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The Best Thing I Ate Today in Umbria Day 6

This morning we headed out on our little bus, driven by Claudio, to the outskirts of Montepulciano (home of the noble Italian wine by the same name). From there the bikers began their 24 kilometer ride for the day. The hikers headed off on a 6 kilometer trek, taking us through the tiny hamlet of Montichiello, where the plan was to stop and have a cappuccino, before continuing on for a further 3 kilometers.

We arrived in Montichiello, huffing and puffing (the last kilometer was almost entirely uphill!)

Leif got us seated at a charming outdoor café and went inside to get our drinks. Of course coffee means snacks, and he came out with some almond biscotti and these amazing little crispy cookies. I am not quite sure what gave them their crispy texture, but our best guess, after finishing off the entire platter, was cornflakes.

By day 6, our B&R guides were getting to know us quite well, but we still managed to leave Leif shaking his head in amazement this morning when we disappeared after coffee and managed to find the only clothing store in town. Actually, it was the only clothing store within a 25 kilometer radius, from this pastoral little hamlet. Hidden in a little alleyway, just downhill from the café, my sister-in-law managed to sniff out this shop. She has a nose for these kinds of things. Leif was inside paying for the coffee, when she came running back to the café, all excited, and dragged the rest of the women hikers back to the store with her. We spent a good 45 minutes inside that tiny shop, trying on nearly everything they had. I bought the most adorable grey embroidered fall coat (pictured on the left) and a long grey jersey skirt. The shop was filled with beautiful knits and gorgeous, very boho chic clothing. Think of Sienna Miller, Kate Moss and Mary Kate and Ashley and you get the idea. Layered knit dressing.

The boutique is called Madalisa and they have another branch in Pienza. The shop owner spoke no English, so Leif had to come in and translate for us. Imagine my surprise to discover that we were not the only group of women shoppers to succumb to his charms! Check out this YouTube video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOxMvQ-guyU

We hiked the last 3 kilometers of our journey, laden down with shopping bags, but we just pretended they were resistance weights to make our hike more efficient for our arm muscles!

As we rounded the last corner of our hike, we could smell our next stop, Podere Il Casale, before we could actually see it. Not surprising, given that we were about to visit a farm. But this was not your typical farm. Podere Il Casale is an organic farm, run by a very unusual family. Ulisse and Sandra moved to Tuscany from Switzerland over 20 years ago. Along with their five sons, the farm is home to pigs, sheep, cows, goats, a donkey, shepherd dogs, cats, bees and peacocks. They produce cheese, pasta, olive oil, honey and pasta.

The farm overlooks the Val d’Orica and has sweeping majestic views of Monte Amiata. On a clear day you can see all the way to Pienza.

Ulisse and Sandra are very passionate about the “Slow Food” movement. While we were having lunch, Sandra explained that the farm is a member of WWOOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms). This organization links volunteers with organic farmers, and helps people share more sustainable ways of living. In return for volunteer help, WWOOF hosts offer food, accommodation and opportunities to learn about organic lifestyles.

And lunch… what a feast. We had broccoli, tomatoes still warm from the vine that actually tasted like tomatoes, spicy marinated eggplant, roasted peppers glistening in the farm’s own olive oil, farro salad with carrots and sun-dried tomatoes, penne pasta, made here on the farm with tomato sauce, homemade charcuterie, five varieties of cheese and a local red wine that went down way too easily.

After lunch Ulisse gave us a cheese making demonstration. Dressed in a clean white tee shirt, white jeans and white rubber boots he reminded me of a Swiss Mr. Clean. The cheese making facility was even more spotless that Ulisse. He showed us how he heats sheep’s milk and then adds rennet to cause the proteins in the milk to coagulate. Right before our very eyes, we saw curds being formed as they separated from the whey, just like in Little Miss Muffet!

Rennet in case you were wondering is a complex of enzymes, produced in the stomach of all mammals to digest the mother’s milk. Just a warning to you, if anyone ever passes you a jar of rennet, DO NOT take a whiff. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

The curds are cut into larger pieces for the fresher younger cheeses and into smaller pieces for the cheeses that will age longer. The curds are then put into molds to compress them and continue draining. The leftover whey is treated to some citric acid and transformed into ricotta cheese. Any excess whey is fed to the pigs. Nothing is wasted on this farm. After draining for almost 24 hours, the cheeses are given a bath in salt water,. This helps dry out the surface of the cheese and creates the rind.

The wheels of cheese are given different treatments for aging. Some are wrapped in walnut leaves, to impart a nutty flavour to the cheese, others are wrapped in ash, and still others are wrapped in straw. Some are allowed to ferment with San Giovese grapes and the wine flavour seeps right into the cheese.

