simple foods?

[rawmamanibbles]

i often then we eat to much variety. i read about other cultures that pretty much eat the same foods day in and day out. i so much want to do this. simplify my food, simplify my life ....
any thoughts or suggestions...

[Magelet]

I don't know. personally I don't feel variety is a bad thing, and I'd be bored without it, but maybe choosing your favorite meats and local produce for each season, instead of eating lots?

Focusing on seasonality and local food will help you simplify, because it cuts down by 3/4 the amount of produce that is availible at any time :P

[cristeen]

Like Magelet said - if you commit yourself to eating locally and in season, you will really limit the breadth of what is available. We did this about a year and a half ago, and it's worked really well for us. We still get variety throughout the year, but right now we're eating a lot of greens, potatoes, carrots, apples and citrus.

[rawmamanibbles]

great idea ladies. thanx so much!

[Magelet]

lol SOOO many greens and citrus here too. I think we're eating several bunches of kale/chard/collards etc a week, and there's just two of us. so I guess in a sense, that is much simpler. but it's still a lot of variety in how it is prepared, and throughout the year (and so many types of greens and citrus and potatoes and such)

[mbravebird]

Check out Full Moon Feast for an inspiring read about eating seasonally.

[Gingercat]

Originally Posted by rawmamanibbles

i often then we eat to much variety. i read about other cultures that pretty much eat the same foods day in and day out. i so much want to do this. simplify my food, simplify my life ....
any thoughts or suggestions...

I must admit that I almost always find the recipes suggested here on MDC really complex and I admire all of you that get into the trouble of preparing them (too many ingredients, spices, sauces etc). If I had to do all these I'll most probably never cook, especially at the moment when I'm on my seventh month of pregnancy and I also have an active toddler running around!

I live in Greece where the food is mostly seasonal and the recipes are almost basic but really delicious. Greeks tend to have the same food schedule every week which only varies according to the season. All different kinds of pulses are pretty much a part of our daily diet but they're prepared in really simple ways (whenever I see a bean or lentil recipe here on MDC I freak out just reading the ingredients and going through the complicated instructions ; if I had to go into all this trouble to prepare beans I'd have prefered not to eat them at all!).

I believe the key to good tasting food is fresh seasonal produce (we shop from a nearby certified organic farmers' market) and always choose the best-quality olive oil, vinegar, CO, herbs etc. Even the modest of dishes taste superb when you use seasonal and tasty ingredients.

And my DH (who is very picky with his food) and my DS (who is even pickier!) never complain because of the lack of variety in our diet. Of course I know how to cook yummy Indian, Chinese and other international dishes (lived in the UK for many years) but that's only once in a blue moon; for our daily dinner I prefer to stick to simple traditional Greek dishes.

[Zenzero]

Originally Posted by Gingercat

Greeks tend to have the same food schedule every week which only varies according to the season.

for our daily dinner I prefer to stick to simple traditional Greek dishes.

Any chance you would give us some examples if you have time? Thanks!

[Gingercat]

Here's a very simple lentil recipe that we enjoy at least once a week:

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...6&postcount=24

Now artichokes are season so I cook them with sweet peas, chopped potatoes and carrots, onions, fresh tomato sauce and lots of fresh dill added towards the end of the dish (this is a classic springtime vegetarian Greek dish).

The other day I boiled some black-eyed beans and I added them to a salad of stir-fried collard greens (many here like it with spinach instead), chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, red peppers and lots of sliced red onion. This is served with olive oil, lemon juice and sea salt.

A favourite Greek way to cook chickpeas is to just boil them and add mashed onion towards to the end. You can also thicken up the liquid by adding some whole-wheat flour. Again this is served with lots of olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper (nearly all dishes are served like this, also feta cheese and olives are regular side-dishes).

I'll be back if you want to write you some more Greek seasonal recipes (like okra). It's a pity that all these nice dishes are not served in Greek restaurants (not even the ones here in Greece) and tourists get the wrong idea that the Greek diet is only meat, tzatziki and Greek salad. We tend to eat a whole lot differently in our everyday lives!

[organicmidwestmama]

Originally Posted by mbravebird

Check out Full Moon Feast for an inspiring read about eating seasonally.

best tf cookbook i know of, especially for the seasonality aspect.

gingercat- what are some simple Greek meal you prepare?

[serenbat]

Greeks tend to have the same food schedule every week which only varies according to the season. All different kinds of pulses are pretty much a part of our daily diet but they're prepared in really simple ways

I'm really having trouble understanding what you mean?? I've spent time in Greece and know many who cook Greek and are Greeks, and I see a very large selection of food, so I don't know what you mean.

(whenever I see a bean or lentil recipe here on MDC I freak out just reading the ingredients and going through the complicated instructions ; if I had to go into all this trouble to prepare beans I'd have prefered not to eat them at all!)

but yet you cook Indian food?
I really see most bean and lentil dishes very much like Indian, tons to add to them-what am I missing? With the Indian lentil dishes that I make, I use several cook books, they all take just as much time and effort as a non-Indian lentil dish or for that matter a Mexican bean dish- please explain what you mean, very confused.

[Gingercat]

Originally Posted by serenbat

I'm really having trouble understanding what you mean?? I've spent time in Greece and know many who cook Greek and are Greeks, and I see a very large selection of food, so I don't know what you mean.

Of course there's a great variety of Greek dishes but we do not cook the more complicated on a daily basis, only on special occasions (e.g. when we have guests, on holidays) or for Sunday dinners (and that is only the older, more traditional housewives). Examples are mousaka, pastitsio, soutzoukakia, dolmades. These dishes take ages to plan, prepare and cook.

Originally Posted by serenbat

but yet you cook Indian food?
I really see most bean and lentil dishes very much like Indian, tons to add to them-what am I missing? With the Indian lentil dishes that I make, I use several cook books, they all take just as much time and effort as a non-Indian lentil dish or for that matter a Mexican bean dish- please explain what you mean, very confused.

Have you noticed the lentil and the chickpea recipe I gave above? I can give you many similar recipes for beans and lentils that Greeks prepare on a daily basis and are very simple and tasty.

If I have time and want to be a little more adventurous I'll cook lentils and chickpeas Indian style; Chana Dal and Chana Masala are my favourite Indian dishes, but these are not dishes that a typical Greek would enjoy (I learned this the hard way when I first settled here and was trying to please my Greek guests with complicated international dishes that nearly everybody found too saucy, spicy and heavy ).

[serenbat]

Having spent time in Italy, Greece and Albania, I simply fail to see everyday dishes in way as simple as the poster mentioned.

I also fail to see the bean and lentil dishes here as complicated any more so than marinating meat the day before or soaking of grains.

regarding simple eating, I can hardly think of a culture that eats very plainly- many use the basic stables (grains)in their diet but it is far from plain or simple
most cultures diets thru out history changed based on season and also one must remember many cultures migrated thru out the year as well as those cultures that were served by seas and thus had non-local foods in their diet