Seduction by Lemons

"I don't have blood in my veins, I have lemon juice" - says Luigi, 77 years old.

The owner of 5 % of the town of Amalfi, he says. And when you look up at Amalfi from your sailboat in the ocean, you glance up at a "green eye" in the middle of architecture clustures which grow up the mountain side. That lush-lemony patch is Luigis, along with thousands of other trees beyond the city center. Just a 15 minute walk up the one road of Amalfi.

"When I am in the Lemon grove, I feel like someone" he says with his crooked smile. His large, dirt-crusted hands graze over the lemon trees and tenderly clean the dead leaves away. Luigi is number 8 from a family of 13. He tells us stories of growing up in the lemon grove. His family lived in one room together, and when his parents wanted some time alone they would get lost in the lemon trees. "Sono stato concepito nel limoneto!" - I was conceived in the lemon grove! Followed by an infectious laugh and crooked smile.


He tells us of the unique Amalfi micro-climate and it's perfection for the life of lemons....

"When the winds come from the north and meet with the winds from the south, with the protection of the neighboring mountains in the valley, the winds make sweet love and create the perfect climate for lemons"

...Wind sex and lemon babies- Now If THAT isn't passionate then I don't know what is!

-Spaghetti a Limone-
1 1/2 packs of Spaghetti
1 Large Shallot- finely chopped
3T butter
3/4 c cream
4 L lemons- juiced
The zest of 1 lemon cut off in thick strips
The zest of one lemon grated fine
1/4 c grated parmigiano
Parsley-chopped

Place the thick strips of lemon zest in the boiling salted pasta water. Like a strong tea, let the pasta water become infused with lemon essence. Cook pasta till just al dente, no longer. Reserving pasta water.
Saute shallot in butter, in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add cream and lemon juice and reduce. Add hot al dente pasta, fine lemon zest, and grated cheese. Thin the pasta and sauce out with pasta water, until it is your desired consistency. Finish with chopped parsley and fresh cracked pepper
Note: This recipe serves 8 as a main course, and is best made with lemon offspring from wind relations off the Amalfi Coast of Italy. Just sayin'...

In my first experience of Amalfi, I can honestly say that the citrus there is unlike any I have had before. As a California native, I have never experienced a shortage of tasty lemons in my life. The sight alone of a meyer lemon can easily take my breathe away. From my first Amalfi gelato limone, tangy and sweet (and best enjoyed with your eyes closed.) To the lovable, sip-able, marry-able (!) limoncello and everything with essence, zest, slices, and juice in between. I found myself trying to find balance in my being with the sway of sea legs bellow me, and at the same time allowing myself to dizzily float away in an Italian cloud of lemony love.

Currently hibernating in a Florentine nest above Santa Croce. Writing menus, drinking black tea with rose petals in a silk robe, and practicing yoga on a Moroccan rug.... the love and light of life in Italy. x -A

The Art of Strudel

Don't bother me. I'm strudeling...

My first full day off in awhile. My friend Vince in Vienna hooked me up with his chef sister Barbara, who on her day off set up the perfect "how to" strudel day. It was epic. I have never strudled that hard and for that many hours before....



-Strudel Recipe-
Recipe written and taught by Chef Barbara Weissbacher

250 g flour
3 T oil
dash of vinegar
150 ml warm water
pinch of salt
Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the oil, the vinegar and gradually the lukewarm water. Knead the dough until it's silky-smooth and no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. Divide the pastry in two and form into balls. Coat each ball lightly with oil (just brush on with your hands) cover and let rest for at least an hour- you can just put an upside down bowl over the top of the dough which rests on a plate-
Spread a cloth out over a table and dust well with flour. Lay a pastry ball in the center of the strudel cloth and dust with flour. Flatten the edges of the pastry ball (a "pastry hill" is left in the center of the strudel dough) then stretch the flattened edges by pulling lightly, so that "frills" are formed. Coat the backs of your hands with flour, place the pastry on the tem and carefully stretch it out by gentile stretching and pulling. Work from the center outwards. Gently stretch the dough until it has acquired more or less of a square shape and evenly translucent appearance. Cut off the thick edges and coat the pastry with melted butter. Spread desired filling over one third of the thin pastry. With help from the cloth, fold the sides of the pastry inward. Then from the filling side of the pastry, roll the pastry over itself. Place strudel with seam-side down on a covered sheet pan (use only the cloth to fold and pick up, not your hands.) Brush with melted butter and bake at 200 C (375 F) for 30 minutes.







Fillings such as classic apple, with cinnamon and toasted bread crumbs. Caramelized cabbage and ham, fresh strawberries on top of velvety curds, scented with vanilla and lemon zest. Sour cherries from her uncles farm. And anything in between...





Traditional strudel dough is stretched, by hand, on a strudel cloth. Your chosen "strudel cloth" is one that should be at least 3x the size of your desired strudel, and should be of a flexible/fairly thin fabric. Also, your strudel cloth should not be washed during strudel season. This seasons the cloth, if you will, keeping it floured and ready for any and all strudelling needs...... how many times could I possible say the word, strudel, in one paragraph!?





