Columbus

Eighty-eight men under Christopher Columbus set sail on August 3, 1492 from Spain aboard the Nina, the Pinta, and the flagship Santa Maria on a voyage intended to prove a radical notion, that the earth is round.  They sailed with enough food on board to last for a year.  The wooden casks that held it, however expanded and contracted in the sea air, allowing the brine that preserved the meats to leak out and dampness to invade and mold the dry supplies, including rice, beans, flour, and hard biscuits.  The spoiling meat and any fish that were caught were cooked on deck over a fire built of sand, then served in a communal bowl.  There was also salt cod, anchovies, almonds, raisins, molasses, honey, olives, and olive oil on board, along with a strong red wine.

It had been thirty-four days since they had stopped at the Canary Islands for fresh water, and the men were close to mutiny, fearing their captain was mistaken-that the world was, indeed, flat and that they were nearing the edge.  Columbus persuaded them to persevere for three more days, and on the very next October 11, they spotted land.

Taken from an excerpt from "Life is Meals" by James and Kay Salter

My cookbook featured today is "Pot on the Fire" by John Thorne with Matt Lewis Thorne.  This is the latest in the collection from John Thorne.  It celebrates a lifelong engagement with the elements of cooking, and with elemental cooking from cioppino to kedgeree.  From nineteenth century famine-struck Ireland to the India of the British Raj, from the Tuscan bean pot to the venerable American griddle.  An intrepid traveller who shares his experiences travelling, as well as the recipes of his travels. 

Reading about others' journeys, makes me long for my own travel adventures .  My next personal adventure will be a two-weeks transatlantic cruise April 13th from Ft. Lauderdale to Rome. Romance on the high seas?  Murder, Mayhem?  We'll just have to wait and see.

Tapenade
The Provencal shepherd or field hand might not have had a flask of olive oil with which to anoit hiss grilled slice, but he could rub it with olives and sprinkle it with bits of fresh herb.  To my mind (the author's), the best tapenade still has the feel of that olive-rubbed crust.  To make it prepare anchoiade (see below), but omit the vinegar, and mix into a large quantity of coarsely chopped black brine-cured olives, a much smaller amount of minced capers and garlic and a pinch of crumbled herbes de provence. It is all the better when made with two or three different types of cured olive.

Anchoiade

For each serving, you rinse and remove the the backbone from 1 or 2 salted anchovies and set these in a small skillet, pour over some olive oil and a touch of wine vinegar, and, on the lowest possible heat, allow everything to gently meld into a sauce.

This cookbook can be found on my Amazon storefront at www.amazon.com/stores/oneofakindcookbooks for $19.99

Happy Cooking!