Kitchenless Cook

Well, this is my kitchen, folks.  I haven't been able to cook for over a week now so I am going stir crazy.  I feel like an addict trying to overcome the overwhelming desire for my drug of choice.  I find myself pouring over cookbooks, I buy magazine after magazine full of recipes I want to try.  The kitchen never arrives.  They are missing one part, so therefore, the kitchen that should have arrived by the 28th of May. is still not here.   We designed it and paid in full the first week of May!  We gutted the old one thinking it would just be a day or two before the magic would begin.  Alas, I have been forced to eat out, buy pizza, eat vegemite sandwiches for dinner, and sometimes, go to bed hungry.  My inner Buddha drives me to be patient, I know this is just a short amount of time in the scheme of things, but, I can no longer bear to look at the empty walls and the hideous tiles of the previous owner.  I think I have eaten enough pizza for two Roman legions.  I want to have people over for lunches outside in the gazebo.  At this point, they'll all be lucky to get a cracker with a sun-dried tomato.
   In my spare time I write up menus for make believe dinners and lunches I will host.  I think the lack of creative outlet in the kitchen is starting to make me hallucinate.  I wonder about last suppers or what I would serve to The Golden Girls.
I express myself through food and wine.  I make lunches and dinners according to how I am feeling that particular day.  And right now, I am craving a giant bowl of fusilli with a sauce made of roma tomatoes, onion, lots of red peppers from Calabria and some basil.  I could eat at least a kilo of the stuff right now.  You guys can decide what that says about me.
 

Party! Pizza Party!

  I felt compelled to write about pizza since I live in the land of pizza.  Many people ask me, "How can you be vegan when you live in the land of pizza?"  I tell them, "It is easy."  A lot of my friends back in the States think I must have the hardest time in Italy as a vegan.  I guess this goes back to their own traveling experiences here and maybe it was difficult for them because they did not know how to order in Italian.  I know my own transition to veganism in Italy has been relatively seamless.  Sure, I get the odd, "You don't eat Mozzarella?" But, I don't mind.  I know my pizza options and they are not that limited, in fact, they are vast.  

Since we do not have a real kitchen currently, more like something that resembles camping equipment, we have been eating our fair share of pizza since we moved.  And I have been having a string of bad pizza luck, culminating in the worst place I have ever eaten at in Rome, a place called San Marco on Via Sardegna, near Via Veneto.  I guess it is hip because they have DJs, but their pizza was more or less cardboard and the vegetables on mine tasted like rubber.  I felt bad because we were there for a work party, which I am sure was chosen by one of my colleagues.  Such a shame, too, since the guest of honor isn't in Italy all the time and was likely excited to eat good food.    I personally thought I could trust his taste, because he is attending wine school, but let me just say, wine school does not equal good taste.  Some people just do things because of the money involved.  And I should have known better when he  said, "Hey, what do you think about ordering the house wine? It is just like Brunello."  "Um, ok,"  I say to myself,  "I guess that sounds, good, you've been here, and you must know about food and wine since you are taking an 18 month wine course."  Wrong!  Ladies, never let some boasty guy who talks endlessly about how cool he is because he DJs and does wine tours tell you how to order wine when you instincts tell you to listen to yourself!  I don't know why I lack confidence when it comes to food and wine.  Ettore thinks I feel guilty about it.  I do know I learned a lesson.  I order the wine and food and I chose the places.  Whenever someone says, "Si Magna Bene,"   or, One eats well here in Roman dialect, I should always know I am in for a tasteless evening.  

  It turns out what they mean with that phrase is that one eats a lot for less.  So it is a phrase of quantity, not quality.  Ettore and I have started calling it the Si Magna Bene culture.  It is a good label for people in their late 20s and 30s who frequent hipster places where they eat a ton of food that doesn't cost a lot of money and yet has absolutely no quality, so then macho guys pretend to be throwing around cash, like in a rap video.  Sure, you can have a 4 course meal with wine and water for €10 a person, but, you'll regret it for days afterward.  Well, at least I do. Make makes this whole situation worse is the fact that this guy is from California!  I should have clued in when he ordered the most expensive dish on the menu.  He was making a show for us the entire evening.  He wanted us to know he was a regular there, he knew the wine list, he knew the most expensive things, etc.  MACHISMO at its absolute worst.  

