Pasta with Zucchini

3-4 c. grated zucchini
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
4 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 c. Parmesan
salt to taste
This recipe is adapted from Simply Italian by Antonio Carluccio, a cookbook that has just a handful of recipes, but everything in it looks fabulous. Cook 3/4 lb. of pasta until al dente, and drain. Save about a cup of pasta water. While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a saute pan, then add garlic and red pepper flakes--cook 2-3 minutes, then add grated zucchini--you can use any summer squash that you have in abundance as a substitution. Add to pasta, toss with sauce and Parmesan, and add pasta water until it is the appropriate consistency, and salt to taste. You will not believe that you are eating zucchini!

The Blue Tooth Virgin

I thought this movie was very much play-like in it's script and filming. It consists of 8 separate dialogues that interact with each other, and a limited number of characters. There is a man who is a struggling writer, who has had a brief glimpse at success but finding a continuous source of creative outpouring has eluded him. He is the prevalent character throughout the movie. There is another contender for 'lead', though--a guy who is much more likable, much less edgy, who is an editor for a successful magazine. He is writing reliable but not necessarily inspirational articles, all the while harboring the desire to write a screenplay. The two muse on what is good writing, what is good feedback to give to writers, and how to feel about the successes and failures of those around you. The likable guy writes a story that is not ground breaking in and of itself, but the back story teaches the watcher a bit of history and so the story can change the world softly, changing what people's preconceived notions are by showing them another point of view. The edgier writer is uncomfortable with that as a goal of film, and tells us all why he feels that way. I disagreed with him--he seemed more in it for the reflected glory, whereas the less noble goal of entertainment could have the broader ranging effect of making the world a more gentle place. The movie makes you think, and is well written (although not ground breaking either).

Steamed Corn on the Cob on the Grill

1. Carefully pull down the corn's husk, leaving it attached to the corn cob.
2. Remove the silk and then carefully place the husks back up onto the corn cob.
3. Wrap in aluminum foil--this keeps husk from burning and increases the steaming quality.
4. Place directly on grill (the outer edge works well to avoid burning)
5. Turn every few minutes until corn kernels brighten in color and appear plump. Takes about 15 minutes. When it's done, slather on the butter and salt.
If you have the opportunity, make a cumin-lime butter, or an herb butter. Delicious!
This is not the way I usually do corn on the cob, but it is a nice way to do it if you are grilling something else, and want to avoid steaming up the kitchen--it is kind of a pain to take all the silk out yet retain an intact husk, but if you have guests, this is a task that can be assigned to anyone.

Letcho

1 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
3 peppers, sliced thinly
2 medium tomatoes, diced (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbs. paprika
2-3 eggs
1. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil and add onion and peppers. Sauté until beginning to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Cover and simmer very slowly for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add tomatoes if desired and continue to simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and paprika to taste. Add eggs by making an indentation in the pepper mixture and carefully opening each egg into the indentation, salting and peppering each egg. The eggs steam in the covered pan, for 5-10 minutes, depending on what is desired. For a non-traditional approach, put a slice of feta on top of each egg. Serve immediately.

Haunting Bombay by Shilpa Argawal

I thought this book would be a good one for a book club, because it has a commonly seen theme (especially in books set in India), and some aspects that are less straight forward (controversial enough to have different ideas about what might be happening). Pinky is a girl born of a mother who dies trying to get from Pakistan to India in the early days of independence (when it is said there were literally trainfuls of dead bodies being transported between Muslim Pakistan and Hindi India, with a total of at least 2 million people killed, so this is a story that would resonate in 21st century India). She is treated as unwanted, not a true member of the household, and is more like an indentured servant than an adopted orphan. So she is growing up marginalized. Along comes a ghost story. A child who died and she is the replacement child. She begins to live that role, gradually at first, then with growing fervor. It is well told, believable, and the question is, what is going on? Is it a ghost? is it her imagination? Does she want to have a role so badly that she unconsciously adopts this one, because it is feared rather than vicitimized? Is she innocent or cunning?

The Girl in the Cafe

This is an improbably movie, and against all odds it works. Not just for me either, it won three Emmys: one for the movie, one for the actress, and one for the writing. I had never heard of it when I picked it up off the shelf at the library but it is well worth watching. There is a small story, and then a big story nestled inside it. The small story is two lonely and shy people hesitantly meet each other and become friends. The bigger story is about what one person who isn't completely caught up in protocol might be able to do.

Bill Nighy is the financial aide to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Kelly MacDonald is the shy and decent girl he meets in a cafe then impulsively asks her to join him for the G8 meeting in Reykjavik, Iceland. He is mired in the protocol of diplomacy, long past thinking that anything meaningful will come out of the meeting of the economic powerhouses of the world. She is not so hampered, and to the profound embarrassment of them all, says what she thinks about the whole process. At a state dinner. It is touching and lovely, despite being improbable.

