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Melannys Blog

Food Blog

Nancy Gaifylla - The Joy and Vagaries of Greek Recipes http://greekfood.about.com/od/greekcookingbasics/a/matsaki_houfta.htm

Well I choose this type of blog firstly, because I myself am Greek and secondly, because I was interested in learning about other peoples experiences with Greek cooking lessons. From what I can remember, this process is extremely vague and extremely confusing, which I’d like to think accounts for the fact that I know oh so little about cooking and preparing food in general. I have to find someone to blame right? Upon reading this woman’s blog I was astonished to find that it wasn’t just me, I WASN”T ALONE! Apparently, there are many, hundreds even who were taught by Greek family members to cook…well… nothing and the reason, as she explains in her blog, is this: many a student becomes baffled by such measurements as “glass-full” and “deep plateful” and “small bunch”. You of course have to remember that those family members don’t even go as far as describing these meaningless measurement terms in English. I fell for this particular blog however, because it offered something MORE than complaints, it offered a glossary of not only translations but actual equivalent measurements. So, next time my grandfather screams HOUFTA πατάτες! I’ll know he’ll want a handful of…WHAT?! Ah, it’s all Greek to me.

Letter to the Editor

Prospect Magazine Issue 140, November 2007

“The Real GM Food Scandal”

www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article

Upon reading your article “The Real GM Food Scandal” I found your opinion to be grossly one-sided. Insisting that most of the population gets lost on genetically modified food simply because they believe it to have serious health hazards, when in fact there are many documented scientifical studies supporting the long and short term dangerous effects upon the human physiology, not to mention the effects the growth of these foods have upon our environment. You made it sound as though the only way to cure global hunger and various diet related diseases around the world was to approach it from a genetically modified food perspective. Why do you think something so unnatural to the environment and the body would bring about the balance of a natural state of health? Why do you think so many countries around the world have done all they can to deflect the onslaught of such products being widely distributed. The world is speaking! Instead of looking for the quick fix to global problems, perhaps we should consider a different outlook which encompasses the whole picture, the wider scope which explains why these problems are occurring. Instead of introducing a more hardcore pesticide once the bugs seem to be resistant to the currant one, why don’t we find a way around using pesticides at all? Instead of creating plants which are resistant to draughts, floods, carry their own artificial insecticides, and are not dependent upon gaining nutrients found in their own soil, why not try to work WITH nature to create higher quality and more wholesome food which supports the undeniable laws of nature of the land?

Your concerned reader, Melanny Wells

Field Trip

Yesterday was great. I really enjoyed visiting Kolona Organics. I had no idea that it even existed and after our trip I realized that I buy their products ALL THE TIME. Honestly, it was a little embarrassing. The Artisan Food course is a week from being over and I'm still settling with the fact that I seem to have no idea where my food comes from. I'll just assume it was my overwhelming good intuition that manages to bring the local products into my life. Learning all the effort that goes into their production certainly gave me a greater respect for all their delicious cheeses and the like. Their egg distribution center was interesting as well. It was very simple and decently clean and yet it still freaked me out quite a bit. i can't explain it but there was still something about the process of cleaning and packaging that seemed unnatural. I can only imagine what a "normal" white man non-organic or cage-free facility might be like. (gagging noises) It was interesting too that the facility itself maintains a few of it's own hens in cages (12 to a cage) next door. What a peculiar dichotomy.

I loved visiting the Co-op! I suppose I'm a little partial because I happen to be a member but even walking into their store makes me giddy. It's like all of a sudden I can smell. The food all smells REAL and delicious. Even the meat smells wonderful AND I'M A VEGETARIAN. I have to stop myself from buying everything around each corner. I loved learning that they started from literally nothing in a market that didn't exist and created something so wonderful for the producers and the customers and the visiting community. What a wonderful was to enhance these relationships. I'm game!

Wilson's Apple orchard was charming as well. The couple are completely adorable AND so humble about their work when clearly they have grown into quite a large operation. Their charm was almost enough for me to forget the fact that they spray all their trees regularly and seem to honestly believe that there is no way around it. I admit that I don't know the first thing about orchard harvesting, yesterdays lecture only solidifying this fact, but there simply has to be a natural way to do this, hasn't there?!

Book Report

French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano

I absolutely adored this book! The recipes given (what few I have tried) are delicious, the advice makes sense and the writing maintains an excellent blend of personal stories with health related suggestions. No, Guiliano is not a doctor, which some may see as limiting to her advice but I seemed to revel in. It’s much more interesting to me to hear about someone’s personal experience from the deep trenches than to listen to a doctor ramble on about statistics. I loved how her advice was more about common sense and sustainability of routine, culture, and pleasure than the continual counting of calories and fat content.

In fact, Guiliano hardly speaks about calories and the like at all. There are tips for losing weight in this book, but the core is really about a lifestyle and a way of viewing food. She is not selling fast pleasure and from the very beginning she completely disassociates herself from the latest diet plans and food fads. Guiliano is selling slow pleasures. Don't eat in your car! Savor each bite! She talks about love and sensuality being as vital a part as any in our eating process.

I adored this book because it’s not your typical diet book. This book is not about radically changing what you eat but more about changing your actual relationship with food. This book also made it important to realize that the ways in which Guiliano talks about the relationship with fresh and food is not something simply found overseas, we have wonderful fresh food here also - it's just a matter of changing our attitude toward food, portion control, and ignoring the fast and greasy.

Click here to download the excerpt pages from the book