You have heard of the Blue Zones. These are the areas in the world where the oldest people live. They include Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece; and among the Seventh Day Adventists in Loma Linda, California.
It’s not entirely clear what these areas share in common physically except that we know the people living in each area share a lifestyle that is physical. So today I noticed a recipe called the Longevity Stew from Ikaria. I had to look up Ikaria to learn it is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. And I couldn’t wait to learn what was in a Longevity Stew.
Imagine however that to my surprise this Longevity Stew is a simple recipe of black eyed peas that every poor kid I knew grew up eating. There is nothing fancy about its preparation either. Just put the peas in a pot and cook them. Take a look at the recipe here. The trick with all legumes is in flavoring the bean once it hits its sweet spot.
I am a legume eater. There is generally a pot of organic beans either on the stove or in the freezer at all times. This particular Longevity recipe changes things up a bit with the use of fennel. It’s a little hard to imagine how the black eyed peas, tomato paste and fennel cook down together to produce a stew. But these peas take on the taste of their preparation. And who is not interested in vitality.
The question is do you focus more on getting your vitality from your food or from physical exercise.
Diane Kochilas says
Please credit this recipe correctly as it was originally mine, as posted on the anderson cooper, 360 blog, after the show did a piece in my kitchen on Ikaria on Blue Zones cuisine.
Thank you,
Diane Kochilas
boomrwiz says
Hello Diane,
Thank you for visiting boomerwizdom and sharing that the credit for this recipe was incorrect in the Blue Zones site where I came across it. Based upon where I found it I did not know and I want you to know that no slight was intended.
For all the readers of boomerwizdom, indeed Diane shared this recipe at http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2009/04/22/ikarian-diet-a-key-to-health-and-longevity/ in the year 2009.
Southern Americans and poor people generally who eat black eyed peas are always looking for new ways to prepare them. Please come back again.
Patricia