Moist, dense banana-date bread (no sugar, butter or white carbs and a hidden ingredient)

There is no denying that I am super excited about this recipe: a totally delicious dessert/breakfast loaf that is made without white carbs, sugar and butter but is full of hidden antioxidants and vitamins.

Plus, I did not have to buy one. single. ingredient. to bake this, I used up a ton of odds and ends I had lying around and the result was loved by all. How satisfying is that?

That bunch of shrivelled up, utterly dried-out medjoul dates that I just didn't have the heart to throw away (but that nobody had been eating anymore for a couple of months)?
In!

The expensive bag of goji berries I bought out of the sheer excitement of coming across them in a store a few years ago, after reading about them for months? The ones I never really know what to do with (except for mixing them into granola and yogurt) and that, to be truthful, none of us even like?
In (but hidden)! And just 10 days before their expiry date!

That almost empty bottle of coconut oil that I've had for months and never used until I overused it in a made-up cookie recipe in an attempt to feel less guilty about buying yet another ingredient that would collect dust on a shelf? A recipe that turned out so bad, that I never felt a twinge of guilt again upon seeing the bottle?
In!

Finally made a dent in my spelt flour stash, you would think I was a spelt hoarder.
In!

Luckily whisky ages well, because I don't even remember where that bottle of whisky we have came from...
In!

And let us not forget the bags and bags of chocolate chips I keep buying whenever I go to the States because I-just-can't-get-that-flavor-dash-size-dash-quality-dash-brand-here that takes up way too much fridge space (yup, that is how long they hang around) but that I never use in an attempt to make my kids reasonably healthy snacks.
In!

The result: a whopping banana bread that was dark, dense and incredibly moist. That was so good it was hard to believe there was no sugar (minus the choc chips - that are totally optional), white flour or butter in it. Also, there was no trace of the goji berries, which you already know is a good thing in my book, except for their presumable health benefits (but who knows at this point?). What unfortunately also got lost in the mix were the chocolate chips (except the ones you see on top), so definitely not worth the hidden calories/fat/sugar if you ask me. The dates and bananas totally did their magic without any extra help needed, and I can see myself pairing them over and over again in the future.

So in the same week, another cake you can bake and eat too... without the guilt!

Ingredients
8-9 oz. pitted dates
water as needed
whisky as needed
2 cups spelt/farro flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp coconut oil
1 cup goji berries
3 ripe bananas (frozen or fresh)
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
(3/4 cup white chocolate chips)

Pit the dates and put them in a small bowl. Heat a mix of water and whisky (or pure whisky if you like) until just simmering and pour over the dates so that they are covered. Set aside and let soak for at least 15 minutes.

In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Preheat your oven to 175°C/350°F and grease a loaf pan.

When the dates have softened up, blend them in a food processor with as much of the liquid as you need to obtain a smooth, loose (but not too loose) paste (I ended up using all of it). Then add the goji berries, if using, and blend some more. The paste will turn a beautiful shade of reddish brown. Add the coconut oil and then blend in the bananas until just smooth.

Beat the eggs into this mixture one by one, then add in the vanilla extract.

Fold the wet mixture into the dry mixture, then mix in the chips (if using) until just combined. Pour into the pan. Bake for about 60 minutes, possibly a little longer. Insert a toothpick or a strand of raw spaghetti into the middle: remove from oven when it comes out clean.

Let cool before removing from pan.

La vie en rose

I tend to be an optimist, I have always been that way (unless we're talking bureaucracy, then I am given to looking on the black side). To me the glass is usually half full, not half empty, if you know what I mean.

That doesn't mean I don't have bad days or moments, of course. I most certainly do.

Like the other day for example.

I could tell you the story this way: the other day I left the office to meet a friend for lunch. We were supposed to meet up with another friend too, but she had to cancel at the last minute because her daughter had a fever. Initially, we thought of postponing the lunch, but then decided to go anyway because we hadn't seen each other in ages. We met in front of her office and had a salad in a café across the street. At 3:00 I had to be somewhere for work until 5:00. Then I had to pick my son up from kindergarden at 5:30, go to my daughter's school to meet with her teachers and get her report card, and pick her up.

