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Kahrmus, Moroccan Eggplant Salad

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Ingredients:IMG_2251

2 medium eggplants

2 cloves garlic (optional)

2 tsp cumin

red pepper to taste

pinch salt

1 tsp paprika

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2 tbsp parsley

1/4-1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup water

Directions:

Rinse and chop eggplant into 1 inch cubes.

Place eggplant, garlic, spices and oil into a large pan over medium heat.  Cover and cook for 30-40 minutes or until eggplant is tender and no longer bitter.  Stir every 10 minutes adding a little water as the liquid cooks down.  When eggplant is tender and no longer white add parsley, stir and remove from heat.

Serve at room temperature with a side of Greek yogurt.

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Tuna-isia with a dollop of Mayo

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Over a fine dinner of orange glazed salmon and saffron quinoa, my friend Jessica mentioned something very profound about my traveling choices. She said, “Most people choose their destinations by the sites they want to see or the resorts they want to stay in, but you choose destinations based on the food you want to try.” That clicked. In some ways I do choose destinations based on food.

I chose Tunisia, however, mainly to escape the cold rainy Bergamo spring, and to cross another continent off my list. For my first trip to Africa, food-wise I expected a cuisine similar to that which I had sampled in Moroccan restaurants previously. I was sadly disappointed. A young American foreign service officer stationed at the embassy in Tunis jokingly referred to Tunisia as Tuna-isia, and that’s a just name. Tuna of the canned variety seems to be the staple, and accompanies almost everything, along with a dollop of mayonnaise. I have nothing against tuna and mayonnaise, but it is a combination that puts to sleep 80 year olds with their casseroles. This is not to say that there aren’t any interesting dishes in Tunisia, but I had been expecting more.

It turns out Tunisian food is not like Moroccan food at all. Except for the couscous, a north African staple, Tunisian food differs completely from Moroccan. There is none of the rich, warm ,spicy stews or tagine that I had expected, at least not in the restaurants we ate in. We ended up eating in Tunisia what I eat in most other coastal cities, fresh seafood. The calamari I ate one night was especially fantastic, but nothing better than what I could have gotten in Sicily.

In my opinion, the only interesting plate I tried was a sauce called harissa served before every meal. Harissa is a hot red pepper sauce made of red chili peppers garlic, coriander, cumin, and olive oil. It is good, but I didn’t find it enough to satisfy the consuming craving for spice that I had developed living in spice-less Italy.

Now, I didn’t stay in Tunisia long enough to really explore the Tunisian relationship with food, but I got the impression that Tunisia lacks an identity, which is understandable in its current unstable political situation. Like its population, Tunisian cuisine is a mix of the traditional and the progressive with strong French influences that date from the time when it was a French colony. Tunisia is a country that hangs between Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The identity problem this creates is something that I have seen and experienced in Italy; however food culture is a different story. Greece, Italy, and Morocco all have strongly identifiable cuisines, so why not Tunisia?

I am not an expert, but I get the impression that food is approached differently. In Europe, and particularly Italy, meal time is sacred. It is a time to socialize, or to spend with the family. In Tunisia, I got the impression that socializing is done over tea and hookah.

Tunisian tea is special. It is a minty green tea usually served from an intricate metal pot with a slender spout. Special attention is given to its preparation, and unlike food, tea preparation falls under the male domain. Ingredients vary region to region, but tea is usually sweet and made with fresh mint leaves.

The tea is something to mention, because it is fantastic. So wonderful that I drank it at least once every day I was there. Here’s how to make it at home:

3 individual green tea bags (or the equivalent in loose tea)
¾ cups sugar, or to taste (I replace with honey)
2 large handfuls mint sprigs
2 tablespoons pine nuts, for garnish (optional)
In a saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat, add the sugar, and stir. Add the mint to the tea and pour the hot water over and let steep, off the heat, for at least 5 minutes.
Strain the tea to remove the mint. Garnish with pine nuts. Serve warm.

Now, although the food is nothing to rave about, the sites are. Check back for a post about what to see in Tunisia.

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A Big Brunch

A Big Brunch by julahooper
A Big Brunch, a photo by julahooper on Flickr.

