Ciao 2017 - A Year that Warmed My Heart

Another year.  Another 365 days of "what did I do with all that time?"  I do recall many moons ago an older person said to me that time goes by faster when you are older.  I didn't quite get it, but now that I am older, I see that it is true.  But I still don't get it. Time flies by quicker now. But how? But why?  Is it because as adults we wish for the weekends to come so we can have some rest? Only to find out that we have cleaning and laundry, errands and bills to attend to.  Is that why time blows past us?  Who knows, except, here it is the end of 2017 and I am still wondering what happened to March!!  What have I done with all that time?

I have accomplished some things but will readily admit that I wasted too much time.  2018 will be about making more of each moment. Well, that was the goal of 2017, so wish me luck... again.

As the year comes to a close some of you will host big parties.  Great.  But if you are like me, and don't make such a huge deal out of New Year's Eve, or feel pressure to do something, or maybe you feel sad because nothing special is happening.   Please remember it's just another night like the one before it and the one after it.  You can choose to how to honor it or not. You can use it to ump start a fresh beginning. But if you don't have big plans, so what.  You can do what JC and I like to do.  Sit quietly, rejoice in what we have now and make a list of our wishes  for the coming year. Without pressure but just gentle reminders of what we would like to reach for.

As we wrap this year, that was filled with tons of emotion for most of us, let me share some moments of just how lovely a year can be.  (Lots of photos, so keep scrolling for another message from me.)

January
Shared time with my sister Jill and nieces, Nikki and Gabrielle, as we cooked together making the original "something from nothing" recipe, Zucchini Orzo Pie and an old family tradition, stuffed breads.

February
Starting the month with an invite from our family friends, the Marzullos, to kick start a month of eating well.
Celebrated my birthday with my parents in Miami showing them cool restaurants for them to visit, like Prohibition. Then back home to celebrate another Pisces birthday with my 'niece', Lauren, serving up a traditional Spanish tapas lunch.

March
Stirring it with love with Gabrielle at her workplace, Traditions, in Charlotte, NC promoting my Think...then Jump™ children's book series and reading to the kids. Back home, taking in nature with a walk through our favorite local spot, Rockefeller Park.

April
Another trip to Italy, because... Well, it's Italy and you can never get enough. And let's not forget this is the land of beauty, love and of course...pasta.  All things I hold dear.

My own fresh pasta made in the Tuscan Hills.  Recipe here

My hubby, falling in love with Cortona in the Tuscan region of Italy.

May
JC's birthday, celebrated as usual with good food and wine.

Cucumber, radish, mint salad

Roasted pork loin

Roasted fennel, peppers, onions

June
A full month of gatherings with family and friends, both in NY and Miami.  

Us and the Nardolillo Family.  Finally, after many dates were thrown around, we found one in June!

Always love visiting Miami for sun and the warming of my soul.

Miami gang,  Marta and Me with JC to celebrate Emilce's Birthday.

Krista and Me.  I babysat for her.  Yes, I did and now she is getting married!

July
Spent the 4th sharing good times, good food and good fun with dear friends Emily and Lorne at their Bay home.

Rocked a successful event aboard a NYC nighttime cruise that Despaña co-sponsored.  Boy, was I tired after that one.

A NYC visit from my bestie, Dominique, ending a perfect  girl's day with her daughter, Lauren.

Despaña Gang AKA Chicas Poderosas = Powerful Girls!

Dominique and Lauren. Don't you love those smiles!

August
Too many photos to even think about sharing from our trip to Northern Spain, but the highlight was spending time with our dear friends, Marcos and Angelica, at their home in Amieva, Asturias.

Amieva, a beautiful view

Marcos, Angelica and JC

Angelica and me

September
How do you celebrate fall with Cuban in-laws?  Roast a pig.
How do you celebrate a friend's birthday? Call and say "I'm coming over with food and cake!"

