RSSWhat Some Girls Aspire to Be
April 5th, 2007 by Dawn, Co-founder of Rouxbe
You would think if you were going to dream about being someone else, you would dream of being someone like Jennifer Aniston. Or in my case, I might dream to be a famous chef or that I might like to be someone like the beautiful Nigella Lawson.
But no, not me. I dream of being a “Big Fat Italian Nonna” (an Italian Grandma).
I use the phrase in the most loving way possible, of course; the kind of Nonna that when she hugs you, you get lost just for second in her boobs, and you don’t really mind. My hair would always be the same, yet always perfect and out of the way. I would always be wearing an apron, that I made myself, of course. I would be the kind of Italian Grandma that always makes you eat and is always in the kitchen cooking. Why? Because it is where she is the most happy and where you will always find her, usually with a glass of wine in hand.
I would be the kind of Nonna that always spoke my mind. (Wow, what a change that would be for me!) I would be the one people would come to for advice, telling you to “shape up, and kick that no good for nothin’ [censored] to the curb” while preparing a fresh bowl of Spaghetti Carbonara.
I would be the kind of Nonna that gets up a 5:30 a.m. to go out and get fresh vegetables from the garden and milk the goats. The Nonna that goes to the local street market almost every morning – everyone would know me and be happy to see me but they would never try and give me anything that wasn’t the freshest and of the best quality because they would know I wouldn’t stand for it.
I would be the Nonna that invites travelers and people that I meet over for dinner with the family. I would never care if an extra ten people would show up for dinner. I would always have enough food for everyone. I would also be the kind of Nonna that would always seem to make everyone’s favorite dish every time they came over. Yet they would always feel like they were trying something new and wonderful.
I do have one major problem with this aspiration of mine… I am not even Italian, nor is there even any Italian in my family. I don’t even speak Italian. I do cook Italian food, though, and love it – I love what it stands for and how it’s about simplicity and bringing people together. Another problem with this dream, is that I watch what I eat and try to exercise, as well – somehow I cannot see me as the Italian Nonna as I have described her, at the gym working out, apron and all. But in my head, this is truly who I am – a “Big Fat Italian Nonna.” A girl can dream, can’t she?
Do you aspire to be like a chef or a cook that you know? Do you wish that you cooked like your mom, or like the guy at the greasy burger joint down the street? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Ciao for now,
Nonna (dawn)
PS: I feel like I should give a brief description of my actual grandma. Nana, as we used to call her, is nothing like I describe above – she was such a cutie-patootie. She always looked like she was ready for anything. With perfect hair, perfect dress and a perfect apron to match, she was tiny and delicate, yet worked like a horse. One thing she does have in common with my story is that she was always in the kitchen; Nana made everything in the kitchen seem like a breeze. We would come over for a visit and the table would be full of food, even though we told her not to make anything as we had just eaten a big lunch. And then she would say, “Oh, this is nothing, just have a little bit.” It was her way to share what she loved with the people she loved.
As I’m reading about the Italian Nonna I can’t help to think about my Mexican Nonna =) or “Abue” as we call her. She was everything you described, always wearing her apron and in the kitchen, cooking for tons of people who came to the house every day to say hi. She always used to make our favorite dishes and for our birthdays she made special ones. She used to wake up at 5am and go to the market very early to get the best vegetables and meat. I remember going with her all the time but specially once when I was 5 or 6 years old. Everything was going very good until we arrived to the chicken’s stand. I was so happy looking at all those beautiful white chickens until she picked one, the man took the chicken by the legs and cut its head in front of us!! I have to say that after that experience it was hard for me to go back to the market. I used to go with her only if she promised not to go to the chickens. (I still avoid going through there now hehe)
Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you for the memories, even though I always think about my grandma is nice to remember those times when she used to spend hours in the kitchen teaching me how to flip tortillas without burning my fingers or how to make Arroz con Leche, one of my favorite desserts.
I too, dream one day of becoming like my mexican Nonna, a mexican Abue =D
Your story is touching and brought back a flood of warm memories that I have of my grandparents. My grandmother is someone I aspire to be – my grandfather too. They were married for 68 years before he passed at age 91. That spring before he passed, he was busy planting his garden and getting all of the vegetables that he loved in there. I adored my grandmotherâ??s cooking because she always made things from scratch. She was rarely convinced that something could be better out of a box. She would lead us into the garden and we would pick the vegetables and fruits that we would have for the day – everything was full of flavor as it should be. Family would be around the table and unexpected visitors always stopped by. They were always welcome and there was always too much food around. I remember each meal blending into the next and after thinking that you couldnâ??t possibly eat any more, somehow weâ??d look forward to that late night snack. I am happy that I now choose to make nearly everything from scratch in my own kitchen. I hope to live the same life as my grandparents that included a loving relationship, a warm and inviting home that was filled with lots of family and friends, and fresh, tasty, homemade food.
