Tahini – Food for the Gods

Breakfast outdoors tastes better

Would you believe in the miraculous powers of a tiny seed from a humble bush, if I revealed that a small Greek kingdom transformed into a mega empire by grinding this seed into paste and consuming to raise the most well known army of its era that conquered the entire known world. It is only befitting that this tiny seed nourished Homer’s epic for a decade.

Those of you versed in Greek history might have guessed by now the name of this super-food seed; which is none other than Sesame seed (SESAMUM indicum). And the paste is Tahini.

                                     

Borrowing from the ancient Greek wisdom I decided to include 1 to 2 spoons of tahini mixed with pure honey in my breakfast. By eating it daily in the morning I hoped it would enhance my blog writing skills (which only time can tell), but for now the result is an amazingly delicious healthy food in my diet; especially when I put it on a slice of freshly baked home-made bread with whole nuts and zea flour.

Traditional bronze bowls are still used for the production

This summer a very dear friend from abroad spent few days at my home. The first day after his arrival I offered him a typical Greek breakfast full of delicious & healthy locally grown products.

I must mention that Greece is a paradise for fruits, vegetables, nuts, honey, olive oil, and real yogurt due to constant shinny days and ground consistency. And believe me they taste nothing like what you might have already tasted elsewhere. They can wake up your deepest memories of childhood, when you were just a carefree child, who was exhausted from nonstop playing, running to your mom’s kitchen for your snack.

So I woke up early that morning and baked bread (whole nut and Zea flour) with lots of sunflower seeds and linseeds. I sliced apples and figs freshly picked up from my mother’s garden, got pure goat yogurt (the one with the crust on top), a combination of cereals (linseed, buckwheat, oats & zea),raw nuts, home-made jam with fruits from my parent’s garden (thanks mom!) honey and of course tahini.

While we were having our breakfast under the warm sun (Greece is well known for sun’s bright light effect) I noticed that my friend’s eyes, on seeing tahini, opened wide full of query! It was only then I realized that many people worldwide, not only haven’t tasted tahini, but they also haven’t heard about it. Maybe that’s why we don’t have big empires and Epics like the one Homer wrote once!

So I imagined I was Eleni of Troy and I started explaining to my friend what exactly tahini is, how it is made, how nutritious it is and how can we use it in our daily diet.

I explained to him that tahini, is actually the paste produced by milling baked wholegrain sesame seeds.

Sometimes you can find tahini in which it is added cocoa powder, which gives a very special taste and it suits a lot.

Adding tahini in your daily diet is so healthy that you can notice very soon the health benefits and the improvement in the appearance of your skin and hair. Of course you have to be very careful with the amount you consume, since one soup spoon of tahini has almost 90kcal.

For vegetarians like me, tahini is a perfect source of vegetable proteins, with high biological value, when you combine it with food rich in lysine, like nuts or pulses , (like chickpeas, for hummus or with beans) since it provides you with proteins with biological value equivalent to meat proteins. Tahini is also rich in vitamins E, B1, B2, niacin, amino acids and carbohydrates. It prevents hair loss, headaches and increases milk production for lactating women. It also acts as antihypertensive, anti thrombotic, anticancer and antioxidant and helps against osteoporosis.

Due to all these it is regarded as a super food. Ancient Greeks used to add tahini in their daily meals. It is also used in Arabian and Turkish cuisine.

We find mention of the seeds in ancient Chinese medicine while Assyrian Gods were believed to drink wine made from sesame seed before a battle, and mortals considered it precious as silver.

While I was talking to my friend about tahini, I noticed that the whole bowl of tahini and almost all of the bread had disappeared and in a way he did look fuller and shinier. I was so happy he was enjoying its divine taste while listening to my stories that I continued giving him advises how to use it as a dressing in his salads (just by mixing tahini with lemon juice) or as a dip for his finger food with raw vegetables, like carrots and cucumber (just by mixing tahini, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a bowl).So simple, so easy yet if you consider how rich tahini is in calcium, zinc, potassium, copper, iron and Ω6 fats… you get amazed! Just by eating one spoon of tahini daily you stand to improve your health tremendously. And who knows, this may lead you to your Eleni of Troy!

That morning, after eating the whole bowl of tahini (along with all the other food we had) it is needless to mention that we went for hiking into the Rodopi Mountains. We wandered over 8 hours through the beautiful forests. Too many calories had to be burned!

Greek Hospitality

My beloved Greece is so rich in nature’s diversity, where the sun embraces you with its warmth and the sea caresses your senses that it is impossible for the people and objects not to develop into their finest qualities. Greece is synonymous to generosity. Hospitality runs in our blood, it is an integral part of our culture and we would do anything to prove this to a visitor.

When you visit a Greek house you are welcome with two resounding kisses on either cheek and a tight hug and this is quickly followed (even before you have sank into the sofa) with a platter of mouthwatering appetizers by the landlady. An impromptu mini-fiesta is set up in less than a minute where a bit of every appetizer existing at home would be offered along with coffee or Ouzo or Tsipuro (traditional white spirits). It is impossible to deny partaking the offering as the landlord would gently coax and cajole your taste buds till the plates and glasses are empty. If you are calorie conscious then please leave your mind outside a Greek home. These foods are all homemade, super delicious and impossible to resist.

