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Rubber Slippers in Italy
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DK's Culinary Bazaar
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Obachan's Kitchen...
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Canela y Comino
Power Up!
Revelations came by way of realizing how much information is actually stored on our computers — important phone numbers, for instance. I stopped updating my Rolodex after we moved here, so anyone who has moved in the last 3 years we were not able to contact. The blown transformer brought this point home again — what if we lost power in a natural disaster for weeks or months? So having a non-electric redundant back-up (i.e., my Rolodex!) is top of the priority list this week.
I also realized how cut off I felt not being able to follow-up on the Net with things I heard on the radio or read in the papers. And what was the weather going to be like today or this weekend? No morning news, no Google weather forecast. In fact, the biggest weather news here was kind of a shock because we saw it before we heard about it . . . The Return of the Vog! Volcanic ash and dust from Kilauea were carried by not-normal southeast winds all the way over to here, where a high cloud system evidently kept it "boxed in" over the islands. Although this vog was supposedly less of a health issue (less sulfuric acid) than previous vog episodes we've had recently, it was many times more disconcerting because for the first time since we've lived here . . . . all the mountain ranges disappeared, and we were left with the uneasy feeling of being spatially displaced. Around here, you tend to think in terms of your relation to the mountains, the ocean, Diamond Head, the coasts, etc. With all these landmarks shrouded in unending gray, you can feel sort of . . . well, lost and out of sorts. Below are photos taken from the beach a 1/2 mile from home — the top was the "view" of Diamond Head and Honolulu last Saturday, and below it, the normal view.
We also saw the last of our part-time neighbor, this golden plover, or Kolea. He spends his winters feasting in the large yard behind our house, which he defends against all others of his kind (he seems perfectly content with other bird species, but other Kolea are aves non gratae). Arriving around mid-August from his Alaska nesting grounds, he makes the 3000 mile journey each year non-stop! After basking in the Hawaiian sun all winter, he makes his way back to Alaska around now to find a mate and raise a brood, which he will leave behind in the fall and blithely make his way back to Hawaii. OK, he won't win any bird-parent of the year awards, but somehow the fledglings find their way to Hawaii on their own! I managed to snap this photo at some distance (he's notoriously camera-shy) 2 weeks ago when I noticed his breast plumage had completely transformed to solid black and knew he was getting ready for his big trip. We haven't seen him for over a week now so luckily he seems to have made it out before the disturbing vog rolled in. He'll be back in August. A hui hou?
Just before we pulled the plug last week, I made the rounds of some of my favorite blogs and learned that Nicisme at Cherrapeno had named ThreeTastes as one of the recipients of the "E for Excellent" award badge! It was quite an honor, especially coming from Nic whose blog is my cure for my virtual sweet-tooth. Not only does she create the most amazing desserts, but she has a great gift for making eye-candy, too. Lucky for me our keyboard has a silicone drool guard over it! In fact, I was on her site to get a recipe for her pineapple sorbet to try during our time-off (in all the excitement, I forgot to print the recipe so I'll be trying it in future). I've had a week to consider to whom I will in turn pass on this badge. I still have to type it all up and will post the list over the weekend. Mahalo nui loa, Nic! You definitely set a bar with your site, I'll try to maintain it here too!
Finally, what do lemons, twigs and chalk, needles and heat lamps, pears, courgettes, green tea, and shrimp paste have in common? They're some of the things that kept us occupied during the last week. Here's a visual quick peek of what's coming up. Stay tuned to this bat-channel, Folks!
Unplugged: Waimea Valley Audubon Center
Can you do it? We’re going to give it a shot. We’re only allowing ourselves the radio since it’s largely a non-interactive medium, and camera because we don't have a non-digital camera. I was going to start a series about our experience with acupuncture this week, but we’ll pick up with that when we return.
