Fennel: A Mainstay of Sicilian Cooking!

Finnochio, or fennel as it is known in English, plays an important role in Sicilian cooking. Ancient Greeks and Romans knew of fennel because it grew wild in the Mediterranean basin during  their times.  The ancient Greeks called fennel "marathron"which means to grow thin and the great ancient Battle of Marathon was given its name because the field where it occurred was filled with the revered plant. According to Greek myths, knowledge was delivered to humans by the gods at Olympus in a fennel stalk filled with coal. 


The Greeks and the Romans used fennel for its medicinal and culinary properties. Roman men ate fennel to maintain good health and Roman women ate it to manage their weight. Pliny recommended the herb for "dimness of human vision" because the Romans believed that serpents sucked the plant's juices to improve their eyesight.


Fennel was one of the nine sacred herbs of the Anglo-Saxons, and in 812 CE Charlemagne declared fennel essential in every garden for its healing properties.

Medieval Europeans hung fennel from the rafters for good luck and stuffed it in keyholes to keep ghosts and evil spirits out of their homes. They also chewed the seeds during church services to stop their stomachs from rumbling.

I decided to make a dish with fennel, zucchini, lemon, onions, olive oil, salt and pepper. I sliced the vegetables as you can see on the right, then mixed them with the olive oil. I put them in a pan and warmed them in a 300 degree oven.


Fennel is an good source of vitamin C, dietary fiber, potassium, manganese, folate, and molybdenum, niacin, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron and copper. 

I heated the vegetables just enough to warm them and allow the flavors to blend.


Fennel has a sweet, mild licorice taste, and combined with the salt, pepper, onion, and citrus...the dish was quite delightful. 

My Sicilian Roots: Semolina Bread!

My blood flows with remnants of many lands, but my heart longs for Sicily. My mother's father's parents immigrated from Sicily in the early twentieth century and settled in Tampa, Florida.

Their journey fascinates me, from a craggy island rich with the remnants of ancient civilizations, across the vast Atlantic, through the crowds of Ellis Island...then finally settling near Tampa Bay. What fears did they have as they left the familiar semi-arid, rocky, volcanic land of tradition, and settled in a sandy, humid, lush land. At least both lands caressed them with a warm climate and and fertile seas.


Durum wheat, which yields semolina when milled, produces well in semi-arid regions such as Sicily. It is a hard wheat with a very high gluten content and a high ratio of protein to carbohydrate. Semolina makes pasta as well as a flour with a distinctive nutty flavor. Semolina bread, a staple in Sicily, was brought to America by the immigrants.


Recipes for Semolina bread can be found at the following:
http://www.jamieoliver.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=28217
http://www.ciaoitalia.com/mary-anns-blog/snow-bored-let-s-bake

The Omelettry: An Austin Tradition!

This weekend I met with friends at this popular Austin restaurant. We arrived for breakfast fairly early ... so we had plenty of space, but we had to left we had to navigate the crowd when we left.


The star of this unpretentious cafe is the egg.  We know that omelets were eaten during the first centuries of the common era because Apicus left us a written recipe. 

By concentrating on simple recipes and common ingredients, the owners have created a friendly gathering place for quick, inexpensive meals. The sense of humor shown in the murals delights the eyes as people wait to delight their tastebuds.


The image above shows the poor egg, captured in the frying pan as the flame licks the pan and the cruel chef looks on. Fresh vegetables view the scene from a cart and veggie-people dance around.

Perhaps the best mural is around back, where an egg is busy meditating on a mountain-top as other eggs walk along mountain roads. 

The other side of the building is the garden site, overseen by a vigilant egg in a police uniform. He looks like he has been through quite a battle, but he's persevering with strength.

Inside, an art gallery greets customers. As I walked in, a woman was walking out with an art purchase. The food was plain, but good...and the wait staff does not mind if you occupy a table for a long time. I hope sometime you have a chance to visit Austin and eat breakfast at the 

Omelettry!

Frito Pie: A Texas Tradition!

May in Texas...wildflowers scattered about, sunshine and breezes, mild days scattered among the hot ones. Sunday was one of those perfect, mild Texas days and the Texas Hill Country was gleaming after a nourishing rain...water so sacred during this time of drought!


On the porch of the historic Wimberley Cafe in Wimberley, Texas...basking in my springtime bliss...I spotted it staring up at me from the menu, a true Texas icon, the Frito Pie! I had never tried it so I ordered one, along with another Texas staple...sweet iced tea.

Soon, I was looking down at the concoction you see on the right. The "muffinette" on the right side of the bowl was made with sweet potatoes and spices. It looked safe, so I began with it as I admired the fritoes and gained enough confidence to try their chili coverlet.


