Arriving in Delhi for the first time is no small thing. India smacked me in the face. It’s everything at once. Chaos, a mixture of classes and faces with eyes deep as the ocean. In my younger years, I always thought I would end up in India as a backpacker, but au contraire. Instead, I was ushered by private attendant to private driver to one of India’s most elegant hotels: the Imperial.
My room was stately. I had my own personal butler, to my surprise. I thought it was invisible maid service, until I realized each room was assigned a private attendant. He hung my clothes, turned down the bed and generally looked after the room with care. I gave him what I thought was a generous tip, which delighted him, and me, until I noticed afterwards that I had given him the equivalent of a small fortune.
He seemed overly grateful for us "rich" Americans. If he only knew that some of us are just slow on the exchange after a fresh arrival. I quickly consoled myself in the courtyard with a Mango Mimosa. Yes the Indians drink Champagne.
I spent the next day foraging through the spice markets of old Delhi by rickshaw. An unbelievable array of colorful choices way beyond my normal repertoire, even after all these years of traveling to Morocco.
It was indeed like being in a foreign land of ingredients. I especially appreciated the bags of salt. They looked like huge sacks of crystal, pink, cloudy white, black. Yet, when I took a tool to it, the crystals broke easily in my hand. Rajasthan is famous for its black salt.
Eighty-six spices are grown in India and she controls 30% of the spice market. India exports $500,000,000 all over the world, "to provide tang and flavor to insipid foods." These spices often have antioxidant as well as medicinal properties. For example, have you ever heard of basil reducing the effects of radiation?
The history of the actual spice route and how it evolved is one of my favorite subjects. So this day at the market was a perfect introduction to my first day in India. As for my interest in cooking, this country was one of the last frontiers to be explored, with one of the oldest culinary traditions.
Baking bread in a Tashlhit bread oven. Tnine, Morocco
This labor day, have a cookout. Whether you are headed for the hills or staying at home, you can travel the open road camping and cooking around a cozy campfire or turn up the heat on your back yard grill. Or set up an outdoor kitchen and cook for 30 like Veronica of Meadowlark Farm Dinners. Veronicaof Meadowlark Farm Dinners
You might not realize you are globally connecting, not just with your ancestors, but with most countries outside of the western world in present day.
I love the portability of a makeshift kitchen. In Asia, India, Africa, for example, gas is still a luxury and electricity is still scarce in some parts. They can feed themselves as well as make a buck if they set up their kitchen in the marketplace or on the side of the road close to where they live. Some of the best food in the world is street food. I think in some ways it can be more hygienic, rather than some establishments where cleanliness and refrigeration are questionable. Street food is fresh everyday. You can eat cheap and well, using your discreet, intuitive eater-meter, of course. Sardines grilling in the port. Essaouira, Morocco
Making a fire doesn’t mean you have to grill meat. In Laos, they heat a pot of water for noodle soup with fresh greens and sprouts. Some friends and I took an eight hour drive over the hills from Ventienne, the capitol, down to Luang Prabang, a world heritage site city with 70 temples. We passed dozens of Hmong villages on the way. Children had been out gathering fire wood with their mothers. They weren’t much taller than the sticks they were carrying, but were running around smiling. Their loads were not heavy. They looked like walking porcupines. Some children had babies on their backs and some had sticks. They were involved in the survival of daily life, which afforded them the appetite to sit and enjoy a meal cooked with wood they gathered themselves.
Village cooking in Lao
Most cooking vessels are earthen. Usually constructed in a mound, they have openings like an arch as the doorway, where they can build a fire and then cook what might be sitting on top of the mound, or something cooked inside. Bread and chapati’s are cooked this way, with the stretched out dough actually slapped on to the wall of the oven and them peeled off when golden.