Quinoa, Tomato, and Cucumber Salad

1 c. quinoa
3 c. stock
Salt to taste
2 cups diced cucumber
1 small red onion, finely minced (optional)
2 cups finely diced tomatoes
1 to 2 jalapeño or serrano peppers (to taste), seeded if desired and finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped cilantro, plus several sprigs for garnish
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 avocado, sliced, for garnish
1. Place the quinoa in a bowl, and cover with cold water. Let sit for five minutes. Drain through a strainer, and rinse until the water runs clear. Bring the 3 cups stock to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add dash of salt and the quinoa. Bring back to a boil, and reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer 15 minutes or until the quinoa is tender and translucent; each grain should have a little thread. Drain excess liquid and return the quinoa to the pan. Cover the pan and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, place the finely diced cucumber in a colander, and sprinkle with salt. Toss and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Rinse the cucumber with cold water, and drain on paper towels. If using the onion, place in a bowl and cover with cold water. Let sit for five minutes, then drain, rinse with cold water and drain on paper towels.
3. Combine the tomatoes, chiles, cilantro, vinegar, lime juice and olive oil in a bowl. Add the cucumber and onion, season to taste with salt, and add the quinoa and cilantro. Toss together, and taste and adjust seasonings. Serve garnished with sliced avocado and cilantro sprigs.
I love love love quinoa and this style of salad is one of my favorite ways to have it (the other is in soup)--this salad uses the bounty of a summer garden to make a meal.

The Last Empress of China by Hannah Pakula

Soong Mei-ling, better known to history as Mme. Chiang Kai-shek, is the center of this sweeping biography that covers China's 20th century change. She was the most powerful woman in the world during World War II, and she was not shy about throwing her weight around. Her father, Charlie, came to the United States as a young boy, made something of himself. He went to college at Vanderbilt, then returned to China at age 20 and raised his six children with an eye to what western culture had to offer to the entrepreneurial minded person. Charlie's three daughter's formed an interesting power structure of their own, each marrying men who had different and important destinies.

Mei-ling was an American educated woman who understood both the cultures of the east and the west. Her marriage to Chiang Kai-Shek does not appear to have been a marriage of love, nor of even affection. But she parlayed her role as the wife of the leader of Chinese forces opposed to Communism into something that no woman of her time was able to do. She wasn't liked, she might not have been widely respected, but she was influential and she knew how to make that work for her. I found the book to be very well written, with a fair amount of history about that time in China, which I know very little about. Well done, and easy to get through.

Zucchini Quiche

Crust:
1/3 c. butter
1 c. flour
dash salt
about 3 tbs. buttermilk
Mix first three ingredients in food processor, add enough buttermilk to have the dough form a not-too-sticky ball. Roll out and put in an 8" quiche pan with at least a 2" side.
Saute sliced zucchini, minced garlic, and diced onions in olive oil with salt pepper and thyme until soft. Spread out on top of uncooked crust when cool.

Custard:
4 eggs
1 1/2 c. milk
3 Tbs. flour
3/4 tsp. salt (or less)
4 oz. chevre
dash of dijon mustard
I make this in the food processor as well. Pour over sauteed vegetables, and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. The recipe is adapted from the original Moosewood cookbook, which has this easy crust for savory tarts that is delicious. I made the quiche pictured with two duck eggs and two turkey eggs from my CSA box.

The Last Station

Ther movie chronicles the end of Tolstoy's life, after he had adopted a monastic public persona, espousing a simple life and wearing peasant clothing and a long beard, despite his noble birth and extensive estate. It could be taken directly from the pages of 'LOVE AND HATRED: The Troubled Marriage of Leo and Sonya Tolstoy', by William L. Shirer. The movie describes the people who surrounded the Tolstoy's at the end of his life, and one in particular, Valentin, who gains both husband and wife's confidence.
The movie does tell a story taken directly from Sofya Tolstoy's diary that is quite telling of the couple's relationship:

"Just as I was going to the door, Lev Nikolayevich called to me.
‘Wait a moment, Sofya Andreyevna.’
‘What is it?’
‘Will you read what I am going to write?’
‘Very well.’
‘I am only going to write the initials. You must guess the words.’
‘How can I do that? It’s impossible! Oh, well go on.”
He brushed the games scores off the card table, took a piece of chalk and began writing. We were both very serious and excited. I followed his big red hand, and could feel all my powers of concentration and feeling focus on that bit of chalk and the hand that held it. We said nothing.
[He wrote these letters:] ‘y.y.&n.f.h.t.v.r.m.o.m.a.&i.f.h.’
‘Your youth and need for happiness too vividly remind me of my age and incapacity for happiness,’ I read out. My heart was pounding, my temples were throbbing, my face was flushed – I was beyond all sense of time and reality; at that moment I felt capable of anything, of understanding everything, imagining the unimaginable."
Sofya is Anna Karenina. She is a brilliant personality disordered woman who is at once enchanting and infuriating. She has borderline personality disorder, and she both hypnotizes Tolstoy and is tormented by him. All of the actors are superb in their histrionics, very Russian, and it is well worth seeing.