Opa! Midweek morning big, big, big plans for some Greek mezze lovin’!
I remember going to a taverna many years ago with a large group of friends in West Palm Beach. This dining style was a hot spot for summer lovin’ with Greek god inspired wines all lined up at our long, communal table. As we wined and dined, live entertainment prolonged our night even longer. Belly dancers would get up on the long tables (after the kitchen closed) and dance to eclectic music, all in exotic Egyptian-like attire and jewels. Opa!
They had these little clackers that fit in the palm of your hand and would click them like cymbals. Then, they would pull all of us up onto our table and join in and throw napkins up in the air and yell Opa! This togetherness reminds me of the joyful family togetherness we celebrate at a Jewish wedding during the Hora and Hava Nagila!
Everything about Greek culture is big, fun, loud, family family family, eating and more eating, fresh vegetables, lotsa olive oil, olives, natural spices, lotsa wine, family knows all details before you know, closeness, extended family trees, last names that carry the family tree way back decades and centuries ago, nonstop chatter, and marriage and children goals. Opa!
My Big Fat Greek Wedding was on Amazon Prime the other day and was and is still a light-hearted comedy that really warms your heart with the culture the family keeps up with in the way they dress, the way they talk, and they way they “enamorously” love and use their traditions and religion to a humongous extent in everything they do or say. Great flick.
Opa! Spending time in Greektown in Chicago is an absolute-must-see and go-to-go goal to get your Greek lovin’ fix! From fast food Greek takeout to upscale, modern dining establishments, any of these just bring in the richness of the Mediterranean culture.
Thus, I decided to bake a healthy, American version of a simple Greek dish. Here is a fluffy, low calorie, low sodium, whole wheat pita topped with a simple tzastiki sauce recipe. Opa!
Nat’s Noshes 