The taste of the Frito Pie was actually pretty good. It is quick and easy to make...just put a layer of fritoes in a bowl, then pour canned chili over them, top it with cheese, then pop it in the oven to warm it up a bit. I was pretty impressed with my delicacy. It was a bit heavy on my stomach...but my taste buds were delighted. Of course, my taste buds are always delighted by food that punishes my body with a gazillion calories and artery clogging trans-fats! They are called my taste buds, but they are definitely not always my buddies!


This morning at work when I shared my Frito Pie story, I found out that Frito Pies are common at sports events here in Texas. The vendor opens a small bag of fritoes, then pours canned chili over the fritoes and tops it off with cheese, and maybe onions or jalapenos. You are given a small plastic spoon, and you have a simple, no muss, no fuss snack to keep your mouth and stomach happy as your favorite football team struggles in the field below.

Well, I had to see one of these snacks for myself, so I googled "Frito Pie" and found on Wikipedia this lovely image of one served in a bag. 


As I investigated further, I found out that Fritoes were "invented" in San Antonio, Texas. National Public Radio has an excellent post called "The Birth of the Frito" from 2007. It has delightful historical images of Frito advertisements, recipes, and the "Frito Fleet." You can even listen to "The Frito Twist!"

Sweet Potato Varieties!

Candied sweet potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, sweet potato pie...I love them all...but the sweet potatoes that I grew up eating were orange like those shown above and directly below. 

Now I'm discovering the joys of other varieties of sweet potatoes such as those that are called either Japanese or Korean sweet potatoes. They are the dark red ones in the picture below. The lighter-skinned sweet potatoes actually have purple flesh. The noodles are made from sweet potato flour. 

I made the mashed sweet potatoes, shown below, with the Japanese/Korean sweet potatoes by steaming them until soft, then using a mixer to mash them with milk or cream. These sweet potatoes were so sweet that no sugar was needed...and they were definitely not orange! 

You can see the purple sweet potatoes mashed and in cross section below. They are less sweet than the Japanese/Korean sweet potatoes, but the color is gorgeous! I added crushed pecans to these.

All of these sweet potatoes are similar...but there are  differences in their tastes and most importantly in their nutritional values. Whole Foods has an interesting discussion of the nutritional benefits of sweet potatoes.  Interesting facts about purple sweet potatoes can be found at Science News.

Charros and Globalization of the Taco!

Recently I've been lucky to encounter two events that helped solidify my admiration for Mexican culture!

First, at the Austin Rodeo I attended a performance by the world famous charro, Tomas Garcilazo. A charro is a Mexican horseman. Tomas began performing as a child and now works with two horses, his best friends. 

The first horse that he showed us was a gorgeous white horse that moved seamlessly with Tomas. They both seemed to be having a great time...which added to the joy of watching them. 

This horse pranced forward, backward and side to side, swinging its tail to the music!

Tomas even convinced the horse to sit down!

The second horse was brown with an incredibly long golden mane. Tomas performed rope procedures with this gentle horse.

The most amazing part of the performance was when the horse stood absolutely still so that Tomas could stand on his back and manipulate the rope! The horse showed incredible discipline and Tomas was equally incredible with his rope skills!

 Soon after seeing Tomas at the rodeo, I attended a lecture called "Planet Taco: Globalization of Mexican Food" given by Jeffrey Pilcher. The premise of the talk was that the American version of Mexican food has traveled throughout the world representing Mexico. There are even tacos in Mongolia.

The sad part of this story is that authentic interior Mexican food is not known quite so well. It is the same phenomenon as people thinking that chop suey is authentically Chinese and pizza is authentically Italian...and that they represent those rich and wonderful cuisines.

Soon, Jeffrey Pilcher will publish a book on this topic. I look forward to reading it and finding out how the idea of Mexican food has diffused around the world!

Spring Cleansing and a Second Chance for Eating Sensibly!

Spring...the time of regrouping, and cleansing...is upon us. During my walks, I often pass this juice bar that has large plastic fruit outside. You might be able to make out the pineapple behind the sign. The fruits conjure images of rebirth and spring for me since they carry within the seeds for the new generations. And the glorious warmth and sunshine of the season nourish them for the outburst of growth that is spring.

And the picture on the right shows the giant fruits with the door to the juice bar to the right. I have not yet summoned the courage to enter that dark, puzzling room...but my curiosity draws me to it. And spring is the perfect season for the "Master Cleanse."

