23 Comments
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Patricia Davis's avatar

For a girl who flunked geography, you are all over the map! Thanks for taking us along on your adventures and meditations on food and its illuminations on the heart and our planet. Angela cooks with grace. I’m not religious at all but going about her day with calm devotion to serve in every meaning of the word is what it feels like to me. Again thanks for being a junior chopper on the scene!

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Julia Watson's avatar

I'm the one who is blessed by the opportunity to meet people like Angela, straightforward, no pretensions but not taking any flack from anyone in her determination just to 'provide'. Your appreciation of her is perfectly placed.

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Julia Watson's avatar

Such generosity in your comment - thank you. I'm glowing. I wish I could say the photos were taken by me, but they are Refettorio Felix's. The food always looks restaurant-worthy because the diners are.

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Shell Plant's avatar

So much I absolutely loved in this post!

Your story telling, that incredible photography and a great sounding recipe too. I have a cauliflower in the fridge and I know what I'll be doing with it.

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Julia Watson's avatar

I hope the recipe does justice to your cauliflower. I wish I had taken the photos. But as you know from Tabled, my photos are not in the same class. The pictures were Refettorio’s.

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Shell Plant's avatar

I really love the no waste aspect. Too much of a cauli ends up in the bin for me.

The photos are beautiful. I love the plate stacking one.

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Kate Walker's avatar

Burmese cauliflower!!! ❤️❤️❤️

It was THE revelation of my too short stay in the country! I've always liked the vegetable, but it turns into a magic beast in the hands of the Burmese. No matter what they do to it, it's the best you've ever had.

Can't wait for the junta to be overthrown so I can go back and help them rebuild by eating cauliflower and spreading cash far and wide.

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Julia Watson's avatar

A country rebuilt by cauliflowers - lovely thought!

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Kate Walker's avatar

My only practical contribution is eating (or spelling, but only in English)

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Sophie's avatar

Love the Refertorio concept. And the sound of Angela. . Great to hear of all those things to do with cauliflower. Terrific post.

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Julia Watson's avatar

She’s well named Angela! Thank you.

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Joanne's avatar

Brava for your work with people in need. 🙏 You are inspiring 😊

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Julia Watson's avatar

The people Refettorio feeds are inspiring. And ice between their predicaments and my easy privileged life extremely thin.

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Susan Brockman's avatar

I never miss a post from Julia. This one was a particular delight from start to finish. Learning about a wonderful charity effort, meeting Angela the Italian female cook, and being reminded that much food we waste can be turned into something tasty. Cauliflower greens? Why not! A more traditional cauliflower soup recipe is included. With some tweaks, it can be turned into a tasty pasta sauce. Always something to relish here.

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Julia Watson's avatar

I'm tickled not pink but crimson at your words. Thank you.

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Nancy Harmon Jenkins's avatar

Let's hear a huge cheer and a brava for Italian female cooks who've been keeping Italians going down through the ages. When life looks bleakest, these women just go into the kitchen and make something, almost always something delicious and Gordon Ramsay can go chop onions! Thanks, Julia, for this lovely reminder of what real cooking is about.

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Julia Watson's avatar

What a wonderful celebration of Italian female cooks! Such Trojans. Amazon's? And I didn't mention that Angela also has enough time when she's served the diners to prep everything for the shifts that follow hers, led by men who don't do the same for her.

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A Box of Old Knives's avatar

Love the story especially for the times.

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Julia Watson's avatar

We could diminish landfills but also increase our budgets if only we cut food waste.

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Elizabeth Becker  -  writer's avatar

As always, your story about the food is as fascinating as the recipe. Thank you

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stavro218's avatar

Where are these community food kitchens and how can I find one to volunteer in?

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Julia Watson's avatar

Refettorio Felix is in London but Refettorio ‘s other global cities can be found on their web site foodforsoul.it. Otherwise, your local churches may very likely have opportunities. Also, try Googling ‘community kitchen near me’. Glad you're looking into it! Hope this helps.

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Julia Watson's avatar

A helpful Tabled reader reminds me that a US pint is different from a UK one. He says, "One thing, though, about the recipe...as you know there's a difference between U.S. and British pints. Americans who try it will have a much thicker soup than expected if they use only 1 3/4 American pints. We do tend to like our soups thicker on this side of the pond, so maybe that's OK. 😃"

The Imperial pint contains 20 British fluid oz equal to 28.413 ml. The American pint contains 16 US fluid oz, equal to 29.574 ml. This makes the US fluid ounce 4% larger than the Imperial one. The Imperial pint is approximately 20% larger than the US pint. Whether you want a thicker or a thinner soup, it's certainly something to bear in mind when ordering a beer.

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