Tannourt. Tnine, Morocco
In Morocco, they not only have earthen ovens, they also have the tagine. A conical shaped terra-cotta lid that sits on a flat terra cotta bottom. This ‘top and bottom’ sit on a base called a majmar, an unglazed brazier full of hot coals that cook the tagine slowly. In the markets, tagines are lined up with all the various styles; vegetarian, fish with potatoes, chicken with olives and lemon, or lamb with prunes, to name a few. This dish is a crowd pleaser with an intoxicating aroma. me with yummy vegetable tagine
Now, everyone is crazy about wood-fired ovens for pizza. The Italians have perfected a good thing. Every farmhouse in Italy has it’s own oven. The fire is built in the center and when the top of the oven turns white, you scoot the coals over to the side and the small flames lick up the side and over the dome. You need a hot oven for pizza. It cooks in two minutes. As the fire dies down, you can put other things in there, like setting a grill in the middle and scooping up some of the coals to put underneath. You are now ready for grilling chicken, studded with garlic and rosemary, or a variety of vegetables.. You have to use long mits to check for doneness, or you might lose a few arm hairs! Most items can be tested for doneness with you nose and your eyes. No doubt it’s an art to how learn to gage the temperature of your oven. Italians test everything with their finger and see if it the meat bounces back just right. Have you ever noticed that about the time you smell the cake, it’s done? Carla, la fochista~ La Cucina al Focolare
If you are unconfident with this measure, Mugnaini Imports, a wood-fired oven Import company out of California has the exclusive on the temperature gun. It can shoot a laser dot into the center of the oven and tell you exactly what temperature it is. If you wanted to bake cookies at 350F.. you can. If the temp starts to lower, you just throw in another piece of wood. I still vote for learning how to ‘feel’ if it’s done. Otherwise, we can’t tell how our own inner fire is cooking. Fire is transformation whether it’s making food more digestible, or whether we are trying to turn the temperature up on our own lives, living the way we want to live in our lives~ feeling alive. No doubt spiritual masters have developed their own laser dot, to check if we are ‘cooking’ hot enough. Those eyes penetrate right through as if to say..’hmm..you need more heat on your ego, you’re only at 375!’ Lori de Mori, with her hand built oven in Tuscany.
A person might ask, why should I cook like that or even want to, if I don’t have to. The answer is, you don’t have to. But if you are into cooking and using your imagination, you can entertain yourself, your palate and your friends with surprising them with something ‘unexpected and unusual.’ Wood fire gives a special flavor. It also gives a different energetic quality to the food. They say that cooking on fire is the most beneficial for building ones chi (life force) . It’s hot but mellow. In Oriental medicine five -element theory, the heart is the most active and joy is the emotion.
Working with an international theme is always fun, because you can build on it. You can stage an entire experience on a certain theme or blend the best of your progressive world with the influence and authenticity of other cultures. So, wherever you are, honor it’s patron saint. Light up your life with the fire element. It’s good for the heart!
Thailand is the land of 'nice'. The people are, generally speaking, gentle, hard-working and hospitable, with hands folded in the traditional greeting, "sawadee ka"...hello, welcome and goodbye.
I have been to Thailand three times in my life. Once with my family when the children were little in 1988, and two other times, in 2001 and 2005. Lao was added to the latter trips. A new frontier, and a step back into tradition from Thailand's newfound hustle and bustle.
This is a travel log revisited for my friends atintothesoup.com for their upcoming radio show in which yours truly will be interviewed about my experiences there. Sawadee...
Village gardens in Luang Probang, Laos
Along the Mekong + Monks at one of over 70 Buddhist Temples in Loang Probang.
Coconut shredder~Chang Mai, Thailand
A woman soaks shark fins to place between bamboo mats. She can sell them to restaurants at $25 a pop. She wouldn’t if she knew better. A coconut shredder shreds coconuts continuously. The first press offers cream, the second press, milk. No green curry worth it’s ‘milk’ would be made with anything other than fresh. The next stand is heaped with unidentifiable greens. Many are from the basil family- Holy and Hairy. They are bunched up near their root companions, ginger, galangal, lemongrass and shallot. Flat baskets of chilis add spice to the view, kafir limes and leaves give you a clue. Where am I? An outdoor market in Thailand. With tasty ingredients like these, I can see why they call it the ‘land of smiles.’