Over the winter I have stuffed my body with empty calories, and now it is showing the impact! Horrors...just in time for summer bathing suits!!! I wish I could drink a "Master Cleanse" concoction to remove the effects of my winter-time food orgy. I would just drink a small one to get rid of five pounds, medium for ten pounds, and a wonderful...powerful...large for twenty pounds.

I would backtrack to my smaller size and regroup...change my dietary ways... and only take into my body those foods that will support its healthy growth. Can I have a second chance?

Well I can gather all of the strength I have and loose this extra weight, then make a pact with my body to treat it like the sacred vessel that it really is. After all it has done so much for me. It has taken me through my infancy and childhood and grew strong to support all of my activities and goals. It has taken me through early adulthood and patiently stood by as I neglected it for my studies. It gave me a son who is the most glorious gift of my life. The least I can do is give it the respect it deserves and care for it as diligently as it cared for my son when he was growing strong enough to be born into the world. 

I am ready for the master cleanse of spring and a new way of treating my body ... with the ultimate respect and care that it deserves.

St. Patrick's Day and the Irish Potato

“Pray for peace and grace and spiritual food, For wisdom and guidance, for all these are good, but don't forget the potatoes.” John Tyler Pettee, 'Prayer and Potatoes'

 
On this St. Patrick's Day I am thinking about potatoes because of the huge impact they have had on the soul of Ireland. This impact is demonstrated by many Irish sayings such as
 
 "It is easy to halve the potato where there is love."
"If beef's the king of meat, potato's the queen of the garden world.


"Only two things in this world are too serious to be jested on, potatoes and matrimony."  
It is thought that Sir Walter Raleigh first brought the potato to Ireland from the Americas around 1589. There is a legend that he presented Queen Elizabeth I a potato plant, and her cooks prepared a dish of the boiled stems and leaves for a royal banquet. The tubers were discarded. Since the stems and leaves contain poisons, everyone who attended the banquet became ill and potatoes were banned from court. I'm not sure if this legend is true, but the Irish discovered that the tubers could provide enough food for a family of 10 for 1 year if grown on the small land parcels the general population could use.
  Many Irish families subsisted on milk and potatoes alone and fortunately these two foods provide all essential nutrients. According to History Magazine the population of Ireland doubled between 1780 and 1841 corresponding to widespread cultivation of potatoes. Potatoes allowed even the most impoverished people to produce enough healthy food. People were healthier and infant mortality decreased as the Irish became increasingly dependent on potatoes. 
This culminated in the Great Famine that resulted when potato blight, a fungus called Phytophthora Infestans, caused the potatoes to rot in the fields.About one million people starved to death and many more moved away from Ireland during those difficult times. There was no cure for the blight at the time, but now is cured by spraying the crops with a solution of copper sulphate before the fungus appears.  
A Priest in Galway wrote of the famine "As to the potatoes they are all gone - clean gone. If travelling by night, you would know when a potato field was near by the smell. The fields present a space of withered black stalks."

Fried Green Tomatoes and Sam Houston!

The rodeo is in town, so after the rally on Saturday, I drove to the Travis County Exposition Center to see what it was all about. 


The entire day was an immersion into the soul of Texas, with my foray into political activity at the rally, and my visit to a quintessential western tradition.


Texas is a mix of Southern American Culture and the Cowboy Culture of the American West. In this post I will focus on the Southern American part of the Texan soul. In the next post I will show some pictures from the rodeo.

I found some gorgeous green tomatoes in the grocery store, and my mother likes to fry them to make a beloved dish of the south, Fried Green Tomatoes. I researched some recipes and found a recipe attributed to the wife of Sam Houston, the first president of the Republic of Texas, and a war hero who helped win the independence of Texas from Mexico. I was fascinated!


Mrs. Houston made her fried tomatoes by dipping the slices in well beaten eggs, then corn meal. She then salted and peppered them to taste and fried them in bacon grease until brown.

We made ours with some slight differences. We did not use bacon grease because we wanted to use healthier vegetable oil. Also, we dipped the slices in Panko crumbs after dipping them in egg. 


The tomatoes tasted wonderfully, but we didn't have a lot of luck getting the crumbs to stick to them. You can see our results to the right.

My Civics Lesson!

We have a large budget deficit here in Texas, just like many other states. Our problem here is that we have a governor who will not adjust the taxation system, and who has huge misconceptions about public education.


The currently proposed state budget includes 9.8 billion dollars in cuts to education. Many districts are already planning to layoff teachers. Even fields like math and science...with looming teacher shortages are seeing potential layoffs.

