The 42nd edition of Novel Food is ending with the customary roundup. I have been hosting the event for over 14 years and it's been a constant pleasure. This time we'll have a small party still rich in reading suggestions.
Each post describes a work of written words and the dish that the reading inspired. Join me on a literary/culinary tour. For each contribution, I offer a small bite to whet your appetite: follow the link to read the details of the literary work and the dish. We hope you'll be inspired in your reading and in your kitchen.
a light, flavorful side dish (linen napkin by La FABBRICA del LINO)
"Taylor's novels are centered around strong female characters. Her writing style is enjoyable and the stories keep the reader's attention. If you are looking for a summer read, this is a good candidate… Libby's love interest, Colton, is a widower with two young boys. Their food preferences are what one would expect… When zucchini season starts I am reminded how much we disliked that vegetable, regardless of how it was prepared… That gave me the idea of preparing a zucchini dish… This dish is light and has a delightful 'green' flavor, with a chees-y nuance provided by the nutritional yeast. It pairs well with various main courses, including frittata and legumes."
"It seems like more and more cookbooks feature travel and personal stories along with recipes, and this is one such book. In between the chapters are stories that talk about the culture, the people, and the politics of the region, and how sharing food and recipes is an act that brings everyone together, allowing differences to disappear… This meal is delicious: chicken marinated in pomegranate molasses, sumac, cumin, Aleppo pepper, and allspice. The broccolini is cooked with red onion, red bell pepper, dill, and Aleppo pepper. Both dishes were so flavorful." Recipe for the chicken on this page.
"I could not put the book down. And yet, because of the sheer beauty, I wanted to read and savour it as slowly as possible. I found myself backtracking to re-read sections, before going forward… Texas. Just at the very end of the American Civil War and the months following. Before instant electronic communication, when men could still be conscripted into the army, when battles would still be raging… What is most memorable about this book is the music. The desolation of war and its legacy are pervasive, of course. Perhaps that is why the music is so heartbreakingly beautiful… This recipe makes a palate-sparkling, almost buttery-flavored bread with a thin, crisp crust… I was diligent. I measured everything correctly and the bread turned out brilliantly. "
the simple charm of chocolate chunks (napkin by La FABBRICA del LINO)
"Circumstances catapult Ana, a young journalist, into the middle of a murder investigation and she ends up becoming entangled in it, together with her older cousin Beatriz… a linguist who has fallen on hard times due to her political leanings… One of the recurring themes in the book is scarcity, partly as a result of the time (post WWII in a dictatorship) and partly as a result of Ana's limited economic means… While nibbling on half of a chocolate chunk cookie (it was pretty big), I decided to try making my own version… less sweet, softer, and have a fuller, whole-grain flavor… I have come to rely on them as energy recharge after a long run or bike ride."
My special "thank you!" to the event's contributors: I hope you enjoyed participating as I do hosting the event.
You will find a link to this roundup and to those of all the earlier editions on this page. If you are looking for additional reading suggestions, head over to the Cook the Books Club website. For the June-July edition we are reading 97 Orchard: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement by Jane Ziegelman.
the simple charm of chocolate chunks (napkin by La FABBRICA del LINO)
Recently, during one of my customary browsing of the sale shelf of a local bookstore, I picked the mystery novel The Whispering City by Sara Moliner1 (pseudonym for the writing duo Rosa Ribas and Sabine Hofmann). The title and subtitle (Barcelona 1952) piqued my curiosity and the back-cover blurb made me decide to purchase the novel.
The story is set during the regime of dictator Francisco Franco, who was still alive when I was born. I remember his death in 1975 (after which Juan Carlos became king of Spain), so as dictatorships go, this one is clear in my memory. The civil climate described in the book is typical of dictatorships, where freedom of expression, information and thought are outlawed. Ana Martí Noguer is a young journalist aspiring to do more than write the society column for a newspaper that strives to maintain a certain amount of independence from the regime without running afoul of it. She is figlia d’arte, as her father was also a journalist.
Circumstances catapult Ana into the middle of a murder investigation and she ends up becoming entangled in it, together with her older cousin Beatriz, whom she had recently met. Beatriz is a linguist who has fallen on hard times due to her political leanings.
post-exercise energy recharge (napkin by La FABBRICA del LINO)
I enjoyed the story and the historical setting. As the NPR review2 says
The mental sepia tones evoked (and used on the cover — good job, Pegasus designers!) aren’t just those of vintage photographs, but those of a city blanched of its color and vivacity by a right-wing regime.
One of the recurring themes in the book is scarcity, partly as a result of the time (post WWII in a dictatorship with mostly democracies as neighbors) and partly as a result of Ana’s limited economic means. Sugar (zucchero) is a luxury food item, so when she is in a coffee shop, she indulges in it, adding it liberally to her coffee and licking the cup clean after finishing the liquid.
While reading the novel, I spent a weekend on a bicycle ride around San Luis Obispo, on the Central California Coast. In the oceanside town of Cayucos, The Brown Butter Cookie Company3 makes cookies and shortbread. I don’t have a sweet tooth and was skeptical about the cookies, but after tasting a few options I had to admit that they are quite good. While nibbling on half of a chocolate chunk cookie (it was pretty big), I decided to try making my own version.
Serendipitously, a few days later, this recipe4 came to my attention and I chose to use it as my base because it was neither overly sweet nor overly buttery and also made a manageable number of cookies. Of course, I would change several things to make the recipe suit my taste. First of all, I use brown butter, like the bakery in Cayucos. Then, I substitute 3/4 of the white flour with whole-wheat / whole-grain flour (farina integrale). I decrease the amount of sugar slightly and omit the finishing sea salt. Finally, I choose good-quality chocolate and chunk it by hand.