Today we spent the afternoon at the Honolulu Academy of Art to visit their special collection, "The Dragon's Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan," which is on view until May 23d. If you haven't seen this extraordinary collection, which is based on the Honolulu Academy's own expeditions to Bhutan over the last 5 years. The collection is composed largely of religious, namely Buddhist, artwork borrowed from active and working monasteries; it is supplemented with twice-weekly altar rituals performed by Bhutanese monks; videos taken by the Academy's staff of religious dances — some which have never been seen outside the country; and a truly innovative multi-media installation by Herbert Mingood, dance photographer for the Joffrey Ballet.
The exhibit is scheduled to tour five other museums, the next being the Rubin Museum in New York in September. If you have the opportunity to see this rare collection, I hope you will avail yourself of the gift. Read more about the exhibit on the Academy's website, or read the New York Times article by Susan Emmerling.
Bhutan is considered one of the most isolated countries in the world, and has the distinction of being the only country to have a Gross National Happiness index (how cool is that?). It seemed fitting to include mention of this exhibition here since there were no TVs in Bhutan before 1999!
We can't show you anything from the Bhutan collection, so to get National Turn Off Week to a proper start, we’ll leave you with another one our favorite ways to get Unplugged: Waimea Valley Audubon Center on Oahu's North Shore.
Waimea Valley's official greeter
A peahen plays coy with this ardent suitor
A more demure denizen of the gardens
The Valley has a collection rare and unusual hibiscuses . . .
The Falls has a swimhole and rest spot at the end of the
A sausage tree, named for its pungent fruit
Braised Lamb with Chickpeas
This meal was inspired by 2 different recipes in my favorite Italian cookbook. One had pork, chick peas and spinach; the other was a spicy braised lamb in a white wine sauce. We ended up with a braised lamb with chickpeas in a white wine sauce, with a side of Tuscan kale, served with grilled polenta. How's that for going with the flow, working in The Way?
BRAISED LAMB WITH CHICKPEAS
adapted from Trattoria, by Patricia Wells
Chickpeas:
1 cup (200g) dried chickpeas
Wash and rinse well. Soak overnight. Drain, and place in a large sauce pan and cover with 6 cups of water, large bay leaf, and half slice onion. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and cook until chickpeas are tender. Cooking time will vary depending on the type of chickpea, and how fresh it is. Test by pressing cooked bean between your fingers: it should just resist , then mash. Remove cooked beans from heat, remove cover and let cool in liquid until ready to use. If not using right away, let cool completely, then store chickpeas with liquid to cover in fridge. Drain liquid before adding to meat in the next step, but reserve the cooking liquid.
For the Lamb:
3 TBL. olive oil
5 anchovy fillets, drained and minced
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1.5 lbs (680g) meat from leg of lamb, or shoulder, cut into 3-inch pieces
sea salt
ground black pepper
1 cup (250ml) dry white wine (we used a pinot gris)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
Heat oil and anchovies together over medium-high heat in large deep skillet. Add red pepper and cook just until oil takes on pepper color, then add lamb meat in batches to brown. Season with sea salt and ground black pepper while browning. When all lamb has browned, add wine, vinegar, garlic and oregano. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Add drained chickpeas, and continue cooking until meat is tender, about another 30-45 minutes.
To Finish:
1 tsp flour
3 TBL. reserved cooking liquid from beans, or water
Taste and correct seasoning. Combine flour and reserved liquid or water, and stir well. Move meat and beans away from center of pan, and add slurry to the center, stirring well. Combine with rest of the dish, and cook until the sauce begins to thicken and lose opaque color from the flour.
Serve with polenta, fresh or grilled, and a salad or your favorite cooked vegetable.
5-A-Day: Tian of Roasted Potatoes & Chinese Mustard Greens
With yesterday's meal of Portuguese-influenced pork, clam and periwinkle stew, we wanted to serve the traditional accompaniment of roasted or pan-fried sliced potatoes, but we also wanted a vegetable with some bitterness to punctuate the rich and spicy broth in the stew. Rather than make 2 side dishes, I opted to ease my workload and make only one dish.
