"They no leave no notes"

About 12 years ago I took a Mediterranean cruise aboard a large yacht, sailing from Monte Carlo to Rome.   It was my first small ship (or large yacht) cruise and my first time to sail the waters of "the Med."  

We sailed through exotic ports that included such jet-set destinations as Monte Carlo, Cannes and St. Tropez, but there is one destination that will forever stand out in my mind on this journey.  After 3 or 4 days exploring the French Mediterranean our yacht, "The Renaissance IV," made port along the Costa Smeralda on the island of Sardinia.   

Here, we disembarked for a private tour of the countryside which featured rolling hills and lush farmland.  Miles and miles of winding roads would lead us to a rustic farmhouse where our hosts had spent the morning preparing a typical Italian farm-style lunch.  But before we enjoyed the delights of their kitchen, our tour guide had a surprise for us - a stop at an historic Sardinian landmark (one of 7000 that are reputed to dot the landscape) - a "nuraghi" (pronounced "nur - a - ghee")

Now you might ask "what is a nuraghi?"  I know we certainly did!  Despite our tour guide's best attempts to accurately describe its architecture and use, as best we could discern it was an ancient structure made of stones to look like (wait for it) a pile of stones.  But that was just for appearances.  The pile of stones were hollow inside which leaves historians to believe that ancient peoples inhabiting Sardinia used the nuraghi as either a dwelling or a fort of some kind.  

Our tour guide did his level best to explain this historical conundrum to us and it took several attempts before we got it.  Frustrated that he couldn't easily describe the use of the rock formations he threw his hands up in the air and excitedly exclaimed "We no know what they do in the nuraghi - they no leave no notes!"

It's been over 12 years since I watched our guide struggle to bring history alive to a group of rather dis-interested tourists, but I will never forget that one line...."they no leave no notes".  No, they didn't.  

Our excursion continued on to the farm where we enjoyed  home-made pasta, cheese so fresh you'd think it was made that very day (or at most, the day before) and of course copious amounts of home-made wine.  We ate and drank until our hearts content and then all too soon it was time to make our way back to our ship.

And here's the other memory from this excursion that I'll never forget:  a motorcoach full of quasi- drunk tourists, riding through the Sardinian countryside, all of us singing at the top of our lungs "Volare...oh - oh..." with our intrepid tour guide leading the chorus.

I don't remember much else about that trip - not the people I traveled with or the other ports of call...but I will always remember Sardinia's nuraghi, the taste of home-made wine and the sound of Volare ringing across the hills of this ancient island.

On the subject of Food

Food.  Here's what I know:

I love food.  Yes, just one look at me and you'd know I love food...but I'm not talking about THAT!  Aside from sustaining life, Food does so many other things.   It brings us together in community, it builds relationships, it provides a family heritage.  It nurtures, comforts and delights.   Food sustains us, but it also does so much more...consider:

Food as Ice Breaker - Given an invitation to someone's home for cocktails, a BBQ or a dinner  I wouldn't even consider showing up without something to contribute to the meal - be it an appetizer, dessert or some little something something.  It's a great way to share part of who you are with your hosts.   These days "who I am" involves lots of onions & cheese in my Onion Tart appetizer.

Food as a Science Experiment - I can recall countless experiments in the kitchen - mixing what you think might be complementary flavours only to discover that pineapple and soy doesn't really tickle your palette.  I also remember the time when my cousin Lori & I fancied ourselves to be bakers and we created a cookie concoction that had everything but the kitchen sink in it and were shocked when the resulting batch was so inedible we risked a chipped tooth!

Food from your Family Tree - Yesterday in school one of my students said she'd run into a burning house to save her mother's recipe box.  What she meant by this is that the recipes weren't just methods of preparation of food items, but that box represented her heritage, her family memories, her relationship with her mother...which always centred around food.   I think that's an amazing legacy.

Food as  Memory - Who hasn't had this experience:   taking your first bite of something and being immediately transported back to a time or place, experiencing the dish for the first time all over again?  I have that experience every time I make my Great Aunt Daisy's lacy oatmeal cookies.  As I take that first bite of buttery oat goodness, I immediately travel back to Aunt Daisy's house in Toronto, sitting in her front room, devouring an entire plate of the cookies while she & mom visited.  I'm 9 years old, all over again.

Food as Cupid - Who needs e-Harmony or Match.com when you have food?  They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach and in my experience that is true, true, true!  I remember how excited I was to cook for Dwayne when we first started dating.  Part of it was that I was thrilled to just be cooking for anyone - so I didn't have to eat the same dish four nights in a row (a problem only single cooks can related to I'm sure).  During those early months of our relationship food became another way for us to discover more about each other...our likes, dislikes, passions, cravings.  Comfort food takes on a whole new meaning at the start of a new relationship.

Food as Entertainment - I remember where I was the first time I encountered "The Food Network".  It was in Palm Springs, California and I was staying at La Quinta Resort & Spa, a beautiful resort in the heart of the desert.  I arrived late at night after a long flight from Atlanta and to wind down I turned on the tv which for some reason was only receiving CNN & Food TV.  I ended up watching the news that night because I thought "who would watch people cook on tv?"  Fast forward to today and you'd think my TV had only 2 stations - one of which is the Food Network.  I cannot get enough of it!

Food as Travel Guide - I've talked about our "trip of a lifetime" in previous blogs, but honestly, it was really Kim & Dwayne's Gastronomique Tour of Europe.  Yes, we spent plenty of time doing all those touristy things:  museums, landmarks, sightseeing tours.  But some of our most favourite memories are of the meals we had while overseas.  Whether it was pizza carbonera (which included an egg as a topping!) in Rome, discovering the farmer's market in Florence (where they don't refrigerate their eggs) or a simple picnic by the Seine in Paris, food was a big part of our itinerary.

I could write about food all day...but I must go...Ironically I'm teaching a group of Culinary Students how to write business documents and it's time for school!

Kim's Onion Tart

5 Onions, sliced

2 TBSP olive oil

2 TBSP butter

3 TBSP sage leaves

8 oz ready-made puff pastry

5 oz soft goat's cheese

Cracked black pepper

Place onions, oil, butter and sage in a pan over low heat.  Cook until onions are soft and golden. 

Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thick.  Trim pastry into a rectangle and place on a baking tray.  Spread goat's cheese over pastry & top with pepper.

Spoon onions over goat's cheese and bake in a preheated oven (400F) for 20 minutes or until pastry is puffed and golden.