In Salt we Trust
My time in Italy, especially in the less touristed region of Emilia Romagna gave me a new appreciation of the basics of food - of salt, fat, acid and time. It is the food belt of Italy and from where most of the best known food exports come from - Proscuitto di Parma and Parmigianno Reggiano cheese.
Living in Reggio Emilia, which, actually is a the micro region from where both of these originally hail (but were affiliated to Parma because Reggio was attached to manor seat at Parma), I obviously indulged in both those every week! But, more than either, today’s Reggio has a different dish as their cultural beacon - Erbazzone - a humble and little known (outside the region) tart that is made with the best of the region!
Oh I fell head first in love with the Erbazzone. Addiction is what I would call it.
Garden Update: First Harvest
Ah! That first harvest!! A joy that knows no bounds... a harbinger for that everlasting hope and a gentle sigh of relief that hey, it is all coming along ok. There is so much emotion when you pick the first few gems from your garden, be it a little or a lot! My first pluck was true to that. I felt so, so gratified, happy, elated, joyous... just precious!
This post has notes on harvesting cilantro, lettuce, spinach and caring for pea flowers and pods.
A Green Odyssey
Have you ever seen spinach roots?
I caressed them, fondled them and took lots of photographs that I plastered all over social media. I mean spinach with roots! That's got to be sensational right? Well, in this day of instant gratification/feedback/silent-denial, I was categorically told that my crush was bizarrely unique and entirely uncaptivating for the general populace. Not one to go down quietly, I decided, I will prove to the world that my infatuation was really true love; the kind that is so deep and genuine that I am willing to suffer for it as a consequence!
I still think it was a brilliant idea!
Read on for the full story and recipe .....