On the yachts in the Meditteranean it meant shopping early in the morning as we anchored either off shore ( on the larger 20 crew type yachts) or at the local dock on the smaller 6 man crew.
Most local markets open at dawn and that is the best and only time to get the "specialities"..the one-offs..like local snails from one old lady's garden ( Antibes) she only brought 6 baskets to the market and they were all sold by 7am; or fresh fish and langoustines in Benefacio, Corsica (the headquarters of the French Foreign Legion) again best fresh off the boats at 6am ( I once bought a 5 kl lobster-12.5 lbs that was too big for the pot..more to this story in the book).
On Santorini Island, Greece, ( 1976) I had to take a horse to the top of the cliff, with a guide on another horse in front, when I got to the town, there was no local street market just 1 shop, I bought all the eggs I could find..all of which never made it back to the dock,,they could only pack them in brown paper bags, and the horse waddled all the way back down to the dock...no doubt for many weeks, the pathway up to the rim was covered in scrambled eggs. I told the crew and guests there were no chickens on Santorini!
I found more success on ground level markets on other smaller Greek Islands
So when I came "ashore" and worked in large private estates in Europe it was great to know I had a "kitchen Garden"...on some estates it was almost as big as a market garden..It is really great to be able to plan meals around what is growing in your own back yard.
In America most Estate Kitchens are designer built and have the biggest fridge- freezers, the reason being that people here buy in bulk and store things for weeks, as a European I am somewhat horrified by what is found in these "monoliths to frost"..bagged salad & fruit that has not seen the light of day for 3 weeks, pickles and preserves ( they are called preserves for a reason, they do not need refrigeration!)..bags of tomatoes ( these should never be refrigerated)..enough eggs to feed the fleet!
Most of my US clients are amazed and somewhat confused when I explain that I might plan my menus a week ahead ( working with their week's appointment schedule), but I have to shop for the food daily for the freshest and best produce.
Keeping a good supply of basics in the pantry and "odds and ends" in freezer for emergencies ( like a party for 25 with 3 hours warning, while living on an island on the East Coast).
Now living in west LA and with the convenience of gardens front and back, I have the "luxury" and pleasure of being able to "grow my own".
Every year I grow heirloom seeds for tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, chillies, herbs, and flowers and maintain an organic stance...nothing is more pleasurable than "nipping out" with my scissors early morning ( before the sap is rising and the heat is on the plant, which attracts all the pollinating bugs) to pick what's best.
Today I was out picking tomatoes & red chilis for a daal soup.
Daal soup can be simply split lentils in water, or compound like mine with onions, garlic,veggie stock, zucchini, carrots, celery, parsley, cilantro, tomatoes, red Cajun chili, & ground spices. The split lentils/beans have to be soaked overnight and washed and well rinsed before cooking, and unlike split pea soups, they have to be cooked for an hour + ( depending on your altitude), to break down and release their starches.
Adding the veggies in stages so that the tomatoes have some shape when the soup is cooled.
I have also made a great spinach packed miso soup.
Both these soups are nutrition packed powerhouse soups and can actually be eaten as a meal, packed with vitamins and minerals.
The sides tomorrow are simple salads:
Raw tomato, olive, caper, basil "bruschetta" with Italian bread & Monterey Jack cheese to be completed at Clients home
A fabulous warm fresh fennel bulb, potato, caramelized carrot and onion salad
Beet and spinach with a red wine vinegar-mustard dressing
Kale and broccoli sauteed with tomatoes and pine nuts & garlic
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| Heirloom Italian Bell Pepper |
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| Heirloom Italian Tomatoes |
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| Cajun Red Chili |
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| Habenero ( Very HOT) Chili |
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| eggplant flower similar to nightshade wild flower |
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| own grown tomatoes for daal soup |
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| these 2 miso..packed with greens |
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| daal soup before skimming |
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| Daal soup packed |
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