Cheese Whiz….Why K Loves Rioja

Start Clockwise from the mildest to the Strongest Cheese

This past Spring Break I corralled two of my best friends for a weekend getaway to Rioja, Spain. The land of rich, oakey wines, sumptuous bites, and miles and miles of lush green fields and earthy hills. And when you put greens and hills together, you get….CHEESE. Yep. And Goat Cheese just happens people SMILE. For some of you, vacation means someone makes your bed and does the dishes while the only work that you are doing involves a deepening a tan. You might not dream about spending time with field animals or a cold kitchen when you start making your plans to head out of town. But you most likely think about food. Vacation food. Creamy waffles, crunchy French fries and the morning breakfast buffet. And even though I like to learn and explore and work on vacations, it is very much about the food. I love how food binds people together. Eating signifies something more than just tasting and refueling. Our constant search to nourish ourselves, to experience the feeling of contentment and fullness and to SHARE it with others is highlighted when we are out of our routine. There is a beautiful brevity to it. Everyone must eat. In “breaking bread, with others, we can feel welcomed, and known. So, Imagine us accomplished women entering Berta’s Queseria with high aspirations, a few semesters of college Spanish, and grumbling tummies Easter morning. Yep…the goats had been milked and the frothy, sweet liquid awaited our cultivation.

Pouring the milk to be heated and then, as wheys and curds separate, filtered

This cheese making excursion involved a very personal transaction with Berta, the sole cheese maker, educating us on the process of making cheese. She is a one woman show, and her product is a fusion of half science, half art, and 100% spirit. It wasn’t as if she “found her calling” and was chomping at the bit to share it with us. More so, the manner in which she makes cheese is dutiful, and yet pleasant. Berta is a natural teacher, who isn’t mystified by her craft, but appreciates its functionality. There were several points in the course where me and my friends ooohed and aahhed and she stared at us with a little confusion about what the fuss was all about. But the fuss, let me assure you, was well deserved. This is no “artisan” cheese maker. The term isn’t applicable in Rioja, but nevertheless, Berta is hard at work producing at least four unique handmade cheeses that will surely please all palates. The traditionally crafted goat style cheeses are made with goats her family farms. She makes a few soft cheeses (produced in a few days) that are similar to “fresh cheese,” a round sweet aromatic soft cheese, a creamy spread of cheese,

HIgh Protein Whey Cheese

and two rounds with varying degrees of texture and salty, fermented strength. We ourselves made a cottage like cheese, adding the ingredients (rennet, salt) and monitoring the heat of the milk ourselves. It’s the Rennet that is the magic key. Rennet contains many enzymes, including a proteolytic enzyme (protease) that coagulates the milk, causing it to separate into solids (curds) and liquid (whey). They are also very important in the stomach of young mammals as they digest their mother’s milk. The Rennet used at this queseria was vegetarian, made from flowers. There are many sources of enzymes, ranging from plants, fungi, and microbial sources, that can substitute for animal rennet. Other examples include dried caper leaves, nettles, thistles, mallow, and Ground Ivy (Creeping Charlie). We got a rather detailed lesson in how the cheese is made. We also toured the small building, checking

The Cheese Storage

out the big basin where the cheeses are made, and then peering into the humid controlled rooms were the molds rest, and well, get moldy.

Berta can hand make 41 molds in one batch, taking most of the morning to make them and most of the afternoon to clean up. She sells 80% of the cheese to locals, and the rest at farmer’s markets and a handful of small restaurants. In tasting the cheese, Berta showed us the proper way to construct a cheese plate (going clockwise, place the most mild to the strongest cheese in order). And we sampled Berta’s fare. In fact, she opened up the “first cheese of the year,” which the locals have been salivating in anticipation for the past few weeks, knowing the lovely little rounds had been resting for approximately 2 1/2 months. Tart, Sweet, Creamy, Structured, yeasty, nutty, and a little fruity,

Oh, this is heaven.

