Whoa. A year has already passed. Time really flies. I must confess that I had meant to write a very special post for the Culinary Taste’s first blogoversary (which, incidentally, is also my 4th wedding anniversary), but here I am, with a lot to say and very little time to do it. So I’ll try to be short. Read More
Do you remember the bunch of rhubarb from my garden? The one mentioned here. Well, it has finally been turned into something. Something really tasty, refreshing and very, very summery: stewed rhubarb. That, incidentally, has been turned into an article on Honest Cooking as well (bear with me: I’ll talk about HC now and then in this blog).
I know I’m a bit late with this recipe: the cherry season is almost gone by now. All the same, I had bought a lot of cherries to make the Red Fruit Crumble and I couldn’t help making some jam. I’m a fanatic of jams and preserves, as some of you know (have a look here, here, and here for a quick look…), and of course, cherry jam is no exception.
After a long-coveted vacation full of bathing and sun-bathing, we are ready to start again with a post I already published on Honest Cooking: a red fruit crumble. For those who know me this is no big surprise: I adore crumbles (both sweet and savory, as you can see here, here, here and here) and to me they are the perfect way to eat fruit pies.
June has brought a wave of fresh news to me and to the blog. I, Rita, have become an official contributor to Honest Cooking online magazine. This is a great adventure for me because Honest Cooking shares the best of worldwide recipes and food-related articles written by well-established bloggers and food writers. So, don’t worry if it takes me a while to update the blog or if I can’t visit yours: I’m just a little busier than usual (and don’t forget I have a toddler crawling around all the time!!). Well, here’s the very first article I wrote for Honest Cooking (click here to see the HC page). I hope you enjoy it!
The garden is in full bloom. It’s Spring in the northern hemisphere and everywhere around flowers are blossoming and foliages are greener than ever.
Il giardino è in fiore. E’ primavera nell’emisfero nord e dappertutto i fiori stanno sbocciando e i fogliami sono più verdi che mai.
Our garden in bloom
This gallery contains 12 photos.
Over in the meadow, Near a pond in the sun Lived an old mother duck And her little duck one “Quack!” said the mother; “Quack!” said the one, And they quacked and were happy In the pond in the sun (from the rhyme Over in the Meadow) Ok, there’s no little duck involved in this post …
This time of the year is the season of vegetables: artichokes, peas, beans and fava beans. Markets are full of fava beans now, so, when I bought an entire box, I decided that they would be the perfect dish for Easter, together with some cacio cheese.
Lately it was a bit cold. Colder than usual, at least. The illusion that summer had already and early come – well, as the word says, was an illusion. No more outdoor meals and bbq with friends for a few days to come and no more gardening. Read More
We’ve finally made it! Here’s the English version of Lapo’s book. Pappapoppa has become Yummytummy and Mamma Mu, well, is just Mommy-Moo.
I want to thank all of my foodie friends for their contribution and their help with the names for the English version, especially Raymund from Ang Sarap (yes, we used two of your names, Cheddar the Mouse and Hopper the Rabbit).
I hope you enjoy it! Let me know if you like it, though you can preview only few pages on blurb.com.
You may think this to be one of those posts where authors claim to do great things (in the kitchen or somewhere else): astounding, astonishing, surprising things. Sort of “we want to surprise you with special effects”. Or rather, sort of “I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe”. Well, this is not that kind of post, though in a sense what happens can really be seen as a magic.
At last. We made it. Me and my friend Christina, I mean. We managed to finish the book for Lapo’s first birthday (yuppie!!!). The little calf Pappapoppa and his friend the baby chick Giosuè have finally come to life. Come to life but not come to our hands, yet, because we placed the order yesterday on blurb.com and we’re waiting for it to arrive. In time for Lapo’s birthday, of course (May, 5). Yes, I know that Lapo won’t be able to read it for – well, some years – but we do hope to give him for his birthday all the same.
“Viva la pa-pa-pappa
Col po-po-po-po-po-po-pomodoro
Viva la pa-pa-pappa
Che è un capo-po-po-po-po-polavoro…”
Pappa al pomodoro is one of the most traditional Tuscan dishes, especially made in the area around Florence. Like many traditional recipes, its origins are poor and humble, the two main ingredients being tomatoes and stale bread. Though very simple to make, it’s a great masterpiece of Italian cuisine, like the famous song said.
Some of you may think I’ve vanished from the blogosphere, some others that I quitted cooking for ever: well, none of the kind. I’ve just been busy. With life. What does that mean? Oh, nothing special. The fact is that after having spent three months at my parents’, I’ve just come back home. My home. Well, with hubs and baby, of course. For those who still don’t know, I broke my leg and we all had to move to my parents’ for a while. That is till I was perfectly recovered. Not that I’m perfectly recovered now, but I dare say I’m ok. I walk!
After the sweet illustration for Lapo’s book I’m back to my old love: cooking. And I’m back with a warm, savory first course to cheer you up on a cold, rainy day: an orzotto, that is a risotto made with barley instead of rice. I’ve had this recipe in my for a long time, since I bought a pack of barley some three months ago (or even earlier, surely before I broke my leg). Making an orzotto is as simple as making risotto: only cooking times are slightly shorter. Well, for this orzotto I was inspired by a couple of recipes from Jamie’s Italy, Jamie Oliver’s book on Italian cuisine. Read More
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