Tuna and swordfish ceviche

The other day I finally made it to the hairdressers. I was greatly in need, my hair was extremely grateful.

Saying I dislike going to the hairdresser is an understatement. What seems to be a national passtime here in Italy, especially among the older gals, is something I dread. I mean, when you have a job and kids, the last thing you want to do is waste away your precious Saturday sitting at the hairdressers fighting throngs of other women. I can think of so many other things to do in those hours. Like stuffing some of the clothes overflowing from my laundry basket into the washing machine. Or running an errand. Or making a meal in daylight that I can actually post about. Or, so much better, spending the afternoon at the park with my family and maybe eating some sushi for lunch. Even pulling the fuzz balls off of my wool sweater has more appeal to be honest.

Besides hating to wait around for hours even if I have an appointment, I feel like a Christian in the Colosseum fighting off lions the girls insistently offering manicures, pedicures, special treatments, hair masks or their $50,00 bottles of shampoo and conditioner.

Not to mention going to a decent hairdresser is an expensive affair and you usually purposely mess up what you just paid for with your own hands the minute you turn the corner. And that on your walk home you realize every other woman has your hue of golden blond with warm highlights. I mean, is it just here that every woman over sixty seems to have the same puffed up bad hair color with blonde highlights that look like they were painted on by a road line marking machine?

Unfortunately the older you get the harder it is to walk around in your bed hair and to be taken seriously in life. Another unfortunate thing is that when you turn *beep* you have  a new problem to deal with, or rather a new color. White.

Why do men "grey"? Why do they get to call their white hair appealing things like pepper and salt or speckled? Why do George Clooney and Richard Gere just get sexier?

When a woman gets white hair, it is the beginning of the end. It is all downhill from there. They even dedicated a whole episode of Sex and the City to Samantha's discovery down south.

And why is the only white hair I have located exactly on the top of my head, where my hair parts, sticking up obnoxiously for the whole world to see, just in case people hadn't already noticed its annoying, wiry, thick texture. Couldn't I have more, but strategically hidden on the sides, under layers of youthful  hair? Not me, nuh-uh. My scalp seems to be saying: we ain't got much, so we might as well boast it.

So this is the story of when I went to the hairdressers to hide those little suckers and for the first time (because it wasn't a Saturday and I wasn't in a rush and because I had said no enough times) decided to go with the flow and have the half hour treatment to pamper my hair with nutrients and such.

And lo and behold I discovered a new world. The lady I was assigned to put on Barbra Streisand from an IPad lying next her station, she pulled out a foot rest from the chair I was sitting in and pushed a button that got the rollers going in what I discovered was a massage chair (I instantly felt like Sally hanging out with Harry in The Sharper Image). She then proceeded to massage a personalized concoction into my hair and I decided to enjoy it for the few mintues it lasted.

Little did I know the massage would last the whole half hour of hair mask. The woman massaged my head, my neck, my shoulders, my face. She even massaged my ear lobes! Who even knew ear lobes liked massages? Well, let me tell you, they do. 

When it was over, not only did the camouflaged white hair make me look 5 years younger, I also felt a decade younger. Lady, why didn't you just tell me I would get a free massage with my hair treatment???

Because I am still feeling good, and because I am trying to improve my eating habits and lose a few pounds these days, my recipe today is a healthy and tasty dish that is good for the body and soul.

Ceviche, as I am sure most of you know, is a Central-South American seafood dish prepared cooking the fish in citrus juice, usually lime, instead of heat. It is often accompanied by fresh cilantro (coriander), chili peppers and raw vegetables like onions, avocado etc. I left out the heat factor for my kids and used tomatoes, small green peppers, cucumbers and chives to make it as refreshing and light as possible. I also added a tablespoon of dried unsweetened coconut and a pinch of banana chipotle salt from  Farm Candy to give it a tropical hint and a teeny touch of heat. You can really play around with ingredients and quantities, so I am only giving you guidelines. Use any vegetable that appeals to you, or none for that matter, choose your favorite citrus (I am partial to lime), pick any fish you like but make sure it is very fresh.

This will make a great appetizer served with some toasted bread or tortilla chips or a healthy salad for lunch.

