Caffe Avec

Om å spise asparges når det er aspargestid

@brittarnhild

Å spise sesongmat er noe vi både kan og må bli flinkere til i Norge. Nå sier det seg jo selv at dette er en utfordring gjennom vinterhalvåret, men vår, sommer og høst kan vi gjøre mye med kostholdet vårt sånn at vi kan importere mindre og dermed spare mye utslipp av de der gassene dere vet.

Italienerne er mye flinkere enn oss til å leve med årstidene. Akkurat nå er det tid for asparges her nede, drøssevis av landsbyer arrangerer sine egne aspargesfestivaler, grønnsakdiskene bugner av asparges, og mye annet godt, og på restaurantmenyene er det slett ikke vanskelig å finne en rett som inneholder asparges. Og da gjør jeg nettopp det, spiser asparges. Til lunsj i dag hadde jeg hvit pizza med hvit asparges, må være en av de beste pizzaene jeg har smakt. Og til middag nå i kveld, utendørs langs en av kanalene på Murano, spiste jeg tagliolini gratinati con scampi e asparagus. Himmelsk godt!

Pizzaen glemte jeg å ta bilde av, men hvis du vil vite hvor du finner Venezias beste pizza er det bare å ta kontakt.

 

På muslingfiske i lagunen

@brittarnhild

"Vil dere bli med på båttur ut i Lagunen" spurte Mauro. "Ta med badetøy"
Klart vi ville. Vi er heldige og har fått være med Mauro i båten hans mange ganger, både på kryss og tvers i Venezia og til mange av de andre øyene i lagunen. Men denne dagen skulle vise seg å bli helt spesiell. Vi skulle nemlig plukke vongole-muslinger.

Jeg sier plukke, for det var nettopp det vi gjorde.
Mauro hadde med seg ei av sine døtre, vi hadde med ei av våre. Vi kjørte ut i lagunen, klatret ut av båten og startet plukkingen. Noe som viste seg å være langt vanskeligere enn vi trodde.

Vannet var klart, vi kunne fint se bunnen og Mauro forklarte, "se nøye på sanden, når du ser to små sirkler beveger seg er det den lille muslingen som kommer opp for å puste. Nå gjelder det å være rask. Selve skjellet ligger fortsatt et godt stykke ned i vannet, så kjør hånden raskt ned, grip rundt skjellet og ta det med opp.

Vi prøvde, og vi prøvde og vi prøvde igjen. Jammen var det vanskeligere enn vi trodde. Hadde det bare vært opp til oss hadde det ikke blitt mye til middag, men heldigvis kunne Mauro kunsten.

Etter fangsten kjørte vi ut til en av øyene i lagunen, fant en restaurant rett ved kaia og spiste lunsj. Gjett hva vi bestilte :-)

 

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Donna Leon, forfatteren av krimbøkene om Commissario Brunetti, har skrevet flere bøker. Blant annet denne kokeboken, A Taste of Venice, At Table with Brunetti. 

 

Spaghetti vongole, et minne fra juni 2009

@brittarnhild

På en av våre første turer til Venezia, både Terje og Marta var med den gangen, ble vi tilfeldigvis kjent med Mauro Vianello, en glasskunstner som bor på Murano men har verkstedet sitt i Venezia. Det har blitt en vennskap for livet, både med Mauro, hans kjære Barbara og "alle" jentene hans.

Det blir helt sikkert mange fortellinger her etter hvert hvor Mauro er involvert, han har åpnet opp byen sin for oss på en måte jeg ikke trodde var mulig. Tatt meg/oss med på båtturer, vandret inn og ut av hemmelige ganger og smug, latt oss prøve å lage vår egen glasskunst, servert oss fantastiske retter laget på kjøkkenet hans, presentert meg for en hel masse mennesker jeg aldri ville ha truffet på egen hånd, og en gang jeg lengtet ekstra mye tilbake til byen sendte han meg ei flaske fylt med "air of Venezia".

En gang tok han meg med på en lokal restaurant, presenterte meg som en viden kjent matskribent (jeg var/er jo en blogger) og vi ble behandlet som svært celebre gjester. Jeg var rett og slett dronning for en dag. Jeg skrev selvsagt et blogginnlegg om lunsjen da jeg kom hjem, og deler rett og slett den her i dag:

Spaghetti Vongole, The Real Way:

 

 

I am back home in Norway, in my own house, my own garden, and I am unpacking. Unpacking memories. Which will take days, weeks, months, probably a whole life.

