rose colored glasses

gratitude

 

                                                     via it's mary ruffle

darlings, happy thanksgiving.

i adore this day of meditation and celebration of one of life's great tenants: gratitude. 

It's hard not to let the heart yearn for the other side of the ocean on special days, but I have the great pleasure and honor of sharing this special Thanksgiving day with fifty friends (my classmates, our teachers and some other assorted wanderers), only 20 of whom are American. What a gift to share with our non-American friends. And after feasting on Thursday and going to class on Friday, I'm off to spend the weekend in continued celebrations in London with the Barney/McColl contingent who live on this side of the ocean. 

i'll leave you with my life's favorite poem by e.e. cummings. if i founded a church, this poem would be the canon. 

with gratitude for you, 

 xo, kb

i thank You God for this most amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
wich is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday;this is the birth
day of life and love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any-lifted from the no
of all nothing-human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

                                                                                          via design*sponge

 

producers and their products--Pastificio Fabbri

During our trip to Tuscany, we visited Pastificio Fabbri, a four-generation artisan dry pasta producer in Chianti. The company opened in 1893 and is one of eight remaining artisan dry pasta businesses in Italy in this, the era of Barilla. Visiting their small factory and speaking with the dedicated Giovanni Fabbri was a treat. What makes artisan pasta special is how it is cut with bronze dies, leaving the surface of the pasta with a rougher texture (all the better for binding with a delish ragu). 

                                                                        the pasta dries between two and four days

                                                                                                            the drying closets

                                                                                                    the pasta cutting machine

happy birthday to caroline!

Today is the birthday of my darling Caroline (pictured on the right here)! I've been meaning to post about her New York based 12 Oaks Bakery, an at-home operation that "makes home-made, custom desserts for special events, birthdays, meetings, or any other time you just need to satisfy your sweet tooth." I've been lucky enough to sample many of Caro's divine sweets and I love them!

If you're in NY, be sure to order some tasty 12 Oaks Treats! 

Eureka Moments: Where Culinary Inspiration Comes From - Michael Laiskonis - Food - The Atlantic

I love this piece from The Atlantic by Michael Laiskonis, executive pastry chef at New York’s LeBernardin.

His description of the eureka! moment:

 that short sharp shock of inspiration that fuels our sense of purpose

has me craving the pulse-raising satisfaction of well executed restaurant service. 

I love his account of the pivotal food moments in his life. I wrote a short piece about my favorite life tastes about a year ago; I need to sit down and write another to reflect upon this year. 

via www.theatlantic.com

via www.theatlantic.com

fall fog

hello my dears,

Sorry I have been a little absent lately here at RCG. These past fall weeks have been a whirlwind and the dark-at-5:30pm and fall Parma fog have left me in a bit of a fog myself. 

The weather is gloomy and makes me want to do nothing but curl up under my down comforter, eat soup and drink hot toddies while watching The Wire. For the past two days I've eaten several meals of white bean soup and roasted veggies in an effort to detox from the meat and wine orgy that was our amazing trip to Tuscany (more deets on beautiful Tuscany soon). Roasted veggies in the fall are the best.

For tonight, I'll leave you with a photo of the stunning romanesco I picked up from my favorite vegetable vendor as I walked home from the bus tonight. Romanesco is such an lovely lovely vegetable. I've decided it's half dinosaur and half cauliflower. Before chopping it up, I inspected it for several moments, totally in love with its twists and turns. 

xo, kb

 

tuscany

...in Tuscany this week with my class. We are driving through the hills and gazing at the vines-ablaze with autumn's magical colors, visiting vineyards and tasting wine, learning about pork and salami and sustainable tourism while enjoying our last days together. 

Ode to Salt by Pablo Neruda

 

This salt
in the saltcellar
I once saw in the salt mines.
I know
you won't
believe me,
but
it sings,
salt sings, the skin
of the salt mines
sings
with a mouth smothered
by the earth.

I shivered in those solitudes
when I heard
the voice of
the salt
in the desert.
Near Antofagasta
the nitrous
pampa
resounds:
a broken
voice,
a mournful
song.

In its caves
the salt moans, mountain
of buried light,
translucent cathedral,
crystal of the sea, oblivion
of the waves.

And then on every table
in the world,
salt,
we see your piquant
powder
sprinkling
vital light
upon
our food. Preserver
of the ancient
holds of ships,
discoverer
on
the high seas,
earliest
sailor
of the unknown, shifting
byways of the foam.
Dust of the sea, in you
the tongue receives a kiss
from ocean night:
taste imparts to every seasoned
dish your ocean essence;
the smallest,
miniature
wave from the saltcellar
reveals to us
more than domestic whiteness;
in it, we taste infinitude.

producers and their products-cascina roera

Friends Claudio Rosso and Piero Nebiolo (what perfect names!) joined forces in 2002 and opened Cascina Roera Winery in the stunning hilly Costigliole d'Asti, a small village in the heart of the Barbera D'Asti appellation in the Piedmont region of Italy's northwestern corner. 

I had the great pleasure of visiting them a few weeks ago with some friends. As we toured the vines I was struck by the true steepness of the Piedmont landscape; at certain moments, I had to hold on to the vines to keep my balance. We then toured the production facilities where I, with great glee, saw grapes being pressed for the first time in my life. A fantastic tasting in the cellar followed the tour; we ran through their chardonnay blend and several barberas, all very impressive and showing off their nuanced differences of age and oak.

Cascina Roera practices natural and biodynamic winemaking, both methods show great reverence for their soil and grapes. This careful work shines in their wonderfully structured wines. Keep your eye out for them in natural and biodynamic wine shops across the U.S.