I Am A Chef - Beating the Heat with Mango Lassis

I love summer...the Farmers Market runneth over with fresh vegetables and fruit...the eyes are assaulted with vibrant colors of heirloom tomatoes, peppers, greens, carrots, corn, fruit and berries.  Bargains scream out to my wallet...10 ears of corn for $1.00, ripe mangoes for $1.00 each.

I always come home laden with produce and then rush to figure out how to use everything up before it goes past its prime.  The peppers are roasted, seeded, peeled and dressed in olive oil.  The tomatoes were prepared in a vinaigrette and topped our fresh grilled halibut two nights ago.  But the mango has been staring at me.

Fortunately, I visit food blogs and this afternoon, being a bit hot, seemed the perfect time to prepare a recipe I obtained from the blog of a local chef, Patricia, (nice name) at her blog, Fresh Food in a Flash!  It is for Mango Lassis.  A lassi is like an Indian Smoothie.  Cool and refreshing it is the perfect compliment for the spicy Indian food or the perfect mid-day drink on a hot August afternoon.  Patricia conducted a cooking class where they prepared Indian dishes and the menu included Mango Lassis.  The recipe is so healthy and so simple that I am going to capture it here on my blog!

Since it is just Jay and I, I only use one mango.  Milli taught me the "island" technique of cutting mangoes easily.  Since the fruit has a large flat seed in the middle of it, you just slice off the large "cheeks" of the fruit and then score it in a checkboard pattern and invert the peel.

Then it is easy to cut the cubes off to eat fresh, put in a salad or toss in the blender for a lassi.

Here are the specific ingredients for 2 small lassis.  It can easily be doubled.
1 mango
1 cup plain non-fat yogurt
1/3 c of milk (I used plain almond milk...but I could use regular or coconut milk)
1/8 c sugar
1 cup of ice cubes
Blend it until it is all smooth and creamy.

I poured the lassi into our Frangipani Wine glasses that we just got last weekend when we visited JoAnn DiStefano Frangipani at their winery in Temecula and then topped it with some ground cardamon to give it an exotic flair.

Jay just loves being my royal taster...one of the "many" fringe benefits of being my spouse!

I Am A Chef - A Spring Menu

Karina, this one's for you!  When I started my blog, in August 2010, I was writing for myself...to capture snippets of my life that gave meaning to my existence.  But as with all blogs, it soon developed a life of its own and sometimes I feel like the radio disk jockeys that I used to listen to when I was in high school saying to their audience..."And this next request comes to us from Karen, in Kalamazoo..."

Saturday, Karina mentioned to me, "You have not posted any recipes for a while...I am waiting for the next one."  Since last night's dinner was especially enjoyable, I am going to capture it in today's blog.

Yesterday was a glorious Spring day in Southern California.  The sun was shining when we woke up, the hummingbirds were in abundance as I watered and tended to my vegetables in the garden, the air was refreshing as we sipped a drink on the front porch...so as I peered into the refrigerator and pantry I was looking to carry that feeling to the dinner table.  Here is what we enjoyed:

Dry-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with sliced Cherokee Black Heirloom Tomato, Arugula and slivered Parmigiano Cheese

Last week I read of this wonderful rub on Robin's blog, The Gardener of Eden.  Robin lives in Pennsylvania and we have become virtual friends through blogging.  Her husband, "The Italian" makes huge quantities of this rub and uses it on pork and fish.  Go to the blog here for the recipe.

Here is how I prepared the pork:
Pat the tenderloin dry and work the Rub over all sides of it, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 2 hours. (You can refrigerate it overnight.)
When ready to cook, preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Heat some olive oil in a large skillet, saute a little minced garlic in oil.
Seared the tenderloin on all sides until it dark and crispy.
Place in a baking dish or leave in the skillet if the skillet can go into the hot oven.
Roast in oven for about 20 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.
Remove and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
Arrange on plate with fresh arugula (from my garden) and sliced tomatoes (Farmer's Market).
Using a potato peeler, peel off cheese from large hunk onto arugula.

