Hello, readers and friends in and near Seattle,  are any of you coming down to Buenos Aires anytime soon?  If you are, please contact me through the contact form (in the menu on the right, under “Pages”, there is a page called “Contact” - click that and you can send me an e-mail).  I need a favor
Thank you!

Tina

It’s spring and artichokes are in season.  It’s such a delight to see them in the verdulerias, next to the sweet, dark red strawberries that have recently arrived as well.  Unlike the commercially produced artichokes you see at major grocery stores, the ones I buy here in the verduleria still have their long stems attached to them and give off a fresh fragrance that makes me almost want to eat them right there.

The artichoke, native to the Mediterranean, was apparently first developed in Sicily, and was evident in Greek and Roman literature as early as 70AD.  If you have ever seen a field of artichokes it is a beautiful thing - these large thistle plants grow on thick stems, and almost make me think of sunflowers (though perhaps not as tall).

I recently found a recipe for spring artichokes cooked in white wine and tossed with tagliatelle.  (Recipe link below.)  I thought I’d give it a try, but of course I wound up doing my own thing.  The recipe is a good guideline though, and was very inspiring.

I of course made my own pasta by hand, because I like to and I had a special dinner guest. :-)  But if you’d rather buy your tagliatelle and you want to know what pasta I like in Buenos Aires, I think the Don Vicente brand is pretty good (their pastas are made with egg), and if you would rather just use a good semolina pasta (without egg), Lucchetti is a good brand that is of similar quality to Barilla.

The original recipe can be found here.

I should note that I didn’t use mint as the recipe called for.  I forgot to buy it and I still had some sage left, so I added sage instead, while the artichokes were cooking.

First I cleaned and prepared the artichokes - it’s important to clean them well if you buy them from the verduleria because they are organic and therefore sometimes little bugs like to hang out in them.  Tap the artichoke a few times upside down to get any bugs out and rinse it well.  Take all the leaves off until you get to the artichoke heart.  Next, cut the heart into a few sections.

I heated three tablespoons of olive oil with two minced cloves of garlic.  I added the prepared artichoke hearts and fried for about a minute.  Then I poured in a good amount of Torrontes (an Argentine white wine), added salt, covered the pan (I used a large wok), and checked on them once in a while.

In the meantime I cooked the pasta in salted, boiling water (follow the instructions on your package).

Once the artichokes were done (I could easily put a fork into them), I tossed them with the cooked and drained pasta and a bit of extra virgin olive oil.  Topped with some parmigiano (or whatever grated cheese you can get your hands on), this made for an excellent meal.  I want to make it again!

P.S. I didn’t use as many artichokes as the recipe called for.  Use just as many as you think you’ll need.

P.P.S.  Someone suggested using the artichoke hearts preserved in a jar.  The problem with that is that the artichokes need to be fresh (and not all soft and mushy lik the jar ones) so they can really soak up the wine and cook in it.  I guess if you got the jar ones you could just use less wine and it might be good.  If anyone tries this, please let me know how it turned out.

Today is International Translator’s Day (or International Translation Day) - that’s right, I get my very own holiday!

It is celebrated on the feast day of St. Jerome, the Bible translator who is considered as the patron saint of translators.

A bit of info on this year’s theme here.

And on that note, I’m going to bed and not translating.  I have the sniffles and a headache, hence the blog entry with so few words.

**First of all, those of you who currently live in or have lived in Italy, take a look at this contest.  All you have to do is complete the sentence “You know you’re in Italy when…” and you could win some mighty fine coffee!**

Since I abandoned “Love Thursday” after two weeks, I’ve decided to try writing a “What’s Cooking Wednesday” entry instead, particularly aimed at those foreigners living in Buenos Aires who wish to eat food with a little more variety, yet don’t know where to start.

Now that spring is here and the weather is warm, my food cravings have changed.  Instead of warm, hearty soups I want tomatoes and olives and strawberries and artichokes.

Today I was in the mood for mozzarella.  I have issues with most of the mozzarella made here (here it’s spelled “muzzarella”) - while it’s really good (especially on pizza), it’s not anything close to what I was used to eating in Italy - but that’s just because the recipe/method is different, so the flavor and texture is different.

But Disco near the Congreso carries an Argentinean brand that makes a pretty good cow’s milk mozzarella, called “Fior di Latte“, and its made like the mozz I ate in Italy, and comes stored in whey.  The same brand also makes what they named “Bufarella” which is their rendition of bufala (buffalo) mozzarella, which is more traditional and has more bite to it - that’s not always available so I usually get the cow mozz.  It costs 9 pesos at Disco and you get a pretty good amount for the price.

**Here’s something interesting: I’ve heard that a lot of the cow’s milk mozzarella in Italy is made with milk powder from Argentinean cows!**

Anyway, I stopped at the verduleria on my way home for tomatoes and basil, thinking I could make an insalata caprese, but he won’t have basil until tomorrow, so I nixed the caprese idea and opted for parsley and lemon instead.

I diced the tomatoes, cut the mozzarella into smaller pieces, added some white beans, the parsley, juice from the lemon, extra virgin olive oil and some salt, and I had myself a delicious and healthy salad.

Tonight I have an asado to go to, which I’m definitely looking forward to - I don’t eat very much meat (yes, me, in Argentina) so this is always a special occasion for me.

Next Wednesday I’ll write about artichokes!

