Wolfberger: Vin D'Alsace

    

      I am quite impressed, with the new interest in wine in San Diego.  We went to a wine bar called The Wine Lover .   It was a lovely place, and I will definitely go back. 

My choice was an Alsace Gewurztraminer.  Try saying that 3x…

Wolfberger

Gewurztraminer

Alsace France

Vin D’Alsace

2003

    This wine was gorgeous.   It had a bouquet of roses and magnolia in bloom, but from a distance.  Not overpowering, like magnolia can be on a hot and humid day, but a hint.  The wine was sharing a secret, or seducing me with this intoxicating perfume.  On the palate it was slightly oily in texture, dry but fruity, with a long after taste.  It tasted of dried mangoes, hint of vanilla, and rose water.   This wine reminded me of Pablo Neruda love poems to his wife.  Romantic, well balanced, in harmony with a woman's taste, but not sickly sweet or overly romantic.  I enjoyed it immensely. 

Pappardelle alle Lepre di Seitan=Ribbon Pasta with Seitan Hare Sauce

Pappardelle alle Lepre di Seitan=Ribbon Pasta with Seitan Hare Sauce 

Last night I came home from a long day of work hoping that the house would be clean, the table set, and dinner served.  The day before I had to haul myself all over Rome with drippy nasty pink eye, and 2 days into it, I was absolutely exhausted.  I was at the Vatican.  Not only was I at the Vatican, which even in good times tests my patience, it is Holy Week.  The busiest week of the year in Roman tourism, and it was not a pretty sight, I can assure you.  I sent Ettore a message with a list of ingredients, hoping that my later SMS messages  saying I would be late would inspire him to turn up the burners and cook my favorite meal, Pappardelle all Lepre.  This is MY Vegan Chicken Soup for the Tired Soul.  Whenever I feel like I may have a Crohn's flare-up, I feel tired and worn out, or I just want something warm and yummy, I make this.  Chicken soup is disgusting, but I suppose it refers to comfort food that makes you feel better when you are sick.  When I first became vegetarian I thought I would still eat this dish on special occasions, but I couldn’t stomach it.  In Italian, Lepre are hare, wild rabbits.  Even when I ate this dish I never actually liked the meat, I just liked the flavor of the sauce, and I finally learned how to replicate it in a non cruel way with a lot of practice.  I personally don’t need the texture of Seitan for this dish to be appealing, so the Seitan part of the recipe is really not necessary.  This dish is also simple to make, so, even though I arrived home late last night and the table was empty, the burners cold, and the man in bed with the dogs, I managed to whip this up in about 45 minutes.  

Ingredients:


Sauce-

2 500g(15oz) cans of whole Roma tomatoes
1 vegan boullion cube

4 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon dried rosemary, OR two sprigs fresh rsoemary

1 teaspoon dried whole red calabrian hot peppers

1/2 cup of white vinegar( I like to used filtered apple cider)

1/4 cup olive oil
5-6 1 inch long thin strips of Seitan for texture (optional)
Egg free Ribbon Pasta for 4 people, OR  egg free Fettucine

Tools:  Mortar and Pestle for crushing and grinding

Directions:

In a large deep dished pan, pour olive oil and whole tomatoes and add two cans of water from the tomato cans, turn burner on high.

Put the garlic, rosemary, red pepper, and vinegar in the mortar and pestle and grind everything for about 2 minutes.  You don't want to make a paste but you want the mixture to be chunky.  When it is chunky, mix it in, mix until the sauce starts to boil, and then turn down to a low to medium heat.  Let the sauce simmer for at least 45 minutes, stirring it every 5 minutes or so and occasionally using a masher to mash the whole tomatoes.  The longer you cook the sauce the more concentrated it becomes, but also more flavorful.   If you feel it is getting to dry, add 1/4 cup water and continue to simmer for at least 45 minutes.  If you are using the Seitan, you'll want to through the strips in when you start to boil the water, so they don't break up too much.

While the sauce is simmering you can make your vegan Pecorino.  I have tried all the vegan parmigiano recipes on earth, but I experimented a bit and whipped up a lovely cheesy sprinkle for pasta, to replace the pecorino (sheep cheese) on top..  Even my cheese loving husband loves it.    I suppose this could last in the fridge for about a week, but I eat it up in about a day!    Since vegans sometimes have issues with B12, why not use a fortified Nutritional Yeast here, like Red Star.  My dogs and cats LOVE this "Almondzano."  As a bonus, it keeps ticks and fleas away!

