Fresh Food

One day while Angela was visiting, she and I stopped at a local farm to pick up some cherries. The truth is, the farm no longer has their fruit and veggie store, because the farmer is older & his wife needs a good bit of care now. However, he has a helper and they do sell bits and pieces.

Marco picking cherries for us

We drove up, and the farmer came around the corner looking at us through his rheumy eyes. When we explained what we wanted, he called, "Marco!" -- and up trotted the helper, an Albanian. Of course, the first question was how many cherries we wanted. Because he had to walk 15 meters to get to the tree & pick them.

While we were deliberating, Marco asked us whether we wanted some "piccione" ("pigeon") for lunch. Making an indeterminate, pensive expression, I asked how they were prepared. Heck, he didn't know -- the farmer was the fellow for the recipe -- and he gestured for us to go behind the house.

And this is what we saw:

"Five little doves went out one day..."

Rather hesitantly, I asked our culinary guide what exactly one does with these small creatures. He explained that they're simply done with a little olive oil & salt, no garlic. He said that they are the crème de la crème of poultry, corroborating the verbal statement with that charming gesture of the index finger swiveling on the cheek.

Remembering our experience with the whole chickens, I asked if he would clean them. He looked a bit puzzled. And then asked for detail, explaining that the innards are considered the best part. I was thoroughly dubious by this point, since organ meats are most decidedly not my thing. He did offer to remove the stomach, though, which I agreed was an excellent idea.

Cleaning small birds

While our sous-chef was preparing the birds, we went out into the fields and picked (well, ate) cherries and talked to Marco.

The family food review was mixed. The meat turned out to be every bit as dark as well-done beef, which I found fascinating, and very flavorful -- which I liked. It turned out that the farmer had reconsidered the process and had (thankfully) fully cleaned the birds, which certainly helped my enjoyment. I hope he had an innards pie or something for lunch, because I'm sure he would like it better than I would have. The meat, rather than being mushy (my only other experience with dove -- which had been stewed rather than roasted) was on the tough side -- which actually I rather enjoyed.

And the cherries? Delicious.

Love,

Alexandra

Tomorrow's lunch