Irene's Kitchen #1: Purslane Salad

Welcome to "Irene's Kitchen". My sister Irene Gevezes has been living on the Greek island of Ikaria since 1975, and she is a phenominal cook - amongst many other things.

Since I have been staying with her for the past couple of weeks, I have decided to create some short videos documenting her life, and that of her family and fellow Ikarians - including this ongoing series which we have called "Irene's Kitchen".

Here she is preparing a salad consisting of potato's and purslane, a plant most people consider to be no more than a common weed.

In fact, the online edition of Men's Health magazine http://www.menshealth.com put Purslane on its '10 Best Foods You Aren't Eating' list, adding that, "Purslane has the highest amount of heart-healthy omega-3 fats of any edible plant, according to researchers at the University of Texas at San Antonio. The scientists also report that this herb has 10 to 20 times more melatonin -- an antioxidant that may inhibit cancer growth -- than any other fruit or vegetable tested."

So what are you waiting for? Go out into the garden and see if you have purslane growing there. Pick it - clean it - make a salad, and start eating your way to good health.

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Irene Gevezes was born and raised in Adelaide, Australia, where she lived for the first 25 years of her life. Born to Greek migrant parents, and one of eight children, she married Ilia Gevedes on the island of Ikaria in 1975.

Irene has rooms for rent in the village of Kampos, Ikaria. These rooms are perfect for short term rentals of a week or so. Rooms either have two beds or three, cupboard and wardrobe space, a table and chairs, and a fan is provided for warmer weather. Each room has its own bathroom and shower facilities. There are no kitchen facilities, but there is a refrigerator that is shared between all guests. An electric jug is available for guest to make their own hot drinks.

Kampos beach is just a short walk away, and there are numerous archaeological sites of interest in Kampos itself, and the surrounding area.

The rooms are just metres away from Zac's Cafe where you can purchase breakfast or delicious home made meals made from local fare at reasonable prices. Zac speaks excellent English (as do numerous people in the village), and he is a generous and genial host.

As you can see in the videos, Irene herself is also a knowledgeable and wonderful host. You can contact Irene to enquire about booking her rooms at the following email address:

irenesrooms@hotmail.com

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Irene's brother Jim Lesses is a singer songwriter, film buff and now, amateur film maker. He made these short films while staying with Irene during May-August, 2008.

Jim has recorded and released two albums of original music, and has his own website at http://www.jimlesses.com from where you can hear his music, read full lyrics to his songs, and learn much more than you ever wanted to know about Jim and his career.

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Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• Jim
• Lesses
• Irene
• Kitchen
• Gevezes
• Ikaria
• Greek
• Islands
• Aegean
• Sea
• Culture
• Travel
• Log
• food
• gardening
• health
• purslane
• salad

[jimlesses]

Yes, Irene (my sister) adds vinegar, olive oil and salt to flavour the dish.

[juchjaju1965]

We call it VERDOLAGAS it is wonderful cooked with pork in green chilie.

[leapingfroglady]

Thanks so much. This is an easy recipe. Sounds delicious.

[claudius2u]

Ha! Never knew this "weed" was so good! Grew up in California - the stuff grows everywhere there's water! Now living in Washington - it's all over! Lived 11 years in Pennsylvania - there too!

Ever hear of "Lambs' Quarter"? Super good with high C, Iron, and Calcium! Grows in beach sand, farm yards, alleys, and everywhere else! Great cooked or fresh. On the beach, its leaves have a crust of salt! Yum sea salt!

[htown22m]

was vinegar one of the ingredients? I will be trying this potato salad out this weekend. :)