Finalmente, the days will become warmer.

I like spring and I like Vivaldi.

Of course, up north, fall is beginning… and that means that in Italy there will soon be new olive oil.  If anyone is coming down say in November, please bring me a bottle!

…dammit. Why’s it gotta do that.

…Well, I guess that’s why in this blog I call myself “a tanguera between 2 lands”…

P.S. I know some Italians who will complain about the Laura Pausini song in this video, but you need to understand that “Tra Te E Il Mare” is so totally the Italy expat-to-be theme song.  (Come on Italy expats, agree with me! You know it’s true).

Recently my roommate G had some friends over, one of whom is Spanish and cooked dinner for the lot of them.  Unfortunately I was on my way out the door to a milonga when they arrived, so I didn’t get to sample what he was preparing (though I did see that he brought sea scallops which was almost enough to make me skip tango.  Gotta find scallops, and soon).

There was plenty of gazpacho leftover and my kind roommate let me have some.  At the first taste, I started feeling inspired.  Then my roommate shared his pasta with me, which had been tossed with green olives.  All of this beautiful tanginess, all of this color!  I immediately got out my Mediterranean (mostly Italian and French) cookbooks, started re-reading this book, which is full of inspiration and nice recipes, and went online to my favorite recipe sites, preparing myself culinarily for the coming seasons of sun.  I’ve always eaten Mediterranean, but was not so inspired the first few months here, and now with the change in seasons, comes a change in the ingredients available and a change in what I crave, which means a change in recipes.

One of my favorite sites from which to get recipes is Divina Cucina, an inspiring site by a woman based in Florence, Italy, who gives cooking classes.  Her recipe page is great, full of things that make me think of my relatives in Lucca and the wonderful dinners we’ve had together.

The other day for lunch I decided to make my own spin on her recipe for tonno e fagioli.  Never one to follow a recipe exactly, I used chickpeas (garbanzos) instead, and added some sliced green olives to add a little extra tangy flavor.  Absolutely wonderful!  Then yesterday I had Miss Tango over and I tried the recipe for spaghetti di vino, which was very simple and delicious, only I used bucatini instead of spaghetti, and added sage.  It was wonderful and we decided it would be very nice to add some black olives next time.

See?  It doesn’t have to be all about meat and papas fritas down here (though I love both).  If you have a kitchen and some inspiration (and a verduleria nearby), you can get creative and eat very well.

Here’s a Biagi interpretation of the song.  I do love its rhythm.  Sigh… with the right leader, it can feel like flying.

This one is danced by Federico Naveira & Inés Muzzopappa.

And the words (thanks to todotango) by José María Contursi.  Music by Mario Canaro.

A beautiful Mexican interpretation (bolero ranchero?) of a Tango I just can’t get out of my head tonight…

The singer, Chayito Valdez.

(UPDATE: The two examples below are based on true stories that I witnessed with my own eyes.)

Dear innocent, unsuspecting newbie to the traditional milongas of Buenos Aires, a few suggestions to make your transition into milonguera life a bit smoother.

1. It’s winter in Buenos Aires and very cold at night, so you subject yourself to throwing on a pair of trousers under that dress for the cold commute between home and the milonga.  I totally understand that and have done it myself.  We all do it.  When it’s cold it’s cold.

But what makes you think it’s logical and classy to change OUT of your trousers in front of everyone at the milonga?  What makes you think we want to be distracted from cabeceo-ing to watch you hike up your dress and pull down your pants?  And I know you think you are being discreet, but the traditional milongas are very well-lit, and do you think for a minute that the men don’t notice it?  Because they do.  If only you knew what they were thinking.  Then again, maybe you don’t want to know.

Maybe this was okay to do at your practica in your hometown.  But you’re not there anymore.  You’re in Buenos Aires.  And you’re not at a practica you are at a milonga.  Here, it’s about how you present yourself.  People here make a special occasion of their favorite Saturday night milonga.  Look around you at how people behave.  They dress in nice, clean clothes, they smell good, they present themselves nicely. Ever hear of the Italian expression, La Bella Figura? (Making a good impression, basically…) Well it applies here too, in terms of how you behave and present yourself in the milongas.  That’s just the way it is.

Tip: the bathroom is right there.  Just a few steps away.  This means that when you arrive you can saunter over to the ladies’ room and pull down your trousers to your heart’s content.  Your friends at the milonga thank you for politely observing this.  If you have a problem with this or wish to leave said trousers on under your dress (something I must admit I have never understood), maybe traditional milongas are not for you.  Try Villa Malcolm. It’s much more casual, and also very dark.

~~~

2. Some folks have an issue about dancers changing their shoes at the table.  I honestly don’t care where you change yours shoes as long you are discreet and there is enough space for you to do so without knocking your head into the table next to you and causing water to spill.  But what I DO have an issue with is this:  do you really think it’s attractive to hoist your foot on your knee and rub foot powder into your foot, between your toes, all around, put your tango shoes on and then get up to dance without even washing your hands?  Ick!

Tip:  Well, I think it goes without saying.  But I’ll say it anyway:  If you must rub any sort of substance into your feet, do so in the ladies room and WASH YOUR HANDS.

I know there are a lot of codigos to remember in the traditional milongas, but it doesn’t take a set of rules to know what’s simply logical.  The above behaviors I have mentioned don’t even need codigos, they are just basic common sense.

And now you are just about ready to milonguear…