My favourite cheese of the day, of perhaps ever, was a 2 month old Pecorino, still fresh enough to be slightly creamy and with a nutty saltiness that almost made me swoon. If I close my eyes right now, I can still taste it. Definately a top candidate for the best thing I ate today

After the farm we visited the town of Montepulciano for a bit of retail therapy, and then it was onto dinner at La Frateria di Padre Eligio, a magical 13th Century Monastery, just outside the town of Cetona. It took over 17 years to lovingly and painstakingly renovate and restore this former monastery to its former glory. La Frateria was created to offer moments of tranquillity, reflection and peace to those who feel the need. It serves as a type of rehabilitation centre for young people dealing with drug, alcohol or other sorts of personal crises. Under the auspices of Mondo X, Padre Eligio restored this convent, and several others around the world, as a haven for those in need. It provides these troubled youths with the discipline of a community, which they so desperately need. They garden, bake, cook and clean.

We had aperitivo in a room which contained, for want of a better description, a walk in fireplace. It was huge! My husband, a card-carrying pyromaniac, was busy taking pictures and measurements, trying to figure out how we could build one at our house!

Accompanied by flutes of Prosecco, we feasted on wood-oven baked bread, olive and caper patè, preserves, salted meats, enormous wheels of local cheese and extra virgin olive oil milled by the young people using the original old stone millstones.

This minor feast was followed by a major feast in the dining room. We began with smoked salmon, followed by fragrant saffron risotto and then some tender pillows of homemade ravioli filled with local beans and a pesto sauce. I inhaled them before I had a chance to take a picture. So sorry, just got carried away! For secondi we had a choice between flaky white fish braised in Orvieto wine or Brasato Barolo (veal braised in Barolo wine).

The service was impeccable. The waiters would silently appear before you to refold your napkin, refill your water-glass or whisk away some imaginary crumbs, and then, just as quietly, slink away. It was slightly unnerving and just a little bit creepy. That being said, you have to admire what is being done here to turn around the lives of these troubled youths.

The bus ride back to Casali di Monticchio was, as you can imagine, silent, save for the occasional gentle snoring as most of us slipped into a carb and alcohol induced coma. We were rudely awakened about 10 minutes from the villa when Claudio slammed on his brakes to avoid hitting a giant wild boar. Ah, life in the Umbrian countryside.

Stay tuned for Day 7 when we visit Firenze (Florence) where our well-trained B&R guides almost lose their carefully crafted composure and we eat bread in the shape of a femur bone at one of the best restaurants I have ever had the pleasure of dining in!

The Best Thing I Ate Today In Umbria Day 5

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Today we hiked (and some of us actually braved the hills and biked) to Orvieto. What you need to know about this ancient Umbrian city, which dates back some 3000 years, to the Etruscan era, is that it is perched atop a soaring volcanic plateau. This hilltop town rises high above the green Umbrian valley floor. Needless to say, the hike into Orvieto was mainly uphill! But what a gorgeous scenic climb it was. The bikers took a picturesque 23 kilometer route into Orvieto. The hikers had about a 75 minute uphill climb.

Most tourists coming to Orvieto, go directly to the Duomo, the stunning Gothic Cathedral, sitting in the center of town. However, our group went immediately to the gelato shop. Clearly we have our priorities in order! Our guide Cameron had been telling us all about this artisanal gelateria on our hike into Orvieto. I think it was her virtual carrot to dangle in front of us to keep us climbing those hills. It worked!

Dolceamaro, located at 78 Corso Cavour, was a sight to behold. The gelato flavours were displayed in a spinning glass carousel. Gianduja (chocolate , hazelnut and almonds) cocomero (watermelon), stracciatella (an incredible italian version of chocolate chip) fragola (strawberry), caffe (coffee), liquirizia (black licorice), nocciola (hazelnut), cioccolato (chocolate), limone (lemon) and pesca (peach). I opted for the caffe which was very creamy and intensely coffee flavoured. Just the caffeine pick me up I needed. Cameron bought a few bags of cookies to put away for later when we would need to be coaxed to the next stop. One of the wonderful things about Butterfield and Robinson is that they adapt the itinerary to the group they are leading. These are not cookie cutter tours. Cameron clearly had us pegged very early on.

We met up with the bikers at the Duomo. An incredible example of Gothic architecture, it sits in the center of town, in the main square. The frescoes by Fra Angelico inside one of the chapels are truly breathtaking.

After the Duomo there was an opportuniuty to tour the labyrinth of caves and tunnels that lie below the city. The volcanic rock that the city is built on, known as tuft is quite soft. In the Etruscan era, the Noble families of the city had these tunnels constructed as a means of escape during times of siege. The exit from the tunnels was some distance away from the city walls and the wealthy were able to escape to safety. Several of my friends are a bit claustrophobic and did not want to visit the tunnels, so in the name of friendship, I sacrificed my opportunity to visit the underground world of Orvieto and shopped above ground instead. We got some great dried pastas and bottles of olive oil to take home.