Summer tunaloaf

Yesterday I really felt the passing of time, like sand slipping through my fingers, unstoppable. You probably think it is because I am turning *beep* in a couple of weeks. Or because every muscle in my body is killing me after running that extra mile yesterday morning. But that is not it, although come to think of it I feel even older now. That darn sand is slipping way too quickly!

The reason is simple. Yesterday my first child started school. Her career really began when she was barely one and after years of daycare, kindergarden, preschool, summer school - you name it, she went - she is quite the little trooper. But yesterday was the big day, first grade.

I had packed some Kleenex into my bag along with my camera because I have become more weepy than a weeping willow these days but ended up not using it. That however does not mean it was not an emotional day: it actually turned out to be more so than I expected, at a much deeper level. It made me re-examine my life, where I am, where I am coming from and where I am headed. It made me realize that although I feel like a girl at heart, younger generations perceive me as a lady.

Lady, you have a child in school.

I tried not to think about it too much over the summer and only really focused a little last week when I went to buy a backpack and pencil box. By Sunday I was feeling a little nervous and doing my best to hide it, going on and on to my daughter about how big she is, how she will soon be reading and writing, what an exciting time she had ahead of her. When I tucked her in I told her it was ok to feel a little scared, that each and every child would be nervous the next morning. I also told her to remember that to them she was a scary stranger just like they were to her and she giggled and said "Mommy, that's impossible, I am a very sweet girl!". She had been pretty nonchalant about the whole thing for weeks and I wondered how much she was acting excited for our sake and how much she really understood what was happening. I mean, until you've been to school you really don't know what you are getting yourself into, right?

So yesterday she woke up, we took some pictures and set off.


That is when the throbbing began, deep inside my chest. All I could see when I looked at her was a huge, bouncing backpack and little blonde locks sticking out from the top. She was excited and her excitement grew as she found her old friends from last year and they assembled in a squealing group hug. All nervousness was forgotten on her side and I barely saw her for the next 10 minutes. Then a teacher came out and told us to assemble in the courtyard to form the classes. I felt butterflies in my stomach and a cold, little hand slip into mine. In a second I experienced all her anxiety, fear and expectation, I could almost feel her heart thumping in her little ribcage, like a frightened little bird's. I just wanted to protect her, to fold her into my arms and hold her tight. But when it was her turn, she walked right over to her new teachers and classmates without glancing back and up the big stairway they went. By the time us parents followed and reached her classroom she was sitting in the front row with a girl she didn't know instead of choosing an old friend. That's my girl. When we left she was smiling and whispering and comparing pencil cases and I knew she would be fine.

When I picked her up a few hours later I took her out for a special lunch, just the two of us and we both enjoyed the luxury of a week day together. By the evening we were all tired, emotionally drained and in need of a comforting meal. Comfort food in our repertoire is usually hearty food - not really fitting for the last throes of summer. Until now.

Here is a recipe for a summer meatloaf made with pantry staples from a friend and colleague, something most kids will enjoy too. My son had two huge slices, but then again I did watch him down 4 hotdogs (minus the buns) at a BBQ this summer. It is simple but took a little more effort/time than I had imagined to assemble. The thing I hadn't taken into account was the cooling process, which takes longer than you would expect. So give yourself plenty of time to make it. It is a great meal to prepare a day ahead, to bring as a potluck or picnic dish or as an office meal and it gets better as the days pass.

When it has cooled completely, slice and drizzle with some olive oil, a little lemon juice and lots of freshly ground black pepper. I was in a rush and we like grainy texture in our home so I kept it quite rustic, but you can easily process the ingredients to get a smoother texture. There are endless variations: you could add in some mustard or throw in some green beans (keeping them whole) for a Niçoise effect. Let me know what you did with yours.

Perfect Summer Pantry Pasta with red peppers, tuna and olives

Summer can get tricky when there are two working parents in a family.

Many children here leave town for a good part of three months to spend time with grandparents at the sea, in the mountains or in the country, while parents or fathers stay in town to work. Grandparents here are a very popular form of free 24/7 year round babysitting and nobody seems to think much of packing off multiple children to their elderly parents, who take care of them without a complaint for months on end.

