"Senza Sale" by Barbara Quinn

The Italian’s have a phrase “senza sale” that they use for many things. It means without salt, and it applies to far more than food. My father would don a dismissive look, wave his hand, and utter “senza sale”. To be without salt was unthinkable, a signifier of a life wasted, of a soul-less person lacking the ability to take a stand or protect loved ones. Like pasta that has been cooked in salt-less water, a person who brings nothing positive to the table of life is “senza sale”.

Without salt, pasta is an abomination of blandness. Without salty people, life would be a drag. You can’t correct the situation by adding salt to your pasta after you boil it. You have to take the time to add the salt at the right time. People have to become properly seasoned too, to become desirable salty souls. (Those who need a salt-free diet, will have to rely on salt substitutes or other spices!)

Certainly there can be too much salt. No one wants a meal that tastes like the Great Salt Lake. You’ll be up all night trying to crave your thirst if you have too much salt. But that perfect balance of salt can bring out the flavor of food and enhance the meal. You can also add a few grains of salt to a glass of wine that you think is too flat. Try it sometime and you’ll be amazed at how that little bit of salt creates a tasty glassful. We can learn much from this little grainy chemical compound.

Last spring I toured a sea salt facility in, Trapani, Sicily. What a treat that was to see the way the salt is harvested with windmills and evaporation. I brought some home and have been enjoying the mild taste reminiscent of the sea. I’ve acquired a whole range of salts: Morton’s Iodized, David’s Kosher, Italian coarse Sea Salt, French Fleur de Sel, Lawry’s Seasoned Salt.

I’m grateful for salt, grateful for the salts of the earth that show us the way. May you literally and figuratively never be “senza sale”!

Life Sicilian Style by Barbara Quinn

For the past nine days I’ve been in Sicily with its sun-drenched beaches, stunning vistas, and warm people. I was lucky to see the orange-ribbons of lava from Etna streaming down the mountain to the sea. Overhead a full moon lent eerieness to the nightly drama.

This was my first visit to Sicily and it did not disappoint for Sicily is both a world apart and familiar at the same time. It’s a lovely, confusing, and harmonious blend of cultures. Besides the large Roman influence, Greek and Arabic culture are great on the island. From architecture to food, the many cultures blend and recombine. Byzantine mosaics and Greek temples are as plentiful as the bars that serve tasty espresso for less than a dollar. They speak Italian, however the Sicilian dialect is unto itself. E.g., what we call Limoncello is Limoneddu in Sicily. Happily most Sicilians were able to understand my limited regular Italian.

CusCus is one of the dishes with an Arabic history that is prevalent. I had swordfish, and also spagola, a long thin fish. Both were rolled and stuffed with pine nuts, breadcrumbs, and raisins. Nutmeg is another popular spice. Almonds – mandorle - are used in more ways than I ever could imagine: almond wine, almond flavored granita - an ice that is perfect in the hot afternoon, and pasta with almonds. I rarely saw a piece of garlic. When it was used it was used lightly. These authentic foods of Sicily haven’t made it to America. Sure we have fried calamari and cannoli, but we don’t have mini cassata which are tasty almond and ricotta cakes, or pasta with fava and calamaretti - the tiny calamari the size of a thumbnail, or nespole, which are loquats.

Someone needs to open a real Sicilian restaurant in New York! Till then I’ll remain grateful for the sights and sounds, and for the unusual tastes that paraded across my palate. I’m also grateful that there are still places like Sicily where you can step seamlessly into another culture and learn that there’s more than one way to live, love, and eat to your heart’s content, all the while having the threat of disaster in the form of a smoldering volcano hanging overhead. Talk about learning to live for today!