Passing along Southern Italian Foodways to You

**Announcement!**

I would love to host you at my final cooking class of the summer in August, so email me now to reserve a space!

This class will focus on Southern Italian foods and cultural foodways, which, as you'll see below, I learned a lot about while in Naples, Sorrento, and Sicily this spring. It was gorgeous. In fact, this was the sight that greeted me from the window of the hydrofoil as we docked- quite amazing.

Pozzuoli and Napoli held their own charms- views of the sea and charming locals high among them- but the next stage of my trip launched me into the independent mode of travel. From the seaside you see above, I scaled the cliff (ok, climbed the stairs) with my suitcase, and getting some advice from the tourist office, I scouted out a few small hotels before deciding on one.
The night of my arrival I wandered around the small town of Sorrento, glimpsing citrus trees in every yard, people in every cafe, and a bustling center of town, which included this gated corner alcove, apparently an ancient men's club (so unfair).

I walked and walked until I was so hungry I had a hard time making a dinner decision... ending up with this spread, so I didn't end up too badly...
Whole fried anchovies (unless they were sardines? I can't find a good way to tell them apart when battered and fried), octopus, shrimp, and more- all celebrated the generous gifts of the Mediterranean Sea. Perfect for my sampler nature.

After a couple days like this, I went to see one of the most famous historical sites right nearby: Pompeii. Having gotten a good look at Vesuvius on the hydrofoil journey crossing the bay from Naples to Sorrento, I was excited to see this city that was buried in an instant, so long ago.

What bowled me over about the site was not the professionalism of the preservation or the views of the countryside (although the site was well managed, the surrounding suburb was rather scrappy), but the unbelievable detail brought to us whole and untouched from that distant culture. Here is a frescoed wall from a bath house. Such colors, thousands of years of ash and dust later!

I recently had "atavism" explained to me in an online course, and it was connected to the idea of a discontinued past, that past which is not linked to our present because we perceive it to be too different. Pompeii was nothing of the sort- the people living here had road ruts under repair, were building extensions on their houses, and had decorations lovelier than many expensive ones I've seen  in our own time.



Mosaics laid so precisely.

Signs lettered so carefully
--and in recognizable script!





It made the tragedy of the deaths in the settlement all the more real. Here, the archaeologists had left their mark, finding the bodies burnt to ash, essentially vacuuming them out, and making plaster casts of how their bodies were found. It was both eerie and compelling to see the models, composed of some of the ash of the bodies themselves, on display in their final, frantic positions.

But since the one plaster model I saw was placed near the entrance I used, I had a couple hours after that of wandering around the narrow streets and peeking through other courtyards to sweep out the sad thoughts. Marvel at the art and society of this little town was the foremost emotion, and by the time I finished, I was ready for switching gears.

What did I jump to? My cooking lesson with Chef Lucia!

She had a menu planned and printed out for me, and we mixed it up a bit as we went along. Chef Lucia took me through an immense amount of details as we made our way through rolled beef, stuffed eggplant, and rolled eggplant (I requested the eggplant- love it!). One of the highlights of the class was the ballet dance of languages we all did, as her son translated for me, I tried to understand Lucia's Italian, and she mostly understood my English. It made 2+ hours of standing on my feet in the little kitchen fly by, and that is saying something!


Chopping.

Tearing.

Mixing.

Heating garlic in oil!

There are proper ways to do everything, and traditional ways, too, as in whether you peel your cucumber completely or in stripes- one way gives you the Napolitano version, the other, the Sorrentino.


One of the add-on items on the menu was fresh pasta from potatoes, usually known as gnocchi (that is a link to an excellent tutorial with step-by-step pictures- go see for yourself!).

We used a pasta machine, the kind that clamps on the counter and cranks by hand, which led to some more ballet-like hilarity among the three of us. We also used a tool like the one shown  in the linked tutorial above, which looks like a miniature washboard. It is obviously a skill learned through repetition, to drag two fingers with a dollop of gnocchi dough over the wooden board in such a way to create the classic shape. I tried, but my pasta didn't win any beauty contests!

It was a lot of fun, and even though setting up the class was stressful at the last minute, and finding the place was another adventure, it was all totally worth it.