While the pork is roasting, prepare the Lemon Spaghetti:

Meyer's Lemon trees are gifting the world with lemons right now.  Last week I came home to find that my little neighbor, Sophie aged 11, left a bag full on my porch.  Nothing says Spring more than Lemon Spaghetti.

While pasta water is coming to a boil, saute one large or two small shallots in some olive oil until it is soft and transparent.
Add a couple of ladles of pasta water to the shallots and let it simmer gently for a couple of minutes. Turn off heat.
Just before the pasta is ready, turn heat on under the shallot mixture, add 1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice to it.
Bring back to slow simmer and add 1/4 cup of heavy cream and about 2 Tablespoons of fresh lemon zest.
When spaghetti is al dente, drain and add to the lemon cream mixture right in the skillet and mix it in until it is completely covered.
Let it cook a minute of two in the sauce and it will begin to absorb the liquid and not be soupy. Listen carefully and you will hear the sound of the drier spaghetti.
Drizzle 2 Tablespoons of Olive oil and work it in so the spaghetti "smiles!"
Remove from heat and add 1/2 cup of grated cheese, ground black pepper and 2 T. finely sliced fresh basil leaves.
Serve with additional cheese.

Earlier that day I had prepared some Roasted Bell Peppers that I served as the side dish...the "contorni!"

Using colorful peppers (red, yellow, orange or green) I roast them on top of my gas stove until they are blacked on all surfaces.
Place in a brown paper bag and let them cool and steam.
Remove from bag and work off the char with your hands, removing the stems and seed core.  Do not use water on the peppers...it takes away the flavor.
Tear pepper into slices.
In a little bowl combine 6 anchovy fillets that you have chopped finely  (This disappears into the dish and adds a subtle complex flavor) with 1 T Olive oil and about 3 T of capers and about 1/4 cup of pitted black Italian olives chopped (you can use any olive but I prefer some dried olives we get at a local Italian deli.)
Mix into the peppers using your hands to coat complete.
Serve at room temperature with a crusty Italian bread.

We enjoyed this meal and it was not that complicated to prepare.  After eating, as Jay and I sat sipping the last of a nice Italian wine, we commented to each other that even though our seasons in Southern California are subtle, we do feel the natural rhythms of the year and this meal felt like Spring!

Buon Appetito!

 

I Am A Nurturer - Feeding the Heart and the Body

"Time flies when you are having fun!"  It also flies when you are immersed in problems and life's issues.  I cannot believe I have not posted anything since January 16th.  I admit to trying to collect some thoughts and put fingers to keyboard, but all that came forth sounded pathetic and I couldn't stand to hear myself whine.

Dare I say that maybe things are beginning to settle down?  My mother has returned home from the Skilled Nursing Center.  We have created a simple, probably fragile, support system around her composed of family, friends, and Medicare Home Health personnel.  The refrigerator is stocked, the pills are sorted and labeled, the medical equipment set up.  While mom is still quite weak, she is able to do more for herself and most of all, she is where she wants to be...home.

Mom talking to her sister, Joan, reading the paper and petting Noel...HOME!

Today it is raining and there is a chill in the air and the most nurturing thing I could think of doing is making a pot of soup!  There is something about the smell of simmering soup that says "you can relax, you can settle in, you are safe."  There is something about the chopping and dicing of vegetables retrieved from your garden that is meditative.  It is an activity that allows you to feel some sense of control in a world that may seem to have gone haywire!  It is what I turn to when I am sick...or anxious.   A couple of years ago, my favorite store, Trader Joe's, carried a package of Spelt with Red and Green Bell Peppers.

The discontinued product!!

