Don't Take Our Pastina Away! (With a Recipe)

Childhood comfort foods can stay with us for life.   And when they are discontinued....brand name, watch out.

Ronzoni brand pastina is Italian heritage comfort food, and my spouse, who grew up near New York City, was raised on it.  I grew up in New York City and my non-Italian Mom served Ronzoni pasta (usually elbow macaroni) to me.

But there was bad news over the weekend - Ronzoni claims their manufacturer is discontinuing it this month and they will have to stop selling it.  Petitions to Ronzoni have sprung up online.

Say it isn't so, thousands of upset consumers are saying!

So what is pastina?  It is a small, star shaped pasta that is wonderful in soup, or as an easy to eat food when you are sick or even a little bit under the weather.

My spouse used to make it for our son and it couldn't be simpler.  You cook the pastina (it takes about five minutes), drain, return it to the pot, and stir in a raw scrambled egg and some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  Stir until blended.  The egg should be cooked but still wet. 

I didn't grow up in an Italian household but I remember eating my spouse's pastina dish years ago.

You can also make a simple soup.

You Tube has lots of instructional videos.  My spouse likes to watch ciao Italia, so I'm posting this video.  It couldn't be simpler.

Pastina even made it to The Sopranos. 

It would seem that there are a couple of other brands of pastina out there.  It's interesting that Ronzoni was sold last year - and now, this.   Ronzoni is certainly finding out how popular their product is.  It's all over the national news here in the United States.

I hope they find another source quickly. This publicity is not doing the brand any good.

What was your childhood comfort food?  Pastina?  Or something else?

The Family Dinner

Although I've disagreed with some of what our our Governor, Andrew Cuomo, has proposed over the years, I've been inspired by his daily COVID-19 press conferences.  

Today, the Governor talked about Sunday dinner, saying we should, in these hard times:

Create some joy

Look for the silver lining

Cuomo talked about growing up in an Italian family.  Sunday dinner was a two or three hour affair.

As a divorced dad, the Governor tried to continue the tradition with his children, but he was not a great cook.  So bought the meatballs and sausage from a store, and then would prepare and simmer the sauce. Spaghetti and meatballs with sausage were served.  He would never admit he didn't make it, and his children, knowing what a terrible cook he was, wouldn't eat it.  So they would go for Chinese after.

Today he will have the family dinner on Skype and by phone.

This reminded me of when I first started to date my spouse, almost 50 years ago.  We were of different religions and cultures.  I was invited to Sunday dinner at his house - spaghetti and meatballs/sausage with sauce.  I was in a panic, because spaghetti wasn't often on the menu at my house.  Could I even eat it without getting it all over me?

A past dinner

I literally worried myself sick that day.  

But I grew to love Italian food, especially the food my mother in law, and later my spouse, made.  My mother in law was an excellent cook, and her son follows in her footsteps.

In my mother in law's last years, we would buy frozen meatballs and jarred sauce, and cook it in her small apartment in an independent living project.  We crowded around her small dining table, and it brought each of us joy.

No, we aren't going to have a family dinner today, and we don't know when we might have one next.  But just thinking of those meals brings me joy.

What about you?  How are you hanging in at this time of stress?

Bitter Food

It is fascinating how we differ in our perceptions, due to the differing way our senses work.  I am revisiting a post from December 19, 2010, one that has (no pun intended) aged well.

I was reminded the other day about how my spouse finds the smell of paperwhites very pleasant while I find it very unpleasant.  The owner of a Bed and Breakfast we stayed in back in 2010 told me about the fact that some people find that the herb cilantro tastes like soap.

Neither my spouse nor I find that cilantro tastes like soap but again, we have two reactions to the smell.  My husband rarely uses cilantro in his food preparation because he can't stand the odor.  On the other hand, I have no problem with it. (I do find the taste somewhat complex, but the first time I tried it it smelled to me like dirty socks would taste, if you were crazy enough to eat one.  It did eventually grow on me.)

So what else do my spouse and I differ on, as far as food taste?

1. The taste of broccoli rabe, a staple of my spouse's childhood (I'm of a totally different ethnic group) is heavenly to spouse, but I can't stand it.  To me it is so bitter I just can't eat it.  Even when it is prepared in a way that reduces the bitterness, I still taste it.  I'm not the only one; one of my spouses' cousins actually "feel guilty" about disliking her ethnic staple.

2.  Strong, mold-type cheeses such as bleu cheese and Gorgonzola:  again, I find these so bitter I can't stand them.  My spouse loves them.  His autistic brother can be persuaded to eat veggies if you sprinkle blue cheese on them.  Go figure.