Making bone broth and soba (Japanese buckwheat noodles) in Asian-inspired pork bone broth

The worst thing is starting a new week with little sleep.

I know because my week began with just a handful of hours between Sunday and Monday.

It all started with a nightmare and soothing a little one back to sleep. Just as I was finally managing to drift back off almost an hour later, the crying started again, with sniffling pleas to come into our bed, a special treat (for us so that we can get right back under the duvet, or for them?) for the really bad nights.

I quickly agreed and tried to re-enter slumberland with my little boy's body curled into mine with such an intensity that I doubted it was going to happen any time soon. That is when I felt the scorching heat, it was like lying next to a radiator. I dragged myself out of bed again to get the thermometer and surely enough the little guy had a high fever.

As he slept on in his aura of heat, I lay awake, my mind racing. I was supposed to be in the office extra early that morning because there was a lot to deal with and it was just going to be one of those days. People were counting on me being there, but there was no way I was going to find a sitter at 3:00am in the morning. I started sending messages and emails to warn my colleagues. Then I lay awake feeling guilty. My husband was snoring, oblivious. My son was sleeping a fitful sleep and everytime I tried to move away from his burning limbs wrapped around me to cool off, he nudged his way right back into my arms.

Needless to say, we both awoke feeling lousy.

He didn't want any breakfast so lunch had to be nourishing and I wanted to keep him hydrated throughout the day. I knew I had some bones and some scraps of vegetables in the freezer. I would make bone broth, the healing, nutritious superfood of our grandmothers, great grandmothers and great-great granmothers.

Rich in protein, vitamins, and nutrients and minerals in general, it is actually known to block cold symptoms and help build up your gut. I even read somewhere that warm salt water helps keep mucus thin and kill bacteria and vegetables are known to help boost the immune system.

I had never used pork bones before, but I had randomly picked a few up the previous week and thought they would make an even richer, darker broth. However, when I started making it, I noticed the smell was stronger than usual, more penetrating, to the point that it almost bothered me a little. My mind started working: the strong flavor probably would stand up to some very bold, aromatic ingredients, and that was how this oriental-inspired broth was born. I threw in a large knob of ginger, some star anise, a nice glug of soy sauce for saltiness and there it was. At that point, the soba noodles sitting in a drawer and some fresh bean sprouts seemed like the perfect match.

It was our lunch and then it became dinner for the whole family with the addition of a runny scrambled egg that firmed up nicely when I poured the boiling broth over it.*

Passata di zucca e funghi porcini - Cream of pumpkin and porcini mushrooms

Hi friends, forgive me for being away for so long. I will admit I was tempted several times to post a hurried recipe with bad photos taken on endless rainy days and not much of a story just to let you know I hadn't disappeared into thin air, but then I decided against it, because this is one of the few places in my life were I shouldn't feel like I have to clock in, right?

In between all the pre-holiday craziness and work and just life, I was lucky enough to hop over to NY for a long week end (without kids or husband - a first - but more on that some other time), which required a certain amount of planning ahead and some catching up after, but was totally worth it.

And so now I am finally back to give you the perfect autumn recipe right before winter comes knocking on the door. A recipe that my daughter, who strongly dislikes pumpkin (I know, what is that about???), specifically requested - so that is how good it is. I suggest that even you pumpkin haters out there (if there are any besides my offspring) try it.

If you love the umami of dried mushrooms and love warming soups, check out this recipe too.

