La Lama Mountain Ovens
Old Italian family recipes
and archives, baking tips, and bakery gifts
Family Secrets
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La Lama Mountain Ovens |
The best of the recipes, techniques, and methods practiced by our large extended Italian-American family - with emphasis on the legacy handed down to us by the original immigrants. This is a cookbook-in-process project. If you try any of these recipes please let us know how they turn out, whether or not you had any difficulties, and any clarifying improvements you might recommend to make them foolproof. We will of course acknowledge genuine "test-kitchen" assistance. |
Family Secrets #13Summer Bounty: By CeCe Dove, La Lama Mountain Ovens |
| The first twenty five years of my life was spent in western Pennsylvania, where the land is lush, the soil fertile, and the growing season long. We grew up in a large, gracious house set on a big lot, so there was plenty of room for my father's big garden, grape arbor, and lawn left over for little girls to sit barefoot and make daisy chains. Dad's garden was a marvel to me then. It had picture perfect beds of lettuce, and the straightest rows of tomatoes, peppers, onions, beans, and celery. Now after 30 years of gardening myself, his still remains an inspiration and a marvel to me. |  Maria and Vergilio Bussotti (cousins of Pietro Zara) Picture: 1960. Picking summer figs from their back-yard tree in Detriot, MI. |
| The second twenty five years of my life was
spent in northern California. There our home was also
large and gracious but set on a steep hillside with
little space for a garden. I resorted to patio gardening.
The growing season was very long, but cool, and not given
to raising the vegetables that a Mediterranean diet
craves. It was here I discovered the glories of herb
gardening and the disappointment of year after year of
failed tomatoes. But we were blessed with grand farmers'
markets which my daughter and I visited every Sunday
morning. What I couldn't grow myself I could get in
abundance from the best of the local growers. Now we are in the mountains of northern New Mexico which has the shortest growing season of all. At 8200 feet the nights remain cool almost all year but during July and August the afternoons are extremely hot. The weather is unpredictable, ranging from weeks on end of winds to hail storms to monsoons to perfect hot, sunny afternoons and balmy evenings. The first snow falls by Halloween at the last melts in late May. We live in a small (but most gracious) old restored adobe farmhouse on eight acres of beautiful land studded with pinon and cedar. Two ponds accommodate our neighbor’s horses (they mow our 8-acre lawn) and the migrating ducks. Three big old apricot trees, several wild plums, a chokecherry, and one winter apple tree provide fruit for pies, jams, and drying for the winter. Even though the growing season is the shortest I've ever dealt with, our large gardens include all that my father's had plus the herbs I've come to love plus things he never grew like cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, French haricot verts, and habaneros. What makes this possible is the attached greenhouse where, this year, we started over 60 tomato plants and dozens of other vegetables that need a little extra time. We also use the greenhouse beds to grow our own greens like Swiss chard, arugula, and spinach for the long cold winter. All my herbs in the garden are duplicated in pots to move to the greenhouse for the winter. They include basil, rosemary, sage, marjoram, thyme, parsley, oregano, salad burnet, tarragon, and sorrel. Our first radishes have already been eaten and we won't buy any lettuces until the winter. Now in mid-July we look forward soon to the first tiny green beans and sweet juicy tomatoes. Whether you grow your own or visit one of the many farmers' markets available across the country or even just depend on the local grocer, the availability of wonderful summer produce is a boon to cooks of all stripes, but especially to the Italian cook whose repertoire depends on this. In my opinion there is only one time of year to enjoy the following recipes, and that would be when the basil is fresh, the tomatoes are perfectly vine ripened and the green beans are so tender that they'll cook in 3 or 4 minutes. However, if you take a morning or two or make up a half dozen or so bottles of herbed vinegar and oil, the echoes of summer will be with you all through the winter. It is a fun, easy project and you can make extra for use as holiday gifts. Collecting interesting bottles throughout the year makes it even more fun. You can keep your eyes open at flea markets, or even in your own liquor cabinet, or ask neighbors to save interesting bottles (and their corks or caps). There are no amounts given in the herbed vinegar and oil recipes because none are needed. Use your eyes to make an attractive mixture and use your sense of taste to combine herbs. Here are a few of my favorites.
Spicy Herbed Vinegar Per bottle
If you are picking your own herbs, do it early in the morning when it is cool. Wash well in cold water and spin dry in a salad spinner. Set aside on paper towels. Wash the pepper and make a slit on two sides with a sharp paring knife. Drop the garlic and pepper into the clean dry bottle. Fold and bend the herbs to fit into the bottle, using the blunt end of a wooden skewer to push them in. Fill the bottle with the vinegar. Cork, label, and set aside in a cool, dark place for at least a week before using. They will keep for a year, getting stronger and better each month.
Per bottle These are made the same way as the vinegar, but I do not usually include any the hot pepper. My favorite is Olio Sante (literally, holy oil) which is simply fresh basil leaves packed into the bottle and then filled with extra virgin olive oil. Another family favorite is rosemary oil with a garlic clove added. Always use extra virgin olive oil and store out of direct light. Panzanella Here’s a real summer treat that can add variety to your salad repertoire or serve as a light dinner on a hot summer night. Salad to serve four
Amounts are not critical in this recipe. Put the bread, tomatoes, basil, onion, and optional cucumber into a pretty salad bowl. Sprinkle on the olive oil and vinegar. Add the salt and pepper and toss well. Let sit at least two hours at room temperature before serving. The tomatoes should give up enough juice to soften the bread. If not, add enough additional olive oil to accomplish this. Taste again for salt and serve at room temperature. Green Beans with Mint To serve four
Drop the beans in boiling salted water and cook until just tender with a little snap left. If they are very fresh this will only take 3 or 4 minutes. Immediately drain and place in ice water to stop the cooking and retain the color. As soon as they are cool to the touch, drain and spread out on paper towels to absorb as much water as possible. Place in serving dish. Add all other ingredients, toss well and let marinate at room temperature until ready to serve. Taste again for salt because beans will absorb quite a lot of salt in the marinating process. These are also excellent slightly chilled. Altitude Adjustment: None necessary. |
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Herbed Oils