Independence Day

July 4th brings many memories for me. Mostly, Boston butts roasting in the bar b q pit in the back yard. My father loved to cook and this might have been his favorite holiday. He didn't seem to mind sweating in the hot Alabama sun, as long as the meat was coming out juicy and tender. The whole neighborhood was invited, which was a good thing, as the aroma of roasting pork in a delectable b b q sauce would make one's mouth water with envy. We ate corn on the cob, slaw, sliced tomatoes, squash casseroles, corn bread and a plethora of desserts including Gladys's homemade peach ice cream as well as my favorite thing; watermelon. My grandfather grew different varieties, yellow-meated being the sweetest. It was a happy time. Flags, neighbors, children, sprinklers and now what seems to be forgotten flavors..who knew they were so good!

I met my husband on a 4th one fateful day in Boulder, Colorado. Our dear friend Michael had annual parties that took on a different flare. Frisbee's, cold beer, loud music, fireworks. The food was still good, but with a more southwestern/Mexican touch. The piece d'resistance was Joyce Stoner's flag cake. A chocolate cake covered in bright, fairly inedible red white and blue icing, the design of the US flag. I ate it willingly, even looked forward to it. Joyce's infectious smile and joyful heart made that cake irresistible. I was a sweet 19 year old with stars in my eyes.

In the summer of 2001 my son Graham, (then 17, now 25) and I were invited to San Tropez, on the coast of France to go sailing. We took the train up from Italy and met our friends at the port. We were driven in the dingy out to the boat, which has a name and a history to curtsy to. We had no idea what we were in for until our eyes landed on the the 'Endeavor', a 130 ft. J class classic sailing sloop which was launched in 1934. One of the most formidable and famous sailing yachts in the world. It was an initiation for Graham. He was splashed with the anchor. Forever a sailor he will be now~ and a lover of beautiful boats. We ate succulent scampi over juicy lettuces, mingled with fresh and fruity Bandol, the well loved Rose' from Provence. This trip was not only 'formidable' (form i dab bl) as the French would say, but 'mem ora bl' as well.

As I have traveled back and forth from Italy over the last 17 years, I have always chosen to return home on the 4th. My children might accuse me of wanting fireworks upon arrival, but it happens to be one of those landmark days I seem to revolve my life around.

Last year, July 12th, 2008 I lost my father. He died peacefully at home and we were all by his side. No more Boston butts, no more fried catfish or long talks on the porch, yet I have grateful memories of my simple American childhood and thanks to my father I have a love of good food, gardens and community. I am also no longer married, yet I have a close relationship with my former husband and his present wife. Our family inclusive, rather than exclusive. I no longer have Joyce's cake to celebrate Independence Day, but I have myself. My mother always said, 'I raised my girls to be independent.'. Thanks Mom. I"m one darn independent woman
who knows the benefit and blessing of being interdependent with all things. Other cultures included.

As I sit in the countryside of Marrakech this 4th of july, with the thermostat at 43 degrees Celsius, I am aware that in Fahrenheit that it's around 106. In this big world of ours I am astounded by our similarities rather than our differences. I am brought back home, full circle on this day, with one simple site. A watermelon truck. As I sink my teeth into the sweet red juicy meat, I am transported to the back porch of my grandfather on a hot day, not unlike this one and I smile. No different than I did as a child. Although I appreciate where I am, my ancestors are no longer around, and I think of them smiling down at me sitting by a pool, under the palm trees of the Palmeraie, spitting watermelon seeds into a rose garden.

Questa e amore!

I stopped by this 'fruttivendolo', a fruit and vegetable stand, outside of Napoli. I was provisioning a sail boat for an upcoming sail. The old man saw me there with a friend, who could have been my boyfriend. As I was paying for my goods, he picked up an onion and looked me deeply in he eye and said,'Questo e amore'. He told me he had been with his wife for over 40 years and he knew what love was. 'One has to peel all the layers back, while laughing and crying.' He was so tender, that I will never forget those words. Or why he said that to me in that moment.

What the Romans have always done

Sweep the floor in style.

Doing what the Roman's do

Graham Markeli, Bar della Pace, Rome, June 2008

Do as the Roman's do

'Imagine being 3000 years old. Suppose by some mysterious process you had managed to avoid the limitations of mortality, and year after year you kept going, adding more and more experiences to your life story until you have no choice but to repeat them because you have exhausted all possibilities.

You are the very essence of what it means to be human. You have had more than your share of victories and defeats, triumphs and tragedies, moments of glory and those of abjection, times when you wish you had never been born and times when you want to go on forever. You have loved and lost, have abandoned and been left behind, been rich and poor, skinny and fat, lived high on the hog and been forced to scramble for a few morsels of stale bread. you have seen it all, done it all, regretted it all, and then gone back and done it again.
you are 'La Citta Eterna' The Eternal City.
From 'As the Romans Do'. Alan Epstein

The black pearl of the Mediterranean

My favored legume this spring, has been the black lentil, lenticchie nere
from Sicily. I have been buying them from a small vendor of grains and legumes in Sant'Ambrogio market, here in Florence. They reminded me of the dark mini lentils grown in volcanic soil from the tiny island of Ustica.

