Soup Joumou; A Salute to Independence

Across the world, January 1st is a day to celebrate the completion of one year, and the high expectations of the year to come. Everyone makes all of their new year's resolutions that they know they will probably not keep up with throughout the year. No judgment here though, it's always good to have goals to work towards right? But, to one country January 1st means so much more than a failing promise to one's self.

San Inazio 2k17

Every year the Boise community comes together to help celebrate The San Inazio Festival that is held the last weekend in July at the Basque Block in Downtown Boise. This Festival is a 25+ year celebration honoring St. Ignatius of Loyola, who is the patron saint of the Basques community. It started out as a picnic where families would come together to eat and enjoy each other's company, and once it became so popular turned into a Boise community event that features music, dancing, sporting events, and of course some of the most popular foods from the Basques kitchen! I went and checked out the festival with a few friends, and even met 5 or 6 more people and had the chance to learn their stories which always fascinates me!

OPA! - Boise's 36th Annual Greek Food Festival

Boise's 36th Annual Greek Food Festival took place this past weekend in the Downtown Boise area every year during the weekend after Memorial Day. St. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church has been the hosting hub for the festival over the years, and funds raised have been used to help support the church's outreach initiatives along with their partners such as Life's Kitchen.

Although there have been Greeks in the Boise area for much longer than 36 years, the festival was started by about 20 members of the Greek community as a way to introduce Boise to Greek culture. One of the originals, Effie Karellas Kaufman, said that promoting ethnicity in the community was important to them. Effie has deep roots in the Peninsula in areas such as Athens, Arcadia, and Kalata Village of Greece.

"Eat Poor On New Year's, and Eat Fat the Rest of the Year".

Growing up in the south, it was a tradition to eat certain foods on New Years Day. Typically, when you go to any southern kitchen on New Years', you can expect to see a mixture of collard greens, hog jowls, cornbread, and rice, but one thing you will always see is black-eyed peas. But why? Well, let's dig a little deeper!