To post or not to post?

I started writing this post after commenting on a blogging friend's post this morning, but it had really started forming in my mind last night when I was sorting through some pictures for my blog. I was wondering what I would write about today, what I should post. I had no recipe I considered post-worthy, no eye candy and I was also feeling a tad uninspired. The truth is, I wanted to be passed out in front of the TV, not sitting at a desk working. The kids were finally in bed and asleep and I felt like I was going through the motions of yet another daily chore.

Empty wash machine

Load wash machine

Empty dishwasher

Sort socks

Write names on 50 diapers for daycare

Edit pictures for blog

Wait, since when has my blog become a chore?

I love this blog, it is my newest born child. I nurture it, I think about it throughout the day and I look forward to spending time with it. It is my creative outlet, my space to be me and not somebody's mother or wife or colleague.

I think what happened is that I have been feeling a little overwhelmed lately. With the summer approaching quickly and the markets brimming with promise, filled with a variety of fruits and vegetables that we haven't seen in months, I feel like I should be cooking up a storm but I am not and this makes me feel frustrated. I feel like I never have time: time to make a decent meal, time to take a good picture, time to even get to the supermarket. I read about people who have cues of recipes to post and I feel like I am struggling to keep up and this dries up my creative juices.

Time is always the problem, it always has been. In the winter my blogging life was a rush to capture light. By the time I got home it was dark and the only meals I could photograph decently were the ones I made on the week end. Fine, I adjusted. I made a few good eats on Saturday and Sunday and wrote about them during the week. Now spring is here and I finally have the light (I know, that sounds like a sentence stolen from some Fantasy movie) but I never get home early enough to cook because playground season has started and we are often away on the week ends making even our weekly trip to the supermarket to stock up tricky.

Basically, what I am saying is that sometimes you have to stop, breathe and tell yourself to take it easy. Life is full of obligations and responsibilities and chores. Mine is about constantly rushing from one place to the next, feeling guilty at work because I have kids, feeling guilty with my kids because they are enrolled in each and every after-school and summer activity the school has to offer. So if it is Friday and I ain't got nothing to post or to tell the world, I won't post.

Because posting and blogging is supopsed to be fun, because there is always someone out there who has something interesting to say or bake if I don't, because posting is not my job and there are no deadlines (unless I choose them) and if I don't post for a week it is not the end of the world.

Sometimes you just need to sit back and recharge your batteries and follow the example of something as simple as my homemade vanilla extract. This baby is resting in a dark cool place and let me tell you, it is thriving.

Lesson learned.

Have a great weekend!

Insalata di riso - Italian rice salad

I take my bike to work all year long, rain or shine, but now is my favorite time of the year. When I ride to work at 7am it is still cool, the city is quiet and the sky is already blue. Yesterday, while I was riding down the newly-built bike lanes in the center (an effort made for the recent mayoral elections), I had to come to a screeching halt because a pidgeon was crossing the street on a pedestrian crossing. When I saw the bird in the distance I slowed down to give it time to notice me and fly off. But no, it just looked at me and then turned back and continued walking. The nerve, but I guess it had right of way!

Back to the summer, last year I mentioned that there are a few extremely typical Italian summer dishes, the kinds pretty much every household starts making as soon as the hot sun starts shining down on the peninsula. Insalata di riso, one of the most popular Italian dishes yet one of the least known abroad, is one of those and there are as many variations of this dish as there are families making it.

There are however some basic ingredients any insalata di riso must have and strangely enough, none of these are fresh produce, despite the season. What makes it a summer dish par excellence is that it is served cold. These ingredients are cheese, ham, franks, pickled vegetables, tuna. Once you have the basics, you can go crazy.

The cheese should be semi hard: Swiss, fontina or other usually depending on what your grandma used.

Franks: yup, good 'ole hot dogs, possibly best quality.

Ham, or prosciutto cotto. Some like it in cubes and some thinly sliced and then cut up (can you guess how I like it?) .

Tuna in oil is also a really important ingredient, but whether you keep the oil for added flavor is your call.

Pickled vegetables: usually pickles, pearl onions and artichoke hearts are a must, but many like to add other vegetables like peppers or mushrooms.

Some people add olives. I like the Spanish anchovy-filled ones. Most like capers.

Some even add fresh ingredients like tomatoes and you can of course substitute the rice with brown rice, barley or farro. You can make it with pretty much anything that suits your fancy, giving it an oriental kick or keeping it vegetarian. I however wanted to present you with the traditional version, so you can all feel a little Italian this summer.

