briciole

composta di pesche a modo mio

peach compote my way
[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

La stagione delle pesche (peach season) is here and my CSA box had some white ones last week and some yellow ones this week, together with other fruit. I am, in fact, a shareholder of a mostly fruit CSA. Neukom Family Farms is famous for its organic peaches. Until last year, I had been buying them at the farmers' market, after standing in line and sometimes going away empty handed, because they were sold out. This year, I will get them in my weekly box.

My first creative use of the weekly share of peaches (pesche in Italian, singular pesca) has been in a compote (composta), a dish I had been wanting to try for a while, variously defined as a dish of fruit cooked in syrup. I looked at a couple of recipes (for example, this one) and decided to follow the procedure, but use less sugar. The first time I tried my own version, I used a tablespoon of honey for a pound of peaches (weighed before cutting) and the response from my quality assurance department (a.k.a. my husband) was: too sweet. The second time, I used a teaspoon of honey and followed a different procedure, adapting to my purpose some steps of a recipe for Peach Preserves in the book Preserving the Taste by Edon Waycott.

I sliced a pound of ripe peaches and marinated them for a couple of hours with a teaspoon of lavender honey (miele), then poured them in a colander placed over a bowl to catch the juice. After 15 minutes or so, I poured the juice (a quarter cup) in a saucepan, and added two teaspoons of freshly-squeezed orange juice. I happened to have oranges and liked the idea of orange juice (otherwise, I would have used lemon juice). I brought the juice to the boil and let it thicken for a couple of minutes, then poured the peach slices and the additional few drops of juice in the pan. I brought them to the boil and let them cook for 10 minutes, at a lively simmer (to reduce the juice).

I turned off the heat and let the peaches cool before serving them for breakfast (colazione), with yogurt. The quality assurance department was very pleased. I have already made this composta a modo mio twice and will make it again during this peach season. I realized that I changed the definition of compote to read "fruit cooked in its own juice," so maybe I should abandon the name compote and adopt a new one for my dish: do you have any suggestions?

Hear me pronounce the words on the composta di pesche a modo mio audio file [mp3] or go to the composta di pesche a modo mio audio page for more listening options.

Per i lettori italiani. È arrrivata la stagione delle pesche e ho cominciato a riceverle nella mia cassetta settimanale della CSA della quale sono membra (community-supported agriculture: vedi il post che ho scritto per francescav. Sono membra anche di un'altra CSA, che fornisce farine e cereali). L'azienda agricola è famosa per le sue pesche a coltivazione biologica (hanno anche altri prodotti). Fino alla scorsa stagione le ho comprate al mercatino dei produttori dopo aver fatto la fila ed è capitato che arrivassi troppo tardi.

Il primo uso creativo delle pesche è stato in una composta, ricetta che avevo in mente di provare da tempo. La definizione di composta nel vocabolario è: frutta mista cotta in sciroppo di zucchero. Ho consultato un paio di ricette e poi ho deciso di seguire la procedura, usando meno zucchero. Per il primo tentativo della mia versione della composta ho usato un cucchiaio (15 ml) di miele per 450 g di pesche (pesate prima di mondarle). Il responso del mio reparto di controllo della qualità (cioè mio marito) è stato: troppo dolce. La seconda volta ho usato un cucchiaino (5 ml) di miele e ho seguito una procedura diversa, adattando al mio proposito alcuni passaggi della ricetta per Conserva di pesche dal libro Preserving the Taste di Edon Waycott.

Ho tagliato a fette 450 g di pesche e le ho fatte marinare per un paio d'ore con un cucchiaino (5 ml) di miele di lavanda. Poi le ho versate su un colino sopra una ciotola per raccogliere il succo. Dopo un quarto d'ora ho versato il succo (circa 60 ml) in una pentola bassa e ho aggiunto due cucchiaini (10 ml) di succo d'arancia fresco (avevo in casa delle buone arance e l'idea mi piaceva di più del succo di limone, ma avrei usato quest'ultimo se non avessi avuto le arance).

Ho portato ad ebollizione il succo e l'ho fatto addensare per un paio di minuti, poi ho versato nella pentola le pesche insieme al succo scolato nel frattempo e le ho portate ad ebollizione. Le ho cotte per 10 minuti a fuoco vivace per ridurre il succo. Ho spento il fuoco e ho fatto intiepidire le pesche prima di servirle per colazione insieme a dello yogurt.