There are few things I miss about America living in Italy. Other than my family and friends, I do miss brunch. Italians are not creative when it comes to breakfast. Breakfast is coffee and maybe a brioche (croissant). Fortunately, I have my own kitchen, so I can do breakfast my way, meaning 2 eggs sunny-side up over greens. On Sundays when I am free from work my American friend Jessica comes over and we go all out American style. Various Italian friends join us on these occasions and we shock them with the food we are able to digest in the morning. Jessica tends to favor the pancakes and french toast, while I am partial to eggs. The other day I made the perfect brunch dish. I guess I would call it a Mexican pancake. This fantastic meal consisted of a Dukan pancake, avocado, black beans, and a fried egg, layered in that order.

Dukan Pancake

3-4 tablespoons of Oat Bran

1 1/2 tablespoons of non-fat yogurt or fromage frais or quark

1 egg (or egg white if have cholesterol problems)

1 tsp hot sauce or chili powder

Toppings

1/4 avocado

1/4 cup black beans

fresh cilantro

Directions:

Beat pancake ingredients in a bowl. Heat non-stick pan and cook pancake mix until no longer sticky and brown in color. Layer toppings on top. Enjoy!

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“No, It’s not an explosive. It’s an insulin pump.”

What happens when you walk through airport security wearing an insulin pump?

Scenario 1: Nothing happens.

Insulin pumps do not contain enough metal to set off metal detectors.  This is the best-case scenario, and with a bit of preparation and luck this should be what happens whenever you go through airport security.  My advice is to wear either a dress (attaching your pump to your undies) or a long flowing shirt.   With any luck, you should be able to walk right through the detector like any other traveler.  Remember to take off ALL jewelry and belts, because if you ring you will be confronted by TSA.

Scenario 2: You attempt to go through the metal detector and your pump is spotted by TSA.

Maybe you didn’t follow my previous advice and wore a mid-drift and pump baring shirt, or maybe you raised your arms while your were taking off your coat, but anyways you got caught.  Now, it depends which airport you are going through.  Most airports in the English-speaking world will swab both your device and your hands and put it into a machine to check for explosives.  Before you pass the explosives check, you may be patted down by TSA and your bag may be examined, which is always more than a little frustrating as you didn’t even set the metal detector off.

What happens if you don’t pass the explosives test?

As I learned one fine morning at Heathrow, insulin contains a trace of some chemical (they didn’t want to tell me which) that is used in a rare form of explosives.  When detained for questioning (an uncomfortable experience to say the least), I resolved the problem by allowing them to pass my pump through the x-ray.  From this they realized it was not a device designed to blow planes out of the sky, but really a medical device, and I was soon free to board my plane.  Again this is a once in a lifetime scenario, hopefully.

Scenario 3: You have to go through the body scanners.

If you fly as much as I do, you’ll notice that more and more airports in America are implementing the sniffing body scanner machines rather than just the regular metal detectors.  In my personal opinion, these are a pain in the ass.  They slow down the lines and make going through security a nightmare, but anything in the name of safety.  Now here’s what happens.  After waiting in a gargantuan line, you put all your items on the conveyor belt and remove everything from your pockets.  The sliding doors open, you enter, position yourself on the foot prints, and they close.  In the capsule you here a whoosh as they blow air at you and suck it out.  Then, the doors open on the other side and you exit, and they have a nice x-ray of your bod.  Now there’s a reason they say remove everything from your pockets, and they’ll know if you don’t.  If you care deeply for the safety of your pump, you can hand it over to the security officers and let them examine it.  I usually just send mine with my bag through the x-ray machine, which I learned recently can actually damage your very costly device.

For more about the airport security debate:

CBS looks at the airport body scans debate

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Zucchini Carrot bread

 

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zucchini carrot bread, a set on Flickr.

I have been wanting to make zucchini bread all week, and so on Friday I bought four small-sized zucchini.  Unfortunately, by the time Sunday rolled around I was left with only two.  Two small zucchini is really not enough even for a small loaf of tasty zucchini bread.  Then I discovered 3 leftover carrots at the back of my fridge, and so was born the genius idea for a hybrid zucchini carrot bread.  I realized later surfing food blogs that this idea was not quite revolutionary, and in fact many others have tried this combo to great success.  My take on this veggie bread turned out pretty irresistible (it’s been less than 24 hours and half the loaf seems to have disappeared).  I’m starting to believe that whole wheat spelt flour really is well-adapted to dense sweet breads like this.  Also, you’ll notice that I use agave instead of sugar.  That’s because I really do like the taste of agave, and I find it’s better for maintaining control of my blood sugar.  If you don’t like agave, this can be substituted with a number of alternatives including, but not limited to: honey, maple syrup, stevia, molasses, even cane sugar  Anyways, try it for yourself.

