It's looking like a bodacious bounty of beans

I'm feeling like a proud parent because I wanted to hold off from images until it was CERTAIN that we were all on the same page. "We" meaning the seeds that I had started indoors at the end of February/beginning of March. The "page" meaning the whole point of sticking the little buggers in dirt in the first place: to wake out of slumber and morph into something green. It had been an initial disappointment as several rotted while others just never took off, owing to the fact - and this I will admit - that I am a lousy caretaker..of seeds. But, despite no-shows from the montpellier french, the shiso, the okra, the thai tiger eggplant and the sicilian cucuzza, I am pleased to report that the fava beans (of which were purchased this year) have broken ground with one of them leading the race at a height of 3 inches. See him there in his own little container? [The date is written italian-style, it's March 2nd and not the other way around.] To the left is one of the many Akasanjaku long bean seedlings and in the forefront are Sweet Mama kabocha sprouts. What's next? Well, I'm crossing my fingers for heirloom tomatoes, uchiki kuri squash and winged beans. We shall see...

And while we're on the topic of green... I would like to shout it out that we are now purchasing GLASS-BOTTLED WATER! Yes, they are heavier. Yes, they are a little more expensive. And YES, I know we could use tap, but our water smells funny and if we can afford 30 euros/week for car fuel then we can spend 4 euros on H20. Once a week we return the empty bottles and get another 7 day's worth to keep us hydrated; less plastic crap goes into the environment and I get to check off one more item on the long list of ways to keep Italy and the earth clean. Reading this article concerning plastic soup was an eye opener for me. Although we snubbed grocery plastic bags for our own a long time ago (at the big stores in Italy they charge a minimum of 5 cents per bag), I was looking at sites for canvas grocery totes. They're okay if you shop daily, but if your style is more of the efficient once-a-week haul? My favorites are these heavy-duty sacs which we got in France at the Champion supermarket chain. About the size of a large paper sack-and-a-½, they come in shades of psychedelic purple, glowing green, shocking pink, out-of-this-world orange and electrifying blue. Makes quite a bold statement when you're bagging your own groceries upon checkout, but also serves as a beacon as you head back to meet the Mister who's been tooling around at the hardware store. "Ah, there she is. How many bags this time? One, two, three..."

Photo credit: http://www.champion.fr

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Ritagli di Ostia: remnants of the...

Now let me get this straight. It IS what you might guess (and it'll give a better idea if the image is enlarged) but please note the omission of the word holy throughout the rest of this post. These ree-TAH-l'yee di OH-stee-ah - host trimmings by any other name - were heaped into a basket in the market's bakery section, fair enough?

Host trimmings? Well I'll be...

I'm not going anywhere with this although I should add that italians are just as curious and full of mirth when there is an odd foodstuff in question. One proposed idea - "lo yogurt e i ritagli di ostia" (yogurt and host scraps) - led me to believe that you can do what you will with the bits and pieces. Sell 'em, eat 'em, put 'em on a blog... I bought them just because. The MotH rolled his eyes in exasperation; Maddie quite likes it as a snack; but however questionable it may seem, this article on hosties introduced me to retaille d'hostie as they're known in Montreal. The comment thread is a hoot host (no pun intended) of heated opinion. I'm just wondering what Papa Ratzinger would say to all this hubbub over the leftovers. I mean, c'mon, if they're unconsecrated it's just a product of flour and water, right?

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Rana pescatrice (frog fish)

Coda di rospo: click to enlarge

Now THIS - is the part of a fish that when translated into english might elicit a few...I dunno, sniggles? But if the specimen above was to be shown in its entirety, the reaction might be more along the lines of a grossed out ewww! Not exactly what I was hoping to find for my ongoing seafood quest, rana pescatrice is usually sold sans head. I kid you not, this is the "FuGlieSt of the Fugly" on the fin scene - take a look at this wikimedia link and say it ain't so. Rana pescatrice translates closer to Fishing Frog, however, when you address the secondary name of coda di rospo it gets even more weird because then it becomes Toad Tail (again, the sniggles). Fishing Frog? Toad Tail? A spoof on the characters of Frog and Toad?

