Plant Foods Of Greece

"Greek archaeologist Soultana Maria Valamoti takes readers on a culinary journey in her synthesis of plant foods and culinary practices of Neolithic and Bronze Age Greece. Plant foods were the main ingredients of daily meals in prehistoric Greece and most likely of special dishes prepared for feasts and rituals. For more than thirty years, Valamoti has been analyzing a large body of archaeobotanic data that spans 7,000 years from the Neolithic to Bronze Age and that was retrieved from nearly one hundred sites in mainland Greece and the Greek islands. This book also reflects experimentation and research of ancient written sources. Her approach allows an exploration of culinary variability through time. The thousands of charred seeds identified from occupation debris correspond to minuscule time capsules. She is able to document changes from the cooking of the first farmers to the sophisticated cuisines of the elites who inhabited palaces in the first cities of Europe in the south of Greece during the Late Bronze Age. Along the way, she explains the complex processes for the addition of new ingredients (such as millet and olives), condiments, sweet tastes, and complex recipes. "Ancient Grains" also explores regional variability and diversity. Rich chapters are devoted to overviewing plantstuffs in their spatial and temporal distribution, with ritual and symbolic significance noted, and also to broader themes and practices. The main chapters are on bread/cereals, pulses, oils, fruit and nuts, fermented brews, healing foods, cooking, and identity. Valamoti also offers insight into engaging in public archaeology and provides recipes that incorporate ancient plant ingredients and connect prehistory to the present in a critical way. Finally, a thorough bibliography also includes archaeobotanical publications in Greek. Copious color and black and white photos enhance the text"--

Framed by her own personal struggle with bulimia and body dysmorphia, Maria Koutsogiannis' Mindful Vegan Meals traces the foods she ate to get her to the next stage of her recovery in a way that will inspire and help others with this large and growing problem as evidenced by her large social media following. Maria pairs stories of her recovery from bulimia and body dysmorphia with the recipes that kept her body nourished along the way, giving an intimate look at how she went from eating disorder to proclaiming her personal mantra: "Fear not. Food is your friend." Packed with vibrant and healthy recipes inspired by her journey, including milestone recipes like the first carbs she allowed herself to eat, Mindful Vegan Meals offers a hopeful look at life while overcoming an eating disorder.This book will have 75 recipes and 75 photos.

The Country Cooking of Greece captures all the glory and diversity of Greek cuisine in one magnum opus from Greece's greatest culinary authority, Diane Kochilas. More than 250 recipes were drawn from every corner of Greece, from rustic tavernas, Kochilas' renowned cooking school, and the local artisans and village cooperatives that produce olive oil and handmade pasta. More than 150 color photographs and vivid sidebars bring to life Greece's unique and historical food culture. Seventeen chapters organized by ingredients such as lamb, herbs, artichokes, and cheese touch down all over Greece's dramatic geography of mountains, coastal lands, and fertile alluvial plains. A cookbook like no other, this ingredient-driven volume at once meets a growing interest in Greek cooking and serves as a homecoming for all those of Greek descent.

Celebrity chef and award-winning cookbook author Diane Kochilas presents a companion to her Public Television cooking-travel series with this lavishly photographed volume of classic and contemporary cuisine in My Greek Table: Authentic Flavors and Modern Home Cooking from My Kitchen to Yours. Inspired by her travels and family gatherings, the recipes and stories Diane Kochilas shares in My Greek Table celebrate the variety of food and the culture of Greece. Her Mediterranean meals, crafted from natural ingredients and prepared in the region’s traditional styles—as well as innovative updates to classic favorites—cover a diverse range of appetizers, main courses, and desserts to create raucously happy feasts, just like the ones Diane enjoys with her family when they sit down at her table. Perfect for home cooks, these recipes are easy-to-make so you can add Greece’s delicious dishes to your culinary repertoire. With simple-to-follow instructions for salads, meze, vegetables, soup, grains, savory pies, meat, fish, and sweets, you’ll soon be serving iconic fare and new twists on time-honored recipes on your own Greek table for family and friends, including: — Kale, Apple, and Feta Salad — Baklava Oatmeal — Avocado-Tahini Spread — Baked Chicken Keftedes — Retro Feta-Stuffed Grilled Calamari — Portobello Mushroom Gyro — Quinoa Spanakorizo — Quick Pastitsio Ravioli — Aegean Island Stuffed Lamb — My Big Fat Greek Mess—a dessert of meringues, Greek sweets, toasted almonds and tangy yogurt Illustrated throughout with color photographs featuring both the food and the country, My Greek Table is a cultural delicacy for cooks and foodies alike.