Terje met me at the airport around midnight last night, and on the drive back here we spoke about our weeks in Italy and my extra week in Austria, trying to choose favorite memories.

The list went on and on.

 

While making the list, Mauro's name came up again and again. His workshop, getting to see his new place which opens one of these days, trying to work with glass with the help of his steady hands, the boat trip with him........and again and again I told Terje about the lunch I had with Mauro one of my last days. When I was treated like a famous author and served spaghetti vongole (and alot of other things)

 

On our way to the lunch we walked through a wonderful maze of Venezia's calles and fondamentas, Mauro always pointed out  - this way, that way, straight ahead, ending up in Trattoria alla Scala in Corte Lucatello. I was introduced to the waitress, the chef Nicola and the owner Salvatore, and soon our feast started.

Only a lunch you might say. Well, for me it was a feats from start till end.

 

When Salvatore heard about my Norwegian spaghetti vongole adventures, he came into the restaurant himself with his special work table. Now I was to learn The Real Stuff:

 

 

No need of words. The photos tell the story.

Thank you Salvatore!

 

Second course - Rombo al forno con patate olive e pomodorini

We were shown the fresh fish before the chef started to prepare it, and when Nicola realised my interest in the cooking, he came out with one of his old cookbooks to teach me more about this laguna fish

 

 

 

For dessert: Sorbetto al limone

 

 

 

I needed a long siesta after this meal......

You find Trattoria alla Scala here.

 

A special thank to Nicola for the plate of dolces he offered us.

And how can I ever thank Mauro?????

Here is the link to Mauro's webpage.

 

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Å kjøpe kokebøker er en av mine laster, og siden vi snakker om Venezia og mat, og jeg sitter her med vann i munnen, må jeg bare dele med dere Tessa Kiros som fantastisk vake bok Venezia - food and dreams_

Mye mer enn en kokebok, med vakre bilder og små og større anekdoter fra Venezia.

 

Tegamaccio, fish soup in a terracotta pot

@brittarnhild

From Cortona you can see lake Trasimero, a lake which is situated not in Tuscany, but in Umbria. The first day we met Frances we told her that we were planning to drive down to the lake. "You know there is a ferry out to Isola Maggiore" was her reply, and both of us knew that Isola Maggiore it had to be.

The day was very hot. We hoped that the lake would give us some fresh air, and it kind of did as long as we were on the ferry, in shade of the burning sun. Not so on the island.

Frances also told us that St. Frances of Assisi had stayed on the island, and we could still visit his church. Very intriguing of course, so we filled our water bottles and started an island hike. "Let us first walk around the island" I said, "then we can do the churches afterwards.

Cicadas filling the burning air,

colourful critters.......

.......and then we came to a dead end. Danger. Look out for slides. And we had to turn, walking back.

By then we were famished,  we walked back to the village and found Ristorane L´Oso. A good choice, a best choice.......if, I mean when I go back to Isola Maggiore, I know where to go to get my food.

We shared a seafood starter. Oh, is all this true? We looked at one another is disbelief before we started to eat, and soon the huge plate was empty, our smiles broader and broader.

But I still had the highlight. A fish soup. Tagamaccio, a traditional fish soup from Umbria, its name from the terracotta pot, tegame, in which it is cooked. A eat fish soup everywhere I travel, and like to believe that I know a little about fish soups by now. And believe me - this one is GOOD!

Food traveling is a great way to travel. To follow the seasons and the local specialties. I love foodtravel books, and a favorite food traveller is Tessa Kiros. Are you familiar with her? No? Then it is time to do something with that. Buy her books, follow her on facebook and on instagram :-)

I posted a photo of the soup on instagram, asking Tessa if she happen to have a recipe. Her answer, which came almost right away, was:
I don´t have that one - others yes, but different regions. Yours sounds amazing. Will look it up.

Another favourite food traveller is Frances Mayes of course. While I was texing Tessa Kiros, several food pictures appeared on her instagram page. While I enjoyed my tegamaccio, she was busy in her Bramasole kitchen, testing recipes for her next book, See you in the Piazza.

 

We never made it to the churches. I have to go back!

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All this food talk, my mouth is watering.
Good thing our  gardenpizzas are just ready.......see you later.

