On Language

Many of you may not be aware that I grew up bilingual. I was born in the United States by Greek Cypriot parents. Mom spoke to us in Greek. Dad spoke fluent English but mom was the one home with us most of the day. We moved to Cyprus when I was an infant, back to the US when I was 5 and back to Cyprus when I was 7. You get the picture!

I don't remember when I learned English. My mom says that the first time she became aware I spoke English was when she heard two little girls speaking outside her window and when she looked, there I was with my friend Ria (I wonder where she is now)chatting away in English.

We often take our language skills for granted. Only when we see the struggle of people who don't speak the local language do we understand how important language is. As a child in my mother's Cyprus village of Bellapais, I remember how fascinated some of the older girls were that I was American. They would ask me to say something in English and I was at a loss. Sing something, they would say, sing something in English!

I was fifteen when the Turks invaded Cyprus and occupied our homes in Kyrenia. I returned to the US, enrolled in High School and thought that other Greek kids, who arrived in the US high school the same time as I, also spoke English. Walking with a Greek schoolmate in the halls of WC Bryant High school one day between classes, I was accosted by an African American girl. She shoved me and began yelling at me. I told her off and moved on. My friend was speechless. First of all, he wanted to know if I was worried that she'd be waiting for me outside after school. Ooops! I was so inexperienced in that kind of behavior that I had never considered something like. Second, he said: "you speak English?"  "Yeah, don't you?" I replied. "No, he said, "you don't know how hard it is for us newcomers to understand what's going on in school."

That was an eye opener for me who took my bilingual abilities for granted. Yet, even though I had no accent and I spoke English, my vocabulary was not that of a fifteen-year-old American kid. I also realized my cultural language was not that of an American kid. Many times I pretended I understood what the other kids were talking about when they referred to, what I later realized were American cultural icons, like Sesame Street, Winnie the Pooh, and Dr. Seuss.  Even though my accent doesn't give me away, I still sometimes feel like an outsider in a country filled with outsiders. I'm sometimes betrayed by mispronouncing a word I've seen only written but never spoken, by using an expression people don't relate to. It took years for me to feel confident to ask when people referred to a show, movie, book or event I had no knowledge of.

The self consciousness of youth has given way to the confidence of adulthood. I now appreciate the richness in straddling two worlds, but I have also experienced the challenges. The Global World has made it easier for people to speak with one another. I celebrate the cultures of the world and rejoice in the sounds of different languages, the brushstrokes of the art, the diversity of music, landscapes and most of all, you know what I'm about to say: The Food!!

As a writer, language for me is always up front and personal. As I experiment with the ins and outs of words and phrases in crafting my prose, I'm so appreciative of my bilingual background because it opens to me another dimension. Reaching into that Greek background I can often find images that are uniquely my own, Greek-Cypriot, American.

I salute all my viewers and the cultures they come from!

Maria

When life gives you lemons...make lemon curd

Yum!

Mayer lemons are a cross between a lemon and an orange. They are more fragrant, a bit less tart and perfect for desserts. They are only around for a short time in the winter so whenever I see them on the market a grab them! Here's a whole bunch I recently bought at Costco. Lemons are a favorite of mine, they remind me of all the flavors of my childhood in Cyprus where they were ubiquitous. Lemon chicken soup, lemon on greens, lemon in salad, raw lemons with sugar, lemon squash(a sweet concentrate that you added water to make a refreshing drink)! We had a lemon tree by the back-yard faucet and that tree produced the biggest, fattest lemons.

Lemon curd was not on my mother's list. I discovered it as an adult and have been making it ever since.

Mayer Lemon Curd

 

Ingredients 

1 large egg

2 large egg whites

3/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon freshly grated mayer lemon zest

2/3 cup mayer lemon juice,

1 tablespoon butter

 

Whisk together egg, egg whites, sugar, lemon zest and juice in a medium nonreactive saucepan. Add butter and cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Do not let sauce come to a simmer. Transfer to a small bowl and let cool slightly; serve warm.

You can also cool the lemon curd on the counter, cover and refrigerate for several days. It's wonderful served with fruit or as a topping for Greek yogurt.

Enjoy!
Maria

My Father - a Tribute

My dad, Gregory is one of the most loving, nurturing fathers I know. His life would read like a novel. He was born in Cyprus, emigrated to London as a child, survived the blitz, served in the British army and came to America after the war. After moving his family back to Cyprus in the 60's, his life was again marked by war when the Turks invaded Cyprus and chased all the Greek Cypriots away from their homes and lands.

At 40 he found himself with nothing. With four children, some of them college age, he started again from scratch. We returned to America where he worked as a waiter. He and my mom worked and saved and bought another home for the family. All four children graduated college, three of us with graduate and professional degrees.

My father Greg is a man of honor, kindness, loyalty and hard work. He's a great storyteller and I'm always surprised that even after all these years of hearing his stories he occasionally still come up with a new one.

