Coconut Cherry Chia Pudding

If you follow food blogs and healthy vegetarian sites, you have undoubtably seen chia pudding recipes. It's no wonder it has become a healthy snack of choice because it is simple, fast and packed with nutrition. Chia seeds have come a long way from the spreadable paste to make fluffy green 'pets'. Today, chia seeds have earned the title of "superfood" for their high protein content, soothing affect on the digestive system and their cholesterol lowering omega-3 fatty acids. Plus, they make great pudding!

Persimmon Tart

Persimmons, or kaki, are very particular fruits. They have a sweet, delicate flavour, somewhat like browned sugar with a slight floral aftertaste. Their season is quite brief, starting in late autumn and finishing before the winter frost sinks its teeth in. If you don’t live in an area where they grow, they can be hard to come by. When ripe, the plump orange bulbs swell with a golden goo and the thin skin easily splits apart. For this reason, they don’t do well in grocery stores and certainly can’t be shipped across the globe like apples. 

Growing up in Northern California, I never saw persimmons, nor ever tasted one. If it hadn’t been for my father talking about them being his favourite fruit, I may never even have known of their existence. Fortunately, they are very common in Italy and the hills of the Cinque Terre are speckled with these bare trees, branches weighed down by heavy orange fruits. My first experience was in Sicily when we bought a flat of ‘cacchi’ from a guy in a parking lot. This if often where you’ll get the best produce in Sicily--from the back of a truck in a random parking lot.

How to freeze lemons to use year-round

It's the height lemon season right now, and if you have a tree of your own, you may have more lemons than you know what to do with. Well, not worry because one of the best things to do with all those lemons is also the simplest and most healthy.

Freezing your lemons is becoming popular now that research has shown it's the healthiest way to ingest the sour fruit. Lemon water is known to detoxify and alkalise the body, but beyond squeezing a wedge into the glass, the peel of the lemon is usually discarded. The problem with that is the peel is the most powerful part of the fruit!

Kiwi Clementine Tart

Although the depths of winter can leave you feeling dark and depressed, nature livens up the season with some very cheerful, colourful and vitamin C rich foods. Citrus and kiwi are two such fruits that come onto season during the winter. Did you know that the kiwi is one of Italy's biggest exports? This may be one of the least-known facts about this country. This vibrant cure for dreary days all started with a bag a kiwis that a friend gave us. They have a vine in their yard and were up to their ears in kiwis. But there are only so many tart kiwis one can eat before one starts to think: "what in the world am I going to do with the rest of these things??"

Sometimes a little free time in the kitchen and a bunch of fruit can yield spectacular results! When I entered the kitchen that afternoon, I certainly didn't expect to wind up with this gorgeous fruit tart. But for me, inspiration comes when I least expect it. Now, I wish I could tell you that I'm an organised, methodical person of clear mind and I set out to make a grand fruit tart. But no such luck--I am an artist at heart and my accomplishments in life are made in a much more Bohemian sort of way--I need to feel inspired.

Leftover Panettone-Part 4

This is the fourth instalment in what I call: "Leftover Panettone". In Italy, panettone is sold during the Christmas season and is the classic gift you bring to someone's home when visiting during the holidays. If you have a lot of friends and family, that can add up to some serious numbers! So it isn't unusual to have more panettone than you know what to do with. If you find yourself in this particular Italian predicament, please also see part 1,  part 2  and part 3 for the other ideas.

Elderflower Delights

Late May to Early June brings the bounty of elderflower blossoms. Here in Liguria, edler trees abound and a drive through the countryside will leave you with a landscape of these cream colored bursts of flowers.

  

Their aroma is nearly intoxicating and the mere sight of these delicate, adorable white blossoms, bunched together to create a perfumed umbrella is one of the loveliest sights of Spring.

Bruschetta Party

This summer, a trip to Simon Boca Negra, an amazing foccaceria in Sarzana, inspired us to make an aperitivo of varied bruschette. This is a fun and easy dinner to throw together for yourself or for a party and the possibilities are limited only by your imagination!

Do You Spritz?