Now I have this precious experience to share with you!

Have you taken cooking classes on vacation? How did it give you a different view of the location and the region's people? Did it help you connect the region's past with its, and your, present?

It's magic!

Let us hear about it in the comments...

Ramping up the Delight

For all you locavores out there, this post is a bit embarrassing...

For me, that is.

Yes, those are ramps up there. Ramps, as in the trend-du-moment harbinger of spring ending and summer beginning. Since we had an awfully long, drawn-out spring (who's complaining? not me), and a peek-a-boo summer, things may have been a little mixed up. And they were. But it's still a bit late to talk about ramps.

But that's ok, I'm not giving a recipe. I'm actually highlighting a delightful observation I made at the time of cutting up the expensive, farmer's-market, little darlings:

I matched my food!

As I looked down and the penny dropped, I felt happily content to be so in tune with the season that I had on a purple top and green shorts- ha!
The ramps went into a lazy-man-scramble with some early tomatoes, and were paired with those all-stars of the sustainability world: anchovies. More specifically, marinated white anchovies, a specialty which the Spanish call boquerones, and the Greeks call gavros. I first met their ilk at Estadio, and later bought these at Vace, an Italian deli-and-pizza stronghold in the Cleveland Park neighborhood.

It was a simple, filling, and nutritious meal. Eggs and anchovies = good proteins and fats; tomatoes, ramps, and herbs = 2 fruit and vegetable servings for the day. And that's pretty much how I do my food accounting. It's not overly complex.

Moments when you match what you're chopping... now THAT's ENTERTAINMENT!

I'd love to hear how you all entertain yourselves with your own passions. These types of stories sustain us as we follow our dreams. So do be a peach and tell us a story, eh?

I am currently trawling for students for my next cooking class, possibly next week. The armchair travel theme is Southern Italy (oh, aren't you dying to see where I went? Soon!), and the menu will be different from the last one- modified to include Pizza, as only southern Italians can make it. (And those who have learned from southern Italians, of course!) Send me a message if you or someone you know may be interested!

**Sincere thanks to all who have like the new Taste Life Twice Facebook page! I'm delighted to have another way to connect with people, and look forward to enjoying the recipes, stories, and opportunities to be shared.

Mind-Swimming and Mind-Diving

Things have been pretty crazy 'round here.

Shady Shot of Caramelized Cabbage & Roasted Roots!

I had the first test-run cooking class on April 5th, and the second on May 3rd. Both menus showcased Scottish cuisine, and were a blast to put on. I also hosted a little dinner party on April 13th, between a work trip to Memphis and another to Omaha, and oh- let's not forget that I was in DC for my birthday (April 20th) before jetting out to Italy for a week's vacation.

"A little month," as Hamlet says.

I've been in a state that I call "Mind-Swimming," inspired by the feeling that I am awash in details, projects, and ideas. My mind literally feels like it is navigating water because it is so crowded in there!

Last Saturday though, I had a day of "Mind-Diving," meaning I chose one topic for a "deep dive." I woke up at 4 AM after a dream and decided to jump into some behind-the-scenes blog work that I've been wrestling with (with the happy assistance of friend and blog coach Ethan Waldman of Cloud Coach). It continued until about 5 PM, and I made some good progress.

This swimming/diving metaphor is another way of expressing Emilie's (of Puttylike fame) concept of the Three C's: that there is some technique involved in organizing your time according to the type of activity. Is the activity one of creation, consumption, or connection? This concept sort of blew my mind a few months ago, and I've been using it as a touchstone for getting things done in a way that doesn't burn me out- highly recommended.

Speaking of burnout, while I've been doing all this 'swimming' through ideas, and projects, and research, you may well ask what sustains me? The answer to that, and what gives me confidence that this venture will be a success, is that I keep doing it.

That's right. I'm using the insanity to prove I'm not insane.

Of course, what I mean is that if I didn't enjoy the cooking, hosting, planning, researching, why would I keep doing it? It gives this introvert energy, and that's the secret of following your bliss, folks.

It'll probably change and evolve, since that's what multipotentialites do, and that's okay! I'll be keeping a weather eye on the horizon, a firm hand on the rudder, and I'll adapt.

