Twice a week there is an open neighborhood vegetable and fruit market close to our house in Glyfada. I visit the market as often as I am able to since the produce is proudly set up by local small producers and amazingly fresh. The problem is that when I go to this market I come home with more ideas, inspiration and recipes I intended for the day. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the baby eggplants, baby zucchinis and baby chili peppers were in season. So was baby okra and fresh tarragon. Anyway I got home with more stuff than I could really cook for the day or the week for that matter. I usually go towards the end, 2pm. when the vendors are ready to go home and sell just about everything for half or less price.
So, I now want to share with you some of the pictures I took from the market and recipes I used. I preserved a variety of vegetables in brine made of water, salt and vinegar. Made some amazing fresh mango, peach, red onion, cilantro salsa. Finished by making stuffed zucchini blossoms and sweet eggplant preserves. I know you might think this is so...unusual, but please know that eggplant is really a fruit and not a vegetable which fact qualifies it ...for preserves. It is delicious and a staple of every Greek home, prepared in early fall to be used throughout the winter.
Food for the body, soul and Spirit
- tastetravelswitheleni
- “GREEK DELIGHTS” Food represents one of the most important, yet understated activities in our lives and our daily practice. It is no co-incidence that food is the quantum essence of hospitality in cultures across the world. This is why cooking is considered as Cultural Heritage. From Eleni’s perspective, food is a more global synergy of factors and actors that fuse to bring us closer to creating and living the sense of taste and communal living. Eleni enacts hospitality through her perseverance in acquiring a fine balance between time, quality products and the creation of an adequate atmosphere so that food may transform itself into speech, heart-opening and the overcoming of cultural barriers. Eleni has functioned as a superb bond that keeps together family, church and community. Alongside her husband Alex and wonderful children Orestis and Danae, she chose to fight life’s adversities with spice and humour. In more depth, Eleni’s cooking is a form of creative prayer and thanksgiving. Created in God’s image, she thinks, forms and creates “Greek delights” for the body, soul and spirit. Enjoy! Dr. Lydia Evdoxiadi Cultural Heritage Consultant
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