Ingredients
1kg pumpkin
20gr dried porcini mushrooms
1l water or vegetable stock
1 onion or 2 scallions
1tbsp olive oil
1tbsp butter (optional for a vegan recipe)
salt
pepper
grated Parmesan cheese (same as above)
pumpkin seed oil and thyme for garnish

Soak the dried porcini mushrooms in a bowl in hot water for at least half an hour before using. Peel and coarsely chop the onion or scallions (or both!).
In a heavy-based pot heat olive oil and butter and sautée the onions. While they are softening, clean and de-seed the pumpkin and cut into cubes. Add into the pot, cook for a few minutes and add the water/stock, the mushrooms and the liquid they soaked in. Cook until the pumkin is tender. Adjust for salt and pepper.
Purée the vegetables until creamy.
Serve with lots of grated Parmesan cheese and freshly ground pepper. I also drizzled over a little pumpkin seed oil and garnished with some thyme.

Guessing game

 

Any idea what this is?

 

 

 

Oh, did you get distracted by the beauty outside my kitchen window? I do too, constantly.

 

Every spring, when the wisteria blooms, I open the windows, breathe in the fragrance and take a million pictures. I have the same identical pictures from the last seven years (which those of you who follow me on Instagram - unfortunately for you - already know).

 

 

 

 

Never mind that that plant is a major pain in the butt the rest of the year: it is invasive, it is destroying the façade of the building, it gets gnarled in the mechanism of our rolling shades (breaking them more than once). It manages to somehow grow through our window frame. To top it all off, a bird colony has nested right over our window. At first I was excited, but that changed quickly when they started crapping all over my window panes, window sill and all the leaves beneath their nests. They squabble and fight all the time and chirp in an eerie hitchockesque manner in the middle of the night.

Not to mention the branches are bare and gnarly and full of bird droppings in the winter too; or that it is so overgrown in the summer, barely any daylight gets into the kitchen. Or that every year an army of guys with saws invade my apartment to prune it, leaving a mess of leaves and broken branches and yes, bird s**t, all over my kitchen to clean up.

 

But it is beautiful for two weeks a year, I'll give you that.

 

Back to my initial query. Do you know this vegetable?

Before cooking

Gratin di sardine con pomodori e capperi (or sardine gratin with tomatoes and capers)

 

The other night  our youngest had a meltdown little moment right before dinner, the kind only a four year old can regale you with. The kind that makes you wonder if you are plain dumb or if you missed something crucial because it takes you totally by surprise and you have no idea why it is happening.

The scene: the children's room. Toys strewn all over the floor. Dinner is about to be served.

The rule: whoever makes a mess, cleans up. When the job is too daunting for a four year old and a little overwhelming for him to tackle on his own for organizational reasons, we help and also give him some general guidelines (put all the animals into the green box, all the lego pieces go into the blue box).

Action: my husband gives him a hand; they seemingly work together in harmony and the job is soon done. Dinner is on the table.

Next thing we know, our son turns into a raving, screaming, three-headed monster. He starts throwing all his neatly stowed away boxes and toys all over the floor again, putting them the way they were before the clean-up.

Aha, you are thinking, he wanted to do it himself, he wants to assess his independence, Daddy shouldn't have rushed him.

 

All natural, no-sugar peanut and pistachio butter cookies

 

 

I have been seeing recipes for these natural peanut butter cookies around for a while now. When I saw Monet post about them the other day, I knew my time had come. She has a beautiful baby daughter so I knew the recipe would be wholesome, but she is first and foremost a wonderful baker so I was certain these cookies would be really good besides being healthy.

 

That is a must in my book. My idea, and those of you who have been reading my blog for a while have heard me preach this before, is that if you are going to make a dessert or something sweet you might as well go the whole way and make something worth the calories you are ingesting. Otherwise, if you are on a health kick or trying to lose a few pounds, skip dessert altogether and have some fruit or yogurt instead.

 

 

 

 

 There are cases, however, when this does not apply, like feeding your kids afterschool snacks that are so good they won't really be able to tell they are naturally sweetened and full of wholesome ingredients.

 

So even though I still stand by my belief that a chocolate fudge cake should be a buttery, sweet, dense affair, if the result of a recipe is a lovely tasting cookie that satisfies a craving without going way overboard, why not?

 

  

 

  

With this batch of cookies I finished the jar of pistachio paste I told you about in my last post. I also used up that almost empty jar of peanut butter I had lying around for more time than I care to remember. It worked out perfectly, since I didn't have enough of either to make a whole batch of just one kind, and how do you split an egg in half?

