I drove down from Santa Barbara, California to Orange County for a premiere party for the 2nd Great Food Truck Race that is airing Sunday nights at 9/8c on the Food Network. This second season has special meaning to me because my little sister Nicole is on the Seabirds Food Truck from Costa Mesa, California. They are an all girl vegan food truck serving up delicious organic vegan food and lots of girl power! The team is made up of Seabirds owner/chef Stephanie Morgan, raw vegan chef Raya Belna and my sister Nicole.

The Seabirds Food Truck women (L to R, owner Stephanie Morgan, Caroline, Raya Belna, my sister Nicole Daddona) and I (Cynthia Daddona, last on right) at the CA Premiere of the Food Network's "The Great Food Truck Race." The men of The Lime Truck are (L to R) Jason Quinn, Jesse Brockman and owner Daniel Shemtob.

Cynthia Daddona (right) with sister Nicole Daddona (member of The Seabirds Food Truck) pose with the truck at the Premiere Party for the Food Network's "The Great Food Truck Race."

The premiere party took place at the So Cal eco-mall and was hosted by The Lime Truck – another popular California food truck on the series that is from Irvine, California. The Lime Truck’s team is owner Daniel Shemtob, along with Jason Quinn and Jesse Brockman who are known for serving up tasty gourmet food.

Food montage featuring delicious dishes from the Seabirds Food Truck and the Lime Food Truck (both participants in the Food Network's "The Great Food Truck Race.")

At the premiere we enjoyed sampling the food from the two trucks. From the Seabird Food Truck we had the delicious and organic tomato/watermelon salad with almond feta (dairy free), a vegan quesadilla, grilled asparagus and a vegan and raw food chocolate cupcake that was also gluten-free. It was a decadent delight! My husband also ordered the Lime Truck’s gourmet cuisine, namely, its popular Yum, Yum lamb – ground lamb and 10-hour cooked pork served with guacamole, Cotija cheese and fries that were also quite good.

It was a fun time had by everyone who enjoyed eating the delectables from the two food trucks, meeting the personalities and watching the show together while cheering whenever the Orange County trucks appeared on Great Food Truck Race.

Sisters Cynthia Daddona (RomancingTheTable.com) & illustrator/artist Nicole Daddona (member of the Seabirds Food Truck) pose on the red carpet at the Premiere Party for the Food Network's "The Great Food Truck Race."

Eating healthy and delicious food is a joyful topic between my sis and I that comes from growing up in an ethnic family who loves to eat! So when Nicole comes to visit us in Santa Barbara it is great fun for me to create recipes with options – that includes Mediterranean for my husband and I and vegan for Nicole. When I returned from my visit to the Mediterranean where they love to savor times at the table, I was inspired to create RomancingTheTable.com which celebrates life, love, food, travel, wisdom and romance. I’m also married to an American-Greek who loves to eat and lucky for him I love cooking and creating happy, delicious and healthy times at the table. Best of all I love having Nicole assist me in the kitchen while we chat about life and celebrate our culinary sister connection. I was so glad to be with her on her special night.

The Great Food Truck Race is an entertaining and fun foodie series that will leave you hungering for more episodes each week. The series began last week and will continue until a winner is selected from the 8 trucks that compete against each other in different cities. The truck with the lowest amount of food sales is eliminated each week and the grand prize winner receives $100,000. The trucks competing this year are The Seabirds Food Truck, The Lime Truck, Café Con Leche, Hodge Podge, Korilla, Roxy’s Grilled Cheese, Devilicious and Sky’s Gourmet Tacos. You can read more about the trucks on the Food Network website.

So tune in to the Food Network on Sunday nights at 9/8c.

One of my extra romantic and healthy Date Night Mediterranean Meals with my Greek god on the beach in Santa Barbara, California Photo by RomancingtheTable.com

This month is National Mediterranean Diet Month (Med Month!) created by Oldways, a world-renowned source of Mediterranean diet information, “to highlight the healthy Mediterranean Diet and its lifestyle practices.” It is based healthy foods “that have traditionally been consumed by people living in the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea.”