Frances Mayes´blog

 The homepage of Ristorante L´Oso

Flavours and Traditions of Trasimeno

Truffle time

@brittarnhild

Eating in Italy is about following the seasons. You eat what is ripe, there and then. During our stay this time, it was truffle time. No doubt about that.

Thomas pointed out places for us on our map. Marking them with a ball pen. I love to have maps marked with ball pens, just as I love books with dog ears. Terje the driver. I the map reader. The map I´ve bought in Tuscany, GPS, google maps. Taking us to small villages, churches, monasteries. Since Thomas was the one who had marked the map there were many churches. And monasteries.

We drove roads less taken. Up, up, up. I was prepared to get a great view over Tuscany, but no, there were trees everywhere. Driving mountain roads in Italy is different from driving mountain roads in Norway.

We came to one of the monasteries exactly half a minute after closing time. "Sorry, we are closed!"

But on our way down, in the middle of no where, found another monastery. With a restaurant with a truffle menu. And an ancient apothecary.

Truffles. A new taste to me. I had to tell myself that this is something you like Britt Arnhild. And then I did. Then I loved it.Potatoes ands scarmorza cheese flan with fresh truffle. Followed by home made strozzapreti pasta with fresh truffle. Oh, I could eat it again, and again.

While I went for the truffles, Terje decided the hunter´s menu.
On our way up the mountain we had passed a deer and her baby, so I did not!

The old apothecary deserves its own blog post. We deserved another village, another stop. Another coffee.

Idlis for breakfast, a travel tale from the road

@brittarnhild

This blog, Caffe Avec, was born in 2009, out of the pure love of the many wonderful coffee houses in Krakow, Poland. Over the years the blog themes here have varied, but kind of a red thread through them all has been my love for travels, and often my love for food as I travel east of the sun, west of the moon. For the moment I am reading A Fork in the Road, a lonely planet antology edited by James Oseland, a book filled to the brim with food tales from all over the world. My mouth is watering while I read, my everyday cooking is getting more colourful and with flavours which I don´t use often, and I walk down memory lane to food and meals I have had on my many travels. Several days now I have posted food and travel tales in my main blog, Britt-Arnhild´s House in the Woods, but with still baskets full of travel tales, I decided I would continue to remember them here, in Caffe Avec. So make yourself a pot of coffe, and come along.

 

2008 was the year I turned 50. A milestone, and I decided to give myself a golden birthday present - three weeks in India to visit my penpal Carolyn, a woman the same age as my own mother, originally American but married young to an Indian man a few years her senior, a student og Gandhi.

Carolyn and her driver  met me at Bangalore airport at five in the morning. I was tired after a long night with little sleep on the British Airway´s plane. Everything was still dark and quiet when we drove through Bangalore and continued south towards Mysore. A three hours´drive, three hours when all I could do, all I wanted to do, was to breath the air, watch the daylight appear, pinching my arm trying to believe that I was finally here. I was in India.

Later in the day I wrote in my journal:
It takes about three hours to drive from Bangalore to Mysore, and when we were about halfway we stopped for breakfast. A small café along the road, a place where Carolyn uses to stop when she drives between the two citis. A big, open builting, where monkeys climbed on the roof and cows standing in a small stall between the room where we ate and the toilets. No walls, only pillars to hold the roof. The name of the café is Kamat, and we ate idli and wade - steamed rice and lentils wrapped in banana leaves, and rise fried into donuts.

A first taste of India. And I was lost.

 

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Several morning during my three weeks in India that first time, Carolyn and her maid made idlis for me. And I blogged about it of course. Here is a post from October 24th 2008:

          We are up early in the mornings. Breakfast is not until 8.30, so we get alot done before that. Carolyn usually starts breakfast and then Hayma comes up at 8 to help her. I enjoy some reading time out on the veranda before breakfast and then I usually spend some inside to read and write some emails. Yesterday morning, when I was at the computer, Carolyn cried from the kitchen; "Britt-Arnhild, come here, there is something I'll show you."

          She was in the kitchen, making idli, the same food as I got the first morning when I had my first taste of Indian food.

          Idli is some kind of rice and legume dumplings. The rice and legumes grounded and soaked over night, then damped the next day.

         We ate it with a green chutney made of some spicy leaves from the garden, and I couldn't resist making a colourful plate and take a photo for you.

  

Thank you Carolyn for all the great, healthy food you are making.

In The House in the Woods we usually have bread and cheese for breakfast, or oatmeal porridge. What do you have?