Dog Days of Summer and the Fake Greek Salad: Ways to Stay and Eat Cool

The "dog days of summer" have nothing to do with dogs, and the Greek salad you think you know could be faking you out!This week in Family Tree Food Stories, Nancy May and Sylvia France chase one ancient instinct on a hot summer day... how to eat and stay cool.

From Persian ice pits in the desert to a Florida sponge dock to that coffee cup you're holding in your hand. You'll find out why the same star made the Greeks brace for disaster while the Egyptians threw a party. Want to know how a favorite Tarpon Springs "Greek" salad has been hiding a scoop of potato salad underneath the lettuce for over a hundred years? It includes two feuding family origin stories that neither side will drop.

Plus: Did you know that a famous New York coffee cup gave a secret nod to the Greek flag? How two Chicago restaurants fought over who first set cheese on fire and yelled opa. Oh, and how to help your dog stay cool too? Because you'll learn how to make a dog-safe pupsicle (and the peanut butter ingredient that can kill your dog), for Rover.

FAQ & A Few Key TakeawaysWhy is it called the "dog days of summer"? The dog days of summer are named after Sirius, the "Dog Star," the brightest star in the night sky. For about 40 days each summer, Sirius rises and sets alongside the sun, and the ancient Greeks blamed the season's extreme heat on it. The name has stuck for over 2,000 years, even though the star has nothing to do with the temperature. There's more in this episode.Is flaming saganaki actually Greek? Honestly, the fire part isn't. In Greece, saganaki is simply pan-fried cheese, without the flames, no shouting "opa." The flaming tabletop version was invented in Chicago's Greektown in 1968, and two restaurants still both claim they did it first.Why is the New York paper coffee cup blue and white? The iconic "Anthora" cup was designed in the 1960s to reflect the Greek flag. At the time, more than 600 New York coffee shops and street carts were Greek-owned, so a cup company created the blue-and-white design specifically to appeal to them. We think this was a terrific marketing idea. It was also made even more famous on NYPD Blue and The Wolf of Wall Street.

What To Do NextFollow Family Tree Food & Stories at podcast.familytreefoodstories.com so you don't miss what's coming, and send this episode to the person you think is spending too much time in a hot kitchen during the Dog Days of Summer.

Tell us on Facebook what was in your favorite cool salad made for a hot day, and leave u