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 Memoirist - Remembering a Special Day

After two more days of cold and heavy rain we awoke to blue skies and sun. Going out to pick up the newspapers we realized how invigorating the air was...crisp and clean and beckoning us to come out and play.  So we decided to take a ride along the coast to see what we could see.  The ocean was such a dark blue and near our house we could see many sailboats dotting the sea.  When we reached Redondo Beach, we parked the car and got out to walk.  People were crowding the pier, children were laughing and mariachis were playing at the fish market food areas.

We walked out on the walkways and marveled at how beautiful everything was.  To the north we could see Santa Monica

and to the south we could see the Palos Verdes Pennisula and even the outline of Catalina Island.

While there, I took advantage of the opportunity to buy some fresh fish heads to make stock for the New England Fish Chowder that Jay loves so much.

Then we got back in the car to drive to the Palos Verdes Pennisula.

Today was another special day for us.  We tend to celebrate a lot of anniversaries....the first time we went on a date, the first time we went to Palm Springs, the day I said yes to Jay's entreaties to "Marry me!", the first time we exchanged our wedding vows (in Cefalu in Sicily...which we consider the actual day of our marriage) and today...the day we publically exchanged our vows in a Wedding Celebration at La Venta Inn.  So we made the pilgrimage to La Venta

and we sat in the parking lot and remembered how special that day was for us and, we hope, for our family and friends.  We shared our memories of the event, interrupting each other with..."Remember...", "Remember..."  Then, using the time delay feature on our camera, we even managed to sneak onto the patio and take a picture in front of the fountain.

Life is full of special moments and we are able to relive them in our memories.  Memories are the way we hold on to the things we love, the things that we are and the things that we never want to lose.  We can take them out and turn them over in our mind and remember who we are and who we have been, who has loved us and who we have loved.  And I guess it is appropriate that as we age, the gift of those memories are there to remind us of the fullness of the life we have led.  I treasure my memories...even if at times they are bittersweet and I am left with a longing to be able to live that special moment just one more time.

My father died too young, at the age of 66.  But we really lost him years before that when Alzheimer's disease stole his memories.  At first he couldn't remember how to find his way home, then he could not remember how to read or make change.  Later, he could not remember his children and finally, he could not remember his wife.  This terrible condition, stripped him of his memories and erased his life for him.  Often, when I visit my 94 year old mother, she will start a conversation with the words..."Do you remember when...." and I know that she has been reliving her special moments, knowing that even if I heard the story many times before, I will listen as she tells me about it again, savoring the joy that it brings to her.

Memories form connections; they connect us to life and to others. A promise to myself: For as long as I am able I will try to create memories for me and for those that I love.

I Am a Reader - "The Almond Picker" by Simonetta Agnello Hornby

I am participating in the "Italy in Books" Reading Challenge hosted by Brighton Blogger at Book After Book and have set the goal of reading and reviewing one book about or set in Italy each month.  For this month I just finished re-reading a book entitled, The Almond Picker by Simonetta Agnello Hornby. 

It was originally written in Italian but has been translated and is available in English.  The novel is set in a small fictitious village called Roccacolomba, Sicily in the year 1963.  It spans the four weeks following the funeral of Mennulara (a nickname which means almond picker), a servant of a wealthy family who started out as a maid and ended up being the administrator of the family estate.  She was a dirt-poor peasant girl who went into service at the age of 13 to support her sick mother and sister.  I found the story fascinating because it presented such a realistic, typical picture of a small Sicilian comune.  It could have been the village of my grandparents.  The mystery of Mennulara unfolds as the author introduces the various citizens of the town from the local priest, the doctor, the postmaster, the book seller, the old men of the Conversation Club, and recounts their thoughts, observations and conversations with each other.  The reader is invited into the back-biting, the gossip, the old grudges, the prejudices, the petty squabbles and the judgments that fill the lives of people who know everyone else's business...people who watch and notice every nuance and give it meaning.

It was interesting to see how feudal society remained even in 1963, with the peasants separate from the wealthy landowners.  The town remained divided between Roccacolumba Alta and Roccacolumba Bassa.  Every person had his or her own story about Mennulara. Some see her as a servant who didn't know her place.  Others saw her as strong, loyal and resourceful. How she came to be the power in the family is what unfolds as you read to the end.  While the mystery is not overly intriguing, the real power of the book is the story of the village...how it is explored and exposed.  At the end, I felt like I had just spent an extended time in this village, sitting in the piazzas, eavesdropping on whispered conversations.

The author, Simonetta Agnello Hornby, was born in Palermo in Sicily and studied law in England. She has lived in London for thirty years where she works as a lawyer for children with special needs. The Almond Picker, her first novel, was a bestseller in Italy and has been published in twelve languages.

Simonetta Agnello Hornby

Here is an interesting article from The Independent website with an interview with the author.