 

Both cookies are delicious because they are so incredibly full of nutty flavor and they are just sweet enough, with that touch of salty that keeps you wanting more.

 

 

 

See how chewy these are on the inside? Mmmmmh...

 

 The peanut butter cookies are crumbly and dense, perfect to have with a cup of coffee or a big glass of milk. The pistachio cookies have a completely different texture, moist and chewy and rich. They are sweeter because I had added some sugar to the paste (ok, so there is a little sugar in the pistachio cookies, but if you want to make these 100% without sugar, pistachio butter would work just as well) and are fabulous with a cup of unsweetened tea in  my book. The different texture is the result of several factors: i) I used more pistachio paste than PB because I wanted to finish the jar, ii) the pistachio paste was not as dense as the PB, iii) the pistachio cookies baked as long as the others but they were a bit bigger in size.

 

To make the two different batches, I followed Monet's basic instructions but divided the egg mixture into two bowls. Then I added the different nut pastes into each and split the dry mixture between the two. It makes for a little extra work and more bowls to wash but this way you won't end up with a huge amount of cookies if you are making both. If making just one kind, use a whole cup of the nut butter of choice and use just one bowl for dry ingredients and one for wet ingredients.

 

 

 

 

10-minute carrot and ginger pickle (and a salad to go with it)

 

 

 

If you ever bumped into Peter Rabbit, he would be sure to tell you that carrots are absolutely delicious, worth risking your life for in Mr. McGregor's garden. He would probably go on to tell you they are really healthy and he would ask you if you have ever seen a rabbit wearing glasses. Well, perhaps if you were four years old, and you had a very vivid imagination...

 

The truth is carrots may be good for you and quite tasty at that, but they are also pretty boring and not a vegetable you normally serve your guests, well aside from a few exceptions.

 

 

 

 

These on the other hand are sweet, they are sour, they are crunchy and they have some heat. They take 10 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to pickle. They last in the fridge for up to a few days, probably even more, but I can't vouch for it because they have never lasted that long in our home.

 

So far we have had these carrots in a lentil salad, the chickpea salad above, in mixed green salads, with cheese and cured meats and even alongside roast chicken. You can use the leftover pickling liquid in a salad dressing with olive oil and perhaps a drizzle of sesame oil or you can just spoon it into your mouth like my 8-year old did last week. 

 

 

 

Once again, I have to thank Lorraine for this brilliant tip and so should you ;o)

 

Ingredients

2 large carrots, peeled into ribbons or grated

1 or 2 tsp grated ginger

4 tbsp rice wine vinegar

3 or 4 tbsp quick-dissolving sugar (like icing sugar)

1 tbsp water

1 tsp salt

1 tsp soy sauce

 

Mix together together the vinegar, sugar (I used a little under the 4 tablespoons indicated in the recipe) and salt until they dissolve completely. Add the water and soy sauce.

Peel the carrots into thin ribbons or grate them. Grate the ginger and mix into the carrots and then fit them into a jar about the size of a jam jar. Pour over the pickling liquid, making sure it completely covers the carrots. Close and pickle for about 10 minutes, turning the jar upside down halfway through. Use immediately or store in fridge for a few days.

 

 

Chickpea salad with feta, apples and pickled carrots

3 cups chickpeas

2 cups arugula

150gr feta cheese

handful fresh coriander, chopped

1/2 apple, sliced

pickled carrots, about half the amount above

 

I cooked the chickpeas, but you can just as easily use the canned variety. Rinse them well, chop up the arugula and coriander leaves, crumble in some feta cheese and add in the pickled carrots and the thinly sliced, bite-sized pieces of apple. Drizzle over some olive oil and lemon juice, mix and adjust for salt.

 

  

 

 

 

 



Granola two ways: everything and maple pecan

 

 

 

Despite my non-resolutions, I will admit to having started a healthier, lighter eating regime this month, eschewing carbs and processed sugar as much as possible.