Ingredients:

200 g of blanched almonds

1 teaspoon agar agar POWDER

1/2 tablespoon Celtic sea salt (NEVER table salt, not even cheap sea salt from the grocer)

1 tablespoon Nutritional Yeast

Directions:

Place everything into a food processor and blend until it is totally smooth with no chunks.  I process at least 5 minutes, but I also have a cheap ass food processor.  :)

I put this into a left over jar that I can close and store it in the fridge.  IKEA jars are also good. 

Now, back to the Pasta...

So the sauce has been simmering for at least 45 minutes, and you have been smelling all the amazing aromas of from the rosemary and vinegar, the tomatoes are no longer acid and the sauce is an aromatic masterpiece...it is time to boil your water.  In a large pot bring water to boil, add Celtic Sea Salt, or even the flavorful Himalayan salt(it's pink) and throw in your pasta, make enough for leftovers, because this dish is DELICIOUS fried up i the pan the next day.  It sort of reminds me of Thai food, as it is Aromatic, comforting, spicy, exotic, and tastes even better the next day.  

When Pasta comes to a boil drain, and put pasta back in pot, pour sauce over the  pasta and stir everything together and add some Almondzano while mixing.  Serve it in large Pasta bowls, and have a very quiet meal.  Nobody will talk because the dish is THAT delish!  Make sure to leave a small bowl of Almondzano on the table in case some people may want a more "cheesy" pasta.  

Buon Appetitto!!

Thousands Linger in Hell!

No-kill shelters are BIG business in Italy:
http://tiny.cc/W8BMF
It is disgusting how people take advantage of animals for profit.

There is one of these Canile Lager right near Rome, in Rieti. I am trying to
get some of the older dogs out, but I can't help them all.
http://ulminopericanidirieti.splinder.com/
there are only THREE people helping over 700 dogs.
Better is Laura at
http://www.adozionicani.it/
she responds quickly to emails.
I have posted about one, Sole, and received emails regarding wanting to
volunteer.

Your best option would be through them:
http://www.associazionecanililazio.it/
or
Giuliana Montella

Giuliana is a volunteer and organizer with the canili in Rome and speaks
english.

Another option is long distance adoption of one of the dogs of Rieti. This will
ensure the dog will be taken to a canile that actually has volunteers and grass
and has contact with other dogs. The dogs of Rieti NEVER get out of their
cages, NEVER.

2 urgent dogs

Maxina is quasi paralyzed and lived in a Canile Lager in the south of Italy.
She was rescued and then is now slowly losing back leg ability to walk. She
needs help, urgently.

http://rome.en.craigslist.it/pet/1621422090.html

And of course, Sole

http://rome.en.craigslist.it/pet/1591754570.html

If we all pitch in a little, we can help these dogs. STOP RANDAGISIMO IN
ITALY!!

Never buy a dog when so many(thousands and thousands) spend there life locked
up!! You can find dogs of any size, breed or age through the Canile

Veganize it!!

Veganize it...Don't just Criticize it!

Check out this vegan blog.  This woman is amazing!  She is coming out with a recipe book soon and I am certainly going to line up and spend the night in the rain to get it if I have to.  Her recipes and photos are gorgeous and the blog is fun to read.  I look forward to her posts.  She really puts so much effort into making amazing food, proving that vegan food is as hedonistic as we all would like.  Corpse munchers, chew on that!  I love this blog because it is positive and refreshing.  It is easy to get boggled down with all the negativity surrounding the movement.  Sometimes I just want to breathe in and celebrate food, as a true foodie.

Looking Forward to Summer's Bounty

I don't know how much more of this rain and cold I can take.  I am sick of it, so I am dreaming of California summers.  this photo was taken in August 2009 at the "Complex" in Big Bear.  The whole fam got together for a BBQ, so I made Ettore and I vegan patties.  Everything save for the hamburger and bun came from my dad's super yummy vegetable garden. I did most of the marinade.  I think simple is best With  olive oil,  celtic salt, fresh rosemary and a bit of garlic, you've got a nice base for grilled vegetables.  My dad's avocados are seriously divine.  They are super rich, creamy, slightly sweet, but not watered down like what is at most stores.   They really stand on their own.   I miss a good California avocado.  Sorry, Israel, you ain't cutting it for me in Italy.

