Zomppa Magazine_October 2012 by Zompp

Food Good, Social Good. Ode to Women and to the Potato

October 2012 Vol. 1 Issue 1

Good Omens for the Harvest Eggplants for All Seasons

Budburst

Photo by Patty

CONTENT

IN THIS ISSUE...

Ode to Women

Good Omen

Eggplant Dish

First the Spring

Table of Contents Article Page Letter from the Editors .................................................................... 5 Tips fo r the Busy Parent. .................................................................. 7 Ode to Women and to the Potato ..................................................... 9 Tips for the Earth Advocate.............................................................. 12 May the Good and Auspicious Omen Return................................... 14 Halloween in Ireland........ ............................................... .................17 An Eggplant Dish for the Changing Seasons.......................... ........22 Tips for the Traveler...........................................................................24 But First the Spring........ ..................................................................25 Recipe Index..... .................................................................................30

STAFF

Belinda Kat Patty

Editors

Co-Editor Co-Editor Co-Editor

Featured Contributors Baking Bar Amsterdam Liz USA Mila USA Sarah Australia Tsering Canada Monkey (photography) USA

About Zomppa Zomppa ® is an innovative, 501(c) 3 nonprofit that aims to transform the relationship between food and people through awareness, dialogue, and education. Zomppa ® is an integrated food advocacy platform that brings food back to the central role of our lives by: 1) influencing public opinion with an interactive, online café, and international food magazine; and 2) empowering children through Zomppabus, a mobile food atlas and online classroom.

Photo by Belinda

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FROM THE EDITORS

October 2012 Dear Reader: With the autumn season in full swing, the scorching summer of 2012 seems more like a faded, distant memory clouded by the ultra-jammed schedules and anticipation for the upcoming holiday season. Inspired by the welcomed crisp in the air – at least in the Northern Hemisphere, we at Zomppa are incredibly excited about this new transformation to reach you, our readers (new and old), and to better communicate our motto: Food Good, Social Good! We introduce to you the Zomppa Magazine, an editorial that is published bimonthly highlighting featured articles, tidbits, news, and recipes relevant to YOU, whether you’re a teacher, a mom, a chef, or a food lover! Zomppa continues to provide our readers with the same level of enthusiasm and passion for food policy issues that impact our lives, health and pocket books on a daily basis. In addition, you will find tips to make your time in the kitchen more pleasant and helpful travel information to better prepare you for your next gastronomical adventure in some far away land! In this first issue, we focus on the Harvest, a time of year that people from many communities and cultures celebrate with festivities and bounty. In this issue, we explore what the annual Harvest means to us as our writers discuss planting traditions, offer tips to help parents get with school lunches, share spooky stories, and more. The fall is a time for reveling in the fruits of our labor and devouring wagonloads of crisp, tart and juicy apples, nutty squash, and picking out over-sized pumpkins: what better way to enjoy Zomppa’s October issue than to curl up in an comfy couch with a mug full of steaming hot mulled cider? There is no better way! Our website will continue to be home to a blog with up-to-date news and tidbits, as well as featuring the different Zomppabus initiatives – initiatives targeted to get an entire new generation interested in and aware of how food is relevant to their lives. We hope you will enjoy the ‘fruits of our labor’ and we thank you for your continued support. Patty, Kat, & Belinda Co-Editors Copyright © 2012 Zomppa ®. All Rights Reserved.

OUR CONTRIBUTORS

Featured Contributors

Baking Bar are passionate bakers who encourage parents to bake with their children from an early age to develop this life skill.

Liz is a scholar and a storyteller raised in traditional ways of cooking and caring for the Earth, giving voice to the underrepresented.

Mila believes in trying “ anything twice.” Her years spent traveling began a love affair with “street food” and exotic flavors.

Sarah is a traveler, having ailed across the Pacific as a ship’s cook. She now does wine marketing and brand strategy Down Under.

Tsering was born and raised in exile in India. A vegetarian herself, she has the uncanny ability to season the best meats.

Monkey is a photographer and observer of food and live who earned her moniker for her gangly arms and love of bananas.