But for now, this is the hot ticket! :-)

I invited two couples of friends over for this Friday night dinner, and I knew when I did so that it needed to be creative. One of the husbands is a fancy cook. He had also previously commented on there not being enough food at one of my dinners, by which he meant the main dish. Lesson learned in my book, and so I wanted to be a little more impressive this time.
I started with sweet potatoes, as I often do (love this Ode to the Sweet Potato from Tasty Kitchen). I added paprika. I roasted with olive oil and salt.

I bought taco shells and shredded (the horror!) jack cheese, thinking of a potential different recipe, but collapsed them into a topping/stuffing/filling bar instead: with this red cabbage with apples recipe being the long-simmered and aromatic star.

I combined some unusual bedfellows when composing hors d'oeuvres: Saltines, black olive paste, and boquerones (marinated white anchovies).

The boquerones, by the way, were inspired by the tapas at Estadio- also delicious- but bought at Vace, an Italian delicatessen at Cleveland Park, much less expensively. Score!

There were a lot of choices in little bowls around the table, which was a little awkward to pass, but tasted good in the mouth. The husband previously referred to said that it was unusual to offer red cabbage as a taco filling.

Good observation.

We like doing unusual here.

Do try the red cabbage recipe- it's a smash hit, as well as cheap and easy (earning it a place on my next Favorites List). Let me know if you like it, or find good variations, in the comments!

Try, Try Again

I admit it.
I often try to do things that I consider virtuous and aligned with independent living values, not always because I aspire to be a pioneer woman (ahem), but because I like being able to opt-out of the modern food system, which I feel is not serving us well in the long term.

One of those Things I Do is try to make beans. I have failed several times - undercooking, overcooking - and succeeded a time or two as well. But it seems a hard thing for me to get a hold of. These complex legumes want to keep their mystery from me! Nevertheless, I keep trying.

Last weekend, I rinsed, I soaked overnight, and I left the house to meet a friend for the afternoon, leaving my Jacob's cattle beans (purchased at my local Bloomingdale Farmers' Market last summer) with their aromatics (bay leaf, onion studdded with cloves) in the oven at ~290 F, from this recipe. I met my friend Yasemin at the metro, and we went on a mini-adventure (for me, not for her) to the Turkish grocery/ convenience/ dry goods store a few minutes away (Attila's on Columbia Pike). I saw, for the first time in 6 years, products that made me squeal with delight- soup mixes and pretzel sticks, ayran and apple tea powder. It was like visiting a locked room in my mind.

Afterwards, Yasemin graciously had me in to her house for tea and snacks, and we talked and talked and talked...and of course you remember I had beans on at home? Well, the fact had fled from my mind, until I realized it was past 5 PM and had a shock of 'Oh I hope I didn't ruin my pan!' We postponed the forthcoming Turkish coffee and I sped home to survey the damage.

None! Still cooking away! Phew. Aren't beans grand?
I settled down with a movie and looked up an hour later to see that the beans were all crusty and had mostly dried up except the ones under the onion.

Sigh.

Like beans, running is something of a pioneer sport: no money down, no fancy equipment, just gumption, persistence, and determination. If you mess up once, no matter, you can try again next time. Tomorrow is my Try Again.

See you under the cherry blossoms.

3-2-1...Cast-Off!

Well, hello there.

If this is your first time visiting, you might want to catch up before you continue reading. I fractured both of the arm bones in my right forearm while ice skating in January, which curtailed some of my adventurous living for a few weeks, but now I am back.

The date for the Cast-Off, as I liked to call it, was Valentine's Day, and it was as good a distraction as any... plus a big positive step in the right direction! Now I've got a removable brace and physical therapy exercises, which aren't too bad at all.

This being my first time with a broken bone, it was pretty cool seeing how the process went. It was painfully obvious that the technician did a dozen of these a week, but it was new to me, and fascinating. So of course I took pictures. Cackhanded.

 First he used this mini-circular saw, powered by what looked like a shop-vac (see top picture) to cut through the fiberglass part. It tickled a bit, and gave off some heat. Me? Worried?