How do you celebrate a life? By honoring it with memories, laughter and love. Sharing as a family a most beautiful memorial to rejoice in life of my dear Aunt Catherine.

Porky the pig in La Caja China, the Chinese roasting box

I made a gluten free cake to celebrate Carl's birthday.

Alla familia

Aunt Catherine's favorite hat and her corn cob pipe.  No button nose here.

October
Thanks to my sis, Alys and Mastercard, we got to visit the Chiluly exhibit at the NY Botanical Gardens. 

Then had a wild production experience as Team Despaña, Angelica and Master Carver Jaume Guerra were slicing up jamón on The Untitled Action Bronson Show appearing on Viceland TV.

Angelica & Jaume showing how it's done.

Action Bronson checking out the jamón

November
NYC Marathon with my amazing sis, Alys.

Stats that make her cream of the crop.

Family support after 26.2 miles.  Ready for a meal.

December
That time of year when spending time with flour, butter and sugar is how I pass my time, baking up a storm. Thankfully, I had one brave soul to help me, my niece, Gianna to the rescue.

Gianna, directly home from college and before seeing friends, helped me make cookies... all day.

I also had to say ciao for now to my nephew, John, as he moved away to Colorado.

So as we close the books on 2017, I wish for you all the health and love life has to offer... And there is an abundance of it. There truly is no end to that well.  You can continue to tap it and unearth it's riches.

May you find the path you were searching for.

May the passions you dream of become realities.

May the struggles you have be released and resolved.

May good friends, good food find their way into your home.

May each day bring a wonderful mixture of laughter and smiles, inner peace and joy, satisfaction and accomplishment, confidence and strength.

May you step closer to knowing and loving your true self and rejoice in your essence.

I wish all these and so much more for you.

Happy New Year

Zucchini Crudo with Shaved Parmigiano & Mint Oil

I have often heard my husband, JuanCarlos, talk about good design and how keeping it simple is one of the hardest to achieve.  It means that the elements need to stand purely on their own merit. Without any flashy accruements. Without any special effects or distractions. Their very essence must to be outstanding.  The same is true with simple food dishes.  The purity of the ingredients must be superb; because without fancy schmancy sauces or tons of other ingredients there truly is no where to hide.  Fresh flavor front and center. This is at the core of Italian cooking.  Few ingredients but fresh as hell, or we'll take you out at the knees.  

This zucchini crudo dish falls squarely in that corner.  Now you know my love/hate affair with zucchini.  It's a great vegetable but let's face it, it can sometimes be boring.  Over the years I have tried to take the ho hum of the zucch and give it some 'zazz.   (Check the various ways I have used them by searching zucchini on the blog.)  Case in point, last year while staying at our friend's country house I was faced with more zucchini.  I conjured up a Zucchini Carpaccio that featured a gutsy citrus punch of flavor.   For now, I want to stick with the Italian theme and  share the recreation of dish I recently had during our last visit to Tuscany.  In last week's posting I mentioned that I made this dish as part our Sunday afternoon meal in the Tuscan Hills of Montesperoli.  As promised, here it is.

Crudo. What a great word, meaning raw. There are many reasons to love crudo.  The first being... no cooking. Next, it's natural and naked.  Which is ideal for the summer.  I would venture to say that during these sultry months many of us prefer our food as well as our friends crudo - raw, natural and naked!  

Food wise, with the heat pounding down, the kitchen is the last place you want to be.  And consumption wise, who wants your food hotter than the weather? Something cool and refreshing is required.  This dish checks off all those boxes. Plus with 4th of July fast approaching, it's the perfect way to elevate that holiday BBQ.

There are four main ingredients that demand the utmost freshness.  Zucchini, Parmigiano Reggiano, fresh mint and lemons.  If any one of these are old and tired, then figure out something else to do with them.  

Italian Zucchini fresh from the garden

Cool, crisp mint and fresh lemons

I'm not listing quantities because this is one of those platters that you make to the size you need.  For 7 people in Italy I used 3 large zucchini.  For the big party a few weeks ago, I used 5-6.  The amount of Parmigiano is up to you.