In english the terms monkfish anglerfish goosefish and bigmouth all come to the forefront, yet despite the names, this "poor man's lobster" is worth its weight if mostly in the tail end. Though not quite as sweet as a spiny pacific, the flavor is said to be reminiscent of lobster. Bring on the clarified butter. In the first of several recipe experiments, I cut the tail into medium chunks and sauteed them in butter until light golden brown on all sides. A sprinkle of sea salt, a grind of pepper, a squeeze of lime juice and presto! - a simple antipasto to see how this mock lobstah rates. Bite..chew..taste..and I'm waving a shaka sign.

Sautéeing coda di rospo chunks in butter. It even looks like meaty pieces of frog flesh.

Miso-marinated monkfish on julienned
carrots, zucchini and shredded napa
cabbage

Texture-wise, monkfish flakes up soft and easy, and in a different take on laulau, I borrowed on Manju's idea of miso butterfish, nestling miso-marinated monkfish chunks over a bed of shredded vegetables before tying into parchment bundles. Steamed for 20 minutes, I should have had the foresight to cut a few slits in the paper to allow for drainage. Let me tell you, miso and this fish are a winning pair, but next time I will heed her advice and marinate for 3 days.

Price info: Currently, fresh monkfish tail commands a price of about 22 euros/kilo - or $15.33 per pound — but drops lower when buying in whole form (the last time it was at 16€/kilo). Of course, the only part to get much use out of is the tail; the remainder being excellent for making fish stock (but save that liver for an exquisite delicacy). On the italian cooking front there seems to be numerous ways to prepare coda di rospo, a sure sign that I've been missing out on this faux lobster for far too long.

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Buona Pasqua 2008

Thanks all for the puppy love on the previous post! Maddie, on the other hand, noticeably pushed even harder to conquer more space on the bed last night. And this morning? I know this will warrant a future video as proof, but after breakfast she burped louder than usual too. Urrrr-RAAAAAP! Never thought I'd witness something like that coming from a small dog.

Poor doggy manners aside, this is what Easter looked like at 8:45 this morning. A complete turnabout from yesterday's you-gotta-wear-shades sun and temperate climes. I just hope it all melts away tomorrow as I can only imagine that such weather spells bad news for budding and blooming fruit trees? It's all foreign to me since we never have this kind of problem in Hawaii...

Comments closed for this post. Happy Easter!

It's puppy love at first sight and a giveaway tote

Photo credit: Allevamento Tres Jolie.

Love comes in the cutest, liveliest, tail-wagging packages. We haven't yet gone to our appointment to see these wire-haired dachshunds, but the pup on the left, a male, is what the MotH hopes will be... his new canine pal! It has been on the doggy wishlist for a long time - move over Miss Maddie, there could be a new doxie in town! I'd love to take them both but that would mean twice the dug up flowerpots, double the chewed shoes, and yes, the resident princess would be unfairly outnumbered by a couple of errr... sausage dogs.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The very talented Lettie of Polka Dot Pineapple (who waved to me as she was flying over the Alps - I gave her the shaka sign back), is holding a giveaway for this ultra cute doggie tote. Now this puts the personality-less, cheap backpack that I use for Maddie's things to shame. Your pooch will love you for it, so hurry on over and enter your name for a chance at being the lucky recipient. You've got til March 31st!

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Making zeppole - interview with a bakery pro

While I was in the middle of putting together the content for the previous zeppole post, it just so happened that a tv program aired a segment on those very same treats with a sneak peek behind the zeppole bakery scene. I practically leapt from pc to tv in one deft move. What an opportune moment! Is that perfect timing or what? Therefore, knowing full well that I would have to find a way to divulge the mystery behind this much-loved dessert, I later found a youtube clip that was uploaded the very same day (probably while I was glued to the tube ooohing, aaahing and babbling "so that's how they make those things!").

