The Greek Diet

Of course one of the major changes I experienced upon coming to Greece was the different diet. Greeks like some weird foods, and remember, I am a Southern girl brought up on cornbread and barbecue (neither of which is to be found here, unless I endeavor to make it myself, uh, yea, right, I'll get right on that!). Ok, maybe I wasn't brought up on that, but those are two foods I miss. You can't even get cornmeal here with which to make cornbread! Other things I miss - Subway, Dr. Pepper/Mr. Pibb, Root Beer, Krispy Kreme and Mexican food. Nashville had a few fine Mexican restaurants, including Las Palmas, SATCO, and a few others (unfortunately, the names have escaped me now). There appear to be no Mexicans in Greece, at least no Mexicans who have decided to open a restaurant.

Add to all this the fact that I am a real picky eater who doesn't like to try new things (yea, I puked alot as a child), and my immersion into the Greek dietary world was not exactly a smooth one. Things I like - spanakopita, tiropita, prasopita (but only if they are done a certain way and not overly salty); meatballs (keftadakia); chicken souvlaki; and of course, gyros (but again, only if they are done a certain way). I have broken my pact not to try new things, and therefore have tried a variety of things (some of which I wish I hadn't).

There are a motley variety of meat choices in Greece. Here on the mountain, just about any kind of meat can obtained in one way or another. Apparently mountains are meat rich areas. I draw a few lines when it comes to what kind of meat I will try, but I ate goat once without realizing it was goat at first (hell, it looked like pork!). Ok, you know, I understand goat milk, maybe goat skins, but really, why eat the meat? It was stringy and pithy (and as far as I'm concerned, meat should NEVER be pithy) and I am sure that wasn't the result of the cook, because my mother-in-law is a spectacular cook.

I'll tell you a story about goat. When we lived on Kos, there was this sweet old couple who lived up on the main road. They were very friendly, always giving us vegetables from their garden, inviting us for coffee, etc. One day they obtained a baby goat. It was the cutest little thing, running through its small pasture and making its little goat boy noises. They fed it every day, til it grew big and strong. Then one day, right after Easter, I realized I didn't see or hear goat boy anymore. The nice, friendly old couple had turned into evil goat slaughtering demons! My husband still swears he heard goat boy noises days after Easter, but I know it isn't true. Goat boy was sacrificed for Easter dinner. Poor little goat boy.

Of course you have chicken and turkey here, but you have the added convenience of obtaining rooster, complete with its toes still attached! I am not really quite sure what started this movement of rooster eating, I mean, its not like I think I need more kinds of fowl in my diet. And why do we need to see its feet?

I don't like seafood, so I don't pay much attention to the seafood choices, which are many. One can't help but noticing that octopus is a staple of the Greek diet. Not gonna try it, don't even wanna be near it.

Greeks have this amazing ability to call condiments salads. Yes, we all love condiments, they are great, but they are NOT salads. Tzatziki, my favorite, is basically onion dip made with yogurt, shredded cucumber, and garlic. It makes a nice dip for fries or potato chips, or a spread on sandwiches or bread. But it is not a salad. Tirosalata, or cheese salad, is just a spread made with cheese! Again, not a salad! And there is also Hungarian salad, which is basically a mayonaissey type mixture of 1000 island with small pieces of ham mixed in it. Good for dipping or spreading, but not a salad! All of these items are CLEARLY condiments. Yet Greeks freely pile them on their plates and eat them like salad. Amazing.

For now, I manage. Not that we have very many Greek meals in this household. I am not much of a cook (of course, our oven is a tiny thing that fits on a table, so it is hardly an oven for cooking), but someday, I have promised my husband, I will try to make some of his Greek favorites. Until then, his mother does a fine job!