A love letter to the world

My gratitude for the day is for the public library system. I recently read about a book I was really interested in: Four Seasons in Rome (2007) by Anthony Doerr, who won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2015 for All the Light We Cannot See. It wasn't available through Libby, but they do have two copies in the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library system. I put a hold on it, and it was transferred to, and available for pickup the next day at, our local Central Library, where I exchanged it for The Book of (More) Delights by Ross Gay, which I had just finished.

 

 

Four Seasons in Rome is about the year (2004-2005) Doerr spent in Rome, after winning the Rome Prize in literature, with his wife Shauna and their six-month-old twin boys. One of the great joys of travel literature is seeing a place you know and love through the eyes of a great author, who is trained to pick up on little details that you would never notice on your own. Doerr talks about having to overcome the problem of "habitualization" — people's tendency to stop perceiving familiar things over time — in order to keep noticing things. We habitualize because it's necessary to get through our day-to-day tasks of living:

Without habit, the beauty of the world would overwhelm us. We'd pass out every time we saw—actually saw—a flower. Imagine if we only got to see a cumulonimbus cloud or Cassiopeia or a snowfall once a century: there'd be pandemonium in the streets. People would lie by the thousands in the fields on their backs.

But, Doerr says, habitualization, while generally useful, is also dangerous, because we stop really taking the time to see and appreciate the things we should: "I glimpse hazel hair, high cheekbones, a field of freckles, and I think Shauna. But did I take the time to see my wife?" And even familiar things aren't exactly the same every time: "To eat a banana for the thousandth time is nothing like eating a banana for the first time.[1] To have sex with somebody for the thousandth time is nothing like having sex with that person for the first time."[2]

 

So how to keep the complexities from waning and the everyday wonders from becoming unremarkable? As a writer, Doerr has kept up a daily journaling practice that helps "force [his] eye to slow down." Good journal entries "break up the habitual and lift away the film that forms over the eye, the finger, the tongue, the heart. A good journal entry ought to be a love letter to the world." That's something to strive for, even without a regular journaling practice.

 

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[1] Nota bene Cassie.

[2] N.B. Karen.

 

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Another big divvy I was surprised to find at the library recently was Joe Yonan's encyclopedic guide to vegan cooking, Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking (2024), which was published only three months ago. Mom and I each went through looking for things to try and, as usual, Mom made a beeline for any recipes with eggplant in them. Eggplant recipes can be hit or miss, because it can be hard to cook the eggplant right, including keeping it from turning bitter. But this one is a keeper. Mom made it first, using half of a medium Italian globe eggplant, then I made it again using the other half. There were definitely some tweaks to be made to the method (no thanks on pureeing the sauce using an immersion blender in a shallow skillet, unless you want to be wiping down your whole kitchen when you're done), but the end result is as good, and just as creamy, as a vodka sauce using cream instead of eggplant. I think this sauce would also be a great option for using in baked ziti, though it would definitely add some time to the process.

 

Penne with Eggplant Vodka Sauce

Adapted from Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking (2024) by Joe Yonan

Time: ~40 minutes

40 grams (3 tablespoons olive oil)
1 medium (~185 grams) yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced

1 small or ½ medium (~285 grams) Italian globe eggplant, unpeeled and cut into small cubes (~3 cups)
2 tablespoons fine sea salt, plus 1 teaspoon
1 pound (454 grams) penne pasta
118 grams (½ cup) vodka
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, coarsely chopped if not already sold julienned or chopped, plus 1 tablespoon of their oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
up to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan or pecorino Romano cheese, for serving (if you're not worried about keeping it 100% plant-based)

    1. Bring 4 quarts of water to a roiling boil in a large, covered stockpot over high heat.
    2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Stir in the onion and sauté until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, 1 or 2 minutes. Add the eggplant and stir well to coat with the oil, then sprinkle with the 1 teaspoon salt. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until very soft, 15 to 20 minutes.
    3. When it seems like the eggplant has about 5 minutes to go, add the 2 tablespoons salt to the boiling water and stir until dissolved. Add the pasta and stir a few times during the first minute or two to keep it from sticking. Cook until al dente. Drain, reserving a mugful of the pasta cooking water.
    4. While the pasta is cooking (when there are about 3 to 4 minutes until al dente), stir the vodka into the eggplant mixture and cook until the vodka reduces and is mostly evaporated, about 3 minutes. Kill the heat, then stir in the crushed tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes and their oil, oregano, red pepper flakes, and black pepper.
    5. Transfer the sauce mixture to the now-empty pasta pot and add ¼ cup of the pasta cooking water. Using an immersion blender, purée the sauce until smooth, adding more pasta water, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed to achieve the desired consistency. Add the pasta and stir to coat thoroughly. Serve promptly, passing grated cheese at the table if you like. Makes ~5 servings.