briciole

winter squash and beans / zucca e fagioli

jump to Recipe [versione in italiano] a simple pairing with a lot of flavor (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO) This is my interpretation of a traditional dish from Italy. The first recipe I read uses black-eyed peas (fagioli dall'occhio) so that's what I used in my first version, together with some Musquée de Provence squash I found at the farmers' market. I then read other recipes which referenced "white beans" (fagioli bianchi). I had some Zolfino bean1 (fagiolo zolfino), an Italian heirloom variety, so I used that. For my final try, I used locally grown organic Yellow Eye beans, which... Read more →

white tepary beans / fagioli tepary bianchi

jump to Recipe [versione in italiano] tepary beans and winter vegetables (red dish & vase by @fem_pottery, placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO) I grew up in a region of Italy, Umbria, famous for legumes (fagiolina del Trasimeno, lenticchia di Castelluccio and roveja, to name just a few) and I like all legumes, so it is not surprising that during a visit to Tucson, AZ, I purchased some locally grown white tepary beans. Here are some notes on this special bean (Phaseolus acutifolius): The tepary bean has been handed down for countless generations amongst my Akimel O’Odham (River People, Pima) and... Read more →

farrecchiata: polenta di roveja

jump to Recipe [versione in italiano] a personal take on a traditional Umbrian dish (dish by @fem_pottery, placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO) Our current Cook the Books Club selection is The City Baker's Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller1. The novel tells the story of Olivia Rawlings, pastry chef in an exclusive club in Boston, who, after losing her job, takes refuge in the town of Guthrie, Vermont. The connection to Guthrie is her friend Hannah, who lives there with her husband. Olivia is hired as pastry chef at the local inn and quickly gets involved in town's activities.... Read more →

Ethiopian red lentil stew / stufato di lenticchie rosse etiope

jump to Recipe [versione in italiano] a bowl of rich flavor (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO) Our current Cook the Books Club selection is Food Americana by David Page1: The Remarkable People and Incredible Stories behind America’s Favorite Dishes, including pizza, barbecue, fried chicken (pollo fritto), ice cream. I found the book interesting as it draws a lively picture of each food and also lets people speak: chefs, historians, restaurants' customers and more. Each chapter ends with a recipe. Inspiration for something to make could not come from the foods described in the book as I basically don't eat any... Read more →

onion and fava bean soup / zuppa di cipolle e fave

jump to Recipe [versione in italiano] simplicity at its best Our current Cook the Books Club selection is the novel Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus1 which tells the story of Elizabeth Zott, a research chemist in California in the early 1960's, who becomes the host of a cooking show. Rowing plays a role in the book, referred to mostly as a a source of physical discomfort, if not downright suffering. I thought I would balance out that perspective with a photo I took recently while rowing on Richardson Bay (an arm of San Francisco Bay). I captioned it: for this... Read more →

strawberry, fava bean, fennel and radish salad / insalata di fragole, fave, finocchio e ravanello

jump to Recipe Farm-fresh iceberg lettuce inspired this serving option (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO) Our current Cook the Books Club selection is the memoir Taste by actor Stanley Tucci1. The book included a couple of interesting sections, one pertaining the history of the highly enjoyable movie Big Night (1996),2 in which Tucci played the younger brother, Secondo. I didn't know that he had written the screenplay. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it. The other section I enjoyed was where Felicity (now Tucci's wife) prepared roasted potatoes in a way that first surprised then alarmed the author, but... Read more →

lentil spread / crema (da spalmare) di lenticchie

jump to Recipe [versione in italiano] small lentils, big flavor (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO) After reading the first six Adam Dalgliesh novels by P.D. James in order of publication, I skipped to #11 Death in Holy Orders which I purchased some time ago at a library sale. Then last month, at a local bookstore, I picked The Lighthouse which is #13 (2005). Death in Holy Orders ended with Commander Dalgliesh (Metropolitan Police Service at New Scotland Yard) in love with Emma Lavenham and I was glad to see her still in his life in The Lighthouse. I love P.D.... Read more →

bean, fennel and mushroom stew / stufato di fagioli, finocchi e funghi

a delicious combination of flavors (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO) Our Cook the Books Club selection, the novel The Language of Flowers1 by Vanessa Diffenbaugh takes place in places familiar to me: San Francisco and Napa Valley. The book tells the story of young Victoria, who, after bouncing from one foster family to the next, ages out of the system and ends up homeless. The novel goes back and forth between the present and a time in the past when Victoria's foster mother was Elizabeth, a winegrower in Napa, who wanted to be a caring mother for Victoria, though the... Read more →

eggplant and yellow split pea stew / stufato di melanzane e piselli gialli decorticati

eggplant meets split peas (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO) Our Cook the Books Club selection this time brings us to Iran, thanks to Jennifer Klinec, author of the memoir The Temporary Bride.1 The book starts with the story of Klinec's upbringing in Canada, her move to London to follow her corporate career and her decision to leave such career in favor of opening a cooking school out of her apartment. That is the background to her trip to Iran: Persian food called out to her and dissatisfaction with her life added its weight. In Iran, she meets a young man... Read more →

fresh beans in fresh tomato sauce / fagioli freschi al pomodoro fresco

so good, even the kitchen towel smiles (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO) While Andrea Camilleri is probably the most famous contemporary Italian author of mystery novels, he is certainly not the only one. Among the good number of writers who have created engaging characters in recent years, Antonio Manzini is one of my favorites. Four of his novels have been translated into English, all featuring Deputy Police Chief Rocco Schiavone1: Black Run, Adam's Rib (aka Cold Death), Out of Season, Spring Cleaning (four more have been published in Italian, plus two volumes of short stories). In the first novel of... Read more →