How We Play

In our family, we have always valued the arts. I grew up dancing, acting, singing, playing music on both piano and flute, going to live concerts and performances, and visiting museums. During her studies at Teachers College, my mother took courses with the renowned educational philosopher

Maureen, me, and Maxine

Maxine Greene, and they became lifelong friends. It seems appropriate to quote Maxine who repeatedly reminds us in her work that “we do not engage with artworks to find copies of an objectively existent world but to experience the artworks’ capacity to enable us to see more, to discover nuances and shapes and sounds inaccessible without them.” (p. 102 in Releasing the Imagination, 1995).

New York is a unique hub of creativity, and when I think about the privileges I have enjoyed, the concerts, shows, exhibitions, performances of all kinds that I have seen, it seems I have had more than enough riches for one lifetime.  I resolved years ago that I would never turn down an offer to attend a concert, or go on a creatively-minded outing because these experiences continue to enrich  and surprise me with their gifts. Here in Rome the first performance we attended was at the Teatro Olimpico, next door to where we first stayed when we arrived and hadn’t yet moved into our apartment. The Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio was performing their version of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, with a woman in the lead role. I first learned of the Orchestra when they formed in 2002 and a documentary about them was shown at the Tribeca Film Festival. They sought to create a musical group from residents of Rome’s Esquilino neighborhood with its rich ethnic mix, to bring those multinational musicians and their talents out of sociocultural marginalized contexts, and create something exuberant and new. In 2007, they began work on Mozart’s Magic Flute, through 2009, and more recently, in 2014, performed their interpretation of Bizet’s Carmen. Under the leadership of founders Mario Tronco and Agostino Ferrente, they have toured the world giving more than 800 performances to enthusiastic fans. (You can get a quick sense of the opening number from the video linked here). 

I got tickets for center orchestra seats for a 6pm show on Sunday, November 12^th, when my sister was going to be visiting us. The stage used minimal sets as musicians occupied a group of scaffolded platforms, and one side of the stage was taken up by a large screen with video projections. Cuban trumpet player Omar Lopez Valle was sick, and his understudy was announced from the stage before the show began. The androgynous Don Giovanni, expertly played by opera singer Petra Magoni, swaggered in and out of a white leather Chesterfield armchair that evoked both the past and contemporary times. The trio of other female performers, Simona Boo, Hersi Matmuja, and Mama Marjas used similar dresses and mic stands to great effect when singing back-up style circa 1970s, but they also sparkled in duets and solos that highlighted their musical ranges. Zerlina and Masetto’s

Mama Marjas as Zerlina and Houcine Ataa as Masetto
(photo courtesy Mama Marjas' Facebook site)

wedding scene had a pumped up party vibe, singing “dai balliamo e cantiamo e godiamo” until Don Giovanni intervenes with the famous “la ci darem la mano” and off she goes, unable to resist. The dramatic and dark tensions in Mozart’s opera were given less prominence than moments of tenderness and regret, but the light comedic touches were irresistible, especially the full company, minus Don Giovanni, singing “tutto, tutto, gia' si sa” at the end of the first act. A finale following Don Giovanni’s descent into hell gave us a pumping 1977 Donna Summer anthem I Feel Love, giving new meaning to the lyrics “fallin’ free.” I so loved this production, I bought more tickets for the last performance and went with two friends, so that I could see Omar Lopez Valle as Leporello. It is a testament to the enduring art form of opera that such a wacky and wild production could be so entertaining and musically satisfying, while straying a good deal from the original material.

Opportunities for engaging with music are particularly important for those suffering from Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. One need only think of stories from Oliver Sacks' Musicophilia, or the riveting 2014 documentary hit at Sundance, Alive Inside. The groundbreaking work of my friend Anne Basting of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in her organization Time Slips suggests that creativity and imagination provide ways to meaningfully connect with a loved one suffering from memory loss. She has developed a program to engage communities in storytelling as theater, shifting the focus from one of loss to one of creative engagement. A 2016 MacArthur Fellow Anne has recently critiqued the Alzheimer’s Association for a depressing advertising campaign that she argues is “stealing hope” with a slogan that suggests Alzheimer’s steals one's imagination.

It doesn’t have to be that way. We intentionally play to engage our imagination. We went to see a Picasso exhibit that included video of theater sets and costumes he designed that are playful. We went to a concert of the King’s Singers at Rome’s Auditorium, and appreciated the exquisite musicality of six men singing in elaborate harmonies, taking us through centuries of a cappella music. (You can catch them on this Gold World Tour around the world). Their mission to “spread the joy of ensemble singing” is hard to resist as they take you on a musical journey that manages to be both sacred and playful, catching you in a wave of musical pleasure.

So, go play.

How We Eat

My local market in the Flaminio neighborhood

I just received in the mail a paperback copy of Dr. Dale Bredesen’s new book, The End of Alzheimer’s, and so far it seems to be everything I was hoping it would be. I cited his 2014 and 2016 articles in the journal Aging in my first post. He has created an individualized approach to treating Alzheimer’s patients that has had great success in reversing the symptoms in his small pool of subjects.

On page 16 he spells out the first bombshell:

"Contrary to the current dogma, therefore, what is referred to as Alzheimer’s disease is actually a protective response to, specifically, three different processes: Inflammation, suboptimal levels of nutrients and other synapse-supporting molecules, and toxic exposures."