One of our favorite vegetables is a simple oven-braised endive, wherein Belgian endive or Italian radicchio are cooked to melting tenderness while retaining their characteristic bite. I gambled that by layering bitter Chinese mustard cabbage under potato slices in the manner of a tian, I could get a bed of tender braised greens and crispy potatoes on top. Eureka! It worked.
A tian, like the cataplana in yesterday's post, is the name of both a type of dish and the vessel in which it is traditionally cooked. Here, the original cookware is a bowl-shaped earthenware vessel, often unglazed, although in the hypermarches in France we saw oval or rectangular heavy ceramic dishes with 5-inch sides also sold as "tians." Tian recipes feature layered vegetables, sometimes combined with cheeses and/or grains, and often topped with breadcrumbs. In this version, it was all about the veggies — with only a little broth, olive oil, garlic and sea salt for enhancement. I would gladly have substituted endive or radicchio for the mustard cabbage — as always, use what's local and in season in your area.
Although the seafood and pork stew is a definite no-no for anyone coping with gout, I think this vegetarian dish (especially when prepared with vegetable broth) would be suitable for a gout-management diet and so will be included in the GDC.
TIAN OF ROAST POTATOES & CHINESE MUSTARD GREENS
(serves 4 as a side dish, 2 as an entree)
2 medium potatoes, scrubbed and peeled
Slice potatoes cross-wise into thin slices. Toss with olive oil to prevent browning. Then sprinkle with sea salt and ground black or white pepper.
Pre-heat oven to 350F/180C.
Olive oil
1 large head of Chinese mustard greens, washed well (instructions)
(or 2 lbs. of any bitter green: radicchio, endive, dandelions, etc.)
4-6 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
Sea salt, to taste
Gound black pepper, or white pepper
After washing greens well, separate thick stems from leaves. Slice stems in julienne. Cut leaves lengthwise, then finely shred — you should have 8-10 cups of leaves. Place stems, then leaves in large (10-12 cup) oven-safe casserole. Add garlic, broth, 2 TBL. of olive oil and seasoning to taste. Layer potatoes over greens in overlapping rings. You may have to press to fit the potatoes atop the greens; but as they cook, the greens will wilt. (Alternatively, place the leaves in a large colander and pour boiling water over until the greens are just wilted, then layer over stems and proceed as above.)
Place in pre-heated oven and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. If potatoes start to brown too quickly, lightly cover with foil (do not seal or potatoes will steam and not stay crisp).
Although this dish was devised to accompany the seafood stew, its flavors will also accentuate any rich stew — meat or vegetarian, as well as roasted chicken, game fowl, or pork.
More about Chinese mustard greens, or gai choy
Shoreline Stew: Pork, Clams & Periwinkles
This savory medley of land and sea combines tender pork with the briny, sweet flavors of periwinkles and Manila clams in a lightly spiced wine and tomato broth. It is a variation of "Clams Cataplana," a classic Portuguese pork & clams stew. Aside from the addition of the periwinkles, the ingredient that most distinguishes this version from the classic is the inclusion of tomatoes in the sauce; the original swims solely in a seasoned white or light red wine. I'm partial to this version, but T prefers the original. We'll do it that way next time. The traditional cataplana is served with roasted or pan-fried potato slices, and a crusty loaf to catch every drop of sauce. I also wanted a taste of something with a bite, some bitterness to counter the rich stew. I devised a simple tian with potatoes and Chinese mustard greens that gave us both roasted potatoes and a bitter green (next post).
The periwinkles were a first for us, and we weren't sure what to expect. But after Laurie's enthusiastic endorsement in her pre-Christmas "Seven Days of Seafood," we've been on the look-out for the tiny crustaceans at the fishmongers in Chinatown. Most periwinkles in the U.S. are exported from Maine (I forot to ask if these were as well), which was a surprise to T, who grew up there and never once tried a periwinkle. A tour around the web turned up other enthusiastic periwinkle fans, including Jimmy at Fishin' Fool Jimmy's, who had recipes and valuable advice on foraging and harvesting periwinkles — free seafood, you gotta love that! — along the U.S. (and Canadian) East Coast and Southeast marshes. In Europe, look for bigorneaux or littorines; and in the U.K., winkles.
