Anywhere you look some celebrity chef is popping up from nowhere. Cooking is finally glamorous, but what is it that makes it suddenly glamorous? A few decades ago girls refused to learn how to cook so that they wouldn't turn into boring housewives. If you cooked you were looked at as someone with no Real interests in the world. You had to have a cook and never cook yourself !!
So what happened? Is it all part of the fitness trend?
Can it be that our "watch the world from our couch -reality show" mentality makes it fun to watch other people cook. How many of us are getting on the band wagon and actually changing the way we feed our kids. Figures are not that great about obesity in North America, Europe and yes even in Greece where the Mediterraneam diet supposedly reigns. .
But there are cooks all over the world, that literally slave everyday to cook good food for their families, their clients in restaurants serving good, honest food. and of course the unsung heroes, the cooks working in the food shelters. Who ever thinks about the many cooks all over the world that cook as volunteers to feed the hungry and homeless everyday with no glamour and no bells. Today I.m thinking of them.
Cooking is very hard work that goes with sore feet, cut fingers, smelly clothes and a bad back. Good things though are hard and take up more of our precious time, just like planting our own vegetables or cooking.
Hopefully this popularity for cooking I mentioned above will give people some ideas and motivation to THINK about what and how we consume...
So for today my heores are all the cooks that make a meal expecting nothing in return ....
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
"Fakes" or lentil soup....and High School!!
Let's go back to my high school days in Montreal. Those were the days. Noone could pronounce my name..Pa..na...giota..that sounds Greek to me right! I took the jokes with a grain of salt and actually I also made fun of myself , I loved making people laugh. Needless to say my friends called me Penny, a little more anglosaxon, but I didn't care I wanted to fit in.
One thing though that was impossible to laugh at, was when people asked me about the food we ate at home. Most of the kids squirmed at the thought of......for example...Fakes (lentil soup)..they usually asked " what the f...k are Fakes". How about Octopus with rice, anyone for squid, or how about eating bitter greens (radikia)..you know the kind our moms used to go to the fields and collect in big garbage bags. Do you guys eat lamb, okra, green beans, fish brain....and all in one week!!!! Yes it sounds strange but that it is how we ate in Canada because our sweet, controlling, traditional Greek moms always insisted that THIS was the right way to eat.
Then their was the olive oil. Everywhere olive oil!! My dad would pour olive oil on his toast, cook his eggs in olive oil and finally pick up the salad bowl and drink the last drop of oil on the plate so as not to waste any precious bit. I was taught that olive oil is a very special gift from nature and must be treated with respect and never..but absolutely never wasted!!
Guess what, looking back..they were right!!!
If only we had realized sooner that the Mediterranean diet would be so popular to western health fanatics, we could have walked the halls of Dunton High School with our heads held high...and maybe WE could have sold all this knowledge and made a fortune..it was all there..right in our kitchens...
Recipe for Lentil Soup (Fakes)
500 gr lentils
1 large onion
2 medium size carrots
1 cup crushed tomatoes
2 bay leaves
3 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon chilli pepper flakes
coarse sea salt and peper to taste
Place the lentils, garlic and bay leaves in a pot of water (about 2-3 inches over the lentils) and let boil on medium heat until the lentils are half cooked ( about 15minutes).
In the meantime puree in a blender the onion, carrot and crushed tomatoe. Add this mixture to the boiling lentils, as well as the remaining ingredients and simmer until the water reduces and the lentils are cooked into a creamy soup. (Be careful not to evaporate all the liquid)
* serve with kalamata olives, fresh bread, and marinated anchovies.
One thing though that was impossible to laugh at, was when people asked me about the food we ate at home. Most of the kids squirmed at the thought of......for example...Fakes (lentil soup)..they usually asked " what the f...k are Fakes". How about Octopus with rice, anyone for squid, or how about eating bitter greens (radikia)..you know the kind our moms used to go to the fields and collect in big garbage bags. Do you guys eat lamb, okra, green beans, fish brain....and all in one week!!!! Yes it sounds strange but that it is how we ate in Canada because our sweet, controlling, traditional Greek moms always insisted that THIS was the right way to eat.
