Adventures in Tripe

First, I'll say that tripe is not a place it is a food.  Actually, it may very well be a place, but I've never heard of it and I wanted to be specific since the title could be misleading.  My adventure in tripe took place at a Slow Food dinner in Siena, Italy; near where I am living.  It just so happens that Italy is the birthplace of the Slow Food movement and it started in Rome in 1986 as a way to protest the opening of a McDonald's.  Over 20 years later, it has grown to have some 83,000 members in 122 countries.  My boss, Riccio, is a member and consequently, his membership gave me access to the dinner and my first experience with tripe.  Although, it is likely that I've eaten tripe in some form before the dinner.  Perhaps it was neatly disguised as scrapple, within a hot dog or sausage; or in the Pho at my favorite Vietnamese restaurant.  But this experience was actually enough to have my tingling with excitement and snapping pictures of the dishes as they arrived.  And I had plenty of picture taking to do as the food kept coming over the span of 3 and half hours.  The meal consisted only of beef tripe and several offal items.  The antipasto alone had stomach, white tripe and part of the udder.  We also enjoyed beef tongue, two different parts of the feet, two varieties of stomach (remember, cow's have four stomachs), and even parts of the female reproductive organs.  The offerings throughout the night were served both hot and cold.  We dined on boiled "mixed" tripe, centropelle (a stomach) soup and ravioli of lampredotto (another stomach).  I really had only one reservation as mealtime approached and that was the texture.  I'm very texturally sensitive when it comes to my food, but only the cold white tripe salad presented a challenge to me.  Everything was prepared very well and in some cases left me wanting more.  My favorite was the "lampredotto" variety featured on the small sandwich above.  It was incredibly tender and reminded me very much of thinly-sliced roast beef.  Curiously enough, I saw lampredotto being featured on a street vendor's food cart while in Florence and opted for something else.  Florence is quite famous for its lampredotto and now I know to partake on my next visit.  It was also a real pleasure to be part a such a large group of people who take food so seriously and embrace the local and regional traditions.  I left feeling very thankful for another unique Italian experience and a little over-stuffed.  The dinner was fun for me and my friends and we even joked that had they served us "tripamisu" (thanks Rusty) we would have delightfully eaten that too.

Food-Full Circle

In so many ways we are really disconnected from the food we eat.  Sure, we eat everyday and hopefully we enjoy what we eat.  But really, we are not connected to it.  We may not know how to grow it, raise it or cook it.  We may not be aware of the nutritional value or the harmful effects of our foods.  Many times we do not know from where in the world it comes or how safely it is produced.  Very few people get to actually know the farmer or the grower of the foods they purchase and eat.  

For a multitude of reasons I am really lucky to be having an experience in Italy.  One way in particular is to be a part of the full circle of food.  Here on the farm I am involved in every aspect of the animals we raise and the items we produce.  I have a hand in the birthing of piglets to the continued care and animal husbandry of them.  I help select the animals to be butchered, process the carcasses, spend hours making salumi and other cured products.  My hands then nurture the curing meats as they dry, age and develop their unique flavors.  And finally, I go to market once a month to interact with customers and  complete the circle of life, and death and food that sustains more life. After being accepted to this program, one of my goals was to complete this loop.  For over 20 years I've been involved with foodservice and food preparation in some way or form.  The impact of my Italian experience has been tremendous thus far and this is definitely the most connected I've been with my food and the processes involved in creating what we eat.  Remember, no matter how simple the food you're eating may appear, it's not simple at all.  In fact, it is, has been and continues to become more difficult everyday.  So I urge you, get connected in some way.  Plant it.  Cook it.  Read about it.  Ask about it.  Support farmers' markets.  At the very least, enjoy it and appreciate the full circle of food.....

Foodie in Firenze

There's no doubt about my love of food and also my desire to try new things.  Luckily I'm in Italy, a country that has taken its food very seriously for centuries and continues to keep those traditions alive today.  Nearly everyday I eat one, two, maybe ten foods that I've never had before.  Sometimes its something as simple as a perfectly ripe persimmon.  Other times it may be wild boar stew, cervo (venison) ragu, a local bread, or baba'.  Baba' is a typical dessert from Naples.  It consists of a spongy lightbulb-shaped cake, soaked in warm rum and served piping hot.  The flavors and textures were amazing as each bite presented new flavors of spicy rum, vanilla and apricot.  I slowly savored every mouthful while Tuscan friend commented on how I embraced each bite as if it was a completely brand new experience for me.  I recently enjoyed a 5 day festa (holiday) and had the chance to go to Firenze (Florence) with a dear friend visiting from the States.  She mirrored my approach to being in Italy; and that is to eat as often as you can and to eat whatever may be put in front of you.  These pictures show some of the edible highlights we enjoyed.  Hope they inspire you to try new things, food or otherwise, and chew slowly.  Savor life, don't devour it.....