La mia composta di pesche è piaciuta molto al mio reparto di controllo della qualità. L'ho rifatta già due volte e credo che la rifarò ancora finché dura la stagione delle pesche. Mi rendo conto di aver cambiato la definizione di composta in "frutta cotta nel suo succo," quindi forse dovrei adottare un nuovo nome per le mie pesche: avete qualche suggerimento?

un weekend in montagna

a weekend in the mountains
[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

I spent the last a weekend completely offline in a nice corner of California called Alpine County, the least inhabited county in the state: "as of the 2000 census, it had a population of 1,208." Its total area is 465,030 acres (726.6 sq. mi.) and 96% of land is public. The Central Sierra Nevada is the dominant land feature. Alpine County is a great destination in every season.

On Saturday morning, we arrived at the Carson Pass Information Station of the Eldorado National Forest, and secured a campsite for the night (they are few and are allocated on a first-come-first-served basis). Then we drove to Upper Blue Lake to kayak there. In the afternoon, we hiked to Fourth of July Lake. This is one of our favorite hikes. You start at Carson Pass and visit four lakes: Frog, Winnemucca, Round Top and Fourth of July. It is a well-known trail and is particularly frequented during the wildflower blooming season. We were early this year, but you can see some photos I took in season three years ago in this album, and some late summer photos from the previous year in this album. Being early meant that we hiked over snow (neve) in some parts. The trail goes from about 8,650 ft at Carson Pass to about 9,300 ft at Round Top Lake, then drops to about 8,200 ft at Fourth of July Lake.

We arrived at our campsite (a space to set up our tent in view of the lake) in time for dinner. This being bear country, our food was stored inside a bear can. Our repast consisted of organic soup from a carton (the two-cup packaging with a spout is great for camping), bread and homemade cheese (pane e formaggio fatto in casa), and biscotti for dessert.

The cheese was a Stirred-curd Cheddar to which I added, as I was spooning the curds into the press, toasted caraway seeds (semi di carvi, o cumino tedesco). The cheese aged three months: I love the way my little experiment tastes. I always bring my biscotti when we hike or kayak: I call them the best energy bars ever. I also had some of the blueberry scones I had baked on Friday. They made a great breakfast on Sunday morning. Fresh fruit (frutta fresca) and some bittersweet chocolate completed the food provisions. In terms of drinks, I brought some black tea for myself and coffee for my husband, together with our precious one-cup stovetop coffee pot.

After packing up our belongings, on Sunday morning we hiked back to Carson Pass. The photo shows Fourth of July Lake from the trail on our way back up to Round Top. Some of the beautiful wildflowers that grace the trail have started to bloom, as you can see in the photo. We had lunch (cheese and roasted red beet hummus sandwiches) on the shore of Lake Winnemucca. Back to the car, we drove to Sorensen's, the resort in Hope Valley where we spent Sunday night. I have a special attachment to this place. My husband introduced me to it during my first visit to California (December 1993) and I fell in love with it. If you follow the link, you'll see a photo of the cabin where we stayed that first time and of how it looked when we were there. We have visited the resort many times since, at different times of the year.

After a short rest, we drove to Caples Lake for a late afternoon paddle (photo on the right). It was a bit breezy, but absolutely beautiful and quiet, a nice closing scene for the weekend. More information on Alpine County, its interesting history, and its offers to visitors is available on this site.

Hear me pronounce the words on the un weekend in montagna audio file [mp3] or go to the un weekend in montagna audio page for more listening options.

Per i lettori italiani. Vi presento un angolo di California che si chiama Alpine County. La contea dello stato con il minor numero di abitanti (solo 1208 nell'anno 2000) si trova nella zona centrale della Sierra Nevada, a sud del Lago Tahoe ed è una zona bella da visitare durante tutto l'anno.

Sabato mattina siamo arrivati alla stazione di Carson Pass (parte della Eldorado National Forest) e ci siamo assicurati il permesso di campeggio (i posti sono molto limitati e senza prenotazione). Il sentiero che parte dalla stazione porta a quattro laghetti: Frog, Winnemucca, Round Top e infine Fourth of July (foto in alto a sinistra), sulle cui rive abbiamo montato la nostra tenda. La piazzola non ha alcun servizio: è solo uno spazio riservato.

Il sentiero è famoso perché in estate è pieno di fiori. Quest'anno siamo arrivati un po' in anticipo, ma potete vedere delle foto di tre anni fa su questo album. Su quest'altro album ci sono alcune immagini scattate nella tarda estate, quando le foglie dei pioppi tremuli cambiano colore. Comunque un po' di fiori li abbiamo visti (vedi foto). Essendo in anticipo sulla stagione, abbiamo camminato in parte sulla neve. Il sentiero parte da circa 2600 m (Carson Pass), sale a circa 2850 m (Round Top Lake), poi scende a circa 2500 m (Fourth of July Lake).