The periwinkles resemble nothing more than a tiny snail, and were fairly easy to clean: a couple of changes of fresh water, and a quick tap of the shell to see if the animal responds. Like a clam, the periwinkle will tighten the hard bit of shell, or operculum, covering its entrance. Because they were so tiny, we added them to the stew in the last 10 minutes of cooking so they wouldn't overcook. Though they were a bit tricky to remove from their shell — T had much more success than I in using a pick — in a pinch, a quick, light tap between the jaws of a nutcracker released the meat. The periwinkles were sweeter than the clams, with a delicate brininess and mild chew. I would like to try them again in a New England style chowder recipe or as a fritter.
I'm open to just about any preparation for these new-found crustaceans — what's your favorite recipe for winkles? Or what did you think of them the first time you tried them?
PORTUGUESE-STYLE PORK & CLAMS, WITH PERIWINKLES
The Sauce:
1 small chourico, or chorizo (about 2-3oz or 60-85g), cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 lb. (450g) pork tenderloin or shoulder, cut in 1-inch cubes
olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 small bay leaves
3 tsp. sweet or hot smoked paprika
(if using sweet, can add a pinch of a dried red pepper such as cayenne, Aleppo or Korean gochugaru)
12-15oz. (340-420g) chopped and seeded tomatoes
1- 1.5 cups (240-350ml) dry white wine, such as a Sauvignon Blanc or Pinto Gris
1/4 cup (10g) minced flat-leaf parsley, divided
sea salt (may not be needed, depending on the saltiness of the chourico)
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, fry chourico in a smidgen of oil, until browned. Remove to bowl. Tip out oil in pan, but do not wash. In same pan, add 2 TBL. olive oil and brown pork in 2-3 batches, removing each batch to the bowl with chouricos to keep warm.
In the same pan, turn heat down to medium-low and saute onions until translucent (about 8-10 minutes). Add garlic and bay leaves, and cook until garlic is fragrant. Add paprika and peppers, if using, stir through and cook 1 minute. Turn heat back up to medium-high and add wine, tomatoes and half the amount of parsley. Bring sauce just to the boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes while you prepare the crustaceans.
The crustaceans:
2-3 lbs. (1-1.5kg) Manila or littleneck clams, scrubbed and rinsed
(throw away any that do not close when tapped)
1lb (450g) periwinkles, cleaned (optional -- use larger amount of clams if not using periwinkles)
Lemon quarters
Taste sauce and adjust seasoning. Bring heat up to medium again, return chouricos and pork to pan, and add clams, stir through and cover. Cook for 10 minutes. Add periwinkles, cover again and cook another 8 minutes. Without opening cover, turn off heat and keep pan covered while plates/bowls are warmed and table is set. Just before serving, add last of parsley and squeeze lemon juice over.
See also Portuguese Bean Soup
Curry-Glazed Cod with Wasabi-Sesame Soba Salad
Here's a quick dinner put together with ingredients on hand and very little brain work, because there wasn't much left at that point. I'm trying as much as possible to reduce our pantry stocks and not buy ingredients for a any one particular recipe. So with a couple of filets of Alaskan cod at the ready, I opted to serve the fish with a cool salad of buckwheat soba noodles tossed with a prepared sea grass salad that is marketed as "Sea Salad" here in Hawaii. Chewy buckwheat soba noodles and the sesame-laced sea salad were a nice foil for the spices in the tender flaky fish. We liked this salad so much, I will try this again with miso butterfish.