When I had an aunt living in Iowa, we made trips a couple of times to the Maytag Dairy Farms near Newton, Iowa just so spouse could buy their blue cheese.  This was before their blue cheese became a "foodie classic".  But it is no classic cheese for me.

I grew up with smoked fish.  It was an ethnic staple for me.  I work with someone who can't even stand the thought of smoked fish.

There is one other classic reaction to food that I should mention, which is the smell of people's "pee" after eating certain foods.  The classic food causing that is asparagus, but there are some other foods that cause pee to smell unpleasant and/or strong.  I'm told that asparagus affects everyone's pee, but not everyone can smell it.  Fortunately, because both of us love asparagus, neither of us smell it.

Since foods are chemical in nature, should any of this be surprising?

Are you sensitive to bitter food tastes?

Happy 2600th Post - A Hanukkah Potpourri

Today I am posting my 2,600 blog post, and I have decided to make it a delightful mix.

For the past month, we in the United States have been deluged with the music of Christmas.

But now, Christmas is over, and it is the third full day of Hanukkah. (Here is an explanation of the holiday, .)

Today, for your enjoyment, some music of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, both traditional and modern.  Some are children's songs that teach.  Others are religious in nature.

But first, a few non religious "fun" facts about Hanukkah: (here is another take):
1. One of the fun parts of Hanukkah for children, besides helping to light the Hanukkah candles, is singing songs about the holiday, and playing a game called Dreidel.  When my son was young, I used to play dreidel with him using Cheerios.
2.  Hanukkah is a time to eat fried foods, as foods should contain oil in them.  A favorite is latkes, a fried pancake commonly made with grated potatoes and onions.  More on latkes below.
3. Another favorite is jelly donuts, or sufganiyot.  One will easily set you back some 600 calories, and, nowadays, they are filled not only with jelly but with every imaginable filling.


As this is not a religious blog, I will concentrate on the secular songs, mostly contemporary. But before we get started, how about those sufganiyot?  Want to see how they are made?

And now, some music.

This first song, by Six13,  is a play on "Hamilton", an extremely popular Broadway play in our country.

Next, a traditional children's song called Dreidel, by Shir Soul.

Next, it's time to cook Latkes, as in Latke Recipe, back to the Maccabeats.




A modern song called "Candlelight" also by the Maccabeats. 

A final song, a jazz song called "Hanukkah Lovin'" by Michelle Citrin, for fans of contemporary jazz.

As a year-end bonus, here's a recipe for latkes, a favorite dish for Hanukkah, made with grated potatoes, onions, matzoh meal, and, sometimes, parsnips.  They are normally fried since one of the themes of Hanukkah is cooking with oil - i.e. frying. But I've gained too much weight this holiday season, and, when it comes time for latkes,  I am going to turn to this recipe.  Or something similar.

Another way to cut down the calorie count is to incorporate other veggies into the latke - such as zucchini.   I love them topped with my unsweetened (homemade) applesauce.

Thank you so much to you, my readers, for making this 2,600th post possible.  Without your reading support and comments, I never would have made it this far.

May your days be merry and bright.  And may all your latkes be crispy and light.

Manicotti and New Beginnings

We never thought it would end this way.

But we also have hope for a new beginning.

Last week, I blogged about my in law's traditional family Christmas.  We would all travel downstate, some 190 miles (305 km) to a city near New York City, and visit my mother in law's in laws.    Not too many of them are left - my spouse's aunt who will be 104 early next week, the son she lives with, and another of my spouse's cousins who lives in the same neighborhood.

We can't come this year.  My mother in law, in her late 80's and home bound, can't travel far.  The 103 year old aunt, can't, either.  She is basically home bound, too.

The "other relative" has hosted the dinner for years.  Even during her two bouts with breast cancer, she insisted on hosting.  She made her specialty.  She told me she timed it around her bouts of tiredness and other side effects of the medication she was taking.

Tradition.

"I am not an accomplished cook." she told me once.  "But all you need to do is learn to make one dish, and make it well.  Make it better than anyone".  And so, she developed her specialty.

Manicotti.  The kind of manicotti that is pronounced "mon-i-gaut" (accent on the final syllable). Perish the thought anyone in that family would ever pronounce it "man-i-cotti".

I hate the lighting in my house sometimes - gives everything a yellowish cast.

No, manicotti is not the stuff served in pasta tubes in some clueless Italian restaurants (and you know which ones they are).  No.  Monicottis start with light as air crepes, each painstakingly cooked by hand, spread out.  Then they are filled with a pillowy mixture of ricotta, mozzarella, eggs, parsley, and love. Covered in homemade tomato sauce simmered with meatballs and Italian sausage, they are a dish worthy of Christmas dinner.