I've watched the following video over and over because it's almost like therapy for me to witness the behind-the-scenes action that goes on in a bakery. For anyone new to this blog who has not heard of my occasional blurbs of a former life, professional baking has always been my first love and pretty much a temporary home (long hours!) for years until I "retired". I dedicate this post to my one-time boss who not only took the chance at hiring me, but also for allowing me the creative freedom necessary to expand my knowledge of the craft.

Transcript

Today you'll see 'live', how they make the zeppole in Matera.

What are the basic ingredients?
All you need is water, butter, some salt, flour and eggs.

The amounts?
A liter of water, a kilo of butter, a bit of salt, around 10-15 grams per batch and also a kilo of flour.

How many eggs go into the batter?
Altogether around 35-40 eggs.

40 whole eggs are used? Yes

For how many years have you been making zeppole?
Well, it seems strange but it's been 40 years.

Has it ever happened that the dough didn't turn out well? How do you fix the problem?
Yes, yes.....you throw it out. If it deflates it's not good anymore.

As a young man, how did you feel when you made your first zeppole?
It's not only the zeppola that makes you feel good, it's really the creativity of this type of work.

The eggs are being added - what size are they? (*there's editing here and he says...)
The temperature of the dough must be hot.

For the most part, baked zeppole are better for the diet, but for the waistline, the fried ones?
Yes, yes and they are much more tasty.

But also throughout the year, does the zeppola come requested by the typical Matera citizen? Yes

Without waiting for the usual Festa of San Giuseppe?
Yes, yes...in fact it is a dolce that has been added to the mignon.
Note: mignon are those irresistible little assorted pastries in italian pastry shops such as bignè, cannoncini di sfoglia, etc.

How did you begin? Always for family tradition? Yes

The most important step - what really gives the form of the zeppole of Matera
See segment timed at 1:31

How many zeppole do you eat?
Every Sunday I taste a couple.

The strangest request for the shape of a zeppola?
A zeppolona (*that's a very BIG zeppola)

Dimensions?
Big as a cake.

For how long and at what temperature for the baked ones?
This is a convection oven - you bake them at about 250-260°C for around 20 minutes.

For the fried zeppole?
Before (frying) bake for 5 minutes in the oven so it forms a light crust in order to impede a lot of absorbing of oil.

Timed segment at 2:08
After the cooking/mixing stage, the addition of eggs, the piping onto sheet pans, now they are turning color in the baking process, but some of these will then go into hot oil.

Timed segment at 2:27
We return with our pastry bag for the cream.
Buon appetito to everyone and Buon San Giuseppe to all of the dads of our online news ilmiotg.it

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Zeppole di San Giuseppe

Festa del Papà - The 19th of March is twice as nice (make that thrice!) because not only is today Father's Day and Festa di San Giuseppe in Italy, it is also the period when these special goodies are made throughout the peninsula in all of their tempting, glorious interpretations. I really LOVE zeppole! So much so in fact, that I nixed the idea of buying them and did some serious combing on the web and through my cookbooks for a suitable recipe. This partially baked/fried version is more of what I had in mind - a bigné. Slightly crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and filled with homemade pastry cream - I'm crossing my fingers that the boys in the office will feel the same!

Recipe for 24 small or 12 large zeppole

Although zeppole are really easy to put together once you've got all of the components ready, success at making the fritters depends on a few key factors which are listed below.
* Use vegetable or a lite type of oil for frying. Olive oil is an unnecessary expense.
* The temperature of the oil is very important; too hot and the outside of the fritter cooks before it has a chance to expand; too cold and it sits in the frying pan soaking up excess oil.
* A Kitchenaid is the better choice for mixing. My food processor did the job but required frequent scraping of the sides. If mixing by hand, do so as if your life depended on it!
* A sturdy pastry bag, or sac à poche as they're called in Italy, and a large star tip is nice to have but not essential. A plain pastry tip will do.

1 cup water
2 ounces butter
pinch salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
5 large eggs
*Oil for frying
*About 3 cups of ready-made vanilla pastry cream
*Fabbri amarena cherries in syrup or cherry preserves
*Powdered sugar for dusting

In a large pot, bring water and butter to a rolling boil. Add salt, then stir in the flour all at once. With a wooden spoon, quickly mix until the flour has absorbed all of the liquid, forming a stiff mass of dough. This is the only part where you'll really need to put some effort into it.

