We were talking last night over the dinner table about the sauerkraut and pickles that nic's mom would make with her mom. They would have these big crockery jars and fill them with fresh cut cabbage and salt in layers, or with cucumbers for pickles it was the same but with vinegar, herbs, and water. Then, a clean plate would go on top of it and a stone on top of that. Then, it was put it in the cellar and to wait, "for a specific amount of time" till it was sour. The pottery she was referring to is called "Dippe", which is slang for the word pots Topfen and is made of gray earthenware and has usually mostly blue painting on it. We still have some at the house, they are currently used to put plants in plastic pots inside for decoration.
Anyway, Mama said a lady would come to the house and grate all of the fresh cabbage for people- that was how she made extra money- she'd bring a board with a knife blade set in it and put it over a cloth on the ground and slice up the cabbage. I could just imagine her fingers flying!
Here is my friend M's pickle recipe. I'm going to try it and let you know how it turns out. Also, I'll keep you posted on the mustard pickles.
one quart pickle slices or spears
1/4 cup whey (which you get by leaving raw milk out at room temp till it completely separates into curds (solids) and whey (the yellowy clear stuff) or if you don't have whey they said to just use one more tablespoon of salt
2 tablespoons dill snipped
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespoon mustard seed
and the rest filled up with filtered water to 1 inch below the top of jar
then seal them with lids and let them sit out for 2-3 days then transfer to cold storage, no water bathing or canning stuff needed
We saw the most beautiful documentary on the Barbagia region of Sardinia- i want to go! Firstly, it looks like New Mexico, which I am sorely missing these days. Except it is an island and has the sea. Here is a picture of the Costa Smerelda.
It reminds me in many ways of the horse culture of the nomads of Tuva and M- except in Sardinia they are sheep people, and they stay put. Their suits are based on the traditional shepheard's suit (which a family of tailors still makes with a foot pedal sewing machine), their dances are the same quick steps that the sheep run and the music is sung at that tempo. And the songs are so beautiful, they sound a bit like the songs from georgia and the balkans, but in sardinian and with the sea in them. They are polyvochal braids of sound called "cantu a tenore"and accompanied by the Launeddas, a reed instrument requiring circular breathing to play. The music was included as a part of the UNESCO "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" Here is a picture of singers from Oliena. See the black jacket? that's the shepard's suit. The cantu were traditionally sung also by women, but now are sung only by men.
Every year there is a festival in Orune for Madonna della Consolata. Folks who have left the village or the island come back to celebrate and honor her. Men cook huge vats of lamb stew and pasta and sauce. The women make the beautiful bird shaped cookies that everyone gets when they come out of church, the pasta, the bread, and run the whole thing. Pecorino Romano, made of Sheep milk and stews from lamb and fresh made pasta. yum.
old guys singing Cantu a Tenore
Some of the dancing with a beautiful song:
Here is some of the music sung by young people. Surprisingly, young people are really learning the dance and the singing of Sardinia.
No comments:
Post a Comment