So, I’ve been dealing with this whole spamming thing. I guess I get caught up in the stupidity of it all. Why not try to sneak in a single comment? Do you really think 500 comments telling my readers to go to your linux site will get you business? No. And it’s soils the name of the good and mighty penguin.

Anyway, I spammed them back about 10 times as hard as they spammed me, so it stopped. Never challenge a Sicilian to a pissing contest. Silly nerds.

Yesterday was the last day for the Columbia City Farmers’ Market in Seattle. The University District and West Seattle markets will go through December, but all the others are finito.

The last of the heirloom tomatoes, no shortage of potatoes or greens, and kiwi berries. Kiwi berries? Wee little hairless kiwis that taste somewhere between a flowery grape and their big brothers. I don’t know what I’m going to do with them. But I was suckered into them immediately.

This time of year, I take 75% more naps, read twice as many books, drink my weight in coffee, and crave starchy fried foods. It’s some weird Northwest hibernation syndrome. My favorite thing to make that doesn’t seem sooo bad for you is panelle. Think somewhere between fry bread and falafel and you get an idea of this flat chick pea fritter the Sicilians serve as a welcome for parties.

This recipe is from an awesome little fry shop in Palermo. One night, a few extremely hot-blooded Sicilian men would not leave me alone. A little old man came out of nowhere and started beating one of them with his umbrella. He then asked me to join him and his friends for a game of rummy in their shop (every old man in Sicily has his place). They kicked my ass in cards and I ate about 2 dozen of this little suckers. Yet another example of why I sometimes love to travel alone. Shit like that doesn’t happen to you in groups.

Panelle

2 1/2 cups chickpea flour
3 cups water
3 tablespoons finely minced fresh oregano (or just parsley)
Good ass salt, ground pepper to taste
Canola oil for deep frying

In a saucepan with a rounded edge, mix the flour and water with a whisk, breaking up all lumps. Heat on medium or less for 15 minutes. Add oregano, salt, and pepper. Don’t stop stirring. You want paste, like thick polenta, that will start to pull away clean from the sides.

OK, now turn this mixture onto an oiled flat surface or several. I have cookie sheets without sides. You could use pieces of wax paper on your kitchen table, too. Spread thin with a long spatula. You can do a few big rectangles and cut them into small, cracker-sized pieces. But I like to make mine the size of a pancake, then cut them after they’re fried. Cool completely before cutting.

Heat oil to 375 degrees. (I use a mix of canola and olive–it’s just better.) Fry until golden brown, turning once. Drain on paper towel, cut if needed, sprinkle with a little more excellent sea salt, and serve IMMEDIATELY.

**If working with small pieces, you can use a deep pot of oil. If working with larger pieces, like me, use a shallow 1/2 inch of oil in a fry pan and some wooden tongs.

If you’re having a party, you can even set this up where the food is happening, with a portable burner. This is fun because it gets people to eat ‘em while they’re hot.

This quite possibly may be the world’s perfect bar food. Great with ice cold pilsner, Prosecco, hearty red wine, a gin and tonic, whatever. But I have never encountered a bar in this country that served panelle. Yet they cost next to nothing, can be prepped en masse, make people thirsty as hell, and use American’s favorite adjective: fried.