Scrape dough into mixing bowl. On low speed, mix in the eggs one at a time, taking care that each one is thoroughly combined before adding the next. Scrape down sides to ensure even mixing. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With a pastry bag fitted with a large tip, pipe circles of about 2½ inches in diameter onto the baking parchment. Larger if you want Super zeppole. Place in hot oven for only 5-6 minutes until the sticky tackiness of the dough is gone.

While zeppole are in the oven, preheat oil in a wide, deep frying pan to a depth of at least 1 inch. After removing them from the oven, slide several pieces into the hot oil (they should pull away freely from the parchment), allowing room for expansion. Fry until golden, flipping over once. Drain on paper towels. In the photo below, you can't really tell much difference between the "poofy" shells (back row) and the "hockey pucks" (middle row) other than the slightly darker color. Again, please note the tips preceding the recipe. The interior should be nice and lite like in the open one shown. Click to enlarge.

Bakery trivia:
Production-line bakeries place the whole sheet of briefly baked zeppole (paper and all) into a large donut fryer. The zeppole self-detaches and the paper is then removed. Fritters are filled cream puff-style from the bottom using a pastry bag.
Going price as of today's date:
From 0.75 - 1.10 euros in Italy.

To assemble: Lightly dust the tops of zeppole with powdered sugar (optional). Pipe or spoon pastry cream in the center and top with cherries. Sit back and watch them vanish in no time.

Trying to stay away from the fried stuff? Then try this baked version of Napoli-style zeppole which adds cooked potato to the dough. They are typically fried but I went against convention to see if they'd pass the bake test. They did, although not as rich-tasting. Still, if dad needs to watch his calorie intake...
Zeppole napoletane recipe

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Festa del Papà

Even if March 19th marks the actual date of Father's Day in Italy, festivities were held over the weekend to refrain from celebrating during Holy Week. This one here in Cicognola (not far from us), is just one of those fine examples where the word festa does not necessarily mean an event solely focused on food. Devoted wholly to the father figure, there was fun for the whole family: clowns, volley ball, petting zoo, fishing pond (3 trout for 5 euros!), and an exhibition of Indian artifacts and implements on the sprawling estate of Villa Perego.

I was actually taken by the organized commitment for all of this to take place. In the states we give dad a nice card, buy him a handsome tie or else a cake with a tie or a fish on it, maybe surprise him with sports equipment, or even splurge for a sport weekend getaway. It's not that these token gifts merit any less in showing how much we appreciate dad, but here in Cicognola, all that mattered was quality time with papà on a sunny afternoon. And on top of it all they got to take home their "catch" and cook it too!

Yesssssss! I've received my BC Heirloom seeds!!

And I'm doing a victory dance because I thought my seed order would never arrive after what seemed like an exceedingly long time. Ordered on February 7th, I began to lose hope about a week into March. There is a lesson to be learned here - pazienza! - or patience, but in the event that someone else might want to know how it all goes down when a package finds itself within the hands of italian customs, here's my little seed story.

February 7th - placed online order with BC Heirloom Seeds.
February 26th - received notice that the order has been shipped.
March 18th - Merry Xmas! There's a padded yellow envelope stuffed into the mailbox and it's addressed to me!

The fact of the matter is - there was a delay in shipping from the US. A note tucked into the order along with two "Furry Yellow Hog" freebies (and how can you not love a freebie?) cited a delay due to recent ice storms. Fair enough. The second obstacle was customs. You can't see the neat expert slit covered by the strip of Posteitaliane tape, but a rubber-stamped EFFETTUATO CONTROLLO DOGANALE is enough to say that a customs check was done. Three weeks each, more or less, on either side of the pond? Next time I'll order much sooner!

Baci, baci, baci to Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds dall'Italia!