 

This new routine involves eating oats in as many forms possible in the morning rather than the five or ten two or three wholewheat cookies I normally hastily dunk into my caffe latte every morning at my office desk. It also involves thinking and preparing ahead but turns out to be less of a bother than I thought it would be. I just have to remember to boil and soak some steel cut oats in water about once a week or alternatively mix and bake my own granola, of which I have already made several batches.

 

 

 

 

 

I am aware that making your own granola is not the discovery of the century and that many of you are already doing it, but for those of you who don't, it is so easy and so much healthier than buying those (often) sugar, salt and fat-laden industrial ones, of which there is very little choice here to begin with. So I am indeed very excited, just as excited as I was about last week's lentils ... what can I say, I guess I am an enthusiastic kinda gal, although I promise to spare you Dr. Seuss this time round.

 

I have made a variety of combinations with very different ingredients and two different methods, both of which worked very well for me, and I cannot help patting myself on the shoulder everytime I take a bite: not only do I get to clean out my pantry and freezer (I cannot begin to tell you the amount of dried fruit and nuts I have stashed away), but I can choose from an endless combination of ingredients, I have control of what I am feeding my family, how sweet I want my breakfast cereal to be and also how much fat, sugar or salt I want or rather don't want to use. Not to mention I get to decide whether I want big clusters, small clusters or none at all.
 

 

 

 

We have been eating it with cold milk, warm milk or yogurt as breakfast and after-school snacks and we have yet to get bored of it. I am already thinking dried figs, medjool dates, apricots, pistachios, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, raisins. My kids are already dreaming of chocolate chips in all colors or sizes and peanut butter chips...

 

Quick note: I have been using instant oats because I had a large tin to use up and they worked well but normally granola recipes call for rolled oats. You can go either way. Also, play around with the ingredients you like by substituting, adding or taking any of them. Last but not least, I recently read some recipes that did not call for any kind of fat in the preparation, so I will be trying that next.*

*Six months later I am still making this weekly: I now use rolled oats or 6-grain mixes, I have cut the amount of maple syrup and add flax/linseed to the mix, and the maple granola is definitely my favorite although I sometimes swap pecans with a seed mix (sesame, sunflower, pumpkin, linseed etc.).

 

 

 

 

Everything granola (makes enough for one baking tray)
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup butter
1tsp muscovado sugar
1 tsp poppy seeds
1/4 cup unsweetened, dried coconut
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup almonds, roughly chopped
3 cups rolled/instant oats 
a pinch of salt
1/2 cup mixed red berries

Preheat the oven to 175°C/350°F.
Melt butter and honey (you can melt the honey using the bain marie method or in the microwave) and mix together in a large bowl. Add in all the other ingredients and mix well using a spatula.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper or aluminum foil and spread the mixture evenly. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, mixing halfway through. Let cool, crumble and mix in the berries. Store in an airtight container.

Maple pecan granola clusters (makes enough for one baking tray) - with updates
3 1/2 cups instant oats (I have now switched to a 6-grain rolled mix) 
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup ground flax/linseed
1 tsp cinnamon, optional
1/2 to 1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
a pinch of salt
1/4 cup canola oil or other
2/3 cup pure maple syrup (I have since reduced the amount to 1/4 cup approximately)



Preheat oven to 150°C/300°F.
In a large bowl mix together all the dry ingredients. In a small bowl combine oil and syrup and then pour over the dry ingredients. Mix well with a spatula. Spread evenly onto a previously lined baking tray and bake without mixing for about 30 minutes . Let cool, break up in to pieces and store in an airtight container.

 

 

 

 

 

Lentils, lentils lentils (and a soup with Tuscan kale and pancetta turns into a warm winter salad with oranges)

 

 

Lentils are small, lentils are round,
lentils are red, yellow and brown.

I like them in soups and burgers for sure,
I love them as curry, vegan and more!

I like them warm, I like them cold,
I like them fried or a couple days old.