Ingredients;

1 1/2 cups whole wheat spelt flour

2 tbsp psyllium husks (optional)

2 tsp vegan lievito substitute ( or 1 1/2 tsp baking powder)

1 egg

1/3 cup agave syrup

3 tbsp Lucuma powder (can be replaced with stevia)

1/4 cup oil (I used olive)

1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt

1 1/2 cups grated zucchini, with skin still on (about 2 small zucchini)

1/2 cup grated carrot (1 carrot)

Directions

1. Mix dry ingredients (flour, husks, powder) in a bowl and set aside.

2. In a separate bowl, beat egg and agave. Then add oil and yogurt and mix until smooth.

3. Stir in vegetables. Then mix in dry ingredients.

4. Pour into bread pan. Bake 45 to 55 minutes at 170 deg C (350° F) until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

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Whole Wheat Challah all’Italiana

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Passover has just ended. Being the terrible Jew that I am and living in northern Italy where jews don’t exist, I didn’t even realize it was passover. Anyways, I am celebrating the end of passover with a giant loaf of leavened bread. Even if I could find Matzah in this country, I’m not sure I would eat it. In celebration I have decided to make the beautiful eggy challah bread eaten at the Jewish Sabbath meal.

As I am living in Italy, I initially had some difficulties finding the proper ingredients. Yeast here is not the dry active yeast we find in packets in the United States. There are multiple strange forms, but the one I found most suitable comes in a refrigerated block form called lievito di birra. This is the same kind of yeast that is commonly used in pizza, so if you can’t find it at your local supermarket, ask at a local pizzeria.

Be warned that this is a slow rise bread, meaning it takes about five hours to make. I have split the rising into 2 periods, but the recipe is flexible.

Note: This recipe is adapted to Italian baking supplies from three recipes found on the internet.

Ingredients

1 cube refrigerated lievito di birra (you can usually find this near the butter in bigger supermarkets)

1 1/2 cups (350 ml) warm water (45 degrees C)

1 cup (200 gr) flour (I use whole wheat flower, but most bread makers will argue that bread flower interacts better with the yeast)

1/3 cup (78ml) oil (I use olive, but vegetable may be better)

1/3 cup (78 ml) honey (add more to taste)

3 eggs

1 tsp salt

4 cups (800 gr) whole wheat flour (I use pane nero flour a mix of many grains, which I find lends a deep rich flavor to the bread)

1 egg for coating bread

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix yeast, warm water and 1 cup of flour into a thin batter, and let stand until the mixture shows frothy bubbles, about 10 minutes. Stir in vegetable oil, honey, 3 eggs, and salt until well combined. Add in the rest of the flour until you have a slightly sticky dough that doesn’t stick too much to your hands.
2. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, adding more flour if needed to form a slightly sticky dough. Form the dough into a round shape. Lightly oil a bowl with a paper towel to collect excess oil. Place the dough in the bowl, and turn the dough over a few times to oil the surface. Cover the bowl with a damp towel or a plastic bag. Let dough rise 1-2 hours in a warm, draft-free place until doubled. I leave mine in an unheated oven.
3. Punch down the dough by pressing down with the fist of your hand. Knead it a few times to remove some of the bubbles. Depending on the size desired of your final loaves cut dough into 2 equal-sized pieces or leave in one for giant loaf. Cut the first piece into 3 equal parts. Set the rest of the dough aside under a cloth to prevent drying out while you braid the first loaf.
4. Working on a floured surface, roll the small dough pieces into ropes about the thickness of your thumb and about 12 inches long. Ropes should be fatter in the middle and thinner at the ends. Pinch 3 ropes together at the top and braid them. Starting with the strand to the right, move it to the left over the middle strand (that strand becomes the new middle strand.) Take the strand farthest to the left, and move it over the new middle strand. Continue braiding, alternating sides each time, until the loaf is braided, and pinch the ends together and fold them underneath for a neat look. Repeat for the other loaf. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
5. Preheat an oven to 175 degrees C. Beat 1 egg with 1 teaspoon of water in a small bowl, and brush the egg mixture over the braided challah loaves.
Bake in the preheated oven until the tops are a deep golden brown and the loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottom, about 40 minutes. Cool on a rack before slicing.