TIPS for the BUSY PARENT The start of the autumn season is like the start of a sprint: a sprint that lasts as long as a marathon! With work, errands, school, sports and other extracurricular activities eclipsing the day from start to finish, it is difficult to sit down and think of ways to make your day a more efficient, smooth and pleasant one. Well, we’ve offered up a few suggestions that might help you slow down from a full on dash to something of a leisurely stroll….that happens to last as long as a marathon! Unlikely? Well, maybe we’ll help you more readily prepare healthy, satisfying and no-mess lunches for your kid’s lunchbox. Pack Lunches the Night Before This is helpful, particularly if your mornings are a hectic, chaotic blur of eating breakfast, brushing teeth and getting dressed. Have the lunch packed and in the fridge and ready to go when you’ve got less madness in your day. Get a thermos! Have leftovers from the night before? Well, send your kid to school with a steaming hot lunch in a 5-hour thermos! These thermoses are excellent when it comes to keeping leftover foods hot and fresh. They are also extremely beneficial in saving you time and the energy required to make another meal! Prepare Snacks in Baggies over the Weekends Prepare snack-sized baggies or containers full of your kids’ favorite snacks when you’ve got some downtown over the weekend. Bag up a handful of pretzels, nuts, crackers, cut up fruit (grapes, blueberries are great as they maintain their shape) or veggies and you’ll see how easy it is to simply add these treats as a wonderful addition to your child’s lunchbox. Create Weekly Lunch Menu in Advance This might sound like a lot of work, but the amount of time it takes to think of 5 different lunches is negligible given the lack of time you have available on any given weekday morning! Bake and Freeze Muffins Want to surprise your kids with a sweet treat made from scratch and with love? Then bake a batch of delicious pumpkin or blueberry muffins and freeze in large gallon sized bags. Pop one thawed and at room temperature – ready for in your child’s lunchbox either the night before eating! Photos by Patty or morning or and the muffin will be perfectly Copyright © 2012 Zomppa ®. All Rights Reserved.

ARTICLE 1

Photo by Patty

ODE TO WOMEN AND TO THE POTATO

ODE TO WOMEN

Written by Liz symbolism of our humanity. Like corn and quinoa, potatoes occupy a special place in the lives of Andean people that link this food to our spirituality, to the earth and to the very practice of what it means to be a living, working human being. As with other sacred crops, the women in my community in the Andean highlands plant the seeds. This is because women represent fertility, life and nurturance. From the very young to the very old, community members are taught to plant this crop, to care for it compassionately and to harvest the varieties we plant with great joy. Once potatoes are harvested, they are of course, consumed fresh by family and community, taken to the local market for sale or barter, and also stored using special methods and herbs. Photo by Liz

Due to the efforts of the Food and Agriculture Orga-

nization (FAO) of the United Nations and their worldwide partners, 2008 was declared the International Year of the Potato by the UN General Assembly. (For more information, please see http://www.potato2008. org/). Included in the rationale for acknowledging the potato plant, was the understanding that the tuber is a central food source for many of the world’s vast populations. By food source, I am not talking about what we commonly see in mainstream settings—french fries, baked white potatoes or potato chips—all flavored with various oils, butters/fake butters, salts and preservatives. Instead, a nice example to point to is the potato of the South American Andes—or should I say potatoes, meaning the thousands of varieties of potatoes cultivated over thousands and more thousands of years.

The potatoes stored in this manner will last in the dry Andean climate for over 10 months, feeding family members, friends and visitors. While the stories, cultivation, harvesting and storage of various potato varieties is fascinating and wonderful, this piece is really a love letter to the women in my family—the women like my mother, my grandmothers, my aunties, who worked the land to plant these seeds, but who also prepared these potatoes with their deepest devotion to the art of cooking, and with love. Women the world over, like my cousin, Herminia,

Photo by Liz 9

ODE TO WOMEN

Papa a la huancaina

Photo by Liz

who today continue to pass on the tradition of farming and cooking to their children—this is my ode to you.

Añañao! (Pronounced a-nya-nyow. Remember to say it with a flair!). There are many many recipes for this dish, but my favorite is the simplest.

Everyone is blessed with gifts—gifts of mind and gifts of heart. An Indigenous scholar, Mary Eunice Romero (Cochiti Pueblo), conducted a beautiful project known as the Keres Studies (1994) that examined the way in which Indigenous people in her community understand the concept of giftedness. Her work revealed gifts of four domains—humanistic or from the heart, linguistic, knowledge or reflection of ingenuity, and creativity associated with psychomotor abilities. But what her work also revealed is that it’s not really a gift unless it’s used to contribute to community.