I imagine Ana would dive in and enjoy my cookies. I have made them several times and everybody who has tasted them (my husband and some friends) has given them thumbs up. I like them a lot.
5 1/4 ounces / 150 grams extra-dark chocolate (I use 88%), cut with a knife into small pieces
Brown the butter5 in advance. Cut the butter into small pieces and put them into a small saucepan. Melt the butter while stirring then keep the melted butter on the heat, stirring. The butter will foam as water evaporates then the solids will caramelize. Remove the saucepan from the heat, pour the brown butter into a ramekin and let cool. The process is fast and requires full attention as the solids go from brown to black in a few seconds.
Let the brown butter soften in a mixing bowl. Weigh the butter and add enough vegetable oil to get to 2 ounces / 56 grams. Add both sugars to the mixing bowl. Mix with a spatula until the sugars are well blended into the butter. Add the egg and the vanilla extract and mix until well combined. While I prefer to mix butter and sugar with a spatula, I like to use the electric mixer to mix in the liquids.
Sift and weigh the flours into a small mixing bowl. Sift in the baking soda and baking powder, then add the salt. Add about half of the dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix briefly, using either a spatula or the electric mixer. Add the rest and mix just until the flour is incorporated. Finally, add the chocolate chunks and incorporate using a spatula.
Cover the mixing bowl and place it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to firm up the dough, longer if possible (it will be easier to handle and the cookies will remain chubby).
Preheat the oven to 350 F/177 C.
Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
Take the cookie dough out of the refrigerator. Weigh approximately 30-32 grams of dough for each cookie. Shape each piece of dough into a half dome, tap the top to flatten it slightly and place on the baking sheet, leaving 1 1/2-2 inches / 4-5 cm of distance between them.
Bake for 12-14 minutes. Check the cookies after 12 minutes and bake longer if needed. The edges should be golden brown.
Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack and cool completely.
Store the cookies in a sealed container.
or enjoyed with a cup of tea (napkin by La FABBRICA del LINO)
My cookies neither look like nor taste like those I ate in Cayucos: they are less sweet, softer, and have a fuller, whole-grain flavor. They are excellent. I have come to rely on them as energy recharge after a long run or bike ride.
[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]
This is my second contribution to the 42nd edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I started over 14 years ago and that I continue to host.
FTC disclosure: I have received the table linen free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting it on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.
a light, flavorful side dish (linen napkin by La FABBRICA del LINO)
Our current Cook the Books Club selection is the novel Honeysuckle Season by Mary Ellen Taylor1 an author I featured in a post last year with her novel Winter Cottage2. Both novels are centered around a mansion, whose walls know secrets that the reader learns as chapter follows chapter and the story moves back and forth between present and past.
In Honeysuckle Season, the protagonist, Libby, finds out who her biological parents were and also finds love and the realization of her wishes. Taylor's novels are centered around strong female characters. Her writing style is enjoyable and the stories keep the reader's attention. If you are looking for a summer read, this is a good candidate.
zucchini season has started! (linen napkin by La FABBRICA del LINO)
Libby's love interest, Colton, is a widower with two young boys. Their food preferences are what one would expect and what I remember were my brother and my preferences at the same age: we could have eaten pizza for lunch and dinner every day of the week, though maybe part of its appeal was the fact that we didn't eat it as often.
When zucchini season starts I am reminded how much we disliked that vegetable, regardless of how it was prepared. In time, my taste changed, while my brother's didn't: to this day he remains opposed to anything zucchini. That gave me the idea of preparing a zucchini dish with other ingredients that would have made us run away as children.
easy-to-make hemp milk is a great ingredient (linen napkin by La FABBRICA del LINO)
In recent months I have been experimenting with making non-dairy milk to use not for drinking, but as an ingredient, in particular cashew milk (latte di anacardi) to make chia seed pudding2 and hemp milk (latte di canapa) to use in cooking. Reading the cookbook Go Dairy Free by Alisa Fleming3 has been fundamental in making me settle on a recipe: what I took from her is the suggestion to finely grind the nuts (frutta secca a guscio) or seeds (semi) first, then mix in the water. I don't add anything nor do I filter the milk to remove solids.
2 tablespoons / 30 ml unsweetened hemp milk (recipe below)
1 1/2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
Ingredients for a small batch of hemp milk:
1/4 cup / 1 1/4 ounces / 35 g hemp hearts (shelled hemp seeds)
1 cup / 240 ml water
To make the hemp milk: finely grind the hemp hearts in a small blender. With a small spatula, scrape the ground hemp hearts from the sides and bottom of the blender. Pour the water into the blender, then process to get the milk. Pour into a glass jar and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. Shake well before measuring the amount needed, as solids gather at the bottom. (I don't add anything to the milk, nor do I filter it to remove solids.)
For the side dish, chop the onion and mince the garlic. Trim the zucchini, then grate using the extra-coarse side of a hand grater.
Warm up the olive oil in a skillet on medium heat.
Add the onion and stir well. Lower the heat and cook until soft, stirring often. Add the garlic and stir. After 1 minute, sprinkle the berbere and stir well.
Add the grated zucchini, turn up the heat to medium, stir well and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Cover the skillet, lower the heat and cook for 3 minutes.
Uncover the skillet, add the hemp milk, sprinkle the nutritional yeast and stir well. Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until the zucchini are tender to your liking. Sprinkle the sea salt, stir well. Take off from the heat.
Serve warm.
Serves 3.
This dish is light and has a delightful "green" flavor, with a chees-y nuance provided by the nutritional yeast. It pairs well with various main courses, including frittata and legumes.
[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]
This is my contribution to the 42nd edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I started over 14 years ago and that I continue to host.