  Which brings me back to pizza.    I wished that the party could have been in Genzano.  Our favorite place to get pizza is amazing, and also quite inexpensive.  We also don't have to be victim to bad DJs and their horrible techno music.  We go to the very old Genzanese RISTORANTE TIGELLINO where I always order a focaccia ortolana or a white pizza with vegetables.  See, here in Italy, it is not unusual to order a pizza without cheese.  Many pizzas automatically do not have cheese,  and some do not even have red sauce.  At Tigellino they are very generous with the vegetables, which are all sourced locally.  Each vegetable is cooked perfectly, with great texture and incredibly rich flavors.   Usually there are grilled eggplant, grilled zucchini, chicory or spinach, rocket, cherry tomatoes, roasted potatoes with garlic and rosemary, all topped with amazing olive oil.  The crust is also out of this world.  The crust is perfectly cooked, crispy on the outside, but just tender enough to be scrumptious and to hold in flavor.  The crust has a lovely texture because they have a long levitation, which makes the pizza dough easier to digest.  So...yummy, crispy, and with the perfect amount of salt.  

  I think we'll get pizza tonight! 

  

RISTORANTE TIGELLINO
19, VIA SARAGAT G. 00045
GENZANO DI ROMA RM
Tel. 069396741  

  

Being Neighborly

    I have not been able to post much in recent weeks because of a big change in my life.  I moved to a new house!  With all the packing, organizing, unpacking, painting, lack of kitchen, and new additions to the family, I haven't had much time to breathe, let alone blog about food or wine.  We moved from town to the countryside and it is like night and day in terms of the new lifestyle.  What I lack in convenience (shops, gas station, or a bar), I get so much more from my everyday life than I ever thought possible.
    Instead of the buzzing incessant sound of traffic, ambulances and garbage pick up I have birds.  In fact my next door neighbors have chickens, geese and ducks that are all very busy living out the dramas of their lives.  Instead an alarm clock, I have roosters.  During my afternoon naps I don't wake from the annoying sound of sirens, I wake up to the startling sound of new life.  A mamma bird has nested in the rafters of the roofs right above our bedrooms.  I am thoroughly enjoying the squeaks and peeps of the little ones.  She seems to be very attentive.   My cats are very confused about the situation.  They can hear the birds but they can't see them, so they have spent many wasted hours attacking the walls.  Bless their silly hearts!
     We also have the fortune of amazing neighbors.  The next door neighbors are very friendly with us.  They are restoring their house alone, so it is a long term work in progress.  In just a week we have learned about all the edible plants that are growing wild in our land.  Greens like Chicory, Borage, and Radishes.  We also discovered that this area is overrunning with wild asparagus.  One of the first meals I made was from the bounty of the "hunt."  We spent about an hour gathering edibles around the house and I cooked them up.  I made an amazing penne with wild asparagus, I sauteed it with olive oil, garlic, Celtic salt and some lemon juice.  It was superb. 
     The day after we officially moved in, our neighbors presented us with a welcome-to-the-neighborhood basket.  It contained the harvest of their land and included things like jams, olive oil, and wild asparagus.  One of the jams was cherry which I happened to eat in about a day it was so delicious.  What made it delicious is that it was not overly sweet.  It tasted like cherries not like cherry candy.They have a delightful family.  We noticed that when the kids come home from school in the afternoon they don't just go inside and turn their TV on or play with video games.  They are outside with the parents or hanging out with the geese and chickens.  They are very polite as well...unlike our neighbors before.  We lived in a building of eight apartments.  The neighbors upstairs were constantly fighting and yelling at their kids.  They were also teaching them at a young age to be the next generation of animal abusers.  Every time we would meet in the building they had to make some lame comment about my dogs being disgusting and dirty.  My dogs are far from being dirty.  They smell like fresh rain because they don't eat nasty dog food.  The neighbors below never cracked a smile or said hello.  The man was OCD and had to bleach the elevator anytime we had used it.  So besides being a jerk he wants to cause everyone's cancer from the fumes of chemicals.  But I digress...I no longer have to live in that Eco-monster HURRAY!!  In stead of having 6 animals in a cramped apartment my furry friends run around all day among olive trees, fruit trees and lots of overgrown grass.
    The other great neighbors we have are two houses down from us.   The woman is an American woman from Boston who is a vegetarian and a hippie.  They have over an acre of property.  She lives with her boyfriend who is a gardener.  His gardening philosophy is called Synergistic gardening which is based on the idea that there are no straight lines in nature and therefore there should not be in gardens.  The gardens are typically horseshoe shaped or round and raised above ground.  They are organic as well, and use veganic compost.  They have already invited us to dinner, which is very kind of them.  As soon as I have a kitchen I will return the favor and cook them an amazing vegan meal.  I think I will try to get into their hearts and minds through food.
    I can't emphasize how lovely it is to have neighbors that say hello, that I have something in common with, that don't have televisions, that care about animals and the earth, and that thrive off of producing their own food. 
    When we started this house hunting journey two years ago, I knew that when the right house came to us we would "know."  We must have looked at 15 different different houses all of which had characteristics we liked but most had characteristics that would would not want to deal with down the road.  Kitchens that were the size of an ant hill, a house that was beautiful but next door to an egg factory farm.  I was afraid of cancer from the pollution or becoming a hoarder of liberated hens.Now, two years later, we are in the "right" house and I think we are in a very blissful state.
     When we first started house hunting our main interest was in finding a garden large enough for our puppies and cats.  I promised myself and the powers that be that when we found this house I would go straight to a kennel and adopt an old dog that has been in the shelter for at least 10 years.  I found her!  Her name is Bumba and she is a survivor of hell and for me, she is a living miracle.  She was thrown away in the Canile of Rieti which was formally a Canile Lager, which I have written about in a former post here:
                                             Thousands Linger in Hell