When we were planning the trip and I looked at the first draft of the itinerary, I saw that after touring Orvieto we were scheduled to go to dinner at La Badia, a 12th Century renovated abbey nearby. I had imagined we would go back to our villa and shower and change before dinner. Everyone, especially the bikers really needed to shower. It was explained to me that the road to our villa was a long and bumpy 20 minutes off the main highway. If we were to go back to the villa after being out touring all day, chances are no one would want to climb back onto the bus for another bone jarring ride on the strada bianca (translated it means bumpy dirt road!). So my travel agent, Linda, had the brilliant idea of getting 2 hotel rooms (one for the girls and one for the boys) so everyone could shower and change before dinner.

On the ride over to the hotel Cameron pulled out the bag of cookies she had purchased earlier in the day and we all had a little pre-dinner snack (after all it would be at least an hour until we would be eating again!). Within one bite I knew I had found the best thing I had eaten all day. These were a rich crisp butter cookie scented with cinnamon and heavily studded with slivered almonds. I was ready to ask the bus to turn around and return to Dolceamaro in Orvieto so that I could buy several bags to take home, but knew that I would be quickly outvoted so I kept my mouth shut. I am going to try to recreate these at home because they were just so good.

We arrived at La Badia and all the men scurried off to their hotel room to shower and change. Oh to be a fly on the wall of that room! The 9 women hurried off to their hotel room. They had thoughtfully provided us with extra towels and soap. It was quite a sight to see all these grown women showering, applying make-up and dressing together in a tiny hotel room. it was like being back at sleepover camp. By some amazing miracle we were all fully showered, made-up and changed in 45 minutes. I like to say that we are all very low maintenance women. Some of our husbands may disagree.

The setting was just magical. They had originally planned to do our dinner in the outdoor courtyard, but it was too cool that evening, so we ate indoors. We had a wonderful dinner with lots of laughter. The gnocchi were outstanding, as was the steamed swiss chard (say… I do like swiss chard!!). However, I have to say that the almond cinnamon cookies were definitely the best thing I ate all day.

Stay tuned for Day 6 when we find some incredible shopping in the middle of nowhere (in the tiny hamlet of Montechiello), visit a family run organic farm and learn how to make cheese, and end up in Cetona, eating dinner at a 13th Century convent that now is now home to once troubled youths.

The Best Thing I Ate Today In Umbria Day 4

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Right after breakfast we left the villa and began an “easygoing walk along country roads, toward Cantina Scambia, a local winery.” Well, at least that’s how it was described in our itinerary. We enlisted the services of Butterfield and Robinson, a Toronto based active travel company that specialize in hiking and biking trips all over the world. Their motto is, “Slow down to see the world.” They helped us to custom design our Umbria trip. Our group of 18 ran the gamut from biking enthusiasts who regularly cycle 50-60 kilometers at a time to total couch potatoes (you know who you are!!!). Most of us were comfortably somewhere in between those two extremes.

Today, all 18 of us would be hiking to the winery. They promised an easy downhill hike. Our guides, Cameron and Leif, looked like they came right out of an ad for clean healthy living. Both were American and had spent a considerable amount of time living in Italy. They were personable, funny and interesting to talk to. They seemed so honest and trustworthy. However, looks can be deceiving. They turned out to be liars. This easygoing hike was over 12 kilometers and although mostly downhill, there were a few killer uphills thrown in for fun. Almost all the group managed to hike the entire way. Leif hiked with us and Cameron drove the “Van of Shame” (as one friend nicknamed it). Cameron only had to pick up one or two stragglers.

All kidding aside, it was a beautiful walk. The scenery was rural, pastoral and so serene. Rolling hills, open fields of wheat and sheep. Oh, and there was also a wild boar sighting! Umbria’s nickname is “The Green Heart of Italy.”

We straggled into the winery some 2 hours later. Shocking that upon our immediate arrival at the winery most of us were more excited to see the bottles on the left, rather than those on the right.

The Pinot Nero at Cantina Scambia has received worldwide recognition. The vineyard has been family owned since 1977. They winery extends over 600 acres and there are 3 cellars. One cellar has modern equipment and the other two cellars use more traditional methods. We had a chance to visit the cellars and see and taste !

After the winery tour we were wined and dined in grand style. They were most gracious and generous hosts. While everything was delicious, somehow it was the grapes that I will remember for a very long time. Biting into them released a sweetness like no other I have ever tasted. They were tiny in size but mighty in flavour. The firmness and crunch as I bit into them surprised me. I expected them to be softer. I wanted to take home big bunches of these unbelievable grapes.

Mercifully, we lumbered into the van with Claudio for the ride back to the villa. Time for a quick shower and nap and then we had to prepare for the big birthday celebration. We all gathered in the billiards room at 6:00 for a “surprise”. Laid out on the pool table were medieval costumes for all. We all scurried off to change. Not surprisingly, most of the men needed a short tutorial on the best way to put on their tights. I needed some assistance from my ladies in waiting to lace up the back of my gown.

