The Passionate Olive (7 page)

5)
REMOVE PAINT FROM SKIN

You are right in thinking that my grandparents did not use correction fluid, but they did use paint. Have you ever painted a room in your home or touched up a chip on a doorjamb and accidentally touched the “wet paint” area? If so, you know that it seems as if wet paint has an affinity for skin and often hair. It will appear where and when you least expect it. Olive oil serves as both a lubricant and solvent to remove oil-based paint. To remove paint from hands, skin, or hair, use extra virgin olive oil on a soft cotton cloth. It may take a few minutes, but consider the paint-removal treatment a massage and enjoy.

6)
DUST FURNITURE

Many of us have heard of the “white-glove treatment,” the notion that someone visiting your home will, with her white gloves still on, move her fingers across your furniture looking for signs of dust. It is an old cliché, but I still recall my mother, Gigi (her given name is really Gilda, after the heroine in the opera
Rigoletto)
, and her weekly dusting of everything in sight as she prepared for her mother-in-law’s visit. My father’s mother
 … Nonna
Rose would “inspect” the house when over for Sunday dinner.

My mother’s weekly dusting of furniture was and still is enhanced by using olive oil with white vinegar and water. The vinegar pulls dirt from the wood and that tiny bit of olive oil replaces the oil in the wood. To this day my
mother’s wood furniture veritably gleams, and her Sunday dinners are just as spectacular.

Dusting Formula

1. Mix ¼ cup of white vinegar with 1 teaspoon each of olive oil and water
   
2. Dip your dusting cloth into the olive oil mixture
   
3. Wring the cloth so it is not dripping, and dust
   
4. Repeat as needed
   

And now for a recipe from Gigi’s Sunday dinner—Gigi’s Eggplant Parmesan. Because this recipe includes pesto, I’ve included details on preparing that as well.

Gigi’s Eggplant Parmesan
(SERVES 6–8)

1 medium/large eggplant

Salt

1 large egg, beaten, plus

1 tablespoon water (this makes the “wash”)

1½ cups seasoned bread crumbs

¼ cup flour

Pepper

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 cups store-bought tomato sauce (e.g., Brother’s Mushroom and Roasted Garlic, Prego, or Paul Newman’s)

1 pound mozzarella cheese, cut into 12 ¼-inch slices (approximately)

12 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

6 tablespoons pesto sauce (see recipe,
this page
)

HOW TO PREPARE

• Trim eggplant; remove tops and bottoms (do not peel); cut into ¾–inch slices and pierce each slice on each side with a fork
  
• Sprinkle with salt and leave in colander for a least 1 hour to allow the bitter juices to drain away
  
• Rinse slices and pat dry with paper toweling
  
• Mix bread crumbs and flour and pepper to taste
  
• Dip the slices in the egg wash
  
• Remove slices of eggplant from the egg wash and coat the eggplant with the bread crumb/flour mix (liberally covering both sides)
  
• Shake off extra crumbs; pat the remaining bread crumbs until firmly in place
  
• Heat a generous layer of extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan
  
• Over medium heat, cook each of the breaded eggplant slices until golden brown
  
• Place cooked slices on a paper towel to drain excess oil
  

HOW TO ASSEMBLE

• First, pour tomato sauce to cover the bottom of a large glass baking dish
  
• Arrange slices of eggplant on the sauce
  
• Then put one slice of mozzarella on each slice
  
• Add enough tomato sauce to lightly cover the eggplant and cheese
  
• Sprinkle on Parmesan cheese
  
• Dot 1 teaspoon of pesto on top of each slice
  
• Bake in a preheated oven at 350° for 30 minutes
  

NOTE:
Eggplant Parmesan may be made ahead, covered, and then frozen. To thaw, place microwave-safe covered dish in the microwave on high for 5 minutes
.