What makes this dish, prepared at home in our village, so special is that the chile is grown locally in the community, pesticide-free. The Andean cheese (similar to a queso fresco) is made from my grandmother’s cows (who are fed only alfalfa and other products grown alongside our corn). The starchy potatoes that my cousin uses are also pesticide-free, grown from our own fields. Nevermind that a worm or two might have traveled through the potato, leaving it relatively unscathed—as the women say, “Poor thing, I suppose the worm has to eat too.” And to boot, everything is prepared by hand here in the highlands, even the grinding of the chile.

In this light, one of the highest expressions of giftedness is exemplified by cooking, and cooking with a conscience. One of my favorite Peruvian dishes of all time hails from Wanka lands and takes its name from one of the three regions that the Wanka people occupy—Huancayo. The dish is called Papa a la Huancaina (pronounced pa-pa a-la wan-ka-eena), and is essentially a yellow chile cheese sauce covered potato. YUM. Or as we would say in our Quechua language, 10

So without further delay, I present to you, Papa a la Huancaina, estilo Herminia (Herminia-style). And while we are no longer celebrating the International Year of the Potato, our conscientiousness can still make an impact, starting in our own kitchens and in our own “villages,” indeed wherever it is we call home.

PAPA a la HUANCAINA Like most traditional family recipes, this was never written down in a cookbook. These measurements are best estimates from the women who have made these for gnerations - as usual, adjust for flavor.

Papa a la Huancaina Serves 4 Ingredients: 4 yllow chiles, known as aji amarillo 100 grams cheese 1/4 liter milk Hard-boiled eggs (amount is your preference) 1/2 kilo boiled potatoes Salt to taste Olives Lettus for garnish

Directions 1. Wash potatoes. 2. Wash the chili. Remove seeds 3. Slice the chili to blend in a blender or use a stone grinder (If you use a stone grinder, the sauce will not be completely smooth) 4. Cook the chile for 30 minutes over strong heat until it boils and continue boiling at medium heat for the remainder of time 5. Let the chile cool 6. Use a stone and grinder to grind down the cheese (or use a blender for smoothness) 7. Stir the cheese into the milk 8. Combine the cooled chile with the cheese-milk mixture and mix well (or use blender, depending on your preference for smoothness) 9. Add salt to taste 10. Pour the mixture over the potatoes and sliced boiled eggs 11. Garnish with sliced olives and lettuce

TIPS for the EARTH ADVOCATE Harvest time is all about the Earth. It’s hard to ignore the bright orange pumpkins and green squashes at the farmer’s markets, heralding the hibernation of winter. For the sustainably-minded, here are five ideas to ensure that the beautiful fall bounty is ecologically gathered, prepared, preserved, and recycled.

Gathering

Reisenthal Market Basket

Mine was a gift about 6 years ago when reusing plastic bags were just coming “into vogue.” I made a little quilted cover for mine, and started carrying this around in grocery stores and farmer’s markets, receiving many compliments and curious questions. Now they are more ubiquitous and for good reason. Carrying a basket helps to not squish all your tomatoes or crush your eggs that inevitably end up at the bottom of a bag. The baskets are collapsible, light, and durable. Mine is in as great shape as the day I received it. Not to mention super chic. Preparing

Mason Jar Bean Sprouts

Mason jars are so incredibly versatile, not only for as beverage containers and storage jars, but also as growing jars. In four days, you can have a mason jar full of bean sprouts. Stick some lentils in them, covering with lid with a screen or cheesecloth with a rubber band. Then pour water. Leave overnight. Drain water and turn upsidedown. Rinse once a day. Talk about local food – there is hardly any carbon footprint here. For video directions: http://youtu.be/F-1V4vtV8Yo

Tin Spice Containers

I couldn’t get myself to spend $3 a container for a spice jar. I found this great company online that sells all shapes and sizes of jars and bottles, and have been storing my spices in their round tin ones ever since. With double-sided magnets, they stick to the side of my refrigerator and create an automatic work of art in my kitchen. When I need to refill, I carry these light tins with me to the grocery store and refill. For purchase: www.specialtybottle.com Preserving

Recycling

Pyrex Glass

I cannot say enough about Pyrex. The glass Tupperware is durable and can go from freezer to the oven to the microwave. When you’ve got an overwhelming amount of fall tomatoes that you want to harvest for the winter, storing them in these containers will not only save you money, but it helps to reduce unnecessary waste.

