LIVING GRACEFULLY - Jennifer Reid

TASTE OF SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2011 PART 1

In this post, as promised, I’ll be sharing about my visit last weekend to the Taste of Sydney Festival 2011. But first, I need to share some evidence of Greek generosity, which I talked about here a little while ago.

Our Greek friend Arthur (who was mentioned in that post) and his gorgeous wife invited a small group of friends to try out one of their favourite Greek restaurants in Annandale, called Scorpios Taverna. I really must be generous with my recommendation for you to try this restaurant, because we left there feeling full in more ways than one – not just in our bellies, but in our hearts.

It was a night filled with generosity. The Greek restaurant staff were generous with their great service and hospitable attitude, even taking time out to do some traditional Greek dancing with our friends (which was so much fun to watch – OPA!!) The Greek families eating in the restaurant were generous with their smiles and their joy was contagious. And our dear Greek friends were generous with their friendship and reminded me how blessed I am to have people like them in my life! Of course, our Maltese friends who were with us that night are also a blessing (in case you’re reading)!!

The generous feast we enjoyed was called the Mediterranean Banquet ($45 per person), which included the following:

Entree – homemade aniseed bread, taramosalata, tzatziki, melitzanosalata, tyropitakia, BBQ haloumi cheese, keftedes and calamari….

Main – BBQ octopus, slow roasted lamb, lemon & oregano potatoes, chicken souvlakia, mussels in Athenian sauce & BBQ king prawns….

Sweets – baklava & galoktobouriko….

Mmmmm….just writing about such a feast is making me hungry! But now to the delights of the Taste of Sydney Festival….

Thanks to Chocolate Suze, I won a double pass to Taste by writing a short comment on her Facebook Page, detailing which dish I would like to try at the festival. This is what I wrote:
“Ah Chocolate and Rhubarb tart…such a sweet but tangy mix! This would definitely have to be my first port of call. I’ve always loved chocolate for its taste-good as well as feel-good properties, but my love for Rhubarb runs much deeper. Rhubarb was my late Dad’s favourite, so I have precious memories of Mum cooking it for him, and then sitting with him eating whatever delicious treat Mum had made! I love good food memories! So the Chocolate & Rhubarb tart it is! :)”

Unfortunately, I didn’t come across the Chocolate & Rhubarb tart, but I did get to try many other delicious treats….

First stop was Bitton gourmet jams, spices and dressings. The Mango & Ginger Jam was amazing….

Then on to The Grumpy Baker breads and muffins – I loved the Traditional Rye Black Russian Bread shown below, with its malty fragrance and soft texture…..

Nudie Juices – I particularly loved the Green Crushie with Spirulina…..

D’vine Organics dressings – their Lemon Roast Garlic Dressing was my favourite……..

Kohu Road Ice Cream – although hard to choose just one, I couldn’t go past the Strawberry flavour….

Patisse French Pastries – I couldn’t resist taking home a box of assorted macarons to try and they were melt-in-your-mouth exquisite. My favourite though, perhaps because St Patrick’s Day was just around the corner, was the green Pistachio ones…

Then there were the “delicious to some, but not me” coffee and wines, which I’m not a fan of, but tried anyway. (I know, I know…how can I profess to be a foodie but not like coffee and wine?) My friend assured me they were delicious, and I thoroughly trust her opinion.

This was the coffee I tried, made by the friendly Nespresso girl ….

And I tried a red by Dalzotto wines. My friend loved it so much, she offered to drink the rest of my tasting glass for me…..

Believe it or not, after taste-testing all of these delicacies, we still had room for a light lunch of Smoked Salmon & Potato Cakes from Bird Cow Fish. The simple but divinely flavoursome ingredients included salmon, potato, brown onion, bay leaves, cloves, mayonnaise, eschallots, capers, egg yolk, lemon juice, breadcrumbs, salt & pepper. They were served with fresh lemon and “to die for” tartare sauce….

As if all this wasn’t enough, we also got to “star-gaze” in the Taste Kitchen, with French celebrity chef and co-owner of L’etoile Restaurant, the marvellous Manu Feildel, putting his culinary expertise into action…..

I was totally in my element at the Taste Festival and loved everything about it. However, I started the adventure hoping to bring you just one newly discovered favourite food item. I look forward to revealing this in my next post – trust me, it will be well worth the suspense!

For now, I’d like to turn to the explanation behind the title of this post, “Living Gracefully”….

I was recently asked to start a blog for the Church I attend in Sydney, as an avenue for the women to stay connected in today’s busy lifestyle. I’m honoured to be part of a team of beautiful and inspiring women who contribute to this blog called Living Gracefully, and I look forward to learning from what they will share in their posts.

I’m of the opinion that no single person knows absolutely everything, and for that reason, we can always be learning from each other. I know that I continually learn from so many amazing people. When I think on some of the most precious people in my life, many of them older women, I realise they are my mentors. I learn from them. I have my Mum who is turning 80 years of age in a few weeks, my 3 sisters who range from 10 to 20 years older than me, my sisters-in-law and a number of older & wiser friends….women whom I greatly admire and love dearly.

As I continue to age, I become more and more sensitive to the issues of aging and often ponder on ways to prolong the inevitable. Adding a Diploma of Beauty Therapy to my repertoire a few years ago increased my knowledge of anti-aging strategies for the skin, but I believe there’s more to the aging process than meets the eye. Aging gracefully is not just about what happens externally, but internally as well.

I try not to worry about aging – all this will do is speed up the wrinkling process. I don’t try to stop the aging process – this is impossible. Instead, my main focus is on what I can do to grow old gracefully. I believe the aging process can be beautiful in itself, if we allow it. I think wrinkles can signify wisdom and the magnificence of a life well lived.

Over the years and especially recently, I’ve noticed the women I consider my mentors, saying things or behaving in ways that have taught me a thing or two about “living gracefully”. Indeed, they’ve shown me that if we live gracefully, we will age gracefully. Following are some positive strategies that these women, without even realising it, have taught me. If we all put them into practise, there’ll be many more of us living gracefully:

1. Hang out with positive people.
2. Continue to learn and keep our brains active.
3. Treasure the simple things in life.
4. Surround ourselves with people and things we love.
5. Tell the people we love that we love them often.
6. Don’t live in guilt…learn from mistakes.
7. Cry when necessary…but then bounce back and move forward.
8. Laugh as much as possible.
9. Ignore the numbers…don’t focus on our age, size or weight. Just make health our priority and everything else will fall into place.

I don’t know about you, but I love inspirational quotes. I love that a few beautiful words can put the spring back in my step if I’m feeling a bit down. I love that a couple of clever sentences can put things in perspective in an overwhelming situation. Here are two such quotes, to leave with you until next week….

“One day at a time – this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past for it is gone; and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful it will be worth remembering” Author unknown.

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away” Author unknown.