Where I’m from food is the cure for most ailments – physical and emotional. You have a headache? Eat something. You’re cold? Eat something. Your partner dumped you? Eat something. You stumped your toe? That’s nothing a quick sandwich with 3 different types of cheese in it won’t cure. Don’t believe me? Ask my granny, she’ll tell you. With all the different cultures that make this world such a beautiful place, I do think that the one thing that brings us all together, the one thing we can all agree on and the one thing we all believe in, is the faith of food. And as many of us have vowed to make 2011 the year that we finally become “THE PERFECT 10”, we better get to thinking about how we can shift the pounds we gained over Christmas right? Well…maybe.
Can I just say, I love January. I mean, aside from the subzero temperatures continuing (I write this as I’m leant against my radiator with my hands down my bra, attempting to type using my elbows), the huge dent we have in our bank accounts as a result of Christmas shopping (I’m scared to use a cash point for fear that upon inserting my card into the machine, it will commence to scream at me and then swallow it into the abyss of debt), and the fact that everyone around us seems to be acquiring new found relationships (that will inevitably end by spring), I think it’s one of my favourite months.
It has a buzz like no other time of year. We’re enjoying the gifts of the festive season (slippers and pyjamas); we are feeling refreshed from the mini-break we’ve just had (well people with real jobs are) and we have love in our hearts from spending time with our families (albeit arguing over the last roast potato). Along with this, the New Year is finally here and it’s around about this time that many of us embark upon a journey of reflection, mentally rounding up the previous year. We gather the memories of what we’ve achieved (or destroyed) over the past 12 months, make new resolutions to break and a new list of all the things we have to achieve by over the next 12 months. Weight loss probably features on many of these lists.
The irony is that other thing this season offers in abundance, and this is perhaps my favourite thing of all, is a plethora, and abundance, a profusion of GREAT FOOD. Ah food. Yes food – this time of year it’s extra special – it’s cold and miserable but eating season is one of the lights at the end of the snowy tunnel. And I’m not just talking about turkey roasts and stuffing we’ve been eating; I’m talking about everything. From advent calendars (a chocolate a day keeps the cravings at bay) to novelty cakes to dinner parties galore. And whilst food is important all year round, it’s never more important than it is right now.
Before I get into this can I just say, I know I’m a girl, and I might occasionally/typically order salad on dates (if I do this then you can assume I ate a pizza beforehand so that salad will suffice for the purpose of the date) and I might pretend that I don’t like KFC or eat kebabs (come on, I’m Greek… we invented kebabs and as for KFC, I once ate 18 hot wings in one sitting) but the truth is, if it wasn’t for food, I would not be the woman I am today. And I don’t just mean physically. In my culture, as in most cultures, food is as important as the blood running through our veins. It’s not just for survival or fuel – it’s an art, that is to be respected above many things. It represents virtues – from kindness to love. It brings people together and comforts those who are apart. Offering someone a portion of your cooking is like offering them a part of yourself; it’s like letting them in on a secret, giving them something you created, it’s private, it’s personal, I will go as far as saying it’s intimate. You get the picture. It’s a beautiful, wonderful, amazing, luscious, heart-warming (and hip cultivating) thing.