Pesto

1 cup fresh basil

2 garlic cloves (peeled)

2 tablespoons pine nuts

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup Parmesan cheese

HOW TO PREPARE

• Place in a food processor the basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts, and extra virgin olive oil
  
• Blend at high speed for 1 minute
  
• Add grated Parmesan cheese (enough to make a paste)
  
• Carefully lift the lid of the blender and scrape the sides of the blender using a small rubber spatula
  

NOTE:
Store pesto in a jar in the refrigerator (or freezer) until ready to use
.

7)
CLEAN THE AIR AND ILLUMINATE A ROOM

Amazingly, cleaning the air of smoke and pollution is another way to use olive oil. For thousands of years, people have used olive oil with cotton or linen wicks to cleanse the air around them and to keep flames burning for light. In fact,
“Olio come fonte di luce”
(oil as the source of light) is a predominant theme at the Lungarotti Olive Oil Museum in Torgiano, Italy. A beautiful collection of oil lamps, from the pre-classical era to those from the early twentieth century,
is displayed. Some of the lamps are decoratively adorned while others are simple and more utilitarian. Crafted from bronze, pewter, marble, iron, terra-cotta, glass, and silver, these olive oil lamps not only cleansed the air but were used as a major source of light for centuries. Even nomads used olive oil lamps for orientation in the desert, and these lamps were considered by some to be inhabited by a benevolent genie.

If you sniff the air above an olive oil lamp, you will smell the pleasing fragrance of the warm oil. Olive oil is 99 percent pure fuel; it does
not
produce smoke or soot, nor does it have an unpleasant odor. People with asthma or chemical sensitivities can burn olive oil lamps without discomfort. Additionally, it is safe; it does not burn if it spills. On the other hand, if burning kerosene is spilled, the fire spreads rapidly. Burning olive oil will smolder and put itself out or give you time to smother it with something. Of course, all flames are potentially dangerous, so keep flames away from children and pets.

Olive oil lamps are commercially available today. I have two. One is called an olive oil chamber lamp and is from Lehman’s in Ohio. It is a very practical jarlike lamp with a handle, which makes it easy to move from room to room. The other is a handmade, decorative lamp, which was a gift from my friend Marilee. This lamp is an Elazar olive oil lamp, made of copper and bronze. The woman who makes these unique lamps uses only fire, welding, and water for the patina coloration. Each lamp is unique and quite beautiful. I have referenced these lamps in the
Annotated Selected Websites
section of the book.

One more bit of advice regarding olive oil lamps. For those of you who think olive oil is an expensive “fuel,” it is
really quite a reasonable value. The same amount of olive oil that you would use in a salad dressing burns in your lamp for about eight hours. You can also burn the least-expensive olive oil or even one that turned rancid hidden in the back of your cupboard.

Only use an olive oil lamp when burning olive oil. You should not burn olive oil in a kerosene lamp, nor should you burn other types of oil, like petroleum-based fuels or lamp oils, in your olive oil lamp. It is interesting to note that until the 1950s, olive oil lamps were used in Mediterranean towns not yet wired for electricity. Thus illuminating a room as well as cleaning the air are on my list of highly recommended uses for this precious oil.

8)
REMOVE TAR SPOTS

Tar spots can really ruin the appearance of a patio or garage. Rubbing an olive oil and baking soda mixture onto the tar spots will take a bit of time, but the results are worth it. Remember my
nonna
Jenny’s recipe for cleaning pewter? That same recipe can be used to remove tar spots on concrete or cement.

Tar Removal Formula

• Mix ½ cup of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of baking soda
  
• Dip a dry cloth into the olive oil mixture
  
• Rub on tar spots, resaturating the cloth as needed, until the spots disappear
  

9)
HYDRATE PEARLS AND POLISH DIAMONDS

According to Isabelle Yao, a pearl specialist in Hawaii, the word
hydrate
should really be used in explaining the effect of olive oil on pearls. Put a small amount of olive oil on a soft cloth. Rub the olive oil on the pearls and then lightly buff them with the dry portion of the cloth to remove any dirt and residue and make them shine. Indeed, olive oil will do wonders for all of your precious and semiprecious jewelry. Because I have seen such fabulous results with olive oil on my pearls, I now rub a drop of olive oil onto my diamond jewelry. When my diamond ring catches the sun, its brilliant shine often casts rainbows throughout the room. Your pearls and diamond jewelry can do the same thing.