 

Then he used a pair of surgical tongs to widen the strip, and then surgical scissors to cut through the under-layer of gauze. I had been wondering what kind of super-sensing machine could saw through it all without nicking your skin for 4 weeks, so I was somewhat relieved that there were graduated steps to this process.

 When the cast came off, my skin felt weird. Old. And that makes sense, when you think that skin under a cast doesn't have a chance to slough off in its natural course, so I needed to exfoliate it. Ick.

What was surprisingly painful was the range of motion. I was kind of assuming that when the cast came off, I would be able to move my arm normally again, if carefully and with caution. Nope. What you see here is as far as my wrist would go backward and forward, on its own. Whoa. They said it would feel 'stiff,' but this was nuts! It got much better after 24 hours though, and now I'm chipping away at it with the PT. I'm very grateful it was a clean break and I didn't need surgery. Whew!
Now I am pretty much back to my old tricks...

Yaki Soba noodles and spice packet, but with pre-chopped vegetable mix from Trader Joe's (new item, and not something I would buy with two good hands)

Linguine with Smoked Trout, with fennel and onion broth (using up leftovers, frugal foodies can rejoice!)

Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies

What's not to love? I was having fun with the microwave reflection in this as well. Because if you can't have fun with your peppermint chocolate chip cookies, what can you have fun with??

More to come on those action steps from the Tea Klatsch, including social connections, skill cultivation, and balance. Do any of those jump out at you as something you're working on, or might need to focus on? Leave a comment and join the group!

The First Tea Klatsch

I.e. 'you need to crack a few eggs... to make oefs en cocotte'

The undertaking of a new action brings new strength.

Euenus

How exciting it is to start out fresh!

This Tea Klatsch is another first, following on the heels of the Literary Tea, and I am totally jazzed about these initial successes!

Since I usually document the cooking and baking process with photos but can't do the same for the event-planning process, I will weave in the event steps here, alongside the I'm-sure-tantalizing food photos.

Who doesn't need maple-oat scones?

1) Identify the need

Having kept my ear to the ground during discussions with friends, I noticed that many of us were going through transitions, and were feeling the need to talk about it, get advice about it, vent about it, and/or hear about others' experience. So, how 'bout a party?

2) Come up with Idea to Pitch to Serve the Need

Since people are busy, and people going through transitions usually more so, I needed to come up with an idea for a gathering that would be fun and inviting, not just a happy hour or brunch in DC. Being me, I like themes, and this one was easy to see: transitions!

3) Organize and Invite

I chose to twist the traditional coffee klatsch idea to my purposes, creating a 'Tea Klatsch," and promising to bake some goodies. This turned into brunch as I let my imagination run away with me (usually a good thing). I used Google calendar for the email invitation again, even though it created some non-gmail address problems last time...

4) Prepare!

I combed my spreadsheet of waiting-list recipes the night before, honing in on the tab for breakfast, and easily landed on the Maple-Oat Scones from Smitten Kitchen. I followed her recipe almost exactly, except that I substituted an extra 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour for all-purpose, and didn't have space to roll out dough, nor a cutter to cut (plus I'm not good at this), so used the (patent-pending) ball-and-squash method for shaping.

Next I found a couple great resources online for how to plan a brunch, one at Smitten Kitchen itself, and a similarly witty one at A Dinner Party, a favorite blog. From the former I took the idea for latkes, but neglected to take her suggestion to make them ahead, since I was struggling with a cold and hoping it would go away. Oops. 

From the latter I struck on eggs for a balance of protein-- baked eggs seemed the least fussy. Found that recipe (also called 'oefs en cocotte' for those who like to get fancy) here. Didn't change anything except the cooking time, which was foiled by two late arrivals, hence 'shirred eggs' became basically hard-boiled. Ah well. Also, for those who have crappy baking pans like me: I couldn't make a bain-marie of 1 1/4 inches, so I set the timer for every 3 minutes to check if I needed to refill the water in the shallow pan so it didn't go dry. That worked out well.