The thought of missing her manicotti hurt us almost as much as the fact that we would not see their maker or the other family.

So I begged my spouse to call, and get the recipe from her.

I didn't know if she would reveal the recipe. But she likes us.  After some hesitation, she gave the recipe to us  She emailed it to us.  But first, she cautioned that my spouse (the family cook) really had no business making it.  Perhaps she would come up and visit us, one day next year.

And no, we can't reveal it.  But we can show the result.

My spouse promised he would not embarrass the family.

He cooked the crepes.

He mixed the ricotta filling.

He assembled the manicotti.

Tomorrow, surrounded by our small family up here (me, my spouse, my son, my mother in law and a brother in law) we will eat this product of love.

Yes.  It will be a new beginning.

Getting to Know Me Through My Food

Thank you for this idea, Christine at Inspired-to-Create.  

Getting to know someone through their food.  Yes, food is so basic, and, as they say, we are what we eat.

I had a lot of fun with this one.  I wonder where it first started (Christine got it from another blog, so I hope I am giving credit properly), and I want that very first person in the chain to know it was a lot of fun doing this.  I did it during a thunderstorm, for what that is worth.  Maybe it means I am crazy.

A is for Apple: What’s your favorite variety?
My favorite is the Honeycrisp apples.  I live in a part of NYS famous for its apples so there is no lack of local apples.  If there are no Honeycrisps (their local season is short) I also like Empire apples.

B is for Bread: Regardless of nutrition, what is your favorite type?
I prefer whole grain breads.  I love breads baked by Wegmans, a local grocery chain.

C is for Cereal: What is your favorite kind currently? (just one!)
Trader Joes O's.  The nearest Trader Joes is a 3 plus hour drive from here, which tells you something. (Actually there is one about 1/2 hour from where my mother in law lives, so I shop there 4-5 times a year.  Please, Trader Joes, put a store in or near Binghamton.  Do you take bribes?)

D is for Donuts: You might not currently eat them, but what kind do you fancy?
No.  When I was in my 20's I worked for several months in a donut store.  That cured me forever.

E is for Eggs: How would you like yours prepared?
In an omelet.  With cheese, please.

F is for Fat Free: What is your favorite fat free product?
Um....broccoli?

G is for Groceries: Where do you purchase yours?
Wegmans.

H: is for Hot Beverages: What is your favorite hot drink?
In the winter hot chocolate, or a really good cup of tea.  In the summer, I do not do hot.

I is for Ice Cream: Pick a favorite flavor and add a fun topping.
Perry's Chocolate Panda Paws.  Real whipped cream.

J is for Jams or Jellies: Do you eat them? If so, what kind and flavor?
Not really.  But if I do buy a jam or jelly I get a homemade type at a farmers market or stand.  Grape or sand plum are faves.  Strawberry.  I used to make my own, but haven't in about 30 years.

K is for Kashi: Name your favorite Kashi product?
Their crackers are good.  Don't like their cereals.

L is for Lunch: What was yours today?
The Saturday samples at Wegmans.  Zucchini soup, chicken sandwich sample, a small sample of cheese, a small sample of a yummy shake made with Wegmans vanilla ice cream. (Better stop now before I turn this blog into an ad for Wegmans.  Full disclosure, I know people who work in that store.)

M is for microwave: What is your favorite microwave meal/snack?
I use the microwave mainly for reheating.  Or for popcorn.

N is for nutrients: Do you likes carbs, fats, or proteins best?
Proteins. They keep you full the longest.

O is for oil: What kind do you like to use?
Ask my spouse-he's the cook.

P is for protein: How do you get yours?
Many ways.  Cheese, lean meat, poultry fish such as salmon, meatless combos using the protein complementation principle popularized by Francis Moore Lappe.  I must admit, my healthiest time was when I followed that diet and was a vegetarian.  But I fell off that wagon years ago.

Q is for Quaker: How do you like your oats?
Instant, on really cold days in winter.  But the instant oats are too sweet.   Could you cut your sugar in half, please? (without putting artificial sweetner in).

R is for roasting: What is your favorite thing to roast?
Ask the spouse.

S is for sandwich: What’s your favorite kind?
Tuna and fresh garden tomato, mayo, lettuce, on whole wheat bread.

T is for travel: How do you handle eating while traveling?
Sometimes we get a kitchenette and spouse cooks.  Sometimes we eat out and try to find local foods.  Like, in Charleston, SC we tried crispy flounder and shrimp and grits.

