In one of my first notes, I talked about emotionally where it began (Advice to the Sealorn) but there were two actual events that occurred a few years apart that really jolted me into action. I’ll start with the second. I don't remember the exact context of the conversation but a few years ago I was with a friend and someone asked her what she did. Her unassuming reply was, "I save lives." Well this stopped me dead. She does indeed save lives as she is a social worker who also does drug and alcohol counseling for people who have just been released from prison and are trying to assimilate back into mainstream life. She finds them jobs, homes, food, clothes, and is for the most part, their only source of stability and sanity in their lives and she takes their calls at all hours night and day.
It was at that moment that I realized all I did was build web sites that no one really cared about, that was by no means making a difference in the world, and it certainly could never be misconstrued for making this world a better place so it was right then that I decided to do *something*, *anything* with my life to make it worth while, to use it to make this world a better place. I didn’t know at the time what it was and I don't know now how slicing carrots or filleting fish will help the world but as it was such a tremendous force inside of me, I know it is what I am meant to be doing right now… I am excited to see how it unfolds… I just hope it happens soon as patience it not my strong suit! :-)
The first time was a bit more subtle but just as empowering. In early 1998, my humble culinary career began when I enrolled in my first cooking class at Home Chef in San Francisco, a ten-week basic cooking class where I learned techniques from stock to soufflés. From then on, I attended and assisted in every culinary class I could find...and I LOVED IT! Surprising, since prior to this I burned water! Really! After cooking class one day I was walking to my car and passed a bookstore. There was a book called Under the Tuscan Sun (maybe some of you have heard of it!) in the window, long before it became a bestseller. I went in and bought it and fell in love with Tuscany. I wanted to renovate a farmhouse, I wanted to grow basil on my back porch, I wanted to shop at the local market, I wanted to sleep on sheets that were dried in the sun!
A few days later, I purchased another book, Tuscany:The Beautiful Cookbook, and in the first few paragraphs it talks about the Etruscans (a civilization pre-dating the Romans in Italy and located in Tuscany) and how they were content to dine on bread, olive oil and wine. It hit me! Oh my goodness, that's me! This is where I came from! This is my history! This is who I am... as few things make me happier than a meal of wine, bread and olive oil and I can certainly turn them into a tremendous feast!
My paternal grandfather is actually from Tuscany so it’s not surprising but he was so obnoxious that no one could stand to listen to his stories so I really knew nothing about my ancestry. He actually spent the better part of one forgettable holiday dinner trying to teach my brother and I, aged 6 and 12 at the time and not caring a rat’s you-know-what, how to properly pronounce zucchini which according to him was with a “tz” sound as in “tzu-cchini”, not just a “z” sound the way the other 10 billion people in the world pronounce it, but I digress... I know it sounds corny but it was the first time I ever felt connected to the past and felt like I knew who I was or where I came from. So there began my journey of self-discovery and my love affair with cooking…
My favorite tzu-cchini recipe...
My theory on cooking is the less ingredients the better and my favorite way to cook zucchini comes courtesy of the coolest cat in Manhattan, Chef Jimmy Bradley, owner and executive chef of The Red Cat (as well as The Mermaid Inn, The Harrison, and Pace). A quick sauté of zucchini (courgettes en français) with toasted almonds and pecorino, a dish he has cooked for Bill Clinton many times, allows the zucchini flavor to shine through while the mellow almonds and zing from the cheese add exciting but not overpowering accents.
- 1¼ lbs zucchini
- 1 oz sliced almonds
- pecorino or parmigiano
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt* & pepper
1. toast sliced almonds in olive oil until golden.
2. cut zucchini into matchsticks and add to the hot pan, tossing quickly to warm the zucchini through.
3. season well with salt* and pepper.
4. portion on to six plates
5. top with thin shavings of pecorino or parmigiano.
* A quick note on salt. Please, I implore you, please don't use that nasty salt in the blue box, you know the one I mean. A small investment in a container of sea salt or gray salt will change the way you cook. It did for me! The only sea salt in my kitchen in San Francisco is from NapaStyle which imports their sea salt from France's Brittany coast. You only need to use a small amount and, as my friend Arleen said, "Laura taught me that it’s easy to make great food from simple everyday ingredients, and that Gray Salt from Brittany, France is truly a little taste of heaven". So there you have it... mangia bene!
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