I loved it and used it as a base for a soup.  Of course, as with anything I love from Trader Joe's, they decided to stop carrying it.   But I was crafty enough to anticipate such a happening and I purchased a case of it that I have protected like the family jewels, using occasionally when my heart and my stomach need nurturing.  This particular soup nurtures my heart because it transport me back to my "motherland,"  Italy!  One bite and I am sitting in a small country home in Umbria, with the smell of bread toasting on an open fireplace grill.

The Umbrian home we visited on an OAT trip in 2004

I feel safe and embraced by my heritage.  Spelt is a ancient grain of certain wheat species. It is sometimes  called Farro, and was the standard ration to feed the Roman Legions in Italy long ago.  Experts debate whether farro and spelt are the same thing but in any case they are very similar. It is sold dry and some packages recommend soaking overnight. Using this package from TJ's, I do not soak it, but cook it directly. I like it to have a firm bite to it.

Minestrone Con Farro Soup

Here is my recipe for Minestrone Con Farro:

Ingredients:
2 cans cannellini beans
1 1/2 cups of farro/spelt
5 cups of water or broth
4 T olive oil
1 onion chopped
2 links Italian sausage (optional)
2 cloves garlic chopped
4 fresh sage leaves
3 carrots thinly sliced
3 celery stalks chopped
2 T tomato paste mixed in 1 cup of water
3 cups Kale, Savoy Cabbage or Swiss Chard chopped (my favorite green is Cavelo Nero Kale)
1 piece about 2 inches in size of the heel of a piece of hard Italian cheese (like parmagiano)  This IS the secret ingredient that give the soup a fantastic flavor!

Directions:
1. Bring liquid to boil, add spelt/farro, bring to a simmer and cook until the grains are tender but still slightly firm.  With the farro I use, this takes about 20 minutes.

2. In a large skillet, saute onion, sausage, celery and sage in the live oil until it begins to caramelize. Add carrots, celery tomato paste and simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Add vegetables, Kale, and beans to the farro and cook for 15 minutes more stirring occasionally.  If needed to keep the soupy consistency add boiling water.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Drizzle with olive oil and serve with grated cheese....and a glass of vino rosso!!!

Buon appetito a tutti!!

I Am A Chef - Enjoying Roasted Peppers

I have so many wonderful memories of my maternal grandmother, Frances Rosso Montalto. She was a fantastic woman, a woman ahead of her times.  The oldest daughter in her family, her parents arranged her marriage at age 16 to my grandfather, ending any dreams she had of furthering her education and becoming a teacher. Yet when she was 54 she went back to school and became a licensed practical nurse, working at St. Joseph's Hospital in Lorain, Ohio in the tonsillectomy ward and later at local nursing homes caring for the elderly who were actually younger than she.  She lived to be 91 years old.  I hope I have been gifted with her genes. I know I have been gifted by her in many other ways.

Frances Rosso Montalto - 1963

She passed on to me so many of her interests and skills.  Like the joy of creating things with my hands when she taught me to crochet at a very young age and I crocheted edging on handkerchiefs.  Like the love of gardening when she taught me to always pinch off the deadhead of a flower so the energy would go into new growth for the plant.  Like the creative art of cooking when she taught me to cook my first recipe... Italian caponata.  Like how to laugh and have fun, when she taught me how to say tongue twisters...her favorite being:

 Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked,
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
How many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?

I think of this and of her whenever I see, prepare or eat peppers.

So she has been on my mind often these days as we are in pepper season in Southern California.  The glorious colors of the peppers at the Farmers Market are so hard to resist.

I have prepared them many ways but this year my recipe of choice has been Roasted Peppers. 

I only recently began to roast peppers and I went to my fount of knowledge when I am trying to learn a new skill...Youtube...to discover the best way to do so.  I have a gas stove so I opted to roast them right on top of the gas jets.

Once they are completely blackened, I toss them in a paper bag to steam and release the skin.  When they have cooled it is very easy to remove the blackened skin and the seeds.