Our parents don't do the 24/7 thing, whether for health reasons, distance or simply because hello, they have their own lives + should enjoy their golden years and their grandchildrens' occasional presence + spoil them rotten and leave the dirty task of parenting to the parents already! As much as we would ideally love for the abovementioned to kidnap our kids for weeks on end and free us of the worry of how to organize yet another summer in the city and enjoy multiple dates on week nights, we are realistic and totally believe that it is wrong and should not be.

To be truthful, things have luckily been changing noticeably in the past years, with August no longer being that month where everything is closed in the city (no tumbleweed rolling down the streets anymore!) and more and more women working alongside their spouses. The city and schools offer summer acitivities for children all through August, something quite unheard of until recently. If you ask me, July and August have almost become pleasant, relaxing months to be in Milan, this summer in particular, where the weather has been extraordinarily good and cool. We almost feel priviledged to be here.

There are however a couple of factors to deal with, no matter how well you actually know you are coping. The first one is that atavic, irrational feeling of guilt all parents live with, or at least all working mothers (yeah, sure, it makes us more accomplished women, better moms blablabla but truth be told, most of us don't really have a choice anyway). And then there is the fact that I (as also my husband) was a priviledged child who travelled and spent several months away from home every summer (chaperoned by a balanced mix of grandmothers, nannies and parents).  

As a result, to compensate, we have been away pretty much every weekend this summer, trying to give our kids concentrated shots of the seaside, the mountains and the country. We have been alternating these short trips with some stints away for our oldest with F's family. The little one is still too small and too much work. Luckily he doesn't understand yet and still prefers being with Mommy and Daddy for now.

The result is short weeks, where Thursday has become Packing Evening (I never cease to be surprised at the amount of things you need to take for the under-6 category, even for just 2 days) and Monday has become Unpacking/ Laundry Evening. This means very little time to cook and even less time for foodshopping (thus an empty fridge).

This is where a pasta like this comes in handy. All pantry staples except for some fresh peppers, which you can pick up at any corner supermarket. Not bad, eh? It is very quick and so flavorful it will make your taste buds sing. Go on, make it tonight. Tomorrow is Packing Night again.

Recipe adapted from here, a wonderful source for many tasty recipes.

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.

Elba part 6 - Of bread and panzanella elbana



Marciana Marina

 



Italy is not famous for its bread. Don't get me wrong, there are many excellent regional breads, several different qualities. But usually when you think bread you think France and its crusty baguette or Germany and its pumpernickel and whole grain or nutty breads.

The other day we were walking through Marina Marciana, a quaint little town on the northern shore of the island and a little, pretty whitewashed bread store caught my eye in the central piazza. In the windows were the most beautiful crostate (tarts made with jam). Their peach crostata especially intrigued me as Elba peaches are some of the best I have ever tasted.

In I went; the walls were decorated with bread sculptures and the shelves were covered in pretty loaves sprinkled with sea salt and herbs. I decided to buy the crostata (yes, the place turned out to be a tourist trap. The cake was good, don't get me wrong, but not good enough to justify its price). But buying the cake was the real experience. You know what I mean? Does that happen to you too?

Fifteen-minute cold, rice-stuffed tomatoes

These days my cooking solely involves opening and closing the fridge door and a lot of chopping. I barely glance towards my old friend the oven and even the stove has seen better days. I love you both dearly, I do, but I just can't get myself to add heat to heat. And so yes, I present you with yet another summer dish, with the promise of many roasts, soups and pies to come.

This is a 15-minute recipe because that is how long it takes the rice to cook. I did the prepping, chopping and mixing while feeding the baby, checking up every couple of minutes on my pre-schooler in the tub and setting the table. So it is extremely quick and easy, which is what I like and what this blog is all about. Ideas for dinner on a crazy week day.

Vitello tonnato, summer pot luck and other digressions

Remember how a few weeks ago I mentioned in one of my posts that tuna salad is not a staple summer dish here? In Italy, whose Mediterranean waters are renown for tuna fishing? Come on, I kept thinking, there has to be a summer dish with tuna in it...

That got me thinking about summer recipes in general and how they often differ from country to country. The concept of eating foods according to the seasons has never disappeared here (it is obvious why prosciutto&melon/figs and tomato & mozzarella are eaten in the summer). But a close Brazilian friend of mine and I are amused that there are some dishes Italians only eat certain times of the year, and God forbid you order them, make them or serve them at any other time!