The Oldways Table Blog

Celebrating health,
happiness, heritage,
and delicious,
nutritious food.

Mediterranean Diet Month Memory - Day 19

May 19, 2013 | Oldways Table

Attilio Giacosa Remembers a "Dish of Friendship"

I am an Italian gastroenterologist and I spent most of my life doing research on diet and health and particularly on diet and cancer risk at the National Cancer Research Institute of Genoa. In the mid-eighties I started collecting epidemiological data on the Mediterranean Diet and cancer prevention within the frame of the European Cancer Prevention Organization. These studies have been very successful and were followed by research projects of many other scientists who could confirm that if you follow a Mediterranean Diet your risk to develop many types of cancer is significantly reduced. Due to my scientific interest in Mediterranean Diet I have been in touch with Oldways for many years.

One memory takes me to the summer of 2003 when Dun Gifford and Sara Baer-Sinnott asked me to join them in an Oldways Postgraduate Course that took place in Cilento. This is a marvelous peninsula located south of Naples along the cost of the Mediterranean sea, with miles of sandy beach and various small fishing villages. Here you can find the Greek ruins of Paestum and of Velia (Elea) which was the home of the Eleatic school of philosophy. Here you can find people who met Ancel Keys, a lecturer at the University of Minneapolis (Minnesota), who lived here for many years and who was the first to demonstrate that there is a connection between the diet of southern Europe and heart diseases prevention: He was the first to call this diet the “Mediterranean Diet”.

During the Oldways course a dinner was organized in the restaurant owned by the family of the lady who used to cook for Ancel Keys in the sixties. I will never forget that meal. The warm friendship of the participants, the cooking lesson organized before the dinner, the beauty of the place and of the environment, and the quality of the food are still in my memory. I was sitting in front of Dun and Sara, who are good friends of mine, and we spent most of the evening talking about future collaborative projects and making comments about food, wine, and about how to enjoy life and be healthy. Among the various dishes that were offered on that occasion, I would like to describe one dish that will always remind me of Dun Gifford. I was eating stuffed anchovies and Dun took one fried fish from my plate and said: thank you Attilio, this really is the “dish of friendship”!

Alici ’Imbuttunate (stuffed anchovies)
Serves 6 people

2 lbs fresh Anchovies
4 eggs
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons sharp cheese (such as Parmigiano-Reggiano)
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Olive oil for frying
salt and some flour

Clean anchovies and remove their heads and slice lengthwise to stuff.

Combine eggs, cheese, parsley, and garlic mixture. Place the prepared stuffing mixture inside the fish. Then lightly apply the flour and breadcrumbs coating with salt and pepper on the outside. Place the prepared stuffing mixture inside the fish.

Fry in the olive oil and serve hot with a piece of lemon.

-Attilio Giacosa

Attilio Giacosa Remembers a "Dish of Friendship"

Among the various dishes that were offered on that occasion, I would like to describe one dish that will always remind me of Dun Gifford. I was eating stuffed anchovies and Dun took one fried fish from my plate and said: thank you Attilio, this really is the “dish of friendship”!

Mediterranean Diet Month

0 Comments

Mediterranean Diet Month Memory - Day 18

May 18, 2013 | Oldways Table

Nancy Harmon Jenkins Remembers Where it All Began

It was at that Spain conference that Oldways took the turn that would make it in the end a far more relevant organization, one that not only celebrated old ways of doing food but at the same time recognized an important and neglected health message contained therein. I remember the turn well. It actually began on a street in Seville a few years earlier, after a particularly spirited discussion of the effect of the Columbian exchange on diets around the world.

Dun Gifford said: “The Mediterranean Diet, for instance.”

Greg Drescher said: “Harvard School of Public Health, they’re doing great research.”

I said: “Hey, wait a minute, guys, Oldways is about 'old ways,' not about diet and nutrition.”

Fortunately, nobody listened to me because the rest, I think, is history. With the help of the IOOC, which immediately saw a possibility for olive oil, a key ingredient in the healthy Mediterranean diet, Oldways went on to sponsor the 1993 Mediterranean Diet Conference with the Harvard School of Public Health and that was the beginning of a movement that has gone on to greater and greater strengths over the two decades since. With the three principle organizers now departed, it remains for Sara Baer-Sinnott and her dedicated team to continue the challenge that was started 20 years ago on a street corner in Seville.

