The first time I heard about this version of stuffed cabbage I was literally sitting next to the fireplace in the home where my father grew up and where my 95-year-old Aunt Mary still lived. Until she passed away a few years ago, she was a great source of knowledge about old Ikarian dishes. She told me how when she was a girl only well-to-do families could afford rice. On Ikaria, in its place, people used dried corn, which they grew and, among other things, dried in the sun, reserving the amber-like little kernels for use in dishes that went hand in hand with the cold, damp months of winter. Cabbage was and still is something of a staple crop in Ikarian gardens and collards, in the same family, are a winter staple in the longevity diet of Ikarians. To find some of the artisinal Greek products you'll need to make this, visit my online shop here, where you'll discover a host of lovingly curated Greek ingredients.