I prefer to them tear them along their natural lines into thin slices.  Next I blend a few anchovy fillets in about 1/4 cup of olive oil and toss the pepper slices in the oil.  Then I layer the peppers with thin slices of garlic, some fresh oregano leaves and about 2 Tablespoons of capers, some salt and pepper and let them just sit for a while at room temperature to marry the flavors.

Looking at them gracing this lovely Italian ceramic plate recalls the many restaurants in Italy where we were fortunate to enjoy their various antipasti.  Last night I served these with our dinner.  My son, Joe, stopped by on his way home to San Diego from Lompoc to pick up his dog...yes, we dog-sit! So he ate with us and put these peppers on slices of toasted Italian bread as a pepper burschetta.  I have also served them with some Burrata Cheese as a salad.  Then today we joined some friends for a walk along the bluffs and pier in Redondo Beach and I made roasted pepper sandwiches for our picnic lunch.  So simple and so delizioso! 

Grazie, Grandma...you were with me every step of the way!

I Am a Hostess - Preparing Strawberry Tiramisu

A few years ago we were invited by some like-minded friends to participate in a monthly discussion group.  This gathering calls itself "Philologue" which is kind of a mix between philosophy and dialogue.  It is a safe place where we are able to discuss and share opinions and insights on any topic of our choice, knowing that we are all seeking a better understanding of issues and that our thoughts and opinions will be respected.  So tomorrow is our gathering for April and it is being held at our home.

The routine is to discuss the month's topic for 2 hours, then break for refreshments, then gather again to discuss the logistics for the next month...topic, date and location.  I enjoy hosting the event because it gives me an opportunity to try some new and interesting refreshments.  Summer has finally arrived in Southern California so I am think refreshing and cool.  This morning at the Farmers' market most stalls were hawking their STRAWBERRIES.  For the past year or so we have had strawberries available almost year round.  But most of the time they are hot house versions of berries that may be grown organically, but they are not really in season and they lack the sweet, ripe flavor of a naturally grown berry.  But it is April and what we are seeing now are berries picked yesterday in the fields around Oxnard.  I prefer the smaller berries that seem to pack more sweetness.

While googling for some fresh strawberry recipe ideas I stumbled across one for Strawberry Tiramisu made with ladyfingers, mascapone cheese, an orange liquore (I used Grand Marnier).  Recipe is here at "Kathleen's  Gonna Want Seconds Blog". I tried it last week as a trial run and we loved it...I can't believe we ate the whole thing!

So, tomorrow I will serve this Tiramisu, a new vegetable dip made with my fava beans, spring green garlic, lemon, olive oil and goat cheese, (recipe here...thank you, Simply Recipes) some crackers and cheeses....and of course, lemonade!

I think it will be a welcome treat after digesting the heavy topic of the "Current government situation and what it will take to make the government work better!"  Hum....I wonder if after that topic I need to also serve something stronger than lemonade???

I Am a Sous-Chef - Jay Prepares a Recipe

One of the classes in which we are participating is entitled "The Cuisines of the Mediterranean." Twice a month we meet with enthusiastic teachers/learners and one of us gives a presentation on some aspect of our subject. If we are lucky, the person has some food samples to share!!

This week Jay is presenting on his chosen topic:  Cinghiale, Chestnuts and Ceci!  He has a wonderful presentation about these three food items and decided that he would share with the class a slice of pork salami, a cookie made with chickpea flour and a soup of chestnuts and lentils that he watched Lidia Bastianich prepare on a recent TV show.  So, Jay became a "Top Chef" and I became his Sous-Chef and official photographer..

Since fresh chestnuts are not in season, the preparation began with a run to A-1 Imports Market in San Pedro where we purchased some dehydrated chestnuts.

He reconstituted them by soaking them overnight.

The next day, being of a scientific mind and an educated engineer, he began by reading and studying the recipe.

Then he ventured out into the garden to gather his fresh herbs:  thyme, bay leaf and basil.