Bamboo Compost Crock

With all the scraps and “waste” of a full harvest, there is no need to discard everything and add to the landfill. Composting has become increasingly popular as a way to recycle scraps to be reused in one’s garden. There are many different options for compost bins, and this one seems to hit the mark on the many key characteristics: odor-free, quick composting, space, and of course, how great it looks on the kitchen counter. Photos by Belinda

PAPA a la HUANCAINA

Photo by Belinda

GOOD OMEN MAY THE GOOD AND AUSPICIOUS OMENS RETURN Written by Tsering

Growing up in exile, in India, the smell of corn being husked and the joy of running into the fields to pluck fresh corn and the sound of women singing is embedded in my childhood memory. Romanticized? Yes, but only a little.

Allow me to take you back to the places and people who shaped my memories of farming and harvest in the Tibetan communities of India. My beloved father, Mr. Gyaltsen Choden, a linguist, a teacher, historian and an astute man, shouldered the responsibility of managing a newly established Tibetan settlement in South India in 1976. Equipped with the determination to help his people survive in their new land and with the foresight to ensure that the new farmland would be demarcated equitably, my father began his journey with 3 young children in tow. After Tibet lost its independence in 1959, Tibetans sought exile in India. The Indian government offered Tibetans the ability to start new lives and to become a self-sustaining exile community in forested areas

Photo by Tsering mostly located in South India. Prior to coming into exile, Tibetan farming was solely agriculture and livestock based; however, the South Indian climate required a crop and type of farming unusual to the newly transplanted Tibetans. Yet, these pilgrims took on the challenge, and managed to create a successful farming community. I salute the Tibetan pioneers for being the foundation for our community’s success. My father was from a farming family that grew mostly barley which is the sturdiest crop given Tibet’s unfriendly landscape and climate. With this grain, Tibetans created many delicious items, including “pa”, balls of dough, soup from barley, and “chang” (liquor)! At the ripe old age of 92, my father fondly remembers harvest season in Tibet and in India. Once, when I asked him about the harvest season in Tibet, he sternly reminded me, “You must know how a farmer begins cultivating his field and the heart and hard work he puts to it, before you [can] talk about harvest.” My father recalls that in Tibet, in early spring families will plough their fields and plant barley. Tibetans, religious by nature, will have monks pray and to bless the earth/farmland by carrying “chod,” prayer scriptures around the farmland.

Photo by Belinda 14

In the month of August, families go to the fields to harvest their grain and dry them on the roofs. Prior to the harvest season when the fields are ripe with barley, the festival of “Ongkor” is celebrated. The

GOOD OMEN festival is welcomed by horse racing; my father in his own words said, “As a dashing young man, I rode my horse with my finest gear”. Everyone wore their finest dresses, sang, ate and celebrated. Women would go on top of their roofs, and shout “Yang kyid shod” – “may the good and auspicious omens always return.” Much has changed historically and politically in Tibet but the songs, the food, and the joy are still carried on, every August! For better or worse, the younger generation is leaving behind the farm life as a means of long-term employment. Nowadays, there is less emphasis on the fall festival: there are no horses to be ridden and the traditional songs are primarily sung during cultural shows. Recently, however, as a backlash to the Tibetan farming exodus, there is a growing number of Tibetan farmers who are choosing to be organic farmers and diversifying their agricultural product choice.

While I feel I am a farmer at heart (who happens to have a fondness for stilettos), I am confident that I don’t have the skill to be a successful farmer. However, there might be hope for me as an urban farmer ((okay, so I plant only tomatoes and herbs, but still) as I thoroughly enjoy the experience of digging the earth, sowing, and harvesting my tomatoes with my children .Our time of ‘harvest‘ is one that I cherish as each year goes by, but I still rely on my local farmers market and grocery store for our essentials. I In celebration of the harvest season, I say to all the farmer in the world, ‘thank you’, and yang kyi shod, yang kyi shod- may the good and auspicious omens always return to you. For more information, take a look at: http://www. thenational.ae/news/world/tibetans-sow-idea-ofchemical-free-farming-in-india

Photo by Patty

HALLOWEEN IN IRELAND

Written by Baking Bar

Halloween is a time of the year steeped in tradition and history, conjuring up thoughts of ghosts and ghouls. But there is a lot lot more to Halloween than that!