To me, every month is Med Month! As an American Italian-Greek, married to an American-Greek who loves to eat, I’m often found in the kitchen cooking delicious Mediterranean meals and testing recipes for date nights, my blog, my upcoming book and my website (RomancingTheTable.com). I strongly believe in an Oldways’s quote on how the Mediterranean diet affects your love relationships, “You need to eat well to love well.”

Research that began on the Greek island of Crete after World War II proved that the Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest in the world. It is often described as the “gold standard for healthy eating” and has been proven to reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases and increasing brainpower.

Oldways created the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid along with the Harvard School of Public Health. According to the pyramid, we should eat mostly vegetables, legumes, grains, fruits, herbs, spices, and healthy fats such as olive oil on a regular basis. Seafood should be eaten at least twice a week, poultry, diary, and eggs consumed daily to weekly, and red meats and sweets should be on the menu less often. Being physically active and enjoying meals with others is also an important part of the pyramid and the Mediterranean lifestyle. Below are images of the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid along with a Vegetarian Diet Pyramid.

Mediterranean Diet Pyramid by Oldwayspt.org

Vegetarian Diet Pyramid by Oldwayspt.org

I’ve found that delicious and healthy Mediterranean meals with quality time at the table definitely contribute to my happy and healthy marriage. Each week, my husband and I take turns planning our weekly date nights (I’m lucky that he can cook, too!) The person whose week it is makes a Mediterranean dinner and chooses an arts and entertainment activity for the night. We occasionally save up and go out to one of our favorite California-Mediterranean restaurants. The ultimate Mediterranean eating experience was when we were in Greece to produce our #1 NY Times About.com culinary travel DVD - A Greek Islands Destination Cooking Class DVD that took place at a top gourmet Greek restaurant. Back home, when we sit at the table we love recreating a Mediterranean atmosphere with a delicious and healthy Mediterranean Meal. To date, my husband Jim and I have been married for five years and if you count the year of our engagement, we’ve had over one year (365 days) worth of date nights in total. That’s a lot of romantic eating! You can do the same by downloading the Date Night Scheduler HERE.

My Grecian Goddess Greek salad that was inspired by the salad we shared on our first dates causing love at first Mediterranean bite!

Oldways also has a Mediterranean Foods Alliance, which I enjoy being one of their culinary advisors. We’ve all teamed up to put together a list of vegetable recipes for Med Month. You can find my info and recipe here, the fourth from the bottom. For more information on National Mediterranean Diet Month by Oldways go here.

I send you Goddess Blessings for your own romantic and healthy Mediterranean date nights! Click here for extra tips on creating a romantic atmosphere for your date night meals. Write me and let me know about your own culinary date nights.

Photo by RomancingTheTable.com

Dark Leafy Greens are an important part of the Mediterranean Diet. Research that began on the Greek Island of Crete in the 1940’s and later included the rest of the Mediterranean, determined that the Mediterranean Diet contributes to living a longer life. My grandfather who migrated from Italy to the US, ate bowls of steamed greens with olive oil and garlic and lived to be 97. My husband Jim’s Greek Yia, Yia (Greek for grandmother) who migrated from Greece to the US lived to be 101 and her sisters that are living are in their 90’s. When you ask them what contributes to living a longer life – they answer Horta! (Dark leafy Greens picked in the fields and eaten daily in Greece and cooked with olive oil and lemon.) This recipe was inspired by meeting the three Yia Yias and eating delicious horta in Greece. Listed first is a classic recipe for greens and the second is one I created with a Mediterranean twist by adding several spices and feta. Click here to see a video filmed in Santa Barbara and Crete that includes how to make my award-winning horta recipe!

Classical Greek Horta

2 lbs of Greens:
Suggestions of Greens to choose from:
Swiss Chard
Kale
Spinach
Dandelion – (Here in the United States, I’ve found that the white or green stemmed dandelions and especially the younger/shorter ones are less bitter than the red stems).

Feel free to combine different greens as well.

(Whenever possible buy organic greens to avoid ingesting the pesticides – if not available soak and rinse greens several times)

1 1/2 cups of water
Extra Virgin Olive oil
Salt to taste
2 lemons
(optional – 1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder)

P r e p a r a t i o n :
Cut the Greens into bite size pieces. Wash several times in bowl with water to remove any soil. If using kale with thick stems tear the leaves off the stems and discard stems.