Domenica siamo tornati indietro a Carson Pass e con l'auto siamo andati da Sorensen's, in Hope Valley, dove abbiamo passato la notte. Mio marito mi ha portato qui la prima volta che sono venuta in California, un Dicembre di un po' di anni fa. Quella volta abbiamo dormito nella casetta che si chiama Snowshoe Thompson e tutt'intorno c'era la neve, proprio come nella foto che si vede se seguite il link. Ci siamo poi tornati tante volte, in diversi periodi dell'anno, e abbiamo soggiornato in altre casette. Nel tardo pomeriggio siamo andati in kayak su Caples Lake (foto a destra): c'era un po' di vento, ma praticamente avevamo il lago (artificiale) tutto per noi.

Spero che abbiate gradito questo piccolo assaggio di un pezzetto meno conosciuto, ma molto bello della California. Maggiori informazioni su Alpine County le trovate su questo sito e naturalmente potete farmi tutte le domande che volete.

scone

I first tasted a scone the second time I was in England to study. It was accompanied with jam and clotted cream. It was quite different from anything I had tasted before and it was love at first bite.

The table was covered with a checked red-and-white tablecloth that matched the counterpane, and upon it was set a blue dish full of apples, a yellow jug of milk, a purple plate upon which were piled buttered scones, two green plates and two mugs to match.

What I like about this description is that it is colorful: red, white, blue, yellow, purple and green. To the list, pretty soon another one is added: salmon-pink, the color of the geraniums (gerani) that crowd the room where Marmaduke Scarlet lives. Maria, the protagonist of the novel The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge (1946), visits Marmaduke's quarters towards the end of the book. Up until that point, she has only seen him while presiding in the kitchen, in the company of Zachariah, the cat.

The novel is a bit too rich in colorful characters to attempt even a brief description here, and maybe you already know all about them from reading the novel when you were a child, or having it read to you. I can see how children would be fascinated by the story, the characters, the places, the events. Had I read the story as a little girl, would I have wished to be Maria? I obviously cannot answer this question. I can tell you, though, that my favorite character was Serena, the white hare (lepre) that Maria rescues from the Men from the Dark Woods.

Back to the scones baked by Marmaduke Scarlet for Maria, I baked mine for my husband. In looking for a recipe to replicate, I had as requirement that it used buttermilk (latticello), which narrowed the list of candidates. Out of those I found, I chose this one. The changes I made were: no topping, and fresh raspberries (lamponi) or blueberries (mirtilli) instead of dried cherries (ciliegie). Another feature of the recipe that recommended it to me is that it makes a small number of scones: they are so much better when freshly-made and a small number is perfect for our small household.

I made the recipe three times. The first time, I used raspberries and shaped the dough (which was rather sticky, due to the broken-down fresh raspberries) into 8 rounds, while the second time (also with raspberries) I shaped the dough into a single round, then scored it into 8 slices, which I separated a few minutes before the end of baking time, then put back into the oven, to obtain crispy edges all around.The third time, I used blueberries and went back to the separate round shapes (see photo). I never measured the fruit. I estimate that I had about half a cup of raspberries and a cup of blueberries.

In the pages that follow the little scene that inspired me, Marmaduke outshines himself by preparing a banquet for 30 people, whose menu includes famous English dishes that I know (syllabub, plum cake) and a lot that I don't (Cornish pasty, Devonshire splits). In earlier chapters, he consistently provides delectable repasts for the inhabitants of Moonacre Manor.

One last note. In part 3 of Chapter 9 there is the Spring Song:

Praised be our Lord for our brother the sun...
Praised by our Lord for our sister the Moon...

St. Francis of Assisi (San Francesco d'Assisi, 1181/2-1226) wrote a beautiful poem in praise of brother sun (fratello sole), sister moon (sorella luna), mother earth (madre terra), etc. In Italian, the poem is called Cantico delle creature, while in English it is called Canticle of the Sun. I investigated possible links between Ms. Goudge and St. Francis and found that she wrote a book about his life, published in 1959.

This is my contribution to the third edition of Cook the Books, hosted by Rachel The Crispy Cook. You can find the guidelines for participating in the event here, and here is the announcement of the current edition.

Hear me pronounce the words on the scone audio file [mp3] or go to the scone audio page for more listening options.