I thoroughly enjoy your site. It is very informational and well done. Cheers!
I’m actually a guy (ops!) that came across rouxbe.com just yesterday! and its awesome! watched ur introduction video and 1 recipe and i’m very impressed! i’m no chef but yeah i aspire to be one. Along the lines of Jaime Oliver, Nigella is much too rich for my tastes! (the amt of sugar and cream she uses is amazing…) I love Jaime for his down to earth and simplicity style, i love him for continuously striving to make cooking simple yet nutritious and delicious.
I certainly agree with dawn that food brings people together and i love that feeling, especially when i cook for friends and family and appreciating them having a good time during meals..something i call my Joy of Cooking (although not often given my school schedule…) but i believe i stand to learn a lot from professionals in rouxbe, am thinking of starting the trial after my final semester exams and then get enough money to sign up for the founding membership ($100 to me for lifetime access to professional recipes complete with videos sounds like a bargain to me!) Perhaps a tiny step to my dream of being a chef ;)
Finally i want to thank you for bringing rouxbe to reality, i actually had this same idea in my head but never had the time to work on it but you guys are wayyyy ahead of me! still i can benefit from the work your have already done and who knows, perhaps there would be future opportunities for collaboration! lastly a couple of feedback thoughts: are your intending to provide nutritional information on your recipes? and do your intend to have a channel for feedback? since your are in beta, it would be good to let us know what extra features are in store, that would further add icing to the membership benefits :)
Love
Eric
Yes, I do aspire to be a chef. But I don’t know one chef, line cook — heck I don’t think I even know anyone that’s a dishwasher. There are few things that I love more than cooking — and rarely do I meet people who get the same thrill out of making amazing food.
I think my love for food originated with my family too. I am Italian through and through, and can remember every family gathering centering around the tables and tables of food that my Aunts would set up in their living room — Italian meats, breads, lasagna, eggplant parmesan, serving bowls full of spaghetti, sausage, meatballs. My parents still make it a Sunday tradition to make a pot of sauce — just to be sure to have it on hand.
In the past few years, since I became vegetarian, I’ve simply wanted to spread my love for food to everyone I know, which showing them that being vegetarian isn’t the inconvenience or struggle that so many people think it is. Rouxbe allows me to be creative by converting chicken and fish recipes into ones that use tofu instead, all while I learn fundamentals of gourmet cooking. Rouxbe helps me feel like the chef I’ve always wanted to be at home, which I love. Maybe someday I’ll be Rouxbe’s resident vegetarian chef!
Thank you so much for this wonderful site,
Leah
Hi Leah
I envie you for your Italian heritage, maybe my next life!
It is interesting what you say about being vegetarian, about people thinking it is inconvenient and more difficult. It is sort of the same way people think about eating healthy. With a bit of knowledge and creativity (which you clearly have) eating this way can be very rewarding.
I love that Rouxbe is helping you use your skills and imagination to help you feel like a chef. It’s music to my ears!
Would love to hear about some of your favorite vegetarian recipes. I also have a few that I could share with you, and eventually with all of our Rouxbe users.
Thanks Leah!
Hi Dawn!
It’s funny — only in the last couple of months have I gotten my mom to explore new, non-meat entrees for our weekly Sunday get-togethers. She’s been all over risotto lately. Heh.
I really do love Rouxbe — I browse it every day and set up my laptop in my kitchen when I’m cooking with the video recipes. It’s really helpful to me to be able to watch things like knife techniques up close!
Off the top of my head (and because I’m at work and don’t have the recipes in front of me), I’d have to say my favorite vegetarian recipes are:
* a Peanut Sauce Stir Fry that I adapted from a freebie organic magazine
* ANY of the recipes from Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s “Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World”
* many of the recipes from Sarah Kramer’s “La Dolce Vegan” (she’s from Vancouver too! i love her books!), but particularly her Vegan Meatloaf.
This is a horrible list, I know there are tons more that I could think of.
Like I said, I love Sarah Kramer’s vegan cookbooks, but one thing that bothers me about some of the recipes are when I feel like they rely too much on fake meats (aka junk food). I really don’t like looking down at a full shopping cart of boxes and packages — not sure why. That said, a fake meat meatloaf is AMAZING every now and again.
On the fake meat note, I like when I can use more natural ingredients as a substitute. For example, I have a burger recipe that uses sunflower seeds and other nuts instead of fake meat.
