"There are no atheists in Obstetrics units and foxholes."
- Sam Sotiropoulos, The Greek Gourmand
My Foodbuzz button - Click to Enlarge
The Fates have a way of spinning things; let me tell you a story… Three weeks ago tomorrow my pregnant wife and I were paying a scheduled visit to the Obstetrics Day Unit 7th floor Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada. To our surprise we did not leave the hospital that day, or the next day, or on any of the days in the next three weeks after that. Indeed, my wife and son are still at the hospital as of this writing. Yes, I am a father! My son, Ilias Georgios Sotiropoulos was born on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 at 02:06. My wife is recovering well and my son is also doing well; he is a preemie just like his father. :-)
Not to belabour the point, but the past three weeks have been an eternity, as I am sure you can all appreciate. The complete shock of everything that transpired in the last 20 days only sunk in while I was writing this posting and I cried, loud and long. I am still fighting back tears of joy and gasps of simple human angst and relief as I type.
In spite of all that goes on around one in such a set of circumstances, it is necessary to find things to do to occupy one’s thoughts and stay positive. My wife is a rock, her strength and patience and courage have become a lesson for me… I, on the other hand, am a restless soul with an edgy imagination; I am already a serial insomniac, and suffice it to say, this twist of Fortuna did not help me to sleep any easier.
Just days before my wife was checked into the hospital my original proposal for the Foodbuzz.com 24 Meals, 24 Hours, 24 Blog Posts global blogging event had been selected and approved by the good folk at Foodbuzz. Both my wife and I had been looking forward to hosting a dinner event in our home for our friends and family, and to share it with the online food blogging community at Foodbuzz and beyond. As circumstances dictated a different than anticipated course we rolled with it, and I was faced with the likelihood of withdrawing my participation. My wife insisted that I wait and see what happened, as she (we) expected her stay at the hospital to be of brief duration.
When it became clear that my wife was not leaving the hospital until delivery, we/she did our/her best to settle into life with constant medical monitoring and care. There were even moments when I thought I might need some attention myself! Whew... So, there we were hoping for the best but fearing the worst as is natural in such a situation. One thing that became apparent right from the start was that the staff that was caring for Sophie (my wife, nameless nevermore) was/is an exceptional group of people. I cannot adequately express my gratitude and appreciation for the amazing work they perform day in and day out; work that goes on twenty four hours a day and is largely unrecognized and unremarked by the greater public at large.
Then I had the epiphany. I was going to use the opportunity of the Foodbuzz 24 event to bring some attention to the important work that Obstetrics units perform, and not only in Canada but the world over, starting with the good people on the 7th floor at Mount SinaiHospital. My wife embraced the idea enthusiastically; it gave us both something to look forward to in the short term within the hospital environment, after all, a hospital is a hospital.
When I contacted Foodbuzz and explained the situation along with submitting a revised 24, 24, 24 event proposal, they were excited about the prospect of my holding the event in the hospital and approved it without hesitation. As a result, I want to thank Ryan, Amy and Shannon at Foodbuzz for giving me something to plan and look forward to while sitting/sleeping at Sophie’s bedside; it kept me sane. I would also like to thank Mr. Christos Athanassopoulos, the Economic Consul at the Consulate General of Greece in Toronto for his assistance, as well as Mr. Alex Alexakis from Krinos Foods Canada Ltd., for generously providing the Greek cheeses, olives and spoon sweets I served for the event (see photos below). In addition, I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. Steve Kriaris of Kolonaki Group Inc., for supplying the beverages for the event (see photos below).
With the arrival of my son this past Wednesday morning, what was initially planned as a gesture of gratitude for the medical staff at Mount Sinai, ended up as a celebration party for his birth! By the end of the night last night, I had fed some 30 doctors, nurses, orderlies and patients of the 7th floor O.B. unit. What was on the menu? Well, it was a home style example of rustic Greek cuisine in all its glory; simple but tasty and wholesome.
Three Greek cheeses - Click to Enlarge
There were some excellent Greek Feta, Kefalograviera, and Kaseri (or Kasseri) cheeses that were generously provided by Krinos Foods Ltd.
Non-alcoholic Greek beverages - Click to Enlarge
For drinks we had Ioli brand Greek spring and mineral waters, along with Ivi brand peach juice drink, compliments of Kolonaki Group Inc.
My signature orange roast potatoes - Click to Enlarge
There were orange-oregano-thyme roast potatoes (made in exactly the same way as my lemon potatoes but with the substitution of oranges and orange rind for the lemons, along with the addition of thyme (or even rosemary).
Kleftiko all bundled up - Click to Enlarge
And there was lamb Kleftiko (or Klephtiko), which recipe I will provide in the next couple weeks.
Greek yogurt topped with sour cherry spoon sweet & walnuts - Click to Enlarge
And then some Greek style strained/pressed yogurt topped with a choice of grape or sour cherry Greek spoon sweets, walnut pieces and dried figs.
In addition to the above, there was an eggplant dip known as melitzanosalata, a roasted red pepper piquante dip (a variation on the classic tirokafteri dip), some giant Kalamata olives along with some mammoth green olives, a tomato and onion salad, and some whole grain and white baguettes, along with some pita bread.
Over the next couple weeks I will be fleshing out the menu with a few more recipes like the one for the Kleftiko as mentioned above, so stay tuned for more.
At this juncture I want to thank my wife, Sophie, for her great courage and steadfastness in the carrying and delivery of our son, Ilias. She did all the heavy lifting and I was just along for the ride and moral support. Also, I wish to once again thank the doctors, nursing staff, and orderlies at Mount Sinai hospital for their excellent care and attention, and most of all for their human empathy and understanding.
Finally, here is the video I cobbled together of the Foodbuzz.com 24 Greek Food Hospital-ity event from last evening, I hope you enjoy it!
Now that I am done feeding everyone else, I am going to have the nurse show me how to feed my son. :-)
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