An ancient island, it was first inhabited by the Phoenicians. It's older than the Aeolian islands and is actually the rocky top of a an undersea volcano. Ustica means dark rock~ therefore called the black pearl of the Mediterranean. Today it stands protected as a marine reserve.

I walked the 2 mile radius of the interior through fields of wildflowers. Typical of the Med, I came upon wild figs, wild capers, wild prickly pears, yet cultivated almond groves and bean fields. Islands are usually known more for their fish and this is surely the case here. I rode around in a 'gomone', (a raft with a motor) in the surrounding sea. I saw medusa's in a natural pool in the rocks that I almost jumped into. The water was inviting, crystal clear and fresh. Exactly what the jellyfish thought as well. Their presence means as much. Exhilarating would have been an understatement had I showed up a minute before. Here on the island, lentils are served with fish. Not a usual combination. Yet, from the point of view of local; what grows together, goes together.

Everything about this small, isolated island was rich and concentrated, worn by eons of wind, sun and saltwater. if you ask me, the real 'black pearl of the Mediterranean' is not the island itself, but it's native daughter, La lenticchia nera..


I am a great fan of the 'one dish meal'. Here is another version. I love these lentils as they take no time to cook. Soaking is unnecessary. They provide meaty nourishment and are known for aiding digestive healing. The bitterness of sauteed chickory
adds a juicy, yet earthy element that goes well with the beans. I have used an egg to accompany as it fits the composition of the dish, adds protein and color, not to mention a rich sauce. For the seafood version, I recommend a swift trip to the hinterland, just a two and half hour ferry ride from Palermo.

Lenticchie Nere con Cicoria e un Ouvo Bello Bollito

2 cups lentils
1 head of garlic, cooked whole in the broth
1 sprig of fresh sage
1 t of ground cumin
1 tiny dried red pepper
a drizzle of olive oil
salt to taste, once lentils are almost cooked

1 fresh chicory, (like a head of napa cabbage) cleaned and chopped
1 clove garlic, smashed and chopped fine
salt to taste

4 eggs, soft boiled for 3 minutes

salt, pepper, to taste

Cook your lentils in plenty of fresh water. Bring to a boil, then down to a simmer. Choose a heavy bottomed pot or terracotta.
Add a whole garlic head, cleaned of any loose skin. The garlic slowly infuses the broth and flavors the beans. Add sage, pepperoncino, cumin, a drizzle of olive oil and simmer about 1/2 hour or so, until the beans are 90% cooked. Beans double in size, so check for liquid so the beans don't burn. Bean broth or 'pot liquor' is also delicious to keep if you choose to make a soup. Add salt- at least 1/4 t for each cup for digestion-then to one's taste. Simmer for another 10 minutes, then turn off heat.

Clean and chop chicory and saute in e.v. olive oil and one clove of chopped garlic. Add pinch of salt to flavor. Cook until
tender, but green color remains vibrant and not gray.

Put 4 whole eggs in the shell in a small pot covered with water. Bring to a boil. Set aside. let sit for 15 minutes.

Assemble on one plate:

A bed of Ustican black lentils
a scoop of chickory on top
a peeled soft boiled egg, cut in half and presented on top of the dish.

Add a fresh pinch of cumin, salt a dash of freshly cracked pepper
and ...a drizzle of ex..v..olive oil.

enjoy the taste of treasured ancient tastes!

Agretti

Before the full-on arrival of summer, I want to speak of agretti. Agretti is a fabulous marsh grass that I look forward to seeing in the outdoor market of Sant'Ambrogio in Florence every spring. It's the only time it's succulent green fronds are seen. Slightly salty, it derives it's name botanically from 'Salsola soda', latin for Salsus, meaning salt, as it doesn't mind growing in seriously salty soil and is even irrigated with salt water. Funny then, it should be related to the tumbleweed. This vegetable is anything but dry and tumbling.

I am attracted to agretti, the same way I am sea vegetables, as if my bloodstream is standing on end saying, yes! Choose that one! Please, oh please! Dare we say liver cleanser as well? We can safely say, delicious. Carefully cleaned and stemmed, the agretti is dropped in lightly salted boiling water for roughly 5 minutes. The color shifts into that glistening green and the fronds soften like cooked spaghetti. Some people actually call it 'green spaghetti'. Personally, I like to shape it into a nest, dressed with extra virgin olive oil and lemon, and put a poached egg on top sprinked with cumin and cracked black pepper. A crumble of Pierre Cusseau's 'Grande Sale' ( Brittany salt mixed with pepperoncino )and a new drizzle of e.v.o.oil, makes the dish. Or is it the fresh egg cooked to perfection that releases it's golden yolk into the nest like a soft yellow blanket?