• Whenpreserving olives, Yiayia recommends putting the fruit in a bucket,filling it with cold water and adding a handful of salt. Leave it for two days,then replace the water (no need to add more salt) every two days for 10-14 days,depending on how bitter the olives are. When ready,give the olives a good rinse and place them in sterilised jars with salt,dried oregano and sliced garlic to taste.
• Yiayia cooks all day every day,so always has a (recycled) container in the kitchen tocollect food scraps for composting. Not only does this improve the soil in Yiayia and Pappou's garden,it is the single best way to reduce household waste.
• Nothing is ever thrown away in Yiayia's household. All those rubber bands that come with fresh produce from the market are saved and reused in her pantry.
• If you're lucky enough to have a kitchen outside (typically in the garage) or a barbecue,Yiayia recommendscooking any fish dishes out there to prevent the house from smelling.
• When using a souvla rotisserie barbecue,always put alayer of sand underneath your coals to avoid burning a hole through the bottom.
• If you've grown more chillies than you know what to do with,simplysew the stems together and hang them in a cool,dry spot indoors for about a week. Then you'll always have dried chillies on hand for cooking.

This is an edited extract fromYiayia Next Door by Daniel&Luke Mancuso (with Yiayia),published by Plum,photography by Mark Roper,RRP $36.99.Buy now