-Nancy Harmon Jenkins

Nancy Harmon Jenkins Remembers Where it All Began

Mediterranean Diet Month

0 Comments

Mediterranean Diet Month Memory - Day 17

May 17, 2013 | Oldways Table

Ed Blonz Remembers Cooking, Conferences, and Cultural Connections

I consider myself privileged to have been able to participate at Oldways meetings in the U.S. and around the world. These symposia were unique as they brought together scientists, journalists, and culinary professionals. My training is as a nutrition scientist, but I am also a journalist, having written eight books on food and nutrition, as well as a syndicated newspaper columnist. This background had provided a unique perspective to participate and contribute with Oldways. All sessions were beautifully organized by Dun, Sara, and their select staff, all working to provide the flavors of a specific food element or culture along with a discussion of topical food and science issues.

Meetings included a day where the chefs in attendance created a sumptuous feast, and one element I treasured was the opportunity to spend a day working in the kitchen with these culinary stars as they prepared the evening meal for the conference attendees. I would chop, stir, or do whatever as a willing kitchen slave, and it was hectic work at times, but it was wondrous to participate with all the talent working together to set out that sumptuous meal. A cooking class - or should I say class cooking - par excellence.

I was drawn to Oldways because of its uniqueness; it was the only organization speaking about the scientific basis of healthful traditions and the regional foods around which they are based. The development of the pyramids created a visual tool to facilitate understanding, one that focused on whole foods rather than component nutrients. Their practical appeal broadened when various lifestyle factors were appended. I specifically recall working with Dun towards adding of physical activity as the “foundation of health” base of the vegetarian pyramid at a conference in Austin, Texas in 1997.

The 2001 conference in China was notable as one of the issues discussed was the health implications of the slow but steady westernization of restaurant and fast food in China. The health infrastructure in China would be seriously challenged if they began to experience chronic diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes as we have in the U.S. This conference was in a “framework for solutions” format, and it was attended by many in the Chinese scientific and medical establishment. Translations were provided, but of note was that rather than taking notes to pass on to their superiors, they respectfully asked for our information to give to their bosses. Upon discussion with a local friend it was conveyed to me that these were professionals who trained during the Cultural Revolution, and one does not challenge the course set by one's superiors. Information coming from an “expert” through a prestigious international organization, such as Oldways, however, would be persuasive and make its point. It served to highlight the importance of Oldways’ efforts around the world.

I have nothing but praise for Sara and the entire Oldways team, offer my congratulations on their anniversary, and wish them good health and continued success with all their efforts.

-Ed Blonz

Ed Blonz Remembers Cooking, Conferences, and Cultural Connections

Mediterranean Diet Month

0 Comments

Mediterranean Diet Month Memory - Day 16

May 16, 2013 | Oldways Table

Kathy McManus Has Mediterranean Memories From Years of Practice

Kathy McManus is a longtime friend of Oldways and happens to be the Director of Nutrition and Director of The Dietetic Internship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Over the years we have had the privilege of Kathy joining us on many of our Oldways adventures. Today she visits our blog to share how the Mediterranean Diet has made a lasting impression on her life.

My interest in the Mediterranean Diet first started when treating patients who had lipid abnormalities with Dr. Frank Sacks in 1989. We found that when following a Mediterranean Diet our patients successfully lowered their LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, their HDL cholesterol either remained the same or increased a small amount. My interest increased substantially when I started cooking the Mediterranean way – with plenty of vegetables, fresh herbs, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, nuts, seeds, beans, spices, and whole grains.

I am so pleased my experience with the Mediterranean Diet spans further than my practice and my pantry. You see I have also had the pleasure of visiting various destinations throughout the Mediterranean, making for some special Mediterranean memories of my own. Last September I had the opportunity to visit the island of Pantelleria with Oldways. Every dish sampled was fresh, simple, and absolutely delicious! My favorite was an afternoon visiting the Abraxas Winery. There was a team of chefs cooking alongside the Master Chef, Peppe Trilol. We had a fantastic pasta dish, called Pesto Trapenese, with a fresh tomato sauce – no cooking! The ingredients were simply garlic, parsley, basil, extra virgin olive oil, and fresh luscious tomatoes. The garlic, parsley, and basil were creamed in a mortar. Simply scrumptious!

One of my other fun memories from the trip was visiting the caper farm. I was amazed at how these plants grow everywhere on the island – even in some of the rocks by the roads. The variety of recipes that utilized capers was just astonishing – now definitely a part of my Mediterranean pantry.

- Kathy McManus

Kathy McManus Has Mediterranean Memories From Years of Practice

My interest in the Mediterranean Diet first started when treating patients who had lipid abnormalities with Dr. Franck Sacks in 1989.

Mediterranean Diet Month

0 Comments