Writing cookbooks

For years now I have been working on a healthy vegan cookbook. I began writing my first cookbook at the age of 10 and I still have that yellow-covered spiral-bound notebook, as well as the red-covered second one.

 

As you can see,  the yellow one cost 50 cents, while the red one from some time later cost 49 cents. Until I looked at them through someone else's eyes (yours), I hadn't realized how awful they look all covered with the remains of my cooking with them for decades. The red one has pages of scribbling added by one of my children who took advantage of my attention being elsewhere to decorate my books with artwork. At the time, I was furious and now I cherish the scribbles. Isn't life funny that way?

That little digression is apropos of nothing except that it was part of my journey that brought me to writing my current cookbook. Right now I am working on a chapter of Greek foods because of a woman I sat next to on an airplane recently. She and I talked the entire flight about food. Actually, she talked and I listened to her describe the wonderful food she had learned to cook before arriving in America. Her children, now grown, were all born in the US, but their favorite foods are the traditional Greek foods she still cooks for them. Lucky them! She cooks and delivers food to their houses!

People say Mediterranean foods are so healthy. I say they are if the food is prepared and eaten the way it was a couple of generations ago. The woman on the plane told me about all of the wonderful vegetable dishes she cooks and that her family loves. Those are the recipes that I am working on now.

Even in the red notebook there is a recipe for Beefburgers Greek Style. I have no idea where I discovered it, but I remember cooking Greek-style burgers for the five of us at home when I was a teenager. My father, I am sure, would have much preferred a plain American hamburger, but he never once complained about my kitchen experiments.

As my cooking skills improved, I added moussaka and spanakopita to my repertoire with the help of a cookbook I received as a gift when the book was first published. My cookbook collection grew and by the time I was ready to move to Florida, I could only bring half of my cookbooks. One I needed now and no longer have was Greek Cooking For the Gods, by Eva Zane. I looked on Amazon, thinking it would probably be about $1 by now, but no, it now sells for $46.99 to $139.95. 

And that brings me to what I really started out to say today, aren't public libraries the best? My local library obtained a copy for me, which I just brought home. And that is what sent me down memory lane, posting this message when I should be reading the recipe for Lopia Plaki or Lima Beans Plaka Style.

Addicted to Green Beans

How can it be possible that I am addicted to green beans? Have you ever experienced a craving for a food that is so strong it is almost an addiction?

I suppose I am not exactly addicted to green beans, but in reality I just cannot get enough of green beans prepared in a manner that I am calling Greek because it makes me remember our great meal at Scholarhio in Athens. The recipe is in Donna Klein's "Vegan Italiano." I tried improving on the recipe by making the dish with grape tomatoes since I have long had a recipe for green beans using those little tomatoes. For some reason, the little ones just don't release the strong flavors the way a large beefsteak tomato does. This recipe is changed from the original only in halving the olive oil and tilting the bean/tomato ratio more toward tomatoes. Calling for just a few ingredients, the recipe's flavor payoff comes from cooking for an hour. You would think that by the time the beans had stewed for that long you would have a mushy mass turning grey and lacking in taste. Fortunately, the green beans remain quite green and the taste takes me back to the Plaka.

I served the beans with oven-roasted Greek potatoes and a Greek salad.

Here is Donna Klein's recipe. If you like this one, you will like many others in the Italiano cookbook and "The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen."

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
2 large garlic cloves, pressed
½ teaspoon dried oregano
grind of sea salt
grind of black pepper
water as needed

In a large non-stick skillet with a lid, cook the green beans in the oil over medium-high heat, stirring and tossing often, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the remaining ingredients, stirring well. Cover and cook until beans are very tender, about 1 hour, stirring occasionally and adding water as necessary to keep the mixture from drying out. Tastes fabulous warm or at room temperature (Florida room temperature!)

Off to The Boys Farmers Market to buy... green beans to make this again!

Remembering Athens

Tower of the Winds, Athens Greece

Scholarhio Restaurant, Athens

Ever since we had lunch at Scholarhio Restaurant, I have been remembering the wonderful meal we had there. Of course the location had something to do with it. The restaurant is in the Plaka at the foot of the Acropolis and we sat on the balcony at a charming table for two. The owner spoke enough English to assure that we had a pleasant experience. On the menu there is an option to select about 8 out of 11 or so vegetarian dishes for two people to share. With so many choices, it is easy for anyone who wants only vegan selections. All of the dishes we chose were delicious - my mouth is watering thinking about it. One of the most memorable was the Greek salad. Surely some of the taste is a result of the fresh tomatoes, the olive oil, and the olives themselves. Even so, last night I decided that since I will not return to Athens for some time, I would try to duplicate the taste at home with a Greek salad with produce fresh from The Boys.

My version was simple and reminiscent of Scholarhio's salad without the Feta cheese. The ingredients were torn romaine, chunks of cucumber, very fresh local tomatoes, and a lot of pitted Kalamata olives. For the dressing, I looked in How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman, but I ended up just creating my own dressing with half lemon juice and half red wine vinegar, whisked with more extra-virgin olive oil than usual. I might make it again tonight it sounds so good to me.