Aperitivo is an Italian tradition, a favorite past-time and a cultural necessity. There are many ways to enjoy this early evening social snack (it is the original Happy Hour, actually), whether it be wine or cocktails, but during the summertime, when the air is hot and your skin is tight from a day at the sea, the most popular drink is the Aperol Spritz. It is a very simple concoction, yet it is so refreshing, and the gorgeous, cheery orange color is enough to lift your spirits and put you in the mood to celebrate.

It's sunshine in a glass, really. "Un Spritz" is so easy to order anywhere in Italy that one can get quite accustomed to the consistency of always getting a good Spritz. Unfortunately, when you leave Italy, a Spritz seems to be a foreign concept and the mere mention can bring a confused look to even an experienced bartender. My friends that leave Italy experience a period of Spritz withdrawals when they realize that it is nearly impossible to have a fix outside the Italian border (which is similar to my experience of ordering a Monaco outside of France, but that's another story).

Spaghetti agli Scampi

Italian food is very seasonal and in the summertime, pasta with scampi is not to be missed. While my first memories of this dish were made in Vernazza's piazza Marconi so many years ago, I have discovered that this dish is surprisingly easy and much cheaper to make at home! There are a few versions of this pasta, the most common being made with a thick tomato sauce, but I find that a simple, simmered garlic and pomodorini, or grape tomatoes, is the best.

The Best Whipped Cream Ever!

Sometimes the best discoveries are made when you have to use something up before it expires. This was the case with a tub of mascarpone cheese the other day. It was the beginning of yet another long Sunday lunch with the family and my mother-in-law didn't know what she should do with the huge tub of cheese. 

If you are not familiar with mascarpone cheese, it is has the consistency of cream cheese but a mild,  a buttery taste. Mascarpone is the main ingredient in Tiramisù, which gives it the delightfully creamy texture. It is thoroughly versatile in the kitchen as it can be used to make sauces thicker and creamier, it can be used for savoury dips, dessert frosting (I make an orange frosting for spice cake with it), scone recipes and numerous other desserts. It can even be served plain with fruit. It's possibilities are endless.

Fun Easter Treats

Easter is just around the corner and I thought I would post the super fun Krispy treats I made last year. I was instantly inspired when I saw the quick flashes of Rice Krispy treats shaped like eggs while my sister was forwarding past commercials on her DVR. "Oh my God!" I gasped, "GO BACK! It's Rice Krispy treats shaped into eggs and filled with M&Ms!" I am still amazed at how quickly my brain grabbed the whizzing images that flashed before my eyes and put them together to understand what it was. Why can't my brain work that well under normal circumstances, like when I walk into a room and forget why...but I digress.

Anyway, sugary sweets are not something I normally eat, but when inspiration hits, I must surrender to its power. Plus, I had never actually made Rice Krispy treats myself, and I always love new experiences. Turns out, they are super easy--a little time consuming with stuffing the eggs, but super easy. Making these 'treats' are fun for the whole family and I highly recommend these surprise 'eggs' as a creative way to make (and eat) them. So here is what you need:

Grapefruit and Fennel Salad

The weather has finally turned warm again and taking advantage of the sunny day and the flat of fennel bulbs in the pantry, I decided to make a lovely and refreshing salad: Grapefruit and fennel, topped with crispy, crunchy prosciutto crisps. Now, this is just as delicious (but not as salty) without the prosciutto, so to make it vegetarian/vegan, just omit it.

By broiling thin slices of prosciutto crudo for about ten minutes, they become like salty, savoury crisps that you can eat as is, or break up into pieces. It’s sooooo good! Plus, a salad based on fennel needs something nice and salty, so it is a great combination.

Crunchy Grapefruit & Fennel Salad: 

There's Snow Everywhere!

The Siberian winds have been blowing and all of Europe has been suffering under frigid temperatures and blankets of snow. But while the northern countries are equipped to handle meters of snow and below zero temperatures, Italy is not. It started last week and here in Liguria, we all awoke on February 1st to brisk air and white roads! It is certainly a surprise and a novelty to see snow where you rarely get it. By lunchtime, the sun came out and people were excited to go out and play in the snow, make some snowballs and be fascinated by the crunching sound beneath their feet.

