Greek Chick Pea Soup-Revithada

It's that time of the year when it's cold outside, we never seem to feel warm enough, even inside the house and look for meals that give us that bowl of comfort and warmth.

Soups are a great antidote for the winter chills and today I made us a delicious, nutritious chick pea soup, or as the Greeks call it, Revithada.

It is inspired by the lemony, Greek chick pea soup that is made of the Greek Island of Sifnos. I've tweaked it a little by adding more vegetables bu,t for the most part, this is a very authentic, Greek meal.

The soup is easy enough to make. It just takes a little planning ahead, so you can soak the beans the night before you want to cook them. Also, you need two hours of simmering time before you can put a bowl in front of anyone, so do plan ahead.

I might say that this soup gets better by the day. So, if you want to make it ahead a day or two, so much the better!

Chickpea Soup From Sifnos (Ρεβιθάδα Σιφνέικη)

(Serves 6)

One pound of dry chick peas
1/2 cup of olive oil
2 large onions, diced
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced 2 carrot, finely diced
2 stalk of celery, finely diced

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. paprika

1/2 lemon, sliced

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
8 cups of chicken or vegetable stock or water
salt and pepper to taste
wedge of lemon and dried Greek oregano for garnish

1. The night before, place your dried chickpeas in a pot with enough water to cover the chickpeas by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil and turn off. The next morning, strain and rinse your chickpeas and reserve.
2. Into a large pot, add your olive oil over medium heat and throw in your onions, celery, carrots, bay leaf and paprika and simmer on medium low for about 15 minutes for the vegetables to soften.
3. Now add your chickpeas, parsley, stock or water and slices of lemon bring to a boil and simmer medium-low heat with the lid slightly ajar for 2 hours or until thick and the chickpeas are fork-tender. By this time you should have a thick, chunky chick pea soup with some liquid still evident.
4. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, serve in bowls. Add some chopped parsley, a drizzle of Greek extra virgin olive oil and serve with a wedge of lemon.
   
   
   Enjoy!
   
   
   Maria

Egyptian Wing-Metropolitan Museum of Art

No need to say, again, how much the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City means to me. It's such an oasis of culture where I've come to enrich myself since my college years.

 The Egyptian wing is one of the iconic permanent exhibits of the Museum.

The Ancient Egyptian preoccupation with death has always fascinated me. The mummies and the process of creating them is all laid out in the Museum's storied halls in the expansive Egyptian wing.

One of the most beautifully somber exhibits is the hall with the Fayum mummy face masks. The mummy masks are named after the Fayum Basin where most of them were found. The style dates to the Coptic period and belongs to the tradition of panel painting.

What always impresses me is how young the subjects of these paintings are, and knowing that they are dead, I wonder whether they were idealized in death or whether they indeed had died so young and beautiful.

The Greek lettering on the mummy attests to how important the Greek language and culture were in the entire region at the time. It was called the Ptolemaic period and was created after the death of Alexander the Great by Ptolemy I. The Ptolemaic Kingdom fell to the Romans after the death of Kleopatra VII in 30 BC.

The small masks and statue are made in the style of Faience, which is this distinct shade of blue colored ceramics. Amazingly vivid after so many centuries!

The big brown eyes are alive and seem to be looking directly at me. I did not see any artist signature but the unknown artists of Egypt's death culture were some of the most talented portrait painters I have seen.

This artful gold jewelry is also part of the display in that hall. I am awed at the mastery of those ancient artisans who created these masterpieces that survived time and could very easily be worn today, as their style is also eternal.

I guess eternal is the important concept here, because through this massive industry of death-art the people in these death portraits are forever enshrined in our minds.

It doesn't feel gloomy at all when I walk through those halls, it is more a celebration of the circle of life and death. I come here again and again and gaze into those brown eyes wondering who they were.

Enjoy!

Maria

Erskine Lakes Women's Club Cookie Exchange

Every year, around the Holidays, the Erskine Lakes Women's Club organizes a Cookie Exchange.

The variety of cookies is dizzying and the number of cookies present at the same table at one time is astronomical. A friend recently did some math when I told him about the event. Every member must bring four dozen cookies to exchange and one dozen to share. That's 5 dozen cookies per person, times the number of participants.

 This year we had 34 participants. 60 cookies X 34=2,040 cookies!

I had never thought about it like that. That's a HUGE number of cookies!

 It was a cold night, we had a wood burning in fireplace, lots of cookies and a lot of good cheer.

Then, we come to the gift exchange part of the night. The tradition is that you bring a wrapped gift and get a number. When your number is called you may choose a gift from the table, or if you wish, take someone else's gift that had previously been picked and unwrapped by another participant. Each gift can be stolen twice. After that the gift is safe with the last person who chose it.
This made for a lot of laughs as members proceeded to "steal" gifts from other members. Mostly everyone went home happy. My gifts had been stolen from me FOUR times, until I finally ended up"stealing"(oh, yes, I do it too!) a nice mug from Jenn(sorry Jenn!)

After lots of sugar, camaraderie and laughs, the Erskine Lakes Women's Club took a group photo and went home to recover!.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Delphi, the Center of the World

The Ancients selected the rugged side of a mountain with expansive views for one of their holiest of holies, Delphi.

It was considered the Center of the World by the Greeks, as represented by the Omphalos(navel as demonstrated here by Stelios.)

Leaders of the classical world flocked to Delphi, the seat of the Oracle, seeking advice on important matters. This resulted in great wealth for Delphi.

The splendid ruins of this ancient place are one of my favorite ancient sites to visit. There is so much that still remains intact.

Built on the side of the Parnassus Mountain, Delphi rewards the visitor with every new meter of height climbed.

The ancient amphitheater.

The top of the site is crowned by an enormous stadium where the games took place. There are seats set into the hill surrounding it for the spectators to rest.

I found the views of the mountains very profound and spiritual. I can see how the ancient Greeks chose this location for one of their most important sanctuaries.

The Temple of Apollo, the patron god of Delphi.

As I walk the ancient paths of this extraordinary place of worship, I can't help but feel awe for those Hellenes of so long ago.

There is a certain aura at Delphi that can not be explained in words but needs to be experienced. Next time you are thinking about where to visit next, put Delphi on your list. One of the best times to visit is during spring and fall. The summer is very hot and it becomes more of a challenge to explore the outdoor site under the sun. Go,you won't regret it!

Enjoy!

Maria