The Vegetarian Guy

In honor of Earth Day, I chose a collection of previous blog posts as a tribute to the connection we all have with the planet.  A small reminder that everything we do can be a celebration of the earth.

How to Shop at the Farmers Market

Locavores Do It Fresher

Topsoil Tales …or Nourishing From the Ground Up

A New Victory Garden

“I learned from my two year’s experience that it would cost incredibly little trouble to obtain one’s necessary food even in this latitude; that a man may use as simple a diet as the animals, and yet retain health and strength.  I have made a satisfactory dinner, satisfactory on several accounts, simply off a dish of purslane ( Portulaca oleracea) which I gathered in my cornfield, boiled and salted.  I give the Latin on account of the savouriness of the trivial name.

And pray what more can a reasonable man desire, in peaceful times, in ordinary noons, than a sufficient number of ears of green sweet-corn boiled, with the addition of salt?  Even the little variety which I used was a yielding to the demands of appetite, and not of health.

Yet men have come to such a pass that they frequently starve, not for want of necessaries, but for want of luxuries; and I know a good woman who thinks that her son lost his life because he took drinking water only. The reader will perceive that I am treating the subject rather from an economic than a dietetic point of view, and he will not venture to put my abstemiousness to the test unless he has a well stocked-larder.”

~Henry David Thoreau

Barry Koral, one of the farmers at the Hillcrest Farmers Market in San Diego, and I wax poetically every Sunday as shoppers clamor for his avocados, chermoyas, guavas, sapotes, passion fruit, Persian limes, kumquats, blood oranges, Meyer lemons and local macadamia nuts. Although he is not “certified” organic, he describes everything he does at the farm as “beyond organic.” He is a “fixture” at the market, proclaiming to all who pass by the value of his avocados, the life-giving properties of his figs or the “passion” in his passion fruits.

A few weeks ago, he invited my wife and me to an event at his home and orchard in Vista, a community within San Diego County. It was a live-food celebration with about fifty people in attendance. When we arrived, I immediately sensed that this was a “connected” domicile, reminding me of similar homes where the energy of the residents seem to be “one” with the living cycles of the planet. Barry seemed to take enormous pleasure entertaining his guests with his wit, creative spirit and love of life. It was a marvel to see him work the room and share quality moments with each person in attendance. After he delivered a spirited talk and shared poetry with all of us, the crowd took to the raw food buffet like wheat-grass to a juicer. The food was fresh and vitalizing, and everyone seemed re-energized by the association and community spirit.

Raw Ginger-Beet Salad

6 cups raw beets, peeled and grated

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 tablespoon fresh ginger juice

1/4 cup sweet onions, minced

Mix all ingredients in a bowl fifteen minutes before serving.

The world is huge and we are a small part of it, comparable to small cogs on an immense wheel.  Cooking is a natural part of this mechanism.  Beginning with foraging, every aspect of collecting, preparing and serving food connects us to the cycles of regeneration in this world.  Whether we admit to it or not, our lives are defined by this relationship.

For me, the more I look into the food connection, the greater my sense of fulfillment and nourishment.  Often, many of us search for answers to universal questions in obscure places to discover the secrets of life.  One of the biggest secrets is something we deal with many times a day and is virtually right in front of us:  Our relationship with food is the source of good health and spiritual well being!

Beside the quick single pot meal or sandwich, cooking a dinner during construction is a rare event.  This evening was a birthday celebration for our nephew Graeme.  An evening of food and a game of the Isle of Kattan were in store.  I decided cook mostly on the grill and developed a menu around it.

The first course was fresh fire roasted babaghanouj with grilled toast points, oil cured olives and spoon able grilled artichoke hearts with tomato caper sauce.  While serving the appetizers I stepped out to work on the grill and the next course: fire from the fire.

I stuffed Anahiem chiles with coconut, ginger and almond, marinated them in a lime sauce and slow roasted them on one side of the grill. On the other side, I placed Serrano chiles that had been stuffed with freshly shelled and cooked fava beans.  Along the front laid large shiitake mushroom caps marinated with mirin, toasted sesame oil, tamari, garlic and lemon.  I was able to steal away for a few minutes to join the conversation and grab a couple of toast points dressed with babaghanouj and artichokes.

The next course was served and we all savored life on the edge, teetering between intense searing heat of the chiles and sweet, balancing fillings.  The salty tamari entwined with the sweet tang of mirin made fire touched shiitake mushroom caps a delightful diversion.

The main course was BBQ panir burgers, made of organic fresh curds, basil and onions.  Soothing and comforting, they were accompanied by grilled zucchini and vidalia onions

A meal like this does not leave much to be desired, but it was a birthday after all.  Whole Foods started carrying frozen vegan puff pastry, so I decided to combine it with some beautiful local organic peaches, sweet as candy.  To start, I slowly cooked organic can sugar with vanilla beans and a touch of maple syrup.  As it candied, the thinly sliced peaches went in with a shot of Gran Marnier, which I immediately flamed.  The tall flame warmed the kitchen in anticipation while the sugars caramelized around the barely cooked peaches.  Layered with the puff pastry and garnished with maple-cayenne pecans, we all devoured the warm, sweet and delicate confection in a matter of minutes.

Mainstream America does not emphasize food as a key to a quality life and source of longevity.  Food is mostly used as a sensual sideshow and necessary evil.  One the big challenges we face, especially in dire times, is to reconnect with the earth’s culinary heritage. Not only the exclusive diets of the privileged, but those of common people.  These are diets that nourish body and soul, which utilize the senses instead of merely placating them.  Such foods help define who we are and keep us in touch with the ever present  organic cycles of the earth.

I first discovered the significance of food as a young child from my Greek grandmother, who tirelessly went out of her way to both nourish and nurture her family through the medium of lovingly prepared traditional dishes.  Memories in my Yia Yia and Papou’s house invariably are associated the times when our family gathered around the dining table, situated just outside of Yia Yia’s kitchen.  There I sampled exquisite hand made, tender dolamdakia, irresistible spanikopita, perfectly balanced moussaka and pastitsio to die for.  The memories were augmented with intense and creamy skordalia, almost sinfully sweet baklava and the melt-in-the mouth amigdalota cookies made from almonds and orange blossom water.  The food sparked conversation and familial bonding. 

Eating this way, we knew what it was to be Greek.  The food was historically intertwined with cultural identity.  What, how and when it was (or is) consumed was a major portion of the Hellenic psyche.  Greece is a land that has witnessed the ravages of changing civilizations, occupations and political turmoil.  Often it was recognized as the center of the civilized world and the source of our modern political structures.  The unique and flavorful cuisine has been a consistent reminder of the greatness that Greece was…and still is.  Much of this glory was achieved over millennia at tables in homes and villages with foodstuffs foraged in the mountains, harvested from the land and caught in the sea.  The plant based food was so significant that the famous Greek Key pattern, found over millennia as a theme on temples, homes, fabrics and ornaments, was derived from the field plowing pattern used by farmers.  Ancient Greeks would also pour a small libation of wine on the earth before drinking, much in the way we toast today.  The Greeks have learned to live with the earth in a respectful partnership, where harmonizing with the energies of the cosmos became a goal in life.  Anyone who has spent time in Greece can still feel this incredible energy integrated into every aspect.  Often this translates into the Greek spirit of life.  Along with the Mediterranean sunshine, the sea breezes and the stark raw beauty of the land, it is unique and unlike any other place on earth.  No wonder so many Greeks return to their mother land.