U is for unique: What is one of your weirdest food combos?
Macaroni and ketchup.  It almost led to divorce.  Now I only indulge if my spouse isn't around.

V is for vitamins: What kind do you take?
B Complex, D3 and Calcium.

W is for wasabi: Yay or nay?
Yay, if it's real.  Notice how much "wasabi" really is some other horseradish with food coloring?

X is XRAY: If we xrayed your belly right now, what food would we see?
Last night's macaroni salad made with whole wheat pasta, broccoli, pureed roasted garlic.

Y is for youth: What food reminds you of your childhood?
Schav.  Sweet cucumber salad with thinly sliced onion.  Kasha vaniskas.  My father's side came to this country from Belarus in the early 20th century.  Oh, for a cold bowl of schav with sour cream....

Z is for zucchini: How do you prepare it?
My cookin' spouse makes a zucchini Parmesan.  It's awesome!  But this summer I am going to ask him to make the zucchini soup we sampled today at...that supermarket that begins with "W".

Carolina Gold Rice

My recent trip to Charleston, SC held several pleasant surprises for me.  First and foremost, was our proximity (an easy walk down the narrow sidewalks of the historic Ansonborough neighborhood where we stayed, a walk appreciated by my gimpy back) to the Charleston City Market.

 The Market consists of several open buildings in a four block area. These are the entrances to two of the buildings.

The Market (at least, at this time of year) is not primarily a "farmers market" and not all the goods are locally produced, either.  But we had a wonderful time talking and interacting with some of the local artists, and went back several times.  (note, there are no pictures of those artists or their work.  I would not ever do that without permission, and I know many artists do not want pictures taken.)  If I end up posting photos of some work in the future, it will be of work that I purchased and credit will be given.)

One product that is local, and a revival of a historic heirloom food, is Carolina Gold Rice.

What we bought was grown locally and distributed through Charleston Specialty Foods. The distinctive yellow cloth bags packages of this rice are sold by several vendors at the market, and also are for sale at various historical venues throughout the Charleston area.  As the bag explains:

"In 1685, a distressed merchant ship paid for repairs in Charleston with a small quantity of rice seed from Madagascar.  Dr. Henry Woodward planted the seed in South Carolina, beginning the state's 200 year history as the leading rice producer in the United States."


So why should you pay a lot more for an heirloom variety of rice than the plain old (I won't mention any brand names) stuff you find on the supermarket shelves?

For various reasons, the cultivation of rice had slowed in the South Carolina low country, and much "Carolina Rice" is actually grown outside of the Carolinas.  The Carolina Gold Rice Foundation is attempting a comeback for this rice, and as the bag also explains "We are proud to be South Carolina's first product made with Green-e Certified Renewable Energy."

So how can you go wrong?  In one swoop you encourage the production of heritage foodstuffs, and support renewable energy and sustainable agriculture.

The rice can be ordered online or by calling 1-877-RICE-4-YOU. (and please note I am not being paid for this, or any other, endorsement I may make.)

So, how does it taste?  And what is the rice like?

I would judge it as medium grain.

It's definitely distinctive, and delicious.   Spouse (our family cook) made a pilaf with it.  It came out fluffy, and nice.

Nothing could be....err, finer.

Charleston

I have finally managed (using a loaner Mac computer, which I am trying to learn how to use) to sign onto my blog.  I apologize for the lack of pictures but I won't have any until I can use my computer again.

Anyway......

What a sight for spring-starved eyes.  While it is busy snowing back home (with temperature highs in the 20's scheduled for tomorrow) I am in a paradise of palmettos, flowering peach, sago palm, azaleas, poppies, yellow jessamine and who knows what else.

Only one problem-my back.

I would highly suggest that you never take a 850 mile road trip 45 minutes after you throw your back out.  But it was spring or bust, and I think I have bust.

Today, still in a lot of pain, I made an appointment with a massage person here in downtown Charleston.  It was a great 1 hour massage but I don't think it did a whole lot of good.  Spouse has been very good about it, and I am sitting here with an ice pack on that very sore back.

About the B&B:  It is called the Fantasia B&B on George St., in the historic Ansonborough district of downtown Savannah.  The house was built in 1813, which, by Charleston standards, means the house is quite recent.  The house has a piazza, which....well, here in Charleston, although the entrance to houses is in the front, the porches are built on the side.  These porches are called piazzas.  I haven't sat on our piazza yet because my back and the furniture here isn't getting along.

But the B&B owner is absolutely wonderful.