There are literally thousands of traditions and superstitions which span almost all countries and cultures around the world, none more so than Ireland. Being from Northern Ireland we are going to tell you some of the Irish traditions that have been passed down through generations of many Irish families. It is thought that Halloween in Ireland was first celebrated by the Celts who referred to it as Samhain, which in modern Irish language has actually come to mean November. It was believed that during this time the dead revisit this world. To celebrate this they had feasts, the ‘Feast of the Dead’. During the 8th Century Samhain became known as All Hallows which was the 1st of November. The evening before therefore became known as All Hallows Eve, or as we know it now Halloween.

Photo by Kat Irish Barn Owl - or a Banshee?

The Carved Pumpkin

We’re going to share with you a recipe for a very traditional Irish fare enjoyed during the time of Halloween. Barmbrack is an Irish fruitcake or fruit bread. It’s deliciously sweet but with no butter or oil in the recipe and very little sugar. It is considerably less ‘bad’ for you when compared to all those sweets we end up consuming over Halloween.

Everyone knows the association of the carved pumpkin with Halloween, but few know the story behind the carved pumpkin. It is believed that the legend first started with an Irish blacksmith named Jack. The recipe for barmbrack traditionally uses raisins soaked in tea preferably Jack made a deal with the devil overnight which makes the cake not only moist but nice and sweet too. Tra- and was therefore not permitted to dition dictates that the person baking the cake for their guests would bake enter heaven. He returned to the a coin, a ring and a small piece of rag into the cake. If you found the ring in devil and asked for some light to your slice of cake, then you were believed to be lucky in love over the com- guide him on his way as he foring year. If you managed to find the coin, then you might come into money ever wandered the earth. The devil during the coming year. On the other hand, if your slice of cake contains gave him a bright red hot burning the rag, then many believe you might experience misfortune. So as not to ember. Jack placed this in a turnip distress any of our guests, we decided to leave out the piece of rag from our which he had hollowed out. Gencake! erations of Irish families followed the tradition of carving out turnips Before we share the recipe we will share with you two more fantastic Haland displaying them in the winloween traditions and their origins. dows in their homes with a candle

HALLOWEEN IN IRELAND

Photo by Monkey inside to prevent Jack from visiting them. When many Irish families emigrated from Ireland to the United States of America during the famine and other times of hardship, they took with them generations of traditions and carving turnips was among them. However, upon arrival, the Irish realized that turnips were very hard to find in the USA. Therefore, they substituted pumpkins and there began the tradition of carving pumpkins. Ironically, The pumpkin carving tradition then fed its way back to Ireland over the years.

The Banshee Another famous legend passed down through many Irish families is that of the Banshee. Believed to be a woman form of a fairy, the Banshee visited families and announced her presence outside the house by wailing or ‘keening’. None of those inside dared to ever look outside for they knew what the sound meant: the sound was believed to mean that someone within the immediate family was about to die. Although not specifically a Halloween legend, it has become more associated and more feared during the ghoulish time of year. One explanation for the origin of the Banshee is in the screech of the Irish Barn owl at night as it is known for its chilling screeching sound. Note: the Banshee isn’t limited to the island of Ireland, for she is said to visit Irish families wherever they live around the world. Beware!

BARMBRACK The Halloween barmbrack is at the center of an Irsih Haloween. Tradtionally, this yeasted bread contains various objects (i.e. a pstick or a coin), which is supposed to have some fortune-telling properties.

Barmbrack Ingredients 380 g raisins 270 ml tea 220 g NEILL’S® plain flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp bicarbonate soda 1 egg 80 g dark brown sugar 1/2 tsp vanilla extract Directions 1. Steep the raisins in the tea for at least 3 hours. If you can leave them overnight in the fridge as this will make them super juicy. 2. Preheat oven to 160c. 3. Mix the egg, sugar and vanilla into the raisins and tea mixture. Ensure these are mixed evenly throughout. 4. Sieve the flour and baking powder and bicarbonate soda together in a separate bowl and slowly add this to the wet mixture while mixing. There is no need to use a mixer for this recipe as it will cause the raisins to break up, a wooden spoon is perfectly sufficient. Mix enough to combine all the flour. 5. Pour into a prepared cake tin and bake near the bottom of the oven for 45-50 mins or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. 6. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 mins before turning out to cool completely. 7. Slice and serve with tea, but traditionally this would be eaten with a little butter spread on it.

Photo by Baking Bar

Follow the Bus!

