Greek Food!! What is there not to love? I have to share with you one of my very favorite food sites on the internet. Greek Food Recipes and Reflections  is an excellent resource for Greek recipes (they always turn out!), culture, and history. It is published by our very own Greek Food Editor , Sam Sotiropoulos. Sam shared a recipe for Leek Pie last month that we've made weekly since I discovered it. Yes, his recipes are detailed, delicious, and help you create extraordinary meals. His baked chickpeas? Too delicious. Sam's joy of food - of cooking and sharing his Greek heritage and culture - shines through on each page.

We were lucky enough to sit down and chat with Sam about his site. Yes, it made me hungry! Here's what he had to say...

WE: Please tell us about your website, greekgourmand.blogspot.com...

SS: My blog is entitled Greek Food Recipes and Reflections and this title pretty much informs upon its content. For, although it may appear to be a simple cookery page, my blog is more than just a collection of Greek food recipes. My aim is to also provide a cultural framework within which my posts are intended to evoke a richer appreciation of Greek cookery, along with its ingredients, traditions, history, and practices as I know them. Basically, I am putting people in my head space i.e., the point of reference of a Greek person who loves this aspect of his heritage enough to feel impelled to share it with others. My sense of self-identity includes, indeed, is partly informed by the foods I grew up with as a child. Along with the foods came the language, history, traditions, folk-customs and all the rest of the peculiarities of growing up Greek. Add to this a long-standing facility with a skillet and a penchant for linguistic expression and my web site/blog was born.

WE:  You include videos on your site - I will never forget how to make Tzatziki sauce! Can you please tell us more about what sorts of videos you make for your readers (and why)?

SS: Primarily videos that are easy to follow and memorable for the recipes in
themselves, and not for the scenery of a beach, church on a cliff, or tanned bust line. I want viewers to focus on the food and making it. This, I believe, makes it much easier to reproduce the recipes as they are more effectively retained. I want people to make the foods I prepare for themselves. So, I show them how easy traditional Greek cooking can be and I invite them to try it out.

WE:  What is your experience with Greek cooking and food?

SS: I have always been surrounded by it. My father worked as a baker after he immigrated to Canada; before that, he had been a cook in the Greek military, and I watched him (along with my mother who is also an excellent cook) carefully from when I was very young. As a family, we generally ate according to a traditional Greek dietary pattern despite living in Canada; thus, a very definite sense of the Greek palate was established for me very early on. In addition, frequent and lengthy trips to Greece as a child, teen, and adult, brought me into regular contact with grandparents (on both sides) who were firsthand food producers: everything from olives and grain, to wine, cheese, goats, swine and chickens. I have picked and pressed our family olives as well as harvested chestnuts and walnuts from our plots about the village. More than that, some 12 years of my early working life were spent in the food service industry, both in Toronto and in Athens, as well as on two Greek islands: Santorini and Kos. From dish room, to prep kitchen, to kitchen proper, and then on to the service floor, I have worked (mostly) in Greek restaurants and have seen their inner workings from all angles. Finally, I spent the better part of three consecutive years after University traveling about the Greek islands and much of the mainland learning about various regional foods, traditions and handicrafts in my stops along the way. As a result, I believe it is safe for me to say that I have learned a few things about Greek food and cooking in my time (just a few!). My wife, Sophie, whose father was a cook & restaurateur does not mind at all as I do most of the cooking at home, and yes, it is mostly Greek food. Opa!

WE: What sorts of recipes are available on your site?

SS: There is something for everyone. Vegetarians and omnivores (and even
Internet Marketers!) are welcome and sure to find something agreeable to their tastes; after all, everyone has to eat. So, why not eat Greek food? You just might like it!

WE: What do you enjoy most about Greek food?

SS: I enjoy and respect its simple yet distinct range of seasonal flavours and
textures. When I think of Greek food, its rustic and unpretentious character is one of the first associations that come to mind and this always makes me feel at home. As mentioned, I have literally lived with it all my life. But don't get me wrong, I've come to enjoy other cuisines like Italian, Spanish and French as well. Though, I am always most comfortable in the Greek food culture; it is an integral part of my being.

WE: Is there anything else you'd like to share with us?

SS: A great deal more, but for that you will have to follow me on the web site
at: http://greekgourmand.blogspot.com/

Thank you for the opportunity to share my love of Greek cookery with the
audience here at WanderingEducators.com

WE: Thanks so much, Sam, for an illuminating discussion. I appreciate all that you share - you've enriched our lives.

Feature photo: Roasting Lamb, Greek-style, Easter 1974. Copyright and Courtesy of Sam Sotiropoulos.