All tagged Food
Have you ever cooked fairy tales?
I have.
I’ve mixed them, I’ve stirred them, and I’ve baked them and served them to my children as a brand new yarn.
When I was little, I grew up with a big collection of fairy tales in our family's built-in library wall. From Aesop, Lafontaine, Grimm Brothers, Hans Christian Andresen, Alexander Pushkin and Ran Bosilek… And then comes the whole Pleiades of Bulgarian folklore tales.
Hoary and scrawny like a baccalà, the toothless widowed neighbour Toula was peeping behind the grape vines, shaking her head in big disapproval and stringing expletives like a necklace of thunders and curses through her missing teeth “Strumpet! Bloody Strumpet! May you never see a clear day, you night harlot!”
Melina was not paying attention to the hissing cusses of her neighbour, nor she could hear her. She was on the rooftop hanging on the washing line her new filigree lingerie and the fresh octopus. She got it as a present from Stavros, one of the fishermen at the sea dock who was visiting her every so often on his free nights. He was a regular client, but she rarely charged him. Sometimes she will see him gratis just for keeping her company and for sharing a meal. Sometimes, when he just pisses off to the nearest harbors, to the nearest towns’ pubs, and to the other women’s bosoms, she would just wish him dead.
The last few years I have been moved to tears on many occasions by the surprising presents from friends that live far and that I haven’t seen for many years or we’ve never met in person. Their gesture was even more touching because it was unexpected and so much thoughtful. I also embraced my friends with loving presents and I honestly hope they loved them.
Thinking gratefully of these gifts, a smile started to sneak on my face, as I realised more and more how our way of showing appreciation, friendship and love resembles the classic short story by O. Henry “The Gift of the Magi”. We are approaching Christmas and now I wish to share with you the stories of gifts from my friends from far and away, from people I knew from long ago and people I only know from recently and I never met… As I have discovered, a “friend” is a very long-drawn-out concept and always demands the presence of care and compassion.
I can’t tell you why I always think of Greece and my family in Edessa every time I have an orange in my hands. It must be the feel of sun and mesmerising aroma of scraped zest of orange skin… Or just the irresistible feeling that I have in my shopping bag a kilo or two of fragrant suns. Yes, the coupling of oranges with sun and Greece in summer is somehow an oxymoron on its own as this is a winter fruit. But I am happy to remember my visits at my Aunty Elpida in Greece at any season!
Rice pudding...
Or we might as well call it The Apple Of Discord in my family. You see, everybody – could that be my Grandmother, could that be Mamma or even mum’s sister, Aunty Olga – they all thought they were holding the crown of the rice pudding.