Some information about Sicilian Almonds:
Almonds are believed to have been introduced to Sicily before 1000 BCE and are very much a part of the Sicilian culture and cuisine.

Almonds grow wonderfully in the Sicilian climate and in the spring an annual Almond Blossom Festival is held in the town of Agrigento where the blossoming trees provide a beautiful foreground for the five magnificent Greek Temples in the Valley of the Temples.  The Sicilian almond is associated with love and fidelity, symbolizing good fortune.  They are sugar-coated and given out at weddings and baptisms as "confetti." Called "le mandorle" in Italian, almonds are used in many dishes, especially confections.  The wonderful amaretti cookies that are made from almond paste are something we can never get enough of when we visit there.  Famous Martorana cookies made from almond pasta reale in the shape of vivid fruits are famous in the Palermo region.

A special memory I hold is of being taken into a local bar midday on a very hot summer day and introduced to the most refreshing drink...a cold glass of "latte di mandorla" (almond milk).

I Am a Forager - The Wild Mushroom Fair

Sunday we drove to the Los Angeles Arboretum to attend the 27th Annual Wild Mushroom Fair.

Patricia at the entrance, with one of the placemats she purchased.

Foraging for mushrooms is part of the Italian Heritage but somehow it bypassed my personal experience.  I can remember my mother telling me that when her parents cooked mushrooms they place a silver coin the in the pot and if it turned black they knew the mushrooms were poisonous.  I don't know if that might just be an old wives' tale, or if it is true. But I don't think I would put my faith in a silver coin!  I have always enjoyed mushrooms but mine come from the market.

When we were in Ferla (in Sicily) in 2007 we visited my cousin's farm/ranch and while there my cousin's mother grabbed a plastic basket and headed into the field to gather mushrooms.

Tina hunting for mushrooms!

Here is her gathering!

I remember wondering how Tina knew that the mushrooms were safe to eat!

Well, it turns out like with everything else in the world, if there is an activity...there is a following that creates an underground of interested people who meet and share and learn together.  Such is the case with the Los Angeles Mycological Society.  Throughout the year they gather to go on forages into the local mountains and hillsides looking for edible and non-edible mushrooms.  Every year they host a fair with cultivation lessons, cooking demonstrations, mushroom-themed vendors and a guided mushroom walk.  Sunday, there was a large group of people of all ages. Who knew that many people in Los Angeles were interested in wild mushrooms!

One of the children...dressed as a mushroom!

We were there when the doors opened so we were able to take the Mushroom Walk with Biology Professor Bob Cummings.  Bob, like any expert, loves to share his expertise and as we all gathered around him, he told us story after story about how he is called to the local hospitals in the middle of the night when a patient has been admitted in pain after eating mushrooms. He goes to the hospital, identifies the mushroom to determine if it is poisonous so the doctor can then consult with Poison Control Center. He explained how most edible mushrooms also have a look-alike mushroom that is not edible.

After giving us an introduction on the subject of mushrooms, we proceed to go on a walk, staring down at the ground, looking for bumps in the ground cover or wood with white growth.  We ended up at a large log from a tree that was covered with mushrooms growing from the fungus.

Bob Cummings identifying mushroom.

Fungus is amazing.  It lives in the ground and spreads its fibers into the soil looking for matter to digest.  And in the process it sends up plumes of living matter, the mushroom, that creates spores to scatter so that it can propagate. 

After the walk we went into the main event room and looked at the various types of mushrooms on display.

Jay checking out the displays

People were demonstrating how to cultivate your own mushrooms...just tuck this little plastic bag full of planting material and live spores into the dark corner of a closet and you, too, can grow your own mushrooms.

There is so much to learn about the world.  And there are so many experts available to teach you.  All we have to do is poke our head out the door.  I know that after this little foray into a new environment, I will have a greater appreciation for mushrooms.  Right now I am dreaming about a Mushroom Risotto!!

Here is a video of Professor Bob Cummings:


Dr. Bob Cummings from David Fenster on Vimeo.

I Am a Woman of a "Certain Age" - Honoring My Body

Today I attended the Thursday noontime yoga class at the local YMCA.  It is not power yoga...but a gentler version focusing on breathing, mindfulness and basic yoga postures.  I have been practicing yoga for a number of years and each time I attend a class, I come away more centered and feeling more vital.  Today Denise led us through the floor postures as we lay on our mats, telling us to bring right knee to chest, wrap hands around it, drawing it in, extend left leg and flex left foot. I marveled at how obedient my body was to my requests.  Even as it ages, it continues to follow my instruction as best it can.  I felt a tremendous appreciation for how my body has carried me through life and asked so little of me in return.

From the time I was a child and taking tap dancing lessons at the Franklin School of Dance in Kent, Ohio, my body has performed in the ways I have asked it.