There is no real recipe because it is up to you to decide what ingredients to use and how much of them to use. Just promise me one thing: try to buy best-quality ingredients because it makes all the difference in this kind of dish. I was never partial to this rice growing up because there are some pretty nasty versions out there, skimping on quality, an absolute no-no in my book when it comes to preserves and cured meats. I admit it, I get very easily grossed out put off by an unappetizing, weird looking chunk of ham or waxy, tasteless olives.

Basically, you boil some rice in water, you rinse it and let it cool and dry. In the meantime you chop up all the ingredients (to give you an idea I used a jar of each preserve, 2 medium sized cans of tuna, 3 frankfurters - no need to cook them - a nice wedge of Swiss cheese and about 8 thin slices of ham for approximately 500gr of rice) and then you mix them all into the rice. The rice should be rich, never dry, but you don't really need to add any seasoning as the saltiness should come from the ingredients and the water you boiled the rice with and the oil and vinegar from the preserves. Once it is ready, store it in the fridge until serving. It is a typical potluck, BBQ or picnic dish.

Jamie Oliver's curry

We spent most of Saturday backing up all of our digital photos on the new external hard drive we purchased and downloading tons of our old CDs onto my iPod. We have been meaning to do this for months, years actually, and somehow never got around to it. CDs and back-up DVDs fill entire drawers of our apartment. Isn't it weird that before all this technology we just had photographs and negatives, yet we did not live in constant fear of losing them? I mean, let's face it, paper is certainly more delicate then a hard drive, a DVD/CD or even the forerunner, the good 'ole floppy disk. Despite this, we never seemed worried about fires, burglars or a flood destroying all those special moments captured on film. Now I constantly think about what would happen if we lost all those precious mementos of our travels and our children growing up because of a theft or a simple tech problem. I still feel the need to print them out, because there is nothing like flipping through an actual photo album and because somehow the printed rectangle of paper seems safer than a small piece of plastic that contains my life.

So, anyhow, six hours later I was feeling pretty darn good about myself, until not one, but two girlfriends told me in rapid succession that they have two external hard disks: a portable one they take on their trips for safe keeping in case of theft or damage and to keep backing up whilst away from home and a larger one at home as their real back up.

So I am an old fart, there it is, plain and simple. I am not as savvy as I thought I was. I thought I was doing pretty well thanks to my techy husband, his knowledge and gifts. Thanks to my blog, my iPhone, my iPod, my Kindle, my digital cameras, plasma screens and so forth. I tweet, I Skype, I download Apps, I do FB. You name it, I've been there and done it. Or so I thought. The truth is, I was really only ahead of the game when I was 12, when I had to help my Nana set up her VCR, when I was a Space Invaders champ, when a Walk Man was the natural extension of my arm. I was still pretty much up there when I got my first Palm Pilot and snubbed my trustworthy Filofax, or when I could send a text message at the speed of light when most Americans didn't even own a cell phone yet. But now, I am my grandmother. Even my own mother is more high tech than I am these days. My father-in-law let me use his iPad last week end in Elba and my iPhone is his hand-me-down.

And there I was feeling good about my external hard drive and downloading the hundreds of CDs the rest of the world downloaded on their iPod about five years ago.

Another thing I was feeling good about was this curry.

I admit it, making curry is still new and exciting to me. Not cooking things with curry, I mean actually making it from scratch. It turns out it is pretty darn quick to make and easy too and I still can't get over the fact that I made this dish exclusively using household staples. Ok, so many of you are probably thinking turmeric isn't really a staple in their house, but believe me, if you stock up on the basic spices of Indian cuisine you can use them for endless recipes. They are pretty inexpensive (luckily this isn't the Middle Ages) and they keep for a long time if stored correctly. I came up with this great meal with a desperately empty fridge. Luckily I had a chicken breast in the freezer.

This curry is adapted from one of Jamie Oliver's many curry recipes. I know it is not the most authentic curry recipe, but Jamie has a way of making those of us who are not experts or who do not have an Indian mum feel a little less intimidated. I was missing a couple of the ingredients (lentils and red pepper) and kept it pretty mild for the kids, but it took only an hour to prep and cook and tasted fabulous.

But then again, maybe you have been making your own curry from scratch for years.

You will need a food processor or hand blender to make this.