This morning she gave us a couple of walking tour maps, and we did a lot of walking (yes it hurts my back but those horse drawn carriages right now, I think, would be even worse).  We went up and down so many streets I can't think of them all.  Houses built in the 1740's, houses where George Washington slept, the church that both George Washington and Robert E. Lee worshipped at.  And the site of where South Carolina seceeded.

Tomorrow or Friday, we plan to see Ft. Sumter, speaking of the War of Northern Aggres....I mean, the Civil War.

In many of the historic houses, the passerby can catch glimpses of picture postcard gardens.  A tantalizing peak at paradise....for some reason it reminds me of Brooklyn.

A local Harris-Teeter store (we have a full kitchen) has supplied a number of meals.  And, another sight for sore New York eyes, they sell wine.  And not just $2.98 WalMart wine.  There is some pretty fine wine in that store.  Plus cigars, and other things you would not find in your average New York grocery.

Tonight we are going to have store-made shecrab soup.  And speaking of which, my next post will discuss the Charleston City Market.

The Soapiness of Cilantro, the Bitterness of Brocolli Rabe

It is fascinating how we differ in our perceptions, due to the differing way our senses work.

I had blogged a few days ago about how my spouse finds the smell of paperwhites very pleasant while I find it very unpleasant.  The owner of a B&B we stayed in last year commented, and told me about the fact that some people find that the herb cilantro tastes like soap.

Sure enough, there are various discussions online, including an involved discussion on Chowhound.

Neither my spouse nor I find that cilantro tastes like soap but again, we have two reactions to the smell.  My husband rarely uses cilantro in his food preparation because he can't stand the odor.  On the other hand, I have no problem with it. (I do find the taste somewhat complex, but the first time I tried it it smelled to me like dirty socks would taste, if you were crazy enough to eat one.  It did eventually grow on me.)

So what else do my spouse and I differ on, food wise?

1. Brocolli rabe, a staple of my spouse's childhood (I'm of a totally different ethnic group) is heavenly to spouse, but I can't stand it.  To me it is so bitter I can't stand it. Even when it is prepared in a way that reduces the bitterness, I still taste it.  I'm not the only one; one of my spouses' cousins actually "feel guilty" about disliking this ethnic staple.

2.  Strong, mold-type cheeses such as bleu cheese and gorgonzola:  again, I find these so bitter I can't stand them.  My spouse loves them.  In fact my mother in law loves them so much she will put them into salad and I've begged her to serve the cheese on the side.  Sometimes she remembers and sometimes she doesn't.

When I had an aunt living in Iowa, we made trips a couple of times to the Maytag Dairy Farms near Newton, IA just so spouse could buy their blue cheese.  This was before their blue cheese became a "foodie classic".  But it is no classic cheese for me.

There is one other classic reaction to food that I should mention, which is the smell of people's "pee" after eating certain foods.  The classic food causing that is asparagus, but there are some other foods that cause pee to smell unpleasant and/or strong.  I'm told that asparagus affects everyone's pee, but not everyone can smell it.  Fortunately, because both of us love asparagus, neither of us smell it.

Since foods are chemical in nature, should any of this be surprising?

Oreo or Hydrox?

If you are Jewish and of a "certain age" you will know exactly what this blog post is talking about. Oreo or Hydrox?

Diabetic Alert - Greek Festival Starts Tomorrow!

If I become diabetic (which may be in my future, family history being what it is) I am going to have to figure out how I can keep scarfing the goodies at this festival. The sweet, heavenly, Greek dessert goodies, that is.

The first weekend of June used to be "Super Festival Weekend" in this area. It isn't any more, but one of the remaining festivals is celebrating its 36th year, with the best sweets in town, a week "early". This is the 36th annual Grecian Festival at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation in Vestal. There are various Greek meals available, music, crafts, dancing (lots of late night Greek dancing), and more, but I go right for the gusto...the desserts, that is. Honey overload in a box, to go.

Oh yummy heaven. I don't mean just baklava (although yes they have that). These are specialties you won't find commercially. I'm sure they are painstakingly handmade by the members of the congregation. Many of them soaking luxuriously in honey, stuffed with nuts and goodness. If you wait for the weekend, some of the better ones are already sold out.

I don't like crowds, so I don't go later in the evenings, when things really get moving (no pun intended!), but this festival is something many locals wait for.

I've spent so much time praising Ithaca that I have not given enough attention to the festivals in the area. Hopefully I will post more later. Food wise, though, this one is Number One. With apologies to the SpiedieFest, which I promise I will write about soon.