Photos by Sol Food

The four-person crew of the Sol Food Mobile Farm is halfway on their 6-month nationwide journey to teach children and communities about gardening, sustainability, and healthy eating. From North Carolina to Maryland to Vermont to Michigan to South Dakota to Washington, the crew has been helping communities build square foot gardens and teaching kids about different cultures through healthy eating with the Zompping for Food and Planet curriculum. Follow the bus as they continue their travels on a waste-oil fueled, solar-powered converted schoolbus equipped with rainwater catchment, a green roof, and a greenhouse on board:

http://www.zomppa.com/category/kidsfood/solfoodmobilefarm/ 20

21 Photo by Monkey

EGGPLANT DISH AN EGGPLANT DISH FOR THE CHANGING SEASONS Written by Mila

Autumn is a season of bold colors and even bolder

changes. The recent reopening of Union Market, Washington DC’s newest addition to the slow food movement is no exception to this rule. The market, once destroyed by fire, was recently rebuilt and opened this month just in time to herald a diverse and changing landscape of seasonal foods and artisanal goods. If summer is best known for its improvisational tempo, autumn, on the other hand, offers an opportunity to pause, reflect, take notice, and slow down. For me, this season’s shorter days and cooler temperatures almost always ushers in a remarkable craving for deeper, denser, and slower cooked foods. Meeting the morning’s cooler breezes, and welcoming the crisp evening air often facilitates a return to a more domestic lifestyle centered around the home and hearth.

Photo by Mila At this time of the year, I almost always find myself longing to eat piping hot baked goods straight from the oven. A desire for the crunch and coolness of cucumbers that help keep the summer’s heat at bay give way to longing for the warmth of a hot casserole to heat the body from the inside out. With the exception of a few ripe peaces and plums, I noticed that scarcity of the grab and go juicy fruits of summer at Union Market’s vendor stalls. The green and purple lettuce that formed the basis of a fresh summer salads had given way to heavier and darker thick-skinned vegetables and tubers that inspire one to think about ways to roast, braise, and bake foods in the oven. As a lover of both autumn’s heavier fare and the comforts of home, I wondered if I could still enjoy these warm and filling foods while maintaining a lighter and 22

Photo by Miila healthier culinary point of view. As Robert Frost famously wrote “nothing gold can stay,” I decided in that moment to take the time to savor a few of the things I love about summer, and make the transition from one season to the next last just a little bit longer. I spotted an eggplant mixed among the acorn and butternut squash. This eggplant was perfect: small, tasty and easily counted among those few items that could successfully bridge the gap between the changing seasons. Eggplant has the weight of a tuber coupled with the firm flesh of a summer grape almost ready to burst with flavor. Its chameleon-like ability to take either center stage in a meal or serve as an appetizer or side dish makes it easy to love. It can be sautéed, baked, and fried to compliment just about any meal during any course. Surrounded by the abundance of vegetables on display, the eggplant brought about a moment of pause. I selected the Farmer’s Market eggplant, sourced from Maryland’s Eastern shore (a Chesapeake Bay community), from the market to the table home with me. Embracing the eggplant can be no small challenge. It has a spongy interior, which if handled incorrectly can lead to either excess liquid in a dish or to an excess absorption of fat. My love for both summer and autumn led me to experiment with a base for this berry,

EASY BAKED EGGPLANT which, much like the fashionable clothing that the season represent, would be better dressed in layers. Lasagna, one of my favorite baked dishes, is at its base, something like a salty layer cake. This served as my inspiration. I substituted lasagna noodles for eggplant slices for and make a spicy tomato and cheese sauce to compliment the eggplant’s rich flavor and texture. Although I rarely cook without a recipe, I made this exception in order to my way through the dish and create a layered eggplant-tomato bake that marked my transition from summer light to autumn comfort foods.

Photo by Mila

Easy Baked Eggplant with Tomato Sauce Ingredients 3 small eggplants Olive oil Salt Pepper Tomato or marinara sauce Garlic Onions 1 cup ricotta cheese 1 cup mozzarella cheese 1 egg Fresh basil

Directions 1. Pre-heat oven 325. 2. Slice 3 small eggplants into ¼ inch slices with the skin on 3. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. 4. Broil the eggplant slices for 15 minutes, turning once. This will both tenderize the eggplant and remove some of the excess moisture 5. Heat roasted tomato sauce on the stovetop with garlic and onions. You can either prepare a sauce from scratch or substitute with a high quality supermarket version of tomato sauce like I did 6. Beat 1 egg with 1 cup ricotta cheese 7. Layer tomato sauce, eggplant, ricotta cheese spread and mozzarella. Repeat until you reach the top layer 8. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top and cover with aluminum foil 9. Bake for 50 minutes, remove aluminum foil and toast for an additional 10 minutes 10. Sprinkle with fresh basil and enjoy!

