The Mediterranean diet embraces the ideas and relationships that Ikaria’s citizens have lived with for generations. I dislike the word diet in this context because it immediately conjures images of fad, lose-weigh-quick, schemes found on the cover of every checkout stand tabloid, instead of the original meaning of the day to day food and eating habits of a population. The Mediterranean “diet” isn’t akin Jenny Craig, keto, Atkins, or South Beach. A Mediterranean diet is a lifestyle that incorporates healthy foods, a proper balance of the nutrients and smart portioning.
I’ve bought many books on the subject of Mediterranean Diet, and I’ve reviewed several of those on this site. If you’d like a couple recommendations for starter books, please CLICK HERE. Although there are a few books I’d recommend as more, “beginner” resources for someone interested in incorporating a Mediterranean diet in their lives, this particular book, is more of a “next step” way of adding some new recipes and tastes to the already abundant offerings. This book is also a fantastic way to connect with a people for whom the diet is a small part of their secret of longevity.
Mrs. Kochilas hales from first generation immigrants from Ikaria. In her book, she takes a look at the customs, social structures and traditions of the enigmatic island, while walking through a range of recipes that push the boundaries of staple Mediterranean cooking and ingredients. Some of the ingredients she uses are admittedly very local by nature, and several of the recipes had me Googling a particular ingredient that I’d never heard of. Quite often she talks about the difference between some ingredients she utilizes in a recipe and the more available alternatives, usually preferring to rate the alternatives with less degree of enthusiasm than those from her ancestral lands. I’m sure it could be legitimately argued that the local ingredients will always give a more traditional taste to the dishes, and I was overjoyed when I was able to find a specific ingredient online for purchase, but in my own experimenting I found that the recipes held up well when I had to make do with the local Wegman’s or Whole Foods. That said, it was fascinating to learn about locally produced things like cheeses and milks, while also learning about native plants and animals.
Although this may not be the first book you buy on Mediterranean diet or the one you reach for most often, I definitely think it has a place on every Mediterranean home chef’s cookbook shelf. That said, I leave you with these words from the author,
In this book, a tribute to the place and to our countless friends there, both of which have given me and my family more than words can ever express, I set out not to codify Ikaria’s diet or lifeways in hopes of uncovering some key, but, rather, to honor them and shine a loving, and, I hope, knowing, light on this once-forgotten piece of rock, that looks like a wing and is named for the Icarus of Greek myth. I hope that anyone who picks up this book might glean a few lessons for how to live more essentially and less anxiously, by cooking and eating simple, real food that is largely plant based, by ignoring the clock’s reign, if even for a bit, and by forging relationships that defy generations and are both meaningful and long-lasting. Those are the things Ikaria has given me and that I hope to share with others.
– Diane Kochilas
Enjoy the food. As for the family, friends and community…you’re always home at the Temple of the Sea Born.