We had our Aperitivo in the wine cellar and then were led, by drummers and flagmen to dinner.

Possibly one of the best things I ate all day (aside from those grapes that I’m still dreaming about!), was Pecorino cheese from Pienza, with a slice of pear and drizzled with Acacia honey made at our villa. I brought home some of that cheese and served it at our Rosh Hashanah lunch with apples and honey.

Stay tuned for Day 5 when we hike and bike to the ancient Etruscan city of Orvieto. See what happens when 9 women cram into a single hotel room to shower and change for dinner. The outcome of this adventure may surprise you.

The Best Thing I Ate Today in Umbria – Day 3

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I recently took an incredible trip to the Italian region of Umbria. My initial plan was to blog each day I was away, about the best thing I had eaten that day. There is an old Yiddish proverb “Mentsch tracht, Gott lacht”, which roughly translated means, “Man plans, God laughs.”

In case you missed it, the trip started out like this. And then once we finally arrived, a huge thunderstorm knocked out internet service at the villa we were staying at. And, to be quite honest, I was so naive in thinking I could actually choose “The best thing I ate all day.” It was more like the best 10 things I ate today. It became somewhat of a joke among our group of 18. Each time I was about to put something in my mouth, I had to stop and take a photo, and ask myself, “Could this possibly be the best thing I will eat today?”

Needless to say, I did not blog daily. So here is my attempt to summarize our journey.

We finally landed in Rome around midnight, local time. We were met by our driver for the week, a very sweet man named Claudio, and we squeezed our luggage into the mini bus. Our group of 10 from Ottawa had 30 suitcases in total. We are not what you would call light packers. As my daughter says, “I like to have options.”

Our 2 hour drive to “Casali di Monticchio” began. It was smooth sailing on the autostrada for the first part of the trip. But then, we got off the main highway and began a series of climbs, twists and turns through some tiny towns and very narrow roads. It did not inspire confidence to see Claudio make a u-turn and then turn on his reading light and read the directions while driving. The last 20 minutes of the trip were on what is known as a “Strada Bianca”, or “white road. This is the Italian equivalent of a North American gravel dirt road, only with white gravel. Finally, after 20 bone jarring minutes, Claudio pulled into an unmarked driveway, turned off the engine and announced, “Well… if we are not lost, then… we are here.”

And indeed, at 2:00 am, we had arrived. A ghostly apparition in white floated down the steps from the main house to greet us. It was a little spooky, until I realized it was only my sister-in-law, in her nightgown. She had arrived that morning with the other 7 guests from Toronto. She is so sweet, she stayed up, with another friend, to greet us. Out group was not yet tired as it was only 8:00 pm Ottawa time. The owner of our villa, Liria and her daughter Joanna, were there to greet us as well. And what a warm welcome it was.They made us feel like we were guests in their home. They had put out a platters of snacks for us and glasses of welcome Prosecco. We felt very welcome.

We fell asleep almost immediately after our heads hit our 600 thread count Egyptian cotton pillow cases. The next morning, we got up to explore the place. Casali di Monticchio was lovingly restored by Liria Costantino in 2004. When you talk to her about the restoration, her eyes light up as she explains all the hard work and attention to detail that went into the renovation. (not to mention the money!). This stunning relais is set high in the hills close to the border between Tuscany and Umbria. There is a 360° view of the rolling Umbrian hills all the way across to Orvieto. The setting is blissfully remote and serene.

The interior of the place is every bit as beautiful as the setting. Liria’s attention to detail and taste in interior design is impeccable. The fabrics and furnishings chosen create a very intimate environment. The road to Monticchio may be a bit on the rough side, but once you arrive, it’s worth every bump!

For breakfast we started with greek yogurt, berries and the most incredible granola. Joanna, the owner’s daughter took orders for morning drinks. Within a few minutes she amazingly produced Cappuccino, Lattes, Espresso and Cafe Americanos for all. Then out came a huge platter of scrambled eggs, provided by the chickens from the villa’s very own chicken coop.

We spent the morning lounging by the pool and then the bell for lunch rang.

The table on the outdoor patio was set for lunch. We started with an appetizer of roasted red peppers and Romanesco broccoli, with a traditional Piedmont sauce known as Bagna Cauda. (pronounced Banya Cauda) The literal translation is “hot bath”. And indeed, the vegetables were bathed in a warm coating of the most delicious sauce imaginable. Upon questioning Liria, we learned that the sauce is made with olive oil, garlic, cloves, anchovy paste and cream! I practically licked my plate.

That was followed by rigatoni with a light tomato tuna sauce.

The rest of the afternoon was passed in a jet lagged, carb induced coma by the pool. The tranquil silence was disturbed only by the sound of gentle snoring and bees buzzing. They make their own honey at Casali di Monticchio (of course they do!)

