Food Glorious Food

Food Glorious Food!

We have enjoyed some really good food while we have been on this amazing journey to 5 different countries.  Thought I would post some of the pictures of the wonderful sustenance we have received. 

Meals are an experience....not a fast, pick up and run type of meal that most of us Americans are used to.  The dinner time is late in the evening around 8:00 - 9:00 pm.  And it is a time to meet friends, talk, and enjoy for an hour or two.  Lunch is usually around 2:00pm, and is just before the "rest time" of the day.  Most businesses open at 8:00 - 9:00 am, and stay open until 2:00, close and rest for 2 hours, eat lunch, and reopen around 4:00pm.  We found this to be practiced especially in Greece. 

The pictures are compilation of all 5 countries.....the foods are pretty much the same.  It is the Mediterranean  diet that we hear so much about.  

BREAD is a staple…..every meal laden with baskets of wonderful bread.  Everywhere we have been we can smell the wonderful aromas of bread baking.  Vendors on the street sell their treats, and shops are filled with every kind you can imagine.  Bagels, Pita, Crusty Rolls, Fruit breads, and crossants are on every corner.

 Olives are plentiful, as you can imagine.  We have olives at EVERY meal including breakfast (except in Italy). Black, green, small, large, pitted and pit-less.  However, they are NOT stuffed with red pimento!  Olive groves are everywhere.   Olive oil is on every table, along with a dark vinegar.  The novelty of dipping crusty bread into olive oil is an everyday routine here. In ancient times olive oil was used as an oil in the lamps that burned in small clay pots in every house.  It is a life blood of the region.  Every home will have olive oil, flour (Joel 2:19), water, wine, olives, veggies, and fruits.

Olives and Olive Oil

 Vegetables are plentiful as well.  Since the growing season is year around, there are vegetables a plenty.  Eggplant, red, green, yellow, orange, hot, mild peppers, onions, mushrooms, green beans, lettuce, cabbage, kale, cauliflower, and other things I have not been able to identify!

The fruits are wonderful here….we have tried so many different kinds that I don’t remember all that I have tasted.  But, for the first time I tasted a  pomegranate that was just picked off the tree in Collosae. It is a funny little fruit, but delicious, and a favorite in the region.  Orange, lime, and lemon groves dot the country everywhere.  Avocadoes, figs, apples, quinces, persimmons, dates, keylimes and of course GRAPES! Wine is also a staple.  We have seen hundreds of vinyards everywhere.  White wine, Red wines, and lots of other alcohol is offered at every meal.   

Interesting tidbit....... Santorini Island has miles of vineyards   They do not stake the vines up on posts and wires, they cut the vines back and lay them in a circle on the ground.  The winds are so strong from the Sea that it protects the vines and their precious fruit.  Also, they make their wines from raisins.  The grapes are picked, dried for 2 months, and then soaked.  The Santorini's claim their wine is the best in the world.  

 Water is a not something you open your tap and drink.  Italy, Greece, and Israel had water every where, but water in Jordan and Turkey was not safe to drink, or even brush your teeth with.  Water purification is not regulated so bottled water was the only way we could drink the precious stuff.  We are so fortunate in America to have clean, safe water, and plenty of it.

Nuts.....walnuts, cashews, hazelnuts, pistachios

Nuts are like olives.  They are everywhere!  We  had nuts at every meal, even breakfast.  Bowls laden with Pistachios, almonds, sunflower seeds, cashews, hazelnuts, and walnuts the size of half dollars.

Coffee and Tea are sipped and drunk at every single meal, and at any time of the day which is not a lot different  from home, but this coffee is so strong that a caffeine buzz lasts for hours.  Everywhere except Italy served Turkish Coffee.  It is so strong, you can only drink it in small amounts, so it is served in a small demitasse cup. The water, coffee grounds, and sugar are placed in fancy little ladles, set in hot sand (kept hot in a special warmer) until the water boils, then poured into the small cup. 

All different kinds of Baklava

 I would be amiss if I didn't list the “sweets”category.   They LOVE their desserts!  Baklava, Gelato, Chocolate cakes, honey, syrups, jellies, jams, pastries, cakes and cookies.  I can honestly say  I have had enough Baklava to last me for a while, and I love Baklava!  It was served on our buffet at our Hotel frequently.

Octopus and Salmon

Lamb, hanging ready for purchase

Hog's Head and Ribs

Persimmons

Spices

Fruits, Vegetables, and Chestnuts

Every city has a City Market. This was true in every country we visited  It is a busy place with lots and lots of people buying their food for the evening meal. The largest market was in Istanbul.  There are grocery stores just like in the States, but at the Market you know the food is fresh.  Most likely caught, butchered, picked that morning.

 We saw lamb carcasses hanging from the butchering in the morning.  Heads still attached to prove to the “Kosher”  that it was indeed lamb.  Chicken, rabbit, veal, beef, sausages, and fish (every kind you can imagine). You will not find pork in Israel….only lamb, beef, and chicken. They adhere to the Kosher laws very closely. Every part of the animal is used.  Even hooves, heads, tongue, and the tripe...(intestines).

Cheese is also everywhere…….not processed, but the real thing.  Feta Cheese was the most popular, and some cheeses we had never heard of before.  Mostly goat cheese is what is plentiful, and they eat it in large quantities.

Fresh Pomegranites

Spices are a big part of their cooking.  Saffron, Cumin, Oregano,  Basil, Salt (Of course from the Dead Sea, since it is so close) and many, many more.  In Istanbul the Spice Bazaar was filled with so many people you could barely walk.   

Also, in Israel, Rosemary is grown in the city everywhere.  Large shrubs of the pungent bush grow along sidewalks and roadways.  It is trimmed and manicured just as we trim our boxwoods.  

Bon Appetite!