Instructions

Shave the zucchini lengthwise using a mandolin. You want long strips.  In Italy, Claudia, the villa owner, gave me a hand slicer which worked just fine. Albeit, it got scary as I reached the last part of the zucchini.  Watch your fingers, folks.  You need all of them.  

Shaving zucchini into ribbons of freshness.

Arrange them on a plate by folding them over onto themselves for create a ribbon like effect. Circle your way around the plate, filling it to the middle. Shave shards of good, sharp Parmigiano Reggiano cheese over top. Shave until your heart's content.  

This was the plate I prepared for a recent family gathering. I just love how the zucchini falls over bowing with grace creating a spiral of garden goodness.

I like to create drama so I rolled a few zucchini slices to add to the middle of platter. It just finishes it in a fun way.

dressing

2 c packed fresh mint
2 T lemon juice
2 t lemon zest
1 c Olive oil
salt/pepper to taste

For the dressing, you can either mince up the mint, buzz it in a small processor or use a mortar and pestle to ground the mint.  Course sea salt, pepper, lemon juice and fruity olive oil are all you need.  Whisk together and drizzle over top.  

The zucchini are crisp and mild. The parmigiano adds the salty bite.The mint is fragrant and the lemon juice brightens it all. ( I would say basil would work just as well for this dish.)  Simple ingredients showcasing their best. Now how simple was that.  I think good design can be simple, and simple design can be good when your star ingredients are just that... the stars.

Pasta Making... in the Tuscan Hills

It should be crystal clear by now that I am a pasta fiend.  So much so that I am a walking rendition of pasta. My thighs can be categorized as part of the rigatoni family and my gluteus maximus are definitively classified as raviolo maximo.  Truly, I am what I eat. Yes, I am a Rubenesque kind of woman. I've come to accept that.   If I could, I would eat pasta every day. As a matter of formal record, when I lived in Miami, I did... more exactly, twice a day.  That is how much I adore pasta. So when I learned that I had a wheat, yeast and egg sensitivity I wanted to roll around in some flour one last time.

Fret not my fellow pasta hounds, I did find some great brown rice pastas that I have come to love. So, major pasta eating dilemma solved for when I'm in the U.S.  However, when I am in Italy (or Europe) I don't have any of the wheat, or yeast, issues that I do here in the states. Thanks to our government supporting Monsanto, and harvesters who don't properly pick and process wheat.   (Do NOT get me started...).  

Alas, I digress.  This post is about me making fresh pasta overlooking the Tuscan hills with the owner of the villa where we stayed during our last visit.  I was in my glory, and that pasta back story was essential in setting the tone for just how much glory I was feeling. 

Far warning folks.  This post is chock full of photos as I wanted to take you on a small journey of the breathtaking vistas of that day.  These are just a small smattering of the images we captured but enough to whet your whistle.

The view hilltop to our villa. No other description necessary.

Making fresh pasta is not difficult.  It takes but a few ingredients.  And one important one. As with anything you want to turn out well it needs to be stirred with love.  If you rush it or don't take care and time, well then, quite frankly it will suck. But with gentle hands, a smile on your face and love in your heart, it will turn out divine.

Claudia, the owner of the villa, teaches cooking classes.  Due to some family emergencies and time restrictions, we only had a short amount of time for a lesson. So when she gave me a choice of what I wanted to do, I naturally chose pasta making.  Duh! We had just the morning to turn out some fresh pasta that would be served to friends, us included, later that afternoon.  Imagine my sheer joy at the thought of me making pasta for Italians. 

Ingredients

700 grams flour (3 c)
200 grams semolina (.8 c)
8 eggs

Instructions

1. Mix the flour and semolina in a bowl.  
2. Make a hole and crack the eggs in the center.  

3. Then using a fork, slowly work it together into a dough.

4. Knead until all the eggs are absorbed by the dry ingredients. The dough should feel as pliable as the thick part of your hand just below your thumb. If it's too dry then add a teaspoon or two of water.  