The Dancing Dolls - Patsy, Patricia, and Carolyn

I was never drawn to sports and was a bit of a klutz in high school.  I always played right field in PE softball games and could never execute an overhand serve in volleyball.  But I was the Drill Team leader

Marymount High School Drill Team - Patricia,Drill Teal leader in the center

and I loved to dance swing at high school dances, even if it was usually with my brother, Chuck!

Later in life, my body made it possible for me to bear three children and to have a fairly easy experience of childbirth.  And in my retirement years I am still able to dance the tango, run up the 14 steps to my front door, bend down to weed my garden and tend my vegetables, take walks through the neighborhood with my husband. My fingers work well when I want to knit an item, dice a potato, knead some pasta dough, or caress my husband's face.

My sister, Cathy, was born with Cerebral Palsy.   She has never known the freedom of having a body that obeys your least command.  She has struggled to do the simple things that I am able to do without a conscious thought...to hold a spoon or put on an article of clothing.  Each action takes such effort and concentration to execute. I am fortunate.

Cathy Rinaldi Swart - 2008

As I am aging, I see that my body is not as prime as it used to be.  My skin is a bit "crepey." I have some age spots.  There is arthritis in one of my fingers that hurts periodically.  The dentist tells me I have some small fractures in my teeth.  In a week I will have a cataract removed from one of my eyes.  I receive email jokes from friends about the desire to be able to recycle body parts.  Yet, as I near my 69th birthday, I am grateful for this body that has served me so well.  I love its wrinkles and honor its aging.  And while I am not ready to discard the products that keep my hair a rich dark brown color, I do not disparage the passing years.

So today I feel a commitment to do well by my body...to feed it nutritious food, to drink lots of water, to exercise it regularly and to rest it if it is tired...basically, to treat it with respect.  And the next time I take a shower and rub my body lotion on my legs and arms, I will do so lovingly and with true appreciation...honoring how loyal it has been to me through the years.

I Am a Gardener - Growing Fava Beans

I discovered fava beans about 3 years ago.  My family had never eaten them, but at a gardening class I learned that they are a wonderful crop for replenishing your soil with nitrogen, especially after a productive summer garden.  So that year, in late November, while I was deciding what winter vegetables to plant, I stuck a few fava beans in the soil to see what would happen.  Little did I know that it would be the beginning of my love affair with this ancient legume.  I think the fava bean is the plant that is referenced in the story, Jack and the Beanstalk because this plant is LARGE.  It take a couple of months to get going but once it starts it is magnificent.

It creates large bean pods that protrude from the sides of the stalks so it looks almost like a ladder.  When the pods become shiny and the beans obviously defined, they are ready to harvest.

Ripe fava bean pods - 2009

To prepare them for cooking is a bit of a process but the resulting taste is worth the effort.  The pods need to be opened and inside, nestled in nature's own bubblewrap, are 4 to five beans.

Gabriel harvesting fava beans 2009

2009 - shelling the fava beans

Fava beans ready to be blanched and skinned

These beans then need to be blanched in boiling water, plunged into ice water, and the protective skin removed.  You are left with a delicate, vivid green bean.  I have used these beans to make a nice topping for crostini or a delicate pureed soup.

Today I noticed that my beans are beginning to create blossoms and will not be ready to harvest for a while but some additional facts I have learned about these beans permit me to begin to enjoy them now.

2011 - Fava bean blossoms, ready to remove tips.

You are advised to clip off the tip when the plant reaches about 2 1/2 feet, so the energy of the plant goes into producing pods, and last year I tossed those tips into the compost.  This year I learned that the tips as well as the leaves are edible.

Fava bean tips

So, today, when I removed some tips, I sauteed/braised them and then created a fava leaf fritatta.

Fava bean tips sauteed with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper

Fritatta of sauteed fava bean tips, egg, feta cheese.

Fresh tender leaves can also be added to salads.

Some interesting facts about the bean:  Fava beans, or Broad Beans as they are called in some parts of the world, are one of the most ancient plants in cultivation.  They became part of the Mediterranean diet as far back as 6000 BCE or earlier.  I have read that some people with Parkinson's Disease, eat them, under a doctor's direction, because the beans are rich in L-dopa, a substance used to treat the condition.  Other, with a genetic predisposition to hemolytic anemia cannot eat the bean because it can cause a potentially fatal condition called "favism" after the bean.

Fava beans became famous after Anthony Hopkins mentioned them in a famous scene from the movie Silence of the Lambs.  "So I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti!"

I have some Chianti around here somewhere!!

I Am a Student - Learning About Geology

Most of my elementary school years were spent attending St. Patrick's Parish School in Kent, Ohio.

St. Patrick's back door off playground

Entering front door of school around 1952

It was a Catholic school with most classes being taught by the Sisters of the Holy Humility of Mary.

