Home Again

but still thinking of Sicily

Sonoratown’s Burrito 2.0. Photo courtesy of Sonoratown.

A Loss

I was so sad to hear of journalist Michael Singer’s passing in Laurie Ochoa’s LA Times Tasting Notes this week. Michael was Ruth Reichl’s husband. He was a lovely, brutally honest, acerbically intelligent man who greatly resented being dragged along to meals he didn’t sign up for. Many of us fell in love with him as “The Reluctant Gourmet,” an everyman character in Ruth’s reviews where she occasionally referred to him as “The Grump.” Since I myself am often characterized that way, I felt a deep kinship with Michael. I loved that he loved my little place, Angeli. And the way Ruth described how he felt about it will always be one of my favorite reviews.

Segesta (left) and the tcountryside of Western Sicily (right). Photos by Sandy Wada.

My time was divided between squiring around a group for Via Rosa in Sicily and visiting friends in Umbria. People often ask me what my favorite region is. I do not have a real answer since each offers something different in vistas, food, and often just vibes.

Often, the weather plays a big role in creating the vibe. And vibes were perfect on this trip to Western Sicily. Spring felt like Palermo was turning its face to the sea breeze and taking a deep breath before the heat and tourists of summer arrive. As we explored the countryside, it was so calming to see green hills, fields of wildflowers, almond and olive blossoms lingering in the air, all with temperatures that were mild, even cool at times. The landscape was at its most lush, a surprise to people who associate Sicily only with sunbaked summer terrain. Markets were filled with fava beans, wild fennel, loquats, artichokes, and the season’s first tuna catches. Inland hills and archaeological sites felt almost cinematic in the soft yet crystalline light. Addio Sicilia, until next spring.

Coming Home

It never fails. After about two weeks in Italy, I start dreaming about Mexican food, specifically burritos. I’m not sure why burritos, since I definitely eat more tacos in my day-to-day. Maybe it’s the comfort of a warm flour tortilla holding lardy beans and a bit more. And cilantro. I yearn for cilantro and onion. I want sharpness and heat and beans. As I’m writing this, I see another burrito in my future. Soon.

I often make whoever picks me up from the airport stop at Lucy’s on the way home for a chile relleno burrito. But this time I’m pretty sure it will be Sonoratown. I can walk to their mid-city shop on San Vicente at the corner of Hauser. I’ll get a Burrito 2.0 to eat right away and one of their smaller Chivichangas for later. I’m more excited than I should be. Congrats to Jen and Teo for their Michelin nod. What’s your favorite burrito in town? I don’t want to hear about breakfast burritos, please. That’s an entirely different genre.

If you’ve been reading this newsletter recently, you know I’ve been in Italy. So we thought we’d focus on Italian food culture with two of our segments this week.

Domenica Marchetti leans into the regional cookie culture of Italy, and Giulia Scarpaleggia shares the abundance of vegetable dishes that top tables all over Italy. There is a lot of fodder for you market shoppers here.

A quartet of cookies from Domenica Marchetti's Italian Cookies. Photos by Lauren Volo.

We have the recipe for Domenica’s Canestrelletti di Torriglia, aka Flower-Shaped Butter Cookies from Torriglia (lower right) on our website.

Early Summer at Farmers Markets

So far this year, the sentences heard most often at the farmers markets are, “I can’t believe (insert here: cherries, melons, tomatoes, zucchini) are already here! Last year, it was at least a month later or more!” So yes, zucchini, the vegetable most associated with the abundance of summer, is here. It’s not even June yet. So assuage your climate change fears with this Zucchini Carbonara from Giulia Scarpaleggia’s Vegetables the Italian Way. Find the recipe on the Good Food website.

Crisp crescents of zucchini replace guanciale, mingling with creamy eggs, Parmigiano, and pecorino in Giulia Scarpaleggia’s Zucchini Carbonara. Photo by Tommaso Galli.

Digestibles

A fascinating NYT Magazine article on the “discovery” of another set of pathways in the human body. Something which could explain to Western medicine why acupuncture works.

For the world’s richest men, everything is free, and there are no consequences.

When food literacy is at an all-time low on social media. An actual person who knows the subject chimes in.

I have to admit that rhinos and hippos kind of freak me out with their prehistoric looks on display, but I couldn’t help but be charmed by this baby rhino’s zoomies.