we nibbled and giggled, and felt full. Berta tells us that the locals can sense the changes in the goats diets because their palates are so refined. Far from refinement, I think we were just high on the experience of being allowed IN. Being spectators and appreciators of a small craft that is part of something bigger: the land, the seasons, the creators that roam in both, and the lifelong yearning to LEARN….even, when, on vacation. Generous and inviting Berta gave us some cheese to take “home.” One lasted four hours before we devoured it. The other, so precious, waits on shelf in my pantry. Deepening its flavor in quiet transactions of its cells with the air. The cells maturing for the right moment, waiting to honor a “special moment,” where vacation and “home” will briefly rendezvous, in the shared, delightful re-savoring of Berta’s Cheese. If you’d like to arrange a tour of your own, or learn more about the food and wine culture of Rioja, contact Jose at Instituto Hemingway <info@institutohemingway.com>. The company has outstanding customer service and offers a range of culinary and cultural experiences

K Travels….The High Five of Vienna

A group of girlfriends and I sauntered a 75 minute plane ride (just as long to drive to Frankfurt airport from our house) over to Vienna for 2 nights, 2 full days of art, architecture, history, opera, and WINE (plus, a whole lot of talking).

Here are the highlights of my time there (besides the company)

1) Meinl Gourmet Food Store. In 1862, the young Julius Meinl I began his business career selling raw coffee. In 1891 he built his modern roasting plant, and within a short time the combination of convenience and excellent quality made freshly roasted Meinl coffee a runaway success.

Now….it is a gourmet food shop. And I seriously felt MAD that I didn’t live here to drop 100 Euro on Caviar, Cheese, Sauces. To sop up all my feelings of victimization, Meinl’s Wine Bar gave me a little bit of solace. I fell heads over feet (literally, almost!) with their wine display and have my little wheels turning about how to replicate it in my home.

What an awesome sight!

And yes, we all had a bit of coffee. It is the only place in Vienna where you can still get TRADITIONAL viennese coffee. It was really really was strong (still one of the two locations to get it this way and NOT italian) but a lovely little brownie cut mellowed it out.

2) The opera…Puccini’s Tosca.

Oh! This feat was on my 30 in 30 list. And Vienna’s rich history (the original house opened in 1801) set the perfect scene. Yes, Beethoven played here. The Rossini followed suit.  My goodness! The opera itself is a display of art….simply moving, just basking in the red and golds tapestries, frescos, and statues.

Here is what the Opera did to me:  Jostled my longing for passion and living life without regret. i don’t have to embrace everything in life, but I do long to show up with integrity and awareness. Oh, the opera: the sensation of floating on music that somehow seeps into the emotional code of your cells and transmits feelings of elation and desperation and futility. A good chunk of the time and an almost woozy feeling briefly surfaced… I closed my eyes and participated in those exaggerated highs and lows of the arias.  A lovely bonus were the subtitles thrown across small dim screens that roughly translated the lines, but mostly, the music contained and held me.

I believe that the opera was meant to have us recognise those themes in our lives and carry them with passionate integrity….

3) The celebration of gustav klimt’s 150 birthday
A forbearer of turn of the century expressionism, Klimt announced exaggaerated polarity of the modern world. Here is why I LOVE him (first found him in Cologne 2 years ago):  The sense of chaos and yet containment.
Simple charcoal lines and then swirls of uncontrolled colored splattered about in a very geometric space. All the museums offered some unique insight into his work but I learned the most from the Leopold museum that displayed his personal letters and postcards. The master isn’t a master at all…but a human being attempting to connect, to contribute, to contain.  The other highlight was of course seeing the original THE KISS at the Belvedre, but truly, my friend and I wandered through the exquisite ALBERTINA and swam through his drawings. The evolution of his hand, his development of a character, of a relationship, of the questioning of art….oh, it got me.

4) The Wine…..Vienna hails TONS of wine cellars…and of course,

I partook. Tasted.  Sampled. Sipped, Gulped and then…had a peanut war (Oh! I can’t think of this one moment without smiling. It belongs to me and one other human being, though….but it was special K indeed!)