Village children, Laos + open field of white birds, Chaing Rai, Thailand
There are 5 components to a dish. Sweet, sour, salty, pungent (spicy), and bitter. They say if you eat all 5, your organs will be balanced and your senses too. Asian flavors zing and play merrily on the palate. They compliment each other well. What grows together, goes together, and the list is long. Flavors seemingly complex come from very few ingredients. It’s quick and dirty- or rather clean-most dishes come together in a matter of minutes. Chopping and pounding are the time factors here.
Into sudden summer, the cooler season was lost somewhere over the International dateline. I found it straightaway in Bangkok, in a refreshing spicy soup; Tom Yam Goong, with shrimp, lemongrass, ginger and kafir lime. Sour is the taste of Spring in Thailand and deliciously medicinal. I loved exploring the cuisine from the base of fresh ingredients first, not from the familiar dishes themselves. The key players quickly made themselves known. Numero uno: Lemongrass:
lemongrass + Thai 'mirepoix'
Whether finely chopped or left in pieces, lemongrass is king. It marinates fish, flavors broths, and it’s the backbone of green curry. The long grassy leaves are a stomach tonic and can make a pleasurable tea, cold or hot. Dress it up with honey or a little sugar syrup and it becomes a sophisticated beverage to sip in the day. Add vodka and lime juice and call it ‘Thai Noon’at night. A thick layered stalk, lemongrass grows long and tall. Just the word conjures up a soft breeze from the Orient. (Even in your home garden. I’ve heard you can just stick it in the ground and it grows. At least in Marrakech.)
I found the mixture of lemongrass, ginger or galangal, shallot and chili to be the ‘’mirepoix'' of Thai cuisine. These base notes form the body of a dish, just like the holy trinity of carrot, onion and celery.
Fish sauce ( a slow sun-baked elixer that drips from dried anchovies) is used for salt (make sure it’s at least 60%), and balances lime juice and stock (chicken or fish) gives it all a home. A touch of palm sugar balances certain dishes with a deep note that doesn’t say ‘sweet’. It says ‘peace’~ lets get together and create harmony. It can also mellow an over-the-top spiciness, so that chili doesn’t dominate, but delights. Coriander root, seeds, and leaves, scallions, garlic, mint and tamarind take the dishes in various directions depending on where they are going. It’ all makes sense once you start cooking. Kind of like life.
Robert Graham eating noodles + Lao woman showing us 'sticky rice'
Noodle pots are common on the street. It is often the cheapest and healthiest way to eat. Thai people will use chopsticks with noodles, but prefer the fork and spoon for rice and accompanying dishes. Rice is a long discourse. But on the short, they eat more glutinous ‘sticky’ rice in the north, black, red, white, and mostly steamed white in the south. Older rice is preferable over new, as they feel it has more flavor and depth.
ping pong eggplant + durian fruit
Various forms of eggplant play an important role. The tiny pea eggplant, cute, crunchy and bitter, are used most often in a green curry with chicken. Ping pong eggplant, quick to cook, is sliced and added to various dishes and soups.
Thai basil, hot basil, and sweet basil are hardly anything like we know basil to be, but nevertheless a superhero. Pea vines and morning glory vines are actually a delicacy, sautéed with garlic and oyster sauce. Look for them at your local farmer’s market. Most likely you will find a Hmong woman who has them along with her homemade chili paste, zucchini flowers and other exotic greens, such as amaranth.
Greens, greens, and more greens..Luang Probang, Laos
These rather exotic flavors reflect an exotic land. Thailand was never colonized and has the longest ruling Monarch. King King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) has ruled Thailand in a democracy since 1946. He is now 83 years old. The Royal family is well loved and highly respected. Worries abound that his passing could be the death of democracy in Thailand.