Preservation and Prevention

10)
PRESERVE WOODEN UTENSILS AND CUTTING BOARDS

In my family, it has always been important to ensure that the life of everyday tools is extended through proper care. I remember watching my grandmothers lovingly preserve all of their wooden utensils and cutting boards. They instilled in me the love for and an appreciation of a well-used kitchen tool. Each and every useful item had a purpose and an intrinsic worth. In my home, I proudly display a very large rolling pin (about forty inches in length). This rolling pin was originally an oar (made out of olive wood) from the
time my
bisnonno
(great-grandfather) spent working on a ship in Genoa. In the late 1880s, my
bisnonno
Giovanni was a mariner and traveled the world, often on the seas for more than two years at a time. My great-grandmother died during one of his trips, and his young daughter, my
nonna
Jenny, was sent to America to live with her aunt. Out of one of his ship’s oars, Giovanni carved a beautiful, smooth rolling pin, then gave it to my grandmother as a wedding present in 1910. With it, she rolled out the dough for her excellent
sfoglia
(sheets of pasta) for her fabulous ravioli.

Several years ago, after my grandparents died, my mother asked if I would like the rolling pin. Of course, I said yes. And each year when our extended family has our annual ravioli cook-off (our version of a “chili cook-off”), my mother and I use this well-preserved rolling pin to make our favorite ravioli. As I am rolling the crust, I look with wonderment at this historical item, and I continue to use olive oil, as my family has for four generations, to preserve this beautiful wooden utensil.

Spinach and Meat Ravioli
(FOR ABOUT 200
RAVIOLI)

FOR THE FILLING — THE
ripieno

½ pound spinach (or

borage, if you can find it) ½ chopped yellow onion

1 chopped clove garlic

1 tablespoon extra virgin

olive oil

⅓ pound finely ground beef

⅓ pound finely ground pork

⅓ pound finely ground veal

1 tablespoon Italian

seasonings

3 large eggs (slightly beaten)

⅓ cup bread crumbs

½ cup Parmesan cheese

HOW TO PREPARE

• Wash the spinach (or borage) and cook until soft; squeeze out liquid and mince until very, very fine
  
• Chop onion and garlic and sauté in olive oil over medium heat
  
• Add the three types of ground meat and continue sautéing until the meats are brown
  
• Add the Italian seasoning
  
• Remove from heat and place in a bowl
  
• Once the meat has cooled, combine well and add minced spinach
  
• Add the eggs, bread crumbs, and Parmesan cheese
  
• Set aside
  

FOR THE SHEETS OF PASTA — THE
sfoglia

4 cups flour

1 egg

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons salt or to taste

1 cup warm water

HOW TO PREPARE

• Mix dough ingredients together
  
• Knead for about 20 minutes
  
• Press your finger into the dough; if it bounces back, the dough is ready
  
• Form dough into a ball and cover with a towel or cloth
  
• Let the dough rest for 30 to 60 minutes
  
• Divide the dough in half before rolling it out
  

Spinach and Meat Ravioli

Assembling and Cooking

HOW TO ASSEMBLE

• Roll out two rectangular or square sheets of pasta (equal size)
  
• On one of the sheets of pasta, distribute olive-sized portions (about ½ teaspoon) of the filling—about 1½ inches apart
  
• Loosely place the second sheet of pasta on top of the first sheet
  
• Press down with your fingertips to separate the rows of the filling so that each individual ravioli is formed
  
• Cut along the rows with a ravioli cutter (wheel)
  
• Gently press the edges of the ravioli with your fingertips to make sure they are sealed
  
• Place the ravioli on a lightly floured linen dishcloth, making sure they do not touch