TIPS for the TRAVELER Many folks living in Europe have learned to become experts in packing light in the past few years so as not to exceed the size and weight limits placed on our check-in and carry-on luggage. If you fly low-budget airlines like Ryanair, for example, you are limited to paying for either a 15kg or 20kg check-in case and a 10kg (22lbs) carryon/hand-luggage which cannot exceed 55cm x 40cm x 20cm. Beware Americans, the airport staff are REALLY strict about you meeting these requirements and if you do not, you will have to pay for excess weight.

Travel Size Containers

Make it a point to collect mini shampoos, lotions, etc, from hotels. You can then refill them with your favorite products and pop all these into a clear bag if you are not checking in any luggage. Many of your favorite brands also carry a travel size range of their product so keep an eye out for them in your local drugstore or chemist. traveling.

Wipes and Cleansing Pads

Replace various makeup liquid removers with cleansing pads and wipes. You won’t have to put these in a clear bag and it will save space. You can also get sanitizer gels in wipe versions.

Careful with Duty Free

All the low-cost airlines in Europe are strict about the “one carry-on” policy. That is, “one” means “one”, not a carry-on and a handbag or laptop case. They will have to fit into that one piece of carry-on and meet any weight limits imposed. Any purchases made in Duty Free stores at the airport will also have to fit into that one piece of carry-on. Have I said “one” enough times? Just don’t want you to get caught out.

Shoes

Okay so shoes are many a woman’s weakness. They are lovely, but they do tend to weigh a lot. Be selective on how many pairs you throw in there and actually weigh up your options. Ballerinas and wedge type shoes are often lighter. Also, make it a point to wear the heaviest or bulkiest shoes while traveling.

Chargers & Converters

In this digital age, making sure we have all the various chargers and cables for our electronics is essential. We often end up doubling up chargers. Look at ways you can combine various chargers. If you are a Apple aficionado for example, you may want to consider just bringing your MacBook charger and one USB cable as you can charge your iPhone and iPad by connecting it to the laptop. When in Europe also keep in mind that there are at least three different variations of sockets so make sure you have an all-in-one traveler plug converter to cover all your bases. Photo by Kat 24

FIRST THE SPRING

BUT FIRST THE SPRING... Written by Sarah

Photo by Sarah

Vintage

Vintage for the winery marks its busy season as workers flock to wine regions seeking employment during the

autumn season. Some people will pick grapes in the vineyard or perhaps apprentice in the winery. In any case, every job around the wine farm at harvest time requires skill, muscle and grit. It is the time of year when winemakers, fueled by coffee, wake at 4am, come home in the evening after dark to crawl into bed after a long shower and look for something hot to eat. However, lets not forget the machines, as they are as hard at work as the people. The crusher and destemmer run at full hilt to remove grapes from stalks and send split-open fruit down shoots into large fermentation tanks. The forklift buzzes around the winery, and the press pumps up and down to squeeze newly made wine away from the must of grape skins. These are the mechanical processes undergirding the alchemy of winemaking. Ultimately, vintage is not a magical time, nor does it resonate of the overly romanticize images many of us envision of sage winemakers wandering through the vineyard eating grapes and patiently awaiting the precise day and time for picking perfectly sweet and flavorsome fruit. Flavor may be key to the final wine, but picking any volume of fruit requires a bit more science and planning. Harvest also does not entail tasting wine and expertly blending the perfect drop; that step comes much later in the lifecycle of the wines. Ironically, at the end of a long hard day, winemakers crave beer, not wine. When the winery and vineyard activity is in full swing, vintage is ‘fun’ only in the sense that hard work can be 25 Copyright © 2012 Zomppa ®. All Rights Reserved.

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Photos by Sarah

FIRST THE SPRING deeply satisfying. For the men and women of the industry, the wine harvest doesn’t make for overindulgent Bacchanalian nights. No great feast until the whole thing is over after weeks of toil and effort. There is little time for anything but work and rest. I personally did not suffer much during Australia’s vintage. As I am not a winemaker, I am not prone to early mornings. However, I watched listened to my friends’ experiences and fully understood the degree of self-satisfied they had the moment that all the wine was stored in barrels for winter. When vintage is over, the collective spirit lifts in wine country, and we adopt a general silence about the whole affair just gone.

