Healing zuppa
Sunday, 5 October 2014
Late yesterday, I got whammied by a bad cold. Sniff, blow; repeat. I managed to get plenty of sleep, thankfully, but I spent the day an energy-less lump.
The Great and Wonderful Guru went out for supplies, and discovered the nearby street was a forest of vendors, mostly of used clothing, heavily attended by locals, along with a few tourists. He came back with a fine grocery assortment, including a Bob’s Red Mill soup mixture, an Italian version called zuppa di farro. It has split green peas, lentils, and farro. I found a deep pot (kitchen has a good assortment of tools), loaded it with water and some of the soup mixture, and set it to boil. I figured 50 mins of simmering, and that was about right.
Farro is a type of wheat (Triticum spp.), and WikiPee notes botanical and common names do not always match up. The ones in this soup mixture are longer like “regular” wheat, not stubby like barley. This soup mixture would have been customary to ancient Romans, and peoples of the Levant.
By day’s end, I felt on the mend—fingers crossed.