So a group of us gathered at the
First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin to make signs for a large rally that occurred today in front of the Texas State Capitol Building. Although some news reports say that only about 5000 people attended the rally, others estimate that it was higher and I heard that it was more like 14,000. I'm not sure who is correct, but the 5000 estimate came from the state police officers who tend to be supporters of our governor.

Our governor opposes President Obama's policies in general, so he has refused to apply for 830 million dollars that the state should receive. He is refusing the money because he does not like the restrictions placed on it, however he doesn't seem to care that some of the budget problems could be solved with that money.


Education is too important for our future to allow it to wither because of insufficient funds. Our younger generations are depending on us to provide for them the educations they deserve. 

Coconut: The Tree Which Grants all Wishes!

As early as the 4th century BCE, Sanskrit writings tell of coconut palms. These palms exemplify the Indian concept of kalpavriksha, which means the tree which grants all wishes, because all of its parts are useful.


The coconut is probably the most famous product from these stately trees. It is a drupe, which is a type of fruit, but not an actual nut. 


The coconut palm, in Indian mythology, was created by the sage Vishwamitra who was helping prop up King Trishanku with one after the king was thrown out of heaven by the gods.


Coconuts are significant in Indian spiritual life. Dehusked coconuts are temple offerings, gifts given to bless a house, and significant participants in marriage rites.

I wanted to use coconut flour. The meat of the coconut is dessicated, then ground up to make flour. It can be used for gluten-free baked products. I modified a recipe that I found on the back of the Bob's Red Mill Coconut Flour package, and really loved the result.  The only warning I have is to watch out for the crumbliness of the cookies when they are still warm. This is probably due to the rice flour plus the coconut flour, because they are both gluten-free and do not have enough binding compounds. Here is the recipe: 1 c. Sugar  1/2 c. Butter 1/3 c. Milk 2 tsp. Vanilla  3/4 c. Rice Flour  1/3 c. Coconut Flour  2 Tbsp. Potato Starch or Flour 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder  1/2 tsp. Baking Soda  1/2 c. crushed Almonds

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream together sugar and margarine with an electric mixer and beat for two minutes. Add vanilla and soymilk and beat for an additional minute. In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients, except Almonds. Add dry mix to wet ingredients and briefly mix, then add the almonds. Continue mixing until just blended. The batter should have a moist and fluffy consistency. Place by rounded tablespoon on a greased cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes. Makes 2 dozen cookies. Each cookie has about 130 calories. There is some saturated fat, and a large amount of sugar.

Fig Trees: Ancient Symbols!

© Georges Jansoone, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

As far back as Ancient Egyptian times, figs provided a sense of fullness to people...little packets of energy to provide the "pep" they needed for their daily toils. Easily dried for preservation, they could be carried around for quick snacks. 


The Egyptians were most familiar with the sycamore fig tree, Ficus sycamorus,the variety that grows throughout Egypt. Sycamore trees often play an important role in Ancient Egyptian Theology as shown in the following:

• The goddess Hathor was referred to as the Lady of the Sycamore.
• The Egyptian sun god Ra emerged from a sycamore.
• Life and death were thought to be decided in a sycamore.
• The translation of text from a pyramid wall is "On the eastern horizon there stands tall sycamore on which the gods are seated."
• In chapter 109 of the Book of the Dead, it says "Two sycamores of turquoise stand by the eastern gate of the heavens from which Ra emerges every morning."

Egyptians used figs to calm the "vessels," heal the bite of a hippo, and treat finger and toe nails. The milky, latex sap of the tree was used to remove hairs from "any body parts."

Today, most figs we eat come from the common fig tree, ficus carica, which originated in western Asia. The ancient Egyptians were familiar with this type of fig, but as Pliny reported, 


The fig of Mount Ida is red, and the size of an olive, rounder however, and like a medlar in flavour; they give it the name of Alexandrian in those parts. The stem is a cubit in thickness; it is branchy, has a tough, pliant wood, is entirely destitute of all milky juice, and has a green bark, and leaves like those of the linden tree, but soft to the touch.
.......
As to the fig of Alexandria, it is a black variety, with the cleft inclining to white; it has had the name given to it of the "delicate" fig

Pliny, Natural History, Book XV, 19 - (eds. John Bostock, H.T. Riley)

Fig trees also played a significant role in Indian religion and mythology. The banyan tree is a type of fig that symbolizes fertility and is sometimes called the tree of immortality. Before mankind harnessed the power of grain and other  foods, the milk of the banyan was said to have been the source of nourishment. 


Buddha achieved enlightenment under a peepal tree which is also a type of fig. Sages and seers still sit under the shade of fig trees to conduct Vedic rituals, discuss ideas, and seek enlightenment.