 He chopped his garlic

Once the basic broth was going, which included him crushing the tomatoes through his fingers, he added the chestnuts and let them simmer for over 2 hours, peeking in every so often to give it a stir.

When the chestnuts were soft and beginning to crumble, he added the lentils and let them cook until they were soft.

Today was the class.  He gave a great presentation on the three food items complete with research data and anecdotal stories that captured everyone's interest.

But the "piece de risistance" was his Chestnut and Lentil Soup.

Not bad for a meat-and-potato farm boy from Illinois....

Lidia would have been proud of him...I certainly was!!

I Am an Herbalist - Appreciating Rosemary

The first year that Jay and I were married, he came home with a little Christmas tree for our small living room.  It looked different to me from other pines or firs and when I reached out to press the needles with my fingers a wonderful, herbal fragrance spilled into the room.  This was not pine, it was Rosemary, or Rosemarie, or Rosmarino (in Italy.)  My first memories of Rosemary are in my paternal grandmother's kitchen.  She was from the Le Marche region of Italy where porchetta is a traditional dish.  There is nothing more fragrant or tasty than pork roasting in the oven pierced  with skewers of rosmarino sprigs.  After Christmas we planted the Rosemary bush, not too far from the door where I could run out for a sprig whenever a recipe called for it.

Rosemary is an ancient herb.  There is much myth and superstition surrounding it. Sprigs of it have been placed under pillows to ward off evil spirits and bad dreams.

"There's Rosemary, that's for remembrance" says Shakespeare's Hamlet to Ophelia.  It is often planted around war memorials and in cemeteries. It symbolizes loyalty and friendship so often I will tie a sprig of the herb to the ribbon of a present I am taking to someone.

It is said that "in the house where rosemary thrives, the women of that house are its strength."  I even read in the Treasury of Botany that Rosemary will only grow well if the mistress is the master so many lords of the manor privately injured a growing rosemary to destroy evidence of their want of authority!

There are recent study results that suggest that it also protects our brains against neuro-degeneration from free radicals and can help our brains and memory.

Today in our Mediterranean Cuisines class we are going to be discussing spices and herbs used in the Mediterranean area.  As a treat I am bringing some Rosemary Lemon Cookies.  I found many versions of this recipe on the internet and here is how I ended up making mine:

Rosemary Lemon Cookies

1 cup butter at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg - crack open and reserve about 1 tablespoon of the egg white
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tablespoon of rosemary leaves, very finely chopped
1 Tablespoon of lemon zest, very finely chopped
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of raw sugar

Beat butter and sugar together until light; add egg (minus the 1 tablespoon of egg white you are reserving for later) and vanilla.  When well blended, add the rosemary, lemon zest, salt, flour and mix well.  I end up using my hands.

Divide the dough in half and using some waxed paper, form the dough into two logs about 1 1/2 inch in diameter.  I placed these in the refrigerator overnight. You could probably just refrigerate them for a few hours so that you can easily slice the logs.

After they are chilled, preheat your oven to 375 F degrees.  Brush the logs of dough with the reserved egg white and roll them in the raw sugar to coat.  Slice the logs into 1/4 inch slices and place on parchment paper covered cookie sheets.  Bake them for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are beginning to brown.  Cool the cookies on a wire rack.

Oh...by the way...my Rosemary bush FLOURISHES!

I Am a Chef - New England Fish Chowder

My husband was born and raised in the mid-western state of Illinois.  He grew up on meat and potatoes and his idea of a low meat diet is an 16 ounce steak. Then, upon graduation from Macomb High School, this farm boy took himself to the halls of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and spent the next 12 years introducing New England cuisine to his palate.  When he and I began to share meals together, about 13 years ago, he would regale me with memories of a real New England Chowder.  He insisted that the bowls placed before us at various California restaurants were sad imitations...they were "too thick," had "too much celery," "should never have corn!"  And his eyes would glaze over and a smile would grace his face as he retreated into his memories of past meals in New England.

