L'arte d'arrangiarsi

The Italians have a saying "l'arte d'arrangiarsi", which translates to the art of making something out of nothing.

For the most part, I've heard this saying used as one would use "making a mountain out of a molehill".

But, when I read Elizabeth Gilbert's incredible Eat, Pray, Love (a book for everyone to relish), she provided a new perspective on the expression - and of course, it has to do with food. She explains that Italians have a knack (an art) to make an incredible meal out of few basic (nothing) ingredients.

There is no food that more exemplifies l'arte d'arrangiarsi than pizza.

In preparation of our upcoming move, I spent the day packing up my kitchen. In doing so, I discovered several foodstuffs that if I didn't use quickly, I'd have to loose them. These included: an envelope of rapid rise yeast, half a zucchini, a sliver of an onion, half a jar of artichoke hearts and a spoonful of capers. Literally, a handful of nothingness.

Add to this some bread flour, a few spices and a can of tomatoes and voila... a satisfying meal after a hard days work.

Now, if I only knew where I packed that corkscrew, I could have enjoyed a glass of wine with dinner.

The Sweet Side of Zucchini

I love zucchini. And there's no better time to enjoy them than the summer.

Although zucchini are now force-grown and offered year round, they are the tastiest during the summer months. A member of the squash family and available in green or yellow varieties, zucchini is technically a fruit because it is the ovary that gives "birth" to the zucchini flower.

Am I the only one surprised by this fact nugget? A fruit, really?

Science may call zucchini a fruit, but the culinary world categorizes it a vegetable and uses it predominately in savory dishes. But, there are a few examples where it is used in sweet treats.

One example is the zucchini chocolate cake.

It's a personal favourite - fluffy, moist and chocolatey - but I've learned that it's not a crowd pleaser. The first time I offered this cake to a guest, I watched his face turn from enjoyment to disgust upon learning that the green flecks peppering the cake were actually pieces of zucchini.

I was surprised then and continue to be perplexed by others who have negative reactions to this cake. Is it so off the wall to mix in a vegetable in a cake? If so, then why is the carrot cake so widely accepted? Is the taste of the zucchini offensive? If that were true, wouldn't that same offensive taste appear when cooked in more traditional ways?

Hmmm. I guess I can't win them all. Oh well, more for me!