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All that glitters is gold in Ferrero's Garden

I realize that sounds like the dumbest statement ever but I've got my holiday loot and they do sort of titillate the eyeballs in a *bling bling* sort of way. If you're already crazy for the original Ferrero Rocher candies then these coconut, hazelnut, almond, pistachio and strawberry-flavored versions should be an easy sell too. The only disappointment is that there isn't more of the strawberry (which is missing in the photo anyway). At 18-count, the nutty versions even it out amongst themselves at 4 each, leaving room for only two pink foil-wrapped berries. And as for the GOLD, well, easter chocolates aren't even half as cute without Lindt's bell-toting bunny. Doesn't matter that it's milk chocolate, the umbrella carrots makes this the first I've seen in Italy and simply sweetened the deal for my 5-year old inner self. Wheeeee!

Other all-time favorites

Jelly Bellies
Jelly Beans
Cadbury Eggs
Easter M&M's
Easter Hershey's Kisses

Candy Blog always delivers my quota of sugar and has a great article on Ferrero Garden.

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Pagnotta Pasquale of Sarsina

Sarsina (Emilia-Romagna) - Salame, sangiovese, hard-boiled eggs (extra special if they are blessed) and an enormous loaf of artisan sweet bread. Don't they resemble the victuals of a countryside picnic? These are actually the emblematic foods to be found gracing sarsinati tables on Easter morning, and that beautiful round loaf - la Pagnotta Pasquale - is what will be at the center of all the hoopla at the Sagra della Pagnotta this Sunday (March 16th). I so hoped that we could attend this sagra, but there are many other events due to rescheduling of Festa di San Giuseppe (March 19th) in order to avoid celebrating during Holy Week.

Part old tradition, part ritual, this easter pagnotta embraces familial history as it owes its humble beginnings to the nurturing creators - the mothers - from which all beloved things come. I admire the expertise of women working in the kitchen (we all have our personal favorites!), but in this clip taken at the Sagra della Pagnotta 2006, the little nonna proves that with age comes finesse. You just gotta love her - she is working that dough!

The original recipe, published in Vittorio Tonelli's A tavola con il contadino romagnolo, is said to yield a loaf that stands at 8 inches tall and twice as much across the diameter - enough to feed a large family in the old days. Not one to miss out on a sagra even from afar, I've adapted to the recipe in order to work with a new flour, Semola di grano duro rimacinata (twice-milled durum wheat flour) from Altamura. Even though my drastically scaled down version won't atone for not being present in Sarsina this weekend, I pray it does enough justice to compliment the real thing. I only wish I could say that it was an italian mamma who shared her pagnotta-making secrets with me.

Recipe for a 2 pound pagnotta

This is essentially a sweet dough that is ideal for rolls, hot cross buns, brioche and the like. Fresh out of the oven, it slices up soft and fragrant but firms to a fine texture the day after. There is no way of going wrong with it unless like me, you bake the darn thing on a heavy black baking sheet (the bottom crust burnt!). It is a long process, so don't even try this if you're in a hurry. I may as well admit that we ate some for dinner, it IS good with salame and sangiovese, but for breakfast as a thick slab of toast smothered with fromage frais and jam *moans* - a relief that I don't have any concerns for low-carb.

Molino Martimucci

3 cups twice-milled durum wheat flour
1 teaspoon quick-acting yeast
3/4 cup granulated sugar
pinch of salt
7 oz. ready-made pizza dough (a scant 1 cup)
3 tablespoons margarine or lard, softened to room temperature
2 large eggs
grated zest of half a lemon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup warm water
2-3 tablespoons golden raisins, softened in hot water
all-purpose flour for dusting
beaten egg for glaze

Combine flour, yeast, sugar and salt on a work counter. Make a well in the center and add the pizza dough, margarine, eggs, zest, vanilla and water. Mix together until thoroughly combined then continue to knead, dusting the surface with all-purpose when necessary, until the dough is well-developed. Squeeze the raisins of excess water and gently knead them into the dough until the surface is smooth and elastic. By hand this took more or less 15 minutes.

