Nikitas, a young man about two meters tall, handsome, with green eyes and black hair, was his mother's pride.
His friends called him “Douglas.” Except that Nikitas was taller and more handsome than Kirk Douglas of the then golden age of Hollywood.
His mother had him as a pillar and pride in the house.
After two daughters, when the long-awaited son was born, everyone fell for him!
Nikitas was raised by a goatherd, with a Greek mother from the
Adana, Turkey, who cooked elaborate dishes with great passion – to make your mouth water – the young man came and “tied” as the old people used to say.
Every now and then his mother would pick him up, because she had no one else like him, her only child.
Her wish was for her son to find a girl "at home" to take care of him, to cook for him well,
to keep the house clean and raise their children.
So the time came for Nikitas to meet a girl who was from a "good family" and of course, in a short time, he married her.
Lenio was a beautiful girl, tall, dark-haired, slender as a cypress, about the size of Nikita. But the mother-in-law's concern was deeply rooted in her gut. She wondered: "Will this "little girl" know how to cook for my son?" Don't look at the new times where men also cook. In those years, the 70s and 80s, the conditions were very different from the modern era we live in.
So the mother-in-law still had doubts because the daughter-in-law she had acquired seemed relatively young and inexperienced.
But Lenio was very smart, because she also grew up with a mother who loved to cook and she always remembered how the whole neighborhood would smell when she cooked her food. She kept glancing at her mother's cooking and imprinted what she saw in her mind.
But the mother-in-law didn't know this. She saw a thin little girl in the coolness and youth and it was hard for her to believe that this creature was capable of cooking like she was.
Time passed and Lenio, as the month of May arrived, when the kitchens are filled with fresh zucchini, various herbs and spring onions, decided to cook stuffed zucchini and invite her in-laws to try one of her favorite dishes.
It is true that Lenio put all her art and passion into making the food a success.
She cleaned the zucchini, browned the ground beef, added the fresh chopped onions, dill, mint, parsley, rice, salt, pepper, and stuffed her tender and fresh zucchini into a large pot. She turned on the heat and let them cook, checking every now and then to make sure they didn't burn.
The house was filled with musk from end to end, as if it were a kitchen! Soon she made the egg and lemon sauce, bathing them and immediately covering them to keep them warm.
When the in-laws arrived for dinner, the mother-in-law was in a state of anxiety. She tried to hide it, but in Lenio's eyes it was obvious. Cool and smiling, Lenio spread the white cotton tablecloth on the table, placed all the accompaniments, and soon served the stuffed zucchini to each of them individually.
He placed two medium ones on each plate, carved them, and drizzled them with the thick egg-lemon sauce that made them even more attractive.
All the dishes on the table were a feast of colors and aromas, and this also gave Lenio greater confidence since she had tasted her delicious zucchini before.
So as everyone tasted the first bites, her father-in-law started praising her!
_What a beautiful and delicious meal you made, bride!
The man ate and could not get enough...! This is the first time I've eaten such delicious zucchini! Well done, my child!
Eager, Lenio immediately got up from the table and asked her father-in-law.
_Shall I give you some more, father? I have plenty of food.
_Of course, my girl, I would be very happy to!
And Lenio happily served her father-in-law for the second time.
Nikita's mother couldn't believe that her daughter-in-law could finally cook so deliciously.
In a short time, Lenio, since she was just “stealing” recipes by looking at the dishes cooked by her mother-in-law from Adana, Turkey, made one of the most delicious dishes of her homeland, without her mother-in-law knowing. Lenio kept this as a surprise for her!
The food was called “yuksuk.” He made handmade pasta just like his mother-in-law had taught him. He put it in a pan to dry for a few days and then made it into a chicken soup. He also added some well-boiled chickpeas that he roasted in butter, lots of lemon, garlic, sauce, and grated dried mint. That was it!
She then invited her mother-in-law and her sisters to come to her house to kiss them. The mother-in-law and her sisters were surprised and couldn't believe what they were seeing!
Every now and then he hugged Lenio, cheering her on in her own way!
_Did you see what our Lenio made? she would say. Look here! And here are his joys, kisses, laughter and pride!
This was also a kind of honor for the mother-in-law.
And that was just the beginning.
Lenio continued to cook delicious food like her mother's, raising her children. And of course, with the same foods she learned from her mother and mother-in-law, she cooks to this day, teaching them to her grandchildren, often hearing, "Hello, grandma, in your hands!"
