Sharon – Page 37

Philadelphia Fiori

Posted March 7, 2009 by Sharon 4 Comments

cherub Just got back from a whirlwind trip to “Bella Italia,” the 2009 Philadelphia Flower Show produced by The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The show, which runs through Sunday, March 8, supports the many greening programs of the Society.

neptune

Stepping through the main doors, I felt like Dorothy when she was transported from drab Kansas to Technicolor Oz.

A massive fantasy rendition of an ancient Roman garden, created by J. Cugliotta Landscape Nursery, brimmed with roses, ageratum, delphinium, wisteria, pink marble walls, imperial columns, statuary and reflecting pools, crowned with a stage where acts from opera singers to Italian folk musicians perform.

Wow, and that’s just the grand entrance.

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Kellie Hoeke’s Inner Italian

Posted March 4, 2009 by Sharon 2 Comments

Photographer Kellie Hoeke

When we first saw Kellie Hoeke’s evocative photographs of Tuscany, we thought to ourselves, “Well, she’s in touch with her Inner Italian!” But, when we invited Kellie to be profiled here, she hesitated.

She told us, “My first and only visit to Italy was in 2004 to celebrate my 40th birthday. Although I loved it there I don’t have recipes and stories from al fresco meals shared with newly formed friends. Heck, I don’t even have one single relative who ever lived in Italy! So I thought, what would I be doing on SimpleItaly? Well, the answer is, I have some pretty darn nice images of my stay there and I sure wouldn’t want those going unshared by others who love the place as much as I do.”

Well, Kellie, we say, it’s not the quantity of time you spend in Italy that counts. It’s the quality of time that Italy spends in you! Here, in her own words and images is Kellie’s Italian take on life.

Dreaming of a Tuscan hilltown. . .one of photographer Kellie Hoeke's Italian images.

"Soft Window" in a Tuscan hilltown.

I am a photographer living in the Lehigh Valley region of Eastern Pennsylvania. Our countryside has aged beautifully next to the Lehigh River in among hills and green valleys. Add to that landscape seasonal changes that offer ever-extraordinary treats for your eyes: Velvety moss-covered forests in spring to late fall where nothing is left but the flowing yellow feathers of a willow tree in the brown landscape to the cold of winter’s end with a deer running across a snowy field. I am inspired every day to capture what yet has to be told about this beautiful area.

And so it was when I was in Italy that I recognized and felt so close to the land that I had to remark to my husband how reminiscent it was of Pennsylvania’s landscape, both temperately and topographically. He agreed and we moved on to experience more.

A vineyard in Tuscany.

As we took in the sights and architecture we were floored by the history and beauty that combine to make Italy what it is-breathtaking and old-so old you can only, as a photographer, hope to click off a few pixels that might remind you of the sights as you walked each hill town and tried to take it all in.

Yes, I was nothing more than a tourist, but I drank in the history and slow pace of the Italian surroundings. Again and again, I felt the peace, despite the busy schedule we all kept while trying to pack in what we could in the time we had there. The images I managed to bring home are a constant reminder of the time we had, the beauty we were treated to and the pull that you have let in, like a new love, wanting more.

So “Living Italian” to me means not letting the little stuff get me down. It means finding beauty everywhere and surrounding myself with beautiful people and beautiful things. I start each day looking outside and am amazed at sunrises and sunsets every single day.

Scene on the street.

What nurtures my Inner Italian is beauty.

As an artist I never stop looking for it and capturing it.

Photographer Kellie Hoeke owns Sweet peas Studio, specializing in individual and family portraiture, and Dreamages, where she creates custom- finished-and-framed Italian travel images. In-home consultations are available.

For information, call the telephone number below.

dreamages

All images on this post ©Kellie Hoeke.

Savory Saviors

Posted February 28, 2009 by Sharon 1 Comment

Black pepper, fresh lemon, and Italian flat-leaf parsley come to the rescue in the kitchen.

Lemon, parsley, and pepper are heaven sent at this purgatory time of year. Summer’s juicy fruits and vegetables were sooooooo long ago. Spring with its perky greens seems soooooo far away.

Don’t get me wrong. I dig turnips, potatoes, onions, carrots and other root vegetables. I’ve done the stews, the soups, the ragouts, and the roasts. But they cry out for something to lift them above the tundra. The Milanese got it right with their gremolata, a minced mix of flat-leaf parsley, lemon zest and garlic that is sprinkled over unctuous ossobuco alla milanese just before serving. Just that sprinkle of fresh herb and citrus enlivens the dish and plays counterpoint to the richness.