They make sense as a snack, they are perfect in salad,
I love them, adore them and wrote them this ballad.

There may be no scoop
on lentils in soup,
but they still make you want
to jump through a hoop!

And just in case you don't already know,
here are two things about them before you go:
Thing 1: protein, fiber and iron make them healthy,
Thing 2: Italians believe they make you wealthy.

Just try them,
just eat them,
just have some already.
They are good, they are great,
it is never too late!

 

I admit my reading several Dr. Seuss books to my son last night contributed to this post, but lentils also just happen to be something I get childishly excited about.

 

Yesterday, like so many other times, I cleaned a big, bright orange carrot, I cut a couple of stalks of celery, peeled a clove or garlic and an onion and prepared a mirepoix which I sauteed in some olive oil until the little chunks turned shiny and translucent. I added a bay leaf, and a handful of diced pancetta and let it brown slightly before adding the rinsed lentils and water. I lowered the flame, covered the pot and let the magic begin.

 

 

 

A couple of hours and few more cups of water later, the lentils were soft yet still slightly toothsome, the water had turned into a dark, earthy, savory broth and the kitchen was warm and smelled delicious. I added a good pinch of salt and some chopped up Tuscan kale (but you can use spinach, Swiss chard or any other leafy green).

I seasoned it with plenty of freshly ground black pepper and a good glug of extra virgin olive oil. Sometimes I will add some grated Parmesan cheese, but this time it was perfect just the way it was, those little nuggets of smokey goodness from the pancetta satisfying me one hundred percent.

 

The left over soup turned into a delicious salad for lunch, so much so that I am still wondering why I never paired oranges and lentils before. Think slightly warm lentil quenelles,  the chew from the pancetta and the cool sweetness of the orange segments, highlighted by their zest. I think some crumbled feta cheese, small black olives or thinly sliced red onion - perhaps pickled? - would work great in this too.

Healthy.
Delicious.
Filling.

So before I go all Dr. Seuss on you again, just go and make some!

Zuppa di pasta, ceci e cavolo nero or hearty chickpea stew with Tuscan kale and pasta

 

 

The recipe I am posting about today is my personal mishmash of two very traditional Italian recipes: pasta e ceci, a less-known version of the more internationally renowned pasta e fagioli, and minestra di ceci con cavolo nero, a soup that is often served with large, crusty slices of bread rubbed with garlic.

 

The chickpea, or garbanzo bean, is undeniably the star of the show here. This humble legume has been used by most cultures for millenia, the first discovered remains dating back to the Neolithic period. Thanks to the Greeks, the Etruscans and the Romans chickpeas became an integral part of Italian cooking. I admit I find it comforting to think of all the generations that prepared variations of this stew over the centuries. How many mothers and grandmothers served warm, filling bowls of chickpeas and black kale to their hardworking families, perhaps ladled over stale pieces of bread?

 

 

 

 

But back to our recipe.

 

The first, essential step in making both the abovementioned Italian classics is the same: you must remember to soak the chickpeas for at least 12 hours. If it weren't for that one little step, I would probably make this dish much more often that I actually do.  

 

After this, preparations vary. For pasta e ceci (or fagioli) you would normally prepare a soffritto (a mirepoix of carrots, celery and onion) and add some tomato in one form or another (paste, sauce, crushed). When making the soup, some opt for a soffritto, but in most versions the intent is to keep things very basic, letting the flavor of the legumes shine through. You just sautee the garlic (either whole or minced) in olive oil, add some finely chopped shallot or onion and a sprig of rosemary (if you are so inclined), tomatoes never making an appearance.

 

 

 

 

The pureed chickpeas and starch from the pasta guarantee an end result that is as comforting and creamy as any pasta and ceci should be. The wilted, dark and slightly bitter kale leaves however add some much-needed texture and contrast to a dish that is as delicious, soothing and - let's face it -boring as some of the best nursery suppers can be. A good glug of intensely green, fruity, peppery olive oil, lots of freshly ground black pepper and a hefty sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese will further convince you (if you are still in the least bit doubtful) that this is food fit for grown ups.