Sylvia Plath, in The Bell Jar uses the symbolism of the fig tree as a portal between life and death when her main character contemplates suicide as shown in the quote below:


 "I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked….I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn’t make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.”

I tried the dried figs that you see in the picture above. The black mission figs are quite sweet and make wonderful snacks. The white Turkish figs have a milder flavor and also make wonderful snacks, but also would work well for baking.

When eating figs I often feel a sense of reverence for the ancient. The fig leaves covering the private areas of people in sculptures and paintings always pops into my mind. I love the shapes of the common fig tree leaves. We have a young fig tree in the back yard with buds that are beginning to pop out. Plants have already been telling us here in Austin that spring is here. Soon we will have wildflower season!

 

Dates from a Desert Oasis!

According to a Libyan adage "Palm trees have their feet in water and their head in fire," a perceptive assumption in a land where date palms have been cultivated in desert oases for thousands of years. Dates come from the palm tree Phoenix dactylifera and include a large number of different cultivars.


In the picture on the left, you can see unripe dates that were sold at a Texas farmer's market. The date palms, shown on the right above, have burlap bags around the date clusters. This is a common way of drying dates on the tree. The picture is from the Farm Service Agency of the US Department of Agriculture.

I tried some Medjool and Deglet Noor dates. These are among the most common varieties sold in the United States. The picture on the right shows the larger Medjool dates on the bottom and the Deglet Noor dates on the top. The Medjool dates had a stronger, sweeter taste than the Deglet Noor dates according to my palate. 


A wonderful description of Medjool dates and a recipe that combines them with apples and golden raisins can be found at NPR. For snacking, Medjool dates are fantastic, but they contain a large amount of sugar so don't eat too many at a time!


Deglet Noor dates are the kind that are grown commonly in Libya, Algeria, and Tunisia. They are dryer than Medjool dates and make better cooking dates. They are excellent in sweet breads and other deserts.

More Banana Varieties: Red Bananas and Oritos

I continued my banana quest at the market and found some red bananas and Doles' version of mini bananas (which is different from Chiquita's version). You can see them in the picture on the left, next to the Cavendish banana. 


Of course a taste test was in order, so I had a fabulous time eating! I read that you should eat the small bananas when they are almost brown, so I selected the almost "over-ripe" version that you see in the picture. 

I believe the small bananas in the pictures are orito (little gold) bananas. These bananas are grown in Ecuador and may be less susceptible to disease than the standard Cavendish. Oritos grow wild in the Upper Amazon region of Ecuador. They were quite creamy, with flesh that is more golden than that of the other two varieties. It was quite flavorful!

Red bananas are thicker but shorter than the Cavendish. I found them to be more flavorful with perhaps a slight raspberry taste. They seemed denser than the Cavendish and sweeter.

Domesticated bananas do not have seeds as you can see on the left. Farmers plant corms to get new banana plants. Also, notice the thickness of the Cavendish and Red Banana peels compared to that of the tiny orito on top. 


You can see a picture of a wild banana with its seeds at this site. Musa velutina produces bananas with many seeds sprinkled within the banana flesh. When the banana ripens, the peelings pop open so that the seeds can escape, fall to the ground, and create new banana plants.

The picture on the right shows slices of the three different banana varieties along with their peels so that you can compare them. Better yet, do your own comparison and savor the subtle taste differences between them. I hope you have as much fun with it as I had!

Chocolate Cravings: Oaxaca to Naga!

Vosges, the company that makes the Black Pearl Bar, makes many other chocolate bars with interesting flavor combinations. This week, as part of my "chocolate journey'" I tried the Oaxaca Bar and the Naga Bar.


Unlike the Black Pearl Bar, the Oaxaca Bar acquired its zip from fruity quajillo and subtle pasilla chilies. And with 75% cacao from Tanzanian bittersweet chocolate, it packed a punch indeed! But not the knock you in the chest and land you on your back kind of punch. This is the friendly fist to your upper arm kind of tease.

And how appropriate to name it for the land of the "moles," sauces that entice the palate by blending chocolate with chilies. 


The Naga Bar is more like a gentle kiss. Its 41% milk chocolate is much more subtle than the 75% bittersweet chocolate of the Oaxaca Bar. The sweet curry and nutty coconut flavors create a fitting homage to this far eastern area of India that fits snuggly between Assam and Myanmar.


Nagaland's mountainous terrain and people with a distinctively East Asian appearance pull me to find out more about the area. It is famous for wonderful beads and according to Katrina at Vosges, a beaded necklace from Nagaland inspired the Naga Bar.