That night I learned a wonderful new Italian word, Aperitivo. Aperitivo are pre-dinner drinks accompanied by appetizers. Derived from the Latin aperitivus, to open, aperitivo is meant to stimulate the appetite and tease the taste buds, previewing the delights of dinner. We had Aperitivo in the wine cellar of the villa. Liria had arranged a wine tasting of 3 local wines for us. It was accompanied by pecorino romano cheese and prosciutto. Dinner of beef slowly braised in red wine followed. Dessert was chocolate cups filled with whipped ricotta cheese.

Best thing I ate today… Bagna Cauda sauce.

We convinced Liria to teach us how to make Bagna Cauda. Of course, she does not measure anything, so some guess-work was required on my part.

Click here to print the recipe for Bagna Cauda.

It begins with olive oil, chopped garlic and Liria’s secret ingredient, whole cloves, simmering in a pot. Then she adds anchovy paste and lots of cream and, to quote Liria, “love and patience.” The mixture is simmered over low heat for about 2 hours, until the cream and oil come together and you have a thick sauce. Liria says it is important to stir constantly the entire time. There were 5 of us taking the cooking class from her, so we took turns stirring. She told us that there is actually a kitchen machine that will heat and stir a sauce for you! What will they think of next?

Stay tuned for Day 4 when we take an “easygoing” 12 kilometer hike to Cantina Scambia, a local winery, then return back to the villa for a very special birthday celebration!

A Very Sweet New Year with Caramel Chocolate Dipped Apples

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I know that in my last post, I promised a daily update on “The Best Thing I Ate Today”, while travelling through Umbria, Italy. Unfortunately, the internet service at our villa was knocked out by a tremendous thunderstorm and so I was unable to blog daily. I promise to post about the trip very soon. But in the meantime, a very sweet post!

Tonight at sundown the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) begins. On Rosh Hashanah, we traditionally dip apples in honey in order to symbolize our wishes for a sweet year for family, friends and all the Jewish people. While this explanation makes sense, I wondered why specifically apples and honey? Why not bananas dipped into maple syrup? (Hmmm, I see a new recipe developing).

In researching this question, I came upon an interesting explanation on the website torah.org. The insight they offered, regarding the apple part of the equation, goes like this: “On most fruit trees the leaves appear before the fruit, thus providing a protective cover for the young fruit. The apple, however, makes a preemptive move by appearing before the leaves. The Jewish people are compared to an apple because we are willing to live out our Jewish lives even if this seems to leave us unprotected. We have confidence that God and the instructions in the Torah could never mislead us.”

They explained the choice of honey with this insight: “A bee can inflict pain by its sting, yet it also produces delicious honey. Life has this same duality of potential. We pray that our choices will result in a sweet year.”

While I love apples, honey has never been a favourite of mine. Honey cake can be found on many Rosh Hashanah dessert tables. But not mine. This year I decided to do a twist on the apples dipped in honey. I dipped my apples in caramel sauce and then melted chocolate. Then I covered some of them in mini m&m’s, some in salted chopped peanuts and the rest in skor bits. A sweet new year indeed!

This caramel sauce contains the usual ingredients of butter, brown sugar and corn syrup. However, where it gets interesting is the addition of small amounts of maple syrup and molasses. These 2 ingredients, while small in quantity add a wonderful dimension and depth of flavour to the caramel. A candy thermometer is needed to make these.

Wishing you all a sweet and healthy new year!

To print the recipe for Caramel Apples Dipped in Chocolate, click here.

The Best Thing I Ate Today in Umbria: Days 1 and 2

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Yesterday afternoon we left our house in Ottawa on a purple Party Bus with 8 friends to drive
to the Montreal Airport to catch the night flight to Rome. We were meeting up with 8 more friends in Umbria for a 10 day Italian hiking and biking adventure. I thought I would chronicle the journey by reporting each day about the best thing I ate that day.

At 7:00 pm we boarded a Boeing 767 jet at the Montreal airport to fly away on our adventure. Fast forward to Friday morning, 9:45 when
we boarded a Boeing 767 jet at the Montreal airport to fly away on our grand adventure. WHAT????

No, this is not a mind bending thriller about 10 friends who find themselves in a time labyrinth, where each day they wake to the same terrifying day as the preceding one. It’s just an extraordinary tale about modern-day travel gone awry.

On Thursday night, just after everyone was settled into their seats, the airplane door closed and we all fastened our seatbelts. Suddenly, a loud whooshing noise erupted from the front of the plane. It sounded like all the air was being sucked out of the aircraft, smoke was rising and the flight attendant began screaming , “Evacuate your seats, move back, move back|!” People started running towards the back of the plane and we watched in horror as, what looked like a giant air bag, began to inflate and fill the entire galley kitchen of the plane.

And then all was quiet. Then the pilot’s voice broke through the silence to inform the stunned passengers what had happened. Apparently the emergency exit chute accidentally inflated. He asked us all to sit tight while he radioed his supervisors about next steps. Then the cell phones began flashing as all assembled attempted to document this happening.