Then their was the olive oil. Everywhere olive oil!! My dad would pour olive oil on his toast, cook his eggs in olive oil and finally pick up the salad bowl and drink the last drop of oil on the plate so as not to waste any precious bit. I was taught that olive oil is a very special gift from nature and must be treated with respect and never..but absolutely never wasted!!
Guess what, looking back..they were right!!!
If only we had realized sooner that the Mediterranean diet would be so popular to western health fanatics, we could have walked the halls of Dunton High School with our heads held high...and maybe WE could have sold all this knowledge and made a fortune..it was all there..right in our kitchens...
Recipe for Lentil Soup (Fakes)
500 gr lentils
1 large onion
2 medium size carrots
1 cup crushed tomatoes
2 bay leaves
3 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon chilli pepper flakes
coarse sea salt and peper to taste
Place the lentils, garlic and bay leaves in a pot of water (about 2-3 inches over the lentils) and let boil on medium heat until the lentils are half cooked ( about 15minutes).
In the meantime puree in a blender the onion, carrot and crushed tomatoe. Add this mixture to the boiling lentils, as well as the remaining ingredients and simmer until the water reduces and the lentils are cooked into a creamy soup. (Be careful not to evaporate all the liquid)
* serve with kalamata olives, fresh bread, and marinated anchovies.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Back to Basics....Bread!!
So what is it that most of us would not think of making???? It's too hard ??? Think of coming home and your house is filled with the aroma of fresh bread. You cut a piece while it is still warm, spread some fresh butter ,Cretan thyme honey..or Greek olive oil....and well words are simply too little..
It's gloomy outside, windy and for some strange reason making the most basic food throughout our history is a very satisfying experience, even if you make it only once. It brings you memories of the past and back to a time when we made things with our hands, our hearts, our sweat. The bread will never be good if you skip on the love and patience. The warmth of your hands molds it and patience helps it rise. Relevant don't you think in our times. Then share this bread with your neighbours, your friends, they will be warmly surprised.
recipee
1 kilo all purpose flour
1 tbsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp ground aniseed
2 small packs dry yeast
1/4 cup olive oil
..about 2 glasses of warm water
*add flour and water as needed
Put all the ingredients in a large bowl then knead very well until you get an elastic dough..guys you need to use a little elbow grease here (strength) and patience it takes some time to get the right consistency...
Cover up the mixture with a clean dishcloth and a wool blanket. Let the dough stand for about 3 hours..It should become about double its size .Divide dough and form into the shapes you like and place on a floured baking tray. Cover again..and let the dough rise again for about an hour...
Take a sharp knife and slit the top surface of the bread with small slashes (about 4 per loaf)
spray water on top..sprinkle sesame seeds..and cook at 200c* for about 1 hour.
To check if the bread is ready, you turn the loaf over and tap the bottom with your finger. If it sounds hollow its ready..!
Try it once..you will not regret it!!
* always preheat oven before you place bread...
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
support local
Most of us live our lives focusing on convenience or rather what we call "one-stop" everything. Super-markets that offer everything under one roof. Malls that offer shopping, dinning and entertainment.Shops are trying to attract busy customers by supplying or better yet squeezing everything into "one-stop". We hire people to babysit our kids, read and play with our kids, all for the sake of "convenience"
When I first moved to Greece I was unemployed and of course this meant I had lots of time on my hands. So I watched people, the housewives, the grandparents. and what I observed was that their day was different from what most of us are used to.
By 8am they are already out the door.First stop the bakery for fresh bread, and no they don't buy bread to put in the freezer for a month, they buy fresh bread every morning. Next step the butcher who every day greets his customers with a huge smile and is more than willing to give cooking tips and advice to his customers.Next stop the local grocer, who always puts extra vegetables in your bag just because he likes you, and if the bags are heavy offers to have them delivered to your home.Last our favourite deli where my youngest son is always encouraged to help himself to kalamata olives or a slice of his favorite salami.
In one morning they have exchanged conversation and human contact with so many people.They say simple words like goodmorning....how are you today.....how are your kids..Of course their is.no pressure at the check-out counter (like the supermarket) because there aren't 10 people behind you in a hurry to go somewhere else.....
