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.

Lime tart and Milan's hidden corners

Summer arrived a few months early. During the week end temperatures reached 33°C, and I saw a thermometer in the sun that read 39°C! This is not natural, not even in the Mediterranean. So we spent most of our week end outdoors, picnicking in the park, taking walks and basking in the beautiful sunshine.

Milan, not always considered a gem among the many beautiful Italian towns, is called the city of hidden gardens, terraces and courtyards.

Here are a few corners off the beaten track (for tourists at least).

The Idroscalo was originally built for hydroplanes in the Twenties. It is now a recreational area for the city of Milan.

 

We also went to Villa Necchi Campiglio. Did any of you see the movie "I am Love" starring Tilda Swinton (2009)? The villa, which was said to be the real star of the movie, was built in the Thirties and is an example of Italian proto-modernist architecture, with stunning interiors, that also boasts an imposing art collection. Access to the gardens is free and it is a nice place to sit and read a newspaper while sipping a cappucino or enjoying lunch at the café by the tennis court.

The Necchis didn't have it bad, with a private garden, tennis court and swimming pool right in the center of Milan. 



Discrete garbage can

Villa Necchi Campiglio
via Mozart, 14
Milano
tel. 02.76340121

And did you know that just a few steps away, there are flamingos year-round in the garden of Villa Invernizzi? Whenever we walk by, my kids love to press their noses agains the gates and look at them.

On Saturday we went to a friends' house for a housewarming party. Inspired by the almost florescent green leaves exploding even in the most grey corners of this city, I decided to make a lime tart. Out came my Joy of Cooking, my already open pack of Digestive cookies and that bag of limes that had been patiently sitting in my fridge waiting for my attention. I had two cans of condensed milk in my cupboard from another dessert I made a while back. I was set to go. Isn't it the best feeling when you make a great dessert using things you already have? I just love it.

Notes to self: do not bake a cake that involves whipped cream at the height of summer (or in the first decade of April, like I could've known...). The whipped cream started melting while I was taking pictures.

Chocolate-dipped coconut macaroons

I don't think I have ever baked with coconut before. I don't know what posessed me to buy a bag of shredded coconut at the supermarket the other day. I am sure I had probably read a post somewhere on a blog, so I blame one of you for sending me subliminal messages to "buy coconut", but for the life of me I don't remember that recipe.

I like coconut as much as the next person. I have childhood memories of coconut that take me back to tropical beaches. My dad used to buy me virgin Pina Coladas when we spent Christmas together in the Carribean. I remember drinking coconut water out of the fruit in a little fishing boat in an atoll in the Indian Ocean. The fisherman then cracked it open and showed me how to scrape out the still-tender pulp. Coconut reminds me of disco days in the '80s and Batida de Coco (no, I am not that old, there is simply no drinking age in Italy). It reminds me of boarding school. There was a glass-panelled room equipped with vending machines where students were allowed to smoke. It was freezing, but we spent many an afternoon looking out onto the snow-capped mountains, chatting about boys and sharing a cigarette between five of us, nibbling on Bounty bars.  

Nowadays my coconut consumption usually involves curries and soups and we always have some coconut milk stashed away in our cupboards. But what to do with shredded, dry coconut? I started looking for recipes and was all too excited to find out that you needed condensed milk to make coconut macaroons. I had had an open jar in my fridge for ages (I don't remember what I used that for either of course) and couldn't get myself to either dispose of it or use it. I mean, with the insanely high sugar content, it couldn't really go bad right? That is why it is used during wars and in hot climates, no?

When I realized my coconut/condensed milk ratio was exactly right, I knew I had to make these. I could even finally use up some of the egg whites that piss me off every time I see them in my freezer because I never use them and they take up precious space I had so diligently stored in my freezer! I threw together the few ingredients required, felt pretty darn good about myself and my efforts to avoid waste, and made these little treats that help you forget you are in the middle of a wet winter with every bite.

The ultimate oatmeal fudge bars

                                       

On my daily blog crawl yesterday I noticed an oatmeal frenzy has hit the globe, from the States to Europe to New Zealand. I must have been hit without noticing, because on Friday I was on a quest to find rolled oats, not as easy a task as I though it would be. After searching a couple of neighborhood supermarkets, I finally came across them at our small local Asian store, of all places.

Once again, I was inspired by a recipe posted by a fellow food blogger, Ellen from Like Mothers Like Daughters.

WARNING: this dessert, like my brownie recipe, must be made ONLY for get-togethers, picnics, parties, brunches & BBQs, in other words for large congregations, so that you are sure you will not be taking home leftovers. It is so calorie-laden yet delicious, you absolutely DO NOT want it lying around your kitchen for hours days tempting you at every turn.

Stock up on ample amounts of sugar, chocolate, butter and condensed milk and get to work!