In 2008 we returned to MIT's ivy covered walls for his 50th reunion

Jay in his Official MIT 50 year Alumni Red Jacket

and while on the East Coast traveled through a number of the New England states.  We stopped at many seafood restaurants in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.  Jay's favorite dish was not clam chowder, but fish chowder which he ate whenever he had the chance!

Jay eating Chowder at Gloucester, MA

The last stop we made as we headed back to the Boston airport was to Old Sturbridge Village. It was a delight to wander through this living museum.

Sturbridge Village, MA

In the gift shop on the way out I discovered this cookbook

and inside was a recipe for Fish Chowder.  When I showed it to Jay he recalled that the first time he had fish chowder was on a schooner, so this had to be right!  I talked with the woman working in the shop and she told me all her tricks for making the perfect fish chowder so armed with the book and her tips I attempted the chowder once we got home.  In the end, my fish chowder recipe is a blend of the Windjammer Cookbook recipe and an Oyster House Clam Chowder recipe.

Some personal notes regarding this recipe:

• Salt pork is essential to be authentic (per the lady in Sturbridge Village), though some people may opt to use bacon.  
• This broth is thin, the way Jay likes it.  Some people choose to prepare a roux of butter and flour as a thickener.  Others will opt to sprinkle in some instant mashed potatoes.  
• This can become a "Seafood chowder" by adding diced fresh shrimp and scallops.  
• My stock of choice is fish stock prepared in advance using white fish heads and bones but chicken stock works well.
• A tip from the lady at Sturbridge Village...sprinkling the cut up fish with a fish seasoning and letting it sit for 5 minutes before adding it to the broth gives it a special richness.  
• I use fresh white cod that I purchase at the Farmers' Market from my fishmonger, Jun.

Jun at the Westchester Farmers' Market

Here is my recipe:

Fish Chowder

1/2 pound salt pork cut in 1/4 inch dice
4 large potatoes, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 white onions, small dice
1/2 cup celery leaves, chopped
2 pounds white fish fillet (I use cod), cut in bite sized pieces and sprinkled with fish seasoning
2 cups clam juice (optional)
4 cups fish stock, water or chicken broth.
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cups cream
1/2 cup white wine
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried
salt and pepper
4 Tablespoons butter

Saute salt pork until fat is rendered, add potatoes, onions and garlic and cook gently until the onion is translucent.  (If you want a thickened broth add 4 Tablespoons of butter and 4 Tablespoons of flour and  stir to form a roux. Cook until slightly colored.)

Stir in the stock and celery leaves and simmer until potatoes are tender.  Add bay leaf, salt and pepper to taste, a sprig of thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried) and Worcestershire sauce. 

Add fish pieces and simmer about 5 minutes until fish seems to be able to flake.  Add cream, wine and 4 Tablespoons of butter.

Patricia's Fish Chowder

So does the chowder pass Jay's taste test?  Well, when the soup was ready I placed the bowl in front of him.  He looked at it, he picked up his spoon and stirred it gently, he leaned over and inhaled the aroma, he scooped up a spoonful of the chowder and brought it to his lips, he placed it slowly in his mouth, he moved it about a bit and then he swallowed, he closed his eyes for a minute and then....he smiled.

I Am a Mother-in-Love - Cooking with Milli

"You have to have a daughter!" my mother said to me upon the birth of my third child, my third son.  "You will be alone in your old age."  After all...

"A son is a son 'til he takes him a wife, 

A daughter is a daughter for the rest of your life."

Three children were enough for us.  I realized this meant I would never bear a daughter, but my sons might bring me daughter-in-laws.  I decided then and there that I would do everything I could to be a good, supportive mother-in-law and work to build a relationship with any women my sons chose to marry.

What is the other saying?  Man plans and God laughs!  Little did I know what was in store for me when my second son, Michael, brought Milli into our family.  I did not have to work at anything!  From day one this generous woman reached out her arms to embrace me.  Milli is the daughter I never bore and she is the daughter of  my heart.  She is not a "daugher-in-LAW" but a "daughter-in-LOVE."