Black pepper plays a terrific devil’s advocate when it’s not buried in a sauce. Grind Tellicherry peppercorns coarsely over chicken or turkey scaloppina or braised cauliflower and you’ve added instant visual, textural and flavor interest.

This is why my refrigerator is rarely absent lemons, black peppercorns, and washed/dried/bagged-with-a-paper towel flat-leaf parsley. A bit of any or all of them will make your tastebuds swear that summer wasn’t all that long ago and that spring is almost here.

o Squeeze lemon juice over pan-grilled pork chops, roasted chicken, braised broccoli raab or Tuscan kale.

o Sprinkle minced parsley over white beans, any winter pasta sauce, root vegetables roasted in olive oil, minestrone.

o Grind black pepper coarsely over pastas, beans, pizza bianca, root vegetable pureed soups.

What ingredients do you rely upon to lift your winter weary palate?

Bitter. . .Sweet. . .Love

Posted February 12, 2009 by Sharon Leave a Comment

Italian Paolo Conte composes love songs for grownups.

Italians can seem jaded about the idyllic promise of romantic love. And who can blame them? They’ve been at the dating game for thousands of years longer than we have. As a culture they’ve known youthful passion, mature affection, illicit sensuality and unrequited love—over, and over, and over again. Millennia are just a long time to keep chasing “happily ever after.”

Paolo Conte, the idiosyncratic Italian singer-songwriter, set me pondering love in all of its complexity. The other night as I listened to Gelato al Limon, one of his early hits, I felt compelled to pick up the liner notes and read the lyrics, poetry really.

In his rough baritone, accompanying himself on jazz piano, Conte brilliantly uses the metaphor of gelato al limon, tart-sweet lemon ice cream, to represent bittersweet love, the passing of time, the loss of youth and fleeting pleasures.

“A lemon ice cream. It’s real lemon—do you like it? Another summer’s bound to end.”

We fear that the guy in the song has just given up. . .he sings of “the sensuality of desperate lives,” and “woman just entering my life. . . don’t be afraid that it may already be over.”

Ah, but then a sanguine saxophone wells up behind the piano and the mood changes. He lets us know, with humor, that he’s still up for the game. . . “This man can still give you much more. E un gelato al limon, gelato al limon. Gelato al limon.”

best-of-paoloconte For a more complete introduction to the musical genius of Conte, check out the 1998 compilation CD The Best of Paolo Conte (Nonesuch)

Also, a very good fan site is at Paolo Conte online.

Orange Blush

Posted February 6, 2009 by Sharon 2 Comments

Cold sheets of rain were lashing the harbor wall on that first morning in Ortygia on the southeastern coast of Sicily. But inside the breakfast room at the Hotel Gutkowski, the sun was dazzling, taking the form of garnet juice shimmering with color as vibrant as a Gauguin sunset. As the guests jostled to take their spots at the self-service electric juicer, a small mountain of blood oranges stood at the ready. This is citrus that’s used to attracting attention.

Arancie di sangue, blood oranges, are the tomatoes of winter.

Blood oranges have a blush skin and deeply red pigmented flesh that’s sweet, floral, sometimes with hints of raspberry. They are, in short, exquisite. Wildly popular in Italy, they are thought to be the result of a mutation that occurred in 17^th century Sicily, according to Food Reference.com

Lucky for us, blood oranges are now cultivated in California and Texas so we can find them at fruitstands and some supermarkets. Italian imports are sometimes available in specialty stores.

At this time of year, oranges step easily into the role that tomatoes play in summer salads. The flavors are tart-sweet, the flesh soft and juicy. To make a Sicilian style salad with oranges, in a large bowl, whisk some extra virgin olive oil, a squeeze of blood orange juice, and some Kosher or sea salt. Add arugula, baby spinach, romaine or other greens, some thinly sliced red onions, and chunks or slices of blood orange wedges. Toss to coat with dressing and grind on some black pepper.

Good Chicken Hunting

Posted January 30, 2009 by Sharon 3 Comments

The search for a sensational pollo alla cacciatora is over.

The other day as I researched this recipe, I pondered on Facebook, “What makes a really good pollo alla cacciatora?

The suggestions were thoughtful.

“It should be cooked slowly so the flavors blend.”

“Eating it in Rome.”

“I put many different mushrooms in mine. To me that’s the best.”

My favorite came from Marge, who recommended “A really good-looking hunter in the kitchen.” Definitely the most enticing but, if acted upon, might have impeded my cooking progress.

Marge was right about one thing, though. “Alla cacciatora” translates as “like a hunter.” So I got to tracking a prototypical recipe in the classic 1,200 page Le Ricette Regionali Italiane and bagged three-from Emilia-Romagna, Umbria, and Sicilia (with the addendum con melanzane).

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