I love you dad,

Maria

Mom's Bellapais Olive Bread - Eftyhia's traditional Cyprus eliopites

One of the things I remember fondly from the years I spent growing up in Cyprus was the baking. Mom would wake up super early on those days, get everything ready and cover her hair with a scarf. She would make her dough in a wooden trough set over the backs of two chairs. We were a family of six and then there were neighbors and relatives she liked to treat so she made a lot! Or at least that's the way I remember it.
Here is one of her recipes that I managed to write down. Mom cooks and bakes old school. A little of this and a little of that and let it sit 'till it rises. When I asked her how long I should leave them in the oven, "until they're done," she replied. So I baked a batch based on her instructions and recorded the measurements and time for posterity.
Ingredients

2 lbs all purpose unbleached white flour
1/2 lb white whole wheat or whole wheat flour
2 large onions grated in food processor
1 bunch fresh mint leaves minced(1 cup packed)
1lb pitted black morocco, Thasou  or Cyprus or other pruned olives
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons yeast dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water and 1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup warm water

Directions

Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Turn off oven.

Mix white and whole wheat flour in a very large bowl.

Add onion and mint and mix well with flour.

Add the yeast mixture, Olive oil and the remaining 1/2 cup warm water.

Mix well and work until you have a soft, loose dough.

Knead the dough and sprinkle a handful of the olives on the flat surface.

Fold dough over the olives and knead gently. Repeat sprinkling of olives and folding over until you have incorporated all the olives into the dough. Take care not to completely crush the olives. 

 

Prepare two cookie sheets by brushing the bottoms lightly with olive oil . In Cyprus where we had lemon trees mom used to put lemon leaves under each of the breads. If you are lucky to live in a place with lemon trees, try it. It gives a special fragrance to the breads. Divide the dough into two large pieces. Then divide each piece into two. Now divide the four pieces into three each. You will have 12 equal pieces of dough. Shape each one into a small round loaf and place on the cookie sheets leaving enough space between the breads for the rise. You should have six olive breads on each sheet. Brush the tops lightly with olive oil.

Place the cookie sheets in the warm oven. Make sure the oven is turned off. Let the breads rise to approximately double the size about an hour.

Remove cookie sheets from the oven.

Arrange the two oven racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Place both cookie sheets in the preheated oven. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the breads rise.

Lower the oven to 375 and rotate the cookie sheets. Bake until golden  for about 20 more minutes. Breads are ready when there is a hollow sound when you tap them in the back. Remove from oven  and let cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

 

Maria

Writerly woes!

As I may have mentioned, I'm a writer. Yes, obviously I write this blog, but there's more. I have a completed novel in the hopper, a second novel that I'm working on, as well as a number of essays and short stories. Sometimes, I even delve into poetry. But, I'm not a poet. I'm a fiction writer. What does that mean really? I just found out that even Hemingway wrote some poetry.

My novel, "Archangel", is about Juliana Petresku, an American art dealer who buys a set of Byzantine mosaics in a shady international deal and discovers that they are stolen. The story is inspired by true events and the Byzantine mosaics are based on the Panagia Kanakaria mosaics that were stolen from a church in Turkish occupied Cyprus after the Turkish invasion of 1974. Above is one of the stolen mosaics depicting the Apostle Matthew.


For five years I worked using photographs of the mosaics given to me by my good friend, Petros Petrides, the first photojournalist to photograph the mosaics after they had been recovered by the Church of Cyprus. When I finally had the opportunity to travel to Cyprus and visit the Byzantine museum where the mosaics were kept, I felt ambivalent. After conjuring the amazing icons through the photographs for so many years, I was afraid that seeing the real icons would be a let down. You know how what you see with your minds eye is always more spectacular than the real thing.



My worries turned out to be unfounded. Seeing the actual mosaics on the walls of the museum in Cyprus, the land where they originated, was elating. They were more brilliant, more vivid and alive than I had ever imagined. That was a great day for me!



I have since rewritten the mansucript, sent it to agents, other writers, friends and acquaintances looking for someone to publish it. So far, no takers, but I still believe in it! It's a good story, worth reading!

Maria

Brocante: French for second hand goods or in other words: junk!

One of my favorite pastimes is browsing at garage sales. What is it about old things that attracts me? Maybe it's because we lost everything after the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. In other people's old belongings I see the memories my family and I lost with all of ours. Where I see a story, a history about where an item was made, how it was used, how long ago, the materials used in making it, my husband just sees junk!

This morning I passed by an Estate Sale in my neighborhood. I vowed not to buy anything I didn't need, but that went out the window as soon as I saw this beautiful Turkey platter. It's a wonderful mid century(all that means is that it's from around the fifties) thanksgiving platter made in California. It's in great shape and I can imagine all the years it has spent serving family Thanksgiving dinners.

Let me show off the rest of my little finds!

These little knives and forks are great for appetizers! They're marked stainless steel Japan.

Lacquer Christmas tray! Made in Japan. I love everything made in Japan. They are such craftsmen!

What about the gravy ladle? Don't you love the shape and color!

My downfall is books. I can't resist buying old books. Old illustrated books. I think eventually there will be no more room in my office for me. Too many books, so little space!

 

Be Well

Maria