FTC disclosure: I have received the table linen free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting it on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.
un contorno leggero e saporito (tovagliolo di lino de La FABBRICA del LINO)
Da piccola detestavo le zucchine, poi per fortuna i miei gusti sono cambiati e adesso mi piacciono molto.
è cominciata la stagione delle zucchine (tovagliolo di lino de La FABBRICA del LINO)
Durante la loro stagione, che qui è cominciata di recente, le compro ogni volta che vado a fare la spesa al mercato dei produttori. Ogni anno mi diverto ad inventare nuovi modi per prepararle. Qui sotto la prima invenzione del 2021.
latte di canapa: un ottimo ingrediente, facile da preparare (tovagliolo di lino de La FABBRICA del LINO)
In questi ultimi mesi ho fatto esperimenti nella preparazione di alternative vegetali al latte, non per bere ma per utilizzare come ingrediente, in particolare latte di anacardi per fare il budino ai semi di chia (la mia colazione quotidiana) e latte di canapa per cucinare. Dal libro di ricette Go Dairy Free di Alisa Fleming1 ho tratto l'idea di macinare la frutta a guscio o i semi prima e poi aggiungere l'acqua. Non aggiungo altri ingredienti e non filtro il latte per rimuovere i solidi che rimangono.
Ingredienti per il contorno:
112 g cipollotto rosso
3 spicchi d'aglio
450 g zucchine
45 ml olio extra-vergine di oliva
1/4 cucchiaino berbere (misto di spezio etiope)
30 ml / 2 cucchiai latte di canapa (ricetta qui sotto)
1,5 cucchiai lievito nutrizionale (detto anche lievito alimentare)2
1/2 cucchiaino sale fino
Ingredienti per il latte di canapa:
35 g semi di canapa decorticati
240 ml acqua
Per preparare il latte di canapa: macinare finemente i semi di canapa decorticati. Frullare con l'acqua fino ad ottenere il latte. Versare in un vasetto di vetro e conservare in frigorifero fino al momento dell'utilizzo. Agitare bene prima di versarlo per reincorporare il deposito. (Io non aggiungo alcun ingrediente al latte e non lo filtro per rimuovere le particelle solide.)
Per il contorno, tritare il cipollotto e l'aglio. Pulire le zucchine e grattugiarle con la parte a buchi più grossi della vostra grattugia.
In una padella scaldare l'olio a fuoco medio. Aggiungere il cipollotto e mescolare. Cuocere a fuoco basso fino a quando sia tenero, mescolando spesso. Aggiungere l'aglio e mescolare. Dopo un minuto, spargere il berbere e mescolare bene.
Aggiungere alla padella le zucchine grattugiate, alzare il calore a livello medio, mescolare bene e cuocere per un minuto, continuando a mescolare. Incoperchiare la padella, abbassare il calore e cuocere per 3 minuti.
Scoperchiare, aggiungere il latte di canapa, spargere il lievito nutrizionale e mescolare bene. Incoperchiare di nuovo e cuocere per 4-5 minuti o fino a quando le zucchine siano tenere al punto di vostro gradimento. Spargere il sale e mescolare bene. Togliere la padella dal fornello.
Servire le zucchine ben calde.
Porzioni: 3.
Questo è un piatto leggero dal sapore "verde" al quale fa da complemento la nota nociata del lievito. Accompagna bene diverse pietanze, come frittata e legumi.
1Il sito dell'autrice (in inglese) 2 Il lievito nutrizionale (o alimentare) è un lievito inattivo, cioè non ha alcuna capacità lievitante. Viene spesso usato per imitare il formaggio in piatti vegani, ma è un'ottima aggiunta alla dieta di chiunque.
FTC disclosure: Ho ricevuto il tovagliolo gratuitamente dall'azienda produttrice (la FABBRICA del LINO). Non ho ricevuto e non riceverò alcun compenso per presentare il prodotto sul mio blog. Le opinioni espresse nel post sono interamente personali.
Porto il mio contorno di zucchine vegano con latte di canapa sulla tavola del 5° mese del gruppo Fattoria consapevole e solidale: i semi oleosi
I have eaten the first apricots, peaches, tomatoes and zucchini of the season: summer is approaching in the Northern hemisphere and with it, the time to launch a new edition of the culinary/literary event Novel Food, the 42nd to be precise. Novel Food is a voyage of literary discovery and a party featuring literary-inspired dishes contributed by the event's participants.
I invite you to join the event. I am looking forward to learning about a published literary work (a novel, novella, short story, memoir, bio, poem, etc.) that provided you with culinary inspiration.
Here are the simple rules for participating in Novel Food:
Prepare a dish of your choosing that has a connection to a published literary work (novel, novella, short story, memoir, bio, poem, other nonfiction) you've read.
Publish a post about it on your blog between today (Monday, May 31) and the end of Sunday July 4, 2021 (midnight, Pacific Time), referencing the Novel Food event (i.e., no archived posts). Include a link to this announcement. If you wish, you can use the Novel Food logo.
Link your post by using the linky tool at the bottom OR send an e-mail to simosite AT mac DOT com and include your name, blog name and blog address, and a permanent link to your post. Please, include the words "Novel Food" in the email subject, so I can more easily retrieve the message in my inbox.
Non-English submissions are fine. If possible, include an introduction in English.
If you don't have a blog, send me an email telling us about the dish, the literary work that inspired it, and, if you have it, a picture of what you made: I will add it to the roundup as well.
Note #1: If you send me an email and don't receive an answer to it within two days, please contact me again: sometimes email messages get lost in cyberspace. Or leave a comment on this post.
Note #2: If you follow this link, you will be able to browse the roundup of all previous editions.