We were asked to deplane and await further instructions. Within 10 minutes all the passengers were lining up at the boarding gate again. We joined the line, excited to be on our way again. When we got to the front of the line we were handed what looked like a boarding card. Upon closer examination we discovered that they were meal vouchers so that we could eat dinner at the airport while waiting for them to repair the plane. We all naively believed that they could just stuff the giant inflatable slide back into it’s cupboard and we’d be on our way.

We soon discovered that the exploding giant slide had rendered the plane unflyable and would cost probably $50,000 to repair. They told us that they would have a replacement plane for the next morning. We were instructed to collect our luggage, clear customs and then line up again for hotel vouchers.

Are you kidding me? Clear customs? We never left the country! So. once again we lined up and told our sad tale of woe to the customs agents and then trudged over to the airport Marriott to sleep. Little did I know that the best thing I ate all day would be the Sea Salt Miss Vickies potato chips I ate on the purple party bus.

Fast forward to the next day. I am writing this on the plane as we wing our way across the Atlantic. I told the flight attendant about our trip and my plan to blog everyday about the very best thing I ate that day. I think he felt sorry for me about the late start to our journey, because the next thing I knew he brought me a second bowl of cashews and roasted almonds. Definitely the best thing I ate all day. They were warm, fresh, crunchy and salty.

Just about to touch down in Rome, so I will be back tomorrow, hopefully with something incredible to report on culinarily speaking.

Peach Pie with Spelt Crust

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I finally paid off a debt that had been owing for almost 27 years. I know how terrible that sounds. But let me explain. You see, I owed my husband a peach pie, well 4 peach pies if we’re going to be accurate. In the summer of 1984, I accidentally left the door of our freezer slightly ajar. It was not until several days later that I discovered what I had done. Aside from having to throw out several hundred dollars worth of kosher meat and some mushy peas, it was not really that big a deal, in the overall scheme of life’s big tragedies. Until I realized, that at the bottom of that freezer chest were the last peach pies my late mother-in-law had baked for my husband. In the summer of 1983, she had baked him 12 peach pies, to be frozen and enjoyed over the long winter. Unfortunately, she became ill and passed away in March of 1984. At that time we still had 4 peach pies left in the freezer. My husband could not bring himself to eat those last pies. They were to live in our freezer in perpetuity, sort of a frozen tribute to his mom.

I felt terrible and baked some peach pies right away to make up for the horrible mistake I made. He ate the pies but not with great joy. He smiled, said they were good, but I could tell that they just didn’t measure up to hims mom’s pies. Eventually I gave up because her damn pies grew more incredible with each passing year and I knew I could never bake anything to that would live up to that sainted memory.

I baked crisps, crumbles, grunts, cookies,biscotti, brownies, blondies, cakes, tarts, galettes, scones, hamentashen, rugelach, macarons and 43 kinds of bread, but never another peach pie… until this week, that is. I guess at some deep subconscious level, I still felt guilty about it. Plus, I wanted to show him how much I appreciate him. I mean, how many husbands take the time and care to roll towels for the bathroom like this? Plus, he has the fine motor skills of a surgeon and untangles my necklaces in 2 seconds flat. He always reads the instruction manuals and just last week he figured out how to get the new tamper proof cap off my toothpaste. How could I not bake this awesome guy a peach pie?

Peaches were at their early fall glory this week at our market.

I decided not to use his mom’s recipe but made a spelt crust instead, from Kim Boyce’s “Good to the Grain”. This dough uses a combination of all-purpose and spelt flours. The spelt flour adds a creamy colour and a nutty flavour to the dough. Kim uses a method known as fraisage to ensure a flaky crust. Kim explains how it works, “…you smear pea-sized pieces of fat into the flour to create alternating layers of dough and fat. During baking, the fat melts, creating steam that lifts up the layers of dough, creating a very flaky pastry.”

The peaches do need to be peeled, which adds an extra step, but is not difficult. An “X” is cut into the bottom of each peach and then they are slipped into boiling water for about 30 seconds. The skin slips off very easily after this.

The peaches are macerated with sugar for about half an hour and then the juices are strained off. I mixed in about 1/4 cup of Minute Tapioca for thickening, a tip I learned about from Cook’s Illustrated. Minute Tapioca is virtually flavorless, readily dissolves into the fruit’s exuded juices, and has a neutral texture, exhibiting none of the pastiness of flour or cornstarch. It can be found in the baking section of the supermarket.

After the top crust goes on, Kim recommends a 45 minute rest in the freezer (for the pie, not you!) to chill the dough and prevent shrinkage. Then the pie gets egg washed and sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar.

After an hour in the oven, this emerges.