What makes his work stand out from the countless self-help medical miracle books is he is quite clear that this is not a one size fits all approach to curing the disease. On the contrary, he goes into great detail to explain the unique metabolic and physiological aspects of human health that require personalization in treating illness. This is different from the majority of doctors who may tinker with different doses or brands of medication, adding vague (and often unwelcome) dietary advice such as “stop eating red meat and butter” or telling us to exercise more. 

You can't just live on salad

Can you tell I am a bit sensitive about this topic? I was suffering from bad swelling, especially in my feet and legs, that no one could quite diagnose or explain. In desperation I tried a typical elimination diet I found through Dr. Elson Haas. Three days of no dairy, gluten, sugar, eggs, corn, soy and peanut and I was like a new woman. No more two alarms to get me out of bed, I was awake and alert early and ready to go. People commented on my face, my eyes, my whole demeanor, and I lost that puffy feeling in my joints that was causing so much pain. Don’t get me wrong, it was REALLY HARD to stay on this plan, but the idea was to slowly introduce one food at a time to test for a reaction, and in my case, it was clear that gluten was the big problem. Long story short, I have been gluten free for about two decades now, even though I tested negative for celiac disease through a genetic test. I just learned from trial and error that gluten hurts my body and my health, and so I keep it out of my diet.

Now you are probably wondering how I manage in the land of pasta, pizza, pastries, and crusty bread of every imaginable variety. Interestingly, Italians are quite understanding about gluten intolerance and the national health plan even pays for celiac patients’ gluten free food products. Restaurants offer gluten free pasta, and are happy to modify dishes with no flour or bread crumbs if asked. But the truth is the bounty of alternatives just doesn’t make me miss my high carb days. Now that I see that gluten and sugar lead to inflammation in the body, and that can potentially lead to dementia, we have even more reasons to improve our diet. Here’s a sample of what my mother and I have been eating since we got to Rome.

Minestrone

A big, delicious bowl of hot vegetable soup is on our weekly menu. My local fruit-vegetable vendor in the market makes it so easy by preparing a bag of mixed veggies for soup. 

I also bought a Wikook from Lagostina, a sort of pressure cooker type pot that speeds things up when I get home from my morning shopping and have to get lunch going quickly.

Minestrone is served with a splash
of olive oil and parmesan cheese.

I saute a bit of onion and fresh tomato with a mix of dried herbs and olive oil, toss in the bag of veg, add water, organic soup stock cube, and a few handfuls of brown rice (known as “integrale” in Italian). It helps that I got this rice at the end of our summer vacation at the beach in Maremma at the Tenuta San Carlo. (Follow them on Facebook for delightful updates about life on the rice farm at the beach).

Insalata Mista

Italians eat a lot of salad. The vegetable vendors make it easy by selling a variety of fresh lettuces, mixes, and these delicious red/green salad tomatoes that just make the salad extra tasty. One thing that varies very little is the dressing. You will not find aisles of salad dressing options the way you do in the US. Italians use the best quality olive oil they can find and red wine vinegar, plus salt and maybe pepper. I throw in my dried mixed herbs just because I like the flavor addition. Our salads have rucola, endive, radicchio, mache, escarole, beet greens, carrots, plus a cut up salad tomato. Right now you can also get puntarelle, a

Puntarelle alla romana
with anchovy garlic dressing

kind of crunchy slightly bitter chicory that curls when cut and put in cold water (the vendor does this for you) and is delicious with an anchovy garlic addition to the usual vinegar/olive oil dressing. That’s how the Romans eat them. I like them just mixed in with my other salad ingredients too.

Risotto

Those who can’t eat pasta console themselves with risotto, which has equally creative variations. I use my Lagostina Wikook pot and get a perfect risotto without having to stir for half an hour (see J. Kenji Lopez-Alt’s advice on risotto techniques).

For the first time this fall, I splurged on fresh porcini while they were in season and made the best mushroom risotto ever. In December, I made a

red/green risotto with the Roman little zucchini (they have ridges) and the sundried tomatoes I soak and then marinate in garlic, herbs, and olive oil.

Fresh porcini mushroom risotto

Roasted Vegetables

Peppers, onions, eggplant, zucchini, cherry tomatoes tossed in olive oil and seasoned with some herbs or saba (that sweet drizzle of grape must that is truly a secret sauce) go in a hot oven and usually there are no leftovers. Sometimes we have them with corn cous-cous or polenta, other times with rice. A variation is to add the long radicchio known as trevisana cut into fourths and some smoked mozzarella. This is a lunch that just cries out for a glass of wine.

A Tart

Artichoke zucchini tart

I wouldn’t know how to make a gluten free crust that is flaky and tasty, but Buitoni makes it easy by selling these uncooked in the supermarket. I saute cleaned, quartered artichokes in olive oil and garlic, add slices of zucchini, scramble three eggs (and Italian eggs have the most gorgeous bright orange yolks and are so tasty), and chop some ricotta salata or other cheese I have on hand, and put the whole thing in the crust in the oven. We usually eat half, and find it tastes even better reheated the next day.

Spremuta

I just love fresh-squeezed orange juice. Here in Italy, the oranges still have their leaves attached, and some have a red color and tart flavor that provide the requisite incentive to do that labor of cutting and squeezing for each glass. You can also find an abundance of fresh pomegranates, and I love the combo with orange juice.

(By the way just this week I was out for drinks with friends visiting from New York and asked for the mixed spremuta with a little Campari, and boy was that delicious).

Is your mouth watering yet? I should mention that all this food is extra delicious when weather permits outdoor eating. We just love to eat on our terrace. We end lunch with espresso with a little whipped cream on top, because why not? That’s what makes the vita extra dolce.