As a result of domestication - considered to be the most important cultural development of the past 13,000 years of human history - we depend today on a tiny number of domesticated plant and animal species for our food supply. Nevertheless, people continue to gather food which grows around their homes or they cultivate local varieties of food plants (as well as keep land races of domestic animals). Generally, wild varieties tend to be richer in micronutrients and bioactive secondary metabolites, which are produced in adaptation to local environmental conditions. These metabolites trigger further adaptive responses by producing 'protective', bioactive compounds which, when ingested, result in the transfer of protective effects to our organism. The preservation of local knowledge for future generations as well as the identification of new nutraceuticals by means of characterizing plant extracts with potential health beneficial effects are the main objectives of this book. The first part therefore focuses on the ethnobotanical study of local food plants in selected regions of the Mediterranean, i.e. their use as well as beliefs and cultural practices associated with it. The biological-pharmacological effects of these plants on selected (mostly in vitro) targets of the central nervous system and the cardiovascular system make up the second part, highlighting the potential of these plants for developing novel health foods, herbal medicines or local products with beneficial effects on health. Those interested in an integrated approach to the identification of new and health beneficial foods will undoubtedly find this book a valuable source of information and an inspiration for new scientific approaches to this age-old topic.

What do we think about when we think about Greek food? For many, it is the meze and the traditional plates of a Greek island taverna at the height of summer. In Gifts of the Gods, Andrew and Rachel Dalby take us into and beyond the taverna in our minds to offer us a unique and comprehensive history of the foods of Greece. Greek food is brimming with thousands of years of history, lore, and culture. The country has one of the most varied landscapes of Europe, where steep mountains, low-lying plains, rocky islands, and crystal-blue seas jostle one another and produce food and wine of immense quality and distinctive taste. The book discusses how the land was settled, what was grown in different regions, and how certain fruits, herbs, and vegetables became a part of local cuisines. Moving through history—from classical to modern—the book explores the country’s regional food identities as well as the export of Greek food to communities all over the world. The book culminates with a look at one of the most distinctive features of Greece’s food tradition—the country’s world renown hospitality. Illustrated throughout and featuring traditional recipes that blend historical and modern flavors, Gifts of the Gods is a mouth-watering account of a rich and ancient cuisine.

Take a culinary journey through Greece in All You Can Greek with Eleni Saltas, a blogger with a flair for Greek food, life, and travel. Eleni knows the power of oregano, olive oil, history, and friendship- just a few key ingredients that bring these approachable and traditional Greek recipes to life. A cookbook that also lists the best beaches and monasteries in Greece? Yes! Eleni blendstrue life tales and Greek spirit with the flavors of Greece so that you, too, will feelwhat it means to live andlove like a Greek.

Examining every aspect of the culture from antiquity to the founding of Constantinople in the early Byzantine era, this thoroughly cross-referenced and fully indexed work is written by an international group of scholars. This Encyclopedia is derived from the more broadly focused Encyclopedia of Greece and the Hellenic Tradition, the highly praised two-volume work. Newly edited by Nigel Wilson, this single-volume reference provides a comprehensive and authoritative guide to the political, cultural, and social life of the people and to the places, ideas, periods, and events that defined ancient Greece.