Note #3: I am also one of the co-hosts of Cook the Books Club, where we also read and cook. While the rules for participating in the Club (see here) are different from the rules for Novel Food, posts written for the Club can also be submitted to Novel Food. For the current edition (April-May), we are reading the novel Honeysuckle Season by Mary Ellen Taylor (announcement here) and for the next edition (June-July) we will read 97 Orchard: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement by Jane Ziegelman.
The 41st edition of Novel Food is ending with the customary roundup. I have been hosting the event for over 13 years and it's been a constant pleasure. This time we'll have a small party still rich in reading suggestions.
Each post contributed by a book-loving food blogger describes a work of written words and the dish that the reading inspired. Join me on a literary/culinary tour. For each contribution, I offer a small bite to whet your appetite: follow the link to read the details of the literary work and the dish each participant describes. We hope you'll be inspired in your reading and in your kitchen.
"All of the stories revolve around changing environment and the fate of the planet and I imagine it could be classified as science fiction. But it is not a depressing book even though the Earth implodes during the first tale. That sense of hope is honestly prevalent… None of the stories revolved around food in any way so that made my food pairing for this book a bit tough. I went back to The Love of a Dandelion: 'When we discover the love of a dandelion and have compassion for even the sun, we will arrive at these truths.' The hope and vision the young boy has in the tale continued to make me want to highlight this story."
"Sánchez doesn’t romanticize the trials and tribulations of working in and owning restaurants or his Food Network celebrity rise… I also appreciated his honest narration. Not pulling any punches he lays it all out there—failed restaurants and failed relationships alike… Sánchez is honest about his cooking, his choices, and his personal life (and relationship with his mother)… Uncle Tio’s recipe uses three kinds of dried chiles (Arbol, Guajillo, and Ancho) and a slow braising process. I learned something from Sánchez’s recipe: only sear the meat on one side to help it stay more tender in the braise. Did not know that. These were delicious. Even though it was an afternoon process, it’s worth it."
"'Very Full Tart' [is] full of roasted vegetables and Mediterranean goodness. Here’s the problem, I didn’t want to make a pastry crust… So instead of a tart, I decided I would make a crustless version, hence the 'frittata' title to this recipe… This is a great brunch dish as well and leftovers keep well for a couple of days. I also think you could throw in whatever vegetables you have on hand like summer squash. Japanese eggplants would definitely work as well… The book is divided into almost every kind of vegetable there is from Roots to Leaves… The photographs are tremendous."
"Even though our public libraries are still not open for walk-in browsing, there is still a way to peruse the new books… During a recent visit, I spotted my title book in the window, and immediately checked it out… One of the characters, Angus, is out walking with his dog, Cyril, when Cyril runs off into the bushes and makes a great discovery… a Neanderthal skull!… A representative from the Department of Neanderthal Affairs, Dr. Colquohoun, has agreed to come over and verify the authenticity of the skull. In honor of his visit, Angus makes his famous cheddar cheese scone, liberally laced with cayenne pepper… To find out what the outcome was, you’ll have to read the novel."
small lentils, big flavor (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)
"I love P.D. James's novels: her writing is evocative, exact, engaging. I particularly enjoy her descriptions of landscapes and interiors. James's descriptive skills are in full display in The Lighthouse which is set in the (fictional) Combe Island off the Cornish coast 'a restful haven for the elite'. The immediate reason for Dalgliesh's presence on Combe is the violent death of a famous novelist, Nathan Oliver…What inspired me are various occasions in the story where characters come together: there are beverages (wine or tea), but never a bite to eat. I wanted to enter the story and bring a tray with foods, like a spread with crackers."
"I didn't know [Sánchez] before reading the book, but a few pages into it, I realized a few year ago I had met his mother, Zarela Martinez. She had been described to me as the chef who introduced Mexican cuisine to New York. It was interesting to read her story told by her son: what an amazing woman!… A few recipes [of Mexican salads] I found online made me draw up a list of ingredients: red beets, avocado, oranges and jicama. I couldn't find the latter, so I used daikon instead and was introduced to red and purple daikon, which are sold alongside their more famous white relative."
My special "thank you!" to the event's contributors: I hope you enjoyed participating as I do hosting the event.
You will find a link to this roundup and to those of all the earlier editions on this page. If you are looking for additional reading suggestions, head over to the Cook the Books Club website. For the April-May edition we are reading Honeysuckle Season by Mary Ellen Taylor.
The next edition of Novel Food will be in the summer: stay tuned for the announcement. In the meantime, take good care of yourself, your loved ones and your fellow citizens, read good books (maybe with the next Novel Food in mind), cook good dishes, and savor life's flow in its myriad expressions.
Our current Cook the Books Club selection is the memoir Where I Come From by chef Aarón Sánchez1. I didn't know him before reading the book, but a few pages into it, I realized a few year ago I had met his mother, Zarela Martinez. She had been described to me as the chef who introduced Mexican cuisine to New York. It was interesting to read her story told by her son: what an amazing woman! On July 21, 19822 the NY Times published an article by Craig Claiborne titled Memorable Dishes From a Master Mexican Chef. Here's how Ms. Martinez is introduced:
A few months ago Pierre Franey and I were invited to plan a menu and supervise the preparation of quintessentially American food that was to be served to nearly 200 French chefs visiting this country. The vast majority of these chefs had never sampled the native fare of the United States. The dishes we proposed covered the country…
We also wanted to have Mexican-style food from Texas. When we canvassed our contacts for the best cook of the region, we were told that person was, hands down, Zarela Martinez-Gabilondo. She prepared the Mexican-American segment of the meal and her contribution was memorable.
