Food & Book review: "A Thousand Days in Tuscany"
I notice that I've been rather preoccupied with food & cravings lately. Looking at the past few entries, one could think I'm the glutton of the century, lol. I blame the January atmosphere of new year's resolutions and diet talk all around. It's getting so annoying. When will people learn that fad "diets" just don't work and cause the yo-yo-effect in the long run? Ah, well. Each their own and I could definitely stand loosing more weight too -- no news there. But I refuse to center my whole life around nutritional considerations. I still think key is in the balance between proper portions size {simply eating normal food} and exercise. No pills, no weird 1-food diets, none of that. The issue is to stop being lazy. I did fall off the bandwagon recording my daily calories when I went to Germany and enjoyed Mom's home-cooking... Plus many of the European foods I'd been missing so much here in the USA. I still *do* think that recording calories for some months is a good method to analyse and actually *see* where your very own pitfalls lie when it comes to what you're eating on a daily basis. My own definitely aren't sugary/sweet foods but rather greasy/creamy/salty things... meh. While I was doing it, I also felt, however, that my whole day literally revolved around recording these foods. Which in turn makes one *think* about food all day long. Not good. It can easily act like a trigger when you're already a foodie as it is and you're contemplating all these food choices all day. The whole topic is like a neverending story... SIGN OF THE TIMES.
Can you picture medieval humans worrying about their weight?
We've become sedentary, don't eat enough whole foods and put too much prepared junk in our body. That's basically it. In past centuries there was hard work, farming, physical work, or at least enough "exercise" by default {that we now have to get at the gym}, just getting through a normal day. People were in tune with the seasons, the land, seasonal foods and nothing was lazy and simple like popping some junk in the microwave... Thanks, Industrial Revolution!
I'm currently reading a book called "A THOUSAND DAYS IN TUSCANY" by American author Marlena de Blasi which got me thinking of the old ways. Here it is:
If you have an interest in travel narratives, Mediterranean / Tuscan style, culture and foods, this comes recommended. It's quite entertaining and it's the author's personal story. She also wrote "A Thousand Days in Venice" which I haven't read yet.
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Review taken from http://www.globecorner.com/t/t38/19071.php
A Thousand Days in Tuscany: A Bittersweet Adventure by Marlena de Blasi
American chef Marlena de Blasi and her Venetian husband, Fernando, married rather late in life. In search of the rhythms of country living, the couple moves to a barely renovated former stable in Tuscany with no phone, no central heating, and something resembling a playhouse kitchen. They dwell among two hundred villagers, ancient olive groves, and hot Etruscan springs. In this patch of earth where Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio collide, there is much to feed de Blasi's two passions--food and love. We accompany the couple as they harvest grapes, gather chestnuts, forage for wild mushrooms, and climb trees in the cold of December to pick olives, one by one. Their routines are not that different from those of villagers centuries earlier.
They are befriended by the mesmeric Barlozzo, a self-styled village chieftain. His fascinating stories lead de Blasi more deeply inside the soul of Tuscany. Together they visit sacred festivals and taste just-pressed olive oil, drizzled over roasted country bread, and squash blossoms, battered and deep-fried and sprayed with sea-salted water. In a cauldron set over a wood fire, they braise beans in red wine, and a stew of wild boar simmers overnight in the ashes of their hearth. Barlozzo shares his knowledge of Italian farming traditions, ancient health potions, and artisanal food makers, but he has secrets he doesn't share, and one of them concerns the beautiful Floriana, whose illness teaches Marlena that happiness is truly a choice. Like the pleasurable tastes and textures of a fine meal, A Thousand Days in Tuscany is as satisfying as it is enticing. The author's own recipes are included.
~~~~~
ON AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Days-Tuscany-Bittersweet-Adventure/dp/1565123921
Can you picture medieval humans worrying about their weight?
We've become sedentary, don't eat enough whole foods and put too much prepared junk in our body. That's basically it. In past centuries there was hard work, farming, physical work, or at least enough "exercise" by default {that we now have to get at the gym}, just getting through a normal day. People were in tune with the seasons, the land, seasonal foods and nothing was lazy and simple like popping some junk in the microwave... Thanks, Industrial Revolution!
I'm currently reading a book called "A THOUSAND DAYS IN TUSCANY" by American author Marlena de Blasi which got me thinking of the old ways. Here it is:
If you have an interest in travel narratives, Mediterranean / Tuscan style, culture and foods, this comes recommended. It's quite entertaining and it's the author's personal story. She also wrote "A Thousand Days in Venice" which I haven't read yet.
~~~~~
Review taken from http://www.globecorner.com/t/t38/19071.php
A Thousand Days in Tuscany: A Bittersweet Adventure by Marlena de Blasi
American chef Marlena de Blasi and her Venetian husband, Fernando, married rather late in life. In search of the rhythms of country living, the couple moves to a barely renovated former stable in Tuscany with no phone, no central heating, and something resembling a playhouse kitchen. They dwell among two hundred villagers, ancient olive groves, and hot Etruscan springs. In this patch of earth where Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio collide, there is much to feed de Blasi's two passions--food and love. We accompany the couple as they harvest grapes, gather chestnuts, forage for wild mushrooms, and climb trees in the cold of December to pick olives, one by one. Their routines are not that different from those of villagers centuries earlier.
They are befriended by the mesmeric Barlozzo, a self-styled village chieftain. His fascinating stories lead de Blasi more deeply inside the soul of Tuscany. Together they visit sacred festivals and taste just-pressed olive oil, drizzled over roasted country bread, and squash blossoms, battered and deep-fried and sprayed with sea-salted water. In a cauldron set over a wood fire, they braise beans in red wine, and a stew of wild boar simmers overnight in the ashes of their hearth. Barlozzo shares his knowledge of Italian farming traditions, ancient health potions, and artisanal food makers, but he has secrets he doesn't share, and one of them concerns the beautiful Floriana, whose illness teaches Marlena that happiness is truly a choice. Like the pleasurable tastes and textures of a fine meal, A Thousand Days in Tuscany is as satisfying as it is enticing. The author's own recipes are included.
~~~~~
ON AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Days-Tuscany-Bittersweet-Adventure/dp/1565123921