It's been awhile since we've had a gout-friendly recipe for the GDC, but I think this recipe might fit the bill. Buckwheat is a grain high in protein and gluten-free, and sea grasses of all kinds and lemon juice are said to be especially beneficial for gout-sufferers. Sesame, too, is touted as a gout-friendly seasoning. If you wanted to make this even better for a gout-patient, I might also add julienned daikon, or grapes, apples, peas or cooked spinach. The skinned fish filets, only moderately seasoned with spices and pan-fried in olive oil, provide another measure of protein.
CURRY-GLAZED COD WITH WASABI-SESAME SOBA SALAD
Serves 2
For the Salad:
7-8 oz. package of dried soba noodles, cooked al dente
1-2 cups prepared Sea Salad
1/4 cup julienned carrots, about 1/2 small carrot (optional)
1-2 tsp. toasted sesame seeds
lemon quarters
Dressing:
1/2 cup rice vinegar
2 tsp. raw sugar ( or less regular sugar)
pea-size dollop of wasabi paste
sea salt, to taste
ground white pepper, to taste
Whisk together Dressing ingredients. Pour over cooked soba noodles. Toss together with Sea Salad and carrots, if using. Squeeze lemon juice atop noodles. Sprinkle top with sesame seeds
For the Fish:
Fish Curry Spice Mix:
1 TBL. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground fennel
1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
Combine spices and set aside.
2 4oz. skinless filets of cod, or other flaky white meat fish
1 TBL. lemon juice per filet
sea salt
ground white pepper
Sprinkle each side of the filets with lemon juice, then with the curry spice mix. Let marinate for 20 minutes.
Pre-heat pan over medium high heat. Season fish with salt and pepper. Add oil to pan, and place white side of filet down on pan, and gently press to make full contact. Cook for 2 minutes, then turn over and gently press. Cook another 3-4 minutes, or until fish flakes under a fork. Meanwhile plate the noodles. Place hot filets on noodles and serve immediately.
National Library Week is coming!
(Copyright 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 American Library Association.
This (badge) may be reprinted and distributed for non-commercial and educational purposes only, and not for resale)
Just wanted to remind everyone that next week, April 13-19th, is National Library Week in the U.S. It's a time to celebrate the fact that we have access to so many great public libraries — and they're free and open for everyone to use. If you haven't visited your local library in awhile, this is also a good excuse to re-acquaint yourself with what your library might have to offer. Of course, libraries and librarians have always been and remain wonderful resources for research. But in addition to a wealth of magazines and books, we find at our local libraries: music CDs, audiobooks, keiki story-hours, movie and documentary DVDs (including a surprising number of foreign language films), downloadable eBooks, and rotating galleries of art, photos and seasonal displays. Nor are we limited to what is on hand in our neighborhood library, either — the entire Hawaii public library catalogue is available and will be sent to our nearest library for pick-up! We can even search the catalogue database and request books on our home computer.
We have always been supporters and fans of our public (or overseas, the base) library. There is always a period when we first move somewhere new, and then again just before we leave, when 95% of our worldly possessions are out of our reach — and during those times we virtually haunt the library. We can check our emails and surf the Web, learn something about our new community, read the paper, or just find a quiet moment. In Hawaii, we have been especially engaged by the range of services and events the public library system here offers. We can attend evening jazz, folk, and Hawaiian concerts; take hands-on workshops on the Japanese art of gift-wrapping with textiles (furoshiki) or flower-arranging; sit in on lectures on feng shui or marine photography in the NW Hawaiian Islands; listen to tales spun by professional story-tellers; see an Afro-Cuban drum and dance troupe perform; or watch old movies on the lawn. This week, another use for the library came to light: as ad hoc shelter from the heavy vog (volcano ash "fog") that Kona winds brought our way from Madame Pele over there on the Big Island!
So go spend some time at your favorite library next week. You just may find yourself coming back for more.
Mahalo nui loa to the librarians, staff and volunteers at
the Kapolei and Ewa Beach libraries
for the outstanding work you all do!
To find out what's happening around Hawaii libraies for National Library Week, check out the Hawaii State Public Library System website to find your local library.
To learn more about National Library Week, visit the American Library Association site.