In a large pot, add water, bring to a boil and add greens. Cover. Boil until stems and leaves are soft depending upon which greens you use. Check after 10 minutes by tasting to see if greens are tender and continue up to 20 minutes. Add more water if needed. Strain water from greens and return to pot. Add juice of two lemons, one turn of olive oil, salt and mix. Let sit for a few minutes in warm pot with flame turned off. Serve on plate or in bowl.

This makes 5 to 6 servings. Make extra since it tastes delicious the next day.

Dandelion Leaves Tip: If you want to make dandelion greens only (a bitter green) – use younger leaves if possible. Whatever length you use, I have found that by cooking dandelion greens in a steamer you reduce bitterness and follow directions to season with lemon, olive oil and salt above while still hot. Dandelion also taste milder when combined with another milder green such as Swiss Chard.

Mediterranean Goddess Greens
(Horta with a Mediterranean Twist)

Photo by RomancingTheTable.com

Eat your cooked greens as much as possible each week and you’ll feel like a healthier goddess. This is also a wonderful recipe to get your loved ones to also eat their greens. The extra ingredients of spices and feta caused my father-in-law who doesn’t like to eat greens to ask for seconds. One mother of two who tried the recipe told me that her children loved making and eating the greens with feta.

Ingredients:

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon of turmeric
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground fennel
1/8 teaspoon ground pepper

1 1/2 cups of water
1/4 teaspoon of salt or salt to taste
2 tablespoons of Olive oil

Use these greens of your choice:

3 bunches of Swiss Chard (regular or red or yellow colored stems)

(2 bunches of Swiss chard and 1 bunch of kale – flat leafed versus curly)

or Spinach (2 pounds)

I find that the Swiss chard alone or Swiss Chard with Flat Leaf kale works well for this recipe. If not available use Spinach.

(Whenever possible buy organic greens to avoid ingesting the pesticides – if not available soak and then rinse greens several times)

1 lemon – juiced

A delicious option: 1/2 cup of Feta cheese crumbled on top of cooked greens while still hot and before serving (use sheep’s milk or sheep-goat mixture for true Greek taste)

To prepare:
Cut the Greens into bite size pieces. Wash several times in bowl with water to remove any soil. If using kale with thick stems tear the leaves off the stems and discard stems. For Swiss chard add stems to pot.

In a large pot add all the spices including garlic powder except for the salt. Stir together and cook and cover over Medium heat for 30 seconds to release the aromas.

Add water, salt and Greens, then olive oil and stir together. Cook on Medium heat until stems and leaves are soft depending upon which greens you use. Check after 10 minutes and stir again. Taste to see if greens are tender and continue cooking up to 20 to 30 minutes. Add more water if needed. Strain water from greens and return to warm pot with burner off. Squeeze lemon juice on greens. Add crumble Feta cheese and toss lightly. This can also be made without the feta for those who prefer dairy-free. Place in serving plate. Taste delicious warm.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

For more recipes, videos, and tips for celebrating Life, Love Food and Travel with a Mediterranean twist, visit www.RomancingTheTable.com.

Additional Bio info:
Cynthia is an award-winning on-camera personality, lifestyle journalist, Author and Mediterranean home cook. Her Romancing the Table®.com blog/website celebrates life, love, food and travel with a Mediterranean twist. She is also the co-producer and host of #1 NY Times About.com culinary travel DVD – A Greek Islands Destination Cooking Class that was filmed in Santorini Greece. Cynthia is an American Greek-Italian who enjoys celebrating her heritage and living in Santa Barbara with her American-Greek husband James, a documentary filmmaker. She is also the author of Diary of A Modern Day Goddess®, – a lighthearted guide to creating a life that nurtures your body, mind and soul. For recipes, podcasts, videos, tips and DVD go to www.RomancingtheTable.com and www.CelebrateGreece.com.

