briciole

mazzi di verdura / bunches of dark leafy greens

collard greens, rainbow chard, dinosaur kale on display The last time I shopped at the Temescal Farmers' Market (Oakland, CA) right before the Holidays, I noticed this inviting presentation of dark leafy greens: it makes it easy for shoppers to reach and grab a bunch to put in their bag or basket. Or maybe a bunch of each: they are all tasty and good for our health. This week, I have the honor of hosting Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event. created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook and now organized by Cinzia of Cindystar. Send your contribution... Read more →

oasi / oasis

Washingtonia filifera frond There are 2,500 species of palms worldwide, with 11 native to North America. The largest of these, and the only palm tree native to western North America, is the California Fan Palm. It is also known as the Desert Palm and the California Washingtonia. (source) The leaf fronds are up to 6 feet (1.8 m) long, made up of a petiole up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) long, bearing a fan of leaflets 1.5–2 metres (4.9–6.6 ft) long. They have long thread-like white fibers between the segments. When the fronds die they remain attached and drop down to... Read more →

risotto al gorgonzola / risotto with gorgonzola cheese

white beauty Lake Como (Lago di Como) is one of the jewels of that treasure called Italy. It is famous around the world and rightly so. I cannot think of a stretch of it that is not worth visiting and no matter from which direction you approach it, you'll fall in love with it. Living in Milan means having easy access to Lake Como. Many a Sunday, a short train ride would bring me to the station in Como. I had a friend in the city and with her I would spend some time sunbathing on the lake shore and then... Read more →

Abbecedario culinario della Comunità europea / European Community Culinary ABC

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] As Italian singer and songwriter Francesco De Gregori would say “at the end of a journey there is always a new journey to start”, so after our past travel throughout Italy – from Aosta to Zocca, via Domodossola, down to Napoli and then further down to Siracusa and then back to Trieste – we are not at all tired, but rather, we feel like packing our virtual suitcase again and pick up our real ladle. That’s right, in the new year, the ABC will take us through the Europe of the European... Read more →

cagliata / cheese curds

pretty cheese curds I recently gave myself a gift: Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking by Gianaclis Caldwell. A couple of days after getting the book, I made a cheese from it: a Tomme. I won't know how it tastes for at least a couple of months. This is my contribution to edition #63 of Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook, now organized by Cinzia of Cindystar, and hosted this week by Cinzia herself. The photo was shot in color and then converted to sepia (Lightroom preset Sepia Tone). This post contains the gallery... Read more →

insalata di arance / orange salad

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] simple and refreshing The menu of Christmas Eve's dinner with my family in Italy included, besides spaghetti col tonno (spaghetti with tuna sauce), a simple, palate-refreshing orange salad. As was the case with the spaghetti, my mother prepared the salad also in other occasions, during citrus season (la stagione degli agrumi). This simple, refreshing salad takes just a few minutes to prepare, is light and tasty and can easily be made for one person or 10. Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Orange salad Ingredients: Black olives (olive nere), oil-cured or kalamata,... Read more →

cachi al mercato / persimmon at the farmers' market

orange beauties Remember the beautiful basket of leeks from a few weeks back? The persimmons above come from the same place, Green Fire Farm. I learned to appreciate Fuyu persimmons in recent years. It took me a while to absorb the concept of a firm persimmon. Until moving to California, the only persimmons I knew were the Hachiya, which are still my favorite variety. In Italy, persimmons are sold ripe and packaged to protect them during transfer. In California, Hachiya persimmons are sold unripe, so buying them is an investment in the future. I let them ripen next to apples, the... Read more →

My Legume Love Affair #53: il riepilogo / the roundup

Hosting the 53rd edition of MLLA, created and organized by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook was, as in previous occasions, a great pleasure. Throughout the past month, I have received contributions from around the world, delicious variations on the theme of legumes. Hosting an event means having the pleasure of collecting and then sharing the collection — of savoring in solitude each dish as it comes into my mailbox, and then inviting everybody to the final banquet. It was a great pleasure to welcome new participants to the party and to say Hi! to old acquaintances. I am presenting the contributions... Read more →

fare il formaggio richiede pazienza / making cheese requires patience

Limburger in progress I know, I have said it before. I actually like this aspect of cheese making. You get to see your cheese change every day and it's exciting. The markings on the surface of the cheese in the photo are due to the mat on which the cheese rests. You see that around the center, the surface is different: Geotrichum candidum is growing (that's good ;) This mold powder will produce a white to cream color surface and it plays a significant role in the ripening process for surface ripened cheese of the soft ripened or washed rind types...... Read more →