Taking a Trip
I'm one of those classic cases of a person who suffers from 'fear of flying'. There was a period a few years ago when I was constantly traveling from Los Angeles to New York on the red-eye from Burbank airport leaving at 9:30pm and arriving at JFK about 5 in the morning. It was brutal.
I mean, I can barely sleep in my own comfortable bed, much less a tiny seat, cramped and afraid. I thought I was almost cured one night, as we were experiencing turbulence somewhere over the Rockies, and the thought came to me 'If we go down at least I won't have to make these trips anymore'. That thought didn't stick though unfortunately. I lived to do it over again many times. Now, I can see going out for lunch in another neighborhood, or even driving to the beach, but getting on a plane is another story. It's just not worth it, except for one place, Italy.
I have a good friend who lives half the year in Tuscany, and he started going there before it got impossibly popular and expensive. He bought a traditional Tuscan house, tall and narrow, with one room on each floor, and massive stone walls and brick floors. About 8 years after he bought this house in a little farming village on top of a hill, another house became available around the corner, this one far bigger, with a garden where there are olive trees and flowers.
Years ago, I went to visit him in June, and stayed in the older house, where his guests live when they come there. It was like something out of a dream. I would awaken in the middle of the night, which is a habit with me, and sit in the bed staring out the windows at the hills, each with a little town on top, with sparkling lights and the outline of cypress trees. I didn't even mind the insomnia as I soaked up all the beauty around me. We took a side trip to Venice for the Biennale with a group of his friends and the whole city had been turned into a museum. It was unforgettable! Oh..I forgot to mention that at the time I was on a strict diet with no sugar or carbohydrates. I was so invested in this it didn't even occur to me that traveling might make it impossible.
There we were in a little restaurant on a canal and my friend ordered a pasta dish for the group with a sauce made of walnuts and garlic. Well, that was the end of my diet, and I never took it up again after realizing that life was too short.
Walnut Sauce
Is a sauce always wet? If I looked it up in the dictionary they would probably say yes, but this is a kind of moist crumble, and I will call it a sauce because it should be mixed with things...warm pasta, sauted chicken cut up into strips, blanched asparagus, roasted root vegetables. People will say 'What is this? So good!' Guaranteed! This needs to be made in batches in one smallish pan. For every batch add 2 Tbs of olive oil, and don't walk away since each batch cooks quickly.
1 cup raw walnuts
1 cup cubed home-made bread or decent artisanal bread (can be stale)
1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
First saute walnuts til lightly toasted in 2 Tbs. Olive oil, then empty into bowl of processor. Be sure to scrape out oil so the next batch won't burn.
Saute bread cubes in another 2 Tbs olive oil until golden, scrape into processor with walnuts.
Lastly saute that little bit of garlic in another 2 Tbs. Olive oil until translucent. Scrape into processor
Add 1/3 cup good grated parmesan to processor and pulse until chopped fine, then process until well chopped....it will start to come up sides of bowl. Add a pinch of salt and pepper as it whirs. Taste for seasoning.