With my 8th grade teacher who's name escapes me...Sr. Mary Holy Water?

There were lay teachers in some grades, and my mother was one of them, but the school was run by the nuns!  The nuns taught us well in the basics - "reading, writing and 'rithmetic" - and I even received a certificate for completing the course of study of the Palmer Handwriting Method.

To this day people tell me I have beautiful handwriting and the nuns would be so proud.  What I did not learn in elementary school were the Arts and Sciences. If we were lucky, we had a couple of hours a month for an art class, that was more than coloring a picture, or a simple science class.

Now that I am retired and have the opportunity to broaden my education I enjoy filling in the gaps.  This week I attended a lecture at California State University, Dominguez Hills that was offered to all members of their Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI).  It was the first of a series that will be presented this semester on Topics in Geoscience: Scientific Wonders of the Earth.  The series is popular, due to the generous participation of instructors from various departments at CSUDH.  The first presenter was Dr. Brendan McNulty, a professor of Geology, who is also a winner of the university's "Excellence in Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Award."  For the past 7 years, with funding from the National Science Foundation, he and a colleague have been researching the Cordillera Blanca detachment fault in the Peruvian Andes.  I am impressed with myself that the last sentence just rolled off my finger tips!  The ideas of the forces of nature within our plant, the action of plate techtonics with plates colliding and subducting, the dating of material, rocks and soils that are 8 billion years old, the work of volcanic action and thermal triggers literally blows my mind! (pun intended)

Cordillera Blanca Peru

I recall being first exposed to the idea of our "living planet" in 2002 on an Elderhostel trip that made a loop of the state of Oregon where for 2 weeks we traveled on a bus accompanied by a geologist and a naturalist and explored four different geographic settings in the state.  I had never before considered how the wonders of nature worked or how slowly but decidedly this transformation occurs.

The lecture was filled with other OLLI members and Brendan commented on how much fun it was for him to share his passion with students who actually WANTED to be there.

Olli Members with Dr. McNulty

Jay, Gary and Gretchen talking to Dr. McNulty

He was enthusiastic, waving his hands and running back and forth from his slides to point some small detail out to us.  I was sure that as a little boy he must have come home with his pockets filled with rocks!  His enthusasm was infectious and we all left energized and eager to pursue other avenues of learning he suggested, like reading more of John McPhee's books, like Assembling California or the novel of Mario Vargas Llosa, Death in the Andes, which is set in the little village of Naccos.

Bottom line, for me I know it is never too late to have a comprehensive elementary education!

Thanks, Professor McNulty!

I Am a Resident - Walking the Neighborhood

When Jay and I married, 12 years ago, we decided that I would move into his home in Playa del Rey, we would live there for 3 years and then find "our home" to move to. Three years passed and we went house-hunting but always said when we returned to Playa del Rey, "Home, sweet home. There is no place we like better than this!"  So we remodeled the house and now it feels like "our home."

Playa del Rey is a coastal community situated between the Los Angeles International Airport

and Marina del Rey.  Most of the community is built on what are actually sand dunes with west facing houses viewing the ocean and east facing houses viewing the San Bernardino Mountains (on a clear day!).  Our house faces east.

But if we walk just three blocks, we are greeted with this fantastic view:

On mornings such as today, we will grab each other and head out the door to walk the neighborhood.  We are not alone.  There are dog walkers

 headed to the little triangle Dog Park...which often seems to be a little lunch time "meeting place" for various people!

and fitness runners

We see the fruit trees

and landscaping ideas.

We notice some homes optimistically up for sale despite the current real estate slump.

We see a tree trunk that was uprooted during the recent rain storms, waiting to be hauled away.  Makes me wonder how my "age rings" are evidenced on my "trunk!"

We have some homes with "stories attached to them" like this vintage house that once hosted parties for movie stars in the twenties...like Ronald Coleman and Myrna Loy.

This is the entrance to Marina Del Rey.  The houses below it are locally referred to as "the Jungle" I guess because of the "wild life" that occupies them, especially during the summer months...young adults and college students from nearby Loyola Marymount University or UCLA.  On clear days like today we look at the curve of the bay and see the city Santa Monica and all the way to Point Dume.

This gradual path ambles along a restricted area and takes us all the way to the beach.

The restricted area is property claimed by the City of Los Angeles years ago by eminent domain due to an airport expansion and is now protected as a habitat of the El Segundo Blue Butterfly.  I have never seen one!

It is an interesting neighborhood and we always see something new. We often tell each other that right now people are saving their money and planning a future vacation to travel thousands of miles to visit the location that we have right outside our front door.  Los Angeles may be very crowded, have horrendous traffic on gnarled freeways, have blighted areas and dismal crime statistics, but on the other side of the coin, we are fortunate to live in Paradise.  And, at the end of the walk, like today, 1.06 miles later, we return to "Home, Sweet Home."