Sánchez ends a few of the book's chapters with recipes, none of which is along the lines of what I cook, so I browsed the web for a Mexican recipe that would be. Recently, almost every day I have been making a salad using fresh vegetables from the farmers' market.
ingredients for the salad fresh from the farmers' market (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)
A few recipes I found online3 made me draw up a list of ingredients: red beets, avocado, oranges and jicama. I couldn't find the latter, so I used daikon instead and was introduced to red and purple daikon, which are sold alongside their more famous white relative. I had not roasted red beets for a while and making this salad reminded me how much I like them. I buy them in bunches with their greens and stems (foglie e coste di barbabietola rossa), which are flavorful on their own (I will share a recipe soon).
I looked for lime but instead found variegated lemon (limone). Finally, in the citrus arena, I went for blood oranges, because I like their flavor and love their color. That all the salad's ingredients are grown in California is satisfying. My current favorite cheese addition to salads and other dishes is also a California production: Point Reyes Bay Blue4.
To me salad bowls are experiment benches: I mix and dress, toss and taste and tend not to repeat twice. For the photo op above I kept the ingredients separate, but then everything is tossed and eaten in the purple juice of red beet and blood orange. The citrus (agrumi) offset beets' sweetness and the blue cheese (formaggio erborinato) gives the salad a bit of a tang, while the daikon adds some zest.
3-4 tablespoons crumbled Point Reyes Bay Blue OR other sweet blue cheese
1/8 teaspoon of fine sea salt
1 tablespoon / 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons / 10 ml fresh lemon juice
Note: if you purchase a bunch of red beets, cut off the greens as soon as possible, leaving about an inch / 2.5 cm of stems and consume the greens shortly afterwards.
Heat the oven to 350 F / 177 C. If you only need 1-2 red beets, I suggest you bake them together with other foods, for efficiency's sake.
Scrub the red beets well. Wrap each in foil and place on the baking sheet or baking pan. Put in the oven and roast the beets until easily pierced with a blade. Let cool, then peel.
Prepare the vegetables in amounts according to the servings needed. Cut the red beet into bite-sized pieces. Brush and rinse the daikon, then grate it using the extra-coarse side of your grater. Peel and section the blood orange. Peel and slice the avocado.
Compose the salad using the vegetables and blue cheese. Dress with the sea salt, olive oil and lemon juice, toss and enjoy.
[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]
This is my second contribution to the 41st edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I started 13 years ago and that I continue to host.
FTC disclosure: I have received the table linen free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting it on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.
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. James’s novels: her writing is evocative, exact, engaging. I particularly enjoy her descriptions of landscapes and interiors. James’s descriptive skills are in full display in The Lighthouse which is set in the (fictional) Combe Island off the Cornish coast ‘a restful haven for the elite’. The immediate reason for Dalgliesh’s presence on Combe is the violent death of a famous novelist, Nathan Oliver. One of the plot’s twists is provided by one of the island’s guests falling gravely ill and being diagnosed with SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome)2
a viral respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus called SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV). SARS was first reported in Asia in February 2003. The illness spread to more than two dozen countries in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia before the SARS global outbreak of 2003 was contained.
Dalgliesh also falls ill and I will stop here before I reveal too much. I admit is was a bit chilling to read about that SARS-CoV. But the novel is intense and masterfully written: P.D. James spins her tale slowly and meticulously, keeping the reader engaged until the last line.
Given that Combe Island is a retreat for rich and powerful people, the food is formal and not particularly intriguing. What inspired me are various occasions in the story where characters come together: there are beverages (wine or tea), but never a bite to eat. I wanted to enter the story and bring a tray with foods, like a spread with crackers.
sesame seeds toasted and raw
In my archives I have recipes for spreads made with beans (fagioli) and chickpeas (ceci) but not lentils, so I started experimenting with those, using some ingredients from the recipe for hummus. I made tahini using toasted sesame seeds: I like the aroma of roasted sesame seeds and making tahini is quick and satisfying.
I stock up on lentils when I visit my home town of Perugia. The two special varieties grown in Umbria are lenticchia di Castelluccio and lenticchia dell’Altopiano di Colfiorito. Both are small with tender skin and cook relatively quickly. Their delicate, earthy flavor is a delight.
1/2 cup / 100 g / 3 1/2 ounces Colfiorito lentils OR Castelluccio lentils OR other small lentils
1 cup / 240 ml water
A small bay leaf
1 garlic cloves, peeled
Ingredients for the lentil spread:
Cooked lentils (ingredients above, method below)
2 tablespoons / 30 ml toasted sesami tahini (recipe below)
1 tablespoon / 15 ml fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoon / 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon harissa mix
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
Additional water to achieve desired consistency, as needed
How to make toasted sesame tahini Toast the sesame seeds in a dry skillet on medium heat until they are tanned and fragrant. This will take just a few minutes. Shake the skillet often or stir the seeds with a spatula. Guard the seeds like a hawk as they burn easily. Transfer the seeds to a plate and let cool completely.
Process the sesame seeds in a small food processor or blender until a thick paste forms. Add the olive oil and process until smooth. Add sea salt and process briefly to distribute. Transfer the tahini to a glass jar, cover with a lid and refrigerate until ready to use.
How to cook the lentils Sort the lentils, rinse them, then place them in a small saucepan with the water, bay leaf and garlic. Cover the saucepan and quickly bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and let the lentils simmer, covered, until they are tender, 20-30 minutes, as needed. Check after 15-20 minutes and estimate the time necessary to complete the cooking. Add the salt when the lentils are almost cooked.
Remove and discard the bay leaf and garlic. Let the lentils cool in the saucepan.
How to make the lentil spread Place the cooked lentils in a food processor. Add all the other ingredients: tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, spices and salt. Process until creamy, adding water as needed to achieve the desired consistency. I keep it fairly dense to serve it as part of a main dish combination (see below).
Transfer to a serving bowl and refrigerate. Take the bowl out of the refrigerator ahead of serving the spread.