Not only a Greek home but Mother Nature too offers free appetizers in Greece. Crops and fresh fruits, herbs and vegetables can be found almost in every corner of a Greek village. And the best part is that you can pick them up for free!

Once, I went hiking to Lefkimi’s forest with a friend, to pick up wild mushrooms and berries. Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli National Park is one of the few European regions cohabitated by so many species of birds of prey; three of the four European species of vulture and the Eurasian Griffon Vulture (Gyps Fulvus) and the extremely rare Black Vulture (Aegypius monachus), which is one of the last two colonies left in Europe.

Picking berries is my specialty, but I don’t have a clue about mushrooms so one day if my blog suddenly stops, then you should know that I went wild mushroom hunting. Seriously, wild mushrooms can be very dangerous even fatal. So, always be careful and never eat them unless you are 100% sure they are edible.

Smurf's house?  Why not!

Back to our story; we started early that morning, entered the forest and followed the trail. The green leaves sparkled with morning dew pearls while sun tried to invade the jungle with its ray. As we went deeper and deeper we discovered numerous berries and I couldn't stop picking them and gorging as if there was no tomorrow. Wild berries are full of antioxidants and I love the sour taste. Soon I realized that bears too were crazy about berries as we found plenty of bear pug marks and poo with berry remnants.  

I was thrilled by the sheer volume of berries we found free. In Greek markets, berries are expensive. That day I could have made good money just by selling all the berries I had collected. I am amazed there are so many bounties of nature that we can have for free but people simply don’t bother to go outdoors. We should leave our couches and venture along with our beloved ones and have a walk outdoors, while taking advantage of all the fruits and crops we would find on our way. Not only we would have great time, while in nature but also we could save some money, by collecting our own goodies. No harm in getting back to our ‘gatherer’ days every now and then!

Picking  berries

Though I was wary of picking any mushrooms their sheer volume and variety kept us riveted as we ventured deeper and deeper into the forest. The colors and sizes turned the forest into a fairy land; red, purple, dark brown, blue, pink, yellow, ochre and in sizes ranging from smaller than my thumb to few nearly the size of my head.

Couple of hours later with our bellies bulging with berries we went downhill from the forest and decided to explore the tiny village where we had parked our car. Through the narrow deserted streets we chanced upon a quaint coffee shop beneath a picturesque birch tree. Stepping inside we found three old cronies, ancient as the monuments playing card. Every pair of eyes turned towards us. I am sure no outsiders ever visited this village and we stood out like sore thumbs. 

Eyeing a cozy corner we settled down and ordered two cups of Greek coffee while enjoying all the undue attention we drew from the locals. The café owner was straight out of the comic books; his bulging belly could any day outdo Obelix and his handlebar moustache bespoke his proud Balkan blood. The eyes were round and shiny like an owl that rotated simultaneously in opposite directions and we were never sure which direction he looked. He wore his trousers way below his navel, perhaps stuck with glue to his hips while the sleeveless shirt stuck to his body like armor, the middle buttons almost breaking nevertheless. Along with our coffee he brought a plate full of homemade coconut biscuits on the house. Even though we were visiting his café for the first time and probably would never return he felt obliged to treat us as house guest and not merely paying customers. For him the café is not a business but an extension of his home and family and he wanted us to feel at home. Though my friend was impressed with this generosity, I explained that this was typical Greek attitude that was still retained and practiced in faraway places like this tiny obscure village. I wish Greek’s wouldn't lose it as time passes by.

After coffee and some small talks with the habitue we left to continue our walk through the village. The village was unusually quiet and peaceful. Few passerbies watched us curiously but discreetly, trying to decipher who we were and what could be our purpose.

In peaking almonds hard work is done by the man!

As we ambled along we soon realized that the road was lined with full bloomed almond and walnut trees on either side. My friend and I glanced at each other with that conspiratorial look and we lunged at the nearest tree. In less than a minute I found myself onto an almond’s bole, stretching myself up to my toes (I am a tall girl) till I could reach even the remotest nuts at the top of the tree. My back pack was soon full of almond and walnut shells. Fruits and nuts taste best when we sit beneath the same tree from which we plucked and eat. That’s exactly what we did. Nothing better than smashing almonds under the shadow of the tree, protected from the hot sunbeams. And not only did we end up with a bag full of nuts, we were also offered fruits and vegetables from village gardens. I remember in particular one old woman dressed in black with black head kerchief (Greek elderly women used to get dressed in black after their 70s) offering us grapes and fruits from her kitchen garden insisting we take as much as we could. She was a simple village woman with a generous heart who wanted to treat two strangers like her family. We ended up with lots of grapes and quinces, apart from the almonds.


 I love this kind of behavior and wish people were more generous and were willing to share rather than hoard more than they need. Only by sharing and caring for each other can our society grow and enrich as a whole. These villagers made us feel more than welcome to their village and I realized that even with simple things, you can create a welcome atmosphere and make people feel accepted.

Moreover, people who give and share material things, are usually people who give love and express emotions without holding back anything. So people surrounded by them are usually very lucky since they receive lots of love and lots of great food and fortunately I am one of such lucky ones!

Take care my friends and always remember, good things are meant to be shared!