Shape dough into a ball and place into a large, lightly-oiled bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel and place next to a heat source (I set mine out on the picnic table in the sun). Allow to rise until doubled in volume - 3 hours.

Left: Partially risen during the second proofing. Right: Ready to go into the oven.

After the initial rise, punch down dough and repeat until doubled in volume; 1½ to 2 hours. Punch down dough once more and shape into a large round. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet lightly dusted with flour. Set in a draft-free area and let rise for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Brush the surface with the beaten egg and cut a shallow slit along the upper edge on both sides; place in the preheated oven. As soon as the egg wash has "glazed", place a folded parchment "tent" over the loaf to discourage excessive browning of the crust. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when tapped.

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Happy 3rd Birthday Patatina!

She sleeps with her furry head on half of my pillow - no - make that most of my pillow, and she loves pizza crust, carrots and cheese. Actually, we call her Maddie, but she goes by many names, as in Maddie the Flowerpot Vandal, Maddie the Snow Bunny, Maddie aka “Killah” and in this instance, "La Patatina", an endearment bestowed on her in a gush of excitement when a pretty young woman ran up to Maddie on one particular occasion.

Ma non ci posso credere! Non ci posso CREDERE!! Che PATATINA! Pa-ta-tiiiiiiiiiiina!!
I can not BELIEVE it! What a little potato! Little potatoooooooooooo!

I don't know what to say about this type of reaction to little dogs, but italian women (and french) certainly have a way of losing themselves silly over man's best friend. Needless to say, I pointed out to the MotH that it's a great way to meet lovely young ladies, to which he replied, "It is - so if your friends (male) decide to come for a visit, they should pay US for having the privilege of taking the dog for a walk."

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Catalogna Spigata

Now that the garden is definitely a go, I am taking a keener interest in the produce that we plan to eventually grow for ourselves. How I wish that I could say this variety of chicory came plucked from our own lot but the truth of it is, is that catalogna spigata was always an overlooked frill of leaves in the shadow of red tomatoes, succulent fava beans and violet-tinged artichokes. And what an oversight that was, because little did I realize that the money spent for a ½-lb package holding the trimmed inner spears (shown in its entire form below), amounted to 8 times the price per kilo in comparison to purchasing the chicory itself at a fraction of the cost. You live, you learn. Currently, catalogna spigata or cicoria catalogna goes for just over $1.00/lb, a pretty hefty savings from the $8.34/lb for the spears, or puntarelle di catalogna.

Looking like a mutated rose of sorts - Puntarelle di catalogna

Click here for an image with outer leaves intact.

A bonafide plus of fiber, vitamins and minerals, the flavor of this leafy green leans on the bitter side although I'd say it tastes milder than rucola (rocket) or chinese mustard cabbage. From the fibrous protective leaves to the crisp, thick spears, everything is edible and delicious. I like to blanch the outer leaves for a few minutes before draining, giving a rough chop, then quick-braising in a side dish with garlic, crushed chile pepper, olive oil and salt. The spears are typically prepared raw in Puntarelle alla Romana, a salad dressed with lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and anchovies. The ones below sit in a cold water bath with lemon juice to keep them from discoloring.

Update: The roman-style puntarelle salad mentioned above is so easy to make that I didn't think it necessary to follow through with a recipe. Epicurious offers a nice version, but italian cooking forums give “how-to” expertise that I'd like to share here. Two health benefits that I should briefly note are the diuretic and laxative properties associated with this vegetable. Other names to be seen/heard are Cecora cu li cueri (chicory with the heart?) in Lecce or cicorione in Rome.

Insalata di Puntarelle - Cookaround.com recipe using regular vinegar and anchovies packed in salt (rinse first before using)
Insalata di Puntarelle - Coquinaria.it recipe using balsamic vinegar and anchovies packed in oil. Excellent step-by-step illustrations.
Insalata di Puntarelle - Epicurious.com
Cicoria catalogna - Kucinare.it *Photo of common chicory w/o spears, stronger in bitterness

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RSII repeats, "Tag you back, now you're it!"