Bumba was thrown in the canile in 1998 and was never taken out again, not even for a walk, until we picked her up on Saturday.  She lived 12 years in a concrete cell day in day out with no break.  She lived in her own waste and survived the period of time when the canile was really nothing more than a death camp for dogs.  She is my living miracle and teacher.  Who else but a dog can live like that and enter into the world without a stain on her personality?  She is so sweet and kind.  She is also very happy and affectionate despite never being socialized.  She plays with her new brothers and is curious about the cats.  The first night she was here she didn't stop walking around the land for about 12 hours.  I think she was overwhelmed.  Today I took her to the vet for a check up, but he couldn't analyze her blood because her ears are severely infected and full of pus.  Who knows how long she has lived like this.
   Our family is complete with her in it.  My new life begins now, a life of sustainable food, gardening, and being neighborly.  I also want to share the bounty of the land come harvest time. I am so grateful to the universe for allowing me the life that suits my family and I.


 

The Truth About Horse Drawn Carriages

The so-called "botticelle" that is, the Roman horse-drawn carriages are not a tradition of transport for people, but represent a degeneration of what was their original meaning and purpose. In fact, the "Botticelli" owe their name to the barrels: the carriage pulled by animals in 1800’s was used solely for transporting goods, and barrels in this case. There was never a "tradition" of tourist transport, therefore, as misleadingly one wants to make the tourist believe.

Nowadays there is no need to justify the use of animals for transport or freight, let alone people. Tourists can have, in Rome in 2009, many means of locomotion, extremely comfortable, fast, with accessories for every need, and far cheaper than the carriage. As well as transportation that does not cause suffering to horses.

Horses are obviously subject to a state of continuous suffering, being forced against their will to haul extremely heavy loads every day (more than one ton, the empty carriage weighs 800 kg ...). The working conditions are inhumane and the animal is brought along fast roads (like the Tiber) where the proximity of cars, speed and the roar of traffic so terrific, with the serious consequence of accidents, often fatal, while the horses are often forced to travel on uphill on cobblestone pavement which is slippery and uneven. These cobblestones, known as Sam Pietrini creates further discomfort when a horse is forced to stand on them without movement, often for many hours. The conditions worsen in summer when the hot sun makes the effort even more unbearable. And yet, the drivers pay no attention to laws, nor are laws enforced.

In times past, the horses traveled on isolated and relatively quiet roads in Rome. Today, the crazy traffic, chaos, smog, the sounds of horns, the speed of vehicles and scooters whizzing close to the carriages, etc. .. make this means of transport absolutely unfit to the conditions of congestion in the city. The carriage is so configured a practice that is deeply anachronistic and certainly cruel to horses, and is thus there is no longer any reason for them to exist today.

The drivers are only interested in making the most profit from this activity and therefore do not care the in the least about the well-being of the animal. The horse is forced to work in unbearable conditions some prohibited under the current regulations (Article 46 of the Rules of the City of Rome for the Protection of Animals)but are frequently observed that the maximum number of passengers is never observed, that the ban of working horses from 1pm to 4pm in the summer season is regularly violated, as well as to not go uphill, not to go at a trot, not to work more than 6 hours per day, etc. .. The carriage drivers also are not subject, like other workers (traders, taxi drivers, etc ...) to any official price list, being able to make money at will and come to ask even $ 300 per trip, all while not paying taxes to the state as there are no price regulations or receipts.

Two fatalities occurred at close range, one in June and November 20 2008, are clear indicators of a condition that is not very sustainable, and cannot last, if not continue to jeopardize the safety of people and horses. The risk factor for accidents is too high and stems from the incompatibility between the nature of these fearful animals, and the state of congestion of the streets of Rome.

