Childhood Apples

Two beautiful Lithuanians spent some time with us in Rome and cooked up this delish dish from their childhood. I'll be writing down the accurate ingredients + process soon. Meanwhile, enjoy this heart-warming treat.

In other news, finishing a lot of video projects plus upcoming skillshare online class on creating video portraits here. Sign up and enjoy 15% off with code EUNOIA. Video trailer for that will be coming soon. :)

Rawventures: Strawberry Smoothie

Hello, I'm back again with a little spring offer (I've been busy, still am but heck this one's too good to keep to myself), an easy super delicious Strawberry smoothie. Its so easy and simple your brain can just sit out and bask in the sun. Ok maybe a few steps do require thinking (like button pressing) but anyway, here it goes:

Picnic at Fiastra

 

Its finally warm enough to go out for a picnic. Made use of some mason jars (easy containers) for Bulgur with grass (I don't know what this vegetable is called) mushrooms and sundried tomatoes and another quick bread with leeks and broccoli. Everything fits in this fruit crate.
Ahh spring.

Narciso: Pasticceria di 3 Generazione

Recipe: Avocado-Kraut Salad with Greens

Snowstorm coming says the news and while today the snow went from fluffy to melty, its dreadfully only the beginning. Its not that bad, I think/hope. Just not much of a home-buddy and all this time cooped in makes me wish I was a yeti frolicking in winter wonderland.

Anyhoo, I felt like I needed a good dose of greens so we had some lightly steamed greens and a deliciously spicy Avocado-Kraut salad. Sounds like an episode of Bizzare Foods you say? Just think: pickled veggies/fruis. Its really good, no joke. *wink wink* Plus sauerkraut is packed full of good stuff and if you can get a hold of them in your local microbiotic shop/center or whole foods supermarket (or make your own) you can get creative and mix it in your salads or as a condiment, side-dish -- endless possibilities really.


Spicy Avocado-Kraut Salad 

1 Avocado. Carve a grid and scoop into a bowl.
4-5 Cherry Tomatoes chopped.
1/4 cup chopped spring onions or leeks (which I had)
3 tbsps or scoops of Sauerkraut (mine is a mix of cabbage and apple)
1 tsp of Tamari (or soysauce or salt to taste)
dash of paprika (a bit more for me coz I like the flavor) and chili/peperoncino
Juice of 1 lemon

Instructions: Mix all together. Let sit for a bit for flavors to mix well before serving.


Savory Greens 

4 big green Savoy Cabbagge leaves chopped into rectangle bits
1 bunch of Broccoli florets chopped roughly
1 red onion chopped
2 big garlic cloves chopped
2-3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
salt to taste
squeeze of lemon juice and dash of chili/peperoncino (optional)

Instructions: Steam greens over boiling water for about 5-7mins or until it turns bright green and slightly wilted. In a hot pan fry chopped onions for a bit until it turns slightly brown on the sides, add salt (I dont use very much, maybe half a tsp) and chili (if you want. i do, i like it hot.) and then add chopped garlic and cook for a minute before turning off the fire, adding steamed greens and mix all together with a squeeze of lemon (if you want.). Serve.

Happy foodie.

First Bread. Snowed In.

Eh. 4 days snowing, 4 meters of snow nearby Macerata, 4 reasons why its cool (and not just cold):

1. Torta Salata con Cime di Rape e Cipolla (Brocolli Rabe and Onion Quick Bread adapted from this recipe I found through pinterest. substituted some ingredients and added cumin, tumeric, ajwain seeds, lets just say its more spicy indian style) my first bread attempt though its a cheat because its "quick" and not 4 hours plus kneading, the complete bread story is yet to come.
2. Watching classic black and white films like Red Beard by Akira Kurosawa.
3. Sharing the couch with the whole family (the three of us, that is). Keeping warm and close.
4. Witnessing the strangeness of things like how snow accumulated on the laundry lines - and so thick too.

Also, happy happy HAPPY birthday to the awesomest embroider, artist, woman hero Smallest Forest. I have yet to write her an official fan-post. very soon though. :)

Recipe: Perssimon Banana Muffins

Visual learners unite! This here is an experiment in both design and baking. With all the Perssimons we 

brought home from Roberto's, I thought I'd bake some before they rot. My first experiment was a hit. I didn't write down anything so this next batch was an improvisation of the first. Still yummy good. Also, Jillian asked if I could share some Perssimon recipes so here it is.