Beer can chicken, Elba, awards and 7 facts

Last night I went to my college roomate's 40th birthday bash (don't even think about counting how old that makes me. I am still in my thirties...for now). It turned out to be one of those perfect evenings, the kind you cannot plan ahead, those parties where the vibe is just right, you know? I'm sure re-embracing old friends that I hadn't seen in way too long, the copious amounts of wine that were flowing and the high heels and party dresses contributed to making it special. And there was a young, handsome magician moving through the tables to entertain us who may or may not have cast a little spell, but in the end I'm pretty sure we make the magic when we are together. We did it back in the party days and we still do it now. Even the morning after is pretty much the same: too little sleep and a boulder where my head should be.

Here is what has changed: I could do it at twenty, I can't at forty thirty-something.

What I can do however is post a few shots from the island of Elba, an idea to roast your chicken differently, a few awards and 7 facts about me that you don't know, as per tradition.

 

 



A tiny seaside wedding we came across



Do you see the starfish decoration?

 

Remember when I made beer chicken a few weeks ago? Remember I mentioned that whilst googling recipes to make it I discovered something called beer can chicken? Well, if you don't, google the words chicken and beer, you will be inundated by directions on how to grill a chicken with a beer can stuck up its patootie. I do not own a BBQ and was thus quite disinterested until I read that you can make it in the oven too. My curiosity was piqued, I have to admit, so here are the results after reading a few of these recipes. The chicken was moist and the skin was out of this world, wonderfully crunchy and tasty, but we still prefer our go-to recipe for fall-of-the-bone tender meat.

Ingredients

1 chicken

1 beer can

rub or spices (optional)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Wash and dry the chicken (and the can of course) and then rub with your favorite combination of spices. Open the beer, pour out up to half the can and punch a few extra holes in it (I didn't...oops!). You can add some of the rub into the beer if you are so inclined. Place the beer can in a baking dish and arrange the chicken over it. Put it on the lowest rack of your oven. I suggest you cover the top of the bird with some tin foil for the first hour of cooking so it doesn't burn. After the first 1/2 hour, lower heat to 350°F and roast for approximately another 1 1/2 hours. When it is ready, take out and let rest for about 10 minutes. Then, using an oven mit and tongs or a fork, separate the chicken from the can. You can use the juices and beer to make gravy.

 

I was honored to receive a shower of awards from my blogging friends Pola, an Italian living in the States, and Moomser, an American at heart living in Italy. Thank you girls, I always look forward to reading your new posts. To honor these awards, you know it is traditional to write 7 facts about yourself that others may not know and to award other bloggers. I always like to try to pass them on to new blogs I have recently discovered and enjoy, but I love all of you (you know who you are). So here goes:

1. I am a freckle face. I tend to forget about it and do not see my freckles when I look into the mirror, but it is something you probably would mention to describe me.

2. I do not nap. Ever.

3. I prefer savory to sweet, I will choose a slice of prosciutto or a runny cheese over a piece of cake any day but I cannot imagine a world without chocolate (and related items such as brownies) and ice cream.

4. I am definitely a chocolate ice cream kinda gal as opposed to a vanilla one.

5. I got my driver's licence when I was 8 months pregnant. I actually got my US licence when I was 16 but growing up in Italy I never got a chance to drive automatic cars so it doesn't really count.

6. I studied law. I surprise myself everytime I remember this.

7. I love shoes and tend to buy sparkly make up that I don't wear.

I would like to pass these awards on to my latest discoveries:

Dinners and Dreams - delicious Maroccan recipes and beautiful photos

Sugar Plum - a girl with a dream: pastry school

Lucky number 13 - about motherhood, in lovely words and photos

Scary Mommy - the truth about being a mom, she says what you are thinking

Diary of a Ladybird - an oldie for me really, but she is back with something special baking in the oven

The Winter Guest - my latest discovery

Miri Leigh - fun, informational videos and lots of ideas

How to make your own, healthy tortilla chips and the holy trinity: guacamole, salsa & pico de gallo

It is cold and grey and somewhat rainy today, nothing like the beautiful hot summer weather we enjoyed on the island of Elba. We walked to sandy beaches in our flip flops, smothered ourselves in sunblock and ran squealing into cold water. My daughter spent so much time in it her lips were blue and her teeth were chattering. She struck up conversations in knee-deep water with anybody who would listen and even with those who didn't, while my son suspiciously eyed the cold waves the first day only to fall head over heel in love with the turquoise, crystal clear sea on the following one. The sand and water were such endless sources of entertainment for our children that we were momentarily forgotten. Dare I say that for the first time in five years, my husband and I actually lay on the beach chatting, watching them and almost relaxing? Is this the shape of things to come? Will the word vacation actually regain its original meaning?

