italian monasteries open their kitchens in this book and reveal authentic recipes, flavorful combinations of simple natural ingredients, as well as high gastronomy cooking that does not rely on rare and generally chemical ingredients. Nor are they bland and tasteless.

Vegetables, legumes, homemade pasta, rice, pure meat, fresh fish, shepherd's and monastery cheeses, easy and delicious sweets, honest liqueurs and elixirs now come to your table, reviving memories of other times as well as forgotten feelings, such as tranquility at mealtime, the enjoyment of simplicity, and gratitude to God and nature for their precious gifts.