That is the key..the somewhere else. Let's go back to basics, let's talk to people, support your local shop even if you pay just a little extra. Don't forget the small shops can't buy the massive quantities a super market can, we have to support the local economy....and above all you can't put a price on human contact..
Say goodmorning to someone today..its so easy!!
When I first moved to Greece I was unemployed and of course this meant I had lots of time on my hands. So I watched people, the housewives, the grandparents. and what I observed was that their day was different from what most of us are used to.
By 8am they are already out the door.First stop the bakery for fresh bread, and no they don't buy bread to put in the freezer for a month, they buy fresh bread every morning. Next step the butcher who every day greets his customers with a huge smile and is more than willing to give cooking tips and advice to his customers.Next stop the local grocer, who always puts extra vegetables in your bag just because he likes you, and if the bags are heavy offers to have them delivered to your home.Last our favourite deli where my youngest son is always encouraged to help himself to kalamata olives or a slice of his favorite salami.
In one morning they have exchanged conversation and human contact with so many people.They say simple words like goodmorning....how are you today.....how are your kids..Of course their is.no pressure at the check-out counter (like the supermarket) because there aren't 10 people behind you in a hurry to go somewhere else.....
That is the key..the somewhere else. Let's go back to basics, let's talk to people, support your local shop even if you pay just a little extra. Don't forget the small shops can't buy the massive quantities a super market can, we have to support the local economy....and above all you can't put a price on human contact..
Say goodmorning to someone today..its so easy!!
Monday, October 18, 2010
...the smell of cinnamon!!!
Cinnamon both bitter and sweet...like women.. The grandfather reveals the secrets of spice and life to Fanis the main character in the film. If any of you have not seen this film I think you are missing one of the best Greek Films. The music by Evanthia Reboutsika...mesmerizing. To this day when I watch this film.....I smell cinnamon!!!
A Touch of Spice or"Politiki Kouzina" written/directed by Tassos Boulmetis
Think of coming home to the aromas of cinnamon and sugar. Today I woke up with this thought .How can I fill my house with this wonderful, exotic and sweet smell. Close your eyes , breathe and let your imagination soar......Put some cinnamon in your life!!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
..the world we live in !!!
There are a lot of people out there that believe in the concept of real food. Food that is carefully bought or grown, prepared with love and savoured with patience and respect. How many of us sit at the table durng the week as a family to eat supper. Most of us are running between second language classes for the kids, karate, music, gym, etc. etc. etc. The fact is real food is real work, and dinning all together is sometimes more than a challenge..but hey its sooooo worth it.
How many memories do you have that are associated with the aromas and tastes of food. Think about it. Something your mom or dad used to make..your grandma always prepared just for you. Most of us that have these memories are very lucky. We have experienced from childhood the special effect food has on our lives.
But we do take food for granted in Western societies. We have such an abundance of ready made "food" that our taste buds will soon forget what real food tastes like...and of course we waste so much food and yes we all have in the back of our minds that there are people hungry..but do you know someone personally that has no food to eat. Can you put a name to this hunger, unfortunately I now can, and its extremely difficult for me to grasp how someone can spend days with no food. I am struggling for days to understand how we have let this happen, and more so what we can do to alleviate this.
Maybe if we all start respecting and appreciating the food we eat, we can teach our children to waste less.
We can put our minds and hearts together and find new and creative ways to feed the world.
How many memories do you have that are associated with the aromas and tastes of food. Think about it. Something your mom or dad used to make..your grandma always prepared just for you. Most of us that have these memories are very lucky. We have experienced from childhood the special effect food has on our lives.
But we do take food for granted in Western societies. We have such an abundance of ready made "food" that our taste buds will soon forget what real food tastes like...and of course we waste so much food and yes we all have in the back of our minds that there are people hungry..but do you know someone personally that has no food to eat. Can you put a name to this hunger, unfortunately I now can, and its extremely difficult for me to grasp how someone can spend days with no food. I am struggling for days to understand how we have let this happen, and more so what we can do to alleviate this.
Maybe if we all start respecting and appreciating the food we eat, we can teach our children to waste less.
We can put our minds and hearts together and find new and creative ways to feed the world.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)