The Latkes: Having gotten the idea for these from Smitten Kitchen, I was immediately drawn to making them because:

1) I never got my annual fix of latke fever last Hannukah and was still craving it

2) I had a sack of premium Dutch yellow potatoes rarin' to go (thanks, Trader Joe's)

3) they were not bread and not protein, so seemed to offer some balance to the brunch spread (if pressed, I would include them in the vegetables group)

My one hang-up? When I Googled the how-to's for latkes, starchier potatoes were recommended for crispiest results. Where the heck were Dutch yellows on the scale of starchiness? More Googling ensued. It turns out the company which produced the potatoes, Melissa's, had a recipe for latkes on their site. Bingo! I went back to following SK's approximate recipe, approximately doubling the ingredients. My ingredients included:

1.5 lbs dutch yellow potatoes, rinsed and grated (held in water-and-lemon-juice while preparing the rest)
1 large yellow onion, chopped finely
2 small fall apples, peeled and grated
the beaten egg from the scones plus another medium egg, + flour

salt and pepper

The teas chosen were again from Capital Teas, a purveyor now available in Dupont Circle: Caramel Toffee Pu-Erh, Love Affair (a rooibos), South Pacific (a flavored black tea), and Lemon Basil Oolong. No complaints, except that I need more tea strainers for this kind of thing!

The results?

 I think they speak for themselves.

Or at least the smiling faces might.

Going forward, I would:
1) do the latkes ahead of time as suggested and reheat in a medium oven
2) ditch the individual baked eggs and go for one big cheese souffle

In terms of non-food results, some of them remain to be seen, but it was oh-so-energizing to get such positive vibes and unconditional support from other gals facing their own tough decisions.
I look forward to checking in with them about the steps they are taking to reach their goals, and expect them to be checking in on me with mine as well!

I Dream of Summer Produce

This is a post that I drafted for last summer-- I know, I know, but I can't stand to waste such good advice! lol ... And since it is supposed to snow later today, I thought a reminder of next summer wouldn't be amiss...

The first is the product of the lovely farmer's market cauliflower- purple was called "graffiti" and yellow I can't remember, but it was fun and different and delicious roasted with oil and salt, as the Brownie Points blog author recommends.

The second is also a product of the farmer's market- hey, I am not the make-your-own pasta type of gal, because I don't have the make-your-own-pasta type kitchen (i.e. it's got no counter space). But I bought the bacon sage fresh ravioli from Smith Meadows Kitchen, where the ladies were very nice and gave me some advice about making pesto substitutions, like if you're going to experiment with something non-basil, like radish greens, you need to add parsley for an herby taste, since radish greens are pretty bitter. Oh, and I didn't have nearly enough oil. I may be oil-phobic when it comes to that food processor, hmm...
but I forgot- it was a mix! The ravioli was from the market, but I added toasted pignolas and my very own radish-green pesto, since I thought a little with oil would be sweetened with the herbs inside the ravioli. I was right- very tasty!

The third photo is my came-home-wanted-something-fresh, and oh by the way, use up one of the tomatoes and the Kirby cucumber going soft! So I purposefully bought a container of white cheese at Whole Foods, going with a France import over some Easter European country for my first foray. Then I thought artichokes would go great. Then I added pignolas I already had because they seemed Mediterranean and in the right direction. Some salt and pepper (because everyone seems to do that) and then one leftover breakfast sausage (again, farmer's market!), and I had a full, fresh meal. Yum! So yum! that I had to do a remix last night, with some baked beans and toast added (on the SIDE, silly)- baked beans, very good, from Chatman's D'Vine Bakery a block away from my house, and sourdough from Atwater's Bakery at... you guessed it, the farmer's market.
I love what you do for me, Farmer's Market!
And NEXT post will be on the wintery night out on the town, I promise.

Cabbage for a Cold Night, or Not-So-Cold

A far cry from the chemistry of tea but one could still consider it a comfort food:

Cabbage

I recently saw Simply Recipes' post on Buttered Cabbage with Caraway Seeds, and it sounded like simple, steadfast, hearty fare- perfect for a wintry night.
Only we haven't had many nights in the way of 'wintry' out here in DC lately. It has been abnormally mild. And the one cold night we did have in the past few weeks, of course, my friends and I were out dancing, not at home behind the stove. Of course.
But the mild weather didn't stop me- there was definitely cabbage at the farmer's market and I had definitely brought some home. Cabbage and sausage are a classic combination, didn't stretch the imagination too much there. But oh, what a good-tasting classic! That doesn't always happen, you know.