Once all together turn it out onto a board and begin the kneading process.

Ours was dry, so we needed to add water.

5. Wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest for 15 minutes.  

6. Cut small pieces, flatten with your hand and place through a pasta machine on the first turn.  

Claudia showing me how it's done.

You... beginner luck!

7. Then pass it through again on the second notch.  You will have a smooth swath of noodle.

8. Let the pasta sheets dry, preferably under the Tuscan sun, or just on a towel in your kitchen or dining room table.  

These long doughy strips are like me, basking under the Tuscan sun.

9. Once dry, cut them into spaghetti or fettuccine or as I did, into tagliatelle.   

Cutting the pasta intro strips.

10. As with any fresh pasta, it takes but a few minutes to cook in salted boiling water.

They looked so beautiful. I must admit that I was tickled pasta pink with how they turned out.  

We tossed these long, luscious beauties with fresh pesto.  Oh, the taste of the basil in Italy... Oh, the taste of everything in Italy!

Lots of zucchini

When in Italy, pasta is the primo piatto, which is the dish after antipasto and before the secondo piatto, or second/main plate. So when Claudia showed me her marble sink full of zucchini, I was quick to jump in and tackle them. (Can you believe it!? Once again I was faced with the dilemma of what to do with the ubiquitous zucchini.)  It was no time for cooking as the day was hot and we had plenty else going on.  A few nights earlier I enjoyed a raw zucchini dish, so I decided to prepare one similar to that.  This was my version of zucchini crudo with shaved parm and mint oil. (I promise there will be a future post on my new summertime favorite.)

My version of raw zucchini.  It was a big hit.

The simplest of dishes; cannelini beans dressed with garlic cloves and olive oil.

There is a way a life in Italy that imparts a sense of what is truly important. It's not about work. It's not about rushing. It's not about what you have or don't.  It's about breathing in life.  All of it. The landscape. The people. The food. The moment. That afternoon was one of the most treasured gifts of our trip.  What an enormous honor it was to not just share a meal with the family but help to prepare it.  I was in my element. I was in my glory; cooking, setting the table and relishing in the genuine joy of spending time with interesting people who appreciate the simple pleasures of life. We devoured it all; the food, the company...  the view.  Take the journey with us and breath in the calm that is Tuscany.

On the hilltop above our villa.  See the yellow house on the bottom left? That's where I made pasta.

I could get used to this... Will you come visit if we move there???

Dry cured meats for antipasto.

Il primo piatto and the star of the lunch, if I do say so myself.  As a side note, and an important one.  In Italy, pasta IS consumed daily (just as I did) but in small portions.  That is why it is the primo piatto, a small plate before the main meal.  So eat like an Italian and enjoy your pasta daily, like taking vitamins. That's how I see it!!

Braised shanks, fall of the bone good.

Cheese plate for dessert.  My favorite kind of after dinner snack!!

I kid you not, these strawberries' flavor were as bright as their glorious color.

In the end, all the food was thoroughly enjoyed. Imagine my sheer joy when all my pasta and the zucchini was polished off.  Remember my glory?  Well, I was truly in it, and I think I had some accomplices. 

Paola, our friend Tecla's dad. Who was also our guide and host.

Nothin' left

JC, under the Tuscan sun

No matter where you look, there is beauty.

Since traveling to Italy may not be possible, hopefully these images whisked you away for a moment. If you can, take the trip. If you can't then I would highly recommend making your own fresh pasta at least once in a Tuscan moon.  I recognize that our lives are busy and this method is best played when overlooking rolling hills and valleys of the greenest countryside.  But when you do have the time, do it. You won't regret it.   It will carry you away to a time long ago when we all had more time to make things truly from scratch.  It will transport you to another land, where the air will make you feel alive and grateful.  Yes, pasta can do all that, and more.