Yes, HG/BSK try to be as green as possible in terms of food, attention to the ecological environment in which HG/BSK are privileged to live, recycling, energy conservation (heating from natural sources etc.). No, HG/BSK are not voting for Green Presidential Candidate Jill Stein. The enemy, folks, is the Pupin Puppet, Der Trumperer. Enough politics. Let’s go on to a happier subject: HG/BSK’s New Mexico neighbors, Gary and Natasha Gundersen. The remarkable Gundersens are Santa Fe’s premier organic farmers and their stand, Mr.G’s, is an instant sellout at the Santa Fe Farmers Market. When HG/BSK arrived home from days of travel, Gary waved hello and presented a delicious welcome home treat–a big head of lush escarole, freshly picked from the soil. That meant heart and body warming escarole soup. BSK did a riff on the recipe from The Frankies Spuntino Cookbook (a must for your bookshelf if you love down to earth Italian-American-Brooklyn cooking). BSK enriched the soup with plenty of cannelloni beans and bacon. Hot red pepper flakes, a dash of olive oil, abundant Pecorino Romano grated cheese topped the bowls. Next day, HG added cooked Goya Melon Seeds (a small pasta shaped like orzo, but larger). This turned the soup into a version of pasta e fagioli. New York’s late, great Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia (“The Little Flower”) loved this dish and called it “pasta fazoole.” HG lifted a spoonful and bowed in memory of the wonderful man who reformed and invigorated New York in the later years of the Great Depression.
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