Serve with crackers and/or fresh vegetables cut into bite-sized pieces as appetizer, or spoon on plate to accompany other dishes, like a salad or a slice of frittata).
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This is my contribution to the 41st edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I started 13 years ago and that I continue to host.
FTC disclosure: I have received the table linen free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting it on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.
lenticchie piccole dal sapore grande (tovaglietta de La FABBRICA del LINO)
Per la seconda edizione della Fattoria ho preparato un piatto utilizzando una delle eccellenze dell’Umbria, la mia terra di origine. La lenticchia di Castelluccio di Norcia non ha bisogno di presentazione. Ma non è l’unica varietà di questo legume gustoso, nutriente e facile da preparare: c’è la lenticchia dell’Altopiano di Colfiorito, anch’essa caratterizzata dalle piccole dimensioni.
Lenticchia di Colfiorito, delizia umbra
Fare la spesa all’Antica Spezieria e Drogheria Eredi Bavicchi1 a Perugia mi ha fatto conoscere ed apprezzare questo ed altri legumi tradizionali umbri e non solo. Mi piacciono molto i sacchi a righe che contengono i legumi e i cartelli scritti a mano che presentano le caratteristiche dei prodotti. (La foto qui sopra è di qualche anno fa, quindi il prezzo non è corrente.) Nel negozio potete anche trovare spezie, cioccolato, cereali e farine e tanti altri prodotti.
semi di sesame tostati e crudi
Ho cotto le lenticchie come al solito poi ho deciso di preparare qualcosa di diverso, una crema spalmabile ispirata all’hummus (crema a base di ceci), in particolare per quanto riguarda l’uso della tahina. Qualche tempo fa ne comprai una versione fatta con semi di sesamo tostati, versione che ho provato a fare in casa e che è diventata per me standard.
Ingredienti per la tahina con semi di sesamo tostati:
150 g di semi di sesamo
2 cucchiai / 30 ml di olio extra-vergine di oliva
1/4 cucchiaino di sale fino
Ingredienti per le lenticchie:
100 g lenticchie di Colfiorito o di Castelluccio
240 ml acqua
1 piccola foglia di alloro
1 spicchio d’aglio pelato
1/8 cucchiaino di sale fino
Ingredienti per la crema di lenticchie:
Lenticchie cotte (ingredienti qui sopra, preparazione a seguire)
2 cucchiai / 30 ml tahina con semi di sesamo tostati (ricetta a seguire)
1 cucchiaio / 15 ml di succo di limone
2 cucchiai / 30 ml di olio extra-vergine di oliva
1 piccolo spicchio d’aglio, tritato
1/4 cucchiaino cumino in polvere
1/4 cucchiaino harissa in polvere
1/8 cucchiaino di sale fino, a seconda del gusto
Acqua in aggiunta per ottenere la consistenza desiderata
Preparare la tahina ai semi di sesamo toastati Tostare i semi di sesamo in una padella a secco su calore medio fino a quando siano dorati e fragranti. Scuotere spesso la padella o muovere i semi con una spatola. La doratura avviene in pochi minuti, quindi prestare attenzione o i semi si bruciano. Trasferire i semi su un piatto a farli raffreddare.
Frullare i semi di sesame fino a che formino una pasta densa. Aggiungere l’olio d’oliva e frullare a che si formi una crema omogenea. Aggiungere il sale e frullare brevemente per distribuirlo. Trasferire la tahina in un vasetto di vetro, coprire e tenere in frigorifero fino al momento dell’uso.
Cuocere le lenticchie Mondare le lenticchie e sciacquarle, poi metterle in un pentolino con l’acqua, l’alloro, l’aglio e il sale. Coprire il pentolino e portare a bollore rapidamente. Abbassare il calore e far cuocere le lenticchie, coperte, fino a quando siano tenere, 30 minuti o il tempo necessario. Controllare dopo 15-20 minuti e valutare quanto tempo manca al termine della cottura.
Rimuovere l’alloro e l’aglio e scartarli. Far raffreddare le lenticchie nel pentolino.
Preparare la crema di lenticchie Frullare le lenticchie cotte insieme agli altri ingredienti (tahina, succo di limone, olio d’oliva, spezie e sale) fino ad ottenere una crema omogenea. Aggiungere un po’ d’acqua, se necessario, per ottenere la consistenza desiderata. Io la mantengo piuttosto densa per servirla anche come piatto principale in combinazione (vedi sotto).
Trasferire la crema in una ciotola e metterla in frigorifero. Tirarla fuori un’ora prima di servirla.
Servire con cracker e/o verdure fresche tagliate a bocconcini (per esempio, carote, cavolfiore) come aperitivo, oppure come pietanza insieme ad un’insalata o un trancio di frittata.
FTC disclosure: Ho ricevuto gli articoli di lino gratuitamente dall’azienda produttrice (la FABBRICA del LINO). Non ho ricevuto e non riceverò alcun compenso per presentarli sul mio blog. Le opinioni espresse nel post sono interamente personali.
Days are longer and spring is definitely in the air where I live, which means it is time to launch a new edition of the culinary/literary event Novel Food, the 41st! Novel Food is a voyage of literary discovery and a party featuring literary-inspired dishes contributed by event's participants. We are marking the one year anniversary of our lives upended by the pandemic. I don't know for you, but for me reading and cooking have been even more important than usual to keep me focused, grounded, hopeful.
I invite you to join the event. I am looking forward to learning about a published literary work (a novel, novella, short story, memoir, bio, poem, etc.) that provided you with culinary inspiration.
Here are the simple rules for participating in Novel Food:
Prepare a dish of your choosing that has a connection to a published literary work (novel, novella, short story, memoir, bio, poem, other nonfiction) you've read.
