I’ve always been superstitious about throwing away keys. It could be a tiny gold key to a tweenage diary, an extra hotel key I forgot to return, or a loose spare to a forgotten door in a past dorm, house or apartment. I’ll be ready to toss it then have a last minute misgiving that makes me put it back in the drawer, giving in to the anxiety that I’ll be faced with a lock I can’t open. That’s probably why I was so fascinated when I heard about Jewish families in Spain who kept the keys to their homes after the expulsion of the Jews in 1492. A poignant detail in a larger history that’s always stood out in my mind. Convinced it was a misguided policy of Queen Isabella’s that would soon be corrected, they kept their keys with them. Another story I heard soon after that’s very popular, is about a man who stopped by a local bar in Toledo to ask directions to the house where his family had lived five hundred years before. Sent to a nearby address and carrying the key they had saved, he came back a few minutes later, shaken, only able to get out the words, it worked. Continue reading ‘Albóndigas de Pesach’
Archive for the 'Fruits/Vegetables' Category
Albóndigas de Pesach
Published 22 March 2010 Desserts , Fruits/Vegetables , Spain 1 CommentTags: A Drizzle of Honey: The Lives and Recipes of Spain's Secret Jews, Apples, Dates, David Gitlitz, Diego Dian Nieto, Haroset, Kay Davidson, Passover, Raisins
Apples and Oranges
Published 28 January 2010 Brooklyn , Fruits/Vegetables , General , Miami , New York Leave a CommentTags: Mangoes, Strawberries, CENYC, Pinecrest Gardens, Sour Oranges, Key Limes, String Beans, Avocados, Purple Sugard Cane, Bananas, Coch Salad
Every year I go to Miami for few days in December and return to find that my favorite farmer’s markets have all but vanished. Like Brigadoon in Brooklyn, the courthouse square is almost barren and there’s no trace of the small but convenient, last-chance Sunday market at Carrol Gardens. Of course Union Square and Grand Army Plaza are still active, but it’s not the same. For the next few months my only choices are apples or really cold apples from the few hold out vendors left at Boro Hall. It’s one more reason to burrow away till Spring. Continue reading ‘Apples and Oranges’
Tostones on the Fly
Published 20 January 2010 Appetizers , Basic Techniques , Cuba , Fruits/Vegetables , Miami , Vegetarian 6 CommentsTags: Plantains, Empanadas, Churros, Bunuelos, Deep fryer, maduros, tostones, chatinos, tostonera
Until recently, I rarely fried anything at home. I hated the smell, the splatter, the guilt. When I started writing about Latin American food, I knew I couldn’t avoid it much longer and finally bought a deep fryer. While it produces perfect batches of churros, empanadas and buñuelos, it’s the SUV of fryers requiring such a massive amount of oil that I keep it parked most of the time. It wasn’t practical for smaller, any-night batches of plantains. Maduros I can handle. Overly ripe, they caramelize Continue reading ‘Tostones on the Fly’