So let's not forget those standbys of the food world, those humble yet straight-A students in nutrition that are easy to make, dress up, modify, and above all, eat.
Yes, very easy to eat.

 

Next post to take a peek at that night of dancing fun and snow!

The First Literary Tea 'salon'

If you read this blog fairly regularly, you may have noticed a gap over the last month.

Not too much content.

Not so big on the typing of words.

Not even pictures for a distraction!

Distracting.

This may be all the more disappointing after the momentum I had built up in December. Sorry, folks, for dropping the ball. I don't think the fractured arm completely accounts for it, either. I switched gears from an external, writing-focused effusion about upcoming changes in my life to an internal and social-based incubation of projects to prepare for those upcoming changes. So the stew is still stewing, I just turned the heat down and put the lid on- ya follow me? (another metaphor?!)

So, what have I been doing with my time? Not much cooking, unfortunately. I probably could be doing more, but that would entail visualizing each step of the cooking process in advance and then arranging for someone to do the parts that I can't manage (chopping, mixing, jar-opening, etc.) ahead of time, which is just too much planning, even for moi.

Mujaddara

I made mujaddara (found first here, before it became a celeb and was posted here), a dish long on The List, and appealing in its super-easiness. Highly recommended.

Braised Fennel with Balsamic

And then a couple of weeks ago, I had to follow through on an idea I had back in November, involving a fair amount of cooking and advance shopping. In this case, I did have to ask a friend over to chop some onions and fennel and wash some dishes... The reason I felt so committed to hosting this soiree was that its goal was to raise some funds for a non-profit that was having real difficulties financially. It was founded by a good friend of mine and three other education reformers who were looking to take stock of where we are in the U.S. and around the world, and make education systems better for all those involved (donate here if you believe in the importance of this cause!).

I had a great theme for the party too: a Literary Tea. I was reading about bygone food cultures when a tossed-out reference to Literary Teas of the 1960s caught my imagination. It described them as cocktail hours for the New York publishing world, another pushy scene where writers and agents and publishers acted out the social version of Darwinism. Ech. Not my crowd. But 'Literary Tea' had promise, and I crafted my own theme, reclaiming and repurposing the name for better use.

I had grand plans for cooking soups and baking breads and whipping up desserts, but in the end, I admitted it was not realistic to think I would make all these things for 9 people- the max that would fit in my living room!  So I did some make-ahead things (twice-baked shortbread, Saltine toffee bars) and then relied on 1) fire-under-the-feet inspiration, fueled by 2) clean-out-the-refrigerator spirit. It worked out great! The stew (main course) that resulted included the following ingredients, roughly in order of throwing in:
onions
vegetable broth
chopped carrots
tomato paste
cooked butternut squash
microwaved sweet potato
Trader Joe's precooked lentils
hot Italian sausage (farmer's market find!)

I asked my friends to contribute what they would have spent on bringing something to the dinner party, since I was taking care of everything (and replacing wine with tea, an AWESOME idea), and they went far beyond that, which was amazing. I was proud to contribute the amount that my friends had pitched in, topping it off with my own contribution, which amounted to $355. Amazing.

Along with the food and drinks, this salon was literary-themed, meaning:

I broke the ice with softball questions about favorite books of all-time and current books being perused. That went pretty well. After that, we dove into a long, involved round of The Origin of Expressions, which I was very excited about for this group. The game requires 1) the ability to bring forth useless factoids of world history and/or 2) the ability to fool people into thinking you know what you're talking about. Perfect activity for all these friends from grad school days, where you hone both of the above skills. One round was enough because of the complex scoring process, then we were on to Boggle, which a friend had brought- several lightning rounds ensued, and in closing, I can't believe I never played the game before. Awesome.

I hope you didn't think I've been idle. I hope you knew there must have been some close-to-the-heart reason that kept me from updating this blog more closely, because there was. But my Literary Tea was a success! and soon there will be lots more where that came from.

**cast coming off in 1 week! Happy Valentine's, indeed!**