Indian lentil and acorn squash curry (or soup)

 

If you have never heard of a What's App group chat then you also probably don't know how addictive it can get. The other day I decided to create one for my running group: the core group consists in myself, another girl and a guy, but we have had quite a few new entries lately so organizing our outings has become more engaging than before. We have been spending so much time texting and messaging on What's App individually to figure out who is coming and where to meet up that I thought it would be practical to create a What's App group chat. One of us writes, who wants to run answers and who doesn't abstains. Simple. Or so I thought.

 

 

 

 

 

Let's just say the group chat took on a life of its own.
 

Yesterday, the only guy of the group came out of an evening class to find 26 messages on his phone.

Quickly he checked his What's App account, wondering what had happened since he had confirmed his presence.

When he opened the messages to read them he was submerged by comments along the lines of*:

"It's supposed to be really cold tomorrow morning; I really need to get some new pants. The other day I stopped for a coffee after running and the guy who always serves me asked me why I was in my pjs"
 

"I am wearing running tights and a zip top; d'you think I should wear a tshirt under that or just a bra?"
 

"I'm not coming. I need some sleep. I know, I know, I am a lazy bum. I suck"
 

"You don't suck, you ran a marathon girl!"
 

"Yeah but you are incredibly consistent, unlike me"
 

"I know, isn't she? She never misses a day!"

"Yeah, but who's the one who managed to lose 10lbs???"

 

 

The poor guy didn't know what he was getting himself into when he accepted the invitation to our group chat, but he truly is a good sport and plays along. He is our guardian angel, always running back and forth to check on us in the pre-dawn darkness. 

  

Yup, it is dark now when we run. Fall is in the nippy air, dry leaves and those chestnut burrs I already mentioned recently crunch under our sneakers as we jog.
 

Autumn has come, with its lovely array of seasonal fruits and vegetables.
 

 

 

 

 

Pumpkin is definitely a favorite of mine and I like it prepared in pretty much any manner. My daughter, however, has recently developed a dislike for it because she finds the sweetness overpowering, so I have been looking for ways to use it without its flavor being too overbearing because pumpkins and squash are so filled with antioxidants and vitamins.

 

This vegetarian (or actually vegan) curry is ideal: it is packed with flavor yet delicate, the pumpkin adding creamy texture, the perfect vehicle to absorb all the spices and heat. My daughter didn't even notice the pumpkin until, during her second helping,
 I admitted it was actually one of the main ingredients. She made a disgusted faced, then shrugged and went on eating.

  

The curry paste I used as a base is a loose adaptation of a Jamie Oliver korma paste recipe.

 

 

 

 

If, on the other hand, you like pumpkin as much as I do and want its flavor to really shine through, here are some links to other favorite recipes.

 

 

Libyan Tershi pumpkin dip

 

 

 

 

Pumpkin gnocchi

 

 

Pasta with roasted butternut squash, kelemata olives and feta cheese

 

 

 

Oriental wisdom soup

 

 

 

 Pumpkin cinnamon rolls

 

 

 

 

Streusel pumpkin muffins with maple cream cheese filling

 

 

 

 

 

*This in not an exact transcript, forgive the poetic licence. I tried to catch the essence of endless texts into a few sentences. A few, however, are pretty accurate.

Tomato chickpea soup with roasted cumin

Where is the time going? Another crazy week at work has come and gone, hand in hand with more snow and another child at home with the flu since yesterday.

A few random questions I have been asking myself in the past days:

Who knew that picking up a report card as a parent would be almost as excruciating an experience? This week my oldest child got her first report card and I’m telling you, that walk down the hall, sitting in front of the classroom waiting to be judged, that feeling of dread, insecurity all came back in a flash. Except this time it involved someone I love more than I loved myself way back when, so multiply it by 100.

When did my children’s social life get more active than mine? I used to be out on the town almost every night of the week and between you and me, partying did not involve toy stores, runny noses, drop-offs and soggy layer cake.

Why is everybody surprised I am still riding my bike in sub zero temperatures? If you ask me it is much warmer biking than standing for ten minutes at a bus stop. And besides, entire countries function daily in this kind of weather.