One of our favorite stops occurred at Mozart’s Cafe…infamous for being in the Third Man. But who cares about that? LOOK at that Tart! UBER yummy with a crisp white typical Austrian.

5) The Naschmarkt….four blocks (in the island of a large street) and over 200 vendors selling gourmet food, produce, wine, vinegars, spices, flowers…and PASTRIES

Again, SUPER sad that I wasn’t sweeping up the bounty of color and life I encountered.

We kept saying Noshmarket….but I don’t claim that this is the best way to say it!

Although  I felt a bit over-rushed during the visit (the crowds were HUGE!)  I still continue to cherish farmer’s markets. Perhaps its the free samples (I am a sucker for the tastes!) perhaps it is the sense of aliveness they engender in me. The proximity to   the center of life, the gathering core. I  used to walk to a handful  years back living in the US, and now, there isn’t one within a 20 minute commute for me. So! I am a traveling market supporter, which makes them a little dear to me.

Oh, Vienna….when will I return?

K Travels…The High 5 of Budapest

My Thanksgiving unfolded in the land of Budapest. The city stands more than 1100 years old, snaked around the Danube, it has been dominated by multiple leaders and occupations. Budapest felt relatively like walking around Paris, adorned with intricate facades, stunning statues, and fabled with stories of promiscuous artists generating their work across ceilings and walls to support their boisterious lifestyles.

.Most of the buildings were erected in the late 19th century in celebration of the upcoming millennium and recreated a sense of Parisian art nouveau. Even with a cold chill from the Danube, some of my highlights involved roaming the streets along the river, and gazing upward at the buildings….

Besides strolling around, here are the things you might want to get your high on in Budapest

1) Take in a bath! Budapest is known for its thermal hot springs. I went with a couple of girlfriends, and so the ladies and I took two of the baths during our 2.5 day excursion. In Budapest, unless it is a gender specific day, you wear your bathing suit. Most spas have dry and wet saunas and pools of different temperatures. Many people go and just hang out. We spent over 5 hours total hopping from sauna to pool to sauna to pool. The setting of the second one SZECHENYI  stole our affection. There was circular tide in an outdoor pool there that pushed us along a current in a circle . We linked arms and like little girls giggled and laughed and snorted. Hours of conversation and relaxing equaled to a deepening of connection (from playing around, to showing each other who can float and who cannot, to analyzing our relationships and dreams) the space makes you feel free….

2) Coffee and Cake breaks. We took three official coffee breaks, but I completely loved the one located in the top floor of a huge bookstore, called Alexandra.. Why did I love this place?  First, we had been walking in very cold weather almost 2 hours, and craved something warm. Second…look at the setting.

The spacious ceilings splash the work of Karoly Lotz (that womanizing artist who needed to ALWAYS produce something to maintain his affection with the ladies). Not as busy or crowded as a Parisian cafe, but as elegant and tasty. I drank a 1cl glass of white oazariesling for $1.25 (or 375 HUF) and bought a bottle to take back home for around $3.75. Then we sampled three cakes, each $1 (or 350 HUF). A light quark/cottage cheese and apricot tart, a cherry merengue and a poppyseed cake (which is very traditional). Lovely and pleasant.

The company, (talking about Hungarian culture and American culture) the setting, the wine and cake, the reprieve from the cold…all made it an hour to remember. We also visited the oldest coffee shop in the city, called Ruszworm.

Opened since 1827, this tiny two room location have offered treats so tasty that queen Elizabeth made her servant get treats every morning (it was also the birthplace of the Linzer cookie!). We visited Gerbeaud as well (a grand coffee shop in the center square that was started in a grand style by A swiss chef. It is HUGE and the most touristy).

3) A walking tour with Intrepid Travel….I’ve done lots of these tours in the past year or so (2 in Istanbul, China, 2 in Marrakesh, now Budapest) and one thing I love: the personal experience of getting shown a location by a local, who is willing to answer all my questions about his or her life. Tomas, our guide, not only told stories, provided history, gave us details about folklore, but also extended a caring spirit. Fro example…this looks to the unaware eye like a black slab of marble with a flame, right?