Pulling the dough delicately with soft tips of your fingers or knuckles from the middle out, making it thin and velvety. There is just something so sultry about pulling soft dough with floured hands. This is a kitchen meditation to me, and I can do it for hours and hours.
It is said that you should be able to read a newspaper, or preferably a love letter, through the dough. Seems I am fresh out of love letters at the moment.... but will surely get right on it for next time!
Reading through a stain glass strudel dough sounds awfully romantic though.







France has the Pastis. Morocco and Spain have the Pastilla. Borek in Turkey...... and Austria has the strudel.







Best eaten the day you make it. Warm out of the oven, crisp and flacky pastry dough. At that moment in time, there was no where else on the planet I would rather be than at that table, with those people, and a plate of incredible fresh strudel. A highlight to my short life in Vienna, and the strudel cloth that was given to me by Barbara at the end of our day together, will be caring on the essence of Austria that my day of Studeling created.









Till we meet again, Vienna.....
Off to the Amalfi coast to eat lemons, swim in grottos off Capri, and test out my sea legs for cooking in a galley of a sailboat. xo -A

Memories of Sand

One of my favorite memories to date.
I am neck-deep in cooking meals here in Vienna. The 5 minute-sneak-attack-thunder storms that crawl their way through Austria at the moment are making my food shopping excursions very interesting....
Needless to say, I have had almost no time to write... or practice... or sleep... But the amazing woman that I work for in Morocco has had some sweet time. And she took me down memory lane with THIS great post (via Elephant Journal)
Enjoy! x -A

Tickled Pickled

I feel an uncontrollable urge to pickle everything right now....

Master Quick Pickle Recipe (Adapted from Momofuku Cookbook, David Chang)
225 ml Water- piping hot from the tap
125 ml Rice Wine Vinegar
6 T Sugar
2 1/4 t Sea Salt
(I added coriander seeds and fresh chillies to mine)
Mix all ingredients together and pout over prepared vegetable or fruit.



In my past months of wrapping my head around learning to speak Spanish, French, Arabic, and memorizing Sanskrit. There is really no way in hell that I am going to retain ANY German at this point, while here in Austria. Which is really fine because almost every Austrain I've met here speaks at least 3 languages, and their english is surprisingly far better than mine. When I found a fantastic little Cookbook and Spice Shop near my house in Vienna, one that even has English Cookbooks! I stocked up. Moro Cookbook, A Month in Marrakesh my always "go to" favorite Chez Panise Cafe Cookbook, and the playful Momofuku Cookbook by David Chang. There is nothing quite as pleasing to me than to have those paper pages pass my hands while my eyes fill with the most inspiring text and recipes. It's like plugging in the cord to my chef battery, and re-entering the kitchen with a fresh bag of tricks.


The Asian food outlets here in Vienna are mind blowing! I can get authentic Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, and Indian products here so easily. And in the land of lush Austrian pastry's, I chose a sesame doughnut filled with sweetened mungbean paste from the Vietnamese shop each day. One that has me quickly retracing the steps in my mind through the streets of Hanoi.



An Artists premier party was scheduled for 10 close friends of the family I work for. With my new bed stand book being the Momofuku Cookbook, I had Ssam on the brain for days! A hot griddle was set up in the middle of the table and around it, decorated was various bowls of scallion ginger sauce, black bean chilli sauce, pickled mustard sauce, thin sliced Austrian beef, fresh scallops, tofu, and pickled papaya, fennel and cucumbers. Chopsticks navigated their way across the table to fry bits of meat, grab a rice ball or a scoop of coriander udon noodles. A crisp French Chablis made it all come together, and the sounds of The Editors played in the background.

In 2 1/2 weeks from now, I'll be packing up my things here and heading to the south of Itlay to assist on this sea bound adventure with my Fairy Foodie Godmother, Peggy. I've got bikini's, boat shoes, and pickled beets.

With love from Vienna X -A

Chef Shoes On

I've moved to Vienna.
Wait... let me rephrase that- I have been moved to Vienna.
3 weeks ago, on a Friday, I was asked to cook and teach yoga to a couple on holiday in Mallorca. By Sunday I had packed a bag and moved to Vienna with them as the families private chef.




At the usual whirlwind pace that I tend to flow at in life, I have jumped right into the creative chaos of living in a new city with a full on daily job. June in Vienna brings sun that shows her face in between the century old buildings, outdoor art exhibitions and wild asparagus.
These beautiful, thin, tender green stems and bundled together at almost everystand at the Nachtmarkt- my daily playground. Steamed with lemon zest and cracked pepper, topped with a poached egg, rain of Spanish sea salt and a sprinkling of Austria's aromatic hazelnuts. Lunch in Vienna is served.

Crusty Bits

The best bits....
That bottom layer of the paella pan where the rice comes up like an olive oil fried, crispy spanish crepe. Dip it in the remaining aioli left in the bowl, like the perfect potato chip. Just nothing else like it.
A Sunday roadtrip across the island of Mallorca to hike the trails from Deia to Soller, and a paella from the heavens. Easy to call this place home.











As usual on my current life path, I will be relocating yet again. I have been hired as a families private chef for the month of June in Vienna Austria. I've just returned to Mallorca today after a week trial in the beautiful city of Vienna. I'll be here for 10 days to pack up my things and to cater a yoga retreat by this inspireing yogi.
Why do I ever unpack my bag in the first place...?

Camel Nights

One of my favorite photos of our first night on beach Camel Safari near Sidi Kaouki, Morocco.
.... My thighs hurt just thinking about it.