If sharing this recipe please credit recipe to its creator – Cynthia Daddona www.RomancingTheTable.com Thank you!
© C.Daddona 2011

Watch this video filmed in Santa Barbara and Crete that includes how to make my award-winning horta recipe!

Eating a consistent amount of greens – raw and lightly cooked or steamed can help you live a longer life! I now realize this is what contributed to the longevity of my Mediterranean relatives. Greens are a staple of the Mediterranean diet, one of the healthiest cuisines in the world. My Grandfather Benny (originally from Southern Italy and former Greek colony) ate a green salad fresh from his garden and bowls of steamed spinach splashed lavishly with olive oil as often as possible and lived to be 97 years old.

Grandfather Daddona by Dianne Daddona.

My husband’s Greek Yai Yai (grandmother) Jean loved talking about and eating her horta. She lived to be 101 years old. Her sisters eat horta as well and are now in their 90′s. I was thrilled to make my classical horta recipe and my other horta recipe with a twist for Jean and my mother-in-law Helen months before Jean passed away. My father-in-law who doesn’t like eating greens, even enjoyed eating his greens.

Cynthia smiling after talking horta with a Cretan Yia Yia (Grandmother)

Filming a video about the Mediterranean Diet & Lifestyle at Kosta Mare Palace Resort & Spa

What joy I had was when I found out that my greens recipe was selected as 1st place in the 2nd Annual Mediterranean Diet Recipe Contest sponsored by Oldways, a culinary think tank advocating a return to healthy, traditional old ways of eating. Their letter said: “Congratulations. We thoroughly enjoyed making and tasting your Greek Horta recipe!” I gave my greens recipes with some twists of spices and the option of adding feta to a friend of mine who made them at home and she loved them and so did her children.

I am especially thrilled that there was a Greens recipe selected since it celebrates my passion for showing others how eating from the Mediterranean diet can be healthy while also tasting delicious. Most of all I was inspired to create RomancingTheTable.com after visiting the Mediterranean and seeing how they savor times at the table.

UPDATE: This month Oldways is sponsoring Mediterranean Month and we are eating our greens as usual but a bit more this month. Here is a post I wrote about how we are celebrating Med. Month at our house during our date nights.

The Mediterranean diet includes an abundance of food from plant sources, including fruits and vegetables, grains, beans, nuts. There is also an emphasis on fish and replacing butter for extra virgin olive oil, a heart-healthy fat. Meat and dairy are eaten in small amounts. There is also a vegetarian meatless Mediterranean Diet Pyramid. Research that began on the Greek Island of Crete after WWII confirmed that the Mediterranean Diet is one of the healthiest cuisines in the world that contributes to longevity. Research then expanded to Italy and other parts of the Mediterranean. Of course exercise and the enjoyment of sharing food around the table contributes to one’s well being as well.

Whenever possible eat seasonally fresh and locally grown food which maximize the health-promoting nutrients, minerals and antioxidants of the foods. I am a big advocate of eating organic and local whenever possible since it supports the farmers, the environment and a healthy and pesticide free body! As an American Greek Italian married to an American Greek who loves to eat food of his heritage — we eat the Mediterranean diet on a consistent basis. Since we live in California, our menu is often an organic California-Mediterranean menu. We like to eat the way our grandmothers and grandfathers ate back in their native land – which would be naturally organic and seasonal. You can often find organic produce at your a local farmers market or CSA (Community Shared Agriculture) program in your area that offers a weekly subscription to a farm’s harvest by checking out localharvest.org.

Check out this video I did as AphFoodite™ – the Greek goddess of food, romance and love – that was filmed in Crete.

What brought us to Crete? My husband Jim and I were delighted when the Pan-Cretan Association of America (through the Greek Trade Office and the Greek National Tourist Organization) invited us on a press trip to the wonderful island of Crete during the summer.

Filming a segment about the Mediterranean Diet & Lifestyle at Kosta Mare Palace Resort & Spa

Cynthia at the Minoan Palace of Knossos

During our visit to Crete, we enjoyed the beauty, romance, culture, history and cuisine of Crete. Back in 2006, we spent part of our honeymoon in Elounda, Crete after being married in a Greek island wedding in Santorini. We were very happy when we returned to Crete and had the opportunity to visit a variety of wonderful new locations. We discovered that Crete has something for everyone – from the finest hotels, located on the magnificent Mediterranean Sea, to the agro-tourism farms/wineries to the archaeological splendors of Knossos Palace and the Herakleion Archaeological Museum.