Again, it's all about graciously returning the favor but this time it's at a much higher profile with Amy Sherman, guest contributor at Epicurious. Her recent Epi-log post, Ciao Italia!, lists 5 Italy-based food/travel/culture blogs but she could use a few more suggestions. I'm of the sort who believes to each his own fla-vah, and it's difficult to pin down the best ones because they're all unique in their own right. No account at Epicurious? Make one! Subito!!

The following video is something that I had seen on Welshcakes Limoncello's Sicily Scene. Ready for more beautiful music, and perhaps, actor Luca Zingaretti? The clip promotes the Treno-Museo, a museum train that follows the Modica - Ragusa line in an earnest attempt to revive the route, and subsequent culture, of Val di Noto, a Unesco World Heritage site. The bride (and her bridesmaids) running to the chapel scene gets me every.single.time...

Il treno museo Modica - Ragusa (italian)
Val di Noto (english)

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Rubber Slippers says, "Tag you back, now you're it!"

Returning the favor... With the tracking aid of site statistics, being alerted to "most popular posts of the day" helps to determine whether it's a topic worth revisiting. In some cases though, it also tells me who is sending traffic to Rubber Slippers, and through this little piece of info, I've stumbled upon new blogs that share the same passions that I do. Well, I firmly believe in "sharing the love" (and I'll get to why it's in quotation “ ” marks), but first, here are what a few people have written in connection to this blog.

Michelle of Bleeding Expresso stirred up great interest with a vegetable that I once declared as the prickly zucchini from Calabria. Her post does one better because she has way more photos of this ehrrrrr... chayote/squash/zucchine thingy. Geez, I bought only three.
>>what’s cooking wednesday: calabrian prickly zucchini
Photo at right from Pasticcera of Bella Baita View in:
>>Unknown fruit, italian aubergine? No, try Calabrian zucchini

In another flattering mention, Charlene lists quite a few bloggers who have at least one thing in common - ITALY. Can we americans not get enough of this irresistible country? The answer, plain and simple, is NO. For us expats it can, at times, be a love/hate relationship. You just gotta learn to go with the flow, or alternatively send angry faxes to whomever is failing to resolve the current problem of the hour. And then you go out for an aperitivo like I do.
>>Italian Blog Scene: Rubber Slippers & Bleeding Espresso

I have only ONE thing to say to anyone who chooses to use my photos without permission — Hell yeah! Go for it! — but common courtesy dictates that you should at least insert a link, it can even be a teeny tiny one, pointing to WHERE you pinched the photo. I won't get anal on this because I'm just as guilty of swiping images, but when it comes to sites like here whose only image suspiciously resembles a horizontally flipped version of mine...well I'm friggin' puzzled! Not only do they write about a sagra for artichokes, but they also neglect to invite me to the party?! They don't "share the love". Wassup with that? Eh, bile turned to smile when I noticed a long list of other sagre to the side. The only disappointment was the lack of photos for many of the links. Maybe I should advertise: Will do photography work for food and a nice roof over my head. A jazzy Vespa (red!) would be a much appreciated perk as well.

Left: original copy at A Taste of Artichokes from Sardegna. Right: the copy of original.

On a positive note, Sardegna - l'isola insolita writes an article (italian) on carciofi spinosi where I am pleased as punch to have my photo featured. It's a tad old (2006), but it gives two links to my blog and makes mention of the Sagra del Carciofo in Samassi, which hopefully, will be one of the sagra/festa events featured on these very pages.

Sagra this weekend: 18th Sagra del Carciofo - Uri, Sassari

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Will the real primavera please stand up?

Musing... This past Saturday, the sun toasted my arms and face as I hung laundry out in 70 degree temps. The MotH had it much worse as he toiled under a cloudless sky, determined to rid the back garden of that stubborn chestnut tree. The tree won.

Skip ahead to Monday. The pleasant weather is still holding, albeit a bit cooler than Saturday, but it really does feel, smell and sound like la primavera. Sing birdies, sing! Even the usual red-breasted robin who is so shy to come around, dances and pecks at the scatter of birdseed on the terrace, not in the least bit wary of the sudden interest taken by the resident dog.

