As many of you will already know, I have a second home in rural Spain in the village of Jacarilla. I love the Mediterranean way of life, sure, Spain is blessed with better weather than we have here in Britain which lends itself to long leisurely alfresco eating, but the Mediterranean diet is part eating plan, part attitude, there is no rushing through a meal, rather, eating is to be enjoyed with a glass of wine and plenty of conversation!
In Britain and America the popularity of fast food restaurants is growing everyday. We consider that fast food makes our busy lives easier, a low cost, fast service burger is a quick fix as we hurtle through life clutching our smartphones overwhelmed by the sensation of diminishing time!
Washington post journalist Brigid Schulte has written an interesting book 'Overwhelmed' the author has created a new noun-the overwhelm- to describe a state of being a hapless hamster set permanently on a wheel of pointlessness. The book is about how our busy lives have become a case of chasing our own tails until we drop dead! Driven by a combination of work, multi-tasking, an inability to switch off, competitiveness and guilt.
But not all of the Western world lives at this manic pace, the Greeks have two words for time: chronos is the time that is lived by the clock, and kairos is 'when time is not a number on a dial but the enormity of the experience inside it'. In Denmark the people place leisure time on a pedestal and see no kudos in working long hours. In Italy and Spain leisure time spent with friends and family around a dinner table is sacrosanct.
In Britain people seem to have lost the art of relaxing around food. On a sunny Saturday afternoon drive past a McDonald's restaurant near you and I bet it'll be packed! Whilst the odd fast food meal is on most people's agenda, squeezed between traipsing around shopping precincts or Homebase, spending a sunny Saturday afternoon around a table with friends and family and some delicious tapas is a good alternative.
I have just googled the price of an average McDonald's adult meal, at roughly five pounds per head you could certainly rustle up some some lovely tapas to share amongst your friends and family and as Brigid Schulle says: 'stop short, look at the ones you love, seize time-and feel gratitude!'
A novel idea is to serve a trio of tapas, a small fresh salad, a pimento stuffed with cream cheese, a slice of coarse pate on toast.
Simple but tasty bruschetta, mini baguettes sliced, toasted and topped with chopped tomatoes, onion, olive oil and balsamic vinegar
Classic cheese and biscuits drizzled with balsamic vinegar
Tomatoes with mozzarella and olives
Toasted bread with blitzed chorizo and tomato, topped with quails eggs
Quite often tapas is small portions of yesterday's stew
Small portions of fresh fruit, ice cream and yoghurt make a very refreshing desert.
Give it a go, buy some crusty bread, cheese , olives.......whatever takes your fancy! Open a bottle of wine, gather your family, friends or both! Remember, time never changes! There will always only be 168 hours in a week, the secret is to spend as many of them as possible happily!
Buen apetito!
Love Donna xxxxxx
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