20. Stand your ground
Pepper (Pepe) must always be freshly ground. Not only does this offer the best aroma, writes Ada, but it ensures its quality.
For spices (spezie), she provides a list of aromatics* along with their amounts to be pounded in a mortar then passed through a sieve. It is unclear whether the spices are to be processed and stored separately, or combined into an aromatic mixture (perhaps the true, fresh variety of what today is pre-ground and mass-marketed as "Italian seasoning").
Here's her list:
Cannella. Cinnamon. 20 grams
Noce Moscata. Nutmeg. 12 grams
Garfofano. Clove (also the word for "carnations"). 5 grams
Cardamomo. Cardamon. 2 grams
Pepe garofanato. This was a challenge to decipher. Google offered "pepper-dried pepper" which made no sense at all. An internet search yielded "Jamaican pepper" which supposedly smells of clove, is more delicate than regular pepper, and is good on French fries and Risotto alla Fragola [strawberry risotto?]. Also referred to as "pimento." And finally: Allspice! 5 grams
and
Coriandoli. Another surprising challenge to translate. Coriander, of course, I thought. But not so fast. A search revealed it to be a spice native to Iran, then began describing...cilantro. Huh? Turns out, coriander refers to the seeds of the plant and cilantro to its leaves! And more: the flowers of the plant are used for insect control in parts of the world. Who knew? And so, yes, Coriander. 5 grams
To be conserved in a glass jar, "with a frosted glass stopper" (con tappo smerigliato, past participle of smerigliare: to rough up).
* Google translates droghe into "drugs." But in an Italian-English dictionary, the first definition is "arromatics." "Drugs" is provided as the second, less common, meaning.
THE 3rd GRADE HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT was twofold: (1) read the directions for making a “thumb pot,” (2) answer a few simple questions. At first, the excitement was paramount; my son had always relished a new craft project.
The directions were clear enough. For fun, I even jokingly quizzed him as we read along to see if he were retaining all the facts. He was. Of course.
On to the questions.
#1: What are the directions describing?
He: Oh brother. I won’t even answer that one. I mean...Look! They’ve even got “thumb pot” in the next question. Just too stupid.
#2: What are the materials needed in making a thumb pot?
He: Some clay.
Me: ...And what else?
He: Nothing. They said NEEDED. That’s all that’s really needed.
Me: But the directions listed other materials.
He: Sure. But you don’t need them.
Me: Do you remember the four things listed under "materials"?
He: Aw, Mom. Listen, newspaper doesn’t even belong there. It’s not used in making the pot; it’s only to put on the table. And what if you’re making the pot outside? Then you don’t need the newspaper, probably don’t even want to have it around. And then they said a bowl of water. Dumb. The water is only to help smooth the clay...and if you’ve already gotten it smooth, you don’t need water...and if you did, it wouldn’t have to be a bowlful, a couple drops would be enough. And that thing about the stick! Who needs that? A fingernail would work. And...they said RED clay. I mean, we always mold with WHITE clay. Works even better. I don’t get why they said it needs to be red.
Me: Okay. So what’s the answer to the question?
He: Some clay.
Me: Listen, I understand your arguments, and I agree with you. 100 percent. But I think your teacher wants you to write all the things down.
He (admirably standing his ground): The answer is CLAY. Do you think I should raise my hand tomorrow and tell Ms. Crupi what a stupid assignment this was?
(From a journal entry dated February 2001.)