Even the Cinque Terre awoke to white mountains 

The Liebster Blog Award

The Liebster Blog Award is for smaller blogs with fewer than 200 followers. Together, we can help each other network for greater visibility. So here are the 'rules' of accepting the Liebster Blog Award:

1. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award.
2. Link back to the blogger who awarded you.
3. Copy and paste the Liebster Blog Award on your blog.
4. Reveal your top five blog picks for the award.
5. Let them know you selected them by leaving a comment on their blog.

I am happy to have received the Liebster Blog award from Sam of Two Black Doggies, a fun blog filled with tales of European travels (especially Italy) and of course, her adorable two black doggies. She has also helped spread the news of the floods in the Cinque Terre and this has helped immensely. Thank you so much Sam!

Here are some really great blogs that I think everyone should know about (some were impossible to see the number of followers, so hopefully they fit the qualification):

Sunday Lunch...A Modo Mio

   

The typical fare at our Sunday family lunch starts with my mother-in-law's pasta al forno, or baked pasta; then we move on to the main course of carne impanata, or breaded pan-fried beef or chicken cutlets, a green salad accompanied by slices of more bread and some kind of dessert that usually involves ricotta cheese and even more flour (ricotta cake or cannoli). It's a lunch that lasts the entire day, from around 1pm, with the first course, passing to the main course, then the fruit course, then dessert and then caffè, lasting well until 6 pm or so. It is all delicious and it's nice to spend time together, but we always wind up going home uncomfortably stuffed and we don't want to even see more food again. Thankfully I have no problem with wheat, but my poor husband does not do so well with this Italian diet based on refined wheat. At home, we are not gluten-free, but I make sure to use a minimum amount of wheat--we almost never eat bread and we only eat pasta occasionally--something that worries my mother-in-law because, after all, pasta is the cornerstone of a proper diet. But nevertheless, my husband does well during the week and gets all out of whack after our wheat-ridden Sunday lunches (which he loves--nothin' better than mamma's cooking). This Sunday, though, we opted out of this weekly ritual for a simple Sunday together. But lunch still had to be had...

Clementine Elderberry Scones

 

 

I was in a creative baking mood and I came up with the most delicious scones I have ever made! I am very excited to share these with you because it also utilizes the elderberry syrup that I showed you how to make this summer. They have a lovely purple hue to them, plus the drizzle of elderberry frosting makes them just as good to look at. I try to limit my use of white flour as much as possible, so I split the amount with almond flour. Most of the flour in your baking recipes can usually be split with half almond flour, but for baked goods, you do need some of the flour to hold its consistency. If you don't have almond flour, just use 2 cups of plain flour. I think the combination of elderberry and Clementine is a fantastic pairing. Here is my recipe:

Panging for Panang

 

Summer in Italy is rarely spent indoors. Sunny days are spent at the beach and the warm nights are spent out with friends. But unless you live in Rome or Milan, eating out is limited to Italian food. You may not believe this, but one can get really tired of eating Italian food. It’s not that Italian food isn’t enjoyable, but after several weeks of pizza, pasta and insalata mista, a palate change is severely needed. Thankfully, the little Asian market that I depend on was finally reopened after their month-long vacation. Stocked with ginger, coconut milk, limes and even cilantro (the first time I have ever seen cilantro in Italy), I headed home to make some panang!

Strawberry Liqueur

I love fruit. I love liqueurs. I love the two of them together! Italian summers bring some of the sweetest, most delicate strawberries I have ever tasted. I have recently done a series of vodka infusion experiments, including the successful pear vodka I previously posted about, and the not-so-successful melon (which I did not post about). But with these delicious strawberries, I think it would be pretty hard to mess up.

Here is how to make your own Strawberry Liqueur

Pear Elderberry Cocktail

Summer in Italy brings with it amazingly delicious fruit. I, of course, always want to find ways of preserving these scrumptious flavors to savor for the rest of the year. As you may have read in earlier posts, I have made jelly out of several fruits, including fig, mulberry, pomegranate and watermelon. But another way to capture the flavor of fruit is to infuse vodka with it. 

Sewing 101: Il Lavoro

It is amazing how quickly a skilled seamstress can put together a bag! Continuing from where I left off in "Sewing 101: L'Inizio", the first step of my beach bag started with my mother-in-law pining a reinforcing material to the back of my fabric.