The pie was met with much joy! The gesture was greatly appreciated and if he compared it to his mom’s pie, I certainly didn’t hear it, as his mouth was too full of pie. Flaky crust, just a bit nutty from the addition of spelt flour and juicy filling, dripping down your chin, just like when you eat a really ripe peach. Really all you could ask for in a peach pie. I think my debt has been finally paid off. What will I feel guilty about now?

Click here to print the recipe for Peach Pie.

Frozen Lemon Mint Vodka Mojito

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Ok, so Sept 1 is probably not the ideal time to be posting about frozen lemon mint mojitos. I mean, come on you slackers, it’s back to school, back to work, time to clean out your closets , dust those summer cob webs off your brain and get serious about life again. On the other hand, maybe just one more mojito and then we can get serious about life again. After all, we still have Labout Day weekend coming up, so summer is not quite officially over yet.

The inspiration for this drink came from a popular non-alcoholic Israeli beverage. Ice, lemonade and mint are blended into a slushy brain freeze inducing concoction known as Limonata. In 2009 I had the good fortune of visiting Israel 4 times. My daughter was spending the year there and, what can I say, one of us had terrible separation anxiety issues! Each time I visited I would drink a Limonata and think to myself, “Oh, this would be so good with some vodka!” Then I would get home and forget all about it. Perhaps too much vodka?

Last weekend my sister, brother-in-law and kids were visiting at the cottage. My brother-in-law (I’ll just call him Mr B.) is a blender virtuoso. I do believe he might have been a professional mixologist in his past life. it was cocktail hour and we were looking around the kitchen for something to create. The day before we made Bellinis and I could just tell that Mr. B. was a bit disappointed with that choice. Too pedestrian and ordinary. He was itching to create.

My sister had prepared a batch of simple syrup earlier in the day and it was chilling in the fridge. I looked in the freezer and unearthed a bottle of Lemon vodka that my son and his friends had not yet discovered. Suddenly I remembered the Limonata and we got busy creating. I squeezed some lemons, chopped some mint and we were on our way.

When I handed Mr. B. a measuring cup and asked him if he would mind keeping track of quantities, he got that wounded look on his face, like when his sainted Toronto Maple Leafs lose to the Ottawa Senators. Measuring is not in the lexicon of a culinary creative genius. When I explained to him that I wanted to feature him and the drink in my blog and that I needed to provide an exact recipe to my readers he perked up a bit and forgave me for my slight. He was excited to be featured in Salt and Serenity!

Our first batch was a bit too tart. The second batch, not quite enough mint. We hit perfection on the third batch. I’m warning you, these go down mighty quickly!

Click here to print the recipe for Frozen Lemon Vodka Mint Mojito.

Battle Corn Chowder vs. Corn Vichysoisse

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I have been meaning to post about corn soup for a few weeks now but some tomatoes and blueberries got in my way! In a battle of epic proportions (well, epic in my mind anyways!), I pitted the legendary champion, Cook’s Illustrated against fledgling culinary newcomer Gwyneth Paltrow. Yes, that Gwyneth Paltrow. Academy Award winning actress, singer, wife of Coldplay rocker Chris Martin, mother to Apple and Moses and possessor of gorgeous hair. She recently released a cookbook called “My Father’s Daughter.”

Here’s how this battle came about. When the July 2011 issue of Cook’s Illustrated came out I quickly leafed through it to see what caught my eye. I was stopped dead in my tracks by a recipe for corn chowder. You see, I love corn chowder. I used to make an incredible one, using Imagine Organic Creamy Sweet Corn Soup as the base for the soup. But then the company went and changed the formulation of the product. They slapped a big “New and Improved Taste” banner right on the front of the box! Yeah right! New maybe, but improved? Only if you happen love the taste of dirty dishwater!

So imagine my joy when I found a new corn chowder recipe. I was all set to make the Cook’s Illustrated recipe when I came across a second corn soup, a cold corn vichysoisse in the July issue of Bon Appetit Magazine. This recipe was created by Gwyneth herself, from her new cookbook, “My Father’s Daughter.” Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you will undoubtedly have seen Gwynnie making the rounds on all the daytime talk shows, promoting her book.

She has very sweet and touching memories of cooking together with her dad, and this book is a sort of tribute to her late father (Bruce Paltrow). It is a cookbook that celebrates family and togetherness. And try as you might to hate her, because she seems so perfect, she admits that her quest for perfection comes from self-doubt and insecurity. And who can’t relate to that? And I must admit, I was intrigued. After spending all that time in Spain with Mario Batali and Mark Bittman, I wanted to see what she had learned.

To be honest, I fully expected to prefer the corn chowder from Cook’s Illustrated over the corn vichysoisse from Gwyneth. To level the playing field, I immediately omitted the bacon from the Cook’s version. After all, it wouldn’t really be a fair fight if only one side got to use bacon. Everything always tastes better with bacon. And besides, we keep kosher at home, so bacon would be a big no-no in my kitchen.