Stuffed Artichokes with Italian-style Dressing
Spring has come! And here is a bowl of one of my favorite spring buds. No jaunty jonquils, irises or tulips here. We're talking thistles — to wit, artichokes, the green, spiny, tight yet tender, buds of the thistle plant. Artichokes are much beloved in our house, even more so after we discovered the delicious and therapeutic drink one makes by simply boiling the 'chokes to prepare them for the plate (see Artichoke "Tea"). I was first enticed to make artichokes at home by Patricia Ballard's "Artichokes Italian" recipe. It was an instant favorite, and is still the first artichoke meal we have when the new season's crop first appears. It is quintessential San Francisco-style Italian — fresh ingredients mixed with seafood and cured meats in a piquant sauce. Served with a San Francisco sourdough to catch the addictive dressing, and a bottle of your favorite pinot noir, it is the perfect meal to welcome spring.
To make a vegetarian version, I would double the amount of mushrooms, and substitute 1/2 cup diced firm tofu for the tuna, allowing tofu to marinate with the vegetables.
STUFFED ARTICHOKES WITH ITALIAN DRESSING
(adapted from "Wine in Everyday Cooking")
Marinade for Dressing:
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red-wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 TBL. sea salt
1 tsp. raw sugar
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
3 large cloves garlic, finely minced
small head of cauliflower, divided into small florets
1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, quartered
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced thin
Bring all Marinade ingredients to boil in a large saucepan, and allow to boil over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Taste and correct seasoning — it should taste very vinegary and the herbs quite pronounced since this is a vegetable marinade for a dish that will be eaten cool or at room temperature. After 5 minutes, add vegetables and bring back to a boil for no more than 3 minutes (or vegetables will become mushy and unpalatable as they sit in the hot dressing).
Let cool completely, then refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours, but preferably overnight.
Prepare artichokes:
4 medium globe artichokes
1 tsp. sea salt (optional)
1 TBL. olive oil (optional)
couple of lemon slices (optional)
Clean artichokes by soaking in a solution of 1 gallon of water and 1/4 cup of white vinegar for about 2 minutes. Rinse well. Trim tops and side leaves, if desired (this is an aesthetic step and does not affect the final flavor; I like the "petal effect" the untrimmed leaves gives the final dish, but it can be a bit prickly for novice artichoke diners so I would trim them if serving for company).
In large dutch oven or 16 qt. soup pot, place artichokes stem side down in water that comes half-way up the sides of the vegetables. If you have no intention of using the cooking liquid as a "tea" (benefits of artichoke "tea"), you can season the water with the optional ingredients. Bring water to a boil, then turn heat down to medium and simmer for 30-45 mnutes, or until the base is tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from water and drain upside-down in colander.
If using cooking liquid as a beverage, strain carefully and enjoy as a hot or cool beverage.
When artichokes have cooled, spread leaves open and remove spiny interior leaves surrounding the hairy center "choke." Using a small teaspoon, gently scrape out the choke to create a vessel for the dressing. Artichokes can be cooked ahead, refrigerated, and brought to room temperature 30 minutes before serving, or while the Dressing is completed.
Finish the Dressing:
1/2 cup green or black olives, halved
10 slices of prosciutto or 12 slices of salami
1 7 oz, can of tuna in olive oil (do not drain)
Combine marinated vegetables, olives, cured meat and tuna. Stir through carefully and set aside at least 30 minutes.
Traditionally, these artichokes are served in wide shallow bowls, such as a pasta bowl. I prefer a deep bowl like the cafe au lait bowl in the photo below because it supports the stuffed artichoke and has the added advantage of allowing the dressing to pool on the bottom and season the artichoke heart as you feast your way to the bottom. Spoon the Dressing into the center of each artichoke. Add any remaining dressing around each stuffed vegetable, and drizzle the remaining marinade between the artichoke leaves. Serves 4 as a first course, or 2 as an entree.