I just can't wait to move and to start summer grilling with veggies from my own garden.  Summer 2010!!

Death of a Saint

I just found out I am going to be the luckiest girl in Rome.  I am going to be leading day tours to Florence starting in March.  I am very excited about this new adventure, and also a bit nervous.  Can I do this magical city any justice?  As a tour guide you have to find where your personal boundaries with clients or you become very emotionally drained.  It takes awhile to figure out where to draw that line.   In Rome, I know I have a typical love/hate relationship with the city.  There is so much to love about Rome, in fact, more to love than hate.  I have the benefit, however, of not actually living in the city.  I have seen many a patient person fall out of love with Rome in a heartbeat due to pure frustration.   Rome is a big city, and like any big city it is crowded, polluted, and people are downright rude.  Florence is a provincial town compared to the majesty and greatness of Rome, but the true Florence is far from provincial.  It is our modern birthright, where our own modern culture is born.  Where the greatest artists lived and worked under the patronage of a family that built an empire off of wool and banking.  Florence is the glory and dark heart of Italy.    I met Ettore the first time I went to Florence.  I was on vacation with my then dutch boyfriend.  We were having an Italian holiday, and we first stopped in Venice.  I fell in love with Italy the instant I stepped off the train.  After two days with the dutchy, I was tired of his Germanic cold ways, and intrigued by the warmth and openly emotive Italians.  I broke up with him in one of the world's most Romantic cities.  We decided to make a go at friendship, and went to Florence together.  We did not spend time together and went our separate ways.  I wanted to wonder around and feel the atmosphere of this wonderful place, he wanted to do all the things on the what-you're-supposed-to-do-in-Florence checkbook.  BORING.  I let gypsies read my tarot, I spent hours in Markets listening to the Florentines haggle, I sat in wine bars…and I met the love of my life.  What I thought would be the chance Italian love on my vacation turned out to be a life together.  So, you see, Florence is close to my heart.   When we finally moved to Italy,  I did not speak a word of Italian.  So I decided it would be best for us not to live together and for me to go to Florence for the summer to take an intensive course in Italian.  It was the best summer of my life.  I met the most amazing people and I really got to know the city of Florence as more than a vacation spot.  I made friendships that will last a lifetime, and I started a love affair with a dead man.  Giotto di Bondone.  In the fourteenth century, Giotto was credited with having brought painting out of the Middle Ages into the light of a new day.  Dante's famous lines in the Purgatory state the light/dark metaphor in comparative terms, noting that Giotto's reputation obscured that of Cimabue's.  Lauri Schneider Adams, Italian Renaissance Art Giotto captures emotion.  While not as theatrical or dramatic as Bernini, I find he reaches psychological aspects of the human experience that most artists until the Expressionists were unable to depict.  Though he had patrons, his work feels like arts for arts sake, art as creation rather than craft.   And for me, nothing expresses human pain, loss and suffering more than his Death of St. Francis which is in the photo above.   As a person who has suffered the death of those very close to me, it resonates to the core of my being everytime I see it.  I've been told I am obsessed with Giotto and this fresco.  The man who is searching into the Saint's face looks inquisitive and at a loss.  He seems profoundly aware that he will be the only true witness when St. Francis takes his last breath, and he is focused on this, while the others seem to be lamented their own loss, this man is comfort, because he restrains his innermost fears.    I feel like I have been this man.  St. Francis, on the otherhand, is beyond all worldly hope.  He is saved and calm.  I think we have all been there, and it is where we are all going.  I love this image for its simplicity in composition.  It forces the viewer to focus on the scene, rather than focus on salvation or the dominion of the Church.  It emotes, as I said above.  The colors are gorgeous, soft and peaceful.   In fact, they remind me of some of the colors I saw at the Imperial Roman Painting exhibit that was in Rome a few weeks back. Although I will not be including Santa Croce on my tour, when I was up in Florence last week I could not leave without paying homage to Grotto.  I can never leave Florence without being in this church at least once. It turns out St. Francis and I have a lot in common.  He loved animals, and they say that on his deathbed he thanked his donkey for carrying him and helping him throughout his life.  Well, y'all should know by now that my goal in life is to adopt and foster donkeys.   St. Francis is the patron saint of all animals, and even though I am not a Catholic, I can appreciate that, indeed.

