briciole

pretzel morbidi / Bavarian-style soft pretzels

sesame or poppy seeds? There are two types of books: the ones I find and the ones that find me. The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler belongs to the latter category. I can't say that it held me spellbound from the first pages. However, it would not let me go. Reading it was like trying to identify a subtle flavor in a dish: you must continue to taste until you get it and in the process, you get totally and pleasantly involved without quite realizing it. All ingredients of the novel work together to make a nice meal:... Read more →

sagne incannulate con petali di calendula / with calendula petals

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] petals in pasta dough You've seen a preview in this monochromatic photo post and now you get the full story. On the one hand, I had a beautiful pasta shape: sagne incannulate (also called lasagne arrotolate and lagane incannulate). freshly harvested from my garden On the other hand, I had a supply of calendula flowers, whose petals I had already successfully added to cookies, cheese, challah, and scrambled eggs. It should come as no surprise that I tried adding them to pasta (in a way different from that shown in my version... Read more →

semi di nasturzio / nasturtium seeds

a special treasure hunt Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus) are plentiful in my garden this year, and so are ideas for using them. Petals are great to make "stained glass" pasta, and flowers and young leaves have given me a bright orange, spicy vinegar. Seeds are edible too: they are called poor man's capers. The seeds you see in the photo are currently in a couple of glass jars, immersed in distilled white vinegar, and will soon be ready for tasting. I'll let you know the outcome of the experiment. The photo is my contribution to edition #89 of Black and White Wednesday... Read more →

annuncio / announcement: Weekend Herb Blogging #390

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] This week I have once again the honor of hosting Weekend Herb Blogging, an event started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, and now organized by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once. I hope you'll join this illustrious event that week after week brings together food bloggers from around the world. The rules for participating are detailed on this page. You can download the logo to add to your post. I will be delighted to receive your contribution to the event. You can submit your post by using the inlinkz tool... Read more →

crostata di prugne lussemburghese / Luxembourg plum tart

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] let it snow, let it snow, let it snow In Luxembourg, we'll have dessert, I said to myself. As I have never been to Luxembourg, I had to rely on information gleaned from the web to find a suitable candidate for the position. The Quetschentaart (plum tart) on the wikipedia page dedicated to the cuisine of Luxembourg looked like a perfect dish to celebrate our virtual visit to the small European state with a long history, the only remaining grand duchy. A bit of research returned a couple of recipes for this... Read more →

cucinare coi fiori / cooking with flowers

calendulas from the farmers' market and freshly picked from my garden Ever since I started reading Cooking With Flowers, Sweet and Savory Recipes with Rose Petals, Lilacs, Lavender, and Other Edible Flowers by Miche Bacher I look at flowers with different eyes. I knew that a number of flowers were edible (commestibili), from zucchini blossoms (fiori di zucca) to herb flowers (which I have used, for example, in rye bread) to roses (which I have used to flavor ice cream). But I did not know that orchids are edible and so are daylilies and lilacs, to name just a few. FTC... Read more →

calendule in cucina / calendula in the kitchen

Calendula flowers from my garden Flowers of Calendula officinalis will brighten your day, no matter how gray. These come from a small patch growing next to my garlic. You will soon see a photo showing their bright orange color. I like how taking the brilliant hue off higlights the delicate texture of the petals. a study in textures In my "stained glass" maltagliati, I press nasturtium petals together with the dough. Above, I am about to knead calendula petals into the dough. What's the result? Go to the post: sagne incannulate with calendula petals to find out Check also this post... Read more →

Women's Power Strategy Conference

Life is full of surprises and of sources of inspiration. This story starts with a book and a bowl of beans. The book is Harlot's Sauce, A Memory of Food, Family, Love, Loss and Greece. It was the Cook the Books' Club choice in the fall of 2011. I read it and loved it and was inspired by it to prepare a dish with glorious beans I had just brought back from Italy. Patricia Volonakis Davis, the book's author, enjoyed the recipes the Cook the Books Club members prepared so much that she added them to her web site. meeting Patricia... Read more →

serpente di pasta / snake of pasta dough

rolling dough into a long snake A new week, a new pasta shape. To make this one, whose name shall remain secret for now, dough is first rolled into a long, thin snake. The casual arrangement of the folds and the contrast with the texture of the wooden kneading board made for an interesting image. This is my contribution to edition #87 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 Jasmina of Jazzy Kitchen. The photo was shot in color and... Read more →

maltagliati con petali di fiori / "stained glass" maltagliati

delicate petals within pasta On May 8, 1999, at the San Francisco Center for the Book, I had my first experience with letterpress printing. I learned about the California job case, how to set type and prepare the press, and together with the other class participants, printed a chapbook under the imprint of the "created for the day" Tiramisu Press. In the years that followed, I took a few other printing classes in the same location, and every time I was reminded how much I like the blend of boundless creativity and tight concentration that goes into printing. Mary Dern's short... Read more →