I could go on and on… :)
I would LOVE to see the vegetarian recipes that you have in your back pocket!
Thank you, Dawn!
L
Okay Leah, I totally know what you mean about all of the “fake” meat products. I myself am not a vegetarian but I do eat vegetarian food, including some of the “fake” meat stuff. I find they can be healthier than real meat products, but sometimes they contain a fair amount of sodium and even fat. I think all of the pre-formed “fake” meats, are more geared towards vegetarians who don’t really know how to cook but are still looking for their protein etc.
So here are my favorite burgers, which happen to be vegan as well. If you have any questions at all about these, drop me a note. The one thing you will need for sure is a food processor. I make these for friends and some times they don’t even know that they are vegetarian and they certainly don’t know they are really
good for them.
I also make a horseradish mayonnaise to serve with them, and sometimes caramelized onions,sprouts and sliced tomatoes….enjoy!
So Good For You Burgers
2 tablespoons olive oil or grapeseed oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup grated carrot
1 cup grated beets
1 cup grated turnip
1 cup grated zucchini, with the water squeezed out
1 yellow onion, grated (grate last)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed chili flakes
1 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 cup toasted almonds, chopped
1 cup sweet potatoes or mashed potatoes
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs (optional and only if needed)
Heat oil in a large fry pan and saute the grated onions until translucent, then add the garlic and saute for another minute.
Next add all of the grated vegetables, salt, chilis and stir everything together and let cook for 10 minutes.
Be sure to stir often. Then transfer the mix to a bowl and let cool.
Next place half of the vegetable mixture in the food processor along with half of the rice and almonds and pulse until everything
is roughly mixed together.
Transfer the mix to a bowl and repeat again with the veggies, rice and almonds. Then mix both batches together and
add the remaining ingredients (from the potatoes on) and mix together.
Taste the mixture to see if it has enough seasoning. Seasoning may vary if you used seasoned rice and potatoes.
Also note that you can double the amount of rice if you do not have any mashed potatoes.
Next test the burger to see if it holds together, if not then add the breadcrumbs, starting with 1/4 cup and up to 1/2 cup.
Form patties and fry in the olive oil and if you like you can then finish them in the oven or fry for 5 minutes on one side and then
5 minutes on the other side (until browned).
I often form the patties and then refrigerate them for at least an hour. This helps them keep their shape better.
Let me know what you think. Good Luck. Dawn
Omigod. These sound amazing!!!!
I will be making these for sure in the next week. Do you serve them on a bun? Also at what point to I add the mashed potato/sweet potato — when I add the rice & almonds?
I am always happy to test out any vegetarian recipes that you might want to throw my way! I still need to make the Reach the Sky Power Cookies that you sent me before. I’m finally in town this week, and ready to geek out in my kitchen! :)
Yes Leah I do serve them on a bun. Usually a really fresh whole grain bun. With the horseradish mayonnaise (or nayonnaise for vegans) and
caramelized onions, sprouts and whatever else you think might go, like
a nice slice of avocado!
As for when to add the potatoes, I did edit the post to make it more clear, but it is after you pulse all of the other things in the food processor. Just fold them in with and add the other remaining ingredients.
Good Luck! Also do you know where to find the Nutritional Yeast? Most local health food stores, or markets sell it. It is worth using, it adds great flavor to the burgers. It’s even good sprinkled on popcorn…
Ah yes, here in Oregon we call Nutritional Yeast “Hippie Flakes” — but in a good way. My husband and I buy it in bulk! You’re right, it’s so good!
I’ll let you know what I think!
Lovely description of two lovely grandma!
[...] I dream of being a “Big Fat Italian Nonna“. Why, because I want to be the kind of person that cares more about the food I cook and the [...]
This is what I inspire to be … an Italian Grandma (minus the black hosiery and smocks .. a little more fashionable … but back to the basics). Good food, lots of family style meals and big smiles.This warms my heart.
That’s exactly what my Italian Nonna was like Dawn. An immigrant with her own kitchen in the basement of my aunt’s home. Homemade meat ( veal) raviolis, sweet sausages with fennel,dough cookies with white icing and colored sprinkles. Mangia, mangia she’d always say because she couldn’t speak much English. That’s the Nonna I grew up with right down to the boobs and being stout.
My Nana was also the same. A petite little lady with a kind heart but not much of a cook. Unless you like Yankee food from Boston.
I don’t aspire to be like either of them since I am an designer by trade and like it that way. However, I am big on family and friend gatherings with good food making everyone happy. Doing it well with good presentation is important to me.