I made the corn chowder from Cook’s first. They used an intriguing method of stripping the corn from the cob. Fisrt. going over it lightly with a sharp knife to remove just the kernels and then going over the cob again with the back of a table knife to remove all the pulp. Then they instruct you to put all the pulp into a clean tea towel and wring it out. The liquid that comes out from the towel is referred to as the “corn liquor” and apparently it is what gives the final soup its bright fresh CORN flavour.

The corn chowder from Cook’s Illustrated was very good, although I expected a brighter corn flavour, and to be honest, I thought the half and half cream kind of muddied the fresh corn taste I was expecting. Then I made Gwyneth’s vichysoisse. She suggests throwing the stripped corn cobs into the pot, while the soup is simmering, to add extra flavour, sort of like the vegetarian version of chicken bones I guess. The recipe calls for good quality vegetable stock. I used homemade vegetable stock, a fabulous roasted vegetable stock courtesy of Mark Bittman. I was blown away by the pure corn essence of this soup. Sweet and silky and tasting of pure late summer. Folks, we have a winner in battle Corn Soup.

You can serve it chilled with a dollop of sour cream or heat it up and just garnish it with some chopped chives. I liked it best hot.

Final score: Gwyneth 1 and Cook’s Illustrated 0.

I have adapted Gwyneth’s recipe by adding jalapeño, thyme and a bay leaf. I also added some fresh corn kernels after pureeing to give a bit of crunch.

Click here to print the recipe for Corn Vichyssoise

Click here to print the recipe for Roasted Vegetable Stock.

And, if you’re keen to create your own Battle Corn Soup at home,

Click here to print recipe for Cook’s Illustrated Corn Chowder.

Marcella Hazan’s Genius Tomato Sauce

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So, it’s been 12 days since my last post, and lest you (Cousin Mark) think I have been slacking off, and not cooking, nothing could be further from the truth. The problem is that I have been cooking so much, there is no time left over for blogging. It’s summer at the cottage and that means lots of company, and way too much eating and drinking and fun. But, today is a rainy Sunday, and there is a lull in the activity, so I’m back to work!

I was planning to write a post all about corn, specifically corn chowder. But, then I made this:

And after that, it’s all I could think about. I was like a junkie, worrying about getting my next fix. I actually licked out the pot. This recipe has been around since 1973 but somehow it had never entered my sphere of consciousness. I am certainly not the first food blogger to write about this sauce. Jaden at Steamy Kitchen blogged about after meeting Marcella and Viktor Hazan . Deb over at Smitten Kitchen loved it best unadulterated without any grated cheese over the top. It came to Molly’s attention over at Orangette in 2007.

Thanks to the incredible crew at Food52, my life has been enriched immensely with the knowledge of this recipe. Every Wednesday, Food 52 unearths a recipe that they deem “Genius”. Columnist Kristen Miglore explains:

“There are good recipes, and great ones — and then there are genius recipes. Genius recipes surprise us and make us rethink cooking tropes. They’re handed down by luminaries of the food world and become their legacy. They get us talking and change the way we cook. And, once we’ve folded them into our repertoires, they make us feel pretty genius

Now you may be wondering, what is so genius about tomato sauce. But, I’m telling you, there is something akin to alchemy when these 3 simple ingredients come together. Just tomatoes (fresh or canned), 1 onion and 5 tablespoons of butter. That’s it! The first time I looked at the recipe I thought there was a mistake.

Where were the garlic, the olive oil, the oregano, and the basil? And, this is the part where you will have to take a leap of faith and just trust me; yes you must put in all 5 tablespoons of butter that this recipe calls for. Do not skimp on the butter, or even think about substituting margarine. I will find out about it and hunt you down!

I know that 5 tablespoons of butter seems like an ungodly amount for a tomato sauce. But if you do the math (and you don’t have to, I have done it for you – no need to thank me, it’s what I’m here for), you will se that this recipe makes enough sauce to feed 6 people. One tablespoon of butter contains 100 calories, so that makes 500 calories in butter for this recipe. But divide that by 6 and each person is only getting a measly 2 1/2 teaspoons or 82 calories from butter. A small indulgence when you consider the flavour payoff.

In what seems like a culinary sleight of hand, these three simple ingredients create a thick, full flavoured velvety sauce. It is pure and rich and luxurious. The butter gives a soft creamy note while at the same time tempers the acidity of the tomato. The onion adds a slight savory note, just hidden in the background of this sauce.

I added an additional step and pureed the sauce with a hand-held stick blender. I served it with Paccheri, a large hollow pasta, similar to rigatoni but bigger. It sort of resembles short pieces of a garden hose.
I finished it off with some grated Parmesan.

Just in case you don’t follow my advice and make this sauce right now while tomatoes are at their peak, you can still make this sauce in the winter with canned Italian plum tomatoes. You will thank me profusely.

Salt and Serenity

Tales from my kitchen