Out this morning with my Swedish Housemate to shop for pranzo. The walk down the hill lets us know that the day will be hot, really hot. I count my blessings that I was up early enough to beat the sun's merciless salutation.
On the Boardwalk in Aspra there is a nutseller I like a lot. A father and daughter. Everyday I stop a nd have a piece of coconut. A tiered fountain with cool water keeps the chunks of coconut shell cool and moist. I work to eat it. For a change a snack food that can't be inhaled.
Coconut is a maligned seed. Presently it is being touted for it's mid chain essential fatty acids which actually help with thermogenesis- helping us lose weight, and is being used as an aid to hypothyroidism. I am so interested in foods that linger on in the cuisines of cultures through time. I am of the conviction that no food which survives in a cuisine does so at the detriment of it's people. In fact, I presume this is true until I am proved wrong. Often this line of reasoning provokes empiricists. Coconut is a great example. High in saturated fat = bad, fat in general = bad. And hot weather, who wants to eat anything fatty?
Well it grows in the tropics. So it must have a use in the tropics. A little investigation and I learn that according to Chinese medicine , coconut is warming, which seems to contradict it's usefulness in a hot climate, but as I read on I also learn it is strengthening, quenches thirst, tonifies the heart, relieves water retention and diabetes; and here it is: clears the effects of summer heat. Thank you Paul Pitchford and Healing with Whole Foods
So, I enjoy my coconut.
God, it feels sinfully good here as I gather my fruit, vegetables and sardines from the stalls on the boardwalk. I am not trim or lean here. A week ago I was a pastie, overweight
Not me, but others are dressed beautifully. The sensuality is unbearable. Who could not be aware of her body every moment? Yeah, beautiful clothes and fashion; toothless smiles of the ageless and not so elderly.
I saw a woman today whose left side of her face had been badly burned and perhaps was missing that eye. I can't be sure. I did not stare and the burned side of her face was kept from view. She was one of many women who sit outside and wait for the sauce to cook while the men and the children play. I speak of beauty, I am aware of beauty, but in this place, the terrain of this unforgiving island marks it's inhabitants. Will it mark me?
Aspra.
The fruit seller.
Fried Sardines with Garlic and Parsely 2 1/2 pounds fresh sardines, cleaned, with heads on.
1 Cup olive oil
Flour
Salt and Pepper
4 Cloves of fresh garlic, chopped fine.
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
Clean the sardines. Dredge them in the flour.
Heat the Olive oil until it's hot but not smoking.
Quickly fry the sardines in two or three batches, and drain them on a paper towel.
Set them aside and keep them warm.
Using a strainer, to strain the oil to remove the bits of flour.If you don't have one, as I did not- Make a cone out of a napkin, by folding it into a triangle, being sure to fold it over several times, and through a corner, pour the oil into a cup or bowl. The napkin will catch the flour crumbs.
Wipe the pan to remove any lingering flour.
Don't wash it, you want the flavor. Plus water would make the pan a little dangerous once you added more oil.
Put about 4 tablespoons of the oil back in the pan, and add the garlic, frying until it releases its odors.
Add the parsley,salt to taste, and lots of fresh black pepper.
Saute about one minute, put the sardines back into the pan and continue frying for about five minutes on medium, to heat everything through.
We served this with tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil and local salt.
Mmmmmm.
And sweet dreams.
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