Anyway, to close this:

- bake in muffin/cupcake pan on 180C or 356F for 15-20 mins 

- yields 6-12 depending on the size of your pans

Enjoy and share your experiment if you give this a try. :)

Lunch in the Country

Last weekend our friends Roberto and Patricia invited us over for lunch at their country house. Despite the cold I was all YAY! I love Patricia's cooking!! hehehe.. Lets not even begin to discuss about food this cold wintery season (THAT and breast-feeding a growing 7monther - FAM..ISHED). The best part of lunch was, not only, the Risotto con Ortica e Peperoncino (warming and spicy, mmm) but the fact that most everything came fresh out of their vegetable garden.

How I'd love to have my own little Orto and grow our food, interesting varieties of veg and fruit such as those you'll see here. The house is truly carina, small yet bright and cozy. Roberto's handiwork.

Chance Encounters: 7

Some time ago on a walk around Tolentino we saw this little shop with stacks of this really dense kind of giant donut/bagel. A woman behind the counter was talking to this old woman in a dialect that was incomprehensible (a sort of italian with a lot of djshhh shha shhe - can't really explain it throught text). But anyway, she had us try this thing called Pizze di Natale and true enough it was dense with lots of walnuts, figs, raisins and a thick dough mixed with some liqoure. A local treat, a very delectable one.

Black and White Truffles

Some weeks ago we went out looking for a Sagra dei Funghi (Mushroom Festival. ehem) and found a Sagra del Tartufo instead. Not bad considering that Truffles are such gems (worth gold especially the white ones), a flavor you cannot mistake and a taste so divine. Amandola is the right spot. Set high up beside the Sybilline Mountains, you can tell with its lush greenery that many treaures are bound to be discovered and not just in the shape of Tartufi but also of.... cheese. Mozarella Buffala. The creamiest white blob in the whole world.

In little tables, truffle hunters display their finds. Maybe a small basket of black ones and a handful of white ones and a weighing scale - perhaps the most high tech device they carry (gotta count all those teeny milligrams). Occasionally the dog sniffer meister sits under, the real hunter BTW. Of couse we could just watch and sniff.

Saw the first of the Presepe-s (nativity scene) which is originally a tradition from Naples. A nice preview of what is to come. weeehihi

Da Maria Trattoria Ponterosso

I never imagined a fish restaurant to look like a witches' tea room. Everything from the wall hangings to the chandeliers was either symbolic mystic or frou frou, a combination realized completely here in Maria's Trattoria. Her food exists on a different plane entirely (NOT frou frou), simple yet divine rustic cooking. Fresh fish and some local fare like a polenta fritata with clam meat and salad greens with freshly made olive oil. How did her trattoria land in the lists of must-visit trattoria's in Italy (surely its not the interior design)? Its in the fine selection of the best and freshest ingredients. No need to embellish something when its already so good no? 

Chance Encounters: 2

We stopped by at La Tazza Ladra (The Cup Thief) for a caffè though I don't really drink coffee (shameful, I know, in the land of espresso) so I usually get cappuccino con l'orzo (roasted barley "cappuccino"). Despite this the bar guy made it a work of art - with a drizzle of chocolate. Its not like I ordered something special. This is pretty normal fare, but this one, this was really nice. No added cost, no tourist fee either, just plain goodness. Thanks for this man.

Potato Cakes, Guacamole and Salsa

Its getting cold here. Got the sniffles already. Drinking lots of fresh juice, stocking up on this season's best fruit and veg, mmm.. Anyhoo here is a nice veg dinner for any kind of season.

Potato Cakes
Ingredients:

• 3 large potatos
• some extra virgin olive oil for frying
• 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
• 1/4 cup grated pecorino cheese or leave out and increase salt by a tsp
• 1 or 2 tablespoons of milk or leave out
• 1 egg whiskedù
• 1 tsp powdered garlic or omit
• handful of parsley chopped

Instructions:

1. peel and chop potatoes. boil in pot of water for about 20 minutes or until soft/mushy.
2. drain, transfer in a bowl and mash.
3. mix in milk, pecorino, salt, chopped parsley and whisked egg. mix well.
4. fry a spoonful of the mix (carefully flattening it out as you scoop it on) on a non-stick pan with some olive oil in medium heat. 
5. wait 2-4 minutes or until it browns a bit before flipping on the other side. pronto!

Guacamole
There are so many ways to make guacamole. Its super easy what I did here. OR check out an old guac experiment here.