And then the following Tuesday afternoon, an abrupt rain/hail/snowstorm fiercely blows in, leaving a white business card in its wake. This morning, while surveying for damage to the newly planted mimosa, I note the only disturbances to the pristine groundcover - Maddie's pawprints and a pile of steaming poop. I ask her, "So whatchu think? Is it really spring yet?"

In typical Maddie style, she utters one indignant "Ruff!" and turns her attention to something else, this time it's the neighbor's white poodle-mix who barks as if he's wearing too tight panties. After an hour I check to see why she's been so quiet outside. Wouldn't you know, she had been digging up and relocating her prosciutto bone. Where it is now is anybody's guess.

The look says, "Digging is a dog's right. Dirt is a dog's domain. I could not care less about spring. I just want to be sure that my bone is safe if another snowstorm hits."

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Cefalo - “and all the 'ama'ama, come-a swimming to me”

...and if those 'ama'ama really do come swimming up to you, you had better be one step ahead with a fishnet to scoop them all up. The hawaiian 'ama'ama aka striped/gray mullet, or cefalo in italian, should've been recognized by me from the get go, but my distant fishing memories, for reasons of a different ocean (ok so it's a "sea" over here), didn't quite make the connection until much later.

The cefalo above measured at nearly 18 inches (46cm) and weighed around 2 lbs (a kilo). Not having a better idea, I diagonally scored one side of the fish and prepared it en papillote with grated fresh ginger, garlic and green onions tucked into the cuts and cavity. It was only after I got off the phone with my dad back home did I learn that he does his differently, stuffing the cavity with aromatics, wrapping the mullet in bacon, then steaming it to moist perfection. In this image, cilantro tops a plate of deboned mullet. Sizzling sesame oil over the whole deal may, or may have not been going too far, but I'm so addicted to the flavor that I almost always end up embellishing anyway.

So what's the connection to the curious post-title? Well, after realizing the hawaiian word for mullet, I soon remembered a lovely little ditty of a song [and all the 'ama'ama, come-a swimming to me...] that is usually performed along with the hula. No, you will not have to suffer a video of myself dancing the The Hukilau Song, but in the event that island culture catches your fancy, I've added a few helpful links to speed you along your way...A-l-o-o-o-ha!

'Ama'ama (nutritional info and recipes)
Mullet (chow.com)
The Legend of Makoa (the famous hawaiian runner)
The Best of Alfred Apaka (hukilau clip at amazon.com)

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Mezzaquaresima: the halftime show of Lent

Carnevale fans rejoice! (And a double 'rah! rah!' for anyone who missed out on the fun earlier in the month of February.) What is the Mezzaquaresima? Well, let me put it this way — the Mezzaquaresima is to Lent what the Halftime show is to the Super Bowl. Both are exclusive observations in their own right, but you just gotta have a reprieve somewhere in the middle to liven things up a little and this weekend is IT. Mezzaquaresima, or Half-Lent, means carnevale-like parades on a grand scale and jumping back on the fat wagon of fried foods and meat. But more importantly, it means the reappearance (and subsequent burning) of the Vecchia or Segavecchia. This old woman effigy that, aside from being the symbolic witch and scapegoat for all things gone wrong, honors a much deeper pre-christian relationship with nature as her demise bears witness to the end of winter and the beginning of spring.

Wish I could say that we're heading out for one of the celebrations but the thought of loading up on a heavy meat dish and cones of egg-rich gelato sounds much more appealing. Not that I don't have any fish posts to share - they are waiting to flap onto these pages. But first, there needs to be halftime with a hearty meal of coda alla vaccinara (braised oxtail stew) and enough ciambelle (fried donuts) to last us through the day.

Mezzaquaresima at:

Bergamo (Lombardia)
Cotignola (Emilia-Romagna)
Forlimpopoli (Emilia-Romagna)

Delicato Desserts from Ikea

Click on these treats for an eyeful...Cocosboll and Mazarin — I am SO BAD!