Best served with a tangy sourdough loaf, but any good artisan bread will do. We found it helps to begin with the inner leaves of the artichoke, and eat your way to the outside. You'll find each leaf base is already "dipped" in the savory Dressing marinade.
One of our favorite uses for left-over Dressing is to hollow out the bottom of a small baguette or other hoagie-type roll, fill it with the Dressing (and cold cuts, if you want a real carnivore's delight), then encase it with plastic wrap for at least an hour — the oil-vinegar dressing soaks the bread to create a muffaletta-type sandwich. For a less-messy option, combine Dressing with cooked tubular or small shell pastas, or brown rice for a quick lunch salad.
A Caponata to Feed the Soul
It was when I first tasted the Italian appetizer Caponata that I decided I must have been Italian in another life. It spoke to me — this unctuous relish, calling me home to a distant Mediterranean shore I had yet to visit. Everything about it was at once familiar and a revelation.
I was determined to find the definitive recipe. In those pre-Web days (I'm dating myself now), it took a bit of work to track down cookbooks and scour magazines. During the trial for the second recipe I found, a friend who had emigrated to the US from Sicily happened to stop by so he was a natural target for my efforts. I loved this version, but what would a real Italian think?
"I'm testing a caponata recipe, will you taste it and tell me what you think?" I asked. Eying me with a combination of curiosity and suspicion (what does this girl from Guam know about caponata?), he asked me how I even knew about caponata. I told him I had tried it in a restaurant in The City (San Francisco). With bemused indulgence, he accepted the proffered baguette slice and heaped a generous dab of the chunky relish. One bite. Surprise. Delight. A second bite. Approval.
"Wow, are you sure you're not Italian?" he joked. I confessed my suspicions about having lived a previous incarnation in Italia. Munching through a second caponata-laden baguette, he crowed, "Not just Italian, Baby, you must have been Sicilian!" There is no higher praise.
CAPONATA ALLA SICILIANA
(adapted from a San Jose Mercury News clipping)
2 medium eggplant (1.25lb total), peeled and diced
1.5 tsp. salt (for optional step)
1/3 cup olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 ribs celery, diced
1 large carrot, finely diced
2 lbs ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
(or 1 15oz can diced tomatoes with juice)
2 TBL. red wine vinegar
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. sea salt
1/3 cup black olives, pitted and chopped
2 TBL. capers, drained
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted (optional)
2 TBL. parsley, minced
sea salt and ground black pepper
(Optional Step: I used to do this because it was in the original recipe, but have found that if the eggplant is properly browned, this step is unnecessary.) Toss eggplant with salt and drain in colander 30 min. Rinse and pat dry.
In large skillet, brown eggplant in 1/4 cup oil over medium-high heat until all sides are golden brown. Remove from pan.
In remaining oil, saute onion, garlic, celery and carrots until vegetables are soft, but not colored. Add tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, salt and olives, bring mix to a boil. Lower heat, return browned eggplant, and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally
Add capers, nuts and parsley. Transfer to bowl to cool. Chill overnight. Season to taste before serving at room temperature with thick slices of sourdough baguette.
for Giovanni Giuseppe
Programming Note: Merrie Monarch Festival 2008
Thursday evening is the Miss Aloha Hula competition: solo dancers chosen by their halau, or dance school, perform hula in both traditional (kahiko) and modern (auana) styles
Friday and Saturday evenings, all competing halau, in separate men's and women's performances, dance each style. Beginning at 6 p.m., each evening's competition usually runs about 5-6 hours!
The Merrie Monarch Festival is not just a dance competition, but also focuses on keeping all the traditions associated with hula alive, including chanting, musicianship, lei-weaving, tapa-making, elder respect, etc. In the past, the affiliate broadcast has done a great job showcasing these aspects for its viewers. If you get a chance to drop in at any time during the broadcast, treat yourself to a taste of the Islands!
To learn more about the Festival, visit the Merrie Monarch Festival site.
(When Laika (left) and Haiku first arrived, they had ambitions of dancing hula)
