After much research, Lionel and I are going to start cooking Mediterranean style. There was a very provacative graph in the “Eating to Live” Special Edition of Scientific American (2006) which showed the relationship between fat intake, as a percentage of overall calories, and coronary heart disease (CHD). They showed that in Eastern Finland, where saturated fats from butter and milk are prominent, fat intake is 38% and 30% of men get CHD in a 10 year period. In Japan, where fat intake is only 10% and comes mainly from fish, only 5% of men get CHD in the same time period. The cool thing was that we just think of this as low-fat being better, but in Crete 40% of calories come from fat, mainly the monounsaturated fat of olive oil, and only 2% of men get CHD! So it’s actually not the amount of fat but the type. Also, it so happens that Mediterranean dishes are extremely rich tasting and full of flavour, so we’re making the switch… which brings me to Parthenon Importers…
This place is quickly becoming my favorite store in Vancouver. They have freshly made pitas, which we drizzle with olive oil, salt, oregano, and onion powder and bake to delicious goodness… and all kinds of meats and fresh cheeses, a vast array of Mediterannian dips and sauces made in house, and lots and lots of Greek goodies! We had a massive bowl of soup each while we were there today - for $2.25 you get about 3 cups worth - the two soups on the menu were lentil and lima bean and they were fantastic.
We ran out of feta before we went to St. John’s. Now, we normally buy the 1kg bag from superstore, but Parthenon has a counter with eight different kinds of feta! We tried goat feta and sheep feta - the goat is very creamy and complex, while the sheep is less creamy and more tangy, like lemon. We went with classic Canadian cow feta and some goat feta. It’s amazing!
Today we also looked at tungsten carbide wedding rings for Lionel. He had his finger sized and he’s a 8.75, but his hands were really cold. We think we might order the ring online, which costs only a third of what the jeweler sells it for, and get the 8.75 and a 9 so on hot days he can wear the other size, lol.
