Feast of The Assumption

 Today is the Feast of the Assumption when the Virgin mary ascended into Heaven.It is a holiday throughout Catholic Europe, South America and here in Norht America. It's also a time of feasting and celebration.

Each country celebrates differently. The Germans bless herbs anf then put them in both sweet and savory dishes. Lavender is one of the plants blessed and it can be used in shortbread dough. Other savory herbs such as rosemary and oregano can be used in salad. Chives or schnitlau cn be chopped and mixed with sour cream or butter for barbecued baked potatoes or steak. This was also popular in pre-Reformation England where people brought their curative herbs to be blessed by the parish priest. The Italians take this day seriously foodwise.It is the start of holidays throughout the contry and many people celebrate at seaside resorts. They usually have a seafood lunch or dinner to commerorate Our Lady's Rising. Since its' also the beginning of the early harvest season so fruits and vegetables are blessed and eaten as well. Many start with a simple summer carpaccio of either meat or fish with burata and freshly picked basil. Chicken with peppers is also a popular Ferragosto dish.Some celebrate the day with an outdoor picnic of good cold cuts , bread and cheese.

Both Muslims who recognize the Virgin and Christians in Syria celebrate the day as well. The have wheat and small triangular cakes. These are made with semolina , a popular cake ingredient in the Middle East. At the Monastery of the Virgin near Damascus , there is merry making ,feasting and even horse racing. All this is heald in the Monastery courtyard where The Virgin first appeared to Justinian. The Greek Orthodox also celebrate it, The Dormition of Theotokos is when they make the meat dish yiorti. This is a mix of goat meat, onion and wheat eaten to break the fast before. The goat meat is cut up and tossed into a cauldron where the meat is boiled for two hours. Dirt and fat are then skimmed off. Chopped onions and wheat are added to this, creating a porridge.The bones are discarded when they float to the top and a priest blesses the dish. It's then spinkled with pepper and served to the entire parish. If you want to celebrate, then think of it as a fruit harvest celebration. Have strawberries or bluebrries, the color of the Virgin's robe. You could also try peaches or nectarines with a splash of white wine.

The Feast of the Assumption can be celebrated in a variety of ways. You can have it as a harvest of summer fruit or special dishes as yiorti or semolina cakes. It's honoring The Virgin in your way.

Don't Cook That - Eat it Raw

Why cook when you can eat your food raw? That's the philosophy of some chefs especially those who don't want to heat up a kitchen duyring these sweltering days. Surprsingly enough you can  eat  just about anything without it having been near a stove. There are all sorts of dishes that benefit with just being eaten fresh - in fact there's more flavor to them

Sushi is one of the most famous raw dishes in the world. Eating this Japanese staple is now a worldwide occurrence with more people putting aside their fears of downing uncooked seafood.They love the taste and the slippery cold feeling of raw, just sliced  tuna and eel.along with the brininess of  fresh seaweed wrappers. People go mad for almost every kind and practically gobble it down without much thought of any side effects. Long before sushi made it;s debut here Americans were slurping down raw oysters and clams. These have been relatively safe to eat , especially with local waters being cleaned up.. Nothing beats a bucket of clams and a few beers at any beachside bar.

What about eating other "raw foods"? Steak tartare which does elicit a certain amount of squeamishness from some although it  is perfectly all right to eat.As long as the meat is from a clean and sanitized butcher as well as being pre ordered it's fine.It has to to come from the cow's sirloin, tenderloin and T-bone areas. It's them mixed with a raw egg- again perfectly OK and seasoned with fresh chopped onion and spices. Carpaccio, is  a cousin to steak tartare and is now popular in many Italian restuarants across the world. It is sliced raw beef dressed with a creamy olive oil viniagrette and made at Venice's famed Harry's Bar by none other than its equally famed owner Giuseppe Cipriani.

This summer ditch the stove and have any of these raw dishes. They're  fine  and maybe even a little bit rebellious to eat a dish without being cooked. Just think of it as a new,cooler  way to eat during a heat wave