The elephant is the symbol of Thailand and a sign of strength and good luck (when the trunk is turned up). Elephant symbols are everywhere, which didn’t surprise me, but when I sat down for a 3 dollar foot massage one evening on the streets of Chang Mai, I didn’t expect to see one’s snout sniffing around me catching me unawares. A ‘mahout’ (elephant trainer) who had been quietly walking behind me (is there an elephant in the room?) shoved sugar cane into my hand. ‘Feed my elephant, feed my elephant, she’s hungry! ‘ One by one I fed a very agile and nibbly snout a midnight snack, to which she promptly pooed and peed large amounts right in front of the ‘Heaven Hut’. 50 cents went his way and I had a special moment right there, eye to eye with the elephant on the street and so did she. I considered it a good omen.
A longboat trip up the Mekong the next day took us to Chang Rai to a jungle retreat, complete with an elephant camp. We were able to spend more time with elephants and their babies, feeding the mothers green bananas. I learned that the previous evening’s entertainment was actually a common problem. Now that the logging industry using elephants has been banned, Mahouts are desperate to keep their elephants fed and working, so they hit the streets. At the Elephant Camp, they are developing a program where Mahouts can actually come and be with their elephants instead of selling them to invest in more--- keeping mahouts and elephants off the street. I had no idea I was supporting abuse, as to find an elephant on the street was no more surprising than anything else I had encountered. I was appreciative of the lesson and now plan to donate in honor of their well-being.
Elephant feeding..legal and illegally on the street (caught unawares!)
There is radical change from my first visit 20 years ago when my own children were 4 and 8. Old Bangkok is hidden in amongst the lower level high rises and the night bazaars are full of cheap nothings. I no longer saw street carts of deep fried beetles and tarantula. A tuk tuk, (three wheeled motorcyle taxi) is more expensive than a taxi and a nights stay in a good hotel could dip seriously into a college fund. The floating market, one of Bangkok’s best, is more like a floating 7-11. People in the outlying areas seem to be more interested in goods, rather than fresh food. I made an assumption that this had to do with the addition of unsightly satellite dishes.
Tuk Tuk-ing around Bangkok
One tradition remains firm and that is giving alms. Up at dawn one morning in Luang Probang, in the neighboring country of Laos, a group of us gathered our sticky rice baskets and waited for the monks to proceed. The longest practicing monk is first in his monastery, not the oldest, and it follows down to the youngest novice. Silently they approach in single file, their alms buckets slung across their shoulders. There are no words, only the sound of the lid at it slides off the bucket, as they go one by one, making room for a pinch of rice. The long road lined with devoted alms givers, fills their buckets full. They do not grasp, they do not beg. The act of kindness and the opportunity to offer a gesture of generosity fills our own soul bowl as the saffron procession fades into the distance.
Cooking over fire with sticks gathered by these 'stick children'. Hmong village.
In an ever-changing world, finding what still remains to be true is getting harder to locate. Going straight to the market is the best place to start. No where is a country’s identity stronger than what they choose to eat. They choose what grows around them and what grows depends on their climate and location. How this diversity came about is nothing short of astonishing.
Protecting a culture from losing it’s traditions is the very solution to a sustainable future. For them and for us. Sticking with our true nature; one of kindness and generosity, and living with what comes natural, will keep us in the flow of nature. Respecting simple ways and values will give us sane tools for living in a modern world and strength to face the changes.
11:00Arrivals to Chiusi train station, which is halfway between Florence (catch the 9:13 train at SMN) and Rome (catch the 8:43 train at Termini).