Wines of Lazio: Tufaliccio

    Wines of Lazio: Tufaliccio

     A few weeks ago I posted about our day trip to the town Cori and our lunch there.  While we were driving home we stopped by the cantina of Marco Carpineti and tasted a few of his wines and bought a case of Tufaliccio.  Mr. Carpineti was extremely hospitable and generous, and we enjoyed the visit to the winery.  As I am on a mission to promote all that is good in the region of Lazio outside of Rome,  I am happy to write about wines that we encounter that go beyond Cabernet Sauvignon.  I also really want to like these wines but I am afraid, sometimes, they fall short.  The vineyards of Carpineti are certified organic, which is wonderful because when you drink the wine you are not going to be ingesting pesticides or fertilizers.  The grapes grown are all native Laziale grapes, meaning, they are native to the area.  He is not planting grapes for the international market, instead, he is trying to market wines made from grapes of the region.  My type of wine, it seems.  I'll take  a raw, earthy, and volcanic Lazio wine over an industrial California Cab any day of the week!  I wanted so badly to be in love with this wine and for it to be the next big thing coming from Italy, but it fell short.  it is not that it is a bad wine that I never want to drink again, on the contrary, it is wine I would drink almost every day, but I wouldn't walk on fire for.  It is great table wine for people who eat the foods of Lazio.  It cost me €6 a bottle, it is a good deal for a decent table wine made with native grapes using organic farming methods.

     What is unclear, even after our visit, is what are the exact wine making methods.  I found Mr. Carpineti very friendly and open to questions regarding his wines but not very straight forward with his answers.   For example I asked about use of natural yeast and his answer was,  “Sometimes we do and sometimes we don’t, it just depends.”  Well, this is an important question.  Natural wine making is a dying art, people.  I want to know who is maintaining these traditions so I can support them and drink their wines.  While we were there the enologist came in briefly.   I quite liked him as he was dirty and looked like a farmer.  He was laughing and not trying to seduce us with conversation, in fact, I think he barely said hello.  Mr. Carpineti gave us great historical information about the grapes used, all native to Lazio.  These grapes include arciprete(W) which is a Cori native, bellone(W) which my dog is named after, malvasia(W), nero buono(R), cesanese(the laziale star of the moment), and a few others.    When we visited they were completely sold out of all their white wines, so we were unable to taste those.  This was not a problem as I have actually used Carpineti white wines for guided tastings I lead.  Tufaliccio is made of 70% Montepulciano and 30% Cesanese.  Montepulciano is the most used black grape in the region of Abruzzo, and cesanese is used in Lazio's first DOCG designated wine, Cesanese del Piglio.  For some reason, on their website, it says Sangiovese instead of Cesanese, but it is Cesanese.  

     This wine has a lovely ruby red color that is quite clear without sediment.  It had very lovely tones of blackberries, dark red roses, hints of licorice, and an earthiness that seemed to convey mushrooms or even walnuts.  I found it very herbal, earthy and meaty.  By this I mean it really had an undertone of something animal, like wet dog, but not in an inviting manner.  I find all of Lazio wines are very mineral, and this was no exception.  The earth here is very volcanic.  I also felt like I could smell the sea, it was somewhat saline.    The wine was dry, medium-full bodied, slightly fresh with nice clean tannins.  There was no vanilla or oak, and it maintained its dignity in that respect, it ferments  in stainless steel.  It was also not overtly fruity, either.    I wouldn’t say this is a particularly well rounded wine.  I found it lacked freshness and a good back bone, but then again, this is clearly a wine that is ready to drink.   It also had a slight bitterness that I found appealing.  What I liked about this wine is that it is not sterile or perfect.  It has its flaws, but they are upfront.    This is a quality I find is a thread between many of Lazio’s wines.  I think it pairs well with mushrooms dishes, field greens, and even a simple pasta.   

    

    The next time I visit Cori, I will again make a stop at the Marco Carpineti vineyard and buy a few cases of different wine for daily consumption. As they say, if it grows together, it goes together.  I eat as much food as I can from Lazio, and I would like my home drinking to be as much from Lazio as possible.