In Bed With | Vefa’s Kitchen

i read cookbooks in bed.  don’t you?

I’ve only made the tzatziki because, well, I’m a bit slow.

I’m in love with Vefa’s Kitchen.

I first saw the book last year on Anthropologie’s site.  I dig their curated collection of style, cooking, travel and garden books.  I tend to have two windows open.  One for Anthro and one for the library.  I need to see, feel, hold and read a book before I buy it these days.  At the time,  LAPL wasn’t down with Vefa, yet.  I tried to peruse the pages at a brick and mortar bookstore.  Hello, Sealed Packaging.

It wasn’t until months later, when I started putting the publisher, Phaidon, in the library’s catalog search engine, did I realize they had finally purchased a copy of  the blue and white beauty.  Yes, it was the jacket design that first caught my eye.

I’ve been thinking about Greece a lot in the last couple of years.  I think it may have started when I finally saw Luc Besson’s Big Blue. Then every time you turn around I was watching a movie set on the ancient isles.  That’s when the fantasy starts.  It’s the month long vacation in my head.  A Greek Isle.  A white house.  That water.  Ahhhh.

Greek cooking wasn’t something I really thought about beyond a bit of baklava or the occasional gyro. (♥:Did you just say that out loud?) Sorry.  I’ve yet to eat Greek here in LA.  Even the Greek restaurants in NYC didn’t hold much allure.  More because my friend, whose mom is Greek Cypriot, put the Umm, No stamp on almost all of them.  It’s like me saying there really isn’t much good soul food in the five boroughs.

So, imagine my surprise when I open this BIG book.  Not only is the love automatic, but there is a familiarity, as well.  The book is full of beautifully simple photographs, each of the islands gets there own bit of history and a culinary merit badge.  There are so many things that are similar to food I grew up eating, so it’s actually easy to incorporate into my every day.  More importantly, I’m all excited to try everything.  (♥: Octopus?) Okay, I’m not trying everything.  But, I am fascinated by all 704 pages.  Marking recipes with all of the blue dotted ribbon glued into the spine and bits of scrap paper.

So, what have I made?  Well, it’s more like what do I want to make.  I’ve only gotten around to making tzatziki, but the “I Wanna” list is long.  There’s even a bit about about preserving.

I need to get a new fresh Vefa’s Kitchen of my own.  I can only renew the library book so many times.  Seriously, I think this is the fourth or fifth time I’ve carted the BIG book home from my local.

This time, though, I just may get another recipe or two made.  There’s phyllo in the freezer and I just brought home some salt cod.  NICE!

Nikki♥