One k.g. of Tomatoes per d.a.y.

Last week, I released 2 kilograms of tomatoes into my kitchen. Within 48 hours they were nearly extinct. There were two of us here at the time, so we had a kilo each. Mmmmmm.

This week, they are disappearing at the same rate, but there is only me here now. Lycopenodermia has not yet set in, though having recovered from an episode of carotenodermia a few years ago, I’m not afraid.

The good news is that I’m chock full of Vitamins C, A, and K; of molybdenum, potassium, and magnese; and of chromium, B1, and B6. If I had a prostate, it would be happy.

Today, I popped them into my mouth like grapes while reading Orhan Pamuk out on the porch. Another delicious way to eat them is in tomato sauce. Pasta optional.

I learned how to make this sauce from watching Monica’s mother, Giuletta. Add a bit of olive oil to pan a with quartered pomodorini (cherry tomatoes? These are not cherry tomatoes. They’re little jewels!). Let them cook over medium flame for no more than 18 minutes. While tomatoes are cooking, add salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes and squash the tomatoes with a fork. After cooking is finished, mix in fresh chopped basil and run it through a food mill.

I omit the food mill part because I like the texture, and I do not like washing dishes.

In which I fell off the face of the earth

Dear loyal blog readers (aka, Dad):

Sorry for not updating lately. Things that happened in July:

- Umbria Jazz (Perugia) - Ironically, all the musicians I saw (Sonny Rollins, Eric Alexander / Vincent Herring) were from New York. The jazz was excellent, tickets inexpensive, and, by nightfall, streets full of drunk Italians wandering throughout the city from one concert to the next. Also had Grom.

- Cathy came to visit, so we rented a car and wandered around the countryside. Woo freedom! I got to see Montepulciano and we visited a few wineries. A favorite: Pian Dell'Orino, an organic winery in Montalcino. They have distributors in CA and NY, so the best part is I can get their wine when I get back to the states!

- Marco turned 31, the twins who live across from me turned 24, and I turned 22. Walter, Monica's son, and a few other people turned a year as well. The unusual number of summer birthdays makes me think that there must be something romantic about post-crush and the olive oil harvest... (This is rivaled in funniness by the Corcoran family, whose members were born predominantly in November.)

- Had one final meal at I'Toscano (via Guelfa 70r, Florence) and a final ice cream at Vivoli. Now they're closed for the August Holiday :-(.

- Apparently, between July 21 - Aug 21 is the hottest time of the year in Italy. Temperatures of 40 degrees C have seriously sabotaged my motivation to run...

Will post more about food later.

Tuscany's red light district (is nearby)

Along the state road between Ambra to Siena, there are five hookers.

They are only out during the daytime.
They are black women dressed like 7th grade girls at the mall.
They have clients from not only this area but also anyone who wants to take a detour on the highway from Florence to Rome.

After hearing about Tuscany’s underground sex trade, I thought Walter (Monica’s dad) and Fiorella (waitress) were joking. Since then, I’ve seen them three times.

First, coming back with Russ from the beach in Maremma, where we ate cantaloupe and peaches from a fruit stand for lunch, and I got a very strange tan. We saw two standing in the shade of a side road.

Second, returning from a daytrip with my parents. They were on the main road this time.

Third, returning from Norcia, the land of black truffles and embargo-breaking sales of Harry Potter. One of the women talking to—BARGAINING WITH—the driver of a stopped Mercedes station wagon.

“That’s the dangerous part,” Walter said when I told him about it later. “If the police see them then they’ll take away the car. Having sex in a car is illegal in Italy.”

Harry potter and the small italian mountain town

I GOT HARRY POTTER #7 EARLY! The lady at the Norcian bookstore told me not to tell anyone. "You like Harry Potter? You just lost five points," Marco said as I read it in the kitchen. Anyway, I finished it at 4AM this morning (a beautiful 120 minutes before the first copies go on sale in the US).

Yes, other things have been happening. Backdated posts will be up shortly...

How to watch the world go by

Venice is beautiful, and the best way to enjoy it is on the terrace of the Westin with a bottle of white wine, great company, and a book. If snack food doesn't fill you up, head over to La Boutique del Gelato for Vivoli-league ice cream, as a reasonable dinner is quite difficult to find. “Look over near Ponte Rialto,” one shopkeeper suggested. “At least they won’t poison you there.”

(Backdated, 23/07/07)

Try this. It's good.

A friend and I once had a debate over whether "Italian" food--like that served at V&T and Olive Garden--in the United States should be considered Italian or American at heart. He argued that since the basic ingredients (pasta) and ideas (tomato sauce) were inspired by Italian cuisine, it should be the former. I disagreed--pouring tomato sauce into a pot of drained spaghetti is a distinctly American idea. In any case, if the basis of our food taxonomy is whatever culture "inspired" it, then Italian cuisine would also have to include bologna, which is about as Italian as it is wholesome.

JAF, I doubt you read this blog, but one day you will see that you're wrong. About everything. Always.

Anyway, making pasta really delicious requires a different technique than simply dumping sauce on steaming noodles. In general: While cooking pasta in salted boiling water, add either butter or olive oil to a pan over medium heat. Add aromatics, and, if using, meat. Let cook. Add vegetables, salt, and pepper. When vegetables are almost cooked, add cooked pasta with a little bit of pasta water. Mix contents of pan (two goals here: spread flavors and emulsify starchy pasta water with butter/EVOO to make a sauce). Add chopped herbs. Sprinkle with cheese. Gloat.

As you can see, there's a lot of flexibility with the ingredients, but in general you always use some type of fat, salt, and pepper. Good combos:
Butter, sage, pancetta, and peas.
Butter, pecorino cheese, pepper.
Olive oil, garlic, tomato, basil.
Olive oil, shallots, and pecorino.
Olive oil, sausage, broccoli rabe, spinach.

Also: How to eat pasta

In case you were wondering

THEY WERE QUAIL!