We will head for the old part of Chiusi, the heart of the Etruscan world. Our first stop is the celebrated Etruscan museum for a quick overview of Etruscan civilization, then a pasta demo and lunch at Pesce d’Oro, a lakeside trattoria. The meal is what we imagine that the Etruscans ate: fresh perch from the lake smoked over canes and dressed with local olive oil, pici (the local pasta with ancient roots), and the local Sangiovese wine.
Once we have settled into Poggio Etrusco, we will head to Enoteca la Porta in the medieval village of Monticchiello where we will have a demonstration of a dish using farro, an ancient strain of wheat. We’ll have some time to stroll around charming Monticchiello, then return for dinner and a lesson from a wine master on the spectrum of wines in Tuscany (tasting a range of sangiovese in purezza).
Tuesday
Morning olive harvest, farmhouse lunch. Today we boost our energy with risotto al porcini, grilled sausage and peperonata, a tasting of local pecorino cheeses, and fresh ricotta with chestnut honey. After lunch we will visit a local cantina (winery). Tonight we will learn about cheesemaking from a local cheesemaker and have dinner at his organic farm.
Wednesday Morning market and a cooking class to make a classic Tuscan lunch: crostini fegatini, Ribollita, roasted chicken and potatoes. Dessert is a fig crostata. Continue with harvest.
After we freshen up, we will head the charming Renaissance hilltown of Pienza, famous for its Pecorino cheese. Dinner tonight in the private home of a Marchesa whose ancestors count several cardinals and the mother of Pope Pius II. She is also renowned locally for the meals she serves.
Thursday
This morning we bring our olives to the frantoio (olive pressing mill). After our olives are pressed, we will toast fresh bread, rub it with garlic, and drizzle on our very own fresher-than-fresh olive oil. We then transfer to meet Peggy Markel. Welcome to La Cucina al Focolare! Get settled in your rooms then come into the kitchen for a heartwarming lunch.
Take a break in the afternoon to rest~ or take a nice long walk through the country roads to sink yourself into the Florentine Hills. Come back to the kitchen for an aperitivo. We'll stoke the wood-fired ovens for pizza, foccaccia, letting you make your own and teaching you how to use the pizza peel. Expect music, laughter and a few folded pizzas.
Friday Drive into Florence, destination Cibreo Cafe for the most sublime cappuccino in the city. We will meet and have a rare and candid discussion with Fabio Picchi, chef owner of Ristorante Cibreo , the Cafe', the Trattioria and now the Teatro del Sale. Fabio has two books under his belt now, rather biblical titles, 'I Dieci Commandamenti Per Non Fare Peccato In Cucina'. 'The 10 Commandments To Not Be Shameful In The Kitchen', and the new 'Senza Vizi and Senza Sprechi'. More or less the 7 deadly sins, but more importantly, ' Virtues in the kitchen and a passion for leftovers'.
We'll shop the outdoor market of St. Ambrogio for our afternoon class. Lunch at Teatro del Sale. We'll take a walk through the historic 'centro' of Florence, cross the Ponte Vecchio and have a glass of wine at the 'Volpe e L'uva' before heading up the hill to cook. The late afternoon and evening will be dedicated to hearty Tuscan cool weather dishes like pate of cauliflower and fennel seeds, a mixed roast of stuffed pigeon, pork loin with aromatic salt, deboned chicken rolled rolled an herb frittata, and local sausages, creamy zolfini beans and sage, cavolo nero, and biscotti di Prato.
Saturday We'll roll across the valley to Bombone, where we'll meet Peggy's dear friend Pierre Cusseau. A French shepherd of aromas. Pierre has a fabulous way of sharing his passion for culinary herbs. His gift is not only in growing them, but mixing them with tasty grey salts from Normandy. Smelling the various mixtures in the jars, while smelling them in the air is indeed an aromatherapeutic experience not only for the nose, but the palate. Lunch and a wine tasting at Selvapiana Winery. Afternoon will be back in the kitchen for more flavors of fall using chestnuts, winter squashes and wild game. Tiramisu for dessert. Wine tasting proceeds dinner wine expert Bernardo Conticelli.
