The eating habits of Greeks, specifically those from Crete, are the basis of what we now know as the Mediterranean diet. Now that I am a mother, I use this secret weapon of lathera to teach my children to love vegetables, which they eat happily (for the most part). Eaten as a main course with three to four servings of vegetables, typical lathera dishes include green beans, peas, okra, eggplant and zucchini cooked or roasted in olive oil and fresh tomato with various herbs. Lathera dishes are considered the hallmark of Greek summer cuisine and a reason Greek people have such high consumption of vegetables. The okra dish is known as bamies, one of the dishes we call lathera, meaning cooked in olive oil. That’s the secret of Greek cooking: Vegetables are transformed into crave-worthy dishes. Who would have thought a bunch of kids would willingly eat okra? It was tiny, sun-dried okra roasted in tomato sauce and olive oil, which we ate happily with a big chunk of feta and fresh sourdough bread. The sea really makes you hungry! One day there was okra, but not as you may imagine. Eating was an important part of the day after all that swimming, we couldn’t wait to eat. Every day was the same: We spent all morning on the beach, went home, ate, took a nap and then went to the beach again. Some of the most vivid childhood memories I have about food are from the summers I spent in Greece.
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