Publish a post about it on your blog between today (Thursday, February 25) and the end of Sunday April 4, 2021 (midnight, Pacific Time), referencing the Novel Food event (i.e., no archived posts). Include a link to this announcement. If you wish, you can use the Novel Food logo.
Link your post by using the linky tool at the bottom OR send an e-mail to simosite AT mac DOT com and include your name, blog name and blog address, and a permanent link to your post. Please, include the words "Novel Food" in the email subject, so I can more easily retrieve the message in my inbox.
Non-English submissions are fine. If possible, include an introduction in English.
If you don't have a blog, send me an email telling us about the dish, the literary work that inspired it, and, if you have it, a picture of what you made: I will add it to the roundup as well.
Note #1: If you send me an email and don't receive an answer to it within two days, please contact me again: sometimes email messages get lost in cyberspace. Or leave a comment on this post.
Note #2: If you follow this link, you will be able to browse the roundup of all previous editions.
Note #3: I am also a co-host of Cook the Books Club, where we also read and cook. While the rules for participating in the Club (see here) are different from the rules for Novel Food, posts for the Club can also be submitted to Novel Food. For the current edition (February-March), we are reading the memoir Where I Come From by Aaron Sanchez (announcement here) and for the next edition (April-May) we will read the novel Honeysuckle Season by Mary Ellen Taylor.
I am proud to present the roundup of the 40th edition of Novel Food. I repeat that number to myself: 40th! I have been hosting the event for 13 years and it's been a constant pleasure. Particularly in a year like this, I like to pause to contemplate small successes.
I am happy to celebrate this important milestone with a group of book-loving food bloggers, who have contributed posts to the event. Each post describes a work of written words and the dish that the reading inspired. You are invited to join me on a literary/culinary tour. For each contribution, I offer a small bite to whet your appetite: follow the link to read the details of the literary work and the dish each participant describes. We hope you'll be inspired in your reading and in your kitchen.
"Many of Nellie’s chapters begin with vintage recipes and totally dated and misogynistic quotes about housewifery. There’s recipes for the classics like meatloaf, chocolate chip cookies and even fancy Baked Alaska… For this post, I decided to pull out two family cookbooks to see if I could find a retro meatloaf recipe. I found this recipe in the compilation from my maternal grandmother’s stacks of recipes… Around here, we will certainly make this again (and again)! It was a great dinner! I plan to experiment by adding maybe blue cheese and a few walnuts, or adding some jalapenos with the colby-jack cheese and topping with salsa. The possibilities are endless…"
Debra also read THINKING & EATING: Recipes to Nourish & Inspire by the School of Life and prepared an Orzo Pasta Bake
"Both a cookbook and a manifesto for living, [the book] pairs compelling essays about philosophy and psychology with more than 150 recipes… Warm, insightful and beautifully written, THINKING & EATING reveals the foods we should eat in order to feel like our best selves… Now, for some substantial food to feed your spirit and soul. I think we need more calm because life seems to be 'getting too much' right now so I tried the Orecchiette Pasta Bake. But, because of all the uncertainty (and hoarding) in our lives right now, there was no orecchiette in the pasta aisle. I used orzo for this recipe instead."
Both of Judy of Judy's Gross Eats readings, As the Pig Turns, An Agatha Raisin Mystery by M. C. Beaton and The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson, inspired her to bake a Cheesecake
"I was familiar with the Agatha Raisin series from British television, but it was my first time reading one of the novels. It is very light, escapist reading, a good thing in these challenging times. Based on the title, I thought there would be some discussion on food, but that wasn’t the case. (The pig turned out to be a policeman. On a spit.)… [Bryson's book] was a memoir about his childhood in Iowa… when he spoke about Johnny and Kay’s and their cheesecake, I knew it was a sign. So cheesecake it was… chill overnight. That was the most difficult part! Waiting! It was, however, delicious for breakfast."
In this tale reminiscent of the old Upstairs, Downstairs TV show, a youthful, though excellent chef, in Victorian London, finds herself stretched to her limits with cooking, shopping, (earning enough to support her little girl) all while helping solve the murder of her young assistant. I thought the ambitious and feisty cook was an engaging and well-drawn character… Early on Kat prepares an asparagus soup for the family. I'm not growing asparagus, however we do have avocados… I found this hot version [of avocado soup] on the side of a chicken broth carton. Yes, yes, I do make my own, but keep a few cartons for emergencies. And few of the ingredients that were included caught my eye – shredded chicken, and lime. So we have Chicken Lime Avocado Soup. "
Questions of Perspective by Daniel Maunz inspired Debra of Eliot's Eats to bake something special Cat Treats for her household's special feline, Eliot
"[The book] was presented to me as 'Metaphysical fiction—contemporary fiction with a speculative element, which gets a bit philosophical (not in a heavy handed way).' I loved this book. It is a totally irreverent look at spirituality… The bigger question here is probably what would you do with god-like powers if you had them? Would you solve the world’s problems or maintain free-will? These are all questions of perspective… There wasn’t a meal or a dish that really seemed relevant (per my previous comment) so I decided to embrace the love both John and Dave had for Peaches the cat. I would make cat treats." Go to Debra's post to read Eliot's review of the treats.
For her final contribution, Debra read A Borrowed Life by Kerry Anne King and was inspired to prepare BPT Sandwiches
"[The novel] shows a world of reverent hypocrisy, one that is rigid and stifling… Elizabeth (or Liz) does get her life back (sort of) and she keeps a humorous outlook. Her stoic ability to find humor in dire circumstances made me love her… I remember a craving Liz had for a bacon sandwich with pickles. I was in. I also wanted to comment on the fact that she loved pickles growing up but since Thomas did not care for them he did not allow them in his house. Liz, here’s a sandwich I wish you would have served Thomas, with extra spicy pickles. You go girl, and eat all the pickles you want in this new life!… BPT might sound like a psychological disorder but it actually stands for Bacon, Pickle and Tomato!… The results? Deliciousness!!!!!"
