Enjoy your Sunday

 

Have a beautiful holiday weekend

 

A good winter minestra

A minestra is a hearty soup like a chowder that is very popular in the cold months. This one is simple, delicious, filling and economic.

 This minestra features dandelion, red kidney beans and chick peas. Canned beans and chick peas are fine. Goya is my favorite brand. Just be sure that you throw away the liquid in the can and rinse them. They are packed with ascorbic acid and other preservatives not to mention too much salt.

To begin with, make a soffritto of chopped celery, a carrot, a small onion and a finely diced small potato. Wash the dandelion well and chop up. IF you have made the vegetable broth, heat up about a quart. In a pince, hot water will do. It-s good to add a little tomato concentrate but this optional.

Use a nice pot and cover the bottom with good EVO. Place the soffritto and stew slowly in low heat. As spices, add a tad of red pepper flakes, a few leaves of bay leaf and a teaspoon of fennel seeds. When the onions are translucent add the dandelion and some broth or water. Stir well and add the beans and chick peas. Taste for salt. Cook on medium heat until the greens are done. Serve with rustic Italian bread and add some raw EVO to the dish. You will be restored.

Buon appetito

My garbage period

 We all co through this stage when we shoot anything we see. It-s when we are new at the craft and full of enthusiasm. For me this was a period from the late sixties to the mid seventies. Actually it was my best period creatively. All was exciting and I was experimenting with all sorts of formats. This photo was made with my Yashicamat 124, my first 6X6 camera, and on Ektachrome 100. I still like this image. I wish I still had that enthusiasm. 

A cool dish

Let me explain. In Sicily there is the concept of hot and cool foods. Naturally all fries items are deemed hot, along with tomatoes, eggplants and zucchine. The long smooth Sicilian squash is cool, along with dandelion, lettuce, escarole, fava beans etc. This concept is also prevalent in Far East cuisines.

The dish proposed in this post is simplicity in itself. Wash the dandelion well and simply boil in salted water. The extra water should be saved for soups or minerstre. Now take one small clove of garlic, squash it and put it on the bottom of a soup plate. Add the dandelion and cover with the cooking water. Sprinhle black pepper and put in a nice amount of good EVO. It's ready. A good slice of lightly toasted rustic Italian bread adds to the eating pleasure. This dish is healthy, delicious, simple and very economic.

Buon Appetito.

Sicilian sunset

 This sunset was shot from Makari in Sicily and is over the bay where mount Cofano is situated. We were dining at a superb restaurant named Blue Makari. Great memories.

Vegetable broth.

 No self respecting cook should be without good vegetable stock. It is used in soups and sauces. Of course you can buy it in containers but I have never found any that didn't have that canned taste. Make it yourself and you not only save money but you will have the genuine article.

Take carrots, a stalk or two of celery, Italian parsley and an union cut up coarsely and boil them for about 15 minutes. Add a little salt. You can also add other vegetables you have around such as turnips, zucchini etc. No garlic. Store in the fridge. Remember to heat it up some  before adding it to your recipe so that the temperature is not effected.

Buon appetito

Have a great and safe week