1. Halve 2 medium avocados, remove seed
2. trace a grid with a knife and scoop out layer by layer on a bowl (so you get nice even cubes)
3. add juice of half a big lemon, grate some skin off the lemon (zest), salt to taste, dash of hot pepper powder, and some chopped fresh red onion. mix

Salsa
Another popular condiment and again, so many ways to make it. Here, my simple version

1. 8-10 of those ripe small salad tomatoes. chopped finely or pulsed in a blender/processor.
2. stick of celery minced
3. half a medium red onion minced
4. mix all together and serve

Plating the whole thing is easy with so much color and texture, its fun to see and even better to EAT. heeee
btw, used some of the free labels from PuglyPixel. ;)

Cycle of Almonds

I've grown increasingly fond of eating and experimenting with raw food that I've recently invested in a dehydrator to broaden the possibilities. I decided to do a whole cycle of almonds starting with almond nut mylk, an easy enough to do project. Just soak 1-2 cups of almond nuts in water overnight. Next morning, drain soak water and rinse nuts (they'll double in size).

Put in blender. Add water a bit above the level of almonds (or more if you want the mylk to be less dense).

Blend and then squeeze mylk through a sieve or cheesecloth or nut milk bag. Store in the fridge or enjoy it straight away with some honey. I made "chocolate milkshake" by blending some mylk with banana, some carob, maca, lucuma and a dash of cinnamon.

The pulp left from the bag I then used to make dehydrated cookies! (even Fra got excited)

The recipe for this was based on raw nut bread but I omitted and added different things (raisins, dried grated coconut, flax seeds, etc) and didnt even bother to write anything down so I'll just have to try it again next time and then repost the recipe. :) Anyway, I made 2 kinds: one huge monster cookie and a batch of smaller regular cookies. The bigger denser one was more chewy. =D And boy was it a full breakfast!

Dinner Date at the Balcony

Spending the whole day indoors working, cleaning, and whatnot, I thought having dinner at the balcony would be fresh change of atmosphere.

Its a small space but with the use of a yoga mat and some pretty fabric, we made ourselves the guests of our first outdoor restaurant. :)

We had a big lunch so for dinner was a simple salad with heirloom tomatoes, basil, celery, and a mix of greens together with lemon tahini dressing. On the side we had some samosas and veggie balls.

Swallows all over the sky around sunset.

Rawventures: Veggie Sushi with Lemon Tahini dressing

More recipes? Did I just do all this in one go? Answer: No. I happen to take pictures of most of my experiments and come back to them looong after (more like a month or so until the camera's memory card goes full). Then I have to get rid of it by releasing it into the World Wild Web (fly free my little ducklings, fly freee).  ok, here it goes.



Veggie Sushi Wushu! What better way to make use of whats left of your vegetables than to roll it up with Nori and dip into something YUM. If its getting really hot where you are, as it is here, this'll cool you down without sacrificing spice and flavor. Also, when was the last time you enjoyed freshly grated carrots? Its surprisingly refreshing, crunchy and sweet. Its easy to make magic with these things, seriously.

Ingredients:
- 2 or 3 medium-sized carrrots grated (the amount will have to depend on how much sushi you want to make)
- 2 stalks of celery with leaves, finely chopped
- half cup chopped spring onions
- 2-3 nori/seaweed sheets
*note: obviously you can mix in other vegetables too like grated radish or beets or greens - experiment!



For the Lemon Tahini dressing, mix:
- juice of half a lemon (about 2-3 tbsps of it)
- 2 tbsps tahini (its sesame seed paste/butter. go get a bottle now, you'll love it. :)
- 2 tbsps nama shoyu or soy sauce
- dash of paprika
- dash of chilli powder OR wasabi
- light drizzle of agave syrup or honey (optional)

Process:
1. Ready your sushi assembly line. Lay out your nori sheet, long side up. Fill and layer your veggies.



2. Top with your Lemon Tahini dressing and start rolling. I'm no master of this so its normal to have irregular bumps and spaces. Seal with a bit of water or oil on the edges of your nori sheet.



3. Chop, serve, enjoy.

Our dedicated tester finishing his melon quickly before I eat all the sushi 

Easy Herby Mushroom Sandwich

My mental name-generator isn't working so well today. I guess we'll just have to settle with Herby Mushroom sandwich. Hey Herb, how ya doin'?
Anyway, this is a super easy quick veg sandwich that'll make you happy and smiling in a matter of minutes - those precious MINUTES.

We will need:
- handful of fresh mushrooms sliced not too thinly
- half cup of sliced eggplant cut to fit your sandwich
- handful of fresh basil leaves
- slices of fresh tomato
- whole wheat bread slices
- Balsamic vinaigrette (simply mix 2tbsps of olive oil with 2tbsps of Balsamic vinegar, add a bit of agave syrup or honey - whatevers available, and mix. set aside)

Process:
1. in a non-stick pan or grill, lightly toast your sliced mushrooms and eggplant until they sweat a bit.




2. dip your toasty mushrooms and eggplant into your Balsamic vinaigrette. have them sit there for a little bit, absorb those juices, then assemble on to your slice of bread.

3. layer in some tomato slices and top with some fresh basil leaves. Enjoy.