The Southern Harvest

For the past three vintages, Australia has been home

for me. Being in the Southern Hemisphere, Australia’s seasons run backwards to North. Still, I find it terribly difficult to reconcile the end of winter in Australia, when flowers begin to bloom whilst my dear friends and family back home are hankering for apple pie, crimson leaves, sweaters, and the wafting smell of a fire on some neighbor’s hearth. Oddly, Thanksgiving in Australia means turkey, gravy, and stuffing on a day that feels like it should be the Fourth of July. We string up Christmas lights and drink hot chocolate in 85 degree nights during Australia’s summer. In many ways my mind lives in two worlds, both ongoing, both real and contemporary, yet inexplicably separate. It’s day here and night there. Spring here, fall there. Life carries on in both universes, divorced from the opposite life, its other half. Vintage at the winery is on the ‘opposite’ side of the calendar for me now. I’ve become more comfortable watching the vineyard workers manage Australia’s winter pruning of the vines, cutting them back and saving strong branches for the next season. It’s pleasant these visit the stock room warehouse where we keep the wines for sale without a coat. Interestingly, in the same way people cannot precisely remember a pang of pain, or recall the exact sensation of ice cream, the experience of an Australian vintage is now rooted in my mind.

Budburst

It’s springtime in Australia, at long last! Funny, I nev-

er thought of Australia as anything except red earth, kangaroos, and sunshine. But the Southern Coast of the continent, where the really exceptional wine comes from, does endure a rather tiresome, wet and drafty couple of months. In the past few days, tree branches have developed colorful flecks of flowers, and weeds have started to sprout in my garden, greedily reaching for light. Insects have crawled out from their winter hiding spots, and spiders have tucked into the work of spinning webs. In the vineyards, tiny green nubs have formed on the vine cordons. These are the first signs portending tendrils and shoots, then leaves and green grapes that will ripen and change color into the summer months. Budburst is a dewy, pretty, delicate process. It’s like the crocus pushing up out of the snow, these green heads of wrapped-up baby leaves forcing their way out of the dark lignified wood of last year’s cane. The little leaves will open and unfold. Their photosynthesis will feed the vine as it thaws out of hibernation. Within a month, the brown vines will be masked in a curtain of green leaves growing up and out into the rows until they are pinned back by scrupulous viticulturalists. Under the leaves small stems will appear like latticework bearing embryonic grapes the size of pin heads. Budburst precedes fruit set, the moment when grapes begin to swell with water and sugar. It is when vines are most susceptible to frost, hail, and high winds. A late blast from the forgotten winter might seriously maim the unarmed vineyard. A premature heat wave might cause the vines to flower too soon. The winery staff is rejoicing at the sight of vegetation and sunlight, but the vineyard staff won’t be happy until the vines are trellised and summer is well and truly underway.

Foundations

It’s these first days of spring that undergird the rest

of the vineyard’s growing season. Vintage timing and quality, still months in the faraway distance, will be

FIRST THE SPRING discussed in terms of budburst. The yield of the harvest in terms of volume hinges on this pivotal, carefree moment. The irony, of course, is that the glory goes to vintage. Budburst happens hardly noticed, quick and bright, pretty and straightforward. In many ways it cannot be controlled or helped along, simply enjoyed and celebrated. Anyway we’re too busy enjoying the sunshine to meditate long on the miracle of youthful plants. When the grapes are fat with juice, ready to be picked and turned to wine, will we think back to the fledgling moments that laid the foundation for the harvest? The summer and autumn of life for all creatures, even plants, is predicated on a successful start. There’s a parable to this effect about sowing seeds: some land on stone and cannot take root, others fall on sand and are washed away, while a lucky few make it to fertile soil and enjoy rain that makes them grow into strong plants. There’s a metaphor somewhere here about youth, innocence, and the halcyon days of a well-spent childhood. There’s also, I think, a powerful message about fate and luck and timing. However hard we may have toiled, or how easily we have drifted to arrive at the hallmark moments of our lives, we are in every way the products of our origins. And, in profound ways, our origins are remarkable. Down Under in six months’ time we’ll reap the rewards of hard work and spirited effort. At about the same time, in the other half of the world, spring will begin to blossom. Will we recall the miracle of budburst preceding the harvest? Will our harvest honor the spring?

Photo by Sarah 28

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