It represents the lives lost in the social uprising against Communist occupation in 1956. I reveled in this monument. The sense that the human spirit will always long for a sense of freedom, to be able to work in fairness, and when united, that flame continues. The children, running around it, a perfect moment in that cold morning, reminding me how precious my own freedom feels.

Tomas was an excellent host. He emailed me after a list of Hungarian songwriters for my interested friend to try out. Anytime you are visiting a city, be sure to check out if they have any Urban Adventure Tours.

4) Going to the ballet with unbrushed hair and backpacks and being so close to see muscles and hear flute spit.  Which means, my friend scored us FRONT ROW tickets to the Taming of the Shrew. I felt like a child scrunched up near the front, my elbows on the ledge, watching the violinists enter, or follow music, then glancing up and checking out the details of the dresses, the makeup, the lines of muscles. Wonderful, and not a form of entertainment that I typically engage in. So delightful.  (Sorry! No photos from inside the ballet…)

5) Did I mention how awesome just walking around was? Look at the grandeur of the city!

Matthias Church

Inside St. Stephens church, where the whole dome is MOSAIC (not painted!)

View of the Parliament during a morning jog

Plus…awesome little “breaks” during the vacation…Like a 15K solo jog one morning, up to Margaret Island and back (It is is a 2.5 km (1.6 mi) long island). The island mostly consists of a park and is a popular recreational area for tourists and locals alike. And Wine Tasting!

Hungary has decent white wines, and good "bulls bloods" a special red cuvee. We did a wine tasting in Faust Cellars

LOVED Budapest. We SCORED staying in Art Bohem Hotel (awesome breakfasts with Champagne and located RIGHT by the river and a little south to the city center (about 10 blocks)….

Even got to try on my first Versace!

Shopping, Eating Cake, Balleting, Swimming, NOT floating, SAUNA-ing, Chatting, Coffee and Wine Drinking and Walking Walking Walking with the ladies….

I am Thankful for these Wild Ways….the Highs, the Lows…and

All my Travels………

K Travels…The High 5 of West Ireland

1) Treacle bread @ Atlantic View B & B
After arriving at Kerry Airport late morning, the guy (excellent at driving on the wrong side of the road and shifting with the left hand) drove through villages, and ferries up to the Cliffs of Moher, about a  2.5 hour drive. We arrived at Atlantic B & B ready to capture the light in the day and trek up to the Cliffs, about a 15 minute walk from Mary’s  home. The house itself feels older than its 16 years, with dark wood and traditional farm house lace and leather chairs. Our room felt airy, and the windows overlooked the ocean in the distance. A lovely, rural and  quiet setting, with gracious hosts who chatted with us for over 15 minutes in four different bouts, and truly, made me feel welcomed and easy

After a long hike along the cliff’s edge (see below) we returned to Mary’s home with the smell of yeast infused spice welcoming our return. Immediately, I beamed, and stepped out of demure guest mode and sought education: “what wonder are you baking?” Mary immediately showed the beautiful round loaf, cooling on a rack and announced “Treacle Bread.” Showing us the tin, it became apparent that the substance is likened to molasses, or a golden syrup. Historically, she informed me that for years it was considered “healthy” and a balm for the spirit (looking it up later, the sweet substance is all over Irish and UK culture…Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter). All I know is that during a 5 mile jog in the fog, my thoughts kept going back to the anticipation of the bread. And sure enough, heavy laden with nuts and fruits, it didn’t disappoint.  Mary packed us 4 more slices to take with on our hikes later, which we ate with gusto. I requested the recipe, and Mary faithfully started listing it on the spot. I loved how easily she shared, and how it felt that it made her feel good to share. (recipe below!)