Sunday
Departures after breakfast
Cost for this program is 3180 Euros per person (approximately $4074 USD at 9/1 exchange rate).
For more details and to book, please contact us at info@peggymarkel.com
You begin to live in the open question, looking at the world and yourself with different eyes. Your awareness heightens and you see, feel and taste things that you have never seen, felt or tasted. You wake up as if you have been asleep and realize that you are living in a technicolor dream-like world full of wonder and beauty and sadness, yet, it surprises you how rich and moving the content. It stimulates your creative juices and all wishes seem possible.
This fall, I am inviting all those who would like to spend 5 fabulous, festive days in the Tuscan countryside with me at La Cucina al Focolare a savings of almost $1500 To $2000 dollars (!).
I want to celebrate 18 years of "Cooking by the Fireside" and honor yet another year of coming together to connect culture and cuisine in the heart. I am usually traveling during my birthday and never get to properly celebrate. Why not this year? We'll cook, take walks, taste wines, visit markets and cafés. I want to spend time in meaningful conversation appreciating the taste and texture that is Italy and share that love. If you have been wanting to join me in Tuscany, but non cera la trippa di fare mangiare i gatti (there wasn't enough tripe to feed the cats), then now's the time!
Surprise! Celebrate good times, come on!
Come back or come anew to visit me, Piero, Carla and Pierre. We'll also give a tribute to Sandro, who we lost last February.
A tavoli non si invecchia mai! "At the table one never grows old!"
Birthday special: Double $3000, single $3500 (from $4,594 dbl and 4,940 single)
Inside our sailboat the 'Swamy', cooking on a gimbled stove.
photos by: Hank Strauss
Zuppa di Pesce Panaresca
(Fish soup from the Aeolian Island of Panarea)
1 kilo of fresh prawns
3 fresh squid
1/2 kilo of vongole verace (clams)
2 red mullet
a few cherry tomatoes
1 can of cherry tomatoes, peeled
olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
white wine
a bunch of parsley, chopped fine
salt to taste pepperoncino (cayenne) a dash to taste
Peel the prawns, separating prawn from shell. Set the prawns aside. Bring a pot of water to a simmer and drop in prawn shells.
Clean and cut the heads off the mullet. Fillet the fish, cut into 2 to 3 pieces and set aside. Add heads and bones to the broth.
Rinse and tap the clams (looking for a "flat" sound that may indicate a shell without a clam but full of sand). Set aside.
Clean the squid by taking out what’s inside the tube. Peel off the thin outer layer. Slice into rings. Set aside.
Peel and flatten garlic. Rinse and dry. Chop parsley fine. Set aside. Quarter the cherry tomatoes and set aside.
Put a generous drizzle of olive oil in the bottom of a large sauté pan. Add chopped garlic and simmer until barely golden. Add pepperoncino, half the parsley and the tomatoes. Stir until saucy. Salt and pepper. Strain and add the broth.
Heat a separate pot. Add some olive oil and a little garlic. Add the clams. Toss them in the hot pan, splash them with white wine and cover the pot with a lid. Steam for 3 minutes, or until the clams open and give up their liquid. Add to the pot. (Be careful not to let any possible residual sand from the pot liquor to slide in.)
Season prawns (or shrimp) and squid with a quick toss in a frying pan, with olive oil, parsley and salt. Set aside. Add to the pot. I like to season things separately before adding the pot, it deepens the flavor. Otherwise, you could just skip this.
Correct salt and pepper . Add the rest of the fish and fish broth if you have some leftover. Let it simmer to marry, but not so long to overcook the seafood.
Garnish with parsley. Serve with garlic toasts. Should be flavorful and spicy.
P.S. Broth can be used for making Risotto, shrimp and squid can be cooked right into the rice.
Scampi in the shell, clams, etc. can be added on top of the risotto before serving.
