Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Dear god what are u cooking?




As an answer to the title question, I have been cooking quite a lot. Not a huge variety, but quite a lot. I've picked up cheerios and yogurt milk and my choice breakfast, and snack, developed a serious love for oranges, and acquired the taste for less than perfect instant coffee. I feel as if I buy cookies every other day, in Greece they are only sold in packs of 9. I assume that because the women don't work out, they also don't intake large amount of cookies. Crepes are a different story :-) My favorite crepe? Nutella with chocolate cookie bits. I have decided that since gyros are unique to Greece, and Thessaloniki style specific to Thessaloniki, I may seriously have to consider not coming home for the sake of gyros. Do you think they will fedex? Greece does thrive off of sea exports. Of course, I cook none of these things. Those that know me know that I have not left behind mac and cheese. You might also guess that I have not abandoned grilled cheese and tomato soup. What may surprise a few is my new love for balogna sandwiches and a very particular type of salad. Not Greek, technically. I start by chopping tomatoes and cucumbers and putting them in a skillet on high heat. The juices stream out, and I add spinach to the mixture. Following my spinach, comes feta cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Believe it or not, I tear up some pieces of balogna or tuna and add it to the heated mixture. Call me nuts, I call it budget delicious. If you've added olice oil to the mixture you have failed. It is not common practice, nor is it recommended, to cook olive oil. Olive oil should be the absolute last ingredient added. I elect not to add it until I have removed the salad from the skillet. While this meal is rather inexpensive to make, and healthy, I believe that the warmth of it hides those qualities. In my opinion, it offers a very rich, very unique taste. It doesn't look all that appealing however. The most exciting part of what I have been cooking is that all ingredients can be found at the farmers market. One sunny day I will take my camera down for nice photo opportunities, because you truly have to see it to appreciate how enjoyable it is. Everything is fresh and inexpensive, and you truly can't mistake the fish and meat odor. Or the eyeballs. In any regard, my weekly trip to the farmers' market is absolutely one of my favorite things to do in this city. I begin a cooking class soon and today had my first meeting for my new job substitute. I am teaching English to refugees from the Middle East and Africa. I think I may very well have mentioned this before, but as a recap I am going to have the opportunity to volunteer to teach English to teenagers not much farther from my age who have fled their country, more than likely alone, and come to Greece and a gateway to gain entrance into the United States. I expect this to be a challenging experience, but I do very much hope that I am successful in this venture. I see it beneficial in a few ways, most for the benefit of the children I am helping, but (selfishly) I also feel this is a good resume add-on. If I ever wanted to live out of the United States again, it might be nice to be able to say that I have already had experience teaching English, as this would be a valid job option. While school is less of an excitement, and for the first time in my life more of an irritation, the Sunny days here truly make discovering small perks possible. A cafe, a walk by the sea, stepping onto my balcony, nightlife, tavernas, window shopping, gyro shopping...it is as I sit at my desk in-taking tzatziki that I realize, this may be better than my favorite place.

No comments:

Post a Comment