2) The Cliffs of Moher
The images we carry, that we visit despite time or distance or weakening of nerves, they define us. This path, lovely, alive, marking my sense of brevity and longevity and so so so grateful. I belonged to this lovely hiking path and I doubt I ever will again call something mine. Considering that in the past year I’ve trekked the Great Wall of China and  Plitvice Lakes, this is a monumental statement.  Something about the coolness of the weeping wind, the sound of the heavy crash of the tides against the rocks 400-700 feet below, muffled into gentility by the distance, and my softening perception. Something about how my nose leaked, my eyes stretched against the teals,
azures, hazels, ambers, heathers, the sand, the grave. Something about
the smell of autumn-in-the-present meeting ageless rock, meeting woman,
man, walking. Talking. Being silent. Marveling. Working. Accepting.
Anticipating.

3)  Wellies
70% of the Irish weekend was spent a walking…and half of that near the
cliffs in a field populated by sheep and cows and mud. And lucky for me,
I had these lovely ladies to keep my feet dry, and peppy. Sure, they
weighed my legs down. But after the 3rd note of appreciation from Irish
locals, I think I sort of had a crush on them. Walking over 40K probably
in these beauts, well, they did me right, they did.

4) Walking through Ruins
Ever been out on a walk when you come upon 1200 year old architecturally
sound ruins? Well, we happened to stroll through Oratories, Churches,
homes, and forts, spanning from 500-1300 years old. And still
functional. The sight walking up to this one church, the fog surrounding
it as if listening familiar, and a sense of being redeemed. The place
felt holy to me. Kilmalkedar church actually served as a monastery as
well. I wondered at the ohgam script, or ancient celtic writing, on a stone.
This stone, predating the church by almost 900 years, felt holy. Perhaps
it was because I had already read earlier that the hole in the top was
ceremoniously used in contract making. People would place their thumbs
to touch in the hole, and “seal” the deal. (and continues, sometimes to
come in “handy”)

5) The People
Every single Irish person smiled at me. Imagine walking into a pub, where a small group of 6 friends had already knocked back a few. They greet you warmly, before continuing to take turns singing songs to each other. The ambience of making strangers feel at home, while you comfortably relax with those you’ve known your whole life…well, that felt truly special.

There’s something powerfully awakening and calming about the lush quietness of the Irish Kerry County.

A place I am longing to get back to in 20 years, to say that I am alive.

And that I remember you.

TREACLE  BREAD

500g/1lb Odlums Cream Plain Flour
2 tablespoons Treacle (Irish Molasses) heated in 3 tablespoons (fresh milk)
1/2 pint of Milk (approx) Buttermilk
2 tablespoons Sugar 

4 ozs butter or margarine

1 lb sultanas 

1 egg
1 teaspoon Baking powder
1 teaspoon Bread Soda.
1 teaspoon of Mixed Spice

Pinch of Cinnamon (if you wish). 

 Method:

• Preheat oven to 180°C/Gas 5. Grease a tin with flower. 
• Heat the treacle and milk over a low heat. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl.  Rub in the butter or margarine and mix until it resembles fine bread crumbs.   Then add the fruit.
• Add egg, treacle and  sufficient milk to mix to a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface and lightly knead. Shape into a round and place in prepared tin, make a cross on the top of dough. 
• Place into preheated oven and bake for about 50 minutes. Wrap in a clean tea towel until cold.    Serve hot or cold with butter.

 

A Labor Free Weekend…K Travels, the High 5 of Tuscany

View from San Gimignano

I spent a Labor Free Weekend in Tuscany last weekend…and realized on this trip how much of the world I’ve been soaking up lately.  This summer: Morocco, Luxemburg, Croatia, Spain, Dresden/Poland, Bavaria, and now Tuscany. Given that Germany’s skies have been less than clear and blue I feel grateful for some sun action these past few months.

The spirit of Tuscany is about slowing down….way down, in “order to taste life” which reminded me of Solta. I traveled there with a girlfriend, who easily became a compadre via driving our Fiat Panda up the windy country roads, giggling about interactions with the locals, and of course, yapping away while eating and drinking and drinking and then eating. A few Italians insisted that the occasion to drink meant an occasion to eat, and we couldn’t agree more….

Here are the highlights from labor day, 2011.

