Dear Traveler; If you’re in love with Mediterranean countries like I am, try ….
The Olive Crescent
For those living in countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, olive trees seem almost holy. While I didn’t grow up there, as long as I can remember I’ve been in love with all things olive. Not just the small, round, glistening fruit, but everything associated with it; the amazing extra virgin extraction, the color, its nurturing environment, and even its place in history.
As I lived, worked, and traveled through those dry, sun-blessed environs for over 15 years, I found that most countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea grow a lot of olives. So I call it the Olive Crescent. Though not exactly shaped like one, I thought the designation fit.
Dowdy but Good Natured
My first memoir, Where Wild Olives Grow was due to my affinity with the countries I roamed through my early years: Spain, Greece, Turkey, Croatia, and Morocco. I ate olives on every salad, cooked most everything with its oil, and spent many hours recreating or slumbering beneath their generous boughs (I’m munching olives as I write this).
Olives have always held a noble presence in our history. As the oldest known cultivated tree in the world, it was the olive branch that told Noah dry land was imminent. Poor folk and kings alike, all ate and drank olive oil. Along with vineyards and pomegranate trees, the owner of an olive grove was considered affluent. The writer of the George DeLallo Company’s most excellent website expresses it best:
“There is something surprisingly modest about olive trees, given their noble history and legendary reputation, going back far before biblical times. For an American, the first time you meet the tree in person, you may well be shocked by the extraordinary ordinariness of it. Its shape and proportions are remarkably reminiscent of a dowdy, good-natured housewife – the kind who greets you in a tattered apron, with a disarming smile.”
One of our homes in Greece had a large backyard with eleven olives trees. Inspired by my Greek friends, I decided to harvest and cure my olive crop. Two months and buckets of salt later, I tasted my product and immediately spit it out. Like good vintners, the art of producing palatable olives does not come overnight.
Lastly, forgive me for the following:
Question:
If olive oil is made from olives and coconut oil is made from coconut what is baby oil made from?
Answer:
Mineral oil, Aloe Vera Extract, Vitamin E, Fragrance, and false advertising
Ken
