Lemon Pasta
So cute! Mom was pregnant with my sister in this photo.
My sister reminded me that somewhere there is a recording of this recital. I’d love to find it. In the meantime, I have wonderful memories of going to sleep as a child with Mom practicing piano.
Newspaper clipping from Mom’s Kingsport, TN recital.
Mom had a string trio with Susan Black and Brent Wissick. They played a recital in Chapel Hill and also one on Fripp Island. They performed the Tchaikovsky Trio which has a MASSIVE piano part. Go, Mom!
Mom was amazing piano teacher! She had endless patience and such a comprehensive knowledge of music. She taught several of my friends. Our buddy, Geoff Dean, referred to Mom as “The Southern Matriarch of Music”.
FASHION POLICE / 80s Edition! Too good to pass up: Here’s me and my best friend, Robin, after orchestra practice in the 80s. Oy.
Mom didn’t suffer fools gladly, and one of those fools was the pianist, Glenn Gould. I can just hear her now, “he plays everything too fast!”. I guess that he felt that he could interpret the music as he liked, and what he liked was fast. It drove Mom berserk. He was a show off. And, you know what? She was uniquely qualified to have this opinion. As I mentioned in this post, Mom was an incredible pianist, choralist, chamber music player, accompanist, music teacher, and harpsichord builder.
Mom started playing piano early. She used to practice in grade school at St. Dominic’s. Apparently she once strayed from classical repertoire and audaciously played “Chopsticks”, only to be hit on the knuckles with a ruler by a mean nun. Mom continued playing through high school and them majored in Piano and English at Duke. When she and my father lived in New York, Mom studied at the Westchester Conservatory. She had two major concerts upon graduating, one in New York and one in Tennessee, both while pregnant with my sister, I believe.
When Mom and Dad would go away for semesters, they would work hard to find a rental house that was equipped with a piano. Our Great Missenden flat had one on the freezing cold ground floor. I had to practice violin down there and hated it. (Coincidentally, this was the year I *accidentally* sat on my violin which caused it to be sent away for several weeks for repair. I swear it was an accident!) Mom and Dad’s Palo Alto bungalow had a much more pleasant piano situation with a beautiful grand piano in the living room.
A lot of my childhood was spent rolling around on the shag rug in our music room, doodling on Mom’s sheet music (why would she let me do that?) while Mom practiced. I have memories of going to sleep at night with Mom pounding away on the piano, playing something not very relaxing (my sister says it was most likely Beethoven or Brahms). Chopin Nocturnes would have been more suitable and, despite not playing them at bedtime, Mom did instill a love of them in me. So much so that I even had a little teen crush on Daniel Barenboim and still have, to this day, Mom’s vinyl of him playing the pieces. I used to put it on when I wanted people [read: BOYS] to think I was classy. I don’t really play piano but one summer I decided I was going to learn Chopin and got 2 Nocturnes under my belt. I can play those and Jim Croce’s “Time in a Bottle”. You choose.
We always had WUNC playing in our house and car, and Mom’s cd collection was remarkable. I remember when cds first came out, Mom took me to a cd store in Brightleaf Square in Durham (we had to drive to a different town to buy them!). I was allowed to pick one cd because they were so expensive. One! I remember my first 45 record: Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock and Roll”. Iconic!!! I remember my first cassette: Adam Ant’s “Friend or Foe”. Edgy!!! My first cd? Well, I blew it, 80s one hit wonder, Hipsway. Anyone remember them? The Honeythief? Anyone?! Bueller?!
For today’s recipe I thought I’d do something classic and elegant, like Mom and her piano playing. No speedy Glenn Gould food here! What would that be? Fast food?! I’m keeping it simple and delicious.
LEMON PASTA
12 oz wide noodles
zest and juice of 2 lemons – zest cut in very thin 1”long strips
1 cup heavy cream
kosher salt to taste
lots of fresh black pepper
Cook noodles, drain and return to pot
Just before noodles are done, combine zest, cream, salt and pepper in a small pot and heat just until boiling.
Pour cream into noodles, add juice, stir and cook over med heat until juice is absorbed. Tasted for seasonings
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