A wonderful wife to my son and a devoted mother to her son, Gabriel, she is also my friend and stands with me as I face my life.  Over the years we have enjoyed many activities together...small weekend get-aways, trips to a mud bath, attending women's conferences. I was with her when she buried her father and bore her child; she was with me when I bought my wedding dress before my wedding with Jay.  We have laughed together, cried together, plotted together.  And last night she taught me how to make Hawaiian Portuguese Sausage soup!

Milli is the child of Filipino immigrants to the island of Lanai, Hawaii.  She grew up an island girl and she has enriched our family with her various Hawaiian and Filipino traditions.  Whenever she makes Portuguese Sausage soup, Jay licks the bowl clean and says, pathetically..."more, please." So last night, since Michael was away on travel, she and Gabriel came over and we made the soup.

Portuguese Sausage Soup

Ingredients are simple:
Portuguese sausage cut into 1/4 inch slices and then halved into half moon shapes (Milli says the sausage sold at the Asian market is most flavorful!)
about 6 slices of bacon chopped
about 6 stalks of celery chopped
2 cans of red kidney beans (do not drain)
2 cans of garbanzo beans (do not drain)
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
2 small cans of tomato sauce.

Process:
Saute bacon, then add sausage and cook together until it renders its fat.

Add potatoes and cook over medium heat until the potatoes are just about soft. Drop celery on top and let it heat up and eventually stir into cooking ingredients.

Drop four cans of beans into pot and let them heat up a bit before stirring into the cooking ingredients.

Add the tomato sauce, stir it in and let it simmer for about 10 - 15 minutes to enrich flavors.  Season with salt.

The finished soup is thick and rich in flavor.

This is a forgiving recipe.  Jay added Gabriel's left-over corn to it and said it was wonderful.  It reminded me of a Hawaiian minestrone.  You could probably add other vegetables if you wanted.  Milli says this will taste even better today after the flavors have married a bit.  We will see...we have a large container waiting in the refrigerator.

Thank you, Milli...I love you!

I Am a Chef - Meyer Lemon Spaghetti

Jay is usually my "main squeeze" but this week I am squeezing citrus!  January is a wonderful month for citrus in southern California.  A walk through the neighborhood takes you past homes with orange and lemon trees heavily laden with golden globes of fruit.  The farmers' markets stalls overflow with every variety of citrus imaginable: blood oranges...reminiscent of la bella Sicilia, cara cara oranges, Fremont tangerines, oroblanco grapefruit, Mexican limes, and sweet Meyer lemons.   If you are as fortunate as I am, you also have a friend like Gloria who calls and says..."Please come over and pick some Meyer lemons.  The limbs of my tree are going to break!"

So what to do with such a bounty?  In years past we have gone all out and made Limoncello. We created our own Italian version of a moonshine still on our kitchen counter, carefully peeled off the lemon zest, soaked it in Everclear Grain alcohol, mixed it with simple syrup and gifted it to friends, but somehow the urge to repeat the process isn't present this year.  As I looked at my overflowing basket, I thought.

Some lemons would be squeezed into ice cube trays and then bagged as frozen cubes of fresh juice for future recipes.  I am watching my calories, so lemon pie was not an option.  I can also make some more preserved lemons for my Morrocan chicken Recipe.

Then I remembered a wonderful dish we ate in Sorrento, Italy many years ago.  Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast is Lemon Heaven and the fount of Limoncello in Italy.

Limoncello and our Kitchen Clock from Sorrento!

