Greek Life

As you walk into the kitchen, you can smell the oregano in the air dancing alongside the citrus smell of lemon. Your mouth starts to water and you can taste the sourness of the lemon against your tongue. There, sitting on the stove, is a the large stainless steel pan and in front of it is a lady dressed in her best Sunday clothes with an apron over her to make sure that nothing ruins her garments. Her hair is made into a French twist and her nails are bright red. Her name is Maria Psatha and she is cooking a “light” family meal for when she returns from church.

Coming from a Greek culture you learn that there are two important things, family and food. Both intertwined with each other and both just as important. Food not only neuroses life, but it is life in a Greek family. Over the years it has become obvious in my mind that without these two key ingratiates, the Greek culture would not have been the same and I would not have grown up the way that did.

A small family get-together in Greece consist of at least 35 people and two weeks of perperation. Everyone’s kitchen is lined with dishes that are made with only the freshest ingredients; preferably home grown fruits and vegetables from the garden out back but never with frozen food. Each Dish has been tended to as if it was of the greatest importance. Food is more than just the regular household necessity, it is the chain that binds everyone together no matter what the circumstance maybe. My Grandmother would always tell me that “no man or women can resist the aroma of Souvlaki and Pastichio that has been freshly cooked and served with Zaziki and Humus.” This combination she says brings together even the callous of enemies and no fight continues when there is the lingering scent of her cooking in the air.

As a Greek woman, I will learn how to cook these tradition recipes by the words of my Grandmother and Aunts alone. No cook book will be passed down to me, no set of index cards, and no online recipes will be used. I will learn to cook them with a hands-on experience that is even so important, because it is the pivotal bonding moment for any Greek girl to have. Then just like my Aunts, Cousins, and Grandmother I will be put to the test. I will be taught what I need to know, told that I will need to cook a dish for my Grandfather, and then based on his reaction my family will know whether or not I am a cook. Without experiences like these I would never have learned why food was so important to my family. It is not the food its self, it is the process that you must go through, the bonding experience you will gain and the satisfaction of knowing that you have been able to bring people together. I see food now as the roots of my family. So now that I have grown and moved away to college I find myself longing to cook for my friends, family or even just because I get home sick; all because cooking is the best way for me to show the people in my life that I care for them. To me food heals pain and illness. Food makes us smile and laugh. Food brings together family that has once been lost and food reminds us of our bond. Food is love, and without it, our love goes unspoken.