My Greek Table with Diane Kochilas

Diane visits a small village in Laconia, the Peloponnese, where the famous Kalamata olive is cultivated, to follow the famous olive from harvest to table. After a chilly day of collecting, scoring, and processing the ripened fruits, Diane heads to the kitchen to whip up an olive feast.

Diane travels to her family's native island of Ikaria, where locals are 10 times more likely to live to one hundred than Americans. Diane's young 85-year-old neighbours share homemade wine and a lesson in making wild herb teas. A beekeeper reveals the honey that is one of the secrets to Ikarians' renowned longevity.

Diane explores the ancient grains that Greek cooks still love to use. Learn how to make the classic Cretan barley rusk (twice baked bread) called Paximadi. Seasonal vegetables, green apples and mint add a pop of freshness to an easy bread salad with these rusks. Pasta tossed with Greek yogurt and half a dozen fresh herbs provides instant comfort with a taste that's quintessentially Greek.

Emerald green Greek extra virgin olive oil is the star of this show, as it flows from tree to kitchen with a stop in between at the massage table. Diane goes on a journey to the stunningly preserved town of Monemvasia in the Peloponnese. Greece's liquid gold transforms a simple vegetable medley into a luscious dish and slips between the folds of billowy rice and greens in a succulent pilaf spiked with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Diane explores the meze tradition of small plates of vibrant food meant to be shared. In Volos, she meets up with a Meze meister who creates traditional meze dishes and heads off for a sip and a bite to a cutting-edge restaurant where they push the limits of meze.

Go on a picnic at a vineyard in Naoussa were one grape dominates the table: the local Xinomavro (pronounced xee NOE ma vroe), one of Greece's noblest reds. This delicious, tannic wine pairs perfectly with a cheese and spice stuffed leg of lamb and is the key ingredient in succulent red wine and sage potatoes.