The dish was a simple spaghetti dressed in a lemon sauce.  Such a recipe is not part of my family lore, so I went to Google.  Among the 1, 210,000 links returned when I searched for "lemon spaghetti recipe" was one from a blog, In Erika's Kitchen, with a recipe that looked perfect!  This recipe uses Meyer Lemons and Goat Cheese.  The recipe is here.  It was quick and easy to make and we enjoyed it.  The Meyer lemon is sweeter than regular lemons so it is a subtle lemony taste.  The other recipes were similar but did not call for the goat cheese, so it could be left out.  However, it did not overwhelm the dish and created a creamy essence to the sauce.  So now I know... when life hands me lemons, make lemonade...or lemon spaghetti.   

Grazie!...Gloria and Erika.

I Am a Chef - Grazia's Sicilian Lasagna

In 1998 Jay fulfilled one of my greatest hopes...he took me to Sicily, birthplace of my maternal grandparents and I left a piece of my heart there.  Over the years we returned 4 times, connecting with distant cousins, visiting various locations and learning the history. I have walked the same streets as my Grandmother in Cefalù

Cefalù

and my grandfather in Ferla.

Ferla 2004

In Sicily everything is "more!"  The vistas are more lovely, the people are more authentic, the flavors are more intense, the aromas are more pungent.  So, on one visit when a "prima cugina" of my mother, Grazia, invited us to have pranzo with her family and I bit into her lasagna, I was blown away by how delicious it was.  I had never had a lasagna like this and when I got my hands on a piece of paper, I attempted to write down the ingredients I could remember: noodles, soft cheese (maybe a mozzarella?), thin meat (maybe prosciutto?), hard boiled eggs, peas, bechamel sauce, broken up tomato, greens.  When I returned home, I decided that before I made it I would send her an email through her son and ask for her recipe.  So, in my faltering Italian I explained the items I remembered and asked if he could send me his mother's recipe.  He wrote back.  Put this: noodles, soft cheese (maybe a mozzarella?), thin meat (maybe prosciutto?), hard boiled eggs, peas, bechamel sauce, broken up tomato, greens.

Lesson number one...Sicilian cooks do not write out exact measurements.  In fact in some old cookbooks I have seen an ingredient written like this:  grated cheese q.b.  I hunted furiously to find the meaning of the abbreviation "q.b."...it means "quanto basta" which translates to mean..."when it is enough."  Cooking is done by feel and by the collective memory of a people or a family.

Sicilian Lasagna

So I have continued to prepare this recipe from my memory of our pranza which means each time it is a little different but each time it is savored and enjoyed by anyone who eats it.
Here is my recipe:

Grazia's Sicilian Lasagna
1 package of no boil noodles (I get mine from Trader Joe's)
4 cups of prepared bechamel sauce
prosciutto q.b. - thinly sliced and torn into small pieces.
1 pound of mozzarella cheese shredded
frozen peas q.b. (usually about 1 1/2 cups thawed)
4 hardboiled eggs, thinly sliced
some frozen chopped spinach q.b. (maybe 1 1/2 cups)
1 16 ounce can of diced tomatoes drained
grated cheese q.b. (like Romano, Pecorino, Parmagiano)
salt and pepper
butter

Now you just layer everything, beginning with a thin film of bechamel sauce ladled over a buttered 9 X 13 baking pan. then...
layers of noodles with the various ingredients putting them in any order you want.  I usually do a layer of prosciutto, eggs and peas, followed by a layer of spinach and tomatoes, followed by another layer of prosciutto, eggs and peas etc. making at least 4 layers. 
Each layer is covered generously with bechamel sauce because the noodles will absorb the liquid, and has some shredded mozzarella on it to help it all stick together. Season the layers as you go.
End with a last layer of noodles, cover with bechamel sauce, sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmagiano cheese and dot with butter.
Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  Remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes or until the lasagna is cooked though and is bubbling and golden.
Let it sit for at least 15 minutes before serving.

This is a very forgiving recipe.  You can really layer anything you want in it.  I have used roasted red peppers, basil leaves, sauteed mushrooms, added some pesto the bechamel sauce.  It is always wonderful, light and tasty.

Grazie, Grazia!