The most surprising thing about [the book] is the amount of story that the author packs into about 230 pages. She covers decades in the friendship between two very different women, and their lives and their choices… Women's friendship is an interesting thing–who we choose as friends, who we choose to stay friends with, and how that friendship ebbs and flows over the years, changing and evolving. Frank captures the story of these two women in beautiful, slightly melancholy prose… Since it is such a short book, I wondered if there would be much food in it and there actually was… For my bookish dish I decided to go with the 'fake egg salad made of tofu'. I found a couple of recipes online but I ended up making up my own. "
"I really liked the first half of this wonderfully written novel. I liked the boy, Jared,… in spite of his alcohol abuse and drug taking… then things got quite surreal, with shape shifting and ravens and sea otters and talking fireflies and grizzly bears that could walk through walls… Still, it held my interest to the end, and I’m eager to read the second part of the Trickster trilogy… I suddenly thought about shape shifting. Because that’s really what we do with ingredients, isn’t it?… J’adore macaroni and cheese. From autumn to late spring, I could eat it every day – breakfast, lunch and dinner. But not macaroni and cheese out of a box. No. No. No. It has to be from scratch…"
"The book opens with a horrific mass murder in a remote Swedish village. Judge Birgitta Roslin, who is connected to some of the victims, gets involved the case, whose roots go back in time and space to the construction of the Pacific Railroad, which relied on the labor of, among others, Chinese workers. The novel travels also to Canton, Beijing, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Copenhagen and London… Tromboncino squash's long, curvy shape is eye-catching and its dense flesh and delicate, pleasant flavor make it a winner. Tromboncino squash does not belong to the Cucurbita pepo species like zucchini and other summer squashes, but rather to Cucurbita moschata, like butternut squash. Like its more famous relative, zucchetta has seeds only in the lower part of its body: the long neck is seedless."
My special "thank you!" to the event's contributors: I hope you enjoyed participating as I do hosting the event.
You will find a link to this roundup and to those of all the earlier editions on this page. If you are looking for additional reading suggestions, head over to the Cook the Books Club website. For the October-November edition, which I am hosting, we are reading The Secret, Book and Scone Society by Ellery Adams.
The next edition of Novel Food will start in late winter 2021: stay tuned for the announcement. In the meantime, take good care of yourself, your loved ones and your fellow citizens by observing health officials' instructions, read good books (maybe with the next Novel Food in mind), cook good dishes, and savor life's flow in its myriad expressions.
In the year of COVID, in the summer (and now fall) of fires, I am clinging to cooking and reading to keep my balance. Among my to-read books, I recently chose a novel by the late Swedish author Henning Mankell (without Kurt Wallander2 as protagonist): The Man from Beijing.1 The book opens with a horrific mass murder in a remote Swedish village. Judge Birgitta Roslin, who is connected to some of the victims, gets involved the case, whose roots go back in time and space to the construction of the Pacific Railroad, which relied on the labor of, among others, Chinese workers. The novel travels also to Canton, Beijing, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Copenhagen and London.
The plot kept me interested until the end, yet I admit I missed Wallander, following his meticulous investigation and reasoning process to reach the solution. Roslin is not an investigator, yet she ends up discovering what happened, partly thanks to her determination, partly to chance. Mankell is not shy in criticizing his country and worries about its future. In The Man from Beijing such worries take a more international tone.
the soup's trio of ingredients (napkin by La FABBRICA del LINO)
Tromboncino squash3 is a favorite summer squash (in Italian tromboncino literally means small trombone, the musical instrument). I get excited when I see it displayed on a table at the farmers' market or, as was the case earlier this year, at a farm stand4. Its long, curvy shape is eye-catching and its dense flesh and delicate, pleasant flavor make it a winner. Although it is harvested early and consumed as a summer squash, tromboncino squash does not belong to the Cucurbita pepo species like zucchini and other summer squashes, but rather to Cucurbita moschata, like butternut squash. Like its more famous relative, zucchetta has seeds only in the lower part of its body: the long neck is seedless.
1/2 teaspoon Marrakech Moroccan mix5: substitute either or both mixes with spices of choice, but do not skip
1 cup / 240 ml chicken broth or stock, or vegetable broth [in which case the soup is vegan], possibly homemade
2 cups / 475 ml water, plus more as needed
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
freshly grated cheese of choice, to taste
Heat the oven to 375 F / 190 C.
Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
Cut the tromboncino squash into 1/2-inch / 1.25 cm thick slices and distribute them on a single layer on the lined baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, turning the slices halfway through. Take the baking sheet out of the oven, let the squash slices cool slightly then transfer into a bowl.
Warm up the olive oil in a soup pot on medium heat. Add the onion and stir, turn down the heat and cook on low heat until the onion is soft, stirring often. Add the garlic, stir and cook for 1 minute. Sprinkle the spices on the onion and stir, add the tromboncino squash slices to the pot, pour the broth and water and stir.
Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat so the soup bubbles gently. Cook until you can smash the squash easily with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the salt, stir, turn off heat and let the soup rest for at least 15 minutes, then purée with an immersion blender. Add more water, as needed, to make the soup reach the desired consistency. Taste and adjust salt to your taste.
When ready to eat, heat the soup, ladle it in bowls and sprinkle some cheese on top. Serve immediately.
Serves 4-5
Roasting the squash adds depth of flavor to this soup and the spices make it shine. I usually don't stop after the first bowl.
[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]
This is my contribution to the 40th edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I started 13 years ago and that I continue to host.
FTC disclosure: I have received the table linen free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting it on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.
