Flavors

Potatoes, and flour. Sage – lots of sage and olive oil. Porcini mushrooms, shallots, parmiggiano. Small tomatoes, fresh kernels of corn, arugula. Eggplant, mozzarella, oregano. Sage again, and olive oil and fontina cheese. Bread with this one. Oh! Celeriac and celery and nutmeg. How could I forget! And finally – pears, blackberries, raspberries, lavender buds, honey and oats.

There you have it – the principal items, assembled in the above combinations, creating dishes. No meats, no fish, none of that – just the veggies and cheeses of Sicily and Calabria, the fruits of, well, the Americas and lavender buds of the Mediterranean in general.

I have zapped away the gray that has hovered over Madison these past days. My mind, today, is focused on what the kitchen can create.