Ask Carb Diva: Questions & Answers About Food, Recipes, & Cooking, #137

No questions. None at all. Just one comment from a fellow Hubber (on one of his articles, but the comment was addressed to me). So, I'll share that exchange with you.

Let's hope that next week there I have more to offer. If you're an old friend, you already know how this works. But, if this is your first visit, let me introduce you to my kitchen. Each week I receive questions about food ingredients, cooking or baking terms or methods, requests for recipes, and queries about nutrition. Just about anything food-related has been covered here.

It happens every Monday. Want to join in the fun? You can leave your question in the comments below, and next week the answer will be right here. It's that easy.

Let's begin.

This oft-cited quote has been attributed to Frederick R. Barnard who wrote "One look is worth a thousand words," in Printer's Ink, December 1921. Perhaps to add credence to his words, he claimed that they were first spoken by a Japanese philosopher (ahh, the wisdom of the Orient). Later, the Asian sage was changed to Chinese (Confucius perhaps?)

No matter who first wrote those words, the point is that one simple image can bring forth a wealth of memories. In my experience, the opposite is also true. Just a few simple words can bring back a flood of images. For example, my friend Eric Dierker said this last week:

"Now, off to pickle—which reminds me. I need a prickly pear fruit recipe for marmalade."

"Prickly pear." Just those two words took me back to a dusty, winding trail on the western coast of Italy.

The path from Vernazza to Corniglia is narrow and precarious. To my left is a steep hillside of boulders and stacked stones; on my right are jagged rocks hugging the rugged coastline. Nothing but a fragile railing separates hikers from that dangerous cliff edge…and a plummet of 700 feet to the Ligurian Sea. We are walking the sinuous cliff side path of The Cinque Terra.

Cinque Terre (5 Lands) is a band of five small coastal villages on the west coast of Italy. Monterosso is the northernmost town; its beach, boardwalk, and luxury hotels have earned it the nickname “Italian Riviera."

Next is Vernazza. She holds onto her old-world charm with a quiet harbor under the shadows of an ancient castle. The hills of Vernazza are dotted with ancient olive trees and wine-producing grapevines which are still tended by hand on steeply terraced slopes. Most of all, Vernaza is about putting aside the frantic pace, inhaling deeply, and taking life at a slower pace.

Unlike her sister villages, Corniglia does not overlook the sea. Brightly-colored four-story houses outline the narrow streets and alleys and are little changed from the scene described by Boccaccio in his “Decameron” a 1353 A.D. compendium of 100 tales shared by ten travelers who have banded together to escape plague-ridden Florence.

Manarola is the oldest, and second smallest of the five villages. The primary industries are fishing and wine-making.

Then there is Riomaggiore, a fishing village originally settled by Greek immigrants in the 8^th century A.D. Terraced hillsides dotted with grapevines and slate-roofed houses speak of the Greek influence. In the early 20^th century a railway was constructed to link the five towns of the Cinque Terra to one another. To aid the construction workers in moving back and forth along the first segment, a path was excavated. One hundred years later that same path is used today by tourists; it is the easiest part of the trail, with magnificent views of the sea. It is here that romantics leave “locks of love” on the fence that overlooks the blue waters below. The locals call this place “Via dell’Amore,” the Walk of Love.

But we are not on the Walk of Love; the walk of death is more like it. Did I mention that I don’t like heights? Not knees-quaking petrified, but, given the option of viewing the plains of Kansas or contemplating the precipice that could instantly end my life, I think you know which I would choose.

When my husband and I began this trek, I was inwardly praying for deliverance, but as we progress, the path widens. . .the railing looks much more trustworthy, and there is just so much beauty to take in. Like a small child distracted by the lollipop at the doctor’s office, I have forgotten my fears. Inches from the railing are clusters of prickly pear cactus. The flowers have long since faded, and have been replaced by fat pink globes. If you grasp them carefully (a kerchief will help) they can be split open to reveal honey-sweet, sticky fruit. A peregrine falcon glides on an air current and then dives into the sea, a sea of unbelievable brilliant blue. And, the plant life—the air is filled with the scent of juniper, camphor-like myrtle, the heady perfume of lavender, and rosemary.

See, just two simple words and I can smell the rosemary and the dust of the trail, I can see the sapphire-blue sea, I can feel the warmth of the sun on my face. Thanks, Eric for taking me back to such wonderful memories.

Eric, there were dozens if not hundreds of prickly pear jelly recipes out there, but all of them require a hot water bath, and I'm pretty sure that you don't have a kettle, rack, and tongs for making shelf-stable preserves. So, I used my super-powers and found two that might work for you—the first is jelly that can be stored in the refrigerator for up to six months, and the second is a freezer jam. Both have detailed instructions and lots of photos. I hope that helps.

Did you know that there is a Table of Contents for this series? I have created an article that provides a detailed listing of each question I've received. It's broken down by category, and within each category, the questions are listed alphabetically. Each question is actually a hotlink back to the original post.

Here's a link to that Table of Contents.

I have also cataloged all of my personal recipes that I have shared with you in this weekly Q&A series and in all of my other articles as well. The link to that Index is here. There are hotlinks to each recipe and this will be updated as new recipes are shared.

Let's do this again next week. If you have questions about foods, cooking techniques, or nutrition you can ask them here. If you are in search of an old recipe or need ideas on how to improve an existing one I can help you. If you want to learn more, let's do it together. Present your questions, your ideas, your comments below. Or, you can write to me personally at this email address: lindalum52@gmail.com.

And, I promise that there will always be at least one photo of a kitty in every Monday post.