Today was one of the most frustrating and (hopefully) rewarding days in Greece. First I want to express that at home, in the comfort of a country where anything I needed could be found at Publix, I am no culinary master. But here when improvision is vital when trying to recreate an traditional (or even standard) American food. Today was a quest for what was unknown to all of my new Greek friends. After lunch (it was lentil day!) Mrs Soula took me to her kitchen. Mrs. Soula is a sweet woman who is the school nurse and cooking teacher. This woman is amazing! Today I helped her zest mandarines for a marmalade she is making for a lady in the PR office at the school. Before I have walked into her kitchen smelling sweet, amazing Greek goodness and walked out with a jar freshly poured jar of pomegranate juice that she made herself that day! I have deemed this sweet and wonderful Greek woman as my Greek yia yia.
After this I met up with Klearchos, my supervisor and some members of student council to go to the store. After dropping of the students at a supermarket to get drinks for the Christmas party this Friday (because drinking alcoholic beverages is perfectly legal here and necessary for a good party) Klearchos and I went to Vasilopelos. The strange V word is the name of an international supermarket which is supposed to have everything from all over the world. I want to make it known to the world right now that this is a lie. Canned pumpkin does not exist in this country and if you try to ask anyone if it does and they are Greek they will look at you funny. So after searching for this beloved mushiness Klearchos called Mrs. Soula to ask how I could recreate this goo of pumpkin. Soula said that she would get some pumpkins and help me make it. After retrieving nutmeg, clove and brown sugar (which also isn't well known here either) we returned to scoop the students and their pile of selected beverages and returned to campus.
Walking back through the doors of Soula's kitchen I smiles at her until I looked down at the table and saw the ugliest, over sized grey pumpkin I have ever imagined someone cooking. Next to it two 3-4 foot long squash lay freshly plucked from a garden. It became clear to me that my mom's pumpkin bread recipe was going to be altered. Between my washing, slicing, scooping, chopping and boiling this giant squash I remembered a few important life lessons.... like the time I made key lime pie here where they have NO half and half. Believe me anything is possible with a little ingenuity and a lot of ambition.
I still have NO idea what this giant squash will taste like but right now it is in a mushed up, baby food state in Mrs. Soula's refrigerator.
Let's be real- no one here (except for the Americans) knows what anything made of pumpkin should taste like. So whatever that pumpkin goo tastes like I'm sure it can be fixed with some spices and sugar :)
I was ambitious enough to seek this out to bake pumpkin bread along with sugar and chocolate cookies for tomorrows movie event I've planned for my college students. Tomorrow (if everything goes as planned) we will have hot chocolate, pumpkin/squash bread, cookies and watch Home Alone 1. Keep your fingers crossed!
Kalinixta! (Goodnight!)
Fingers crossed for you!!!
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