COOKING LIKE GRANDMOTHER

Mezzaluna courtesy of Wüsthof.

The thing about our grandmothers and great-grandmothers is that they didn't have rigid recipes. It was all a pinch of this, a handful of that, a tea-cup full of the other thing. They didn't have the appliances we have now. 

The kitchen gadgets they used to cook with involved more labor intensive effort and therefore more connection with ingredients. I like that. I imitate it. I don't have a big, heavy-duty mixer. Occasionally I borrow a food processor, but I don't own one. I do use slow-cookers and a rice cooker, but I don't have a microwave any more.  One of the tools I really like is an old-fashioned mezzaluna (half-moon) or herb-cutter. Despite the Italian name, its origin is actually English.

I had a mezzaluna once, enjoyed it a lot, and lost it when I relocated. Awhile back my daughter-in-law, Karen Fayeth, did a post, Name Your Favorite Kitchen Gadget.  I was one of several who commented in response. I wrote that I like a mezzaluna but had been unable to find one. I thought perhaps they were no longer made. Karen found one and gave it to me for Christmas last year. It's exactly the one pictured above. (World-class, right?) The day I christened it, I made a batch of fish in parsley sauce. Mincing the parsley was quick and easy, but still very hands-on.

An old English mezzaluna by Tracy Hansen via

Wikipedia under GNU Free-Documentation License.

Good low-tech, high-touch old-fashioned kitchen tools . . . I just love them. A mortar-and-pestle, potato masher or a ricer, cast-iron pots, food mills . . . and mezzalunas.  Thanks, Karen!

GREEK TEA AND A GREEK SPINACH PILAF

Chamomile Flowers via Wikipedia
under GNU Free Documentation License

Camomile Tea
Preparation:
Bring hot water to a roiling boil. Water should be at 183 degrees fahrenheit for tea. Pour some of the water into your teapot and swirl to warm the pot. Place one heaping teaspoon of  dried camomile per cup into your teapot. Add boiling water.  Put the cover on the pot and allow to steep for about five minutes.  Sweeten with Greek Honey.






Gluten-free Spinach Pilaf, Spanakorizo
The recipe:
Serves two as a main dish
1 pound of spinach
1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh, sweet butter
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced thin
1/4 cup of Lundberg Brown Jasmine Rice
1 tablespoon tomato paste (in a pinch use a quality, gluten-free ketchup*
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried dill
1/4 teaspoon dried mint
1/2 cup feta cheese

Put the spinach in a drainer and rinse it thoroughly several times with cold water.
Put the olive oil and butter in a pan that is large enough to hold the spinach.  Over a low heat slowly brown the onions. When they begin to get golden, add the spinach. Cover the pan and cook until the spinach wilts, which will take about five minutes. Add the rice, tomato paste, the seasonings, and 3/4 cup of water. Stir well, bring to a boil, cover the pan and lower the heat.  Simmer for about one-half hour or until the rice is tender.  Serve hot with crumbled feta on top.

*"Organicville's Ketchup is USDA certified organic, gluten free, dairy free, vegan, and contains no added sugar. With less sodium than other brands, our ketchup is fat and cholesterol free, and is also an excellent source of lycopene. Organic ketchups have higher levels of lycopene and anti-oxidant activities than other brands tested." OrganicVille A definate thumbs-up on this one.

Whole Foods' brand ketchup is also a good gluten-free ketchup. However, it is not produced in a dedicated plant.

Dedicated facility: one that produces only wheat-and-gluten free products, thus eliminating the potential for cross contamination.

Actual product ingredients may differ from than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product.