Yes, that is lemon. I was out of lime

Anyhow it was so nice to just hang out and bask in the sun and be spoiled by the company of my inlaws and their great food and wine that the 18+ hours of bumper to bumper traffic and missed ferry boats to get there and back easily melted away. Thankfully we have never experienced the horror stories of children screaming and crying the whole trip or getting sick in the car, we are extremely lucky that way so the two full days of travelling were totally worth the other two days spent in a summer idyll.

I will post some pictures as soon as I get my act together but in the meantime here is the most classic of summer snacks. Most of you have your special recipe for guacamole or salsa, I am sure, so what I am really aiming to post about are these tortilla chips. I got so excited when I red Andrea's tip on how to make your own at home, greatly reducing your fat and salt intake. And you can't post about tortilla chips and not mention the Mexican triumvirate, or holy trinity if I may, can you?

Hello summer! Popsicles (with a secret ingredient)

It is a long holiday week end here in Italy and as you read this, we should be on the island of  Elba. My fingers are crossed while writing (figuratively speaking of course) that the weather will be decent, in the hope of seeing those sweet feet covered in sand again, of taking a swim in the probably-still-freezing Mediterranean, of having gelato while strolling down the Darsena looking at boats. If I will be doing just that as you read, then it is popsicle time.

Before I had kids I admit I had sort of forgotten about these guys, but now if you ask me popsicles are the best invention ever. Why?

1. They are good

2. They are healthy: fruit, yogurt, honey... hello???

3. They are a nutritious snack disguised as junk food

4. They use up leftovers, especially fruit a little past its prime

5. You can make a million different combinations

6. You can make fun, alcohol-based grown up versions

7. Kids always love them
8. They are the perfect emergency snack you can always keep in your freezer

9. They are refreshing

10. They are pretty

So what are you waiting for? Go crazy!

I usually use yogurt as a dairy base and have used milk in the past. This time I had some left over condensed milk and worked a treat. I will be using it again for sure, the kids loved it. When I am not using sweetened condensed milk, I usually add in a few tablespoons of honey.

Ingredients

1 small basket strawberries

a bunch of mint

1 banana

1/2 cup condensed milk

Put the cut up fruit and the other ingredients into the container of a stand up mixer or in a blender and process until smooth. Freeze.

Nigella's moonblush tomatoes - the stuff of fairies

My daughter loves prancing around the house with wings on her back and a magic wand in hand, turning every corner of our appartment into a magic, enchanted world. She has made me endless potions to drink and my son has been turned into any mythical creature imaginable.

Perhaps those potions finally started wearing off on me, because I have a secret to tell. Did I ever mention I have magic powers? And because I am not a selfish fairy, I decided to share my magic with you, like Nigella did before me. Today I am giving you a secret ingredient that is so enchanted, it makes itself. With this ingredient you will be able to make endless quick, easy and magically tasty dishes.

How is that for a little magic?

Grab a wand (we have a lots of pink and sparkly ones if you need one), follow these steps and you will be able to cast the same spell. Do this at dusk, using nothing more than tomatoes and moonlight, the essential, magical touch.

In the morning you will find the sweetest, tastiest little red gems you have ever had. If you make these on the week end, you will be able to use them for lovely, super quick recipes all week. I made a farro salad with mint and moonblush tomatoes on Sunday and yesterday I baked some salmon filets smothered in these. I have used them in salad with feta or any other goat cheese or mozzarella. They make a wicked bruschetta and they work wonders on pasta with a drizzle of oil, some Parmesan cheese and a little pepper.

The possibilities are endless, why don't you suggest some?

Ingredients
500gr vine tomatoes or other smaller varieties (but you can cut up larger tomatoes too)
1tsp salt
1/4tsp sugar
1tsp dried thyme/oregano or other herb
olive oil

Preheat your oven to 220°C/425° F. Cut the tomatoes into half, sprinkle with the ingredients, gently toss to cover and place on a lined baking tray cut side up. Put the tray in the oven and switch off immediately. Leave in the oven all night, without ever opening.