View from the Museum...Ponte Vecchio

1. Exploring the Uffuzi in Florence.  This museum moves me. Having visited it over a decade ago (as a recently graduated college student) yes, I LIKED it THEN. But this time, I ADORED it. Over two hours , I ambled through the rooms, paused at the end of the corridor of windows and took my time. A favorite snapshot, taken as I gawked out to the sparkling Arno and famous Ponte Vecciho, I poured myself over intense favorites (think Botecelli’s Primavera, which spent almost 500 years unknown in a dude’s country house) and then paused over and over at lesser known offering that aroused my spirit. Crespi’s THE FLEA, a picture of a rural woman rising from a bed, shifting her shirt, apparently living in impoverished conditions, but cradled in light…and the inscription “you do not bother me, and I will not bother you” at the foreground. Illuminating….

This preceded the panini...um, yum? cheap wine is nice (in Italy!)

2. Chowing down on one of the most delicious sandwiches I’ve ever encountered, in a lovely street right next to Dante’s house. In Florence. The placeis called Da Vinaterria and the students who work there are AWESOME.  Ha! There I was, perched on a wooden small stool outside on the very street itself, guzzling 2 euro dry red wine and crunching a Panini of figs, walnuts, goat cheese and prosciutto. Of course, did I take a picture? No! I was too busy chomping and feeling so grateful for each. And every. Bite.

Prosecco O Clock...at a place called Flow...where the men know how to flirt

3. Convivum Wines & Gastronomy (San Spirito street) in Florence, where the interior smacks of a high end restaurant set in a 200 year old cellar.  I initially hesitated because I discovered my liking of Prosecco (a north Italian–or Venetian–sparkling white wine) won me over than the local cherub of Chianti. Here, the hunky Angelo taught me and my girlfriend that Chianti is almost always 100% Sangiovese grape aged for under a year in French oak. Angelo poured us Prosecco, then a white grape called the Vernaccia, two types of Chianti, a syrah and then a Super Tuscan. This wine, as he explained, is NOT traditional, Tuscan style.  The winemakers take a lot of leeway in their blending decisions to prepare the “best flavors.” But the wines ARE made from grapes most beloved of the Tuscan region. Of course, the super Tuscan tasted the best, and my friend nabbed a bottle for 11 Euro. For this lengthy tasting session, Angelo’s attention and education, we paid 2 euros each.

4. Le Vena Di Vino,  in Volterra where the tradition is to leave an offering to the wine gods…in the form of your bra. Since I was sipping 2 Euro cuvee (my palate likes the cuvee of cab and merlot more than the bitterness of sangiovese chianti) named “Emergency,”I figured: “it’s now or never.” I have never taken off my bra or left it anywhere in public. And thus, this “it’s not on my list, but

Yep, mom...that's mine!

should be” act. I removed and signed  a very plain white bra, without fanfare or self censorship. It is a memory that will be cherished and most likely to cause a smirk for many years to come.

5. Wine tasting in the “hills” at Villa Pillo. This is a big estate owned by an American couple. Located smack dab in the center of Tuscany, it is is HUGE (21 hectacres) and very successful. A little apprehensive that is was the “most trendy,” we went in with low expectations. And were FLOORED with FAVOR (I even bought a wooden wine box from there and an opener). Why? They had some pretty awesome wines and the service was impeccable (reflective of a California wine tasting style).  And only ONE Chianti in a line up of 7 or so wines which was good given the hour long revelry from the day before that started with “do you feel bad we don’t like Chianti as much as we are supposed to?”. We LOVED the Borgoforte, made like a supertuscan, blended up in a tightly tannin filled berry hopped concoction of Sangiovese 60%, Cabernet Sauvignon 40%, Merlot 10%. We each nabbed a bottle (look! It’s a 92 on Wine Spectator) in addition to a surprisingly flirtatious sparkling Muscato, new to their line-up. We even enjoyed their boxed wines that rival the flavor punch of my favorite go to table wine (2 Buck Chuck’s Cab). You can order their wines online (and get a good deal on FREE SHIPPING to Europe through Christmas).

So! There you have it! Super-Tuscan High 5….a perfect labor free weekend. (PSST? Do you like Chianti????)