A Century of Advice

 One word of advice for any novice chef - listen to your elders. The more experienced the home or professional cook, the better their advice. They are a rich encyclopedia of what to do and what to make along with how to avoid disaster and what to do if it occurs.

This is how I feel about my Mom whose advice I still follow. Today would have been her one hundredth birthday (and she would not have liked me putting it out there).  Her cooking advice and culinary curiosity is still being followed today. I constantly hear hear her words and instruction with every vegetable chopped and sauce whisked. She herself came from a rich culinary background with a Piedmontese Italian mother and a Swabian German father. She learned from her immigrant grandparents on how to make a mouth water risotto and tantalizing sauerbraten. it was definitely the best of Northern Italian and Southern German cuisine. There were no measurements. Just intuition and instinct with these  century old recipes that came from both sides of the Alps.I learned these recipes young.One of my favorite , especially now i s her pomodori e uovi, the tasty marriage of tomatoes and eggs. I've adapted to fit a vegan lifestyle by using Just Egg an egg substitute. The flavor and texture is there and I think she would have liked it.

Even though she had a wealth of family recipes to use my Mom was also adventurous. She was the first and the only one on the block to get a wok and cook authentic Chinese food. One of my favorites of hers was Ants Climbing A Tree, a yummy mix of ground beef ,soy sauce and scallions cooked with boiled cellophane or rice noodles. I used to make it with the vegan beef and she liked it.There were also fried dumplings which were a great New Year's Day treat. I feel like I'm copying her when I ]m trying new dishes myself like the Ethiopian stew made with Berbere spice. Her motto always was be curious about the world of cooking.She made tempura when it was popular in the Sixties when the US was discovering Japanese food. We had Mexican long before Taco Bell  and those taco kits came to New Jersey.Her forte was French. She was a big fan of Julia Child and Jacques Pepin. Nothing beat her cassoulet on a cold winter's night. She made Croque Monsiurs when everyone was frying up grilled cheese. Again this was another favorite I learned and enjoyed making for her.Baking she got from her German grandmother. Nothing beat her oatmeal lace cookies and moist cakes with homemade frosting.

I always feel I've inherited a wealth of culinary advice and recipes.My Mom is responsible for that. Through her I can continue the tradition of good family recipes and adventuresome cooking.

A FAmily Classic Gone Vegan

 One of the joys of Piedmontese cooking is the summery dish of pomodori e uovi, tomatoes and eggs. This dish can be made year round, using fresh or canned tomatoes. The problem in a vegan household? The eggs. However thanks to Just Egg, s plant based egg substitute the dish can be enjoyed again.

                                                                 It's just a mix of these two.

I used a whole can of Acme's Organic fire roasted tomatoes which had a more pasta sauce flavor.I think I'll stick with the regular crushed plum version. It was well married to an entire bottle of Just Egg.

First it was heating up drizzle of olive oil and a good two tablespoons of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter.

A clove of minced garlic was added to this. You can add a pinch of oregano if you wanted to.

The Just Egg is added first and stirred around until curds form, just as with real eggs.

The tomatoes are added and stirred until the mix takes on a creamy texture.

                           Again the end result was so good that there was almost nothing left.

This is a great lunch or dinner and it's so easy to make. It's also heaven on earth to eat and I'm seriously thinking of making this my Christmas dinner (the holiday is about making and eating your favorite foods, after all) It's is perfect eaten with thick chunky slices of either Italian or French bread.

Thanks to discovering Just Egg I can make a family classic and favorite again. Pomodori e uovi is a great summer dish. Yet it's even better when there's snow on the ground and a nip in the air. It reminds one of a summer harvest of warm ripe tomatoes married to eggs.