 

 

 

Zucchini carpaccio with feta cheese, mint and toasted pinoli nuts

 

In the the past weeks F has been playing soccer on Monday nights and coincidentally, on the same night they have started showing a cycle of old Dustin Hoffman movies. Last week it was Kramer vs. Kramer, yesterday it was Tootsie's turn. 

 

Considering I hadn't watched either movie in about 30 years, I wasn't surprised I had missed out on a lot of the humor and drama. When I first saw Kramer vs. Kramer I was a child approximately Billy's age with recently divorced parents and I was moving to another continent with my mom. It was all pretty matter-of-factual to me. Now, as the mother of a daughter that age, I watched it with renewed interest and much more involvement than the last time. As for Tootsie, I had natually completely missed out on the sexual subtext, which is surprising considering the whole comedy revolves around it. I also realized with a little gasp that Dustin, Meryl and Jessica were probably all younger than I am today when they starred in those movies. Finally, I smiled when I realized Michael's roommate in Tootsie is Bill Murray, who only became a noteworthy presence in my life after Ghostbusters. Or that Tootise marked Geena Davis' first movie appearance.

 

Generally speaking I am not usually one to watch old movies, it just isn't my thing. I am not that person with a huge collection of dvds that I see over and over again. But something about these two movies just sucked me in, something more than just purely enjoying good acting by a younger, softer version of the stars they are today. The truth is they bring me back to a different time of my life. A time that I can now see with much more awareness than I did as a kid. They portray the NY of my younger years, a time when I had still lived most of my life in the city instead of Europe. The years of the Russian Tea Room, the Twin Towers and of a seedy but truer version of Times Square.

 

Source: Wikipedia

 

I felt a twinge when I saw a NY bus drive by in a scene that was advertising the hit musical Evita. I remember every minute of those summer nights in the early Eighties when I played that record over and over again. I sang of a new Argentina, the chains of the masses untied, and had not a clue what it meant. I sat in a Broadway theater mesmerized while Magaldi admonished Eva of the perils of Buenos Aires. Those tunes were the soundtrack of several years of my early life and every note brings back a memory. My family still roll their eyes at the mere mention of the Argentine rose.

 

And what about mocassins? Did you have a pair? I had completely forgotten about my white ones until I watched Lange's slow-motion twirl last night.

Marinated raw broccoli salad

Last night I had a really stange dream that involved hanging out with the Rancics.

???

For the entire dream, that believe it or not was interrupted by my son's crying and resumed after a visit to his room, I acted like a starstruck idiot and humiliated myself in front of husband and wife (no sign of baby Duke) acting like an overeager lab pup. They kept rolling their eyes with smug looks on their faces while I desperately tried, and greatly failed, to convince them I was totally cool and not at all impressed by fame. 

???

Something is telling me that the amount of food and alcoholic beverages consumed over a week-end filled with engagements is taking its toll. Although I will admit that the dream was probably triggered by one of Giuliana's retweets.

So whether you are spending your nights partying with the Kardashians or having coffee with the housewives of NY or OC, it is time to start making this salad.

Although I strongly suggest you make this in any case.

 

This salad has a lot of things going for it: it is packed with flavor and crunch; eating broccoli raw boosts its anti cancer properties; it is low in calories; you can pretty much use any combination of ingredients you like; it is vegetarian and vegan.

Use raisins or dried cherries instead of cranberries or skip the dried fruit altogether if you are not partial to it. Throw in some toasted pine nuts for added crunch and melt a few anchovy filets into the olive oil for that extra umami. Sprinkle over some bonito flakes, some grated parmigiano cheese or chili flakes. Perhaps add a tablespoon of light miso paste and substitute the balsamic vinegar with rice vinegar? Whatever way you decide to make this, just do it. Kardashians or not.
 

 

 

Oh, before you read the recipe, just wanted to inform you that Nuts about Food has moved to a new Facebook page, so if you are a follower or have liked my page, please move over with me. I am in the process of moving over my content as I write.