Please support our mission: Ban of Horse Drawn Carriages in Rome

Sign our petition

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/ban-horse-drawn-carriages-in-rome

 

Join us on FACEBOOK:

 Horses Without Carriages International ROME

For more information on the Carriage industry in general:

http://www.banhdc.org/

 

JUST SAY NO TO A CARRIAGE RIDE

Blog:

BanHDC ROME 

Puglia Monti: Artichoke Heaven

Puglia Monti

     Puglia Monti is a quaint little place in Monti, very close to the Roman Forum.  The owner and chef is Emanuele Dicuonzo who is from Puglia, hence,  the name Puglia Monti.  I have to admit that although I am vegan, I tend to avoid restaraunts in Rome that are specifically vegan or vegetarian.  I do so because my experience has been that these places have a huge emphasis on veganism, and not the actual food, so they do a lot of mock recipes and overuse seitan, and they are often very overpriced.  Puglia Monti is a vegetarian place in the heart of Rome that specializes in regional dishes from Puglia, but the food speaks for itself.  I ate the best food I have ever had in Rome here.  We went to Puglia Monti for lunch on “Little Easter,” the Monday after Easter.  I wanted to get there while artichokes were still in season.  A few weeks earlier I had dinner at Puglia Monti and had the best artichokes I have had in my life.  

Emmanuale truly embraces the word chef .  He creates masterpieces from simple ingredients, which is the true heart of the Italian kitchen.  He is trying to showcase the best of the pugliaese kitchen, without using animal carcasses, which is the tendency in the Roman kitchen.  In Rome, it seems they make up for lack of flavor or creativity by overusing animal products.  After all, what is the excuse most people use for not being vegan?  It tastes so good.  The traditional Mediterranean diet is not full of animal fats and proteins: 

   
According to Dr Walter Willett of Harvard University's School of Public Health in the mid1990s:    The traditional Mediterranean diet diet is based on,  food patterns typical of Crete, much of the rest of Greece, and southern Italy in the early 1960s, this diet, in addition to "regular physical activity," emphasizes "abundant plant foods, fresh fruit as the typical daily dessert, olive oil as the principal source of fat”

 At Puglia Monti, the food is of another world.  Serious attention has been paid to every detail.   The food is fresh, the flavors simple, the presentation is modern and minimal.  It is a tiny place, with the capacity to hold maybe 20 people for lunch or dinner.  The wine list is 100% wine from Puglia.  The host is also a sommelier like us, and he is working on a degree in oenology.  He speaks perfect English, so if you have trouble reading the menu, he can help. 


      I came for the carciofi, and I left more than satisfied.  I have never before had artichokes this delicious in Rome, the city known for artichokes.  

YUMMY!

We ordered a bottle of Cacc'e Mmitte di Lucera which is a DOC from the province of Foggia.  The principle grape is Troia.  It was a decent wine that was ruby red, earthy, honest, and warm.  It had a great minerality, but die to it's position in the south, it lacked a good acidity.  

For my starter I ordered Spiedini di Carciofi e Mandarini con Insalata di Finocchio, Pangrattato e Pesto delle Tremiti-Artichoke and Mandarin Skewers on a bed of roasted Fennel Salad, Bread Crumbs and Pesto of Tremiti

It was out of this world.  Everything was perfectly cooked, the vegetables were still crisp.  The mandarin was slightly caramelized, it was heaven.  The bread crumbs gave it a lovely texture, almost like cane sugar because it had set in with the caramelized mandarin.  The entire creation was perfectly balanced.  It was evenly sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and mineral with each bite.  The plate was also very well presented.

For my primo I ordered: Ravioli Ripieni di Carciofi su Crema di Fave Secche e Menta- Artichoke stuffed Ravioli with a Cream of Fave Beans and Mint

This was the great surprise of the evening.  I would love to know how he was able to manage to make stuffed ravioli using a pasta recipe without eggs(usually a binder) and yet the pasta was rich, homemade, and did not break.  It was actually delicious.  The dish was so creamy, I was in gastronomic heaven.  The filling was also a surprise.  I expected the usual bitterness to accompany the artichoke, but instead found that it was very complex, sapid, savory, nutty, and only slightly bitter.  This was a marvelous recipe.  I wish I at least had the recipe for the pasta.  

   

For my main I ordered:

Variazione di Carciofi-Mixed Artichokes

1.  Carciofi alla Giudia-Jewish style artichoke, or,  fried artichoke flower

2.  Carciofi alla Romana-Roman artichoke or, Artichoke Stewed with Garlic and Mint

3.  Carciofi sottaceto-Pickled Artichoke

4.  Carciofi alla Brace-Grilled Artichoke

5.  Carciofi Fritti-Breaded and Fried Artichoke

Everything was cooked to perfection.  Nothing was overly greasy, the fried artichokes were not dripping in oil as has been my experience in other parts of Rome, and the pickled artichoke were crispy, fresh, and had a well balanced flavor.  They were not overly acidic.

For dessert:  Tortino al Forno con Frangipane e Mele su mosto cotto-Small oven baked Apple pie with baked apples.  

I have noticed a lack of photos of ME when we go out.


I can't wait to go back, I hope it will be soon, and when artichokes are still in season!


Puglia Monti
Via Urbana 104
Rione Monti, Roma
064742772
pugliamonti@gmail.com   


Antiqua Tours

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!!