So, as I mentioned above, temperatures are still below zero here in Italy. This is a dish that works perfectly on our side of the equator, to warm the body and soul but it also works well in the summer heat served at room temperature with a nice dollop of cool yogurt or cream. The recipe I followed actually described this as a quick soup to be made with precooked (or canned) chickpeas, so cooking times were much shorter than mine. Nonetheless, I feel this kind of soup benefits from longer cooking on low heat. Also, the next time I make this I think I will sauté some chopped garlic and onion in the pot before adding the spices and the tomato base.

Shrimp coconut curry. Ooooohm...

It is cold. It is grey. It is wet. Very wet.

About ten days ago it felt like spring might be on its way, but a lot of rain has washed away any further hope. I know we need lots of rain but I also need my 6:00am runs to burn off some of the chocolate ganache and chocolate chip cookies that have been accumulating on my hips lately. So, on the 5th consecutive day of rain, I must concentrate on my mantra.

Rain is good, rain is good, rain is good. Oooooohm.

Rain is wet. Rain cleans the polluted air of this city. Rain is depressing. Rain washes all the dog waste (and more, but I will not get into that) off of the sidewalks. Rain = mud. Rain = puddles that my children love to jump in, in their cute little rainboots. Heavy rain means taking the subway to work. Light rain means it is just me and my bike in the pedestrian (and usually overcrowded) part of the center. Rain means soaked clothes, wet dripping strollers and umbrellas all over the apartment. Rain gives life.

Rain is good. Rain is good. Rain is good. Oooooohm.

I don't know about you, but all this oooooohming has carried me to warm, sunny Indian beaches and made me hungry. I hear the waves rhythmically breaking on the strand, the breeze gently relieving my skin from the burning sun. I am drinking the water from a freshly opened coconut and I can smell my lunch being prepared not far from where I lie.

Shrimp coconut curry. Big, plump shrimp, the sweat richness of coconut milk spiced up with coriander, cinnamon and turmeric. The tangyness (does that word even exist? Well, it does now!) of lime juice and lots of aromatic basmati rice. You want to join me?

When I attempted my first curry from scratch, I was intimidated by the huge amount of spices and herbs required. Also, I am known to get excited by new ingredients, to purchase them, use them once and then let them sit in my kitchen for eons. The truth is that making a tasty curry is pretty simple and once you have gone out and spent the money, these multicolored, quite inexpensive and wonderfully aromatic packets will go a long way, so it is a worthwhile investment, a promise of many curries to come.

Recipe found on Food & Wine.

Witch's brew and blackberry crumble

Halloween is right around the corner and tonight we will be carving our pumpkin...

The celebration of Halloween is pretty recent here in Italy and the commercial aspect is preponderant as this tradition really has no ties with the Catholic tradition except for its proximity to All Souls Day on November 2nd and the name (Halloween comes from All Hollows Eve - the evening before Hallowmas, all hallows mass, better known as All Saints Day. The name however possible also derives from the pre-Christian-era saying all allows even - the eve when all is permitted).  Originally, after its establishment in 610 A.D., All Saints was celebrated in May but it was then moved to November 1 in 1048 A.D. to try to overshadow the pagan Celtic celebration of Samhain, the end of summer. During this celebration, people left food out for the dead and it was believed that fairies and elfs played tricks on humans, which is where the trick-or-treat tradition comes from.

As a child, growing up in Italy, Halloween was our private celebration. My mother used to bring over decoration from NY and we we got dressed up and were allowed to invite our best friends for dinner. I remember Venetian children of the end Seventies being quite puzzled as to why they had to come to dinner wearing a costume, when clearly Carnival is in February, but kids will be kids and any opportunity to get dressed up and tell ghost stories is a good one. I also remember my nanny taking a boat and a bus out of Venice on a quest to find a pumpkin only to come back after half a day with a yellow, warty pumpkin no larger than a tennis ball that a distant cousin of hers had grown in his garden. These days, I no longer have that problem. Supermarkets are full of plastic gadgets and fresh orange pumpkins and some even sell pumpkin or ghost shaped cookies but the more traditional aspect hasn't really caught on, creating a bizzare jumble of practices. Clubs and bars have Halloween-themed parties making it more of a fun evening for students than children.