The Healing Powers of Zuppa

Ever have one of those days where your body just needs the healing power of soup?  I'm there.  Between fighting a head cold, a blood infection, and a case of the Mondays, my body needed some TLC. 

There's lots of good folklore about soup in my family...We have Stracciatella, lovingly referred to as "sick soup" that we make *all* the time - but that's another recipe and story for another occasion.  And my Nana used to say that if you ate hot soup in hot weather, it will help cool you down. While those in my family suffering from hot flashes may disagree, I think she was on to something.  So in 73 degree Sacramento weather, I cranked up the gas stove and got cookin'.

There's something distinctly therapeutic about chopping veggies.  Perhaps it's because I've slowly gotten better at it over the years, and perhaps because it helps me empty my mind, but whatever the reason, it really calms me.  Some people do yoga, I chop veggies.   

Forgive the crap-tastic iPhone photo, since I can't seem to find the battery for my camera. But if you make the Recipe yourself, this is what awaits you:

May the healing powers of Zuppa be with you :)

Polpette (aka: That'sa Spicy Meata-balla!)

I'm a sucker for tradition.  Yeah, I said it.  And nothing says old-school Italian tradition like an insanely large batch of homemade meatballs.  Crunchy on the outside, deliciously meaty and seasoned and tender on the inside.  ::muah:: Bellisima!  So I marched over to see my buddy Brian at the meat counter at Bel Air to pick up some ground beef and pork, popped the rest of the ingredients into my cart, and headed home to whip me up a batch of tradition :)

One of the things I remember about meatballs when I was a kid was that it was really the only meat I would eat.  My poor mom, God bless her, used to do *anything* to get me to eat in an effort to keep my freakishly lanky body nourished (clearly, I'm making up for lost time now!) She'd make batches of meatballs and add in wheat germ - not a bad trick for some extra nutrients - and let me dip them in honey (yes...honey) to get me to eat.  As I've grown, I've come to associate them with more family - meals at Grandpa & Shirley's house, eating bowls of pasta and meatballs off of Shirley's brightly colored dishes, using garlic bread to sop up the sauce. My family has clearly never met a carb they didn't like. 

One of the things I promise to do is to share the recipes for all of the photos of the food I make myself.  So check out the Recipes page for this one!  (A warning to all my vegan/vegetarian friends...you may want to divert your eyes)  Here's batch numero uno:

For those of you with a veggie aversion, I'm sure you're thinking "that's an awful lot of green in that meatball" - but trust me...the fresh herbs are what makes this recipe a knockout.  And make sure that you keep a golf ball handy to gauge that they're the right size - I keep it right on the counter, since I have a tendency to want to make them tennis ball sized. Bigger is better, right?? Not in this case...

Seriously, the hardest part is waiting.  Once you pop these babies in the oven, the whole house starts to smell like toasty, meaty goodness.  Honestly, if I could bottle that scent and dab it behind my ears, I don't think I'd be single anymore ;)  When they come out of the oven, they've got this little crust of bubbly goodness around the bottom and they just sit there and sizzle.  

 

Yum.  The finished product is rows upon rows of deliciousness: 

If you're going to try out the recipe, I must insist: Friends don't let friends use sauce from a jar.  If you're considering using sauce out of a jar, please call/text/send up the Italian Batsignal immediately and I'll come to your rescue, even if I'm out jetsetting somewhere.  Do yourself a favor and pick up the May edition of Bon Appetit Magazine for some so-easy-your-helpless-college-roommate-could-do-it recipes & tips for all things Italian. 

Buon appetito!

A Fresh Start

There's something both refreshing and wholly terrifying about starting a blog.  I think it's the notion that there's something so *permanent* about putting your ideas, your dreams, your thoughts, and your photos out there for all to see. 


If you're here, you know how much I love food. And photography. And sharing what drives me.  Whether it's the uniting love of my family, the grace of a country sunset, or that moment of bliss that comes from absolutely perfecting a dish...I've always had a desire to capture and share these moments the best way I've found: through the lens of a camera. 

Cheers!