briciole

fichi col formaggio / figs with (farmer's) cheese

In a recent post I narrated my adventures in making Farmer's Cheese (literally, formaggio del contadino). My second attempt resulted in a tasty and rather salty cheese that sparked my imagination in the direction of salty and sweet pairings: "Having a salty cheese (formaggio salato) made me try different pairings, the most interesting ones being with sweet companions. First of all figs... [details to be given in an upcoming post.]" The "upcoming post" is the current one. Before I go any further, let me remind you that the singular of fichi is fico (the importance of the final O will become... Read more →

conserva di frutta / fruit preserves

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] Last year I wrote a post on marmellata, where I described how I was making jam, or, to be more precise, fruit spread. This past June, I purchased a book called Preserving the Taste by Edon Waycott. I also took a conserve making class from June Taylor. As a result, recently I have been following a different process to preserve fruit. I am still exploring different options and nothing is settled, but I can tell you a few things I have been experimenting with. First of all, I am still not using... Read more →

formaggio del contadino / farmer's cheese

This month's choice for the event Kitchen Curds is Farmer's Cheese. Formaggio del contadino is the literal translation of Farmer's Cheese: I don't know whether it is used by farmers anywhere in Italy to describe the same kind of unripened cheese. I suspect that there are regional names for it. [Nota per i lettori italiani: la prossima volta che vengo in Italia ho in programma di acquistare un paio di volumi sulla produzione casalinga di formaggi e potrò così suggerire ricette simili a quelle che descrivo in inglese.] The book "The Home Creamery," by Kathy Farrell-Kingsley has a recipe for Farmer's... Read more →

variazione sul tema tiramisù / variation on a theme of tiramisu

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] I have been making tiramisù for years, following a recipe derived from the one my mother uses. The inclusion of imported Italian mascarpone among the ingredients came to a halt a bit more than a year ago, when I learned to make mascarpone at home. What I obtain is better than anything I can find in the stores. Since then, the idea of going a step further and bake my own ladyfingers had been in the back of my mind. Francesca's tiramisu-centric event provided the needed nudge and so I spent time... Read more →

crespelle indiane vegane / vegan Indian dosas

For this month's Daring Cooks challenge, Debyi of The Healthy Vegan Kitchen! has chosen Indian Dosas (Vegan Style) from the cookbook reFresh: Contemporary Vegan Recipes From the Award Winning Fresh Restaurants by Ruth Tal. You can find the recipe for Indian Dosas, Curried Garbanzo Filling and Coconut Curry Sauce here. Although I told myself I would not prepare the recipe a day or two before the post was due, that is once again what happened. It all went well, except the photo-taking part. As a result, I don't have an image of the assembled dosas to share. I will rely on... Read more →

crema di mais con tofu e pomodoro (seconda versione) / corn soup with tofu and tomato (second version)

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] I decided to write an update on my recent post on this subject separately, as the original is already fairly long. While my attempt at obtaining a spongy texture in the tofu was unsuccessful, Claudia of Honey from Rock had her dedication to achieving the desired effect rewarded (in more ways than one, as this post explains: congratulations!). Here are the interesting details of her quest. I am very thankful to Claudia for sharing her experience. After reading Claudia's post, I decided to try freezing a piece of the tofu I purchased... Read more →