We particularly enjoyed the hospitality shown to us whether it was from an owner of a hotel, agro-tourism farm, or even a psaro-taverna (fish restaurant).

Cynthia smiling after talking horta with a real Cretan Yiayia.

Click here to see a video filmed in Santa Barbara and Crete that includes my award-winning horta (greens) recipe.

2011 UPDATE: This month is also National Mediterranean Diet Month (Med Month!) created by Oldways, a world-renowned source of Mediterranean diet information, “to highlight the healthy Mediterranean Diet and its lifestyle practices.” It is based healthy foods “that have traditionally been consumed by people living in the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea.” In celebration of Med Month I have also posted my video on Romantic, Healthy and Delicious Mediterranean Date Nights with recipes.

The quintessential romantic table at Manousakis Winery (Nostos Wines) near Chania.

Agreco Farms, an agro-tourism site.

Oldways created the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid along with the Harvard School of Public Health. According to the pyramid, we should eat mostly vegetables, legumes, grains, fruits, herbs, spices, and healthy fats such as olive oil on a regular basis. Seafood should be eaten at least twice a week, poultry, diary, and eggs consumed daily to weekly, and red meats and sweets should be on the menu less often. Being physically active and enjoying meals with others is also an important part of the pyramid and the Mediterranean lifestyle.

James and Cynthia enjoying fish, horta, Greek salad and Octopus seaside in Crete.

Check out this short video on my wonderful experience as a CSA member
(Community Shared Agriculture) at Fairview Gardens, one of the oldest organic farms in California. With increased national interest in eating locally grown organic foods for one’s health, the environment and supporting your local farmers, a CSA program is a great and affordable way to ‘eat like a Mediterranean’. The Mediterranean diet, largely plant-based, has been proven scientifically to be one of the healthiest diets in the world.

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Check out RomancingTheTable.com for recipes, tips and watch me explore the cuisine of the Mediterranean (on location) with our #1 New York Times’ About.com Culinary-Travel DVD, A Greek Islands Destinations Cooking Class (DVD), filmed in Santorini, Greece. For women’s wellness tips, check out my Amazon.com Top Selling book, Diary of A Modern Day Goddess.

For more information on Fairview Gardens visit FairviewGardens.org.

To find a local Farmer’s Market or CSA program near you, visit LocalHarvest.org

During the course of one’s lifetime we will all have eaten many meals whether alone or with others. Some which are ordinary and others quite special. The mere scent and taste of a certain food or even a photo can transport us back to a wonderful food memory which includes the people, the food and the location.

A Greek salad or horiatiki (villager salad) is what I love to make at home as often as possible. Its gorgeous colors and shapes of ripe tomatoes, green or red peppers, Kalamata olives, cucumber slices sprinkled with Greek oregano and lemon juice and completed with a glisten of olive oil and creamy feta cheese (made from goat and or sheep’s milk) are a feast for the senses. It is also take me back to my wedding and honeymoon on the Greek islands of Santorini and Crete and our recent trip to Naxos and Mykonos.

Watch the video below and join me as we enjoy a Greek salad by the Mediterranean sea at a Greek taverna, Alexandros, located in the Little Venice section of Mykonos:

» Click to watch the video

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Our Greek village salad in Mykonos is another precious deposit into to our romantic culinary food memory bank.

Remember you can create or recreate your own wonderful food memory at home or while traveling as well.

– I want to share with you a simple and easy recipe to make your own Greek salad which I now call:

"A Grecian Goddess Greek Salad."

- Go to the recipe section of this website to view this and all the delicious recipes.

- You can also watch clips of another culinary travel memory we had in “A Greek Islands Destination Cooking Class” DVD which was filmed in romantic Santorini, Greece and chosen the #1 NY Times About.com culinary travel gift.

If you any questions or a culinary food memory you would like to share email me at cynthia@moderndaygoddess.com